Pudding Pan Shipwreck (awarded 2016)

Pudding Pan: A Roman Shipwreck and its Cargo in Context, by Dr Michael Walsh (The British Museum’s Research Publications Series, 31st March 2017, available online from March 2018)

In March 2016 the Roman Research Trust provided a grant of £2,500 to the British Museum towards Pudding Pan: A Roman Shipwreck and its Cargo in Context by Dr Michael Walsh. Intended for both academic and public readership, the publication illuminates Dr Walsh’s endeavour to locate the original site of the Pudding Pan shipwreck in the Thames Estuary. Through fieldwork and case studies the research explores the discovery of Roman pottery in the vicinity of Pudding Pan Rock, and considers the discovery’s implications for our understanding of trade and consumption in the Roman Empire. More broadly, Pudding Pan argues Dr Walsh’s theory that the pottery originates from a Roman trading ship which sunk in the 2nd century AD.

The Roman Research Trust’s grant enabled the British Museum to commission bespoke maps and charts for the publication and acquire photographs of comparable objects in other collections. These inclusions enhance the shipwreck’s visual appeal, making the publication accessible to audiences interested in Roman maritime trade and material culture in a highly tangible context. It also allows readers to see parallels between the large number of Pudding Pan samian vessels in the British Museum and other collections.