The Occurrence of Drilled Holes in Later Neolithic Pottery

Abstract

Holes drilled after firing are an occasional occurrence in earlier prehistoric pottery, and are generally accepted as intended to enable repair of cracks or breaks by binding. It would seem reasonable to expect that rates of repair would be fairly consistent, but this is not the case with later Neolithic ceramics in southern Britain. There, drilled holes are more common in the Grooved Ware tradition than in the Beaker or Peterborough traditions, and it is suggested that this may be owing to the high symbolic content of Grooved Ware rendering the repair of such vessels particularly worthwhile to their users. Other factors likely to influence the decision to repair rather than discard vessels are considered, and in this connection the fabrics of repaired vessels in the earlier Neolithic assemblage at Maiden Castle are also briefly discussed. A short list of sites with repaired vessels is appended.

Ambiguous symbols: why there were no figurines in Neolithic Britain

“…The King Barrow Wood plaques were deposited with some formality in a pit that also contained sherds of Grooved Ware, and in this case it seems that it was the symbols themselves, rather than the medium that bore them, that were of importance. The same argument applies to Grooved Ware pots themselves, for petrological analysis demonstrates that they were rarely traded over any distance, although individual pots were often curated, to judge by the presence of repair-holes used to bind breaks together (Cleal 1988).…”

Reconnecting the Late Neolithic Social Landscape: A Micro-Regional Study of Objects, Settlements and Tombs from Iberia

“…Occasional breakage and repair of vessels tends to be seen as a random part of the natural cycle of pottery use in domestic contexts, which is why such features have received little attention. Acts of repair have been explained as a response to seasonality constraints to pottery production (Howard, 1981: 25), or linked to ceremonial contexts (Cleal, 1988). The relative rarity of repaired vessels in British prehistory suggests that pottery would not have been routinely curated, a practice probably reserved for specific vessels that could not be easily replaced (Cleal, 1988: 141-42).…”

Ancestor Artefacts - Ancestor Materials

“…Similarly, the large number of holes in sherds of Grooved Ware appears to be related to repair of the vessels with now‐decayed organic material. The fact that this type of Neolithic ceramic is four times more likely to have such repair holes suggests efforts to preserve these particular types of vessel as heirlooms (Bradley 2002, 57; Cleal 1988). It can even be suggested that obvious repairs may have acted in the same way as patina, indicating age and an earlier ‘life’ or ancestry for the vessel.…”