Industry and the Making of a Rural Landscape: Iron and pottery production at Churchills Farm, Hemyock, Devon

This book presents the results of excavation and analysis of technological remains from the Devon village of Hemyock, on the north-west side of the Blackdown Hills. The first major subject covered is an examination of early medieval iron technology including the largest group of C14-dated furnaces of the late 9th to early 10th centuries in Britain, which has afforded a re-examination and modelling of all other dated examples in the UK, and a review of technological change in iron production. The second major element to this volume is the study of a later major pottery production centre, dated c. 1500-1550, using a combination of microscopic and macroscopic petrology, ICP-MS and QEMSCAN in novel analysis of over 50,000 sherds. The final chapter considers evidence for the contemporary landscape context of and historical framework behind these industries, the relationship with extraction sites, and the wider environmental impacts that they had.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures List of Tables List of Contributors Abstract Chapter 1. Introduction Chris Smart Situation and Topography Discovery and Investigation Historical Background Archaeological Background Chapter 2. Excavation 2008 Chris Smart Areas of Investigation Archive General State of Preservation of Deposits Stratigraphic Record Ninth/Tenth Centuries Tenth to Twelfth Centuries Area A Pits Gullies Area B Pits Gullies Area C Ditches Area D Gullies Late Medieval c. 1500-1550 Area A Pits Gullies and Ditches Area D Undated Area A Area B Area C Area D Chapter 3. Radiocarbon Dating Peter Marshall, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Elaine Dunbar and Paula Reimer Aims of the Dating Programme Sample Selection Radiocarbon Laboratory Methods Radiocarbon Results Radiocarbon Calibration Interpretation Chronological Modelling Iron Working in the Blackdown Hills The Chronology of Post-Roman Iron Working: A Review Woodstown, Ireland Knockbrack, Co. Kerry Ireland South Hook Burlescombe Dunkeswell Culmstock Road, Hemyock Clearwell, Quarry Emersons Green, Gloucestershire Worget Bestwall Quarry Ramsbury, Wiltshire Rockingham Forest Wakerley, Northamptonshire Fineshade Abbey, Northamptonshire Wittering: Bonemills Farm, Cambridgeshire Millbrook, Sussex Rook Hall, Site 2, Essex Conclusions Chapter 4. The Iron Industry Tim Young Introduction The Nature of the Evidence General Description and Affinities of the Slag Pit Furnaces Details and Sampling of the Slag-Pit Furnaces Furnace [756] (undated) Furnace [776] (dated by charcoal samples OxA-27885 and SUERC-45861) Furnace [787] (dated by charcoal samples UBA-22703 and OxA-27886) Furnace [794] (dated by charcoal samples SUERC-45863 and UBA-22704, as well as cereal grains SUERC-56929 and UBA 27273) Furnace [799] (dated by charcoal samples SUERC-56930 and UBA 27274) General description and affinities of the slag tapping furnaces (see Figures 14-17 in Chapter 2) Details and Sampling of the Slag Tapping Furnaces Furnace [758] (dated by charcoal sample OxA-27884) Furnace [771] (dated by charcoal samples OxA-28004 and UBA-22707) Furnace [789] (dated by charcoal samples OxA-27977 and SUERC-45859 from the proximal section of the tapping channel) Furnace [792] (dated by charcoal samples SUERC-56928 and UBA 27270) Details and Sampling of the Possible Furnaces (see Figure 18 in Chapter 2) 'Furnace' [778] (dated by charcoal samples SUERC-45862 and UBA-22705, together with cereal grains SUERC-56927 and UBA 27275) 'Furnace' [805] (dated by charcoal samples SUERC-56931 and UBA 27271) Details and Sampling of Other Slag-Bearing Features Pit [675] (dated by charcoal samples UBA-22706 and SUERC-45860) Pit [556] (dated by charcoal samples SUERC-56923 and UBA 27272; Upper Greensand-Derived pottery also present) The Organic Remains from the Furnace Deposits Potential Technological Influences Non-tapping Furnaces of the Sixth to Tenth Centuries in Britain and Their Origins Slag Tapping Furnaces of the Sixth to Tenth Centuries in Britain and Their Origins The Furnaces of the Eighth to Tenth Century Wessex The Residues Distribution of the Residues Description of the Residues Residues from Non-slag Tapping Furnaces Furnace Bottoms Flow Slags Slag 'Puddles' Residues from Slag Tapping Furnaces Tapped Slags (Tapslags) Furnace Slags Methods of Scientific Analysis Microstructure Details of Sampled Materials: Materials from Non-tapping Processes HCF1 to HCF4 ((757)/[756]) HCF5 and HCF6 ((787)/[788]) HCF7 to HCF11 ((795)/[794]) HCF12 to HCF15 ((781)/[778]) Details of Sampled Materials: Materials from Early Tapping Processes HCF16 to HCF17 ((793)/[792]) HCF18 to HCF20 ((772)/[771]) HCF21 to HCF22 ((759)/[758]) HCF23 to HCF24 ((790)/[789]) Details of Sampled Materials: Materials from Late Tapping Processes HCF25 ((676)/[675]) HCF26 to HCF28 ((557)) HCF29 to HCF30 ((557)) Chemical Composition of Sampled Materials Bulk Composition Micro-variation in Composition Variation in Olivine Composition Interpretation of the Residues Furnace Mass Balance and Yield Ore Source Alloys and the Significance of Phosphorus Chapter 5. The Pottery Industry John Allan, David Dawson and Graham Langman, with contributions from Jens C.Ø. Andersen, A.G. Collings, M.J. Hughes, Laurence Keen, Oliver Kent, Sarah Newstead, Gavyn K. Rollinson, Roger T. Taylor and Matt Tompkins Introduction Methodology Medieval Documentary Evidence Matt Tompkins Later Documentary and Cartographic Evidence for Pottery Production around Hemyock A.G. Collings Context of the Assemblage Composition of the Assemblage Broad Categories of Ceramics Domestic Wares Catalogue Pit [715] Pit [589] Miscellaneous contexts and forms Architectural Ceramics Ridge Tiles Louvers Oven Tiles Function of the 'Oven Tiles' Floor-Tiles The Paving-Tiles Laurence Keen The Tile Groups Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Discussion Group 1 Techniques of Manufacture and Laying

