Pottery kilns and workshops were usually located in the outskirts of the cities or outside them. According to the Roman law, they could not be located in the central parts of the city because of the high air pollution. The ruins of a ceramic craft complex found in the Western part of the present day city garden of Plovdiv are a proof for this rule.

The demand for large amounts of pottery used in all the households - rich and poor - determined the necessity for workshops for their production. During the Late Antiquity Philippopolis became a major center for ceramics and pottery production in the province of Thrace. It continued to be a major production center even in the later periods of its development.