Development of the methodology for determining the firing temperature of the earliest ceramics

The paper deals with the development of an easy-to-use method applied to determine a firing temperature of ancient pottery. The authors emphasize that this method can be applied only to ceramics that had not undergone refiring. The paper describes extensive field experiments on low- and high-temperature firing of vessels in a reducing atmosphere, a partly reducing atmosphere, and an oxidizing atmosphere, when firing temperature was tested permanently by thermocouple in the section where vessels were placed. Experimental vessels were fired at simple firing places, in ovens, and in pottery kilns. The proposed method includes a step-by-step firing of small pottery sherds in a laboratory electric kiln and allows researchers to record the firing temperature with an accuracy of ± 50ºC. The method builds on A. Bobrinskiy’s research in this area and develops it further. The final section describes preliminary results of experiments conducted to determine firing temperatures of the Malyshevo vessels from the Lower Amur River region.