This examples of this petrofabric dating to the Iron Age II and III all exhibit a fine-grained matrix and are reddish brown to orange in plane polarized light (ppl). Middle Bronze Age examples, though compositionally similar are generally less highly fired. The samples often have a moderately sized, but well-defined core, although some examples have no definable core. The matrix appears calcareous and micrite is commonly observed. The matrix in all samples was optically inactive. Overall the fabric is very well sintered and voids occur rarely. The fabric is most often fine-grained containing roughly 25-30% voids and non-plastic inclusions. Middle Bronze Age samples tend to be coarser containing roughly 35-40% voids and non-plastic inclusions.
The non-plastic component of the samples is dominated (12-18%) by fine and medium sand sand-sized grains of quartz that are generally sub- to well- rounded rounded and equant. A few elongate grains can also be noted. The quartz grains are sometimes polycrystalline and often exhibit an undulose extinction. Rounded pieces of medium sand sized grey micritic limestone also occur (5-9%), along with infrequent highly rounded fine sand sized grains of calcite (1-3%). Large rounded coarse sand sized argillaceous bodies are found rarely (1-3%). These commonly contain silt-sized grains of quartz and are often surrounded by shrinkage voids. Their texture shows they are highly argillaceous and likely represent clay pellets that remained unmixed during the preparation of the clay. Clay pellets are also observed that are lighter in color and contain an abundance of microfossils. Highly rounded grains, orange in ppl, are noted rarely <1%. These grains exhibited little to no optical activity, but were identified as glauconite by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The glauconite probably turned orange as a result of oxidation during the firing. Grains of zircon, microcline, and epidote occurred in trace amounts.
Fossils occurred rarely (1-3%), but consistently. Various species of globigerina are most common. Benthic fossils are represented infrequently by weathered fragments of Nummilites. Interestingly, fragments of coralline algae (such as Amphiroa or Mesophyllum) were noted very infrequently in Iron Age II-III. Amphora samples. Coralline algae was, however, found in Middle Bronze Age examples with some frequency and are known to occur in comparative samples from the southern Lebanese coast.
'Akko, Harbor (Israel/Northern Coastal Plain)
Caesarea Maritima (Israel/Central Coastal Plain)
Tel Kabri (Israel/Northern Coastal Plain)
Tell Qasile (Israel/Central Coastal Plain)
