THE BIG DIG WEEKEND
More than 60 parents and children enjoyed a fascinating weekend of archaeological discovery at Smarden History Society's Big Dig event in 2008.
Under the guidance of TV's Time Team expert Carenza Lewis and her team from Cambridge University, assisted by mediaeval pottery expert Luke Barber from Sussex University, 11 teams opened test pits in the gardens of houses in the ancient centre of the village.
The aim of the project was to discover more about how the old mediaeval village developed, and where Smarden's old market place once stood.
It was soon apparent that most pits were going to produce large quantities of finds and at the close of the first day's digging, hundreds of artefacts were brought back to the Dig HQ at Smarden Primary School for examination by the experts. By the end of Sunday the quantity of collected items had run into the thousands !
All of the finds have now been taken to Cambridge University for further analysis, but the initial assessment showed that pottery pre-dating the building of Smarden Church had been discovered, together with significant quantities of Mediaeval, and Tudor fragments.
Perhaps the most exciting find was a hoard of silver English and French coins dating from the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th centuries found in one garden.
On Sunday afternoon everyone returned to the School once again and in turn, each team gave an account of its digging progress, which Carenza followed by revealing the experts' opinions of what they had found.
The Society now plans to display many of the Dig’s finds at the Heritage Centre in due course, and hopes to arrange a talk about the Dig early next year.
The Big Dig weekend was voted such a big success by all the teams that the Society is now considering organising another Dig next year !
POTTERY REPORT
Smarden Test-Pits (SMA 08)
Pottery and Clay Pipes
Pottery Fabrics
NB. Date ranges given are for likely ranges from the current site.
S: Shell only
Pottery tempered with shell and no/very little sand is the earliest type from the site. The moderate shell tempering, often burnt out during firing leaving voids, ranges up to 1mm across. The fabric is usually low to medium fired and forms consists entirely of cooking pots and bowls. Such wares were probably made at a number of locations in the Weald though no kilns are known.
Date range: 1100-1200
S/S: Sand and shell
Pottery tempered with sand and shell marks a progression of ceramic technology though the wares overlap with the shell tempered wares. The fabric usually contains moderate to abundant fine/medium sand and sparse to moderate shell tempering to 1mm (often burnt out during firing leaving voids). The fabric is usually medium to well fired and vessels tend to be more competently formed. Vessels consists primarily of cooking pots and bowls though some unglazed jugs are known. Such wares are common in the Weald though only one kiln (at Potters Corner, Ashford) has to date been excavated.
Date range: 1150-1250/75
F/MS: Fine to medium sand.
Throughout the 13th century in the Weald there is a refinement in pottery manufacture with the transition to sand tempered wares made on a potter’s wheel. By the end of the 13th century most pottery is sand tempered. There are a range of fabrics in this group tempered with sparse to abundant fine to medium sand. The fabrics are usually medium to well fired and forms consists of cooking pots and bowls as well as glazed jugs, usually in the finer sand tempered fabrics. Such wares were probably made at a number of locations in the Weald, for example at Rye, though no local kilns are known.
Date range: 1225/1250-1350/75
LF/MS: Late fine sand
Throughout the 14th century there is continued refinement in pottery manufacture with fabrics becoming finer and, particularly after c. 1350 becoming harder fired. This is a gradual an uneven transition. This group of fabrics is tempered with sparse fine/medium sand and typically represents the beginning of the transition toward post-medieval ceramics. Forms consists of cooking pots and bowls and occasionally unglazed/sparsely glazed jugs and pitchers. Such wares were probably made at a number of locations in the Weald though no kilns are known.
