The search for workable clay - part 3

Yesterday (Wednesday - internet issues prevented an earlier upload), Team Clay consisted of Akim, Wouter, Olga, Loe and myself.

Akim and Olga have been learning the craft of potting (making pottery) from Loe, the master potter. So it was really nice to have them come along and help us sample clay in the southern part of the island. Again, it was a lot of driving in the hot sunshine, but I can now say that I driven over the entire island. In total, over the three days, we have collected 32 samples of clay. Loe now has the task of testing these samples to see whether they are suitable for making pots. The clay needs to be plastic enough that it can be moulded into shape, but not so plastic that it cannot hold the shape. Loe will determine which clays are good for pottery making and which would be ok if mixed with something else, for example, sand. Based on this knowledge, we plan to test the chemical composition of the workable clays. Then we can attempt to start matching the source clay to the chemical composition of the ceramic objects we have found at La Poterie. By doing this we hope to locate the potential clay raw material sources that may have been used in the past.

Sampling clay has been an interesting experience. We have seen a number of local interest sites on the way, although we do get strange looks when we stop at the side of the road, all pile out of the car, start bagging mud, leap back into the car and drive off again. Sometimes people stop to ask what we are doing, and usually they are very helpful and tell us about the local oral traditions of mothers and grandmothers making the pots for individual households. Even so, some of the information we have received has been contradictory. In the north and west of the island, people were telling us the clay was all imported, while in the south and east, they tend to send us back to places like La Poterie. We have to be a bit careful and selective with the info, otherwise I'd still be driving around in 3 weeks time. I am curious to see what results Loe comes up with, it will be interesting to see which, if any, of the samples we took could be a potential match to the type of clay used in the past.