The technique of shaping clay to form tiles, vessels and other artefacts is almost as old as civilization itself and it soon became common to decorate them. It is probable that the first potter’s wheel was in operation in the Middle East around 4000 BC. Previously, as early as 7900 BC in China, pots had been fashioned either by moulding coils of clay by hand or by using casts. It had been discovered that firing the clay in ovens or kilns increased the strength of the finished object. A later discovery was glazing which made pottery non-porous. Early glazes were made either from sand fired with soda or with lead oxide. Painted ceramics date from Neolithic times when the same natural pigments used to draw on the walls of caves served to decorate pots. At varying times in history pottery has moved from the mainly utilitarian as in medieval Europe to the richly decorated art form symbolic of a highly civilized society. Archaeologists have been able to read some of the more important messages of history through the pottery found in excavation. Potters like Laurence McGowan continue to develop the traditions built up over thousands of years. It is not surprising that the surname Potter is still in common use.