The
trade
of pottery was very difficult in ages past due to the lack of wheeled transport. The Venetian and Turkish conquerors systematically avoided the creation of a road network in Crete, probably in order to prevent the rebellious population from moving quickly in carts from distant areas. For 700 years, transport was by pack animal along cobbled paths. Potters only used donkeys, because they are slow-moving, placid animals, unlike mules and horses whose rapid pace would make the load bump about and jar the pots.
Pots were transported to nearby villages. Potters avoided travelling long distances because it took a long time, and loaded the pots on fishing boats where possible for transport by sea. Payment was rarely in cash and pots were mainly bartered for foodstuffs.
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