Description

Summary: 23 bags of fired clay, mostly non-ferrous metalworking debris, from Blackberry Field, Potterne, a late Bronze Age / early Iron Age settlement excavated by Lawson et al 1983-85.

Research results

An assemblage of fired clay found in late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age contexts at the midden site of Potterne. The group is largely composed of metal working debris, including hearth lining, 13 crucible sherds and fragments of three or four clay moulds. Middens such as that at Potterne are colossal build-ups of refuse such as animal bone and ceramic sherds probably associated with large scale, periodic feasting events held repeatedly at the same location during the later Bronze Age and Early Iron Age; whilst this material indicates that metal working was carried out at the site, this material is dwarfed by the animal bone and ceramic assemblages, suggesting it was not a large component of the site's function.

This material was discussed as part of the wider context of non-ferrous metal working in the MIddle Bronze Age to Early Iron Age by Webley, Adams and Bruck (2020). They argue that in this period there is relatively widespread evidence for small scale metalworking at a variety of settlement types, and thus argue for a decentralised model for its organisation, although this may not be the case for precious metal and high status objects such as shields and cauldrons.