A team of archaeologists have been working on the site of the former Caledonian Pottery at Farmeloan Road, Rutherglen for the past few weeks to build a picture of what life was like for local workers and ensure that important artefacts are protected for future generations.
Caledonian Potteries, one of three big industrial potteries in 19th century Glasgow, relocated to Rutherglen in the 1870s and on Saturday archaeologists will give visitors a tour of its former site.
Among the many items produced there over the years, possibly the most famous were Rockingham teapots – a must-have item for the aspiring household in the late 19th century and famed on the export markets of the time as the "Ru’glen Rockingham".
Visitors will be able to see for themselves how the excavation of the pottery buildings has revealed intricately built kiln bases.
The kilns sit in two parallel groups running from north to south, joined together by underground hot air flues. The team has also found what may be "puddling" tanks for the preparation of the clay.
Visitors will also be able to see some of the artefacts found, including clay bottles used for ginger beer as well as Hartley’s Jam jars - believed to be one of the main contracts the Caledonian Pottery had at the time.
As well as providing members of the public with a fascinating insight, the specialist archaeology team from HAPCA want to hear from people who recall the site in its productive years, had relatives who worked there or indeed may own one of the many clay pots or Rockingham teapots produced there.
The pottery closed in 1930, and the site was taken over by steelworks before being closed and the site abandoned in the early 1960’s.
Dr Carol Swanson, Service Manager for the West of Scotland Archaeology Service (WoSAS) who is supervising the work on behalf of the M74 project partners said:
"We are looking forward to seeing this innovative archaeological project combine traditional archaeological methods with the memories of those who can still recall working and living in the shadow of the area’s industries.
"We hope this two-way process can help us learn more about the lives the people who helped make Glasgow and its neighbouring towns so important in the eyes of the Victorian world ."
Councillor Chris Thompson, Chair of Enterprise Resources at South Lanarkshire Council, said:
"This is a wonderful opportunity for people to learn about some of the history of the area. It’s fitting that this has been organised as part of the M74 works as the completion project represents a promising future for the area, while not forgetting about the importance of its past."
Graham Edmond, M74 Project Manager with Transport Scotland said:
"This is a unique and exciting opportunity to unearth some of the history of Glasgow and Rutherglen and is an another benefit that M74 Completion will bring to the West of Scotland.
"We have assembled a dedicated and enthusiastic team to carry out the investigation work and to share what is found and I would encourage everyone to visit the open day to learn about our past."
The investigation work under the £4.9m archaeological contract, one of the largest archaeological contracts undertaken in the UK, is scheduled for completion in April 2008.
For more information see M74 Completion
