Year 4 Anglo-Saxon Pottery - The Finished Article

Pottery was a very important method of producing cheap cooking pots, bowls, cups, lamps, bottles, jugs, etc.. It was also used for loom-weights, crucibles and moulds. In early pagan Anglo-Saxon times pottery 'urns' were used to hold ashes of people who had died and been cremated. These were then often buried in small 'barrows'. Many of these cremation urns were highly decorated. The vast majority of the early pottery though was simply made, probably within the village or on the farm, using methods such as coiling or making thumb-pots. Later on, as shown by excavated examples, there were specialist potters who made wheel thrown pottery in towns. This was then sold by the potter, or possibly by travelling merchants in the markets, although some pottery would still be home produced.

 As part of Years 4 topic of the Anglo Saxons, they have been making Anglo Saxon pots using the coiling method. From designing them on paper, modelling the clay, painting them and finally glazing the pots they are ready. They are terrific! Well done Year 4 they look amazing!