Monument record WSF 012 - Grundle Farm

This Med site on Grundle Farm was located by Basil Brown when he partly excavated low wall on field in 1955 and again in 1945. This included large tooled stone embedded at floor level with a hole in it for drainage; Med pottery found. In August 1954, footing trenches were dug during erection of new house, and much C15-C16 pottery was found. Basil Brown started excavations and found a large 20 feet wide metalled road running E-W, with ditches on either side 6 feet wide x 4-5 feet deep. The road was made of chalk and marl with pieces of pottery rammed into the clay bed and the 4 foot wide base of the northern ditch had been paved with chalk and flint with dumps of pottery and wasters along it. The pottery was found in large amounts, both glazed and unglazed and was mixed with kiln wrappings and wasters - many boxes of which were excavated and stored at Watson's Potteries. Remains of a clamp kiln were found but only partly excavated due to land ownership boundaries. At the same time, Brown completely excavated the small rectangular room 6 feet x 10 feet which was floored with pink cement, where much more pottery was found. He notes that there are indications of a moat on this field and also indications of remains of buildings leading from the site to the farmhouse. Near the farmhouse, built on early foundations, a Med well exists and he assumed the whole complex to be part of the Manorial site of Giffords and Halleymote (S1)(S2)(S3)(S4)(S5). During the excavation, remains of at least two clamp kilns with pottery were found at TM 0123 7348 C, on the slope down into The Grundle, a hollow way - see WSF 009.
Basil Brown states that Roman and pre-historic sherds were found near these sites and the Med pottery held at SAU contains three sherds of Rom pottery, inluding fragment of a spindle whorl.