In an archaeological site pottery is the first evidence and the most constant and crucial presence to understand the nature of the structures that is being analyzed and specially to propose a dating. From the examination of the ceramic forms we can understand decisive aspects of material life of populations who lived in a site, from the productive aspects to the commercial, social and cultural ones.

In this workshop we propose the experience of “having a finger in the pie”, reviving an ancient Roman workshop where the potter produced pottery for ritual purpose in the nearby sanctuary.

The workshop entails two phases:

In the first theoretical part, which takes place in classroom, the archaeologist will show the archaeological site of La Cuma, the archaeological excavation, the discovered ceramic forms, the typologies, and the main uses of the roman pottery.

In the second part, which is entirely practical, the students will mould the clay to create vases or plates, or one of the typical ceramic forms of the ancient rituality used for libations and offers, perhaps by engraving an inscription to the deity for propitiatory purposes. Then they move on to the drying phase and the dedication phase in the temple of Jupiter. Actually, at the end of the workshop, the students will be able to take home the works done as a memory of the experience they lived.

Preferably intended for students from kindergarten, primary school and first level of secondary school.

Duration: 3 hours (visit of the archaeological site, workshop, break).