SNN111423 - Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire: Archaeomagnetic dating report

During archaeological excavations at a site containing Anglo-Saxon remains in Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, a well pottery kiln was uncovered, in association with pottery of the Late Medieval Reduced Ware tradition. Prior to this discovery, no well preserved kiln connected to the industry had been excavated, so the present example offers a unique opportunity to obtain a scientific date for an important regional pottery typology. So far the typology has been dated using documentary evidence, which refers to the purchase of land containing a kiln in Higham Ferrers and then its later refurbishment, during the latter half of 15th century AD. Archaeomagnetic analysis of the structure demonstrated it to be well fired but with some magnetic distortion to the remanence directions of the samples taken from the kiln wall lining. However, an archaeomagnetic date of good precision was obtained for the last firing of the kiln, dating this event to the early part of the 15th century AD. The archaeomagnetic date suggests that the kiln analysed in this report is not the one referred to in the documents and that reduced ware production at Higham Ferrers might have begun earlier than previously supposed