THE LAST KILNS OF TRADITIONAL BLACK SEA POTTERY FROM PAST TO PRESENT

Abstract

Firing, which is one of the most important stages for the pottery pots and vessels, which have been produced non-stop since the beginning of human history, has reached numerous expansions since the first time pottery emerged. From the open firing method to the kilns built on the ground, then the advanced two floor kilns and the dragon kilns, the examples of this cooking order used in construction uses have survived to the present day.

A total of 6 kilns were included in the study, which found in Artvin Borcka district of the Eastern Black Sea region, Gümüşhane Dölek Village and Bayburt, Trabzon province, and the pottery kilns located in Ordu Ünye and Tokat province in the Central Black Sea region. Among the pottery kilns we found in the study, various types of floor firing kilns and two floor pottery kilns. Information such as the working principles, internal structures, general building materials and cooking uses of these kilns, some of which are idle and some are still actively used, have been collected and documented. It also provides information about the pottery activities in the region of the kilns in these pottery production centers, whose existence in the region has little influence. By comparing the working principles of the kilns with the kilns of similar structure, the production structures between the departments and the basic principles based on production are discussed. It has been understood that depending on the kiln types and the special baking techniques in the region, the cooking time can vary from 2 hours to 48 hours, and the cooling time can vary from 1 hour to 12 hours. It has been learned that the fuel used in the furnaces also varies from region to region, in some regions the trees brought from the surrounding forests and in some regions old wooden items shreded and used as fuel.

Although it is understood that these pottery production centers in the Central and Eastern Black Sea region are producing less in the past, it would be correct to say that a very intense pottery production activity was carried out in this region until a hundred years ago. The presence of dense forests in the region to support pottery production provided an easy opportunity to obtain fuel for the workshops, while the presence of soil beds suitable for pottery made the supply of raw materials much easier.