Pottery kilns in Mouraria (Lisbon, Portugal)

Abstract

During a preventive archaeology work in Largo das Olarias, in Lisbon’s late-medieval Moorish neighbourhood (Mouraria), four pottery kilns from the 16th and 17th centuries were discovered. A large number of objects was found inside of them, such as kiln furniture and ceramic wastes of faience, unglazed redware and also some leadglazed earthenware. All the kilns were small, oval shaped and had their combustion and firing chambers separated by a grid floor supported by arches; they were made of brick, clay and ceramic fragments. This paper aims to bring new information on Lisbon’s pottery production in the Early Modern period, and an evaluation on the technology used in its pottery kilns, through the study of those finds from Largo das Olarias.