The article presents a tubeless clay kiln of the 17th century, used for firing ceramic products, in particular kitchenware. This is the first structure of this type in Western Siberia fully studied by excavations. Based on data from excavations and geophysical research, a graphic reconstruction of the furnace has been carried out. It represents a clay vault positioned within a filled pit on a pillow with a wooden frame, with a combined furnace and firing chamber. The presence of kiln of this type, taken outside of the wooden fortress for fire safety reasons, suggests the local nature of pottery production, probably for supplying not only the inhabitants of the fortress, but also the local Tatar neighbourhood. Similar clay tubeless kilns were widespread in Russia in the 17th century, and in Siberia they existed until the 20th century; according to the Siberians, they were stronger and more efficient than the brick ones.

Keywords: Lower Tobol region, Tarkhansky Ostrog, Russian complex of the 17th century, tubeless clay kiln, firing of pottery.

 

Funding. The work was carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (No. FWRZ-2021-0006).

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Accepted: 26.02.2025

Article is published: 15.06.2025