How to tell wheel–thrown from hand–made wares

Throwing on a wheel in the Roman tradition leaves typical horizontal throwing grooves on the inner side of the sherd. By contrast hand-made wares in the tradition of native potteries in South West England often show traces of finger-marks on the interior, even when the external surface has been smoothed by burnishing to appear very like wheel-thrown wares. The pottery fragment in the photo is hand-made.

Acknowledgments: © Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter City Council