Date range: 1350/75-1450/75
HFE: High-Fired earthenwares
A range of related fabrics including late C14th to early C15th medium-fired silty wares as well as the more common hard-fired sparse fine to sparse/moderate fine/medium sand tempered vessels. These can either be deliberately oxidized orange or reduced to have dark grey/black surfaces. These wares are typical of the true transitional period between the medieval and post-medieval periods. The vessels are always well made and usually highly fired. Forms consist of jars/cooking pots (though this is a period when cooking with metal vessels was becoming more common) and large jugs/pitchers. A number of small production sites are known of in the Weald, including Hareplain, Biddenden (by far the closest), Boreham Street and Hartfield though there are likely to be many more as yet unexcavated ones. Although these wares begin in the later C14th and continue into the C17th they are at there most common in the early Tudor period, between 1450 and 1550.
Date range: 1375/1450-1550/1600
GRE: Glazed red earthenwares (early)
As the C16th progressed lower fired earthenwares, glazed to a greater or lesser extent on their interiors, increase in numbers. This is really the advent of the true post-medieval tradition. The range of vessels increases too as the use of pottery alters with more being created for use at the table rather than primarily for cooking. Jars, bowls, tripod pipkin (cooking vessels with three feet), jugs, storage jars, mugs, cups and plates are common. The fabrics are usually tempered with rare to sparse fine sand and normally fired to various shades of orange (though reduced grey examples are also present). Glazes are usually clear (glazing to red/brown due to the iron in the clay) or green (by the addition of copper). Some of the metallic glazes are present from Smarden, which are quite typical of the 17th century. These wares were made at numerous small potters workshops around the Weald. The wares represent the most common pottery type in households from the 16th to mid 18th centuries.
Date range: 1525/50-1800
BORD: Borderware-type ware
During the 16th to early 18th centuries a large pottery industry was working across the Surrey/Hampshire border producing a wide range of medium fired earthenwares. Although London was the primary market the wares are to be found all round the South-East. Both iron-rich (red-firing) and iron-free (white firing) clay was used to produce a typically wide range of pot types as noted for the local glazed red earthenwares. It is usually the white, or off-white, vessels that are recognized in the Weald. They are always well made and glazed. Glazing is usually clear (firing to yellow) or green (with copper added) though brown glazes (with iron added) are also quite common.
Date range: 1550-1800
WB: Wealden buff earthenwares
Although the majority of the local potteries during the early post-medieval period were producing the glazed red earthenwares if whiter-firing clay (without the high iron-content) was available they would utilize it, probably in an attempt to copy the whitewares of the Boderware industry. They produced a similar range of vessels but is a distinctly buff/pink range of colours as opposed to the red/orange or off-white of the other main types of pottery. Glazes tend to be green. These wares must have been produced at a number of sites (such as Graffham in West Sussex) but the source of the pots from the Smarden area is not known.
Date range: 1550-1800
FREC: Frechen German stoneware
Stoneware from the Frechen industry in the Rhineland is one of the commonest imports during the early post-medieval period. It appears to travel well inland away from the ports and appears on sites of all social status. By far the most common vessel type are bottles, frequently with the embossed face-mask on the neck (Bellarmine bottles). All are salt-glazed, often with iron added to give a mottled brown finish.
Date range: 1550-1700
TGE: Tin-glazed earthenware
Tin-glazed earthenwares represent the start of refined pottery for the table. They are usually quite low-fired fine buff earthenwares with a thick opaque white glazed (due to the added tin) which provided a good background for hand-painted decoration. Although made on the Continent in the C16th the ware was not produced in England until the C17th. It continued in production into the C18th by which time the white tin-glaze often had a distinct blue tinge to it. Plates and bowls are the most common vessel tyes though it was also used for drug jars and ointment pots. The material from the site includes C17th plain white, white with blue hand-painted decoration and white with purple sponged decoration as well as the later C18th wares with blue-tinged glaze, including plain and blue hand-painted decoration.
Date range: 1600-1750/75
C18th wares
A range of wares are represented, though they are not differentiated on the Test-Pit tables, including the following
Glazed red earthenware (1675/1700-1800) – a continuation of the earlier local glazed red earthenware tradition though there is a tendency towards larger storage vessels and fabrics tend to be finer with better glazing. Some of the examples with metallic glaze may be of the C17th though this type did continue into the C18th.
