Pottery - an ancient trade

Lemberg Castle

Evertything out of clay Pottery - an ancient trade At each archeological excavation fragments of earthenware are found, evidently the practice of pottery was widespread in the Middle Ages. Clay is an easy material to work with and exists in the earth nearly everywhere. There are several ways of working clay, it can be rolled flat and then pressed in moulds, liquid clay can be poured into moulds, rings of clay can be placed one on top of the other and joined in a form, or a ball of clay can be shaped by hand on a potter’s wheel. These different techniques have been known since antiquity. Once in its desired form the clay is dried to prevent it breaking before it is fired. According to the temperature and the ingredients with which the firing is performed there are different degrees of hardness, colours and glazing. In the Middle Ages they often put salt in the kiln, it was found that sodium carbonate settled as a transparent layer on the earthenware.

Crockery Simple useful ceramics were very common in the households, mugs, plates and bowls were produced by numerous potters, who existed everywhere. As well as these there were also storage containers made from clay: amphoras with handles for the wine, round pots and big carafes. In richer houses there were also ornamental ceramics: carefully decorated containers with three dimensional images of figures, coat of arms, medaillons with floral or religious motives, or figurative wall and floor tiles.


Discoveries from a well shaft
Light ... In the Middle Age the interior of the castles had very little natural light. The openings in the walls were small for reasons of safety, smaller windows were easier to defend, there was also the question of temperature. In winter it was very difficult to prevent cold air from entering the buildings, glass panes were rare and expencive, hence small window openings were desirable. Huge reception halls, corridors and stairwells were illuminated by torches mounted on the walls in iron holders. The living areas were lit by small clay lamps, flat dishes filled with oil or beef tallow on which a wick floats. ... and warmth Open fires and later fireplaces tall as a man helped to heat the dark and often humid rooms of the castles in winter. After a certain time the stove, an ”enclosed fire”, was discovered as a much better source of heat. With the help of ceramic tiles heat was stored and slowly released to warm the surroundings. Probably the tiled stove developed from the kitchen oven. The original ceramic stove tiles were cylindrical with an opening to the exterior, like a mug, to better radiate warmth. In the opinion of archeologists flat tiles with figurative representations were created in the 13th or 14th century. At the end of the 15th century the profession of the stove builder developed from that of potter. The tiled stove with its forms and decoration became part of the interior design.

Ornamental stove tile