Early Saxon pottery sees a return to pre-Roman technology, in that the potters wheel is largely abandoned in favour of hand building techniques and the kiln seems to give way to open firing. What may appear to be a retrograde step, probably had more to do with economic factors than any deliberate attempt to throw off all evidence of Roman Rule. "Dark Age" Britain was very much a rural economy, which saw the demise of large cities and the growth of scattered farming communities.
In this sort of environment people tend to make pots for their own use, the low density of population making large scale manufacture of potter uneconomic. When only a few pots are required every few weeks it is not viable to keep, or learn to use, a wheel.
It is only in the later Saxon period with the growth of the monestries, with the settlements that accompany them, that industrial pottery production starts to make a come-back.
Replica Early Saxon Pots
Building the frame for a reconstruction of a Saxon Kiln at Bede's World