Jackfield-type ware (1675-1800) – a black glazed red earthenware.
Staffordshire combed slipware (1650 – 1850) – a buff earthenware with two layers of coloured slip on the vessel interiors, usually combed through to create a feathered pattern. Plates and bowls are the most common types.
London stoneware (1680 – 1800) – usually an iron-washed (brown) salt-glazed stoneware with notable black iron oxide inclusions in the fabric. Tavern pots and tankards are the most common vessel types.
Basaltes (1770 – 1870) – a matt black slip-moulded refined stoneware. The most common vessels are teapots, usually highly decorated.
White salt-glazed stoneware (1720 – 1780) – a white stoneware made in Staffordshire with fine salt glaze. This was far superior to the tin-glazed earthenwares. The most common vessel types consist of plates, though bowls, mugs and jugs are also common.
Creamware (1760 – 1840) – This represents the first mass-produced tableware and was more affordable than anything before. Early creamware has a notable yellow/creamy tinge to the glaze though vessels got paler through time. A full range of table and teawares was produced.
C19th wares
A range of wares are represented, though they are not differentiated on the Test-Pit tables, including the following
Unglazed red earthenware – usually flower pots
Glazed red earthenware (late) – a continuation of the local industry with a refinement of fabrics and glazes
English stoneware (inc. examples with Bristol glaze from the 2nd half of the C19th) – typically ink and ginger beer bottles.
Blue stoneware – plates and bowls are the typical forms.
Midlands slipware (late) – red earthenware bowls with internal white slip are the most typical form and were common in most Victorian kitchens.
Yellow ware – a range of bowls, chamber pots, oven dishes, jugs usually with blue mocha decoration are typical of the Victorian kitchen.
Industrial slipwares – these are usually in the form of bowls, measuring jugs and tankards.
Plain pearlware – earthenwares with a blue tinge to the glaze. A full range of table and teawares are present, most notably plain plates with blue shell-edge decoration.
Transfer-printed pearlware – as above but with blue (occasionally other colours) transfer-printed decoration including willow-pattern.
Plain china – refined white earthenware with no tinge to the glaze. These develop from the pearlware.
Transfer-printed china – As above but with blue, black, purple, green, red, brown transfer-printed decoration.
English porcelain – All of the material from the site is of typical ‘low-grade’ English porcelain which can be found in Victorian household assemblages of low to middle class.
Details of clay pipes are given in individual test-pits.
Test-Pit 1
Context S/S F/MS HFE TGE WB FREC C18thwares C19thwares C. Pipe DateRange
1 2/28g 1/10g 1/4g 6/52g 116/402g 7/14g 1500-1900
2 1/4g 1/3g 1/10g 5/14g 85/182g 1/3g 1275-1900
3 1/3g 2/30g 1700-1900
4 1/8g 4/86g 32/58g 2/6g 1200-1900
5 7/14g 1800-1900
The earliest occupation is represented by a single C13th- cooking pot base sherd of S/S (4). There is also a sherd of F/MS cooking pot of the late C13th to mid C14th (2). There are notable quantities of HFE from the later C15th to C16th centuries as well as C17th activity as represented by the TGE, WB and Frech sherds. The C18th is also well represented with glazed red earthenwares, Jackfield ware, London stoneware, white salt-glazed stoneware and creamware. There is a dramatic increase in the amount of pottery during the C19th and this material is represented in all excavated contexts. The clay pipe includes material of the early 18th to 19th centuries.
