Day two and three of the rebuilt of a medium-sized fully functional medieval pottery kiln. This wood fired kiln design has been found in European context during the middle Ages, is fairly easy to emulate in a larger backyard or homestead, and works well for glazed earthenware. It can be built completely from site found materials, as this one was, or the design can be emulated using more modern materials, like fire bricks and concrete.

I hope you'll be inspired to build your own, I know I am!

By now, the kiln has been fired once but was not quite able to get to temperature long enough to fully fire the load (all the wood is wet, and the ground alternates between yucky mud or slushy snow). The firing did fire-harden the kiln itself well enough for overwintering (with some proper waterproofing with tarps) and we'll pick up this project next spring.

Keep an eye out for the next in this series, Firing the Kiln, as well as my own attempt at building one from building salvage. Now, go forth, and bake pots!

The noble art of ceramics in Viterbo has deep roots in the Middle Ages, and it is still possible to create beautiful pottery using those ancient techniques.
The ancient workings require time, patience, and somehow slowness. In a world where everything spins fast, even art can be contaminated by rush, but the ancient traditions have the power to sweeten the creative moment, making it immersive and more profound.
The Middle Ages are also obscurity, mystery, occultism, and esotericism, and Cinzia Chiulli, a local artist, manages to portray that era in her ceramics, also drawing on the world of Tarot cards.

Reproducing medieval ceramic goblets (14th – 15th century) by Živa Slavec.

© National Museum of Slovenia.

The video was produced in the framework of the project Creative entrepreneurship in ceramic regions – developing, educating, encouraging, partly funded by the European Commission in the Interreg Central Europe programme between May 1st 2019 and April 30th 2022.