Dr Allan Peacey and Rex Key with the kiln pit.

A perfectly-preserved kiln, hailed as the best find of its kind by an archaeological expert, has been dug up in a meadow on the south Shropshire border.

Dr Allan Peacey has been excavating fields in Pipe Aston, near Ludlow, in search of clay tobacco pipes and kilns dating back as far as the 1600s for the past 16 years. He had said that this year’s dig, which finished yesterday, will be his last.

Then, on the final day of the three-week project, the team taking part in the Pipe Aston Project, which includes Broseley-based clay pipe expert Rex Key, unearthed their latest discovery

Dr Peacey, who hails from Stroud in Gloucestershire but has carried out excavations as far afield as Maryland in the USA, found the kiln after four days of intense searching at Juniper Dingle, a field which lies in the hills above the village.

A number of tobacco pipes have also been discovered, with many having tiny stamps indicating who made them. Dr Peacey, who is a world specialist in the history of kilns and clay pipes, said: “This is the best preserved kiln I have ever seen – it is a wonderful piece of industrial history.

“We knew immediately we had located a kiln and stoking pit but we did not expect it to survive so intact.”

It is the fourth kiln to have been found in the area in the past 16 years with two found at Roy’s Orchard in the village and another at Upper Aston Field.

The discovery was covered by soil and grass to preserve it for decades to come.

Dr Peacey said: “I first got into this when I was a 10-year-old boy swimming in the River Frome.

“One day I found four or five pieces of clay pipe on a gravel bank by the river and people at the local museum didn’t have much idea what they were – my fascination started there and I have been researching ever since.

“It is the social history that keeps me hooked – we can find out who made the pipes and work out when they were made too.”

For more visit www.pipeastonproject.co.uk