Monument record 1187/4/1 - C2nd/C3rd Pottery Kiln

Archaeological investigation undertaken during the construction of the FINA pipeline identified a well-preserved Roman pottery kiln dating to the 2nd or early 3rd century AD. Ditches and pits of Roman date were also found.

{1} Fieldwalking along the Fina Pipeline. Scatter of Romano-British pottery found in Field 1 (Fineshade). No other finds apart from slag. Distributed over 150m at southern end of field.
Excavation along pipeline route. Three test pits were dug. TP5 contained a deposit of dark soil 0.07m thick. TP6 revealed a pit containing fired clay and slag. No evidence of burning in-situ. TP7 revealed a ditch which was overlain by an area of limestone.

{2} Roman features exposed along the FINA pipeline route included a pottery kiln.

{3} A well preserved C2nd or C3rd AD updraught pottery kiln was revealed within the corridor. Although the pipeline trench had only clipped the rear of the kiln and damage to the structure was minimal, the laying of an additional drain to the east of the pipe trench necessitated the partial excavation of the structure.
The kiln was situated 400m NNW of a major Roman iron-working complex and settlement and other ditches and pits of Roman date were also revealed within the pipeline corridor.
The kiln had been dug as a circular chamber, roughly 0.9m in diameter and survived to a depth of 0.85m. This had been lined with clay. The surviving clay floor rested on a tongue pedestal, joined to the kiln wall on the western end, and also on intermittant corbels projecting radially into the kiln from the outer wall. Lying between these corbels were 11 surviving vent holes to allow the hot gases to enter the oven. There may originally have been 15 vents, the majority to the rear of the structure, normally the coldest area of the kiln.
The flue running to the east had originally been crudely lined with stone and led into the stoking pit which ran beyond the limits of the excavation. The kiln had undergone several periods of remodelling. The original plan had been flattened and the lining to the south side of the flue had been altered.
Roman pottery kilns with solid clay floors are rare in Northamptonshire and the lower Nene valley. The structure of the kiln, with a tongue pedestal, solid clay floor and corbels tends to place it on morphological grounds with the Oxfordshire pottery industry to the south, but the lack of comparison with similarly dated kilns in the region makes meaningful association impossible.
The whole group of pottery from the kiln had been whell-thrown, mostly made very hurriedly or by a semi-skilled potter. It is difficult to understand why pottery so badly prepared should ever be fired. This is not just confined to Fineshade, as poor quality pottery was also found at kilns excavated in Wakerley. This suggests that there were markets for cheap, inferior pottery.
A tentative date for the kiln is considered to be late Antonine to Severan.
Notes contain more detail on the pottery types associated with the kiln and the method of manafacture.

Description from record 1187/0/10:
{1} Ditches and pits of Roman date were also revealed in the pipeline corridor, but whether any or all of these features were contemporary with the kiln is uncertain.

<1> Jackson D.A., 1990, Fina Pipeline Project 1990: Archive Report (Report). SNN1567.

<2> Musgrave E.C.; Tingle M. (editors), 1991, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1990, p.108 Fineshade (checked) (Article). SNN100325.

<3> Jackson D.; Williams A., 1991, The Fina Pipeline Project, And A Roman Pottery Kiln at Fineshade, p.85-92 (checked) (Article). SNN74097.

Record last edited

Oct 3 2023 9:20AM