Pottemagerovnen i Fredsø

Resumé

The kiln of a potter in Fredsø
By Asmund Birkals and Per Bugge Vegger

In 1994, an excavation in a building structure in the countryside led to the uncovering of a small kiln construction in Fredsø on the island of Mors in the Limfjord. Repeated ploughing may have removed possible traces of a superstructure, but the contour of the kiln was quite distinct in the subsoil. The kiln was relatively small, about 80 × 80 cm, horizontally positioned with separate furnace and kiln chambers. The construction of the kiln cannot be compared with other known potter’s kilns in the Danish area, but must be designated as type 1 in Musty’s typology. The highly modest amount of pottery it contained indicates that the kiln only functioned for a brief period of time. Luminescence datings confirm a stylistically based dating of the earthenware to the 13th and 14th centuries.