Monument record 3549/1 - Roman pottery production site, Grendon Quarry

Excavation at Grendon Quarry in the 1970s identified at least three early Roman pottery kilns.

{1} Excavation by MC Cormick for DOE uncovered a Romano-British pottery kiln and a line of stone-lined post holes.

{2} Excavation at Grendon Quarry between 1974-5 identified a number of features which were interpreted as Roman pottery kilns. Of the ten that were initially identified as kilns, it was found that there was only conclusive evidence for three during post-excavation analysis. The most complete comprises a sunken kiln with clay lining to the walls of the firing chamber in which three niches are assumed to be supports for the fire bars. A slab shaped clay pedestal extended from the back wall of the chamber opposite the flue. Remains of grey kiln bars have been located. The kiln produced 598 sherds of pottery. The evidence suggests that another was a surface or shallow kiln with a clay floor in the firing chamber. 74 sherds were found. The third was a surface or shallow kiln with a clay floor in the firing chamber. The original outline is unclear, comprising an area of clay with scattered kiln bars but no readily apparent specific shape. 280 sherds were found. The pottery from all three kilns was chronologically coherent, dating to the mid-to-late 1st century AD.

Two of the kilns, as well as seven possible kilns, were located immediately to the north-east of the double ring ditch, whilst one kiln lay c100m to the north-west,

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p. 54 site 6 (Series). SNN77380.

<2> Jackson D.A., 1995, Archaeology at Grendon Quarry, Northamptonshire: Part 2, Other Prehistoric, Iron Age and Later Sites Excavated in 1974-5, and Further Observations Between 1976-80, p17 (K1-K3) (Report). SNN70994.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 7:24PM