Методы идентификации продукции кирпичников средневекового Вильнюса на примере костёла св. Николая

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Geochemija; Pažymėtos plytos; Gotika; Šv. Nikolajaus bažnyčia Vilniuje; Geochemistry; Marked bricks; Gothic; St. Nicholas Church in Vilnius.

ENThe object of the research is St. Nicholas Church in Vilnius. The main goal of this article – to define the suplied possibilities to solve old brick walls dating and brick-making technological issues by adapting geochemical and transological-visual research methods. The old brick walls studies has a long tradition in Lithuania. The pionier of such studies was Marijanas Moleliovskis who formulated main research areas and issues for future generations during pre-war period. A scolar noted the changes of brick size and tie up methods during ages, that could help to determine chrological boundaries of old brick walls. Proportional-chronological regularities of the old bricks were used by many later scolars as well, almost exclusively architects. Using this method architects have determined chronological boundaries of St. Nicholas Church in the end of to the second half of 14th – 15th century. Meanwhile, other researchers’ positions on this issue are very different. Some historians attribute it to the Grand Dukes Vytenis and Gediminas period, i.e., junction of the 13th and 14th centuries. This position was confirmed by archeomagnetic bricks studies, which dated bricks 1297–1310. However, the major part of historians the foundation of brick church takes in the period between 1382 and 1413, relating it to Hanul, vicegerent of Vilnius. Solving St. Nicholas Church dating issue, the authors paid attention to a quality of bricks manufacturing technology and problems of determination of their characteristics. One of many determination of bricks characteristics ways is geochemical method. During the measurement of brick samples is obtained digital expressions of chemical elements and applied multivariate mathematical analysis which allows to create a hierarchical brick samples connection cluster analysis.Cluster analysis method let to highlight and group the samples according to similarity of chemical elements. Using this method was tried to find out, are bricks of St. Nicholas Church in their chemical composition similar and are they similar or different in comparison to the bricks of others Vilnius buildings in the 14th – 16th centuries. There are compared 5 bricks from St. Nicholas Church with 52 bricks of other buildings in Vilnius, dated from 1326 to 1526. They are: Franciscan Church of the St. Virgin Mary, early Cathedral and the Lower Castle. Cluster analysis shows that the oldest St. Nicholas bricks could be produced in the same brickyard, and their composition of chemical elements is very similar to the samples taken from the Franciscans Church and from the northern gate tower of Lower Castle. However, it should be emphasized that cluster analysis has some methodological gaps. We mean those cases when bricks are comparing taken from different objects. It should be taken into account the fact that the bricks used in the production of raw clay has been mined from the various places. Therefore, in the future, using a multi-elemental analysis methods (KA or PKA), it is necessary to carry out chemical tests of such mining places. This would allow to relate the bricks with a particular mining place, where intensity of the mining was verifying during the ages. Without these date, it is difficult to choose right chemical elements for cluster analysis. On the other hand, the geochemical data can be supplemented with transological ones, because in the St. Nicholas Church were discovered some marked bricks. There are found 11 such bricks.They were marked using round dies with different ornamentation, that could be divided into 4 types. Most of them were found in the southern facade of the Church. Comparing marked brick lineup with changes of bricks size in the southern facade, the authors make two eductions: a) the southern wall of the church was built at the same time; b) different marks (types 1, 2, 4) are likely had been used in the same brickyard. Founded bricks with same marks in other places of Vilnius show that the same brickyard could produce bricks for other buildings as well, that were constructing during this period, i.e., St. Virgin Mary (Franciscan) Church and the Cathedral (maybe for its repair). Comparing marked bricks with northeastern German cities data, it is considered that St. Nicholas Church was built not earlier than in the 7th decade of the 14th century. So, the posotion of Hanul times Church becomes more reasonable. [From the publication]

• Archeologija / Archaeology
• Istorija / History