Crete is the richest area in quantity and quality of clay in the whole of Greece. Experienced potters recognise the various clays and their properties by eye and feel. The following clays are used for making pots:
·
Kokkinohoma
, a fine-grained red clay used for making strong vessels with thin walls and a smooth surface without further processing.
·
Lepida
, a hard, compact clay very common in Crete. This is mainly used as the top layer of mud roofs, as it is waterproof. It is usually grey-blue and, more rarely, dark red in colour.
·
Koumoulia
, a fine-grained, light yellow clay which gives vessels a smooth surface.
Clays vary greatly depending on the quality and quantity of other natural substances they contain. Their properties vary accordingly and are of course transferred to the end product.
Cretan traditional potters, drawing on millennia of experience, exclusively use the three types of clay mentioned above, on their own or in
admixtures
:
The percentage of each varies depending on the natural qualities of the clays, with a mixture of 60-80% lepida and 20-40% kokkinohoma used to make pithoi.
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