Bronze Age Pottery Workshop

POTTED HISTORY – GRAHAM TAYLOR

Contact me if you'd be interested in attending one of my Two Day Neolithic or Bronze Age Pottery Workshops at Potted History - Rothbury, Northumberland

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. 

No previous pottery or archaeological experience is needed.All materials and equipment will be provided, although wearing old clothes and/or bringing along an apron would probably be a good idea. 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.

The following timetable is a framework and may be varied according to the interests 
and or ability of the group.

Day 1: 
10-00  We will start off by Looking at the Pots:Using replicas and some original potsherds we will look at making methods, clay bodies, raw materials, tools used, firing methods, potential uses, methods of deposition, preservation vs. decomposition, etc. We will look at the types and sources of raw materials and their storage. How to find and prepare you materials.

11-00: Tools of the Trade: All participants will make their own Bronze-Age Pottery Tool-kit including; combs, scrapers, cord, modelling tools etc., using materials such as: Birch bark, Bone, Antler, Slate, Shell, Wood, Flint etc. The tools will be based on marks found on the pots and archaeological finds.

12-00: Introduction to Basic Making Methods: including; thumb pot, coil etc

13-00: . Lunch (not included but Rothbury offers numerous options, from bakers & deli sandwiches to hotel lunches)

14-00: Making & Decorating: Beakers, food vessels, etc. With lots information, hints, tips, help where needed and encouragement, all participants will have the opportunity to make at least two pots.

16-00 Finish

Day 2:
10-00: Making & Decorating; A chance to make larger pots or hone skills learned on day one.

12-00: Open Firing:  The pots will be fired in an open or “bonfire” firing, this is a slow process and will involve quite a lot of sitting around the fire. Firing is a slow process which cannot be rushed, so there will be the opportunity to make more pots, discuss the work that we have done during the workshop and stare distantly into the hot coals of the fire. I would suggest a “bring and cook” barbecue lunch may well add to the “Hunter-Gatherer” atmosphere and could help with a theory of mine thatmost Bronze-Age pots would have been made around the domestic hearth.

16-00 Finish
Bronze-Age Firing is an outdoor activity therefore it would not be possible in heavy rain or high wind, in these circumstances, the workshop will continue with an additional indoor making session and full instructions for firing will be given.Price: £90 per person If you require any further information on the course please do not hesitate to contact me: 

www.pottedhistory.co.uk 
info@pottedhistory.co.uk
07989871504

Accommodation and travel are not included but list of local accommodation providers
can be found here http://www.theheartofnorthumberland.co.uk/accomhotel.html. Do 
be aware that not all of these are in Rothbury village so do check before you book.
Rothbury is situated on the edge of the Northumberland National Park and you may 
want to bring along your walking boots and stay in the area for a few days, to take in 
the magnificent landscape and visit some of the many historic and Prehistoric sites in
the area. The area is accessible by public transport, but having your own wheels will 
allow you to get to many of the less accessible beauty spots. You may like to take 
advantage of the local bus company http://www.spiritbuses.co.uk/which offers some 
great routes around the area. If you feel like putting your boots on and getting out 
into the hills, maybe visiting an ancient hill fort, rock carving site or stone circle, then 
Patrick Norriss http://footstepsnorthumberland.co.uk/may be just the man to guide 
you.

People attending this workshop may also find the following of interest:
Roman Wheel Made Pottery
Roman Mould Made Pottery
Making Roman Samian Ware
Building Roman Kilns
Build Your Own Roman Potter’s Wheel

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Neolithic Carinated Bowl: complex simplicity

