Glossary
Interpreting the pipe records
Example record:
GLB96 <79> AO4 (1610 - 1640) Die number 100108. Fine burnishing. Milled 4/4.
The first figure (GLB96) is the sitecode. The second (<79>) is the accession number. The third (AO4) is the form code. The dates in brackets are derived from the form.
Sitecodes uniquely identify the records, finds and samples from each archaeological site. Site information is taken from the MoLAS archaeological database.
Accession numbers are unique numbers assigned to an object for purposes of identification.
Forms and types: The types identified by Atkinson and Oswald are indicated here, with their date ranges, by the prefix AO (for example, AO5, 1610-40). A Simplified General Typology, which attempted to distinguish developments in bowl shape and size at a national level, was published by Adrian Oswald in 1975. Where used here types are prefixed by OS. Form codes are listed at the bottom of this page.
The type of mark is also recorded as either incuse (incised) or relief, along with the method by which it was made, ie whether stamped or moulded.
Die numbers: many pipemakers, especially those with a workshop employing several people, made use of different dies for the same stamped mark. These can be recognised by often minute differences in the appearance of the mark. A MoLAS database of individual dies has been created, examples of which are illustrated here; the Die Number is given against each entry.
Milling: it was common practice in the 17th century, but not later, to add a band of milling or rouletting around the outside of the rim of the bowl. It could be made with the milled edge of the button or tool that was used to finish the inside of the bowl, or with a denticulated knife. The extent of milling is one indication of a pipe's quality with the better pipes fully milled. It is measured by quadrants and recorded here as 1, 2, 3 or 4 over 4, with the quarter milled pipes of the lowest quality.
Burnishing is another indication of quality and took place at all periods, although it is more common on London pipes in the 17th century than later. Using a small tool the surface of the finished pipe was polished in series of parallel vertical strokes running round the bowl and usually along the length of the stem as well. The closer together and more carefully made the strokes are the better the quality; they are recorded as fine, good, average or poor.
Forms: the types of London clay pipes identified by Atkinson and Oswald (1969) are indicated here, with their date ranges, by the prefix AO (for example, AO5, 1610-40). Other regional types have a different form of code, an explanation of which is given at the bottom of this page.
Form codes
| Form | Earliest date | Latest date | Expansion |
|---|---|---|---|
| AO10 | 1640 | 1660 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 10 |
| AO13 | 1660 | 1680 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 13 |
| AO15 | 1660 | 1680 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 15 |
| AO16 | 1580 | 1910 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 17 |
| AO17 | 1580 | 1910 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 17 |
| AO18 | 1660 | 1680 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 18 |
| AO2 | 1580 | 1610 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 2 |
| AO3 | 1580 | 1610 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 3 |
| AO4 | 1610 | 1640 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 4 |
| AO5 | 1610 | 1640 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 5 |
| AO7 | 1610 | 1640 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 7 |
| AO9 | 1640 | 1660 | Atkinson and Oswald 1969, London type 9 |
| AY1/2 | 1670 | 1710 | Aylesbury types 1 to 2 (Moore 1979, fig 5, nos 1, 2) |
| CSE6 | 1660 | 1680 | Central southern England type 6 (Oswald 1975, fig 8) |
| UNK | 1580 | 1910 | Unknown type |