Medieval pottery workshop — with pieces still in the oven — found in France. See it
A collection of pots sat in a brick oven in northern France, but these weren’t school art projects. These 400-year-old artifacts were buried several feet below the ground and forgotten — until now.
Archaeologists excavated a medieval site in Montreuil-sur-Mer known for its once-flourishing trade over the past year, the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research said in a May 2 news release.
About six feet down, archaeologists uncovered a relatively intact brick oven — and found a forgotten medieval pottery workshop.
The workshop operated from the late 16th century into the early 17th century and primarily made sandstone products for cooking, officials said.
The 400-year-old workshop had two kilns, or ovens for firing pottery. The main furnace was shaped like an almond and made of bricks, archaeologists said. Inside were several almost complete pottery pieces and a variety of pottery waste.
Photos show the inside of the main furnace before and after being dismantled.
The second oven was smaller, older and likely unusable, archaeologists said. The kiln had no traces of heat damage. Instead, the medieval furnace was used as a dumping ground for pottery waste.
Traces of walls and buildings surrounded the medieval workshop, indicating it was likely an enclosed and covered space, officials said. The workshop was eventually abandoned, and other buildings were built on the site in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Archaeologists described the 400-year-old workshop as unprecedented because it is the only workshop of its kind in Montreuil-sur-Mer and the surrounding area.
Montreuil-sur-Mer, also known as Montreuil-on-the-Sea, is along the northern coast of France and a roughly 150-mile drive north from Paris.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap).
This story was originally published May 7, 2024 at 10:53 AM with the headline "Medieval pottery workshop — with pieces still in the oven — found in France. See it."
