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Christianity did not significantly alter pottery branding practices, though it added new symbols to the repertoire. Christian marks—crosses, fish symbols, religious initials—appeared on pottery, the new religion providing new marking vocabulary while basic practice continued unchanged.
Some Christian marks served protective functions—crosses believed to ward off evil, saint’s initials invoking supernatural protection. These operated on similar principles to pre-Christian protective marks, the symbols’ power deriving from belief system rather than inherent properties, the continuity demonstrating that underlying logic survived religious transition.
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