Thought those old pottery shards at my local dig were just junk, turned out to be 18th century trade ware

A few years back I volunteered at a community dig in Williamsburg, Virginia, and there were all these tiny broken pottery pieces scattered everywhere. I honestly thought they were just broken flower pots from some old garden, nothing special. But the site director pointed out the blue floral pattern on one piece and tied it to a specific Chinese export pattern from the 1760s. Apparently those "junk" shards were part of a big shipment that came through the port back then. It really changed how I look at random fragments now. I mean, how do you guys tell the difference between regular old broken ceramic and something historically important? I feel like I'd miss it every time.

2 comments

2 Comments

margaretramirez13d agoTop Commenter

Respectfully, I see it a bit different. Some of the old breaks I've seen from legit historic sites can actually look pretty fresh too, especially if the ground conditions were stable. There's a lot of factors at play here besides just how weathered the edge is.

blakestone13d ago

A good trick is to look at the edges of the break. Old breaks get this worn down, almost sandy feel to them from being in the ground so long. If it looks fresh and sharp, it's probably modern junk.