potsherds
Broken pottery pieces
Potsherds are broken pieces of pottery, especially fragments found at archaeological sites.
The word combines pot with shard (a broken piece).
Archaeologists study potsherds to date sites and understand ancient cultures: The dig yielded hundreds of potsherds from the Bronze Age.
Also spelled potshards.
Act of unearthing
- digUnearth by shoveling
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- contextCircumstances shaping meaning
- chronologyTemporal ordering of events
settlement · remains · layer · trench · grid · survey · fieldwork · typology
Moldable earth for ceramics
- terracottaFired reddish-brown ceramic
- earthenwareLow-temperature fired pottery
- stonewareDense ceramic fired hot
- porcelainTranslucent fired clay
glaze · kiln · firing · slip · wheel-thrown · temper · grog · burnished
Small broken-off piece
- pieceA portion or segment
- fragmentIncomplete portion of whole
- breakageAct of shattering
- brokenDamaged beyond function
remnant · splinter · section · reassembly · joining · mending · reconstructed · incomplete
Great age, ancient era
- relicPreserved ancient object
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- civilizationAdvanced organized human society
- MesopotamiaTigris-Euphrates river region
Egypt · Greece · Rome · Bronze Age · Iron Age · Neolithic · prehistoric · dynasty
excavation
Act of unearthing
- digUnearth by shoveling
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- contextCircumstances shaping meaning
chronology · settlement · remains · layer · trench · grid · survey · fieldwork · typology · carbon-dating
clay
Moldable earth for ceramics
- terracottaFired reddish-brown ceramic
- earthenwareLow-temperature fired pottery
- stonewareDense ceramic fired hot
porcelain · glaze · kiln · firing · slip · wheel-thrown · temper · grog · burnished · incised
chip
Small broken-off piece
broken · remnant · splinter · section · reassembly · joining · mending · reconstructed · incomplete · partial
antiquity
Great age, ancient era
- relicPreserved ancient object
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- civilizationAdvanced organized human society
Mesopotamia · Egypt · Greece · Rome · Bronze Age · Iron Age · Neolithic · prehistoric · dynasty · classical
- artifactsknives, masks, antiquity, inscriptions, manuscripts
- archaeologyexcavation, dig site, archaeologist, dig, archaeological digs
- ancient documentsscroll, scrolls, papyrus, papyrus scrolls, parchment
- ancient potteryamphora, amphorae, earthenware, Greek vase, krater
- pottery fragmentsshards
- ancient inscriptionscuneiform tablets, stone tablets, stele, cuneiform, inscription