Research on pottery production in Pompeii has begun as part of the Centre Jean Bérard (CNRS – EFR) project “Artigianato ed economia a Pompei”, which began in 2001.
The study is undertaken in collaboration with Pompeii Archaeological Park. The excavation is financed by the French Ministery for Europe and Foreign Affairs through the Centre Jean Bérard, the Centre Camille Jullian (Aix Marseille Université, CNRS) and private benefactors (Arpamed).

Pottery production at Pompeii in 79 A.D. is mainly illustrated by two ceramic workshops. The first is situated outside the walls, close to the necropolis of the Herculaneum Gate, at nos. 28-30 Via dei Sepolcri. The excavations undertaken here between 2012 and 2016 were part of a wider programme entitled “Organizzazione, gestione e trasformazione di una zona suburbana : il settore della Porta Ercolano di Pompei, tra spazio funerario e spazio commerciale” and have made it possible to reconstruct the production line of the potter working in this complex at the time Vesuvius erupted.

In 2016, research on pottery production was extended to a second atelier situated in Regio I, insula 20, 2-3, at the Nocera Gate. The first campaign (cleaning and small sondages) revealed several aspects of the production line, from clay working to firing. The research in the kiln room further clarified how the workshop functioned. Indeed, the excavations revealed the remains of a potter’s wheel that were not identified during excavations in the mid 20th century. Furthermore, the cleaning of the area in front of the kilns led to the investigation of several layers, which produced a large quantity of pottery indicative of the production created in the atelier.

The 2017 excavations concentrated on the kiln room with the aim of investigating the structure’s occupation and construction levels. Three sondages were opened.
The first opened in front of the small kiln (FR4003), west of the combustion chamber, and intercepted the destruction levels (which contained rubble from the kiln’s structure and mixed pottery) and the final levels relating to the period when the kiln was functioning.
The second trench was situated in front of the large kiln (FR4002), east of the combustion chamber, and the third south of the structure. These trenches reached levels pre-dating the kiln’s construction.
The study of the pottery will provide a precise chronology for the kilns’ construction and the period of the workshop’s activity.