A cherished material. Terra sigillata from the province of Groningen

This paper presents the results of an inventory of the terra sigillata (TS) finds in the province of Groningen, which includes all red or reddish pottery of Roman origin such as Arretine ware, Late Argonne ware, Oxfordshire red/brown-slipped ware, and African Red Slip Ware. A total of 585 fragments were recorded, belonging to a Minimum Number of 458 vessels. Most finds come from terps in the former salt marsh region along the coast. The southern part of the province was overgrown with peat during the Roman period and largely uninhabitable. The distribution of the 575 fragments over the terps is not representative of their occurrence during the Roman period, but rather of the activities of A.E. van Giffen.
Three phases can be distinguished in this material: Phase 1, dated between 12 BC and AD 47 when the Northern Netherlands were formally part of the Roman Empire, is represented by only a few fragments. Most TS finds belong to Phase 2, the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Phase 3, the 4th and 5th centuries, is characterised by Late Argonne ware and African Red Slip ware, which is virtually absent elsewhere in the Netherlands. Nearly all the finds from this phase are from Ezinge, one of the few inhabited terps in the Northern Netherlands during the 4th century.
Approximately 80% of the TS from Phases 1 and 2 shows traces of a particular form of secondary use. This use must be related to a symbolic meaning ascribed to this material, probably because of its colour. The paper discusses the meaning of this secondary use of TS.