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Found late last year on the Thames foreshore, this is the base of a small Samian ware bowl with a maker’s stamp. Based on its size, approximately 42.5mm (1.7in) in diameter, it is likely to be one of the smaller forms, such as a wine cup, and is one of many thousands of this type that were imported from central Gaul in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
Its most interesting feature, however, is the maker’s name. The stamp spells BIG.A.FEC, the mark of the potter Biga of Lezoux. Biga was active in the decades prior to AD 150, at the height of central Gallic Samian production, and his wares have also been recovered from Canterbury and the Roman military site at Catterick. This individual follows an apparent tradition of Samian potters taking nicknames, with biga referring to a two horsed chariot that was popular in hippodromes across the Roman world, but which also had ceremonial uses. By the 2nd century, the vehicles would have had a significant cultural presence in Roman life, charioteering being a sport with mass popular appeal and bringing celebrity to both drivers and horses. They were also common devices on coinage during Republican Rome and continued to appear on jewellery into the Imperial period.
The practical reasons for choosing a nickname are clear. As one of countless potters in Lezoux, it is likely that Biga would have needed a distinguishing mark beyond his given name to identify his wares, both in kilns and at the point of sale. The specific choice of name, however, has no apparent rationale beyond his own personality – maybe he aspired to be a charioteer. The find adds to an already large corpus of Samian stamps from across Britain, but what sets it apart is the window it gives us into the personality of a single, undocumented individual in the Roman world and how, just like today, ordinary people perhaps chose to associate themselves with escapist sport and spectacle.
For more information on the stamp, please see https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1205521 or search SUR-86B3CA on the PAS database (http://www.finds.org.uk).
The Portable Antiquities Scheme is an initiative to encourage the recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales. For more information on the Scheme, and to browse its database of almost 1.8 million finds, visit www.finds.org.uk. This piece was written by Peter Wollweber, who found the bowl. With thanks to Simon Maslin, Finds Liaison Officer – Surrey, and Stuart Wyatt, Finds Liaison Officer – London, for their work recording it.
Text: Kathryn Krakowka / Image: Surrey County Council
