Obiceiuri cotidiene reflectate arheologic în Timișoara otomană. Observații asupra pipelor de lut
Daily customs reflected in the archaeology of Ottoman  Timişoara. Notes on the clay pipes

Summary/Abstract: We present a number of 29 pipes and fragments of clay pipes found during the preventive archaeological excavation carried out in 2014 on Lucian Blaga and Radu Negru streets in Timișoara. According to the typology, we have three main groups: I. Reddish undecorated pipes, II. Ottoman pipes, III. Hungarian pipes, grouped by similar characteristics in shape, decorative pattern and clay type of which they were manufactured. The items display features characteristic of pipes produced in the Balkan and Central European area. Some resemble those discovered in 2006 in the historical centre of Timișoara (Sfântul Gheorghe and Libertății squares and 9 Mai Street) and published in 2012. The most common material used was very good quality grey clay, followed by reddish clay and kaolin. The items are serial, produced in moulds, simple or decorated predominantly with geometric, floral or combined pattern, or, later, by stamping or with cogwheel into the smooth paste before baking. The earliest pipe (Cat. 11) is smaller in size, made of gray clay and carefully worked, similar to the earlier clay pipes produced in the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century. Pipes made of kaolin (Cat. 15–23) are of different sizes, and were used during the 17th century, except one undecorated pipe (Cat. 27), which can be dated to the beginning of the 18th century. Ottoman clay pipes made of reddish‐colored clay are larger compared to previous specimens and can be dated in the second half of 17th and in the early 18th century. The earliest pipes have short and thickened stem, and the ring very well shaped (Cat. 12), smaller volume of the bowl or of the combustion chamber (Cat. 14, 24), then, gradually, the stem has been elongated (Cat. 13, 25), the opening on the inside of the ring became larger, and the bowl and the combustion chamber became larger too (Cat. 26–27, 29). Following the same features of Ottoman production, the pipe manufactured in Hungary, probably in the Austrian period, is richly decorated with patterns of lines and dots, spread on the entire surface of the piece (Cat. 28). An angle of approximately 90 0 between the stem and the bowl characterizes the earliest pipes analyzed in this study. Gradually, the opening angle begins to shrink, so that the angle of some pieces dated in the 18th century measures approximately 45 degrees . Another observation regards the position of the ring. For the earliest pieces, the ring is located towards the lower half of the stem, leaving its end more or less visible (Cat. 12–13, 15–17, 19–20), while for the later pipes the ring is very prominent and situated at the end of the stem (Cat. 1–7, 18, 25, 27–28). Only one pipe was fully preserved, while the rest are fragmentary. The items were found in various archaeological contexts. Three pipes were found in archaeological features, two of them discovered during the excavation on Lucian Blaga Street, in the structures named C1 (Cat. 1) and C3 (Cat. 9). A third one came from Radu Negru Street, from the filling of C8 (Cat. 19). According to the analogies, these clay pipes were manufactured in the second half of the 17th century and the first half of 18th century. Although clay pipes are chronological markers, they could not be corroborated with the rest of the archaeological discoveries, so the absolute dating of the two wooden structures belonging to the Ottoman period remains unknown. We only know that, in the filling of C1 structure, two fragments of porcelain, dating from the 17th century, were found. Six clay pipes were found in the undisturbed filling of the archaeological layers, during the excavation on Lucian Blaga Street. The dating of the archaeological levels during the second half of the 17th century and at the beginning of 18th century is indicated by two pipes (Cat. 12, 27). The last Ottoman level of habitation from the end of 17th century to the first half of the 18th century is confirmed by the discovery of four fragments of clay pipes (Cat. 6, 11, 14, 25). The rest of the pipes were discovered in secondary position, in layers with mixed soil, in fillings with rubble resulting from the construction the Austrian drainage system, or in levels affected by urban interventions from modern times. Seven of the eight pipes originating from clearly Ottoman archaeological context were found in the northern half of the excavated section on Lucian Blaga Street, in the first three sectors, close to nowadays Libertății Square, where the ruins of a bath, used during the Ottoman period, were found (Fig. 5). It is quite possible that the agglomeration of pipes may have been generated by the presence of these structures which, in that period, were not only a facility for cleaning the body, but also for a place for spending the free time. Statistically, most clay pipes are dated in the second half of the 17th century, this being probably the period when the smoking habit was most widespread in Timișoara (Fig. 14). We cannot know their origin, because the pipes are not stamped. There is a possibility that two of the pipes have been brought from workshops in Varna, identified by the analogies in decoration (Cat. 24) or shape (Cat. 27). The majority of the clay pipes found at Timișoara (41.12%) belong to group I (reddish undecorated pipes). Relatively frequent is the group II.3 (pipes from kaolin with glaze), which in Timișoara represents 18.69%, a high percentage compared to Greece (0.3–2%) or Bulgaria (0.9–3.8%). Their presence in Timișoara is probably due to the trade with nearby centres such as Budapest, Szekszárd, those in Serbia, or even Corinth, where the pipes are colored in shades of green, yellow and brown, similar to our items. Taking into account the large proportions of the archaeological excavation in Timișoara, the stratigraphic position of the pipes, in conjunction with the known chronology of the items published, may be a chronological marker for dating clay pipes found in other excavations, unpublished for the time being. Together with other artifacts, clay pipes are good indicators for the identification of the trade conducted between Ottoman Timișoara and cities or towns in the European provinces.

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