Archaeologists unearth a ceramic workshop in Gagny
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Preventive archaeological excavations in Seine-Saint-Denis have brought to light a ceramic kiln from the 19e century as well as medieval and modern ruins.
It is a remarkable archaeological site that archaeologists from Inrap (Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) unearthed in the city center of Gagny in Seine-Saint-Denis. Here, the suburban houses are rapidly disappearing in favor of small buildings and this forced urbanization is bringing out of the ground sites and stories that have been buried for a long time. In this plot of 700m2, excavated since June, the remains of three eras coexist: medieval, modern and contemporary. But the most resounding of the finds is that of a workshop for the production of domestic ceramics from the end of the 19th century.e century.
“At its height, the ceramic workshop employed between sixty and eighty people”, enthuses Georges El Habib, chief archaeologist of the site. From this intense activity remains the red brick kiln, each stamped “RF” for French Republic, and a pit for storing the clay necessary for the manufacture of porcelain. The artisanal and pre-industrial infrastructure offers “shed light on the beginning of industrial life and its organization” reveals the archaeologist. “We are not necessarily looking for beautiful objects, but rather to learn more about the daily life of the people who worked on the site and their environment” explains the archaeologist.
He can nevertheless count for his research on the impressive quantity of artefacts taken from the site and which will be analyzed for two years by the Institute, before leaving for the national archives.
The Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Not far from the oven, it is a residence and a pleasure park that archaeologists have brought out of the ground. “It is assumed that in 1640 a wealthy businessman bought the land, to destroy the houses and enlarge his park” reveals Georges El Habib, scientific manager. The thesis is supported by the layer of garden soil and the digging of planting pits, still clearly visible on the ground. As for the house – a cellar, a well associated with two staircases as well as the ceramic furniture discovered – suggests that it was “for domestic use”.
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The medieval structures, dated to the Carolingian period (VIIIe -IXe centuries), are more difficult to see in the trenches dug by researchers. A silo pit, about ten postholes probably belonging to a building and a stony path dating from the Carolingian period (8th – 9th centuries) are the last traces of a life which, it seems, disappeared in a fire, as the agglomerate of cob and coals found on the spot suggests.
At the end of the archaeological excavations, planned until the end of August, the developer will be able to resume its construction work and the site will be reburied underground. The collected elements, once analyzed, will be grouped together with the research carried out on other archaeological sites in the sector. “This will allow to have a more precise idea of the history of the territory through the ages”, concludes the scientific manager.
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