Fig. 162.
Fig. 163.
Fig. 164.
Fig. 165.
Sepulchral Deposits, Colchester.
The potteries of the New Forest in Hampshire, for a lucid account of which we are indebted to Mr. Wise,[17] were of great extent, and, as is proved by the researches which have been made on their sites, of considerable importance. The potteries were noticed in 1853 by the Rev. J. P. Bartlett,[18] who prepared an account of his researches for the Society of Antiquaries, and since that period both that gentleman and Mr. Wise have with great success continued their explorations. The names of the localities where these ancient potteries exist—Crockle (crock kiln or crock hill) and Panshard—are highly suggestive. During the excavations kilns were found in a perfect state. The kiln at Crockle was circular, and measured six yards in circumference, its shape being well defined by small hand-formed masses of red brick-earth. The floor, about two feet below the natural surface of the ground, was paved with a layer of sand-stones, some of them cut into a circular shape so as to fit the kiln, the upper surfaces being tooled, whilst the under remained in their original state. At the potteries at Audenwood no kilns were discovered; but at Sloden, where the works cover several acres, “two large mounds marking the sites of kilns” are remaining, along with the sites of potters’ huts, &c. At Island Thorn more kilns and innumerable fragments of vessels of various kinds were discovered. In Pitts Enclosure, besides mounds opened by Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Wise discovered in one mound five kilns, ranged in a semicircle, and paved with irregular masses of sand-stone. They were close together, separated only by mounds of the natural soil. Besides fragments of various vessels, “two distinct heaps of white and fawn-coloured clay and red earth, placed ready for mixing, and a third of the two worked together, fit for the immediate use of the potter,” were found with these kilns.