Тракай. Отражение развития города в XIV-I пол. XVI в. в бытовой керамике

ENThe article examines the Medieval Trakai castle and city household ceramics complex, which consists of over 17 000 pieces of ceramics from the fourteenth to the first half of the sixteenth century. By studying the ceramics it is sought to reconstruct the medieval pottery of Trakai and to use the data obtained to interpret the development of the genesis of the castles and city. During the Middle Ages locally produced and imported household ceramics were used at the castles and city of Trakai. Three kinds of household ceramics were produced at Trakai: rural, urban, and 'Trakai' type ware. During the fourteenth century only rural type pottery was used at the Senieji Trakai castle site and the settlement. From the fifteenth century until the first half of the sixteenth century rural type pottery comprised over half of all the vessels used. Urban type ceramics in the cultural layers of Naujieji Trakai and Senieji Trakai (the Benedictine monastery) from the fifteenth century until the first half of the sixteenth century comprised from a quarter to half of all the household ceramics. In the first half of the sixteenth century, 'Trakai' type ceramics comprised on average 2-20% of all the finds in the cultural layers, significantly increasing later (comprising up to 30% at individual locations). The formation of a professional potters' manufacture in Trakai should be connected with the local production of urban type ware, which could have begun even at the end of the fourteenth century and was well established during the fifteenth century.