A Twelfth Century pottery Kiln from Canterbury
by Nigel Macpherson-Grant
A redevelopment in the forecourt of Barrett's Garage, close to Canterbury's West Gate, and just within the City Walls, was preceded in July 1986 by a small excavation by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust. The first day of site clearance by machine produced a large and exciting collection of mid-later twelfth century pottery. Within a short time this proved quite clearly to be the waste products from a kiln, the first post-Roman one to be recorded from the City. Briefly the results were:
Typical roulette-decorated pitcher sherds from the 12th Century kiln. Photo: A. Savage.
1. The base of a small kiln, with a stoke-pit, single flue and chamber divided by a central spine (Plate 1). Around the back and side edges of the chamber were a series of small stake holes, apparently not renewed. When the full implications of these and the kiln features are fully assessed it should be possible to provide a fairly reliable reconstruction of the original above-ground structure.
The newly discovered 12th Century pottery kiln during excavations in Canterbury. Photograph taken by A. Savage.
2. The kiln itself and the surrounding area was densely packed with quantities of wasters and large sherds. The pottery is unique. Though the ware is sandy, the fabric is better refined and of a manufacturing quality superior to the dominant local sandy products of the period. Equally, the forms present: glazed and roulette-decorated spouted pitchers, cooking-pots and large storage jars, are quite unlike the normal twelfth century range. The rim forms and rouletting style (Plate 2) are directly linked to mid-later twelfth Continued opposite Typical roulette-decorated pitcher sherds from the 12th Century kiln. Photo: A. Savage The newly discovered 12th Century pottery kiln during excavations in Canterbury.
