General Information

Southern Jordan Roman-Byzantine Plain Ware, also called Petra Common Ware pottery (Gerber 2014), is the undecorated household pottery made throughout southern Jordan. It was produced in several centers, distinguishable by fabric. These include Petra, Aila ('Aqaba), and probably other locales as well (see further below). A wide range of vessel shapes are known: bowls, kraters, basins, jugs, storage jars, amphoras, and various cooking vessels, including cooking pots, casseroles, and flat-bottomed pans (for Petra see Gerber 2014; for Aila see Dolinka 2003: 64, Table 3).

Regarding the relationship between the potters at Petra and Aila, Gerber writes that the "common ware production local to Aqaba features forms which are very similar to contemporaneous forms produced in Petra and were certainly inspired by them, or even imitated them" (2014: 200). 

In his study of the Nabataean ceramics from Aila, Dolinka (2003: 64) identified Aila products as having macroscopically-identifiable gold biotite mica inclusions. Two other fabrics are known: a white, "soapy" feeling fabric produced at an unknown center and a pink or red variety, often with a gray core and thick "mustard-coloured yellow (5Y 7/6)" slip that Dolinka suggests was produced at Udhruh. Dolinka (2003: 64) points out that all three types were identified macroscopically, and further petrographic and chemical investigation is necessary to refine these distinctions. 

Southern Jordan Roman-Byzantine Plain Ware may be considered a separate ware from Nabataean Decorated Cream Ware. The plain ware includes a wider range of vessels, all undecorated; and production continued much longer, into the Byzantine era. 

In terms of distribution, Southern Jordan Roman-Byzantine Plain ware vessels are commonly found in southern Jordan and also the Negev of Israel, with a distribution extending to the Dead Sea region (Dolinka 2003: 80-86). A single sherd was found at Jarash, but Dolinka (2003: 86) argues that the primary distribution of the ware is concetrated south of Madaba. 

Petra common-ware pottery

Coptos (Egypt/Upper Egypt)

Ein Rahel (Israel/Negev)

Orhan Mor, Moyat 'Awad (Israel/Negev)

Wadi Fidan 50a (Jordan/Wadi 'Arabah)