Huntcliff ware
{{Short description|Type of Romano-British ceramic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
File:Roman , Vessel Rim Sherd (FindID 585604).jpg
Huntcliff ware or more correctly 'Huntcliff-type', is a type of Romano-British ceramic.
Use of the term 'Huntcliff ware' is contentious because it suggests the pottery was manufactured at the Roman signal station{{cite PastScape|mnumber=28716 |mname=Huntcliff Roman Signal Station|accessdate=17 April 2014}} on the east coast of Yorkshire. No kilns have been found for the calcite-gritted ware industry but an East Yorkshire source is suspected on distribution patterns, possibly in the Vale of Pickering.The term Huntcliff-type refers to the reportHornsby, W., & Stanton, R., 1912, The Roman Fort at Huntcliff near Saltburn, J. Roman Studies, 2, 215-232 in which this jar was first recognised as a type.
Industry
It is a distinctive variety of calcite-gritted ware jar with a curved, everted rim with lid-seated groove, made in East Yorkshire from around AD 360 to the 5th century AD.
Fabric
This fabric may be dark grey, dark brown or more usually black. It is hard with a hackly fracture and harsh feel. The external surfaces are usually smoothed and knife trimmed near the base. A series of poorly executed parallel grooves on the shoulder are characteristic.{{cite web|url=http://www.molas.org.uk/projects/fabrics_tei.asp?report=nrfc&GUID=&fabricCode=HUN%20CG |title=Huntcliff ware on the National Roman Fabric Reference Collection |publisher=Museum of London |accessdate=17 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222181539/http://www.molas.org.uk/projects/fabrics_tei.asp?report=nrfc |archivedate=22 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }} It is heavily tempered with crushed calcite. The jar forms have handmade bodies and the rim finished on a potter's wheel.