One strange artifact found alongside others on the high bank of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania shows that the region's history is full of mysteries.
In 2013, the owner of the site discovered a white clay vessel next to a marmot hole. With her professional experience in artistic restoration, she immediately realized that this was something atypical for the region.
“White clay (kaolin) has no impurities, while the Indian pottery used natural mud and pigments mined nearby. In addition, Delaware pottery is usually dark in color, adding natural impurities such as grass and stones,”she explained. Also, the symmetrical shape indicates that it could have been cast, which is not typical of ceramics in North America.
Top right - inside view of a ceramic plug with a hole. Bottom right - top view of a ceramic plug. On the right is a vessel made of multilayer clay.
Another significant difference: White clay requires a higher and constant firing temperature (1315 degrees Celsius) in a closed kiln than burning wood that was used for traditional open firing by Native Americans.
It is believed that the vessel was made in several stages, from several layers of clay, it has frame rings around the neck and middle part. Microscopic examination revealed that the top and bottom sections appeared to have been connected and secured with a skeleton tape in the middle section.
The ancient Chinese were the first to use white clay, who over the centuries have perfected themselves in the creation of beautiful porcelain products, which have become very popular in Europe since the XIV century.
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In North America, huge deposits of high quality kaolin are found in the vicinity of the cities of Augusta and Macon, Georgia. Despite the availability of raw materials, South Carolina industrial ceramics businesses have failed to achieve the commercial success of kaolin products.
The utilitarian purpose of the artifact found in Pennsylvania remains unclear. A container with a stopper could have been used to store a liquid or powder, but there is a hole in this stopper.
The results of museum inquiries and other studies of similar earthenware vessels with a small hole in the plug and rings in the middle have been unsuccessful so far. A few of these examples were mainly perfume or Greek fire vessels such as pomegranates.
Byzantine vessel for "Greek fire" of the 10th century AD slightly resembles a find from Pennsylvania
But nothing remotely similar has been found in colonial North America.
Outwardly, it is impossible to distinguish between perfume containers and pomegranate. The scientific literature on such sphero-conical vessels shows that scientists have argued over whether they were intended to store valuable liquids or were used for military purposes. This can only be determined by analyzing the remainder.
Other items from the same place: 21mm raised star with blue translucent quartz and 4.7cm copper artifact, 7cm.
The owner of the artifact would like to know about its origin and hopes that the publication of articles in the media will help her to obtain this kind of information.
The high bank of the river is a desirable place for human settlement, regardless of the era. The pottery vessel and other unusual artifacts found there make one think of the countless generations to which this place was home.