General Information

The Erani C horizon includes vessels that carry a variety of decorative styles:

• white slip, probably lime, with broad red vertical or nearly vertical stripes and one or more “necklaces” of oblique incisions. The white slip and paint is similar to the decorative technique of Southern Levantine EBA White slip/Red stripe ('Pajama') ware, which occurs in the late EB I. This style seems to be limited to smallish to medium size vessels.


• incising, usually in the form of horizontal incisions on strap handles and sometimes on rims and bodies. Occasionally strap handles are incised longitudinally producing a strand-like effect. This style seems to be limited to smallish to medium size vessels.


• the addition of a thin coil at the bases of handles or spouts. These are clearly a form of adornment as these coils, some overlapping, had no structural function and were quite fragile.


• a short segment rope-like decoration placed obliquely on the shoulder of medium to large size jars. While its significance is unknown it is particularly interesting as examples of this have been found at the northern site of Ptora (near Tel Erani) and in Tomb U-j in Abydos. Such a detail strongly suggests that these vessels derive from the same workshop, thus indicating significant chronological proximity for their proveniences.


• ledge handles, sometimes with scalloped edges formed by cutting rather than by impressing.

One small, crudely painted miniature jar with false spout is notable for having an Erani C type decoration and also exhibiting a poorly executed example of Basket-Painted Ware. If the rather careless painting represents a degraded and late example of that style, then this vessel hints that the Basket Ware Style of painting may have preceded this Erani C Style. 

Chronology: At Tel Erani, vessels with these features first occur in Layer C, which dates prior to the later EB I occupations. Vessels decorated in Basket-Painted Ware also appear in this layer. While the absolute lengths of time during which these styles were produced is not yet known, it appears that both were in use during advanced but not very late EB I horizons. 

Vessels with Erani C horizon decoration are found in Egypt, in Abydos Tomb U-j, and at sites in southern Israel, from the northern Negev to the Shephelah. The northernmost occurrence is at Tell en-Nasbeh in the Judean hills.