2024 Season Results: Maltings Site

A tale of two kilns, and other archaeology from the malt house trench

Last season a smaller team of volunteers worked with the team on the malting site trench. The main focus was on the two newly exposed kilns, 4 and 5, as with the carpark trench taking some of the extra volunteers, we were able to focus our time and energy on these key features. For more information on the work done on the site up until this point, please visit our Early Medieval Malting Trench page.

Kiln 4

At the bottom of the hill, work on kiln 4 began in the 2023 season and the first quadrant on the southwest side was by far the easiest as we had a clear edge to the kiln that could be followed. However, in 2024 we had a more difficult task. There were two choices; the first was to continue working from the known and taking out half of the kiln as we had for kiln 3, or the second more difficult option to try to take out the opposite quadrant, for which we had no edge and the collapsed daub extended beyond the kiln. In the end, after discussions with team and volunteers on site, we decided to go with the more challenging option, and the volunteers who worked on the kiln worked eagerly and meticulously on the northeast quadrant.

Excavating kiln 4

Kiln 4

The volunteers started by taking out a small area of large daub fragments, closest to the other quadrant, before moving both north and east, removing the daub to expose the burnt soil or clay. We at least knew the rough shape and size of the kiln, as well as the depth, i.e. deeper than nearby kiln 3 but not as deep as kiln 2. There was the extra complication introduced by the presence of a step, also seen during excavations of Kilns 2 and 3.

The daub that came out of the kiln, like in the 2023 season, were larger than that found in the other kiln and there were slightly more burnt and charred grains found, probably related to the fact that the kilns were open ended. By the end of the season we had mostly uncovered the extent of the kiln and step. You can see a 3D model of the kiln here.

Kiln 5

Located at the tip of the hill is our kiln 5. The last couple of years we have spent time trying to find the outline of the kiln itself, however the spread of daub was not clear and there were only traces of edges. More on the reason for this later.

This year we decided we need to be a bit more pro-active and actually start working on a quadrant. The southeast quadrant was chosen as it had the clearest edge, although even that was as clear as mud, and the volunteers started work removing daub from inside the kiln. However this daub was heavily degraded and compacted, and nothing like previous kilns. As such, despite the enthusiasm and determination of the volunteer, the going was slow as each spit removed led to discussion and debates as to whether we had gone far enough.

Over the season the excavation seemed to reach the base of the kiln however there was no clear daub lining to the kiln. The big question is whether there was ever a clay lining, or has this degraded, perhaps even in the past, to the point where it has lost its strength. There was only very small quantities of grain found within the kiln, relative to other features on the site.

What everyone agreed was that Kiln 5 is turning out to be the most complicated one to excavate. Although it being the last in the sequence of kilns on the site, and probably represents the last malting in the gully, it may turn out to be the most interesting and informative.

Other features and work

While the two kilns were the main focus, we still have other parts of the site to explore and understand. At the top of the hill, to the east of kiln 5, there were deposits and layers that over the years have been hard to explain. So this year we decided to extend a few of the earlier slots into the area to see if we could see the features in section. This revealed the presence of two E-W ditches and the southern one contained a significant proportion of daub. It also seemed to run underneath and beyond kiln 5 all the way to the new extension. Kiln 5 appears to have been cut into this daub filled ditch. This now explains why finding the kiln edges has been so tricky, as whereas with all other kilns they have been fairly obvious in the subsoil, this one is surrounded by debris from most likely an earlier malthouse. The ditch is also cut into what we believe is a hill wash that has covered what may be malt house 0, still yet to be excavated.

Alexa digging the ditch fill

Ditches

E-W ditches

More work was carried out in the steeping tank area. This revealed that there were two phases of activity within the tank. The floor surface at some stage, after a burn event, was extended. This was most likely to increase its capacity which may indicate that the malting site was getting more active.

Steeping tank layers

The excavation of kiln 2 continued as various volunteers worked to dissect the kiln and gather as much information they could in the process. We knew that there had been a later repair of the kiln, however the work by the volunteers revealed that this repair was after a catastrophic fail, as two sides of the kiln had to be replaced. They could not however use a normal frame with both horizontal and vertical wattle, due to the location of the damage, instead they used just vertical wattle and a much thicker clay. It is unknown how long the kiln functioned after this repair but it would likely have resulted in a weaker structure, and may ultimately have resulted in disaster for the malthouse. You can see a 3D model of kiln 2 here.

Finally more work was carried out on kiln 3; it was time to start sectioning the kiln itself. Having learnt lessons from the work on kiln 2 we started with the walls, but then decided to cut through the base as well. This produced a lovely section, and helps us understand the sequence of construction. We now know that they dug the hole for the kiln and placed the frame in, which went up against the soil. The floor and sides of the kiln were applied in one piece, the section clearly showed that the frame was not placed in the clay base. During this work we also found a new post hole to the north of the kiln. You can see a 3D model of kiln 3 here.

Kiln 3

Planning for next year

This season the plan for the malting site is to continue work on the kilns, and if we have more volunteers we will also continue work on the top of the hill where we have the E-W ditch. We will dig a sondage to determine once and for all whether there is a steeping tank associated with kiln 3, and remove the clay surface to look for post holes potentially associated with malthouse 4.

Off-site we will be starting a daub project for which we have applied for some funding for new equipment, including a 3D scanner, to work through the large collection of daub we have. Early work has been carried out on the daub which showed that many pieces have technological features that don’t match our understanding of the dome structure. There are also a significant number of pieces with finger marks, animal prints, and other tool marks. We would like to classify the daub, record it more thoroughly, and potentially digitise some of the collection. This we hope will help us create an overall archiving policy for the material, and may even allow us to create a reconstruction of the kilns at Sedgeford.

We are looking forward to welcoming the volunteers back to the site, and continuing to explore the mysteries surrounding malting in Middle Anglo-Saxon Sedgeford.

Written by Eleanor Blakelock