Pottery

The production of clay vessels required the potter to have special knowledge: The clay had to be enriched with small stones so it did not crack during firing. Part of the clay was flattened to create a base. The rest was formed into coils, layed around the base, and smoothed over. Thus, the wall of the vessel developed bit by bit. Patterns were etched or pressed into the drying clay and were filled with a white paste for decorative purposes. After the vessel dried in the open air for a couple of days, it could be fired. The amphora from Hamburg-Winterhude comes from a flat grave of the Funnel-necked Beaker Culture as a singular, unusual grave good.