The early pottery of Germany and Central Europe dates from the Stone Age down to the Roman incursion, when the types change, and the evidences of more perfect mechanical appliances become apparent. The Lake Dwellers, who built their huts on piles in the lakes of Switzerland, have commemorated themselves by hand-wrought vessels, to the embellishment of which a decoration of the rudest kind was brought. Remains have been found throughout Germany, of which some are hand-made, while others are evidently thrown upon the wheel. These are both pre-Roman and contemporaneous with the Roman occupation. The paste varies from a friable clay to a hard, ringing stone-ware. Vases of a great variety of shape have been found along with cups, plates, saucers, and jars. Some of the vases are divided, like boxes, into compartments. The ornaments are paintings, mouldings, and incised lines. The painting consists of parallel lines of red, yellow, and black. Some of the smaller pieces were apparently used as toys. Others, of a sepulchral character, are thought to resemble the huts of the lacustrine dwellers. One found at Achersleben has a tall, conical cover, like a high-thatched roof, and the orifice in front is covered with a plate having a ring in the centre, through which a pin being passed fastened it on the outside. The orifice was in this way closed after the ashes of the dead had been introduced (Fig. 283). These and similar remains have been found in various parts of Germany, and have given rise to many superstitious stories among the peasantry. By some they are said to be the natural produce of the soil. Others ascribe them to the all-powerful fairies. Others consider them possessed of wonderful preservative properties. As to the art they represent, we are convinced here, as we are in a parallel manner, though more forcibly amidst the remains belonging to ancient Gaul, that the Romans were not the first to inspire the Teutonic population with a desire for the expression of artistic ideas. We find both an awakening sensitiveness to the graces of form, and a growing appreciation of the possible beauty of surface decoration.
[Illustration: Fig. 283.--Ancient German Hut-shaped Vases.]
