General Information

Towards the end of the 2nd c. BCE and continuing into the 1st c. CE, Jerusalem potters manufactured cooking vessels with thin walls and, often, sharply contoured rims. The ware is recognizable by its dense, compact bright red-brown color and occasional small to medium angular white inclusions. Surfaces were nicely finished by wet smoothing and sometimes closely spaced wheel-ridges. Vessels were generally fully fired at high temperatures, giving them a hard, almost metallic texture.

The first shapes produced were globular cooking pots with high necks; in the later 1st c. BCE potters began making cooking pots with short necks and triangular lips, along with angular casseroles (traditionally known as "Type B" cooking pots) and cooking ware jugs. These vessels are found throughout Jerusalem and also elsewhere in Judea.

Potters elsewhere also adopted this new technology, for example in the early Roman period workshops near urban centers in the central and northern coastal region of Israel, such as Caesarea and Dor. The analogous ware in this zone is Southern Phoenician Roman Compact Cooking Ware. Coastal potters made cooking vessels similar to the shapes produced in Judea, as well as some not made there, such as wide shallow cooking bowls. 

Jerusalem, City of David/Ophel (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Central Highlands)

Jerusalem, Old City/East Jerusalem (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Central Highlands)

Jerusalem, West Jerusalem (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Central Highlands)