New Evidence of Brick Production at Viminacium

Abstract

During a few decades long period of excavations at Viminacium, a great number of brick kilns has been found, which testify of a highly developed industry of brick production at this site.The kilns have been mostly discovered at the territory of the southern city’s necropolis, at thePećine site, where a production center, consisting of three kilns with a shared porch, has beenexcavated. A lesser number of brick kilns has been found west and east of the city. During therescue excavations in 2017, relatively near to the site of this production center, a new brickkiln was uncovered. This newly found kiln represents one of the biggest and best preservedbrick kilns at Viminacium so far. The ring chamber, vaulted ring port and grill kiln have beenpreserved almost entirely and also the greatest part of the furnace chamber. In the layers with in the kiln, as well as in the construction itself, lots of bricks with the stamp of the VII Claudialegion and a few examples with this inscription in cursive writing have been found. Next to thekiln, a big pit has been excavated, which represents the mine for the extraction of clay used inthe brick-making. According to the small fnds, the kiln is dated to the 2nd century.