Hello, and welcome to our final post here at the ANTH361 Medieval Pottery blog! We have a few parting words and final thoughts to share with you before we wrap up for the semester.
Firstly, our final poster titled, “Shaping the Past: Experiential Archaeology and Medieval Pottery” has been finished and printed! We are incredibly proud of the finished product – as well as grateful for Bridget’s excellent Canva skills and advice! – and are very happy with how it turned out. Attached below is a picture of our poster, and we will link a PDF version at the very bottom of this post.
Our finished poster!
Seeing our poster as well as our finished pottery pieces (as well as the shards of those which did not survive the firing) was such a rewarding experience! Being able to look at a tangible display that symbolized and presented our weeks of hard work was incredibly cool. Getting to elaborate and explain our process to curious passers-by was also satisfying, and made us proud of our work.
Our poster as well as our fired clay bowls and shards as displayed in the Cornett building.
Ultimately, our adventure into Medieval pottery was not only fun and enriching, but also highly thought-provoking and insightful. It’s really powerful how experiential and experimental archaeology can open a window into the past in a way that other forms of scholarship and academic research cannot! It’s so important that modern academia is now beginning to (in some circles and capacities, at least) become more open to alternate ways of studying the past, because if our journey taught us anything, it’s that experience is just as important as other forms of learning.
Sending out sincere thanks to everyone who has followed us along on this journey! Who knows, maybe some Medieval pottery pursuits are in your future as well!
As the semester comes to a close and we wrap up ANTH361, we wanted to reflect back on this project and the skills acquired, hardships faced, and lessons learned along the way. Firstly, we want to think back on the long, arduous, yet incredibly rewarding process that was our adventure into Medieval pottery! Our journey was broken into four important steps: harvesting the clay, clarifying and processing the clay, making our pottery, and finally firing our pieces, (hopefully) turning them into finished products. Each step came with its own learning curve – most of us had never worked with natural clay before, and it was definitely something to get used to.
Bridget taking a picture of Alex with the raw clay!
One major theme that we found ourselves reflecting on throughout the semester was a sense of proximity to the past, and how experiential archaeology provides a unique opportunity for not only anthropologists, but really anyone to be able to experience similar events to the communities which came before us. Simple details like listening to the wind blowing through the grass while picking rocks out of our clay, or the crackling of the fire as it toughened up our pots, are common experiences that our Medieval counterparts likely also shared; more than just an interesting project, our pottery project lent us invaluable and firsthand insight into what these Medieval processes might have looked like, and even felt like for those involved.
Beyond this, our adventure allowed us to reflect more on the process of Medieval pottery-making itself. In a modern, highly industrialized world, simple items like bowls and plates are everywhere around us, and are one of the things that many may take for granted. Whether it be the rows of colourful dish ware in Ikea, the racks of plates and bowls at the University of Victoria Cove dining hall, or even the festive mugs and cups at your local Dollarama, eating and drinking vessels surround our daily lives. However, this experience in creating Medieval pottery truly opened our eyes to the painstaking and highly skilled process that is pottery-making.
Despite having all the required materials and resources, completing even a single step takes a long time; it turns out your hands can get quite tired after breaking down dried bits of clay that are stuck in your working pile, and making sure no worms are harmed in the process! Even after the four steps are completed, your pottery isn’t out of the woods: some of our pieces unfortunately did not survive the firing process.
Getting our pottery ready to fire.
The unpredictable and messy nature of making Medieval pottery made us reflect back on how this arduous process might have affected Medieval individuals. The amount of skill it takes to be able to confidently create pieces that are able not only to survive baking but also function well as dish-ware likely necessitated skilled craftspeople and a functioning understanding of clay properties. Moreover, it must have taken a long time to create even a fraction of the dishware the average modern human goes through in a day; imagine spending days on a plate, only for it to break in the firing process, landing you back at square one!
Overall, this project was a thoroughly fun, thought-provoking, and special journey, and nothing like any one us had experienced anything before! Stay tuned for pictures of our final poster and some final thoughts as we wrap up the semester.
In my previous experiences drying the clay, I found out that there is a higher rate of success when the clay is dried very slowly, and completely. If the clay dries out too rapidly, cracks can form in the structure of the objects. Once those cracks form, there is really no way to fix them, so it’s best to prevent them in the first place.
In order to ensure that the objects dried as slowly as possible, we covered them in loose paper bags to trap some of the moisture in.
