History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c15.s3.4

v1.c15.s3.4

The enigmatic feature of the OCP is its rolled nature. It has been generally attributed to its being ill-fired, and hence it is reasoned that the ochre colour of the surface has a tendancy to rub off easily. Since both the surfaces of the potsherds are considerably rolled, it has not been possible to ascertain whether the pottery is wheel thrown or hand made. It is, however, thought that the pottery is wheel made and the peeling off of the slip has been stated to be due to its being underfired (Thapar, p. 31). However, water logging and association with river silt are also said to be the causes of the rolled nature of the pottery. Examination by B.B. Lal of the OCP potsherds have shown that the surface has completely broken down due to weathering on account of prolonged action of subsoil moisture coupled with injurious soluble salts (Sinha, p. 91). According to him, “the conditions favourable for weathering may be present in the soil itself on account of subsoil moisture containing carbon dioxide and soluble salts (Sinha, p. 91). His tests indicates that the pottery is not underfired as is generally thought by archaeologists, but that it is at a sufficiently high temperature in an oxidising atmosphere (Sinha, p. 92)”. Lal does not agree that the rolled nature of the pottery is due to water- logging. He rightly questions : “How is it that at Bargaon, where ochre coloured pottery is associated with another red pottery, the effect of water logging is exhibited only by Ochre coloured pottery and not by the other pottery (Sinha, p. 92)”.