Graham's Potted History

I'm a potter and experimental archaeologist, that means that I create replicas of ancient pots, make reconstructions of ancient kilns, firings, workshops etc. This blog is a journal of some of my recent work. All text and images are copyright if you wish to use them please ask.

Saturday, 27 November 2010

Kiln Floor in Production

You might be forgiven for thinking that it's National Boring Photograph Day but this pic does illustrate the fact that, while we are in ...

Prehistoric Pottery Disposal Experiment

I have started an experiment to find out how a large piece of collared urn will stand up to the winter weather. The pot was made by me a cou...

Saturday, 6 November 2010

Roman Pottery Kiln Progress

Installed the Ware chamber floor today and started applying the clay lining. Unfortunately there won't be any further work on it until ...

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 c...

Sunday, 4 July 2010

Making Medieval

I'll be at Rievaulx Abbey Saturday and Sunday 10th and 11th July demonstrating Mediaeval potting methods so I'm making some addition...

Friday, 2 July 2010

Zeus figures now available

Working on ceramic figures of Zeus for Tyne & Wear Museums today Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Monday, 21 June 2010

The Team at Making the Bronze Age

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Making The Bronze Age; Bellwood Riverside Park, Perth, Scotland

Back in my own w or kshop, in Rothbury, N or thumberland, after a weekend as part of a re-enactment event on the banks of the beautiful Tay ...

Sunday, 13 June 2010

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. V...

Friday, 28 May 2010

Slipware Wedding Plate

Successfully completed the wedding plate commission, in the tradition of Thomas Toft. www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Wednesday, 26 May 2010

Ancient Firing Technology

Most books one reads talk about 'bonfire firing'; fast open firings using large quantities of wood and accepting a quite high percen...

Tuesday, 25 May 2010

National Towel Day

I'm not sure that I qualify as a 'Hoopy Frood' but I do always know where my towel is, it's beside my wheel covered in clay....

Monday, 24 May 2010

The Joy of Field Walking

Field walking with Coquetdale Community Archaeologytoday, in the Coquet Valley today over a field where the local farmer has been finding l...

Tuesday, 18 May 2010

Huge Canopic Jars Completed

Set of painted canopis jars ready to go off to the Yorkshire Museum. These are the largest that I have made, the largest standing over 50cm...

Monday, 17 May 2010

Charlie Brooker, Museums, Pots and Boredom

Self styled Ranter Charlie Brooker, with whose words of wisdom, I have to confess, I usually concur, was heard on the Jeremy Vine show, on F...

Saturday, 8 May 2010

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, op...

Sunday, 2 May 2010

THE JOY OF TOOLS

There is something very special and satisfying about using replicas of ancient tools to make a replica of an ancient tool. Making tools to...

WORK IN PROGRESS

What I love most about my work is the diversity, my workshop is always full of pieces from a whole range of time periods. Requests from muse...

Thursday, 29 April 2010

SAMIAN WARE WORKSHOP

The next workshop in my new series at Elsdon is on the subject of Roman Samian Ware. In this one you will learn to make and decorate high st...

Monday, 26 April 2010

The Roman Pottery Workshop

The Gods of the Lararium were smiling upon us over the weekend. The workshop went really well with everyone producing several Roman Pots, ...

Thursday, 22 April 2010

Workshop Nearly Ready

The workshop is ready to go and there are many workshops planned for the future. I don't suppose that a collection lof different types ...

Friday, 16 April 2010

Volcanic Sunset in Northumberland

From Inner Golden Pot at the top of the Coquet Valley looking out, over the Cheviot Hills, into the Scottish Borders, what a way to relax af...

The First Pot on a New Wheel

What a joy, to create a new wheel in the image of a very old wheel and then make the first pot on it. I'm delighted to say that it per...

Tuesday, 13 April 2010

Six Wheels on my Workshop.....so far

And I'm aiming for ten. Today I built two stick wheels, one floor mounted and one a seated wheel, and cast the flywheels for two momentu...

Friday, 9 April 2010

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 ...

Wednesday, 7 April 2010

Magic Sites in Northumberland

Simonside & the Coquet Valley from Castle Hill Today was our day off, a luxury that we allow ourselves now and again. Today we decided...

Saturday, 3 April 2010

Great 'History of Pottery' website

I just found the most amazing historical pottery website by fellow potter Steve Earp http://thisdayinpotteryhistory.wordpress.com/ Check i...

Thursday, 18 March 2010

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, a...

Tuesday, 2 March 2010

Amphorae under pressure

Despite the mad dash to get my new studio ready for this comming weekend workshop, I have been making a few replicas. The amphorae for the R...

Monday, 8 February 2010

Prehistoric & Roman Pottery Workshops

OK ........ I have committed myself, my new pottery teaching studio, at the Coach House in Elsdon , Northumberland, will be ready for the e...

Saturday, 6 February 2010

Coiled and Filmed: Hand Building Pottery

I've been trying my hand at some rather poor film making (OK those of you who have read my mini rant about experimental archaeology (bel...

Monday, 4 January 2010

Young Potters

At a recent Children's Archaeology Day event, organised by Coquetdale Community Archaeology , in Harbottle, Northumberland, I took alon...

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About Me

pottedhistory: Rothbury, Northumberland, United Kingdom; When I handle an ancient pot it’s a little like shaking hands with the original potter; a handshake across thousands of years. I can feel the impressions made by their thumbs, the pressure of their fingers pushing the wet clay into the palm of the hand to swell out the belly of the pot, the sweep of a tool to decorate the surface. All of these movements are like frozen, or possibly more correctly, fired moments in time, preserved and waiting for me to decode. When I come to emulate their actions and re-create one of these prehistoric masterpieces, I get to know the potter a little better. A conversation takes place … “Oh I see why you did that” ….”What did you use to make that mark?”.........”Now that’s clever, decorating it like that”. The conversation may seem a little one sided but the answers come back to me from the clay. Above all the act of making a piece gives me a deep sense of respect for a fellow craftsperson.

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