What is a Sherd?
Sherds or pot sherds are broken fragments of pottery that are found on many archaeological sites in San Diego and around the world.
Many archaeological sites contain large numbers of sherds. The pottery sherds have many different characteristics such as variations in color, hardness, thickness, decoration, material, vessel form, etc. and are useful in establishing the time period for the archaeological site.
Center Research Director Dr. Margie Burton reconstructs pottery items using sherds found at archaeological sites. She is shown here repairing a very old pottery olla that was used for storing water.
