Puzzling but precise – intrigued by impressions on pottery sherds

We find fingerprints, cord, basketry and other impressions left in damp pottery while pieces were made in the Neolithic but some new examples have left us puzzled and intrigued.

They were discovered by Alison, one of our volunteers, a few weeks ago.  Look closely and you will see the sherds are covered in tiny diamond shapes, impressed into the surface of the pot at some stage, apparently when it was still damp and capable of taking on the texture of whatever came in contact with it. 

Jan, one of our ceramics specialists, will take RTI images of the sherds for further examination and much thought will go into what it was that left these marks. Dr Susanna Harris, of the University of Glasgow, will also have a look. She is a specialist in textiles working in both the Galloway Hoard and the Must Farm projects.

Our ceramics volunteers, Alison, Kathy and Vicki, come in a day a week, recording details about every bag of Ness pottery, of which there are many thousands. Sometimes there’s a single sherd in a bag, sometimes hundreds. Vicki had the joy of 238 pieces in one modestly sized bag!

The detail they record forms the basis of our ceramics catalogue, with specialists Roy and Jan then filling in the detail by the power of their expert eyes. It’s a dusty and delicate process for everyone on the team. 

From late June, to progress things, we have a team joining us on site to carry out more pottery triage.

They will be in place for six weeks and although it’s not a big team – our space to work in is limited – but we’re looking forward to having them here and catching up with old friends.