What is Clay

Clay is a natural resource which is easily worked into usable shapes and sizes. Clay is often used as building material and to make all manner of pots, bowls, cups, and other vessels. Though it is far to fragile to be useful in weapons or tools, it is one of the most useful natural resources available to a primitive culture.

What is Clay Really

"Clay is a name given to fine particles produced by the gradual weathering of rock- forming minerals, particularly feldspar. Feldspar is the main mineral of granite and gneiss, the rocks which form about three-fourths of the surface of the earth. Clay therefore, is one of the most common and widespread of natural minerals. The main agent of the weathering process is water, which grinds the rocks and dissolves the soluble minerals in them. The resulting clay is finely granulated material composed mainly of alumina and silica with small amounts of other minerals, especially iron oxide."

Obtaining Crude Clay

Clay can be found nearly anywhere the earth's crust that is malleable ( unlike the mountains). The best clay is found where there is moving water through soil such as rivers and streams. Clay dug directly out of the earth will be refereed to as "crude clay". This Crude clay is not good to be worked and needs to be prepared first. Your average person with some idea of what to look for can extract about 500 units per month.

Preparation of Clay

In order for clay to be put to use, it must first be prepared. Preparing the clay requires that it be sifted in order to remove the large coarse particles. The Sifting part of the preparation process is the most difficult an can only be done correctly by a skilled Potter or a specifically trained person. After clay is successfully sifted, it must be wedged or kneaded into a even consistency. During the course of this wedging the adding of a small about of material like sand may be needed if the clay seems "too plastic". This sand will contribute to the even cooking of the clay and reduce shrinkage and cracking. The table below indicates how many units of clay a potter my convert from Crude Clay to Workable Clay. Only Workable Clay may be used in producing products. Even after crude clay is converted to workable clay, most experts prefer it to set for some time before use. Though a week is sufficient, great oriental master let their's set for a generation.

Faster Preparation of Clay

As a method of enhancing production of "workable clay" by speeding up it's preparation, "clay refining pits" may be constructed. These are a series of pits which flow into one another which are filled with water. When properly used by a skilled potter ( at least an Adept) , lumps of clay are placed in the highest pit and allowed to "flow" down the pits in succession. By the time it clay reached the bottom pit it is sifted. A skilled potter using a clay refining pit may turn 6 units of crude clay into 5 units or workable clay per hour. ( Or 48 of Curde into 40Workable per day or 1344 into 1120 per month).

Building Clay Refining Pits

Constructing a series of clay refining pits requires the direct supervision of a Master Potter or a Grand Master Potter. Also a large quantity of open space on a small hill and lots of water are needed, ( both of which are so common as to not be considered ) Additionally 150 units of flagstone and 150 man/days of labor are required for construction. Though a very skilled potter is needed to oversee and direct construction, the labor itself can be done by anybody.