This petro-fabric derives from the upper member of the Moza formation, which is found throughout the central highlands of Israel, from south of Shechem to south of Hebron. It is a superior source of potting clay whose use is attested at sites in Judea beginning in Chalcolithic times. In the Early Bronze I period it is known at sites throughout central Israel, from Beersheba to Aphek; from the Intermediate Bronze Age through the Iron Age it was the dominant source for pottery. This petro-fabric was used by potters at two late Hellenistic/early Roman workshop sites in Jerusalem: the Jerusalem International Convention Center and Giv'...
Yellow-whitish clay soil on the pathway, 5-10 cm from surface. Location: Jerusalem, near Har’el Junction on Route 1, Mevasseret Yerushalaim; the parking lot NE of the Har’el Mall and the pathway below and southeast of it is covered by yellowishwhitish clayish soil (Ben-Shlomo 2018, fig. 6.19.7).
The matrix of this petrofabric is dark or brown under crossed polarized light, and reddish to reddish-brown under plain polarized light; it is calcareous. The clay is compact with 2–7% voids in most cases. The coarse fraction is dense close spaced to single-spaced. The main and sometimes almost only coarse fraction is dolomite, preserved in its rhombic or angular form or in some cases worn. The dolomite is mostly fine to medium sand sized, 0.08–0.35 mm; in some samples some of the sand is larger at 0.35–0.65 mm. Silt sized dolomite 0.04–0.08 mm also appears in all samples though in lower proportion. Generally, the dolomite frequency ranges between 40 and 65% of the slide area, though in most examples it ranges 50–55%. Most dolomite grain retain their clear rhombic shape, yet, a certain and various proportion is probably worn, represented by sub-rounded to sub-angular shapes. Additional components are much rarer.
All examples have some quantity of calcareous inclusions, mostly fine to medium sand sized and sub-rounded to sub-angular, and usually less than 1% of slide area. These include limestone, calcareous concentrations, chalk (up to 1.4 mm in size) and microfossils. Opaque minerals, up to 0.15 mm in size appear in most samples (can reach 1% of slide area). Angular silt sized quartz is usually around 1% of slide area or less. Chert appears occasionally in sand sized, and clay pellets rarely. This may be a mixture of Moza clay (Moẓa clay or Moẓa marl formations, Bentor, 1945, 1966; Arkin et al., 1965) with the sand of the Aminadav formation. It has been considered deliberate, but it may be natural, since there are known contact layers between the Aminadav and Moza formation below it (e.g., Arkin and Ecker 2014:26, Fig. 18).
This petro-fabric derives from the upper member of the Moza formation, which is found throughout the central highlands of Israel, from south of Shechem to south of Hebron. It is a superior source of potting clay whose use is attested at sites in Judea beginning in Chalcolithic times. In the Early Bronze I period it is known at sites throughout central Israel, from Beersheba to Aphek; from the Intermediate Bronze Age through the Iron Age it was the dominant source for pottery. This petro-fa...
c. 1400 BCE - 37 BCE
Late Bronze Age III, Iron Age, Achaemenid Persian, Early Hellenistic, Middle Hellenistic, Late Hellenistic
Israel-Palestinian Authority/Central Highlands
Horbat Bet Zeneta (Israel/Galilee)
Khirbet Qeiyafa (Israel/Shephelah)
Khirbet er-Rasm (Israel/Shephelah)
Tel 'Eton (Israel/Shephelah)
