Project title: Differences and similarities in the firing processes of coarse and good quality pottery.

Researcher: Zsuzsa Mersdorf, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Ungarn - E- mail: mersdorf(at)archeo.mta.hu

Year: 2004

Abstract:

The Medieval settlement of Zalavár in Hungary has been excavated within the last couple of years. Many finds have been recovered which can give information about the daily lives of people in the Middle Ages; the pottery finds in particular are very good. The ceramics from the settlement can be divided into two groups – the coarse pottery which was used for cooking pots and storage, and the fine pottery which was used as tableware. The fine pottery was also an important trade good in the area.

In the experiment the two types of pottery were reconstructed in order to gain a better understanding of the different production methods such as the firing temperatures. Through that an impression of what kind of potters working in Zalavár was gained. The two types of pottery were made in very different ways. Whereas the fine pottery was fired in a reconstructed oven, the coarse pottery was fired in miles or pits. Probably the production of the fine pottery demanded a special knowledge so only very experienced potters were able to make the fine pottery, but not to understand as if the potters were specialized in only producing this. The reconstructed pottery is still to be analysed in the laboratory and compared with analyses of the original pottery from Zalavár.

Reference number: HAF 13/04