AMPHORA
Amphora was a common type of pottery vessel used across the Roman Empire
The granary building at the fort
Amphora was a common type of pottery vessel used across the Roman Empire
You are now in what was once the granary, or horrea, a crucial part of every Roman military fort. Ambleside’s twin granary buildings are typical of forts across Roman Britain. This is where grain would have been stored and distributed to the 500 auxiliary soldiers here. Every fort was expected to hold at least six months’ worth of grain for making bread to withstand siege or supply delays. The building would have had raised floors, an advanced design for ventilation in order to keep the grain damp free and allow for air to circulate.
Archaeologists often found fragments of large sherds of pottery vessels called amphorae scattered throughout granaries. These containers, like the one shown on this trail, would have been used to transport and store olive oil, wine, fish sauce and preserved fruits over long distances. Unlike most other Roman pottery, it was the contents inside these large two-handled trade-packaging that was prized rather than the vessels themselves, and amphorae tended to be only used once. Once emptied, they were discarded and replaced with the next shipment of food and drink deliveries.
One fragment of amphora in The Armitt’s collection has a maker’s mark, a stamp impressed in the clay. This might have been the potter’s signature or added by a literate supervisor overseeing production. These marks can also help discover what might have been transported inside the vessel or where it was made in the world.
The final stop is to the Main Gatehouse of the fort, which is a few metres straight ahead and has a sign.