At first glance a Neolithic carinated bowl, the earliest type of pottery in Britain, looks like a very simple pot. Certainly they were hand formed often from very coarse natural clay, to function as humble cooking pots. In fact when making an average sized bowl, up to about 20cm in diameter, its form flows almost naturally from the process itself. The curve of the bowl nestles nicely in the hand, the concave form of the upper body conforms to the curve of the thumb, while the fingers stretch down inside to push out the carnation.  All well and good, but when one comes to make a bowl as big as the one I made for Stonehenge, it's a different matter.  For a start there's the weight; at over thirty centimetres in diameter it requires nearly five kilos of coarse clay in its construction. This makes it virtually impossible to hold the soft vessel in one hand.  If I start building on a base (flat stone, grass mat whatever is handy) this gives it a flat base, which can only be expanded out once the clay has stiffened.  Alternatively working into the base of an old broken pot does allow one to make a round bottomed piece but only to a predetermined form and, as clay shrinks on drying it will easily release from its "mould" but will also be considerably smaller than the former.  Once the pot becomes firm enough to support itself it can be picked up and worked on but this brings with it its own problems, the stiffened clay becomes brittle, the least deformation of the rim and the pot will crack, a flaw which, in the firing, could result in total failure.  One possible solution to this is to add organic fibrous material which will act as reinforcement in the unfired pot and one of the most suitable sources of this is animal dung. Finally, once the pot has reached a leather hard stage, the entire inner and outer surfaces need to me slip coated by rubbing with a wet hand and finally burnished all over, again without putting undue stress on the rim.

Firing small pots in an open fire is a relatively simple matter provided a strict set of rules are adhered to, a large pot on the other hand is quite a different matter. That pot needs to be absolutely dry before it comes anywhere near to a flame. In a Neolithic hut it would undoubtedly have spent several days on the outer edges of the hearth, occasionally being turned to present a new face to the warmth of the fire.  Only once the potter was certain that all moisture had left the clay would the firing process begin: The pot would be moved a little closer to the fire, inverted, and with its rim supported on three stones a few embers from the fire would have been pushed underneath its dome, their rising smoke and heat filling the vessel. Replenishing and increasing this small glowing fire over the next couple of hours the potter would have carefully and steadily raised the temperature until, at around about 400 degrees C the organic matter in the clay would have begun to burn, turning the outer surface of the pot dark brown or black.  This would also be an indication that it was ready to move to the next stage of firing, surrounding the pot with embers and eventually immersing the pot into the fire, bringing up its temperature until at seven or eight hundred degrees, in the darkness of the hut interior it could be seen to glow deep red. The firing complete, the fire would have been allowed to burn down and go out and the pot would have been cooled while protecting it from sudden cold draughts that might cause it to crack.

Simple as that!

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Childlike Exuberance

One of the best things about running historical pottery workshops in schools, is seeing the uninhibited exuberance of the children's work. Unlike many adults, they are not afraid to express themselves in paint or clay and as a result the pots and sculptures they produce have a vitality, often lacking in the more carefully considered work of their seniors. When I return the fired pots to the schools, the children are amazed and delighted to see how the fire has changed and preserved their artwork. 

For more information about my pottery workshops for schools and museums see my earlier post HERE.

Egyptian Canopic Jars by Blackhill School Children

Egyptian Canopic Jars by Blackhill School Children 

Egyptian Shabti Figures by Blyth School Children

Roman Head Pots by Keilder School Children

Mediaeval Green Men by Bedlington School Children

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Greek Pots for Dr Michael Scott

Having made the replicas used by Dr Michael Scott in his brilliant BBC2 TV series; "Who Were the Greeks", see my blog entry "TV Props, Greek Bronzes Made From Clay" , I was delighted when Dr Scott contacted me and commissioned some replicas to use in his teaching at Warwick University. Now I will say at this point, when Michael contacted me I had anticipated that I'd be making some fairly high status pieces but I wasn't quite prepared for the reference material that he eventually sent me. On a trip to the British Museum he'd taken some photographs of some of the most magnificent Greek pots that he could find: the Douris Cooler, the Berlin Krater, the Phrynos Kylix and the Sharpedon Kylix:

I've replicated Greek red and black figure pottery before but these pieces were the creme de la creme, they were high status when they were first created and they're still high status today. why? Well for the complexity of their manufacture, the refinement of their form and by no means least, the skill of the painter who decorated them. The pots shown here are my, or should I say our replicas not the originals. I made the pots, but my wife Lynda Taylor, a professional artist, decorated them, they required the best! 

The precision with which the pots are made, the perfect alignment of the stem of the kylix and the crispness of the foot, shoulder and rim of the krater, tell me not only that they were made by a highly skilled potter, but that the potters' wheel on which they were thrown was very stable indeed. This was no rough stone disk pivoted on a point of rock, it was a precise piece of machinery with smooth running bearings. The same is true of all of these pots and while the potters making cups and bowls for everyday use may well have made use of primitive wheels these craftsmen had access to the very best tools. They have used that technology to push the making process to new heights, creating forms that say "Look what I can do".

