Masonry oven these primitive-looking ovens were still being produced in Barnstaple potteries as late as 1890". A cloche or cooking bell is like an upside-down, fired ceramic bowl with a handle on top. It is heated in the fire along with a flat rock or open spot on the hearth. The prepared dough is placed on the hot rock or hearth floor, and then covered with the cloche, and perhaps hot coals or ashes for additional heat. The method goes back to ancient Egypt and Greece, and was probably the first form of masonry oven. It is possible to get some of
Conservation and restoration of ceramic objects and grease may be held on the surface loosely by electrostatic forces or weak chemical bonds and are easily removed. Some deposits, such as calcium salts, can be strongly attached to a ceramic surface, especially if the surface is unglazed. There are two main methods in which ceramics are cleaned and treated: mechanically and chemically. Not all ceramic pieces are dry when they need cleaning. Some ceramics, such as those that are excavated archaeologically, will be damp or wet in nature. Conservators tend to remove the surface dirt before the object is completely dry. This is done because it is