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CERAMIC KILNS IN ANCIENT GREECE: TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION OF CERAMIC WORKSHOPS

HASAKI, ELENI
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1023219003

Abstract Details

2002, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences : Classics.
The present study constitutes a literary, iconographical, technological, and typological analysis of ceramic kilns in ancient Greece. More than four hundred and fifty kilns dating from Early Bronze Age to the Byzantine times from the modern state of Greece have been surveyed and categorized. Kaminos is the all-encompassing term for any type of pyrotechnological structure, whether it fired pottery or smelted metal, but later lexicographers also used ipnos, klivanos (krivanos), and fournos (terms connected primarily with bread ovens) as synonyms to kaminos. The iconographical reexamination of the representations of kilns on the Archaic Penteskoufia plaques suggested that their use as test pieces might account for the irregularities in the structure and execution level of their scenes. Chapter II presents all the structural parts (fixed and movable) of a standard, two-chambered, updraft Greek kiln. The firing process and it fuel requirements are estimated using ethnographic and experimental data. An Excursus on various pyrotechnological structures such as the baking oven, the metallurgical furnace, or the lime kiln, highlights the similarities and differences in the construction and performance of these structures. A comparative approach not only spells away the prolongued confusion about their operative mechanisms, but also emphasizes the pyrotechnological interdependence of the practicioners of these crafts. Ceramic workshops tend to develop in industrial quarters along other crafts. Their presence in sanctuaries is very limited, and their association with cemeteries should be viewed as a coincidence rather than as a conscious choice. In the typological chapter (III), the kilns are distinguished according to the shape of the combustion chamber (circular and rectangular) and into nine subtypes according to the arrangement of the support of the perforated floor. A central circular or rectangular support of the perforated floor is the commonest type. Other types are attested mainly, but not exclusively in certain periods and areas of Greece. The larger rectangular kilns, although fewer, point to more specialized production, able to afford their costly operation. The earliest updraft kilns with an intermediate perforated floor appear in the Middle Bronze Age. Their design remains stable throughout antiquity. In the historical periods, the comparisons among periods from Geometric to Byzantine are based on typology, size, and density of types. Overall, there is a slow progression towards more and slightly bigger kilns in every period within each workshop. The size of the kiln is also used as a yardstick to estimate the volume of ceramic production. Medium workshops with one to two kilns and with a full-time crew of four to six persons can be reconstructed based on a potter's daily production and the capacity of a kiln operating full-time. Such workshops correspond to the "workshop industry" of craft specialization categories.
Dr. Diane Harris-Cline (Advisor)
Language, Ancient
ceramic technology; kilns; pyrotechnology; geometric, archaic, classical; workshops, specialization

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • HASAKI, E. (2002). CERAMIC KILNS IN ANCIENT GREECE: TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION OF CERAMIC WORKSHOPS [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1023219003

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • HASAKI, ELENI. CERAMIC KILNS IN ANCIENT GREECE: TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION OF CERAMIC WORKSHOPS. 2002. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1023219003.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • HASAKI, ELENI. "CERAMIC KILNS IN ANCIENT GREECE: TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION OF CERAMIC WORKSHOPS." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1023219003

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.