More to come later, watch this space.

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Greek Pottery Workshops at Wolfson College Oxford

Here are some photographs from my recent Greek Pottery Technology workshop at Wolfson College Oxford, in which participants not only learned about the ceramic science behind the creation of Black and Red Figure wares, but also had the opportunity to try their hand at a Greek style momentum wheel and created their own Rhyton.

 

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Pots for Stonehenge and Wiltshire

I take delight in every project that I undertake but being asked by English Heritage, to make all the replica pottery fro the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre and by the Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes, to make replicas for the Gold from the time of Stonehenge have been a particular highlights of the past year. In each case making the pots not as they look now, after several millennia in the ground, but as they would have looked when new. The first part of the project was to produce a selection of large Neolithic Grooved Ware vessels, to be used in the prototype Neolithic Houses which English Heritage built at Old Sarum, as a precursor to building a group at Stonehenge. These pots were based on originals excavated at Durrington Walls. 

Grooved Ware pots based on finds from Durrington Walls

Next came a film role, at least for my hands. I was filmed making a replica grooved ware pot, from crushing and preparing the raw clay and grog, through building and decorating the vessel, to firing it on an open hearth and finally removing the finished pot from the fire. This video will be showing on a loop in the visitor centre, alongside one of Phil Harding making a flint axe and Neil Burridge casting bronze.

Grooved Ware pot glowing in an open fire

At this point I was invited to join archaeologist and curator Sarah Lunt at Fort Cumberland and at Salisbury Museum, to look at the originals pots that I would be replicating for the Stonehenge Museum display, and the education rooms. It is a huge privelage to have had the opportunity to see and handle such iconic pots as: The Wilsford collared urn, grape cup and Stonehenge cup, excavated by William Cunnington during his excavation campaign 1802 – 1810, along with beakers, carinalted bowls and the small grooved ware pot from Durrington Walls.

Back in my studio I began replicating these masterpieces of Neolithic and Bronze-Age ceramic art, for both Stonehenge and the Devizes Museum, here are some of the results.

Wilsford Collared Urn and Grape Cup along with "The Ceramic Object"

The beautiful collared urn here from the Wilsford G7 burial is one of the finest examples from the whole of the UK, here's the original . I'm not the first to attempt to replicate it, Josiah Wedgwood had a go, although in terracotta and over industrialised for my liking. The refinement of this pot and the care with which the decoration has been applied make it a real challenge to replicate. To a lesser degree the same is true of the grape cup with over 150 individually applied pellets and between each pair, a hole bored through to the interior, at only 6cm tall, that's a lot of detail packed into a very small pot. The third item here is the "Ceramic Object", found in the fill of Aubrey Hole number 29 and so called because no one knows exactly what it is.  

My replicas on display at Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Devizes

The pots below are in the education rooms at Stonehenge

Early Neolithic Carinated Bowl, Grooved Ware Pot, Wilsford Beaker and Ceramic Object

My final job is to make the pots for the Neolithic houses so watch this space.


Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Replica Egyptian Canopic Jars

A set of canopic jars with their storage chest made recently for Maidstone Museum's educational handling collection.

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

TV Props, Greek Bronzes Made From Clay

Usually the replicas that I make are recognisably ceramic, and if asked, I’d always say that I’ll replicate anything as long as it’s old and made from pottery, but when it comes to TV props things aren’t always what they seem. Recently I was contacted by Tern Television who were making a documentary for BBC2 entitled “Who Were The Greeks?”.  The two part mini series, presented by Dr Michael Scott of Warwick University, the program set out to highlight some little known aspects of life in ancient Greece and the ways that these still affect out lives today.  To do this, a number of specific artefacts were needed as illustrations, objects that were unavailable to the crew as they were in national collections.  So I set to making; Oil lamps to illuminate Greek silver mines; Ostraka showing the beginnings of democracy and a pot to carry sacred fire.  However the two most complex items that were needed weren’t ceramic at all, but bronze, but with the assistance of my wife Lynda Taylor, an artist, we were able to give them a bronze finish that did the job.  So here they are:

A treaty tablet documenting an alliance, of 100 hundred years duration, between Eleans and the Heraians of Arcadia. The original in now in the British Museum.

