A Note on the Terminology of Pottery Making Sites

When pottery manufacturing sites are referred to in the archaeological literature, they are, quite naturally, described as ’kiln sites’. This term is not only misleading, but it will be argued below that it has conditioned our attitude to the way in which we view such sites, and hence how we excavate them. The kiln and its associated waste debris is the most obvious evidence for a pottery making site once it has been disturbed. A settlement composed of timber-built structures, however, would never be described as a ‘post-hole site’. It is suggested that in future when the whole complex is being referred to, the term ‘production centre’, ‘pottery making site’ or terms of similar meaning should be used, and when referring to the products associated with a kiln, the terms ‘tenement’ or ‘workshop’ (in the sense of a group of potters working together and producing a similar product) should be adopted.