Prehistoric and Anglo Saxon Pottery Workshops

When I talk about making Prehistoric Pottery, Neolithic, Bronze-Age and Iron-Age, or indeed Post Roman Anglo Saxon/Early Mediaeval  ceramics, I often get the response "Oh, that's coiled isn't it?".  Coiled pottery is a term that jars with me, it conjours in the mind images of primary school classrooms with pots made of little clay sausages, gradually falling apart as they dry. The range of techniques used by potters before the Romans introduced the potters' wheel to Britain and in the centuries after Roman Rule ended, are wide and varied, they are robust and were carefully chosen to create strong, functional vessels. The same is true of their choice of tools, materials and firing method.  In a one day workshop, I can't teach you everything there is to know about Ancient Ceramics, but I can give you a pretty good grounding in the basic methods, I can show you how to select the best materials for the job and I can get you to make a couple of decent replicas. The first three workshops at our Rothbury Studio, for 2019, are now available for booking on our website 

https://potted-history.co.uk/collections/workshops

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Hebridean Bronze Age Replicas

Just finishing work on a replica Cordoned Urn and Food Vessel for a client.

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Roman Sunken Kiln Under Construction

I can't believe that it has been so long since I've recorded my work here, it's been a very busy summer so there's lots of catching up to do, but I'll get to that over the winter.

 

Over the past couple of days I've been building a sunken type Roman kiln for my own use not far from my workshop.  The site was kindly offered by retired potter (I'm not sure that such a thing exists) Alastair Hardie & his wife Kate at Westfield Farm, Thropton Northumberland.  It is situated at the rear of the farm on a raised sand bank about two meters above the flood plain of the Wreigh Burn.  The ground consisted of about 50cm of compacted soil and building rubble, the residue of the concrete floor of an agricultural building which once stood on the site, over natural compacted sand.  This has proved to be an ideal situation, the compacted surface gives strength to the structure while the sand is relatively easy to work and provides a very well drained base for the kiln.

Although I was working alone, the digging of the ware chamber, stoking pit and fire box and the lining of the latter with ceramic brick took less than eight hours.  For the sake of speed I have used some recycled fire brick in the lining of the firebox.  This is the area of the kiln that most archaeologists would refer to as a flue, this is an incorrect use of the term, as the function of a flue is only to carry gasses from one part of a kiln or furnace to another, as in 'exit flue' which as the name suggests carries waste gasses out of the kiln.  The firebox by contrast is where the fuel is burned.  

Today I'll be setting the floor, again for the sake of speed, using modern refractory but I may replace this later for experimental purposes.  I'll report back later today.

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Bronze Age Pots for Perth

Working on some bronze age pots to accompany me on my workshop in Perth, Scotland, Saturday and Sunday 19th & 20th June 2010.  

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TRIAL BY FIRE

With any ceramic piece the firing is always the most risky part of the making process but this is particularly the case with prehistoric, open fired pots.  This weekend has seen me firing a Neolithic bowl, beakers, food vessels, canopic jars and a 17th Century slipware wedding plate although this last item I have to confess is in the electric kiln.  It's needed for a wedding in a week's time and there's no margin for error

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Bronze-Age Jewellery

I'm hoping to recreate some sets of Bronze-Age grave goods so I'm setting myself the challenge of making a jet necklace from Kyloe in Northumberland. I suspect that this reconstruction from the 1928 edition of Archaeologia Aeliana isn't quite correct but .............

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Ancient Pottery Workshops

The first workshop went really well, on the Monday we even managed to fire everything we had made, in the hearth of an Iron-Age Rondhouse, at Brigantium. So on to the next workshops and they are as follows:

Ancient pottery workshops by GRAHAM TAYLOR at the Coach House, Elsdon.

ROMAN SAMIAN WARE
May 15th & 16th.
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ROMAN WHEEL MADE POTTERY –One day workshop
June 22nd.
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PREHISTORIC POTTERY
July 24th & 25th.

MANY OTHER DATES WILL BE AVAILABLE.

GROUPS CAN BOOK ADDITIONAL DATES AND WORKSHOPS CAN BE DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUR REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE CONTACT ME

NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED FOR ANY OF THESE WORKSHOPS.

The cost of all workshops includes: Rita’s great home made Coach House Lunches, coffee/tea breaks, all materials, and firing of the pots.

These workshops are intended for adults, although some young Advanced Learners may benefit from them, but must be accompanied by a paying adult. Please ask about suitability before booking for a young person. Payment for the workshop can be made by cheque, debit/credit card to secure a booking.

All materials and equipment will be provided. All pots and tools that you make during the workshop are yours to keep. Information sheets will be provided to help you continue potting once you return home.

Accommodation and travel are not included but list of local accommodation providers is available on request. Elsdon is situated in the Northumberland National Park and you will need your own transport as it is virtually impossible to reach it by public transport.

ROMAN WHEEL MADE POTTERY: Learn the ancient skills of the potters’ wheel using an authentic reconstruction of a Roman wheel.

ROMAN SAMIAN WARE: The most prestigious pottery of the Roman era Samian Ware was produced on the wheel and in moulds. This workshop will teach you the techniques of mould making and pot making.

BRONZE-AGE POTTERY WORKSHOP: This workshop will equip participants to; prospect for natural clay and prepare it for pot making; make their own prehistoric tool kit; make and decorate replicas of prehistoric pots and fire them in an authentic manner.

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Replica Pots for Christmas....what else?

I am guessing that all the people who ordered from me, replica pots for their loved ones, will by now have given them so that I can now reveal a couple of my favourites. Firstly I there's this replica of a Bronze Age food vessel excavated from the Bawearie Cairns at Old Bewick, Northumberland, by Canon William Greenwell in 1866, which I made for one of the Archaeologists involved in the More recent excavations of the same cairns. The original pot is in the British Museum.



Then there is this replica of a Neolithic, Mortlake Bowl made for another Archaeologist:

This one is decorated using a whipped cord tool to produce what are known as "maggot marks". Both have been open fired in a "bonfire" firing just as their archetypes would have been.

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