Test-Pit 2
Context S S/S F/MS LF/MS HFE FREC TGE GRE C18th C19thpot C. Pipe C19thchim DateRange
1 2/8g 10/44g 1700-1900
2 51/280g 1/2g 1800-1900
3 1/3g 59/260g 6/12g 20/1152g 1300-1900
4 1/2g 4/4g 47/178g 8/14g 5/143g 1450-1900
5 1/10g 6/20g 48/90g 1450-1900
6 1/8g 5/22g 3/7g 11/36g 5/11g 6/16g 9/17g 1300-1900
7 1/38g 18/86g 1/4g 6/15g 2/4g 4/3g 12/29g 1350-1900
8 3/11g 6/13g 2/8g 1/4g 1200-1750
9 1/7g 2/4g 1/3g 3/1g 1100-1900
20 2/2g 1800-1900
The earliest occupation is represented by a single abraded mid C12th- to early C13th- shell tempered cooking pot rim sherd (9). However, there is a notable quantity of S/S cooking pot sherds of the late C12th to mid C13th (8) and F/MS cooking pot ang jug sherds of mid C13th- to mid C14th- date suggesting notable medieval activity. There are also sherds of LF/MS, including a jug strap handle (7) indicating continual activity in the C14th to C15th. The presence of notable quantities of HFE show quite intense activity throughout the mid C15th to C16th centuries. The later C16th to C17th period is also represented, though on a lesser scale by some glazed red earthenware, tin-glazed earthenware and Frechen stoneware. A similar quantity of material is present for the C18th including more glazed red earthenware, London stoneware, white salt-glazed stoneware, creamware and basalts. There is a dramatic increase in the amount of pottery during the C19th and this material is represented in virtually all excavated contexts though it is probably intrusive in the lowest (9) which would otherwise appear to be of C16th- date. The clay pipe includes a high proportion of C17th- material (notably from contexts 6 and 7) though C18th- and C19th- pipes are present in all contexts down to context 7.
Test-Pit 3
Context F/MS HFE FREC TGE C18th C19th C. Pipe DateRange
2 22/77g 1800-1900
*3 33/244g 1800-1900
*3 15/84g 53/686g 1750-1900
4 1/2g 20/132g 1300-1900
5 1/5g 1/10g 5/19g 1450-1800
* two separate bags labeled Context 3 – I suspect one is in fact Context 1…!!!
The earliest occupation is represented by a single F/MS cooking pot sherd of probable C14th- date (4). There are equally small quantities of C16th- to C17th- material but more is notable for the C18th. The latter includes a number of sherds from a single late TGE plate decorated with blue which may have been discarded in the C19th. However, there is also a little creamware and glazed red earthenware of C18th- date. There is a dramatic increase in the amount of pottery during the C19th and this material is represented in all but the lowest excavated context where the latest material was of C18th- date. No clay pipe was noted in this test-pit (*probably not given to me at the end of the day!).
Test-Pit 4
Context S/S F/MS HFE FREC C18th C19thpot C. Pipe DateRange
1 1/1g 1/2g 1/1g 18/60g 2/2g 1250-1900
2 1/2g 2/6g 7/36g 1/6g 52/216g 6/6g 1150-1900
3 1/5g 22/143g 6/11g 1700-1900
4 2/5g 8/38g 2/4g 1250-1550
5 2/7g 5/100g 2/1g 1250-1800
The earliest occupation is represented by a single C13th- cooking pot body sherd of S/S (2). There are however, a notable number of F/MS cooking pot sherds of the late C13th to C14th suggesting this was the main period for the onset of activity. There are notable quantities of HFE from the C15th to C16th centuries, including a large unabraded sherd from context 5. The sherds of Frechen stoneware may well be of the mid C16th (though they may be earlier Raeren stoneware). The next period of activity appears to be the C18th, which is represented by a small but notable quantity of glazed red earthenware, London stoneware and creamware. There is a dramatic increase in the amount of pottery during the C19th and this material is represented in all but the lowest two excavated contexts. It is likely the two chips of C18th- material in context 5 are intrusive. As such, the lowest two contexts in this test-pit were probably not deposited after the mid C16th. The clay pipe includes material of the C17th (context 3) as well as the C18th to C19th centuries (contexts 1 to 3).
