Southern Levantine MBA-Iron Age cooking ware
Israel/all, Jordan/all
c. 1800 - 500 BCE
Middle Bronze Age II, Middle Bronze Age III, Late Bronze Age, Iron Age
General Information
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 sources, potters shared a similar approach to manufacture. The cooking vessels of these periods were all wheel-made, with even, relatively thin walls and smoothed exteriors. Potters made only a few forms, and these are very similar even across long distances. The commonalities in technological approach indicate shared know-how, while the similarities in forms indicate essential similarities in culinary approach.
Aphek (Israel/Central Coastal Plain)
Arad (Israel/Negev)
Ein Gev (Israel/Jordan Valley north)
Khirbet Qeiyafa (Israel/Shephelah)
Mizpe Yammim (Israel/Galilee)
Qedesh/Kedesh (Israel/Galilee)
Sochoh (Israel/Shephelah)
Tel 'Eton (Israel/Shephelah)
Tel Burna (Israel/Shephelah)
Tel Malhata (Israel/Negev)
Tel Megiddo East (Israel/Jezreel Valley)
Ashkelon (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Southern Coastal Plain)
Jerusalem, City of David/Ophel (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Central Highlands)
Jerusalem, Old City/East Jerusalem (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Central Highlands)
Khirbet Abu Tabaq (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Central Highlands)
Khirbet el-Maqari (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Central Highlands)
Khirbet es-Samrah (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Central Highlands)
Motza (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Central Highlands)
Tel Hebron (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Central Highlands)
Tel Jemmeh (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Southern Coastal Plain)
Tell es-Safi/Gath (Israel-Palestinian Authority/Southern Coastal Plain)
