Persian-period Group 1 samples share a ferruginous matrix with some calcareous clay and very small amounts of silt. Samples show voids from burned out organic matter. Some of these voids are surrounded with gray aureoles. Such aureoles appear when the firing is too short to completely destroy the organic material.
Coarse inclusions range from about 7% to 10%. Inclusions comprise
chalk, crystalline limestone, ferruginous shale, terra rossa nodules, and aquatic shells. The chalk appears as rounded to elongated bodies, poorly sorted and varying in size from 0.5 to 2.0 mm. The limestone grains are sub-angular or sub-rounded in shape and range from 0.7 to 1.0 to 2.5 mm in size. Two kinds of limestone appear: crystalline and biogenic (i.e., laden with fossil shells). The shale particles are sub-rounded and, like the limestone grains, range from 0.7 to 1.0 to 2.5 mm in size. The terra rossa nodules are smaller, ranging between 0.5 and 1.0 mm. Aquatic shell fragments are variously sized and mostly elongated. Some are fresh, coming from wadi beds, while others are fossiliferous, deriving from eroded limestone. None of the samples contain quartz or dolostone.