Record Details
| NHER Number: | 23086 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Late Saxon pottery works and multi-period finds |
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Summary
This is the site of a Late Saxon pottery works, which was producing Thetford ware during the late 10th and 11th centuries. It is extremely rare to find evidence of Late Saxon pottery production in a rural area. This site continues under NHER 23080. Field walking and metal detecting has recovered undated metalwork, prehistoric flints, pottery dating from the Roman to the post medieval periods, and a post medieval toy pistol.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TF 91 12 |
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| Map Sheet: | TF91SW |
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| Parish: | FRANSHAM, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK |
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Full description
March 1986. Field L159. Casual field walking.
Large concentrations Thetford type production debris and dark soils.
Roman sherd.
Medieval sherds.
Flint.
Toy pistol, late 16th/17th century.
See (S1).
Found and identified by A. Rogerson (NAU)
E. Rose (NAU) 20 November 1986.
1989. Further field walking.
More material from Context 60.
See (S1).
A. Rogerson (NAU) September 1989
1994. Field walking finds.
Context 60. Additional 200+ Late Saxon sherds collected, showing a higher proportion of oxidised sherds than previously noted.
See (S1).
A. Rogerson (NLA) 25 January 1995.
5 October 1995. Just drilled. Further metal detecting finds.
Only find a rectilinear chunk of copper alloy tapering in section, with grooves cut into nearly all faces, perhaps the result of cutting up something rather large for scrap. ?Date (not recent).
Identified by H. Geake (NCM)
Also Thetford type sherds, 7 jar and 6 bowl rims, 1 ?handle plus 59 base/body sherds including 1 body sherd with rectangular roulette decoration.
See (S1)
A. Rogerson (NLA) 15 November 1996.
October 1996. Found while metal detecting [2].
Further 76 sherds of Thetford type including one diamond rouletted body sherd, jar and bowl rims, and storage jar sherds.
See (S1).
A. Rogerson (NLA) 21 October 1996.
23 March 1998. Drilled beet, well washed, in area 10x10m at [1], i.e. to northeast of main area of Thetford type sherd concentration. [2].
4 jar rims (including one large jar).
4 bases and 20 body sherds Thetford type.
1 base glazed Grimston.
A. Rogerson (NLA) 4 June 1998.
This site is recorded as LS20 in (S2). Most of the Thetford sherds recovered from the site are debris from pottery production, although no evidence of kiln structures has been found. Production may have taken place in the late 10th or early 11th century. Late Saxon pottery production sites are extremely rare in rural contexts.
See (S2) for more details.
S. Spooner (NLA), 16 December 2005.
April 2010. Magnetometer survey.
Details to come.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 17 May 2010.
April 2010. Stray Find. [3].
Probably found during above works:
15 Late Saxon Thetford-type ware sherds.
Information from PAS import.
E. McDonald (HES), 3 August 2017.
Monument Types
- FINDSPOT (Unknown date)
- FINDSPOT (Prehistoric - 1000000 BC to 42 AD)
- FINDSPOT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- FINDSPOT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
- POTTERY WORKS (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
- FINDSPOT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- FINDSPOT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
Associated Finds
- UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Undated)
- LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
- POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- POT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
- POT (Late Saxon to Medieval - 851 AD to 1100 AD)
- POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- TOY (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
Protected Status
Sources and further reading
| --- | *Fieldwork: Fransham Survey. L159. AJGR. |
| --- | Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. |
| <S1> | Archive: Fransham Field Walking Boxfile. |
| <S2> | Thesis: Rogerson, A.. 1995. Fransham: an archaeological and historical study of a parish on the Norfolk boulder clay. |
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