It all began 20 years ago, when a field in Grendon Bishop was ploughed for the first time in living memory. Sherds of Romano-British Pottery were brought to the surface. There were a lot of wasters, which were the pots that had misfired or broken, during their time in the kiln.
Fast forward to 2021, and David Jones had a Geophysical Survey done on the area where the pottery had been found. Two anomalies showed up, which could be kilns !!
The positions were pinpointed, and we began the excavation of one of them. Digging commenced and lots more pottery sherds were coming up, as well as, what appeared to be kiln body material.
Over the course of the next couple of months, we exposed a fantastic Romano-British kiln, plus trays and trays of pottery. What a find!
We have sent soils samples from the kiln to Christopher Atkinson, Sheffield University, for analysis, and Pottery samples will go to Worcester University, for dating, and to get an idea of the range of pots, that were being made on this site. We will have an interesting 2022 on this site, because there are more anomalies to investigate, including, a possible ditch between the kilns, which appears to be filled with pottery. We are hoping that this will extend our knowledge of the range that was being produced. Also, there is a possible circular structure, very near the kiln, that could be where the pots were being thrown. The other investigation will concentrate on a possible roundhouse were the Potters may have lived whilst on site. Lots to look forward to. Thanks to Tigergeo for the Geophysical survey, and for turning up once more to mark the kiln, and be there as the first turfs came up.
The Pottery kiln begins to show itself
