Sourcing Scottish white gritty ware

Following on from the successful pilot study funded by Historic Scotland which assessed the previous work and analyses carried out on Scottish White Gritty Ware pottery, a major investigation of the Scottish White Gritty Ware industry was initiated by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division and funded by Historic Scotland. The project set out to examine the range and type of vessels, the production areas and chemical composition of the clays used in the production of Scottish White Gritty Ware. The chemical and petrographic analyses aimed to identify the source or sources of the pottery and its distribution within Scotland.<p></p> Over six hundred sherds of pottery from over forty Scottish archaeological sites were evaluated by chemical analysis using ICP, combined with the petrographic examination of a selection of thin sections. Also undertaken as part of the project were the construction of a Scottish White Gritty Ware vessel typology, a limited programme of clay prospection, a review of past scientific work, glaze analysis, chemical comparisons with English and Continental material and a geophysical survey of the Scottish White Gritty Ware kiln site at Colstoun in East Lothian. The petrographic analyses were carried out on the existing thin section collection housed in the National Museum of Scotland and newly prepared examples from sherds especially selected for the study. The results of the analyses have pointed to the production of White Gritty ware in several areas of Scotland from the Scottish Borders to the Moray Firth and have identified those geographic areas that require further research and excavation.<p></p> This study has put together the largest and one of the most significant datasets for any Medieval European ceramic industry and has created a major platform for any future work on Scottish ceramics.<p></p&gt