Skara Brae Grooved Ware Urn / Neolithic

Details

This replica grooved ware pot is  based on a example found at Skara Brae, Orkney where the origins of grooved ware pottery almost certainly lie. 

Skara Brae was once an inland settlement on the edge of a fresh water loch on the Isle of Orkney. The amazingly preserved village  was built about 5000 years ago, that's before the stones were erected at Stonehenge and before the first Egyptian pyramids were constructed, Skara Brae is a truly remarkable survival.  

Occupied for around 500 years, the people of Skara Brae were some of the first people to begin producing  this distinctive flat bottomed pottery around 2700 BC.  Little is know about the uses of these beautifully decorated vessels.  Although, it has been suggested that they have been used to store and make food, and we were thrilled to have one of our replica grooved ware pots used in a very successful cheese making  experiment at Stonehenge. 

Materials

Smoke fired Terracotta

Dimensions

Approx. 170mm tall 200 mm diameter

Production

As with all my Museum Quality Replicas this pot has been made, as the original would have been,  entirely by hand from natural clay and using replicas of the types of tool that the Neolithic makers would have used.  In keeping with the original pot, the decoration has been applied using handmade bone  and antler tools

Health & Safety

This is a Museum Quality Replica and is not intended for use with food or drink, if you require replica pots for actual use with food of beverages, please ask before purchasing.

Firing

It has been fired to emulate the ancient firing conditions. The original pot would have been fired in an open wood fire, in close contact with the fuel, a process that leaves its mark on the clay as variations in the surface colour. However the very low temperatures achieved in open firings, also results in pots that are relatively weak, so this pot has been fired to a somewhat higher temperature to strengthen it, in a special firing process that allows me to achieve an authentic appearance to the pot. The exterior has been finished with beeswax to give a slight sheen.

Postage
All items are sent using a second class postal service, if you wish to have an item sent first class please contact my for a quote. Many Thanks