I have recreated a 14th century clay urinal. The urinals from the Abbey find are about 6 1/2 inches high, 7 inches in diameter, with a 2 inch opening. They were made from a light red clay body and glazed a green-brown color. 1)The urinal was found in the Melrose Abbey in Scotland.

The Melrose Abbey was the first Cistercian monastery in Scotland. 2) The Monasteries were constructed with elaborate water and sewer systems. The latrines were fitted with pipes made from wood logs or lead pipes. The pipes diverted the waste to cesspits or a flowing stream or river. 3) The cesspits are essentially a hole dug into the ground, lined with wood planks or stones, like a dry well. 4) Urinals and chamber pots were used in the infirmaries. The urinals were also used during long prayer sessions.

Urinals and chamber pots were used in the larger cities. They were mainly used at night or during inclement weather. Many houses had their own outhouses, which were used to dispose the waste from the urinals. For those who lived in tenements the contents were disposed of in the public toilets. The public toilets flowed into streams or cesspits. Many times the waste was just tossed into the nearest flowing stream. Disposing of the waste into the street gutter was frowned upon and a fine was imposed. 5)

Clay in Scotland can range from white to pinkish white, buff to pale brown, gray shades and red to dark red. 6) The clay is fine and very dense. The red ware clay was formed much thicker than the white clay. The red was also much smoother. Additives in the form of quartz, mica, haematitie, sandstone, along others were used. Additives will add strength to the clay body. Sometimes pots had two different tempers (additives) on the same pot. More temper was added to the clay for handles and face features on jugs to add strength. 7) Frequently the additives would protrude from the clay, making the surfaces rough to the touch, even after glazing.

The pottery in Scotland was wheel thrown on kick wheels. Three of the urinals found at the site were formed as enclosed forms and then a hole was cut out off center and the handle was attached behind the hole. This is the type that I recreated. Other urinals found were formed without enclosing the top and just left open in the center and the handle is attached to one side of the opening. The forms made from the red ware clay are predominately jugs. Their handles are rather heavy and have plain strap handles. 8)

The glazes used on pottery in Scotland range from; yellow to golden brown, pale green, apple green, light olive green to a thick dark green. The lead glaze used would turn yellow in the oxidizing (plenty of air is introduced during the firing of the kiln) kilns. The kilns were fueled by wood. With the addition of copper to the glaze the color would change to a richer dark green and speckled greens especially in the reduction (no air is introduced during firing) kiln firings. The glazes were thick and well adhered to the clay body. 9) The glazes on the red ware pottery were more frequently a green to olive-green color or a reddish-brown shade.

I used a commercially made red clay as I don’t have access to a clay deposit here. It looked like it would fire to the approximate color of the original. It was also a smooth clay body, like the red ware clay in Scotland. I formed the urinal on a kick wheel, similar to the ones used in period. I made an enclosed form, the same shape as the example. I waited for the clay to dry some and then cut a hole off center and added a strap handle. I attached the handle using thumb presses like the originals. I fired the clay in an electric kiln as I don’t have access to a wood firing kiln. After the first firing, which is called bisque firing, I applied a green (lead-free) glaze. I chose a green glaze that would closely approximate the original example, without the added danger of lead. The urinal was returned to the kiln for the glaze firing.

Brooks, Catherine, M. Medieval Pottery from the Kiln Site at Colstoun, E. Lothian, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquities Scotland, 110, 1978-80, 364-407.

Cruden, Stewart, Medieval Pottery: Melrose Abbey Collection, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquities Scotland, 87, 1952-3, 161-74.

Newman, Paul, B., Daily Life in the Middle Ages, McFarland, 2001.