Alice Holt Jar

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Everyday life in Roman Staines was filled with Alice Holt food storage jars like this one. 'Alice Holt' sounds remarkably similar to the name of a famous potter, but it's actually a place, a wood near Farnham situated on the border between Hampshire and Surrey. The Roman potters in this area produced massive amounts of what some people call 'grey coarse ware'. Alice Holt jars and dishes are found throughout the South East of England, and by the 4th century they made up an astonishing 70% of all pottery discovered at Staines. Our jar was meticulously reconstructed in the 1980s, with the new plaster parts crudely painted grey to match the original as closely as possible. If we were doing this today, the new parts would be left untouched and clearly distinguishable from the original. Displayed on the back shelf of the Roman shop in the museum, it gives a good impression of what everyday household items looked like during that time period. The Reading Museum has an exquisite complete version of this jar on display. Our jar stands 196mm high, with an outer rim diameter of 151mm and an inner rim diameter of 118mm.