Throughout the southern Levant, beginning in the Middle Bronze Age, and continuing in the Late Bronze and Iron ages, there was a common approach to making vessels for cooking and use over fire. Potters sought iron-rich clays, which have a high tolerance for heat, as opposed to calcareous clays, which tend to break down and crumble with exposure to heat. They increased the strength of the fabric by adding temper of various sorts - calcite, shell, basalt - that facilitated resistance to thermal shock. Since iron-rich terra rossa soils occur throughout these regions, potters were able to use locally available clays. This means that vessels of this long-lived ware family were made in various petro-fabrics. Within this variety of clay sour...