The archaeologists have stopped digging, and now what is left is the clean up, mapping and processing of the pottery. Depending on the season, many fragments of pottery shards are found. Sometimes, as much as tons of shards have been found at some archaeological sites. Not all the shards are important, nor can they all be processed and stored. Abdel Aziz as found a sweet, nearly whole vessel, but more often than not, the pottery shards are fragments from the bodys of anonymous vessels.


Elsie Peck is sorting through the containers of pottery found this year. We save shards that are diagnostic, such as rims, bases, handles, or areas of especially fine painted decoration or maker's marks, for photography and drawing. When possible, a broken vessel will be re-joined with adhesive to make drawing or photography easier. Some ceramics have soluble salts in the ceramic fabric, which can be highly destructive. Usually, the washing process for the shards removes the salts, so these are generally not problematic at Mut.

Lisa Bruno, Objects Conservator