Holocene wood. It is a rare, yet naturally occurring material derived from long-dead trees. A material preserved for thousands of years in an oxygen-free environment, where, over countless human generations, it has developed its uniquely beautiful, captivating colour and characteristic texture, while retaining all its original properties. Thanks to this process, it is also known as a subfossil wood.

Introduction

The moment when, while wandering in nature, I come across a material I can use in my artistic work is profound and hardly ever repeatable. An internal, fully child-like joy awakens in me whenever I spot a small black piece of wood in a slope of exposed sediments. In that instant, I know I have found something truly rare – Holocene wood. The moments spent with a shovel and a pickaxe, sinking into the riverbank, covered by clay, wet from the river’s water, sweaty and utterly happy. These moments, which seem to stop time for a little while, I treasure deeply. I often wonder how these experiences can be so deeply engraved in one’s memory. Is it because we, as humans, are inseparably connected to nature? Because we are a part of it? Are these the moments when we become aware of this reality? Or, is it the power of now?

Reflection

There are only a few surviving witnesses of the ancient past, persistent in their silent, vain calling to our present world. Their silent testimony drifts with the wind – a voice seeking those willing to pause for the briefest moment and listen to the whisper of the witnesses from the past.

There are only a few who escape decay and oblivion, and even fewer whose legacy can be passed on to future generations. Holocene wood is one of these voices. More than that, it is, above all, a tangible proof of our living history.

Personally, the thought of working with this wood – derived from a tree that grew during the Neolithic Revolution, that lived in a time when mammoths still roamed the earth, and that was the witness to the life of our ancestors – fills me with visions, dreams, and thoughts. It is a vision of different, yet in many ways so familiar life, a world I believe does not exist only in the layers of the sediment beneath our feet but is also inscribed deeply in our very blood.   

Every time I hold such a piece in my hands, history breathes upon me, filling me with a deep sense of humility and respect for this material. I carefully consider, think through, and plan every single step of its processing, as I am aware that any mistake I may make cannot be undone or corrected. In moments like these, I always feel a mix of nervousness and anticipation, though, at the same time, I put complete trust in my instinct, an inner voice, perhaps, that guides my hand along with the tool, shaping the wood in a way the legacy of its life and past remains present, in all its true beauty, crafted by nature, time, and the impacts of the world around. I place great importance on shaping this wood sensitively, allowing the mark of human hand, yet keeping it in harmony, so as not to disturb its naturally perfect shape that I could never hope to match by my own doing.  

Terminology

Holocene wood, as its name suggests, comes from a geological period known as the Holocene. When it comes to naming this era, which is fundamental to the age of humans and humanity as such, this period is also referred to as the Mesolithic, the post-glacial, or the Early Neolithic.

Holocene and subfossil wood are not the only terms you may encounter when referring to this unique material. Other, very common names include black wood, bod wood (or bogwood), morta, and more. 

What is Holocene wood?

It is unfossilised wood (do not confuse it with fossilised wood) that has been buried for thousands of years in riverbeds, swamps, or peat bogs; most often in moraine sediments known as till, which were formed by the movement of long-vanished glaciers. 

Origin

The wood from these trees originates from ancient floodplain habitats that, over time and due to cyclical flooding, vanished and were buried under layers of alluvial soil. The burial of these tree trunks under a thick layer of soil, along with a constant groundwater level in an anaerobic environment, protected them from degradation by microorganisms, particularly fungi and bacteria. Under optimal pH conditions, complex physical and chemical processes were set in motion, giving rise to this unique material.   

Properties

Not only its age, but mainly the reaction of the wood tannins with iron compounds present in the soil layers, gave Holocene wood its characteristic, beautifully dark colour, ranging from golden brown, through anthracite, to deep black. The intensity of the colour is given, primarily, by the duration of burial and the character of the soil. 

Despite its great age and all the influences it has been exposed to, Holocene wood still retains the original properties of wood, including workability, which is essential to my artistic work.

Many types of subfossil woods can be found, ranging from pine, yew, and various species of cypresses to hornbeam and oak especially, which is, particularly in Europe, regarded as the king of wood for its practicality, durability, unique colour and beautiful wood grain. 

The meaning for me as an author

In my studio, I use subfossil oak wood – a material I find myself along the flood-swept banks of the river Bečva that flows through the Moravian Gate, one of the natural beauties of the Czech Republic, situated at a historically significant crossroads of ancient cultures.  

The wood I work with dates back approximately 6,300 years, give or take 200 years.

Working with Holocene wood is a commitment for me, a deep immersion into a world long gone. It is a beautiful and inseparable part of ceramics that I wholeheartedly love. 

Each object containing this material carries a legacy, a powerful story that shapes the atmosphere of the present, however fleeting, moment, giving it a form and a clearly defined boundary through its own “life”.