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The Modern Antiquarian Forum » Shards of the Past |
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Wotan 606 posts |
Feb 22, 2005, 10:18
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Im a bit put out really, as where I am theres nothing of any great antiquity within reasonable access. So, I have been concentrating my efforts on the immediate vacinity which being mainly farmland, has a good deal of agricultural and victorian heritage. I noticed when i was out walking the dogs, that the earth of the nearby fields is littered with shards of pottery, stoneware and decorated ceramic. The fields have just been turned over by the plough and with the recent bad weather, a lot of shards are left exposed. So i did a bit of field walking and collected a number of interesting pieces. Its not really in the scope of this forum, being much too recent in terms of age, but the idea of being able to go out and discover traces of life from a time long past is very exciting. Besides, picking up what appears to be victorian pottery, the earth is littered with the stems and parts of clay pipes, which have presumably been used and discarded over time as the various farmers have worked the fields, smoking as they went and throwing down the broken pipes as they shattered with extended use, behind them to be crushed by the plough. The idea that in a time past, a very different society was living in this area and leaving behind traces of their lives is fascinating. These links to the past are easily discovered, and the period is well documented, but the feeling of being able to go out and touch these tiny shreds and traces of the past, outside of a museum is wonderful. Its a small step backwards into time, and who knows what might be revealed behind this again. It was interesting to read Nigels comments about documenting finds, and the nature of heritage and history. We're standing literally on the shoulders of giants, the people who have striven to make life for us what it is today and they in turn walk in the forgotten footsteps of civilisations which came before them. It should't be exploited and sold, it should be celebrated and preserved.
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moss 2897 posts |
Feb 22, 2005, 13:31
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It should't be exploited and sold, it should be celebrated and preserved. That of course is the truth that we should all be heading for, heritage does'nt actually belong to anyone, it represents all the people from the past that have lived, worked, created and died. Creativity whether it be through finely decorated objects or the creativity that built beautiful abbeys and cathedrals, or the erection of stone circles and tombs, is something that belongs within the commonwealth of us all, we have a right to see it protected either as individuals or through the necessary governing bodies. Also, because we are intensely curious, these things must have a place of understanding in our knowledge of the past. Above is not terribly well expressed, but it seems to me that in our modernity we have lost the spirit of community, that necessarily protects the place in which we live. Perhaps in the end an oldfashioned local history society recording the immediate local detail is just as important as the archaeologist learned tome.... so finding things, by what I consider the rather unfair and disruptive method of metal detectors, should be constrained within the framework that in the end it belongs to us all.....
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nigelswift 8112 posts |
Feb 22, 2005, 15:55
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As a smoker Wotan, I'm in process of saving enough bits of clay pipes out of fields to reconstruct one for my own use. I feel that smoking that in the High Street will fit in very well with my local image. Aside from sticking stuff in your mouth you can also reconnect with your ancestors just by seeing where the bits of pipe and bottles are. If the field is old enough you just think- where would I sit down for a smoke and a Cod Bottle of ginger beer as a break from working - and that's where they usually are. Very old trees are good markers as well, there's often stuff near- who wouldn't sit with their back against a convenient tree. This theory is probably complete tripe but I don't care, as it pleases me. That's a pleasure that sensible never experience.
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Rhiannon 5291 posts |
Feb 22, 2005, 16:03
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That's sheer common sense Nigel (as long as it was a nice big tree). Anyway mind out for those clay pipes: http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/34775 I love ceramics (oh yes, first lichens and now this revelation) and have always loved finding scraps of mysteriously patterned pottery in the ground. Let's hope no-one in 3105 will be cursing me for casually removing them. :) I guess the amount of throwaways our culture produces, any future archaeologists will be cursing the way it gets in the way of the finds of other periods. Anyway it's the finding and the thought that there's a connection with someone else's life in the past that I like. Arrowhead, Anglo-Saxon decorated buckle, scrap of white and blue pottery, I think the little thrill would be a matter of degree. Perhaps we can get those metal detectorists to swap to crocks. Oh no I forgot you can't flog those on e-bay.
