2007 excavation: Pan House?

The Saltman's House | The Pan House? | The Girnel? | Building with floor

In spring 2006, Jacqueline Aitken, a member of Clyne Heritage Society, observed a wall eroding out of a dunes, just to the south west of the ‘Saltman's House'. The wall appears to run more or less parallel to the shore, its orientation suggesting that it might be part of the long building, which is annotated as 'Salt Pans', on John Kirk’s 1772 map. Though the full extents of the building were not revealed in 2007, two fireplaces, contained within a mortared stone building, appear to confirm the identification of this structure as the Pan House. One of these fireplaces had a brick-built flue, though the other seemed to have been constructed entirely from red sandstone. The extensive midden deposits on the outside of the structure, which are locally known as 'The Coal Road', proved equally informative. The middens rise up against the external face of the building’s seaward wall, but the upper layers also extend into the structure, through the doorway, to form a trampled floor surface. Like the Saltman’s House, this building appears to have been sealed with a layer of clay and building debris, though sand had blown in across the partly demolished structure, before this occurred. As this building is very much under threat from coastal erosion, it is hoped that further excavation in 2008 will allow the interior of the building to be fully exposed.

The wall as discovered in spring 2006.	The outside face of the wall, with later midden deposits known as the ‘coal road’ abutting it.	Meryl recording the complex layering within the middens.
The wall, during excavation; one side of a doorway can be seen in the foreground, with the layer of clay and building debris sealing the structure visible in the section. The trench containing the fireplaces can be seen in the background.	Jacqueline excavating a slot-trench through the interior of the building.	A floor layer, formed from midden material extending though the door, revealed in the base of the trench. Broken pantiles can be seen resting on this surface.
The brick built fireplace (left) and stone-built hearth (right), enclosed within the walling which may have supported the salt pans themselves.	The brick-built flue, constructed of half bricks laid in stepped layers.	The hearth constructed from burnt red sandstone blocks enclosed by a deposit of compacted clay.
Recording the trench once excavated.	Bill and Mary drawing the long section.	Eddie planning the possible floor surface adjacent to the fireplaces.