The Indus Civilization c9.4

c9.4

Although, being wood, no potter’s wheels have yet been found, the kilns in which the pots were baked have survived; they are round structures, between six and seven feet in diameter, with a perforated floor upon which the vessels were laid. A wood fire was kindled in a space below this floor, fed from outside, and the smoke was carried away through a hole in the domed roof—though no kiln is sufficiently well preserved to retain this upper portion. The heating was well controlled, for much of the pottery is most efficiently fired; a few over-baked vessels have come to light, but these had retained their shape sufficiently to be put into use.