This Spartan Running Girl, 520-500 BC, sometimes called the Thigh Flasher,

found at Prizren, Serbia; possibly made in Sparta.

And last but not least, the pot, lamp and ostrakon.

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

ONE DAY, HANDS-ON, POTTERY WORKSHOPS FOR KS2 & KS3 SCHOOLS

Teachers, if you want a workshop for your class that combines a history lesson, with the opportunity for every child to develop their creativity while making their own replica pottery artefact, then you need one of my workshops.

POTTED HISTORY – GRAHAM TAYLOR

ONE DAY, HANDS-ON, POTTERY WORKSHOPS FOR KS2 & KS3 SCHOOLS

ROMAN, ANGLO-SAXON, TUDOR, GREEK, EGYPTIAN, BRONZE-AGE, VICTORIAN and more

These workshops combine an art and craft activity with history and are a cost effective, real alternative to a field trip; I bring a living museum to you.  I present all workshops in period costume, using tools and equipment appropriate to the era.  The day begins working with the whole class using my extensive “Portable Museum” handling collection, which acts as a springboard to talk about many aspects of life in the period.  While many subjects are covered in an informative and sometimes humorous way, these are always pitched at a level appropriate to the age group, clear but never patronising.  I will demonstrate the ways in which the pots were made, which for all except the Bronze-Age workshop, involves throwing a pot on an ancient potters wheel, proven to mesmerise the most boisterous class.  Every workshop has a hands-on element allowing the children to express their creativity, while engaging in an activity that involves real technology from the period.  By the end of the day the children will have gained considerable additional information about the historical era covered and will have produced their own replica artefact to keep.

Other activities that can, on request, form part include Archaeological Challenges, which encourage the children to look closely at artefacts and discover the stories that they can tell us about the people of the past.

The knowledge and skills gained through these activities will equip the children to better appreciate what they see when the next visit a museum, and help them to understand that a potsherd isn't just a "bit of broken pot", it's a piece of the jigsaw of the past and a part of someone’s life.

The structure of the day would normally run as follows but can be tailored to your school day: 9am to break, handling collection and demonstration session with the entire class: After break the class is divided into two or three groups of 10 to 15 children, I work with one group before lunch and two groups after lunch, for approx. 40 minutes to 1 hour each, to complete the hands-on activity.  If time allows there will be a question and answer session at the end of the day, which can be planned to include parents if required.

Hands-on projects are as follows:

Egyptian:        Canopic Jar made from pre prepared pot or Shabti figure mould made

Greek:            Rhyton (Animal head drinking cup) from pre prepared pot

Prehistoric:    Hand built Neolithic bowl and animal/deity figure

Roman:           Roman Head Pot from pre prepared pot

Anglo Saxon: Hand decorated Saxon urn from pre prepared pot

Mediaeval:     Knight Jug from pre prepared pot or a Mediaeval encaustic tile

Tudor:            Bellarmine jar made from pre prepared pot

Civil War:       Slipware Plate/bowl made from pre prepared pot

Victorian:        Painted Plate made from pre prepared pot

The following give an idea of the structure of the day:

ROMAN

The Handling Collection includes:  Amphorae, Samian Ware, Barbotine ware, lamps, deity figurines, greyware, cooking pots, head pots, mortaria, altars, incense burners, votives, etc..

Which are used to lead a lesson covering:  Trade & produce, the empire, transport, the Roman army, Hadrian’s Wall, the gods, Roman Crafts, domestic life and much more.

The Hands-On Activity:  The children will make Head Pots, representations of gods on pots;  I will bring along one pre prepared soft clay vessel for each child, the children will then model these to represent a face.  At the end of the day the pots will be taken back to my studio, dried and fired to make them permanent.  Once they are returned to the school, usually after three to four weeks, they can be painted.  

Alternative Activities:  Making a Roman Altar or Making a Roman Samian Bowl (Useful if a quicker workshop is required)

GREEK

The Handling Collection includes:  Amphorae, Rhytons, Aryballos, Ostraka, Attic Wares, Votives, Military paintings, Deity Figures, Athlete Figures, Toys, Lamps, etc..

Which are used to lead a lesson covering:  Trade & produce, the arts, the Greek & Spartan armies, the navy, Olympics & athletics, democracy, domestic life and much more.