Test-Pit 5
Context F/MS HFE FREC C18th C19thpot C. Pipe DateRange
1 1/12g 2/3g 26/134g 1/1g 1550-1900
2 1/8g 6/24g 53/150g 7/6g 1450-1900
3 1/4g 3/20g 67/152g 6/10g 1450-1900
4 1/5g 3/26g 1/4g 3/3g 2/3g 1250-1900
The earliest occupation is represented by a single F/MS C14th- cooking pot body sherd (4). There are a number of HFE sherds of mid C15th- to mid C16th- date suggesting this was a period of increased activity. The later C16th to C17th is represented by a single sherd of Frechen bottle. However, there is another increase in activity during the mid/later C18th with a notable number of glazed red earthenware, white salt-glazed stoneware and creamware sherds being present. There is a dramatic increase in the amount of pottery during the C19th and this material is represented in all excavated contexts though that in context 4 may be intrusive. The clay pipe includes material of the 17th to 19th centuries mixed throughout all of the contexts.
Test-Pit 6
Context S/S F/MS LF/MS HFE FREC C18thpot C19thpot C. Pipe DateRange
1 1/6g 11/16g 1/1g 1450-1900
2 4/28g 2/2g 29/64g 4/16g 1450-1900
3 1/1g 1/2g 1/1g 21/46g 10/18g 1350-1900
4 3/30g 1/2g 4/5g 37/106g 16/30g 1250-1900
5 7/26g 2/6g 2/2g 7/30g 4/6g 1150-1900
6 4/6g 1/2g 1/1g 1150-1900
The earliest occupation is represented by a notable quantity of C13th- cooking pot sherds, including one with a triangular club rim (context 5). One of these sherds, from context 6, is quite low fired and may be of the second half of the C12th. There are also a notable number of F/MS cooking pot sherds of mid C13th- to mid C14th- date clearly showing a continuation of activity. Although there is only one LF/MS sherd of mid C14th- to C15th- date there is an increase in the number of sherds of the mid C15th- to C16th- with moderate quantities of HFE. It is quite possible the Frechen sherd belongs to the latter part of this period. The C18th is well represented with small quantities of glazed red earthenwares, creamware and basaltes. There is a dramatic increase in the amount of pottery during the C19th and this material is represented in all excavated contexts. However, the post-medieval pottery in context 6 is likely to be intrusive suggesting this deposit is of C13th- date. The clay pipe from context 5 is all of C18th- date though the layers above this level have a mix of C17th- to C19th- pipe fragments.
Test-Pit 7
Context HFE FREC GRE TGE C18thpot C19thpot C. Pipe DateRange
1 8/28g 2/6g 29/104g 7/16g 1450-1900
2 1/14g 1/10g 1/1g 10/22g 81/300g 6/14g 1450-1900
3 5/30g 2/10g 1/6g 8/34g 8/26g 6/26g 1450-1900
4 3/28g 2/4g 2/1g 1/6g 1500-1900
5 1/2g 1700-1750
The earliest occupation is represented by notable quantities of later C15th- to C16th- HFE jar/pitcher sherds suggesting that occupation was quite intense at this time. The later C16th to C17th is represented on a lesser scale by some glazed red earthenware, frechen stoneware and purple-sponged TGE. Occupation is well represented for the C18th with a number of glazed red earthenware, London stoneware, white salt-glazed stoneware and creamware sherds. There is a dramatic increase in the amount of pottery during the C19th and this material is represented in all excavated contexts. The C19th- material in context 4 is probably intrusive suggesting this layer to be of C17th- date. The lowest fragment of clay pipe, dated to the early C18th, may be intrusive in context 5. Context 4 above contains a single C17th- stem fragment, while context 3 contains two mid/late C17th- and four C18th- fragments. Above this level there is a mix of C17th- to C19th- pipe fragments.