About the Author :
Chris Smart is an archaeologist at the University of Exeter, specialising in the landscapes of Roman and medieval Britain. His research interests are centred on the role of past societies in shaping agricultural and industrial landscapes. He has led fieldwork on Roman military and elite sites, and medieval mining and processing centres, in South West Britain. Contributors: Tim Young, John Allan, David Dawson, M.J. Hughes, Roger T. Taylor, Sarah Newstead, Jens C.Ø. Andersen, Gavyn K. Rollinson, Dana Challinor, Julie Jones, Peter Marshall, Matt Tompkins, A.G. Collings, Laurence Keen, Graham Langman, Oliver Kent, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Elaine Dunbar, Paula Reimer

Review :
'This is an important report and one that deserves to be widely read. The methodology and techniques presented should be adopted and adapted to regional and national research agendas for Medieval archaeology.' Bob Croft, Medieval Archaeology, Vol 64 (1), August 2020 '.impressive volume.The scientific analyses are reported expansively.a major contribution to our understanding of two rural industries in the Middle Ages'. Bob Silvester, Medieval Settlement Research, Volume 34, November 2019 'The volume as a whole makes a valuable contribution both to knowledge of Saxon Devon and of early modern South Somerset/East Devon potting.' Henrietta Quinnell, Devon Archaeological Society Newsletter, September 2018 'This is an interesting site in terms of the industries taking place and the date range. It will be a useful volume for archaeologists working in the area, and for discussions of the iron and pottery industries on a national level.' Reviewer, Historic England 'A very comprehensive account.' Reviewer, Historic England