Creating the so-called graphite-coated pottery of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages: An experimental approach to manufacturing prehistoric pottery

Abstract

Over the centuries, various minerals were used in pottery production; for some societies, graphite played a unique role. Certain areas lack local sources of this mineral but simultaneously reveal a great occurrence of ‘graphite-coated’ pottery. Still, it is commonly believed that the surface of these vessels was coated with graphite. The aim of the article is to examine whether the surface visually characterised as ‘graphited’(suggesting the use of graphite) could be achieved without the application of the mineral and what the technological process of manufacturing might have looked like. Macroscopical and archaeometry recognition features of ‘graphite-coated’ pottery and mineral graphite were indicated. A series of experiments were performed to achieve a lustrous, silver surface without applying mineral graphite. The firing process was conducted in two types of kilns reconstructed according to archaeological sources from the territory of Poland dated to the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. The reproduced pottery shows surfaces very similar to their prehistorical counterparts. The significant occurrence of this type of pottery indicates its production could also be conducted in areas lacking mineral graphite.