Test-Pit 8
Context HFE C18th C19thpot C. Pipe DateRange
1 1/7g 1/7g 23/119g 1/4g 1450-1900
2 8/30g 1800-1900
3 1/8g 2/20g 3/10g 1400-1900
The earliest occupation is represented small numbers of mid C15th- to mid C16th- HFE sherds indicating the start date of activity. The next period represented by the pottery is the late C17th to C18th where a few sherds of Staffordshire combed slipware and London stoneware (inc. a tavern pot) indicate continued activity. There is a notable increase in the amount of pottery during the C19th and this material is represented in all excavated contexts. The clay pipe consists of a single C19th- stem fragment.
Test-Pit 9
Context LF/MS HFE FREC TGE C18thpot C19thpot C. Pipe DateRange
1 1/3g 3/4g 6/4g 8/18g 1450-1900
2 1/3g 1/1g 6/18g 2/3g 1550-1900
3 1/12g 1/2g 1350-1800
The earliest occupation is represented by a single mid C14th- to C15th- cooking pot body sherd. There is also slight evidence of continued activity in the mid C15th to 16th centuries in the form of a single sherd of HFE. Activity in the later C16th to C17th is also not well represented but this period did produce a little Frechen stoneware and TGE. The C18th is represented by small quantities of pottery again, including glazed red earthenware, white salt-glazed stoneware and creamware. There is a slight increase in the amount of pottery during the C19th and this material is represented in all but the lowest excavated context. The lowest piece of clay pipe recovered consists of an C18th- bowl fragment though this may be intrusive in which case this deposit could be of mid C14th- to mid C15th- date. The clay pipe from contexts 1 and 2 is a mixture of c17th- to C19th- fragments.
Test-Pit 10
Context F/MS LF/MS HFE FREC BORD? TGE GRE C18thpot C19thpot C. Pipe DateRange
1 2/6g 1/8g 36/154g 4/8g 1450-1900
2 4/32g 4/20g 1/8g 1/6g 9/20g 254/1,004g 12/30g 1350-1900
3 2/8g 3/9g 1/2g 1/5g 7/22g 123/404g 1350-1900
4 2/12g 10/42g 14/74g 1/8g 6/36g 7/28g 89/316g 1250-1900
The earliest occupation is represented by two sherds of F/MS cooking pot of late C13th- to mid C14th- date (context 4). However, this test-pit also produced significant quantities of mid C14th- to mid C15th- LF/MS sherds including cooking pots and glazed jugs. As such it is likely quite intense activity began in the C14th, perhaps toward the middle of that century. Activity appears to have continued at quite a dense level judging by the quantities on mid C15th- to C16th- HFE sherds recovered. The later C16th to C17th is also well represented with quantities of glazed red earthenware, Borderware-type, Frechen stoneware and TGE. Activity appears to have continued at a similar pace during the C18th, with notable quantities of glazed red earthenware, Jackfield ware, London stoneware, basalts and creamware. There is a dramatic increase in the amount of pottery during the C19th and this material is significantly represented in all excavated contexts showing c19th- disturbance to the base of the excavation. The clay pipe includes a mix of C17th- to C19th- material from the upper two contexts only.
Test-Pit 11
Context GRE DateRange
1 1/6g 1500-1600
4 Not pot -
This test-pit produced a single sherd of low-fired earthenware (probably originally glazed) of C16th- date.
Conclusion:
The earliest pottery from the test-pits is probably of the 2nd half of the C12th. However, it is not until the C13th that there appears to be significant activity in some test-pits. This continues in many in the C14th to early C15th and indeed, in some, this is when activity appears to start. There is a notable rise in activity from the mid C15th to C16th in most test-pits, and indeed this is the earliest activity in some. It is quite likely this is the result of the importance of the Wealden cloth industry at this time. Activity in the later C16th to C18th remains at a moderate level with a sharp upturn in refuse disposal in virtually all test-pits in the C19th.