When new construction was planned in the city of Freiburg, Germany, archaeologists were allowed to excavate the site beforehand, because the area was first occupied in the year 1240. One of the things they found was a series of pottery kilns, and inside were small clay figurines.
"More than 40 figurines were in the kiln: a clay horse, the head of a man wearing a pointed cap, and a mother with her child on her lap. Clearly recognizable, even though the figurines were small and rather simple."
The fact the kilns were all grouped in a single area suggests the 13th/14th century residents had some form of urban planning, putting the big ovens in what we'd recognize today as an industrial park, a place for business and manufacturing rather than residential spaces. And because the little toys were still inside the kiln when it was excavated, you can imagine they were made after the day's work was done: picture the potter filling his orders for dishes or pots or whatever, then, with the clay scraps left over, making some fun little things and putting them in the oven before it fully cooled down for the night, not realizing it would (for whatever reason) be seven centuries before anyone would go in there again. It's kind of daunting, isn't it?
(via)
