Pots of gold

My journal seem to have got stuck in a pottery groove. This evening we finished work early and went back to Sallèles, where we were on Thursday, to visit the Amphoralis museum, which is built directly over an exposed archaeological site, discovered in 1976 by a grower deep-ploughing a vineyard in order to replant it. Photos from the time show the earth thick with pottery fragments

The site was a huge pottery factory; amphorae from here were shipped all over Europe, usually containing local wine. Long before we ever came here, when we were both archaeologists in the UK, we dug up bits of pot that were made here. The museum building is like a huge bird with its wings arched over the site to protect it. Other than that, the displays are a bit minimal. The museum's real strength is in its practical activities. In 1997, they built a replica of one of the Roman kilns using the techniques of the time, and fired a few hundred pots in it -- we were there the day they opened the kiln after the first firing, almost exactly 16 years ago. There's now a video of the construction and firing which was fun to watch, and they fire it up at least once most summers. There are also replicas of Roman buildings.

Today, they were doing a workshop for kids, making oil lamps using small moulds. The lamps weren't actually fired so they couldn't be lit, but the children were able to take them home with them to use as ornaments. This was done in a "Roman" barn which was littered with pots, including some stacked in the eaves. I took quite a few photos and somehow liked the simplicity of this one, with the pots almost glowing in the early evening light. It's SOOC, no enhancement required.