Why is there still so much Ancient Greek pottery in pretty good condition when most other objects from that era didn’t survive?

Question

Why is there still so much Ancient Greek pottery in pretty good condition when most other objects from that era didn’t survive?

In: 7442

Answer 1

There are tons of pot shards for a number of reasons: 1) pottery was/is very common 2) it is very durable and doesn’t really degrade. It just breaks. 3) pottery breaks and is thrown away, archaeologists find a lot of stuff in ancient trash heaps.

Specific to Greece – they were exceptional potters and the really good stuff is particularly strong and beautiful.

Further, glass was not as widespread as pottery, and metal was frequently recycled.