[ " I can suggest that the clay
shards were an excellent complement to the char. Undoubtably and amazingly,
the ancient peoples knew this. The question is how did they know, with so
little knowledge of chemistry. Chock another one up to knowing the results of
chemistry over knowing the chemistry itself.
[Ron Larson] Speaking as the husband of a potter, I can say
that the low-fired clay such as they probably used is much more
porous than the typical pottery we buy in the US. It will be interesting
to hear more about the fired clay density they have found in practice.
But I would still like to hear more on why you think the pot shards have a
chemical value. Unless they are very low fired - they will have very
little solubility (ie - archaeologists find pot shards that are thousands of
years old - but don't look it.) (I think - maybe under a microscope
there is significant erosion.) The key question is - what is the lowest
cost way to get whatever else is needed into the ground.
Glad to hear the work is going well. Thanks for
your report.
Ron