We left the farm and headed back down to Victoria for the next two weeks of classes, and the next weekend I was able to go back to Duncan to fire the now fully dry clay. Different sources gave different answers for exactly what temperature the fire would need reach in order for our clay to become pottery, but regardless we knew we would need to build a large and very strong fire. We started the fire without the clay objects in order to get it going and create a bed of embers.
Once the fire was burning well, we split the fire in two sections, and carefully placed our objects in the middle. We set them down carefully, and then decided to flip them upside down so that the heat could be trapped inside of the bowls and hopefully bake more evenly.
Once all the objects were inside the fire pit, we pushed the two sides of embers back together and built the fire back up around the clay objects using both larger and smaller pieces of firewood. I think that this was a good way to approach this process, as it allowed us to place the objects down very carefully to decrease the risk of accidentally breaking them.
Now that we had built a large fire with lots of fuel, we sat back and let the fire do its thing.
The fire burnt for a couple of hours, and we decided to let it cool on its own accord so that the objects could cool down gradually and not be shocked by the temperature change. It was a little difficult to be patient as I was so excited to see how things turned out, but I knew that the objects would be in their most fragile state until they’d fully cooled down. Once the ashes were only a little bit warm, we were able to uncover our treasures.
My first impression is that it was amazing to see the colour change that the clay went through during the firing process. The natural clay straight out of the ground was a dark, murky sort of gray colour. Our fired pottery became a rich terra cotta orange, and even though the shapes of our pots really showed our beginner level experience with shaping pottery, the objects were still quite beautiful and organic.
As we dug through the ashes, we were sorry to see that a few of the pots did not survive their journey. While this was a little bit disappointing, it was expected, and the good news is that the damage was evenly spread out amongst the members; everybody had at least one of their objects make it out unscathed!
Once fully cooled, we carefully wrapped up the objects in newspaper and placed them in containers to transport back to Victoria, to show the rest of the group and to proudly display in the Cornett building. We chose to bring some of the broken shards as well for people to be able to feel and see the patterns and lines where the clay broke. I think the highlight of feeling these clay objects is tapping on them- you can actually hear where the clay reached the highest temperature based on the sound you hear!
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our process nearly as much as we enjoyed experiencing it ourselves! This was a really unique undertaking and we all learned a lot about hands-on education, all while having a whole lot of fun!
For our next adventure into the world of Medieval pottery, we had a big task to undertake: actually making the pieces! After having harvested, clarified, and prepared the clay, we left them out to dry for around 10-20 minutes or so. This allowed the clay to become slightly less wet, and combined with the sand, made for an overall more malleable medium for sculpting.
Our blocks of clay ready to be shaped into beautiful Medieval pottery. (Photo by Lily)
Then, we were ready to get creative! We consulted a source to get an idea of what techniques we should know or follow in order to get the most authentic pottery, as well as ensuring our pieces had the highest possible chance of surviving the firing process and resulting in successful objects.
One major resource which we followed closely was this video, created by the Youtube channel English Heritage, who utilizes methods employed by Stone Age potters to teach the audience the best techniques to create a Neolithic Grooved Ware bowl. Although the Stone Age predates the Medieval period which we are studying, the basic methods of creating a well-formed and sturdy piece of pottery was something we believed we should employ.
Alex and Bridget watching the video with the prepared pieces of clay. (Photo by Lily)
Turning our harvested clay into actual pottery was such a large part of our experiential process, and we truly found ourselves transported into the experience of Medieval pottery making. Although we attempted to hand-purify our clay, it was definitely still natural; we had to work through small pieces of debris and dried chunks of clay while shaping our bowls.
TASK 1: ALL ABOUT THAT BASE (OF THE POT )
The first step in creating our bowls was to work out the clay. First, we tore a piece out of our chunk of clay and set it aside – our video said we would need this for later. Then, we began throwing the clay back and forth between our hands, patting it down and attempting to create a flat base for our bowl. English Heritage stated that this step would help get any air pockets out of the clay. We then started to form and shape the barrel-like portion of our bowl, so it began to resemble something like a pot. Then it was time to deal with the extra piece of clay that we separated at the beginning!
Lily working on the base of her bowl, and preparing for the next step. (Photo by Bridget)
TASK 2: THE MEDIEVALSAUSAGE AND THE ART OF BONE SCRAPING
Following our first task. we turned back to the piece of clay we set aside earlier. Taking the “sausage”, as English Heritage calls it, we began to roll it and then add it to the tops of our bowls, to give them heightened and more stable rims. Instead of a bone scraper, which were used to smooth the outside surfaces of the bowls, Alex came prepared with a small knife which was incredibly similar. This allowed us to fine-tune our bowls and make sure they looked more uniform, much like those in Medieval times might have done.
