A new-age pottery kiln from the village of Manchenky in the Kharkiv region

Abstract

A study of pottery production in the Sloboda Ukraine region during the 16th to 18th centuries is highly relevant, as this topic has been insufficiently explored. This research is based on archaeological surveys, analysis of written sources, and reconstructive methods.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Kharkiv Governorate was the third most important center for pottery in Left-bank Ukraine. However, despite this, only two pottery kilns were known to exist in the Kharkiv region: one near the village of Prosiane and another in the town of Valky, both of which were built using bricks. Recently, another kiln was discovered in the village of Manchenky that was active in the second half of the 18th century. Unfortunately, its discovery was accidental, and by the time of the archaeological examination, a significant portion of the structure had been destroyed. Nevertheless, valuable scientific information was obtained regarding the kiln’s firebox design and the construction techniques used. In particular, its structure was made from fired clay within the earth and was supported by a wicker framework before firing, which distinguishes this kiln from those found in Prosiane and Valky.

The research indicated that this furnace likely supplied the local population's needs and was located away from the homestead's residential and domestic areas. The discovery of fragments of kaolin clay pottery, characteristic of 18th-century ceramics, confirms the kiln's dating and indicates that the farmstead within the modern village of Manchenky began its existence during that period. The settlement zone at this site, which was cartographically documented in the second half of the 19th century, thus originated at least a century earlier. Further research will help to better understand the history of the region's development.