Pages: 143-162

In the Early Medieval time (8th—10th centuries AD) ceramic production in Taurica has stepped over a new stage. The enhancement of production was achieved by narrow specialization and moving of the pottery kilns in the forest zone, closer to the sources of fire wood and raw materials. Local workshops producing and baking construction and packing materials appeared next to the larger ceramic centers everywhere in Mountainous Crimea. The article discusses the three-stage magnetometric method and its application in revealing and studying centers that produced construction ceramics and tare in the medieval Taurica. Only this approach will help identifying all kilns and accompanying facilities on the territory of ceramic centers and will enable their comprehensive study. Application of this physical-archaeological method allowed to map distribution of ceramic workshops in Mountainous Taurica and produce detailed plans of several large ceramic centers with detailed magnetic profiles for each kiln, many of which have been checked during the excavations.

Keywords: Medieval Taurica, Mountainous Crimea, Mangup, pottery production, magnetuc survey, transfer of technologies, production of construction materials

Information about author:

Tatiana Smekalova (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. V. I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University. Academician Vernadsky Ave., 4, Simferopol, 295007, Crimea; National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123098, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]