General Information

Petra's coarse ware pottery began as early as the 3rd or 2nd century BCE and likely continued through the beginning of the Islamic period. The kilns were originally discovered in 1979 and excavated over the subsequent decades. The results were preliminarily published in the Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. Further studies suggest the clay likely came from Ayn at-Tinah. While a definitive chronological typology has not yet been published for the coarse ware (unlike the local finewares), there is broadly much agreement on the relative dating for the major forms and types. During the Nabataean period, Petra coarsewares were widely exported, but the local ceramic industry's power seemingly declined later in the Roman and Early Byzantine periods when other producers (at Aila, for example, and perhaps at Roman fortresses) took over more significant portions of the ceramic market in southern Jordan. 

Orhan Mor, Moyat 'Awad (Israel/Negev)

Wadi Musa, Town Center (WMS Site WM18) (Jordan/Southern Sandstone Highlands)

al-'Aqaba, Aila (Jordan/Wadi 'Arabah)