Organic inclusions in Middle and Late Iron Age (5th-12th century) hand-built pottery in present-day Latvia

The results of this study demonstrate that the dark colouration produced by organic matter in the core of the experimental ceramic fabric is preserved up to a temperature 700 °C. Pottery firing experiments show that chaff and flax shives left medium-to coarse-grained inclusions in the structure, resembling the archaeological pottery. On the other hand, experimental samples with seeds did not correspond exactly to any of the known ancient wares. The presence of spores of coprophilous fungi Sporormiella and Apiosordaria suggests that the fabric of a small number of Iron Age pottery samples analysed in the present study could possibly contain animal dung.