St. John's School, Glastonbury, Somerset : Archaeomagnetic Dating Report 2003

Author(s): Paul Linford

During October 2003, an archaeological excavation at St. John’s School in Glastonbury uncovered a sunken feature composed of fired clay that appeared to be the remains of a bell casting pit. Pottery from its fill dated from the 11th to 12th centuries AD and pieces of tap slag found in the vicinity suggested associated iron working. On analysis, the fabric of the feature did not exhibit evidence of any strong local perturbing field due to cooling iron slag as is often observed in iron furnaces. It was thus possible to obtain a precise archaeomagnetic date for its last firing. This date, at the end of the 11th century AD, is consistent with the pottery evidence.

Report Number:
99/2003
Series:
CfA Reports
Pages:
21
Keywords:
Archaeomagnetism

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