Asbestos-ceramic is a type of pottery manufactured with asbestos and clay in Finland, Karelia and more widely in Fennoscandia from around 5,000 BCE. Some remnants of this style of pottery lasted until as late as 200 CE. These ceramics are able to retain heat (“adiabatic”) longer than other pottery. Occasionally other kinds of pottery that do not contain any asbestos, but do have good insulating properties, are (mistakenly) called “asbestos-ceramic”. However, some such pottery, called hair-thermal pottery is found with similar shape and decoration, dating from the same period as some of the genuine asbestos-containing ceramics, and is discussed below. Origin and distribution Around 3600 BCE, when typical comb ware ceramics were replaced by late comb ware ceramics, the practice of mixing asbestos into pottery clay emerged in eastern Finland and the Karelian regions near Lake Ladoga, and also along the Neva river. The most probable origin of this style of ware is the shores of Lake Saimaa in Finland. Finds from inland Finland are the oldest, and the Lake Saimaa area is the only location in the region with plentiful, nearby, easily-accessible natural deposits of asbestos. In Finland, finds of asbestos-containing ceramics are known from to . In northern Scandinavia, asbestos ware appears apparently from to BCE. Some scholars argue that these pottery traditions were influenced from the Upper Volga and the Oka regions. Asbestos-ceramic of Lovozero ware type is also found in Fennoscandia, on Bolshoy Oleny Island in the Murmansk region of Russia. Furthermore, a later type of asbestos-laden ware was also found here, known in the Russian archaeological literature as ‘waffe’ ware. In Norwegian and Finnish literature, the usual term for similar impressions on pottery are ‘textile’ or ‘imitated textile’. Categories of asbestos ceramics Asbestos ceramics are usually classified as a sub-type of comb ceramic ware. From the times of the earliest comb ware () in Finland, asbestos was mixed with clay as an adhesive. At some point, people started to make use of the characteristics of asbestos: Its long fibres allowed large vessels with thin walls, which made them lighter, without compromising durability. Some of the vessels had 6 mm thick walls with a diameter of around 50 cm (Pöljä-style). The Finnish researchers divide asbestos ceramics into the following styles: Early asbestos ware Pit-comb ware with asbestos Kaunissaari ware Sperrings ware Main-period styles Pöljä ware Kierikki ware Late asbestos ware Jysmä ware Kaunissaari ware () was