Making pottery
Pottery products appear in Europe around VI thousand years BC with the arrival of first farmers. These are mainly vessels, in addition to which, however, one can also find ceramic figures (zoo- and anthropomorphic) as well as instruments (drums, rattles).
Experiments carried out by members of the Society for Experimental Prehistoric Archaeology aim at reconstruction of methods of modeling and firing of pottery vessels on the basis of findings of this type of objects from various periods of the Stone Age.
All the conducted experiments in this field begin with mining and appropriate preparation of clay from which the vessel is going to be made. Almost always the material is initially subjected to the process of seasoning in pits and then sludge to get rid of contamination. Prior to modeling clay is slimmed, what definitely reduces the risk of cracking of the vessel in the course of firing. In the process one makes use of admixtures typical for archeological cultures of the Stone Age, i.e. fireclay, stone, flint, shells, bones, grass. Conducted are also experiments with other admixtures, for instance amber, hair, wool etc. All vessels made by the members of SEPA are modeled with the roller and tape (larger forms) techniques. We make our best to be faithful to forms and ornamentation of originals, thus we constantly experiment with various kinds of polishing tools and decorating tools.
The final stage of production of a vessel is its firing. It is not a simple process and it is composed of several stages. First, the vessel is dried. Next, it is placed near a fireplace to dispose of the slightest amount of moisture (at this point, preheating of the vessel occurs). After about 0,5 – 1h the vessel is placed in embers where the proper firing occurs. Vessels are fired in fireplaces or in cavity furnaces.
In addition to experiments with vessel production conducted are also experiments aiming at testing their resistance and suitability for various tasks, for example cooking.
The research on pottery is performed all the time, revealing new ways of clay utilization.
Joanna Struwe
Gallery:
Experiments carried out by members of the Society for Experimental Prehistoric Archaeology aim at reconstruction of methods of modeling and firing of pottery vessels on the basis of findings of this type of objects from various periods of the Stone Age.
All the conducted experiments in this field begin with mining and appropriate preparation of clay from which the vessel is going to be made. Almost always the material is initially subjected to the process of seasoning in pits and then sludge to get rid of contamination. Prior to modeling clay is slimmed, what definitely reduces the risk of cracking of the vessel in the course of firing. In the process one makes use of admixtures typical for archeological cultures of the Stone Age, i.e. fireclay, stone, flint, shells, bones, grass. Conducted are also experiments with other admixtures, for instance amber, hair, wool etc. All vessels made by the members of SEPA are modeled with the roller and tape (larger forms) techniques. We make our best to be faithful to forms and ornamentation of originals, thus we constantly experiment with various kinds of polishing tools and decorating tools.
The final stage of production of a vessel is its firing. It is not a simple process and it is composed of several stages. First, the vessel is dried. Next, it is placed near a fireplace to dispose of the slightest amount of moisture (at this point, preheating of the vessel occurs). After about 0,5 – 1h the vessel is placed in embers where the proper firing occurs. Vessels are fired in fireplaces or in cavity furnaces.
In addition to experiments with vessel production conducted are also experiments aiming at testing their resistance and suitability for various tasks, for example cooking.
The research on pottery is performed all the time, revealing new ways of clay utilization.
Joanna Struwe
Gallery:
