Pottery pieces
can be fired in an ancient-inspired pottery kiln.
Some of the only remaining evidence of mankind's oldest civilizations are pottery shards. These shards give us insight into the day to day lives of ancient man but we owe their longevity to the fact they were fire-hardened in a kiln. The oldest forms of pottery kilns were not much more than a hole in the ground filled with dried clay pieces with a fire on top; many variations of the kiln have developed over time. Because the rudiments of kiln construction are ancient, it is not difficult to build a pottery kiln, using the same basic tools and principles as ancient man.
Instructions
1. Survey the area where you want to build the kiln. Make sure there is no overhanging vegetation, shrubs or dry grasses nearby. Dig a 3-foot deep pit for constructing the kiln, which will be a modern version of the ancient pit kilns. Make the pit a minimum of 2-feet wide, wider if there is a lot of pottery to be fired.
2. Level the floor of the pit. The sides should be straight up. Lay a floor of bricks tightly packed together. Stack bricks along the walls of the pit, so your kiln is insulated.
3. Fill the pit with sawdust to around 3-inches deep. Lay your first pottery pieces in the sawdust, largest ones first. Apply more sawdust over the pottery pieces, then pack in the other pottery on top. Scrunch up balls of newspaper and place them on top of the pottery along with kindling.
4. Fill the remainder of the pit kiln with firewood. There should be about half the kiln full of pottery, half for the fire. Light the fire and get it going to a good blaze. Add more firewood as necessary.
5. Place a single brick on the side of the pit then drag the iron sheet (corrugated roofing iron works fine or anything comparable) over the pit to cover the kiln. Rest the cover on the brick to allow for ventilation.
6. Continue to tend the fire, making sure it keeps burning for at least 12 hours. Let the fire burn out and cool down; this can take up to six hours or more, so expect the whole process to take a full day and night. Unpack the pottery from the pit kiln once the fire is completely cooled.
