PHIST:  Prehistoric.  Simple, hand-made pots with large amounts of flint and/or shell mixed in with the clay. 

RG:  Romano- British.  Range of common types of Roman pottery, and made in many different places in Britain.  Many different types of vessels were made, especially cooking pots.  It was most common in the 1^st - 4^th century AD.

EMS: Early Anglo-Saxon.  Crude pottery made by the pagan Anglo-Saxons.  Was first made after the Roman pottery industries ceased production after the legions withdrew.  Most people probably made their own pottery of this type, dug from clay close to where they lived and fired in bonfires.  Most pots were plain, simple forms such as jars and bowls, but some, usually used as cremation urns, were decorated with stamps and scored linear patterns.  First made around AD450, very rare after AD700.

THT: Thetford ware.  So-called because archaeologists first found it in Thetford, but the first place to make it was Ipswich, around AD850.  Potters first began to make it in Thetford sometime around AD925, and carried on until around AD1100.  Many kilns are known from the town. It was made in Norwich from about AD1000.  The pots are usually grey, and the clay has lots of tiny grains of sand in it, making the surface feel a little like fine sandpaper.  Most pots were simple jars, but very large storage pots over 1m high were also made, along with jugs, bowls and lamps.  It is found all over East Anglia and eastern England as far north as Lincoln and as far south as London.

EMW:  Early Medieval Sandy Ware:  AD1100-1400.  Hard fabric with plentiful quartz sand mixed in with the clay.  Manufactured at a wide range of generally unknown sites all over eastern England.  Mostly cooking pots, but bowls and occasionally jugs also known.

SHW:  Medieval Shelly Ware.  AD1100-1400.  Made a several different places in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire.  The clay that the potters used has a lot of small pieces of fossil shell in it, giving the pots a speckled appearance.  Sometimes, in acid soils, the shell dissolves, giving the sherds a texture like cork.  Mainly cooking pots, although bowls and jugs were also made.

HG:  Hertfordshire Greyware, mid 12^th – 14^th century.  Hard, grey sandy pottery found at sites all over Hertfordshire.  Made at a number of different places, with the most recent and best-preserved evidence being from Hitchin.  Range of simple jars, bowls and jugs.

ELY:  Ely Ware mid 12^th – 14^th century:  Grey sandy ware with sparse white chalk flecks in the clay, manufactured at a number of sites in and around Ely.  Jugs with a dull olive glaze were not uncommon, but main products jars and bowls.

GRIM:  Grimston Ware.Made at Grimston, near King’s Lynn. It was made from a sandy clay similar with a slight ‘sandpaper’ texture.  The clay is usually a dark bluish-grey colour, sometimes with a light-coloured buff or orange inner surface.  It was made between about AD1080 and 1400.  All sorts of different pots were made, but the most common finds are jugs, which usually have a slightly dull green glaze on the outer surface.  Between AD1300 and 1400, the potters made very ornate jugs, with painted designs in a reddish brown clay, and sometimes attached models of knights in armour or grotesque faces to the outside of the pots.  It is found all over East Anglia and eastern England. A lot of Grimston ware has been found in Norway, as there is very little clay in that country, and they had to import their pottery.  Nearly half the medieval pottery found in Norway was made at Grimston, and was shipped there from King’s Lynn.

MP:  Midland Purple ware. Made and used between AD1450-1600.  Very hard, red to dark purplish-grey in colour, usually with a dark purple to black glaze.   Wide range of different pots made such as jars, bowls and jugs.

BD:  Bourne ‘D’ Ware:  1450-1637. Made in the village of Bourne in Lincolnshire, until the place was destroyed by a great fire in 1637.  Fairly hard, smooth, brick-red clay body, often with a grey core.  Some vessels have sparse white flecks of shell and chalk in the clay.  Vessel forms usually jugs, large bowls and cisterns, for brewing beer.  Vessels often painted with thin, patchy white liquid clay (‘slip’), over which a clear glaze was applied.

LMOx:  Late Medieval Oxidized Ware:  Hard, red pottery with lots of sand mixed in with the clay.  Made from about 1450 – 1500 in lots of different sites in the south-east midlands and western East Anglia.  Used for everyday pottery such as jugs and large bowls, and also large pots (‘cisterns’) for brewing beer.

CW:  Cistercian Ware:  Made between AD1475 and 1700.  So-called because it was first found during the excavation of Cistercian monasteries, but not made by monks.  A number of different places are known to have been making this pottery, particularly in the north of England and the midlands.  The pots are very thin and hard, as they were made in the first coal-fired pottery kilns, which reached much higher temperatures than the wood-fired types of the medieval period.  The clay fabric is usually brick red or purple, and the pots covered with a dark brown- or purplish-black glaze on both surfaces.  The main type of pot was small drinking cups with up to six handles, known as ‘tygs’.  They were sometimes decorated with painted dots and other designs in yellow clay.  Cistercian ware was very popular, and is found all over England.

GS:  German Stonewares.  First made around AD1350, and some types still made today.  Made at lots of places along the river Rhine in Germany, such as Cologne, Siegburg and Frechen.  Very hard grey clay fabric, with the outer surface of the pot often having a mottled brown glaze, with some having blue and purple painted decoration, and others moulded medallions (‘prunts’) with coat-of-arms or mythical scenes on them.  The most common vessel type was the mug, used in taverns in Britain and all over the world.  Surviving records from the port of London (‘port books’) show that millions such pots were brought in by boat from Germany from around AD1500 onwards.

GRE:  Glazed Red Earthenwares:  Fine earthenware, usually with a brown, orange or green glaze, usually on the inner surface.  Made at numerous locations all over England.  Occurs in a range of practical shapes for use in the households of the time, such as large mixing bowls, cauldrons and frying pans.  It was first made around the middle of the 16th century, and in some places continued in use until the 19th century.

PSW:  Harlow Slipware.  Similar to glazed red earthenware (GRE), but with painted designs in yellow liquid clay (‘slip’) under the glaze.  Made at many places between 1600 and 1700, but the most famous and earliest factory was at Harlow in Essex.

WCS:  Cologne Stoneware.  Hard, grey pottery made in the Rhineland region of Germany from around 1600 onwards.  Usually has lots of ornate moulded decoration, often with blue and purple painted details.  Still made today, mainly as tourist souvenirs.

SS:  Staffordshire Slipware.  Made between about AD1640 and 1750.  This was the first pottery to be made in moulds in Britain since Roman times.  The clay fabric is usually a pale buff colour, and the main product was flat dishes and plates, but cups were also made.  These are usually decorated with thin brown stripes and a yellow glaze, or yellow stripes and a brown glaze.

MW:  Manganese Ware,late 17^th – 18^th century. Made from a fine, buff-coloured or red clay, with the pots usually covered with a mottled purple and brown glaze.  A wide range of different types of pots were made, but mugs and chamber pots are particularly common.

EST:  English Stoneware:  Very hard, grey fabric with white and/or brown surfaces.  First made in Britain at the end of the 17^th century, became very widespread in the 18^th and 19^th century, particularly for mineral water and beer jars. 

SWSG:  White Salt-Glazed Stoneware.  Delicate white pottery made between 1720 and 1780, usually for tea cups and mugs.  Has a finely dimpled surface, like orange peel.

VIC:  Victorian.  A wide range of different types of pottery, particularly the cups, plates and bowls with blue decoration which are still used today.  First made around AD1800