Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c16.s3.t1.5

v1.c16.s3.t1.5

The main bulk of the pottery collection from Jorwe consists of sherds — mostly shoulder pieces — too fragmentary to indicate the shape that were employed in the various classes of the Jorwe ware. Barring a few very large storage jars, very small pots and lamps and dishes which are hand-made, the pottery is wheel-made. An examination of the core colours revealed that at least three different kinds of clay were used — red brown, grey and black which — under conditions of thorough oxidization burnt red. These clays appear to be alluvial and have a natural admixture of fine sand and therefore require no tempering material. Nearly all the pottery of Jorwe is made of local clay, its three kinds being available in abundance in the vicinity of Jorwe and in the middle and western parts of the northern half of the Ahmadnagar District. This tract of land lies in the valley of the Pravara. The soil along the banks of these rivers, particularly those of the Pravara, is extremely rich and clayey and resolves itself in three varieties: *kāli* or black, *tambat* or red and *barad* or grey, all noted for their more or less ferruginous character. In such favourable condition Jorwe appears to have developed as a centre of potters' craft in remote times. (Sankalia and Deo, 1955: 160-62)