Erosion on the pottery made certain analyses of shaping and design difficult, but comparative study has led archaeologists to believe that coiling and pinching techniques were used to form the vessels found at Gebel Ramlah, with potential paddle and anvil methods as well. The works were typically either smoothed or burnished. Some seem to have been coated with a thin layer of clay around the rim after being shaped, creating a black-topped outer layer once the vessel was fired.[1]