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 MEDIEVAL SAUSAGE 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)
References:
English Heritage. (2017, April 3). How To Make Prehistoric Pottery | Stone Age Technology [Video recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrI1LJbKIvk.