Archaeology Underwater: The NAS Guide to Principles and Practice

ARCHAEOLOGICALILLUSTRATION 175

Check, and repeat if possible for the other side. The meas-
urement obtained using the radius chart provides the posi-
tion of the rim for the opposite side of the vessel. Pots
and other objects are very rarely symmetrical and it is not
appropriate to make a measured drawing of one side and
then use a tracing of this to form the outline of the oppo-
site side. However, where only one side of the vessel is avail-
able, the same piece will have to be used to reconstruct
both sides of the outline. It might be possible to extend
the outline by studying the shape of the fragments from
the body of the vessel. The more pieces that are available,
the more easily this can be done. Conjectural sections of
any outline should be indicated using a dotted line.
If no rim or base fragments are available, then it
may not be possible to reconstruct the shape of the
vessel being studied. Some indication of shape can be
provided by drawing cross-sections of the body sherds, but
an unacceptable amount of guesswork may be involved
to reconstruct a complete outline. This does not mean,
however, that such pottery fragments are useless; they may
have distinctive decoration or construction marks that
should be recorded and not ignored.
Once an outline has been drawn, it is usual to draw
a line through the mid-point of the pot, dividing it in
half. The convention is that the left side is used to show
internal detail, while the right shows external features
(figure 18.7).
Using callipers, measure the thickness of the wall
(figure 18.8) and draw a cross-section through the vessel.
This is shown on the left-hand side of the drawing.
Careful attention should be paid to internal details at this
stage. In the case of complete pots these may not be easy
to observe but the study of broken examples of similar
pots may help in assessing what might be there, and in
developing a strategy for recording it. On the right-hand

side of the pot, indicate external features such as decora-

tion, or technical traits. Outlines of handles and spouts

often cause problems and various conventions exist

for showing them in section as well as in profile (figure

18.9). However, handles usually appear on the right of

the drawing and spouts on the left. Check the resulting

dimensions of the object carefully by direct measurement

and with callipers.

Recording ‘By Eye’

Objects can also have their outline recorded ‘by eye’. The

object is carefully positioned on the paper and supported

by modelling clay. It is important that it does not move

at all throughout this process. The draughtsperson then

positions him/herself over the edge of both the object and

AB

Figure 18.6 When attempting to orientate a sherd of pot-
tery correctly on a radius chart, the presence of throwing
marks (horizontal lines created during manufacture) can be
very useful, especially when rims are rounded or abraded:
A) the marks can be seen to be horizontal, indicating that
the sherd is in its correct orientation; B) the rim is not cor-
rectly aligned and would give an incorrect reading on the
chart. (Based on original artwork by Ben Ferrari)

Figure 18.7 A simple pottery drawing. The convention is

to show the outside of the vessel on the right and the inside

in section on the left, with a central line separating the two

(imagine that the quarter of the pot on the near left has

been cut away). The outside surface detail appears on the

right, with the hard lines around the rim circumference and

base shown complete and the less dominant throwing

lines on the body incomplete and fading to emphasize their

softer nature. On the left-hand side we see the section

of the vessel, emphasized in black, and an indication of

throwing lines on the inside wall. This pot has a handle on

each side. The right one is shown externally, with a cross-

section, while the left-hand one is sectioned vertically, and

hatched to indicate that it has been added to the body of

the vessel. These simple conventions, which should be fol-

lowed wherever possible, can be adapted to accommodate

the peculiarities of individual pots. (Colin Martin)