Hi /r/AskHistorians !
I went mountainbiking the other day and found these near a construction site : http://imgur.com/a/1IpLN
I googled "old pottery" and "roman" pottery etc and it seems to be some kind of old roman pottery but I'd like to know more.
It is found in Belgium, in Flemish Brabant (the greater area around Brussels).
It is a white clayish material with some kind of black paint or dye and has a soft texture (slightly bendable).
It is carved in a what I assume to be tiger stripe pattern.
It is quite small, I think that if I would have found the other pieces the pot would be about 6-7 inches but I'm not sure.
More pictures can be requested if you specify which angle you want to see :)
My question : What time period is this from? What civilization? (Belgium is known for Gallic tribes and we had romans here too AFAIK) and what do you think it was used for ?
Cheers!
I'm not a belgian pottery expert, but I do have a smattering of typological knowledge for most of north western europe.
If you ever find red glazed stuff that's samain ware, which is a dead ringer for Roman. But this could also be Greyware, which you'll never guess... Is Grey, and was their cheaper stuff. Although, having done a quick check in books, and a wikipedia, I'd put a guess on Black-Burnished ware.
You might be looking at bit's of one of the things in this picture:
Could you try and draw what you think the whole shape would be like, estimating from the fragments? It's a bit difficult to visualise without having the fragments in front of you.
