I have found that in order to get to the essence of the medieval period, normal, day to day objects seem to carry the most power, especially those that leave marks made by humans. Below are a few such representative findings, with brief descriptions.  

 

 

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                                  Fig. 12                                                                  Fig. 13                                                                         Fig. 14

                                                                                                     Butchery marks on bone

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Fig. 15

Micaceous sandstone hearth fragments

 

 

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Fig. 16

Lava stone quern fragments from the Eifel Hills, Germany

 

 

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       Fig. 17                                                                            Fig. 18

                                                                      Peg tile fragment (14th-15th C.)                                                  Floor tile fragment (14th-15th C.)

 

 

 

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                                                                                Fig. 19                                                                               Fig. 20

                                                    Grimston ware basal sherd showing kiln stack                            Grimston ware basal sherd showing potter’s finger

                                                                               mark (14th-15th C.)                                                    indent in bottom right-hand corner (14th-15th C.)

 

 

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            Fig. 21

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Grimston ware basal sherds showing potter’s finger marks (14th-15th C.). Such marks create bulges in the wet clay when the pot is supported at its base as it is lifted into the kiln. Sometimes it is possible to see actual fingerprints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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                                                                                 Fig. 22                                                                                  Fig. 23

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Figure 22: finger print showing nail line on the inside of the top of a Grimston ware jug handle where it meets the jug (14th-15th C.). Fig. 23: the jug handle from the other side, but not from the same angle. 

 

 

 

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             Fig. 24                                 Fig. 25                     Fig. 26                 Fig. 27

A selection of Grimston ware jug handle fragments (15th C.). Note Fig. 24 has a two-finger decoration 

 

 

 

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Fig. 28

Unglazed Siegburgh stoneware, from the Rhineland, Germany (15th C.). Such pottery not only helps date the archaeological deposit, it also shows trading partners in the late medieval period.

 

 

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Fig. 29

Raeren stoneware, from Belgium, with frilled base made by the potter’s fingers (late 15th-early 16th C.)

 

 

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Fig. 30

Very early brick fragment showing the straw/grass imprints from the side of a kiln (c. 14th-15th C.)

 

 

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Fig. 31

Grimston product, late medieval bowl rim with wide flange (late14th-early 15th C.)

 

 

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Fig. 32

Medieval unglazed ware (12th-14th C.)

 

 

 

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Fig. 33

Examples of iron hackle pins (11th-15th C.). These pins, used vertically in a row, were used to comb out flax or hemp.

 

  

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  Fig. 34                                     Fig. 35                                  Fig. 36

 

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 Fig. 37                                      Fig. 38                               Fig. 39

 

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                                                                         Fig. 40                       Fig. 41                                  Fig. 42

 

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Figures 34-42: examples of medieval window class. Used in ecclesiastical buildings and important houses the extraordinary colours have been produced in a chemical reaction with the soil (13th-15th C). 

 

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