Ceramic assemblages from pottery kilns as a means of understanding pottery production in the La Tène period

Abstract

Identifying the relationship between pottery firing structures and ceramics that have been found in their spatial context is a key step in the pursuit of understanding the use of a particular type of pottery firing structure and consequently also in the study of the organisation of pottery production. The article focuses on the possibilities of the study of the relationship between La Tène pottery kilns and the ceramic assemblages found in the features representing the remains of these kilns. We define hypothetical relationships between ceramics and a kiln complex, starting with uncollected pottery loads and ending with assemblages representing common settlement refuse, and draw the consequences of these relationships for the character of the archaeological record. Quantitative analysis of formal and technological variability coupled with analysis of fragmentation in the context of other ceramic assemblages from the site is crucial for an interpretation of relationships between the assemblages and the kilns. This approach is demonstrated in two case studies. The first case is from the Staré Hradisko oppidum (Malé Hradisko, Prostějov district), the second from an open land settlement in Hostivice (Praha-západ district). The results are discussed in the framework
of other knowledge gained in the wider context of Central Europe.