Burnt Roman Amphora sherd from a fire3D ModelNoAI
In the Roman period, Clausentum (modern Bitterne Manor, Southampton) was an important port. Around AD 190 there was a catastrophic warehouse fire which we can see archaeologically through the burnt, blackened and melted pottery from a number of excavations. This includes some 13,000 sherds of burnt Samian ware produced in Central Gaul (France).
It appears that the Samian was stacked in crates and straw was used as bubble wrap between the vessels as we can often see its charred remains. The amphora was from the Gaudalquivir Valley in Southern Spain and held olive oil which is flammable and is likely to have been the reason the fire burnt so intensely. You can see cracks in the side of this vessel caused by the fire.
The sherds from these warehouses have been laser scanned as part of a collaborative project between Southampton Cultural Services and the Department of Archaeology at the University of Southampton. This model has been created using an Artec Spider.
Comments