Information for record number MWA2789:
Site of Roman Pottery Kilns at Grange Road

Summary Quarrying work in the late 19th century uncovered Roman pottery kilns. Their exact location is now not known.
What Is It?  
Type: Pottery Kiln, Kiln
Period: Romano-British (43 AD - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Hartshill
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 32 94
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

 
Source Number  
Site of Roman pottery kilns.
1 In the process of removing soil for quarrying various kilns have been discovered. In about 1891 in Mr Tippet's quarry pottery was found - chiefly fragments of mortaria. Several stamps were found. In about 1894 a second kiln was found in a quarry owned by Mr C Abell. This produced mortaria and a vase. In 1897 further finds were made close to the second kiln, consisting of two kilns. In the neighbourhood of these two kilns have been found several 'barrows' full of fragments of pottery. This pottery included white, grey and red wares.
2 kilns found 1891-7 at the Caldecote quarries.
3 Ordnance Survey card summarising
1
2.
4 Haverfield (reference
2) is wrong to locate these kilns at the Caldecote quarries. The exact location of the four pottery kilns excavated in the 1890s is not known. Tippet was manager for the Hartshill quarry Company, whose quarry, now infilled and built on, was centred at SP 3265 9495. It is not known where within this quarry the kiln was found. Abell's quarries lay south-east, centering on SP 3295 9455.
5
6 The pottery kilns seen in 1894 and 1897 by C Abell at Hartshill have been recorded in national gazetteers of the monument type. The kiln seen in 1897 is interpreted as a kiln of circular and clay-lined shape below ground with the 'platform' interpreted as a solid clay vent-holed oven floor for the production of white mortaria. None of the mortaria are known to survive from this kiln. A kiln seen in 1894 and a further one in 1897 are recorded as small kilns in the original reports of the discovery though no details of the kiln's structure or oven floor were recorded. These kilns produced white mortaria, including pieces stamped VDIO, which are 2nd century date. Only the stamped appear to survive in the Warwickshire Museum.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: PSA
Author/originator: Windle M
Date: 1897
Page Number: 404-5
Volume/Sheet: 2:16
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 1, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Doubleday H A & Page W (eds)
Date: 1904
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 1
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Internet Data
Title: The Pottery Kilns of Roman Britain
Author/originator: Vivien G Swan & Andrew Peachey
Date: 2014
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Monograph
Title: The Pottery Kilns of Roman Britain
Author/originator: Vivien G Swan
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 29NE1
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1967
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 29NE1
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Mancetter - Hartshill Document
Author/originator: Booth, Paul
Date: 1989
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
source PSA Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries. The Society of Antiquaries was founded in 1707 and received a Royal Charter in 1751. The aim of the society was to encourage the study of the antiquities and history of Britain and the rest of the world. The Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries is a journal that is published anually. back
period Roman About 43 AD to 409 AD (the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD)

The Roman period comes after the Iron Age and before the Saxon period.

The Roman period in Britain began in 43 AD when a Roman commander called Aulus Plautius invaded the south coast, near Kent. There were a series of skirmishes with the native Britons, who were defeated. In the months that followed, more Roman troops arrived and slowly moved westwards and northwards.
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monument BARROW * Artificial mound of earth, turf and/or stone, normally constructed to contain or conceal burials. Use specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument OVEN * A brick, stone or iron receptacle for baking bread or other food in. back
monument KILN * A furnace or oven for burning, baking or drying. Use specific type where known. back
monument FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument VASE * A large, decorative garden ornament resembling a vase. back
monument POTTERY KILN * A structure, composed of oven and hovel, used for the firing of pottery ware. back
monument MUSEUM * A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artefacts are housed and displayed. back
monument PLATFORM * Unspecified. Use specific type where known. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument QUARRY * An excavation from which stone for building and other functions, is obtained by cutting, blasting, etc. back
monument STAMPS * Form of ore crushing machinery associated with tin mines often wooden and water-powered. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record