Alex using a small knife to simulate the bone scraper. (Photo by Lily)
TASK 3: DECORATE THAT POT LIKE IT’S HOT!
Finally, it was time to get creative and add some decorations to our bowls. Using small nails, as well as our fingers, we all personalized our bowls, each with varying stylistic choices. We mostly opted for geometric designs, with sharp triangles and lines surrounding the pieces. The small tip of the nail made a great instrument for carving lines into the side of the bowl; however, with the fresh clay, we had to be careful not to poke through or compromise the walls of the pottery.
Our teams finished pots!From the left, we have Alex’s, Lily’s, and Bridget’s final bowls. (Photos by all)
FINAL TAKEAWAYS!
Overall, creating our bowls using the harvested and clarified clay was not an easy feat, but definitely a rewarding one. Being able to take a lump of material and turn it into a (hopefully!) fully functional piece of dish-ware was certainly an arduous but really interesting process! Fingers crossed to see how these beauties fire when we proceed to the next stage of our research.
Thanks for reading!
Final products! These are the three Medieval bowls created by our team, as well as some extra ones which we played around with. (Photo by Lily)
“Pottery – the first material that humans changed from a natural form into an artificial material” (English Heritage, YouTube video 2017)
After digging up the clay on Alex’s family’s property in Duncan, it was time to process it and prep it for sculpting. Right away we were faced with the challenges that come along with working with raw unprocessed materials, as medieval potters would have in the past. The clay was quite wet, and it contained rocks, roots, other debris, and even worms. Upon researching this topic our group learned how important it is to properly process and prepare raw clay before starting the sculpting process. The photo below is the clay before processing, and the videos following are the clay during and after processing. You can see the drastic difference in workability between consistencies, one very sticky and wet, and the other holding shape, less sticky and more mouldable.
This is the clay before processing.
Processing clay, step by step:
Without the following steps, we risk the clay being too weak to work with, and/or breaking once fired.
Step 1: Collecting and assessing the clay
Once collected, we examined the clay for moisture content, texture and debris. Since it was quite wet, we knew it would need refining.
Step 2: Hand sifting and removing debris
Hand sifting through the clay for debris such as small rocks, twigs, roots, and small bugs/worms
Any drier clumps of clay were crushed and blended into the rest of the clay to create a more consistent texture
With my rainboots and overalls on, and my trusty wheelbarrow and shovel, I was ready to dig up some natural clay! Having collected clay from my partner’s grandparents’ property before, I already had a good idea of where to start digging.
The ground in this area of the horse’s paddock was very wet, and I could tell from how slippery it was while walking that there was a clay deposit here. We’d have to dig down a bit to access it though. While picking the best spot to start digging, I considered the foliage, and picked a spot with less grass and clovers so there would be less debris to pick out of the clay during later steps. We chose a spot just under the fence, where the horses don’t tend to run, so that the soft spot left behind wouldn’t be a risk for them stepping into it and hurting themselves. I imagine this was a consideration that people had to make in medieval Europe as well, as livestock were valuable and holes from harvesting clay could be dangerous to them.
There were definitely some funny sounds that resulted from pulling up the clay, but as seen in the above video, it only took a quick squish of the mud to feel that it was pure clay. I found it amazing how intrinsic this process was. Before this experience, if someone asked me to describe the different between wet clay and mud, I may have struggled. This process made me realize how much more reliance there is on feeling while working with these natural materials. Looking at the ground wasn’t enough to know what was right, I had to touch it and sense the material with my hands in order to know.
This is how the clay looked immediately after scooping it out of the hole we dug and placing it into the wheelbarrow. It’s hard to envision how this natural clay could turn into fired pottery, but this is merely the first of many steps.This natural clay contains many different colours- rust and orange and blue and gray. It also contains many bits of plant debris, which will be removed in the next step.
Once I felt that we had collected enough natural clay, I pushed the wheelbarrow back across the field, trying not to slide too much in the very slippery earth. I was grateful for my rainboots to protect me, and I thought about what type of clothing a medieval European may have worn while harvesting clay. What types of footwear might they have had to keep themselves warm and dry?
