Roman Pottery in the Low Countries: Past Research, Current State, Future Directions

This edited volume was written on the occasion of the 33rd Congress of the Rei Cretariæ Romanæ Fautores (www.fautores.org), which was held in September 2024 in Leiden, and offers a status quaestionis of Roman pottery studies in the Netherlands and adjacent regions. A concise history introducing the discipline is followed by ten contributions – centered around four concepts – which are written by experts in their respective fields who discuss key aspects of Roman pottery studies. Many of the contributions are characterized by a diachronic viewpoint, and range from addressing the social and cultural significance of individual ceramic categories, to formative historical developments and regional syntheses. The book concludes by highlighting prospects for future research.

The book is packed with detailed information on Roman pottery and focuses on fellow specialists, and rather is not an introduction on the study of Roman pottery. However, readers interested in learning how the study of pottery contributes to our understanding of Roman ways of life and the Roman presence in the Netherlands and surrounding regions can certainly find aspects to their linking.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Roderick C.A. Geerts and Philip Bes

Roman Pottery and the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities: a Long-Term Relationship
Jasper de Bruin

From the Iron Age to the Roman Period. Native Pottery in the Batavian Area
Peter W. van den Broeke

Meanwhile, in the North… Handmade Pottery beyond the Roman Frontier
Ernst Taayke

A Cherished Material. Terra Sigillata from the Province of Groningen
Annet Nieuwhof

Ceramics in the Urban Sphere: the Social Strata of their Users
Bernd Liesen

Augustan Military Pottery Assemblages on the Hunerberg in Nijmegen
Harry van Enckevort

Pottery from Rural Settlements in the Civitas Cananefatium
Roderick C.A. Geerts

Developments in Funerary Pottery between Rhine and Meuse (1st-3rd century)
W. Frederique Reigersman-van Lidth de Jeude

Gallo-Belgic Ware from Xanten to the Sea
Xavier Deru

Roman Amphorae on the Limes
Joost J.H. van den Berg

Conclusion and Outlook
Roderick C.A. Geerts and Philip Bes

Pottery and the Roman period are central to Roderick’s career. It started during his education at Leiden University and developed until pottery became a focal point in his research. After his graduation from Leiden University in 2009 he worked at Archeologie Delft (2005-2009) and subsequently started in 2010 at ADC ArcheoProjecten, where he is still employed. His current employment within Dutch development-led archaeology as a field director, senior KNA archaeologist and senior KNA specialist material culture provides ample opportunity to broaden his vision on all facets of Dutch archaeology, thereby focusing on the Roman period, Iron Age and Roman-period pottery as well as Second World War archaeology. He was one of the authors of the KNA Leidraad Romeins aardewerk (Guidelines on the study of Roman pottery).

He has published many excavation reports, specialist chapters and papers on this topic. With a membership and as board member of several specialist organisations he promotes the study of material culture and Roman pottery. His research interest into pottery doesn’t stop there. In 2019, he started his Ph.D. at Leiden University on changes in Roman pottery assemblages, which will be completed in 2024.

Since 2015 he is involved in the Berenike Project (Egypt, lead by the University of Delaware and PCMA in Warsaw), where he is part of the pottery team that analyses the Ptolemaic, Roman and Late Roman pottery from this cosmopolitan port site. Many publications on Berenike are forthcoming, and also on the pottery found at several Late Roman and Islamic sites the Eastern Desert Survey of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and University of Delaware.
In 2023 he started his own company, RODERICVS ceramics, through which he recreates Roman pottery as a potter. His replicas are sold but the process also yields valuable insights into production processes – he is furthermore involved in several research projects concerning the recreation of ancient pottery.