The Trikala ceramic workshop: Exploring a production centre of Ottoman Greece

• Investigation of ottoman-period ceramic production at trikala workshop using kiln and waste pit evidence. • 28 samples analysed, including Monochrome Glazed Ware, Sgraffito Ware, Plain Domestic Ware, and tripods. • Common raw materials were treated differently based on vessel function; all used non-calcareous white slips. • Decorations included sgraffito, paints, and high-lead glazes; ceramics were double-fired in updraft kilns. This paper discusses the production technology of glazed pottery, wasters, and tripods found in the context of a ceramic workshop in Trikala, central-north Greece, dated to the Ottoman period (15th-17th centuries). This ceramic workshop was unearthed at the site ‘Asklipieion’ and was likely part of a large production facility that operated continuously between the Late Byzantine and Late Ottoman periods. Ceramics presented in this paper were found in a kiln and a waste pit. The initial macroscopic examination was conducted to classify and quantify ceramics. Based on the observed variability, twenty-eight samples were selected for petrographic and chemical analyses. The petrographic results showed that three fabrics can be distinguished. Chemical analysis focused on the slips and glazes, showing that all vessels, regardless of fabric, were decorated with non-calcareous slips and high-lead glazes. Ceramic vessels, separated by tripods, were double-fired in the updraft kilns.