Firing Pottery in a Pit Kiln

By J. Egland-Anderson
Published on July 1, 1981
article image
Flickr/Hans Splinter

Some of the world’s most beautiful ceramic ware has been produced by firing pottery in a pit kiln.

In 1909, the head of an archaeological expedition in New Mexico asked Maria Martinez–a member of the San Ildefonso Pueblo–to duplicate several types of ancient pottery. With nothing to go on but a few shards the team had recovered, Maria accomplished the task by means of a very old technique that has been used, with slight variations, by primitive potters all over the world.

Firing pottery in a pit kiln like the one Maria constructed (to keep her reproductions as accurate as possible) is a method perfectly suited to the needs of today’s rural craftspeople, too. In fact, it can be built by anyone who has access to an open space, some dry cow or horse manure, twigs, scrap metal, and a supply of broken pottery.

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