Golan storage ware consists of hand-built storage vessels made from locally occurring basalt rich clay of the Golan Heights region. Crushed basalt is the primary temper; petrographic analysis of Golan jars found at Peqi’in identified the clay as “Basaltic Brown Mediterranean soil” (Shalem et al. 2013:389). Color is variable, but dark reddish-brown, bright red, orange-red, and pinkish-red tones dominate (Epstein 1998:159; Shalem et al. 2013: 84). The walls of these vessels are usually thin, averaging 5–7 mm thick. Shalem and colleagues (2013:486–487) note they produce a high tone when knocked on, indicating a relatively high firing temperature. Epstein (1998) suggested that people made these storage vessels because the shallow soils of the Golan made the excavation of storage pits difficult.
These vessels date to the Chalcolithic period, and given the agro-pastoral lifestyle of people during this time and the lack of workshop sites, these vessels were likely produced at the household level for use by a family unit or for limited exchange (Epstein 1998:159). Production of these vessels is limited to the Golan Heights region, and vessels found at the Peqi’in site in Upper Galilee were demonstrated to have been made in the Golan Heights through petrography (Shelem et al. 2013:389).
Two forms are attested: pithoi and spouted kraters. Most pithoi are roughly egg-shaped, with a flat base, and adorned with rope decoration. The rim is often everted, but sometimes straight. Often there are multiple small handles on the upper portion of the vessel. The handles have been distinguished by shape: vertical handles; "eye and nose" handles; horn handles; and “small handles” that resemble knobs, nipples, ledges, and buttons. The vertical handles are small triangular projections with a central hole to allow a rope to pass through, which could be used to suspend the vessel. Eye and nose handles are similar, though the upper hole is smaller and so less functional. Epstein suggested that this handle had a symbolic meaning as a “life-fertility symbol” (Epstein 1998:170). Others have also suggested that these handles were made to resemble domestic animals like goats (Shalem et al. 2013:84).
Kraters are similar to pithoi in that they are generally egg-shaped, flat bottomed, feature rims that either taper in or are everted, and carry rope decoration. Vertical handles are almost always present. The krater is distinct in that an angled spout is present on the upper portion of the vessel, usually centered between the handles (Epstein 1998:164). This type of vessel was likely used to store and pour liquids—possibly milk, oil, or water. At seven chain houses in the Golan Heights, these vessels were found in association with charred olive pits and olive wood, a discovery that led Epstein to suggest that these vessels were used to store olive oil (Epstein 1981:79; 1998:164).
In the Golan Heights, vessels of this ware appear only in domestic contexts (Epstein 1998). Three Golan ware pithoi were found at the burial complex of Peqi'in, in the Upper Galilee, where they were used as funerary vessels for human remains (Shalem et al. 2013:387). The presence of Golan ware vessels outside of the Golan Heights has been interpreted as evidence of exchange or demographic migration (Shalem et al. 2013:44, 447) although other explanations are also possible.
For a ware tradition with a similar mode of production and shape series, see Troodos Traditional Coil-Built Ware.