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Wotan 606 posts |
Feb 22, 2005, 16:20
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Im all in favour of the simple pleasures, too. I dont know about the theory being tripe, as it makes complete sense. Its an essential human need which is being fulfilled - the need to eat, sleep rest etc. Having a quick smoke after a hard days labour under a harsh sun is something people have done for years, and you wouldnt automatically bed down in the middle of a field, you'd go and find a favourite spot, and as you say, old trees etc are ideal. The earth here is a rich, fertile loam. When its just been turned it looks like chocolate pudding. Its easy to imagine that the area would have been farmed for centuries. Apparently the area has a long history of weaving, both in wicker and in textiles and is on a major trade route with the Mersey estuary. The remains of a franciscan abbey are not far away, which is about as close to an ancient monument that i can get, but its easy to imagine the procession of peoples over time - each living off the land and waterways. Im just dowsing and fieldwalking at the moment, but if I do discover an intact pipe, Nigel, I reckon it'll have your name on it. Wandering Wotan
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nigelswift 8112 posts |
Feb 22, 2005, 16:34
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As it's confession time, yes , me too I'm a sucker for pottery. Bits of blue and white, such an infinite variety of patterns - sometimes you can recognise it as the same as really expensive pieces in the auctions. And clay marmalade jars, and bottles. I have this vision of a comely wench bringing a foaming jug of cider out at harvest time and tripping up... sorry, wrong forum. And that bright yellow 16th century slipware, there's lots in my local fields, small pieces. And great big perfect platters of it in the museum. I reckon scatters are a whole world of knowledge, and if they're metal scatters, only 1736 in twenty eight thousand haven't been or won't be stolen from us. Now look, you've set me off again!
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nigelswift 8112 posts |
Feb 22, 2005, 16:40
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I remember your fields, nice and dark, just right as I recall. Good for flint, that shows up after rain - and if you find any there it'll probably have been worked I imagine, not like that stupid Wiltshire.
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Rhiannon 5291 posts |
Feb 22, 2005, 16:58
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slipware...mmm... the shards are almost better than the pots (not quite so full on and you can carry one round with you) - must get a grip - (wrong thread I know: But just to say your piece on the metal detectorists is persuasively and eloquently written (all signal and no noise) and I'm going to print it out to read it properly.)
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nigelswift 8112 posts |
Feb 22, 2005, 18:16
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That's kind of you. It's the research, you see - six months of lurking and interraction on detectorists forums then a short step into the bright real world and BLLLLLAAAAAAH a projectile vomit of pent up frustration and digust, over in minutes! Hahahaha!
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Rune 288 posts |
Feb 23, 2005, 00:47
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<i>Besides, picking up what appears to be victorian pottery, the earth is littered with the stems and parts of clay pipes, which have presumably been used and discarded over time as the various farmers have worked the fields, smoking as they went and throwing down the broken pipes as they shattered with extended use, behind them to be crushed by the plough. The idea that in a time past, a very different society was living in this area and leaving behind traces of their lives is fascinating.</i> Hi Wotan, Some of the pipes may not be as old as you think. My ancient eccentric neighbour smoked one often, this was up to about 7 years ago. It was quite a sight to see her pruning the roses with her clay pipe held tightly between her teeth as she puffed clouds of smoke everywhere! I have identical bits of broken pipe ( I wonder how many were hers? ) and victorian pottery in my garden. The mouthpieces of the clay pipes are glazed or perhaps painted bright red. The broken plates come in blue and white, then more rare green and white, purple and white and a pinky-red and white. I had around half a bucketful of this ceramic treasure at one time, I never did reconstruct a whole plate. I toyed with making something in the garden with it, a Gaudi meets Groundforce construction, but never had time. I also find a fair amount of broken carnival glass, usually a pale bluish tinge with a faint rainbow lustre. There was one intact pop-bottle with a marble for a stopper and <i>I think</i> one intact pipe. One very intriguing object did turn up, our builder found a small chalk ball when he was digging the foundations for a wall. He put it in his pocket and told me later when the area he found it in was deep in set concrete <sob> The ball is about an inch in diameter and has what could be two lines scratched into it. It's definitely been shaped by hand as it's not a regular sphere. It's always interesting to speculate who may have used the pipes and pottery, some of the pieces I found varied a great deal in quality and I thought of the better pieces being used for their "Sunday Best". Rune
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