Crafting Europe in the Bronze Age and Today (CRAFTER)

Common to several societies of Bronze Age Europe was the manufacture of highly burnished drinking vessels and tableware, which became central to new ways of commensality. This last word, which literally means 'table-sharing', captures very well the European spirit of sharing common spaces and values. Two additional reasons, equally in line with the aims of the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage, explain the focus of CRAFTER on manufactured pottery. First, it represents a skill and trade severely endangered by the advance of industrial production and modern consumption habits, and therefore needs to be re-invented in order to endure. Second, with a focus on Bronze Age traditions, pottery can contribute to present-day audiences and future generations a wealth of archaeological, cultural, aesthetic, and scientific values. It has the potential to become a source of creativity and assist the renewal of European artisanship. Thus, CRAFTER seeks both to reveal and revive Bronze Age achievements in the area of ceramic production that are enjoyable even to modern tastes.