MARVELS OF ANCIENT FIRING SYSTEM
There are a lot of archaeological artifacts discovered in central Ukraine. Recently. These are remnants of rarely known ancient agricultural Trypillian civilization in Ukraine. It is much older than as Sumerian one (considered as “cradle of civilization). But here in Ukraine there are no signs of great pharaohs or similar dictatorships. So, it is out of current dogma, that civilization must have citadel (city center) of pharaohs with huge walls separating it from commoners.
But 7500 years ago those people were already agricultural society with wheat, barley, cows and dairy product. They lived, when climate in Ukraine was warmer (>8C), than it is today. There were a lot of rains, rivers were much bigger and only very short time after last glaciations in Europe, so the soil at that time was very thin comparing with modern black fertile soil of Ukraine. Despite of warmer climate, there was still winter season with nearby or below freezing temperatures. So they could not survive without warm buildings and heating systems.
For storage, food cooking and for any else they produced beautiful ceramic pottery. Fine, light, but strong and durable for preserved during many thousand years. Photo 1. Here are artifacts of ceramic pottery of Trypilian civilization 7000-6000 years old.
But to produce high quality ceramic pottery temperature of firing above 1100C is required.
Photo 1. 6000 years old Trypillian ceramic pottery.
So, recently a marvel of engineering 6000 years old was discovered in central Ukraine. Huge 4 channels ceramic firing kiln. For all other world it would be required 3000 years more to invent multi channels kilns.
But many channels or just a single one are no matter for firing temperature. Using only wood logs it is impossible to provide temperature above 1100C due to wood logs composition includes water as moisture, oxygen. With using hearth type firing is impossible to provide perfect combustion. So flame will have temperature within 900C with soot deposition because of presence CO, which at such temperature level decompose by reaction 2CO=CO2 + C (soot). But the ceramic pottery of those time was clean, no soot signs, it sound well even today. That means, those people were marvel engineers they were able to produce char coal and applied boosting air supply system. Otherwise they could not produce such beautiful ceramics. Remnants of that ancient 6000 years old 4 channels firing kiln is photo 2.
Photo 2. Remnants of that ancient 6000 years old 4 channels firing kiln.
Dmytro Fedorov.
Download PDF format file. You can read it offline and print it.