Second oven found at Anglo-Saxon site dig
BBCArchaeologists have uncovered a second oven during their fourth dig at a "significant" Anglo-Saxon site.
The field, near Felton in Northumberland, has been popular with metal detectorists for years and objects discovered there include the first oven unearthed in 2024 alongside unbaked loom weights used to stretch thread during weaving.
Dr Jane Harrison, of Community Archaeology North, said of the previous inhabitants: "Not only did they produce beautiful artwork, they were also really organised, producing everything needed for the local estate."
Archaeology found at the site dates from the sixth to the ninth centuries with items including lead gaming pieces from the Viking era discovered.
"We actually have very little Anglo-Saxon archaeology in Northumberland despite the glories of Yeavering, Lindisfarne and Bamburgh so this is a really significant site," Harrison said.
The archaeologist explained: "What we know now is that they were making loom weights out of clay and weaving cloth for the local economy.
"The loom weights are huge so it would have been heavy duty cloth for tents or possibly even sails.
"It would have been a meeting place, a hub, a busy site with people coming and going."
Kathryn Murphy, also from Community Archaeology North, said: "This year we've got the second oven.
"We've also found more big pits, possibly another timber-built building, so there's a lot more going on here than we possibly thought before."
Volunteer Steve Lowe from Whitley Bay is finding out "a little more about our local history" on his second dig at the site.
"The appeal is that you can be the first person to see something that has been buried for thousands or hundreds of years at the very least," he said.
"Seeing the industrial nature of this site has been fantastic.
"Every year we find something different."
