Monument record 2728/1 - Possible early Romano-British pottery production site, north of Old Sulehay Forest

Site of a Roman pottery kiln c.AD 150, considered by Swan to be later.

{1} In April 1974 the remains of a Roman pottery kiln were revealed by quarry operations. The kiln had been badly damaged by digging operations and originally must have been almost intact. Large quantities of kiln furniture and dome plates were recovered together with pottery dating to the second quarter of the 2nd century. The pottery included several pieces of very early colour coated ware with what appeared to be experimental decoration. This makes the kiln an important one in the chronology of Nene Valley potteries.

{2} A mass of broken kiln furniture included large pieces of firebars and oven floor, as well as many broken curved 'dome plates'. These clay plates were grey in colour, up to 20mm thick and included much vegetable matter, mainly grasses and straw.

{3} The orientation of the kiln seemed to be east-west, with the stokehole facing east. The chamber itself had been pear-shaped, the narrow end forming the flue. The north-south internal diameter of the chamber was 1.05m and the average thickness of the kiln lining was 5cm. The east-west diameter may be estimated at about 1.2m, but the machine-cut prevented accurate measurement of this. Backing the kiln walls and floor was a thin layer of unburnt clay resting against the limestone into which the kiln had been cut. There was no evidence of a pedestal of any kind, and it was difficult to see how the oven floor could have been supported by the walls of the kiln.
Source also contains finds report.

{4} Roman kiln (TL 060991) a little to the SW of the Roman building at TL 06189914, on Lower Lincolnshire Limestone at 52 m above OD. The remains of a pottery kiln were revealed and excavated during stone-quarrying. Large quantities of kiln furniture and dome plates were discovered and the associated colour-coated wares have been dated just before AD 150.

{5} The published date of this kiln (late second century) is possibly too early.

<1> Brown, A.E. (Ed.), 1975, Archaeology in Northamptonshire, 1974 (Roman), 10/164 (checked) (Article). SNN109757.

<2> 1975, Britannia, 6/255 (checked) (Journal). SNN55428.

<3> Wild, J.P. (ed.), 1975, Durobrivae: A Review of Nene Valley Archaeology (Vol.3), 3/15-18 (checked) (Journal). SNN59033.

<4> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.195/Site 12 (checked) (Series). SNN77382.

<5> Swan, V G, 1984, The pottery kilns of Roman Britain (Book). SNN75255.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 7:22PM