On the Technology and Origins of the Old Russian Pottery From the Bagaevka Settlement (Saratov Area of the Volga Region)

At the Golden Horde Bagaevka settlement of the second half of the 13th-14th century AD in Saratov region, almost all (with a few exceptions) kitchen ware are pots of Old Russian origin. The characterization of this part of the assemblage is complicated by the fact that it is a mixture of imported and locally made items, moreover, the local part is also associated with different pottery centres in Rus. Local products can be pots made of paste similar to the Golden Horde ceramics of the Lower Volga (with an abundant admixture of fine sand), or alternatively, with gruss, partially or completely consisting of fragments of gaize, which is a stable companion to local clays. In the first case, some difficulties arise in distinguishing the pottery of Old Russian origin from that of the Golden Horde. The most recognizable imported groups come from the Upper Don (white clay without visible admixtures), the Upper Volga (Torzhok and Tver lands), and Vladimir Opolye (with characteristic rims). A significant part of the ceramics is widespread throughout North-Eastern Rus, and its division by centres of production is fundamentally possible in the future. The differences in the traditions of local craftsmen are evidenced by the use of different starting techniques (this is a substrate feature): bottom and bottom-capacitive ones.