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This phenomenon is largely responsible for the handles on medieval jugs often being displaced to the left on the top join. It would be merely a curiosity but for the fact that the stresses involved can result in the handle cracking or breaking away from the pot. As the collared area at the neck twists in drying - to the left, viewed as in the photograph - it can carry the attached handle with it while the lower attachment at the uncollared belly of the pot remains stable. The handle may become detached at the top join, the point of greatest strain, and may crack on the lower one. Sometimes the top join will stay with the pot but pull the rim out-of-round.
The simplest remedy is to place the top handle join slightly to the right so it straightens out after twisting. This assumes that the plasticity of the handle is maintained and that the bonding attachments between handle and body will survive the movement.
Handle attachments
Handle attachments on medieval jugs are best understood in terms of two fundamentally different methods. The first is the luted attachment, where clay is bonded without a mechanical join.
The body surface at the top point of attachment is scored and given a dab of slip. The handle is prepared by cutting a completed length slightly longer than will be needed. With one hand inside the pot by the join, the butt end is pressed firmly against the surface. Pressure from the thumb and fingers pushing along the contours of the handle against the hand inside should weld the join.The lower end is pressed against the pot with a firm downward stroke. This should be sufficient for a secure hold.
Luted handles occur almost universally on modern craft pottery. For a medieval potter without the benefits of modern commercial clays luted handles are more challenging. Their appearance on medieval jugs is a good deal less frequent, although examples are common on smaller types of ware and lugged vessels. The positive identification of luted handles on medieval jugs is difficult, and only handles broken off cleanly at the join afford unambiguous examples.
The second is the pegged handle attachment.
The luted attachment is at a disadvantage in providing handle junctions which can reliably resist the stresses of drying and shrinking characteristic of natural clays. The pegged attachment is largely successful in doing this by disrupting the wall of the pot to secure the handle.There are two basic methods of pegged attachments, despite many local variations: the inserted peg, and the pushed-out peg.
The inserted peg handle
The pot is prepared by making a hole through the clay for the top or lower join - with a finger if the clay is soft, or a sharp tapering wooden rod. A needle will cut an opening in leather-hard pots. The top opening will allow a tongue or peg cut into the butt end of the handle to be pushed through and pressed firmly in place. Clay covering the opening may be left slightly proud, or be smoothed over more-or-less concealing signs of the join. Sometimes the peg is pushed back into the opening leaving a noticeable depression.
A handle can be inserted through an opening in the lower wall and be thumbed in place, or be squeezed through the opening with pressure from the hand. The openings vary from clear-cut holes, to knife slashes, rough punctures or, occasionally several small punctures. The projecting stump of the lower handle attachment can sometimes be seen inside the pot (left, Laverstock inserted pegged lower handle join).
The pushed-out peg handle
A handle is sliced on the butt end without forming a peg and pressed hard against the neck of the pot, which can be scored and dabbed with slip. The join is reinforced from inside the pot by using a finger to push the wall of the neck outwards and into the handle itself. A cavity made by the finger often remains inside the neck.
One virtue of the pegged handle is its ability to provide a reliable join by reducing the danger of a collared twisting movement. The juncture is stabilized by a mechanical structure, not unlike joinery, which also makes use of the bonding properties of clay. The peg, with its rivet-like action, maintains a firm contact between handle and body during drying. This allows a continuous exchange of moisture between them, which makes differences in the drying state of body and handle less critical than they otherwise would be.
Different types of attachment can occur on the same jug. e.g. an inserted peg at the top with a pushed-out peg at the bottom; or a pushed-out peg at the top with a luted bottom join. The absence of any collaring twist at the bottom join means that a luted attachment will probably hold.
Cheam handles - an illustrative example
Left, pegged handle attachment inserted through an opening in the neck of the pot. Right, lower handle attached by pushing the soft clay through v-shaped punctures in the pot wall.
Handle fillets
Handle attachments are almost always provided with conspicuous clay fillets which give a particular air of distinction to a jug. Although a fillet adds little to the intrinsic strength of a join it is invaluable as a way of enlarging the area of contact between handle and body at the point of attachment to facilitate the exchange of moisture during the drying period.
Thumb stops
The addition of thumb stops to a handle lessens the hazards of pouring from a jug having a centre of gravity some distance from the hand by taking the pressure of the thumb as it presses forward against the rim. Thumb stops occur mainly on tall balusters and conical jugs. They are made by applying pads of clay side-by-side to the top of the handle near the join with the neck, or simply by pushing the thumb well into the handle while it is still soft, leaving two parallel impressions on the upper surfaces.
Last page of handles
Further reading: Pearce.J., Getting a handle on medieval pottery, London Archaeol 5, 17-23
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