MANDUESSEDUM
(Mancetter) Warwickshire, England.
The name appears in the
Antonine Itinerary. In and around here are Roman sites which can
be summarized as follows:
1) At the village of Mancetter is at least one fort, datable to the period of Nero.
2) A civil settlement lies along the Roman road (Watling Street) and has been traced for at least 1.6 km.
3) Over a large area S of the road there was a large-scale pottery industry; its peak of activity was in the
second half of the 2d c., continuing into the 3d c. A
variety of vessels was produced for the Midland markets,
including mortaria. The potters Gratinus, Minomelus, Iunius, Sennius, Maurus, Vitalis IV, and Sarrius and G.
Attius Marinus are known to have worked here. The
industry extended as far as the high ground at Hartshill
where stone quarrying has destroyed many kilns over the
last 100 years. A small glass furnace has also been
found.
4) A small defended enclosure with a wall bank and
ditch system was established early in the 4th c., similar
to others along Watling Street.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Pottery industry:
Institute of Archaeol.
Bulletin 5 (1965) 25-43;
Trans. Birmingham Arch. Soc.
84 (1971) 18-44; 85 (1973) 211-12.
G. WEBSTER
