I have been trying to show 10 artefacts in the 10 days leading up to Xmas, and have so far managed only 8. So my final pre-Xmas post will include the 2 remaining finds to illustrate the dating of the wreck. Many finds from the Cattewater Wreck remain undated or have been given a very wide date range. For instance, the brass spectacle buckle can be dated stylistically to the 14th-17th century, whilst the composite iron-wood swivel-gun has a smaller range of ca.1450-ca.1550 (see previous posts). However, two groups of finds provide closer dating, the ceramics and the leather. The dating of the ceramic assemblage associated with the wreck by John Allan is to the early Tudor period, ca.1480-1525. This dating is taken from the combination of Raeren and Siegburg sherds. All the other ceramics found stratified with the wreck are consistent with this late 15th-early 16th century date. It is unlikely that any future finds of ceramics from the wreck will reduce this date range much, though further research on the potteries might impact on the Cattewater Wreck dating. Siegburg white stoneware mug base fragment (CW77 163), dated 15th-early 16thc. Raeren brown stoneware mug base/wall fragments (CW78 402, CW78 425), dated 1480-1550. The originally published dating of the leather assemblage (mostly a collection of shoe and shoe fragments) was from the 1470s to the 1530s (from CW77 135, CW77 174 & CW78 252) along with an early Tudor purse (CW78 344). Preliminary analysis of the leather finds by Diana Friendship-Taylor has modified this dating slightly. The earliest shoes are now dated to the 1480s – 1490s (CW77 135 & CW77 174) and the latest shoe to the early 16th century (CW78 252, looked at yesterday), though possibly to the 1520s -1530s if a square toe is assumed. If the interim dating of CW78 252 is correct then this provides the closest dating for the wreck, to the early 16th century. Though where the limits of ‘early’ are will have to wait for the full leather report. The evidence for the dating of the scour pits will have to wait for another day, or more accurately another year. Happy Holidays. The images below were taken by Kevin Camidge as part of the Cattewater Wreck Archive Project, funded by English Heritage. To find other images of CW77 163 & CW78 425, visit the following ceramic finds webpage on the Archaeological Data Service website and work down to the Museum Accession nos. AR.1985.24.1.15 & 38. archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/cattewater_plym_2014/downloads.cfm?group=65
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 08:31:08 +0000
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