More information : SK 36133755 : Romano-British pottery kilns at Derby Racecourse playing fields (see illustration card). Attention was first brought to the site when Romano-British pottery sherds were found. Trial excavations in 1967 established the presence of three kilns. Rustic ware was found indicating late 1st or early 2nd century activity, and a Samian sherd along with imitated Samian shapes suggested a date in the first half of the 2nd century for the sealing of one deposit. In 1968 ten Trajanic kilns of the updraught type were excavated. Products included lid-seated jars similar in fabric to Derbyshire Ware, Rustic Ware jars, and beakers. A mortarium waster of the potter Septiminus, who was working in the early 2nd century, was built into one kiln. Samian ware from the filling of the kilns would be consistent with a date of 110-20 AD for their abandonment. In 1972-3 six kilns were excavated. Two were of early 2nd century date, one of which had been disturbed by unauthorised digging and the other was constructed partly over a filled-in well which yielded pottery pre-dating the kiln. Two further kilns were of Antonine date and had a smaller kiln lying adjacent to their stokehole. The last kiln, of which only the furnace survived, was of a 1st century type and its remains had been partly destroyed when one of the Antonine kilns was constructed. The main products consisted of jars, bowls, and dishes; oxidized black burnished sherds were found in the furnace chamber of the 1st century kiln. Other finds included brooches, pins, and glass. Most finds from the excavations are now in Derby Museum or at Nottingham University. When production of pottery ceased in the mid 2nd century the abandoned site was taken over by industrial workings. (1-4) SK 362377. Two Roman brooches, one of "dolphin" type and one of "aucissa" type were found in a field in the north-western area of Racecourse Park by M. Brassington in 1967. In Derby Museum (192-75 and 442-76). (5) During excavtion of the pottery kilns in 1968, a skeleton was found in the flue of one of the smaller kilns. The burial was probably contemporary with the abandonment of the kilns c120 AD. (6) During the 1974 excavations varying types of hearths and furnaces, some at least associated with iron-working,were uncovered. (7) Additional refernce. (8)
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