Why become a samian specialist in the late 1990s? Gwladys Monteil University of Nottingham

1. Why become a samian specialist in the late 1990s?Gwladys MonteilUniversity of Nottingham

2. Some aspects of samian ware analysis are not as hard as they might look, at least no more so than any other specialisms. Some aspects of it, decorated and stamps identification do however require time and commitment. • This is an exiting time in samian studies. • My samian ‘training’ mostly happened within an academic setting. It has so far been a mixture of key opportunities, meeting very patient specialists, dedication, time and hard work.

3. It all started in France • MPhil on a late 2nd-early 3rd c. pottery assemblage. The group included Central Gaulish samian ware. • I was based at the Base archéologique de Lezoux, one of the production sites where I first familiarised myself with Central Gaulish samian ware thanks to • Philippe Bet • Richard Delage • They both introduced me to the different fabrics groups defined on the production site, the different forms and potters (Bet et al 1989, 2000). • And Georges Rogers • I wasn’t particularly interested in samian per se then, more in Roman pottery. Samian ware just happened to be part of it.

4. Then came Britain • MA in Post-Excavation Skills, University of Leicester • Module on Roman pottery with Nick Cooper as a tutor • No placement or topic available in Leicester • Placement and dissertation topic organised with Robin Symonds working then for a commercial unit MoLAS (Museum of London Archaeological Service)

5. My first opportunity to get to grips with samian forms and fabrics happened during my MA- first during a placement then for my dissertation both organised with MoLAS and the LAARC. • The LAARC provided a former pageant group - St Magnus House, a waterfront assemblage from London first analysed and published by Joanna Bird in the 1980s-, a space to work and a copy of the original report by Joanna. The project was centred on producing a catalogue of samian from the site quantified in a manner compatible with other types of Roman pottery. • Robin Symonds along with several other Roman pottery specialists from MoLAS provided supervision, experience and guidance, a microscope, a fabrics reference collection and all of the necessary basic books. • I spent a total of 2.5 months in 1999 in the LAARC re-assessing the group from St Magnus House. By the end of my MA I had looked at 5652 sherds of samian ware under a microscope and re-quantified the whole group with EVEs. The group was key to building my confidence-a warehouse group, it contained many complete or near complete Central and East Gaulish examples. • I also took the opportunity to closely study the published report on the decorated vessels from St Magnus by Joanna. I matched and studied the originals to the report. I did the same with the stamps report by Brenda Dickinson.

6. My next big opportunity was again provided by Robin Symonds from MoLAS/ MoLSS. By early 2000, I was hoping to start a PhD and following extensive discussions Robin suggested working on the distribution of samian ware in Roman London. • Designed as a collaborative venture between Birkbeck College and Museum of London Specialist Services (MoLSS), the project aimed to primarily use evidence produced by professional archaeological units involved in the area of London in the last thirty years, in particular MoLAS and its predecessors DUA/DGLA (Department of Urban Archaeology/Department of Greater London Archaeology). AHRC funded. • Robin Symonds was a co-supervisor and was to provide extensive supervision during the data gathering and re-analysis stage of the project. • I was given unprecedented access to both unpublished and newly excavated data, in-house expertise, a space to work in bay 7 of the LAARC and essential references. • Some samian groups were selected for further analysis in particular the groups from • Three-Quays House, London. Another waterfront group. 4308 sherds, 95% of which from Central Gaul. • 76-80 Newgate Street, London. This site allowed me to handle very large quantities of South Gaulish samian, a category I had until then little experience in. 3840 sherds of samian, 77% of which from South Gaul. • By the end of the PhD I had built up experience in samian fabrics and forms identification, samian dating, a good awareness of samian literature. I also accumulated exiting data about vessels sizes, produced a set of distribution maps of samian forms and fabrics across Roman London.

7. That left the rather more complicated area of decorated samian. I did handle some decorated samian while re-analysing material for my research, particularly Central Gaulish decorated samian. I acquired several essential books (with some difficulty and at some cost)-Oswald’s figured-types, Stanfield and Simpson, Rogers 1974 and 1999 and tried to train myself. I think I got to grips with some basics but I didn’t have enough time to really gain confidence. This wasn’t the main objective of the PhD and my experience remained fairly limited. • For me once again, meeting the right person proved to be the key. I first met Geoffrey Dannell in 2000 during a seminar Robin and I organised in London. • I was lucky enough to get help and tuition from Geoffrey. I think his help can be summarised as followed • By inviting me to several scanning fests and working days in Wood Newton, Geoff provided me with an opportunity to meet most of the samian specialists working in Britain. • Geoff also invited me to follow his team to the South of France for recording large South Gaulish decorated samian assemblages. I was unfortunately unable to go. • By generously donating several books and articles, some of them almost impossible to get • By patiently taking me through the initial steps in South Gaulish decorated material identification and opening up his library • By giving me his time • Identifying decorated samian ware is still a daunting and lengthy task but possible.

8. I believe there are ways of making samian training less daunting and this might be approached in stages. The first stage-forms and fabrics, the keys to building confidence in samian ware identification. This is what worked for me. Some Roman pottery specialists across Britain routinely identify differences in pottery fabrics including samian fabrics. This should be promoted. Institutions with a strong emphasis and tradition in Roman pottery fabrics analysis such as MoLAS can clearly play a key role in training young specialists in this area. They already do. The National Roman Fabric Reference Collection will soon be available on-line with upgraded photos Photographs of selected samples from the Oswald’s collection in Nottingham will also be available on-line Specialists can provide guidance in building hands-on reference collections. Fabrics and forms cannot be separated. Reflections on training

9. Essential ‘kit’ • Webster 1996, Oswald and Pryce 1920, Bet et al 2000 and getting to grips with forms • A microscope and a pair of pliers • Systematically looking at a fresh break under a microscope (x 20 is enough) building a mental reference collection • Comparing fabrics • Using stamped examples if possible building a physical reference collection

10. The next stage-decoration and stamps • As someone who is beginning to understand quite how varied and complicated this area of samian expertise is, training a new generation in this field will be quite a lengthy process. • Some ideas: • Apprenticeship styled training and research with cooperation between universities, commercial units, specialists and institutions with large samian collections. • LAARC • Museum of London • Durham Museum • Nottingham Museum • Promoting placements, volunteering and work-experience in these institutions and others. IFA Workplace Learning Bursaries scheme • MAs and PhDs where students are given an opportunity to handle large quantities of material while doing research are becoming quite rare but the AHRC offers Collaborative training and doctoral awards. • One to one mentoring

11. - More generally • Creating a basic guide to decorated samian identification based on examples from digitised rubbings. The decoration could be broken down into basic components -non-figured and figured types. • Online databases such as Samian.net and the Index of Potters stamps to enable improved access to collections and comparative material are essential. • Digitising out of print and/or difficult to access references • Creating an on-line dictionary/lexicon for essential terms-English/French/German • Promoting exiting research based on decorated ware • ‘image consumption’ Joanna Bird has researched this area, particularly gladiatorial scenes found on samian from the amphitheatre in London. GIS distribution of iconographic themes on samian in the different contexts of Roman Britain could take this a step further.