Broken Pots

Many years ago, I was involved with the Renovation of an old Hotel here in Xanten. While excavating for a deeper cellar, we came across lots of broken pottery, mostly just shards, but some larger, such as the light brown piece. The Architect was also an Archeaologist, and told me that it was Roman , 2nd to3rd Century AD, and the base of an eating bowl. The other thing was also found on the Site, and I was informed that this was Middle Ages, about 1400 AD. When you look at the standard of finish and workmanship on the Roman and then how crude the later pot was, Civilisation went backwards for a 1000 years !! On the older pot you can see the thumb prints of the Potter in the base. On the Roman there are 3 letters, maybe the Makers name?
As you can see , the Roman one is still in use, as an odds and ends pot !