Celtic Pots

Pottery & Ceramics

Pottery artifacts are far from rare. During the firing process, the clay pot is transformed into ceramic material which is almost indestructable. The following graphics are from drawings made by various artists working in the field of archaeology.

This is to give you an idea of the range of styles and sizes the pots are made in. The smallest can be less than 2 cms and the largest over 1 metre tall! Decoration tends to be local designs - but there are always exceptions.
Most pottery finds are 'sherds' or pieces of broken pots. It can be quite a challenge to fit them together.
Some of the finest decorations on pottery in Britain come from the area around Glastonbury in Somerset. Two villages have been excavated from the marshes, the first known as the Glastonbury Lake Village, and the second as the Meare Lake village. They are only 2 kilometres apart.
This pot is one of the finest, with decoration known as Curvi-Linear, or Insular British. This form of artwork is true 'Celtic Art' as opposed to the 'Saxon called Celtic' knotwork. (See Celtic art on this site.)
Even within one archaeological site there is often a wide range of pots and decoration. This reflects the artists who created the pots, and changes in fashion.
In late Iron Age there was an influx of ideas and cultures from mainland Europe. One of the changes in pottery was the import, and production, of high quality 'black burnished' ware. In some circles it is referred to as 'Belgic' ware.
Fired clay is not just pots. In this example the clay has been moulded into a 'loom weight'. Probably used for putting tension onto the warp threads of an upright loom.
Here is another loom weight. This one has holes through all three corners, so if one corner breaks the weight can still be used.