Pottery washing is an essential part of an archaeological dig.

Each afternoon we wash the pottery that has been found during the morning so that it can be read the next day.

Pottery washing is also a time when the volunteers can mix together and talk while washing the pottery. It is a very social time during the dig. You can see above that we even have a dog that is joining in.

The pottery that we find helps give context to the are that we are digging in here at Lachish.

The archaeologists can date the area we are digging by the type of pottery that is found.

The style and construction methods of pottery change with time and this is essential in dating other finds.

Just think of how we can tell when a cup or plate has been made based on how it looks. Remember the cups or plates from the 60’s or 70’s?

Here is Luke talking to one of the archaeologists while washing pottery. The archaeologists come out and help wash after they finish the pottery reading. It is a good time to learn more about pottery.

The colorful buckets here are the pottery buckets. They are colored so that they are easily identified. You don’t want to accidentally fill one with dirt while working in your square.

This afternoon they had a bit of fun and stacked them in pyramid when we were done. This helps them dry as they they have air flow and are not sitting directly on the ground.

Today it took a long time to finish as we had pottery from both today and yesterday. The first part of the week is grueling.

Maybe someday I will write a post about the different types of pottery, but I need to learn a lot more before I do.

Steven