Because old grain pits were refilled with a variety of detritus, notably household waste, thousands of pottery fragments have survived for us to study. Some accidental events, fires for example, led to large disposals of pottery, mainly the receptacles used in the destroyed building. The sole survivors are pottery jars, since all utensils made from other materials have disappeared: wood, wicker, leather, etc. We have the metal rings from buckets, but the pails, chairs, bowls and other vessels, all made of wood, have all disappeared.
Large jars (dolia) which had thick sides and a wide lip designed for fitting a lid, were used for storing cereals and cured meats. The inside surface sometimes shows alterations caused by salt. Smaller jars were used for storing liquids and for cooking stews. For everyday living, other types of jar with a narrow opening were used for serving water, mead, beer and the wine imported from Italy in amphorae.
Though low tables were known (a wooden table leg was found in a tomb at Wederath-Belginum- Germany) they seem to have been reserved for an elite and their purpose is unknown.
