The medieval pottery shard I found in my backyard wasn't what I expected

I was digging up a patch for a small garden bed last spring near my house in rural Ohio and hit something hard about 8 inches down. Pulled out a chunk of pottery that looked old, like medieval old, with a greenish glaze on one side. I took it to a local archaeology club meeting a month later, and a university researcher there told me it was actually a piece of 19th century stoneware from a nearby factory. I learned that a lot of what looks ancient to amateurs is just everyday stuff from the 1800s, but it still got me hooked on checking my yard for more pieces. Has anyone else brought random finds to a professional and gotten a surprising answer?

2 comments

2 Comments

webb.jordan1mo ago

Honestly I kind of disagree with the whole "expert knows best" vibe here. Those researchers get stuff wrong all the time, theyre just people with opinions. I bet if you took that shard to a different archaeologist theyd say its medieval for sure, those old factory theories are just guesses half the time.

gibson.sean1mo ago

Man @webb.jordan you NAILED it. Experts are way too cocky.