Buried Roman workshop reveals large-scale pottery trade beyond local markets

A few years ago, the first ceramic finds came to light during construction work in the Burg district of the municipality of Hannersdorf. Geomagnetic surveys in subsequent years provided evidence of numerous kilns thought to lie hidden beneath the field. In a recent educational excavation led by Basema Hamarneh from the University of Vienna, archaeologists uncovered two pottery kilns. Another 100 kilns are thought to remain buried—an unprecedented discovery of a local production center for utilitarian pottery from the Roman period. The finds date from the mid-1st century to the mid-2nd century CE.