The clay was very cold straight out of the ground, so we positioned ourselves as close to our bonfire as possible as we prepared for the next step of our pottery-making journey; processing our clay.
Here we will give more detail about the exact plan for our project, including each individual step we will take while working with the natural clay.
Our research questions:
What was the experience of harvesting clay from the ground like?
What was the experience of processing the clay like?
How did it feel to shape and sculpt the clay? Will it be easy and intrinsic, or will it take a lot of trial and error?
Will our clay objects survive being fired, and what changes will occur in the clay throughout that process?
How does our experience in harvesting, preparing and firing the clay compare to medieval sources and what may have been created in those times? What are our limitations? Did our experience ‘feel medieval’? Why or why not?
Throughout our little clay adventure, we will keep these questions in mind to think about and reflect on during the entire process.
Materials:
Clay harvested from family farm in Duncan – Alex has harvested this clay and worked with it previously so we know where to look and how to dig for it
Sand from river bed as a temper for the pottery (If the river is too high to collect sand safely, we will use play sand purchased from Canadian Tire)
Firewood and fire pit (located at the farm) to fire the pottery in
Big bucket of water to rewet our clay and make it easier to work with
Our own hands!
Likely we will have some tools like stick and scrapers to add details and designs to our sculpted objects
Finally, we will need plastic bags to cover our objects to allow them to dry slowly
The steps we will take:
We will harvest clay from clay deposits located on Alex’s family farm using shovels and a wheelbarrow. At this stage the clay will be chunky and brittle. We will also try to collect sand from the creek bed nearby that will be used as temper for our pottery. If the river bed is too high to reach the sand, however, we will substitute with play sand from Canadian Tire.
Processing the clay – this involves kneading the clay and squishing it together to make it more workable and cohesive. We will likely need to pick some rocks/roots/debris out of the clay at this point. Allowing the clay to dry more and/or adding water to the clay will also make it more workable.
Shaping the clay – we will shape the clay into various objects yet to be determined. We imagine we will make some bowls, plates, cups, and maybe some other objects that will be more fun/decorative depending on how much time we have.
Allowing the clay to dry – from conversations with friends who create pottery in their own time, we know that it is crucial to allow the clay to dry slowly and completely before firing it. Previously, Alex has learned this through error that resulted in her clay objects breaking and exploding in the fire, and we are hoping to avoid that. We will keep our clay objects covered to let them dry slowly, and give them at least a week to dry out completely.
Firing (this will likely happen a week or two later so Alex will most likely take the lead on it at the farm) – we will create an outdoor fire in our fire pit and make it as large and hot as possible to allow the fire to reach a high enough temperature. When Alex has experimented with this in the past it was possible but required a lot of stoking and firewood, as well as carefully placing the objects as close to the embers as possible. We will most likely place the objects in the fire for a few hours and then let the fire burn down and cover it overnight so that the objects are trapped in the heat of the embers.
The final step will be the following morning, pulling the objects out of the ashes. There will likely be a colour change to indicate if the clay has become pottery; we will also be able to hear the difference by flicking the objects with a finger and listening to the sound it makes. Alex will bring the objects back from Duncan for us to assess and analyse.
That is our plan! We have found a few YouTube videos we will likely consult whilst at the farm to figure out the best ways to shape our natural clay into bowls, plates, cups, or other objects commonly found on archaeological sites. The above video is more geared towards prehistoric pottery, but many of the techniques and information are still relevant, plus we just like looking at his silly little vest.
In our first post we will be giving a general outline of our goals for this experiential pottery journey we will be going on.
For our experiential archaeology project, we will be recreating medieval clay sourcing and pottery-making. We do so at one of our group member’s family farm, where there are natural clay deposits. The three of us will make the physical journey at the family farm to harvest the clay from the property’s creek, emulating the extraction process from medieval times and being able to experience how it would have felt to have to get the clay itself. What will the weather be like? How will it feel to dig the clay out of the ground? What tools will work best? Next, we will go through the pottery process, which includes preparing the clay, processing it, creating the pottery, letting it dry, and finally, firing the clay in a bon fire. Being able to experience the pottery process from start to finish will be an enriching and insightful experience – we’ll get to do the ‘dirtier’ work, as well as the artistic part of the process. We will try to make some objects commonly found in the archaeological record, such as bowls, cups, and plates, but if we have time we may experiment with our creativity and create some other decorative objects. The reality is; this is going to be wet, slimy, and messy, and we cannot wait to see where the adventure takes us.
