Grooved Ware

A pottery style of the British Late Neolithic, widely distributed c 2750-1850 BC. The characteristic vessel is flat-based with straight vertical or outward sloping walls. It was formerly known as Rinyo-Clacton after two widely separated findspots (Clacton in Essex and Rinyo in the Orkney Islands). Throughout eastern and southern England, where it is particularly frequent on henge sites (Stonehenge and Durrington Walls), it is decorated with shallow grooving or sometimes with applied cordons. A Scottish group, where appliqué cordons were much used in addition, is represented in Orkney at sites like Rinyo and Skara Brae. It is also found in settlement sites and in chambered tombs.

A British late Neolithic pottery type, its flat-based vessels having straight vertical or outward sloping walls. It is decorated with shallow grooving or sometimes with applied cordons. It was formerly called Rinyo-Clacton ware after two widely separated findspots (Clacton in Essex and Rinyo in the Orkney Islands), but is now known to be widely distributed throughout Britain. It occurs commonly on the great henge sites of southern England, including Stonehenge and Durrington Walls.