July 2006 – Crucibles and a Furnace
July 2006 – Crucibles and a Furnace
July 2006 – Crucibles and a Furnace
Since my last diary we have cleaned up the areas around the lime ash floor of the Hovel, prior to making a plan for our data bank.
There were areas that had decayed or maybe been damaged by the bulldozer in the 1950's. There was however an area of floor that had been purposefully cut out in order to make a bowl shaped depression in the shale layer beneath.
The fine coal dust all over this depression showed us it had been a smelting fire.
Smelting
Smelting small amounts of tin that had been panned from streams in Cornwall was a common way of earning a little extra money, until probably the turn of the century. The smelters washed the tin dust and mixed it with powdered coal to smelt the metal in small crucibles.
Cornish crucibles vary in size, but most are the size of a teacup. The most common in this area are called Calenick crucibles and come from the creek at the end of the stream that borders our site.
These Calenick crucibles were first made in the 1770's by Henry Rosewarne who set up a pottery next to the Calenick Smelting house.
The Calenick works continued production until 1891 when production stopped in the smelting house.
Crucibles were sold in sets or nests each fitting into one another like a Russian doll. We find this type of used crucibles in the topsoil all around the site.
This also tells us that the hovel must have already lost its roof when the smelting was taking place. This is because tin smelting has to be done in the open air because of the arsenic fumes released during the smelting process.
Unfinished work
Last week we decided to look at an area on the main site that was not finished last season.
We call this 'area K' and it is quite close to the site of the miller's house which has now completely disappeared. The house is shown on an 1840's map of the site so we know exactly where it was.
If you would like to know more about archaeology and how to get started then take a few minutes to visit Jacqui Wood's own website at: Archaeology Online out.
Pottery Find
As we started excavating a rubble fill next to a green clay feature we found some pottery which is dated to the early 17th century.
This rubble was probably put down when the mill house was built to fill in the bumpy land to make a track way to the dwelling.
This coming month we are going to remove this stony fill to find out what prehistoric features may be left underneath.
Green clay scoops
The final picture shows some interesting scooped out features in the green clay beneath the rubble.
We plan to excavate this area when our field school starts. The field school is open to anyone who wants to experience the excitement of an excavation. Not just university students!
All ages above 16 are welcome and having no experience is definitely not a problem as you will be taught everything you need to know.
If you fancy an interesting week or two's holiday in Cornwall come and join us at Saveock. Just click on my website to find all the information you need.
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