The Mellor Pot
One problem in associating Mellor with other Iron Age sites in the region had been the lack of material culture found, which had made previous attempts to establish a sequence of pottery types almost impossible.In 2001 however Mellor produced pottery from several Iron Age contexts, with Trench 15 in particular producing 125 sherds of pottery belonging to the same Iron Age pot. These were conserved and the pot reconstructed as The Mellor Pot.
Extract from Conservation report on the Mellor Pot by Alison Walster
Visual examination/ condition
"The vessel consisted of approximataely 125 sherds, which appeared to be in fairly stable condition although several had laminating surfaces. The fabric was light-dark brow/black in colour to its outer surface and patchy dark red/brown oner most of its interior. The broken edges revealed a dark core and fairly dense temper. Fingermarks were visible around the rim of the vessel, giving a 'dimpled' appaerance where it had been squeezed or pinched and these may be partly decorative. The vessel was hand built and the walls were uneven in thickness. The outer surface had been smoothed, ma process which gave a roughly burnished appearance to the finished vessel.X-Radiographic examination
The vessel sherds were x-rayed ( at 100kvp for 1-1.5 mins) to see if this would aid the process of reconstruction. Unfortunately, this was not the case but the x-rays revealed that the vessel was tempered with an array of inclusions varying widely in density and size. Some of the inclusions appeared to be very similar to a grog-tempered experimental briquette x-rayed at the same time and may,therefore be grog. The white inclusions on the x-ray indicate that the vessel was tempered with a very dense, almost metallic material, which was initially thought to be slag tempering. Although the metallic nature of this material was conformed by running a magnet over the surface of the smaller sherds, subsequent petrographic analysis showed that the material; was not slag. Overall, the temper appears to be poorly mixed and fairly random.
Conservation
The sherds were carefully cleaned with a soft brush to remove any loose soil, prior to being stuck with HMG Paraloid B72 adhesive ( methyl methacrylate copolymer in a solvent base). It was decided not to consolidate, since most of the fragments appeared to be strong. Where the surface was spalling away on some sherds, it was repaired using the above adhesive. Although much of the vessel is missing, particularly around the rim and central body area, it was possible to reconstruct a basic profile suitable for display.
Stages in the reconstruction of the Mellor Pot
The Mellor Pot can usually be seen on display at the Stockport Story Museum