The Hands-On Activity:  The children will make Rhytons, animal headed drinking vessels;  I will bring along one pre prepared soft clay vessel for each child, the children will then model these to represent their own chosen animal, a handle will be applied.  At the end of the day the pots will be taken back to my studio, dried and fired to make them permanent.  Once they are returned to the school, usually after three to four weeks, they can be painted.  

Alternative Activities:  Aryballos making an animal shaped perfume bottle or Attic Bowl Painting on a pre prepared and fired Greek bowl.

Much larger projects can be designed and delivered, if you have any ideas for projects large or small please contact me.

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Hebridean Bronze Age Replicas

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

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Slipware Exhibition Pieces

In preparation for a couple of forthcoming exhibitions I've been making a few slipware pieces, starting with this jug for the Saint Valentine's show at Crown Studio Gallery, Bridge Street, Rothbury, Northumberland. It has a heart formed from flowers on one side and Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments", on the reverse.

For the Parkmade exhibition at Preston Hall Museum, Eaglescliffe, Stockton, I've made this piece inspired by Lewis Carroll's poem, The Walrus and the Carpenter, from Through the Looking- Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872. 

And lastly this platter also on its way to Preston Hall.

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Roman Antefixa for Grosvenor Museum

I've been making lots of replicas for museums and individuals in the past few weeks.  Today I sent out three Replica Roman Antifixa (Antefixes) which will become part of the new display at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester.  An antefix is a decorative terminal which finishes off the lower edge of a tiled roof, in this case a Roman roof covered with Tegula and Imbrex tiles.  From left to right they bear the following relief images:
The Boar emblem of the 20th (XX) Legion, the lion and Jupiter Ammun.  The making of these involved first calculating the shrinkage of the clay through each stage of the manufacturing process so that I could make punches, to make the moulds, to make the antefixa. Given the high quality moulding on the faces and the rather rustic approach to the rest of the decoration, I suspect that the faces may have been 'sampled' from something like a legionary standard.

Here you can see a set of Antefixa in place on a miniature Roman roof that I also made for the Grosvenor.

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Potted History Public Events 2012

It's been a hectic summer and I've been all over the country demonstrating ancient pottery techniques, here are some of the main events I attended.

I had a great weekend at  the Bedford, River Festival on 21^st and 22nd July making replicas of ancient Greek Rhytons, Amphorae and Epinetrons. On Friday 3^rd August  I was on the Solway, at Senhouse Roman Fort, Maryport, Cumbria.  Demonstrating Roman pottery making with both the Potter’s Wheel and moulds, including the Senhouse Samian bowl. quite a few children had a go at making their own Samian Ware bowl.

On a very rainy Sunday 5^th August I was at Paxton House, celebrating Paxton "Before the House" with some Prehistoric, Neolithic and Bronze-Age pottery demonstrations.  I showed how the beakers discovered last year at Fishwick had been created, from the making of stone, bone and antler tools through processing the clay to decorating pots. I was joined by Kristian Pedersen the archaeologist leading the excavation, who demonstrated the ancient craft of flintknapping.

From Saturday 11^th to  Monday 19^th August, I worked my way along the middle section of Hadrian's Wall in the guise of Bellicus the itinerant Roman Potter demonstrating how the Romans made many different types of pottery and answering questions on how they used these pots.

Saturday 25^th to Monday 27^th August I was atop the dizzy heights of Dover Castle demonstrating Roman pottery making and giving children the chance to make a Roman Gladiator votive plaque.

Kirknewton Festival, in Northumberland on Saturday 1^st and Sunday 2^nd of September was an absolute joy and here you'd have found me  making and firing Prehistoric Bronze-Age pottery, While Paula Constantine demonstrated ancient spinning, dying and weaving.

On the 22nd & 23rd September I had my first opportunity to work at Beamish Open Air Museum.  In the wonderful surroundings of the Home Farm I made country slipware jugs, bowls and platters in the style of !8th and 19th Century potters.

And continuing the theme of Victorian Pottery on Sunday 30^th of September I’ll be at Preston Hall for their Parkmade Event, where I’ll be demonstrating the skills of a Victorian country slipware potter and even offering you the opportunity to have a go and possibly purchase some of my wares.

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk