Make your mark! Why ancient pottery stamps can be useful to archaeologists

Ancient Roman pottery stamps help archaeologists figure out who the product was made by, where it was produced, and who purchased it.

Example of an ancient Roman pottery stamp fearing the name of the potter Camurius. Image courtesy of British Museum

DISCOVER

Just like the bowl from which you might have eaten your cereal this morning, ancient Roman pottery often featured stamps which tell us about the person who crafted the ceramic. Such makers’ marks formed the name of the potter or owner of the business into a sort of logo, often in the shape of a foot called the planta pedis. When an archaeologist finds a piece of pottery with this kind of stamp, they can suddenly know quite a lot about who made it, where it was made, and how it travelled. 

We can look at an artefact as one puzzle piece. Take for example, this makers’ mark found in central Italy. The writing on it spells “CAMVRI”. The letter V here replaces the letter U (as was standard in ancient Rome), and the letters after I (which should be US) have been omitted. The potter’s name was therefore Camurius. Roman potters often compressed their name by connecting the sides of some letters (like the M and V on this stamp) to save space and make their marks unique. 

This stamp can tell us who the potter was, and, as it was found near a pottery kiln with other products bearing his name, that it was likely made in that location. However, as archaeologists have found this same stamp on plates and bowls in other parts of the empire, we can see that Camurius’ products were popular and travelled all over. In fact, his name is found on over 360 pots stretching from Portugal in the west, to Lebanon in the east! People from far and wide sought to buy his high quality fine-ware.

Drawing of a planta pedis stamp featuring the name Camurius (CAMVRI). 30-70 CE. Corpus Vasorum Arretinorum.

Most of Camurius’ products were found in modern-day Italy and nearby areas. This means that they were most often distributed by boat over local river-channels, or by road systems, where donkeys would cart the products to local markets. However, finds near the coast of areas further away tell us that Camurius’ pottery was also shipped by boat. This was convenient, as it could travel alongside other products which were already en route to that destination. Finds further inland are rare, because travel by road was very time-consuming and expensive!  

Can you think of any products you might use which feature a maker’s mark? How far do you think they travelled?

Until next time,

λεῖος πλόος!

Written by Ivana Skok

Hellenic Museum Volunteer

Foreign Correspondant (Italy)

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