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Grimston Ware
Site: Dragon Hall, Norwich.
Period: Medieval (late 12th-14th centuries AD).
Excavator: Norfolk Archaeological Unit.
Published: forthcoming.
Brief description: Grimston ware is a dark blue-grey, medium sandy fabric, occasionally oxidised on one or both surfaces, with occasional coarse ferrous inclusions. Most of the products which travelled some distance from the source, in north-west Norfolk, were green-glazed, but unglazed wares were also produced for local consumption.
Grimston is best-known for its face jugs, a popular form in medieval Britain. These jugs were decorated with applied pellets and strips on the body, and applied bearded faces and arms on the neck and rim. Most are dated to the 13th and 14th centuries.
Further reading
Leah, M., 1994, The Late Saxon and Medieval Pottery Industry of Grimston, Norfolk: excavations 1962-92, East Anglian Archaeology 64. Field Archaeology Division, Norfolk Museums Service.
Sue Anderson, © 2000.
