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Egils Jemeļjanovs. Archaeological evidences about the medieval brick-kiln of Turaida Castle
whole bricks were used for the pavement but during the excavations, in the direction towards the middle
part of the mound, they were uncovered in a mostly disintegrated state, although they had remained in
their original places.
The sizes of paved bricks were mostly 30–31 × 15 × 10 cm, but many were rather irregularly shaped.
Often even the sizes of different sides of one specimen differed by 1 cm – the largest brick width reached
17 cm. In line with investigations made during the restoration of Turaida Castle it can be surmised that
bricks of this size were used for the construction of the castle in the 15th and 16th centuries. That was a
time for intensive reconstruction of the castle adjusting it to the use of firearms.
In the excavations of 2014 also a few fragments of 13th–16th century Monk and Nun roof tiles and
16th century flat roof tiles were found which could not be used for determining the sizes of original whole
roof tiles. Among the discovered whole bricks and their fragments comparatively many defective articles
were found that were overburnt, deformed or melted together. Supposedly, all the qualitatively made
production was taken to the castle but there on the spot waste pieces were left – unusable or cracked
overburnt bricks. During the excavations also five small forged iron nails were found that had possibly
been used for fastening together of wooden moulds for brick making, tables, wheelbarrows or other
auxiliary devices.
There is no doubt that it was exactly the site of the medieval Turaida brick-kiln that was uncovered
in the excavations of 2014. This is testified to by more than a metre thick layer of small brick fragments
which makes the banked mound as well as by the finds of kiln waste pieces. The meaning of the uncovered
brick covering is not quite clear. Perhaps it was a paved square on which the just-made raw bricks or
burnt articles were stacked before further transportation to the construction site. The remains of the oven
possibly should be sought more to the middle of the hillock since it had to be located not far from the
place of making and keeping of building ceramic articles. Judging by brick sizes and fragments of roof
tiles of the most ancient shape the brick-kiln had existed there only until the end of the Middle Ages.
In the second half of the 16th century, during the Livonian War, when no more intensive reconstruction
works were made in the castle, also the old brick-kiln lost its meaning and ceased to exist. Therefore in
the old 17th century plans no buildings were marked in this place.