Raw materials and paste from wheel-thrown ceramics from the gnezdovo burial ground

Abstract

This article presents the results of the technological study of wheel-thrown ceramics from the Gnezdovo burial ground. Analyses of the raw materials, methods of preparation and compositions of paste have shown that ancient potters obtained clay from several sources, but the major tradition was to use wet, plastic, ferrous clay with a low or moderate sand content. The most typical paste included clay + grit + organic solution. Other recipes were less common: clay + grit; clay + grit + organic substance of undetermined origin; clay + sand + organic solution. A blend of ceramic traditions is observed at the level of clay paste selection, as seen in two vessels made of a mixture of two types of clay. These fi ndings suggest that the Gnezdovo population was ethnically heterogeneous, and that one of the ceramic traditions was predominant.