Confecționarea experimentală a ceramicii preistorice: tehnica presării în forme de lut / Creating Experimental Prehistoric Pottery: Pre‑shaped Clay Molds Pressing Technique

Abstract

This paper presents the preliminary results of an extensive experimental research based on the conclusions drawn from the examination of black-topped pottery belonging to the Foeni group from the Alba Iulia-Lumea Nouă settlement (Alba County). A considerable amount of fine quality ceramics and also an increased fragmentary state of the discoveries enabled us to make some detailed observations on the manufacturing technique of these particular vessels, bringing into discussion another pottery making sequence, quite different from the coiling technique. This category of fine ware pottery, found in Transylvania at the beginning of the Eneolithic period, revealed some remarkable technical details, showing traces of a production process based on pressing the clay in pre-shaped (concave) molds. The starting point of this experimental approach was based on observations regarding the layered structure (in section) of the pottery artifacts (fig. 2/a-b; fig. 3/a-b) which pinpointed to a certain production process (fig. 7–8). When compared, the cross-section of our replica pots after firing in an experimental kiln, is very similar to those found on Foeni pottery fragments (fig. 11–12). These results are important because they indicate a review of the technological process of handbuilding Eneolithic pottery. This experimental research is part of a scientific project focused on the study of Neolithic and Eneolithic painted pottery in Transylvania, aiming to answer also some of the questions regarding the use of this pressed clay method in a broader area while gathering more data about other possible implications of the use of this particular technological approach.