Record Details
| NHER Number: | 6273 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Roman kiln and pottery finds |
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Summary
Excavations in 1857 revealed the remains of a Roman pottery kiln about 1.2m below the surface. In the centre of the structure was a circular 'table', probably a central pedestal supporting a floor or kiln bars on which the pottery was placed to be fired, the fire fed by a lateral furnace hole. About fifty Roman pottery vessels were recovered, three of them decorated with a foliated pattern beneath the rim, the others with fingernail ornamentation.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TG 1263 4257 |
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| Map Sheet: | TG14SW |
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| Parish: | WEYBOURNE, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
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Full description
South of railway bridge over coast road, 90 feet OD.
In 1857, the finding of Roman pottery in a chalkpit near the eastern boundary of the parish led to the excavation of the site by W. Bolding. 1.2m (4 feet) down he found a circular pit, flat at the bottom and 1.5m (5 feet) in diameter with the edge formed of broken sherds cemented with brickearth. In the centre was a circular table 60cm (2 feet) wide 'on which the pottery was placed, as well as on the surrounding flue, which was fed by a lateral furnace hole.' The ware from this pottery kiln was a dull blue colour.
The diameters of the bottoms of vessels varied from 3.8cm to 25 to 30cm (1 1/2 inches to 10 to 12 inches). Only two or three pieces out of fifty had any decoration; a foliated pattern below the rim. Others had fingernail ornamentation.
(S1) plates, plan, sections, (S2), (S3), (S4), (S5).
R. R. Clarke (NCM).
The 'table' referred to above sounds like a central pedestal to support either a perforated floor or which pots would be place to be fired or radiating kiln bars for the same purpose.
D. Gurney (NLA).
10 October 2007.
Monument Types
- POTTERY KILN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
Associated Finds
- POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| --- | Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TG 14 SW 12. |
| --- | Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. |
| --- | Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Roman. Weybourne. |
| <S1> | Article in Serial: Bolding, W. J. J. 1859. Notice of an Ancient Potter's Kiln discovered in the Parish of Weybourne, in the Hundred of Holt. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol V pp 254-256. |
| <S2> | Article in Serial: King, S. W. 1864. Notes on a Roman Kiln and Urns, Found at Hedenham, near Bungay. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol VI pp 149-160. p 155. |
| <S3> | Monograph: 1901. The Victoria History of Norfolk. The Victoria History of the Counties of England. Vol 1. p 322. |
| <S4> | Article in Serial: Fox, G. E. 1889. Roman Norfolk. The Archaeological Journal. Vol XLVI pp 331-367. p 366. |
| <S5> | Article in Serial: Maynard, G. et al. 1935. Reports on a Roman Pottery Making Site at Foxledge Common, Wattisfield, Suffolk. Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and Natural History. Vol XXII Pt 2 pp 178-197. p 189. |
Related records - none
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