General Information

Cypriot Black Slip, as it is usually termed, or Matt Black (MBL) is an Iron Age ware that is a bit of a problem. It is often called Black Slip, but it is not truly a slip and may possibly be a wash. It has a matt (unburnished) surface. A fragment that appears completely MBL could be from a thick black painted part of a Cypriot White Painted (Iron Age) vessel. Various Matt Black vessels occur in Cypriot Iron Age contexts, especially in the Cypro-Geometric and Cypro-Archaic periods.

Matt Black

Kourion/Episkopi, Kaloriziki (Cyprus/Western South Coast)

Lapithos, Upper Cemetery (Cyprus/Kyrenia Mountains and North Coast)

Polis/Marion, Peristeries (Princeton Grid Area B.D7) (Cyprus/Chrysochou Valley)

Soloi (Cyprus/Western Mesoria)

Tel Dor (Israel/Carmel coastal plain)

Tell Tweini (Syria/Coast/An-Nusayriah Mountains)