A History of Pottery and Potters in Ancient Jerusalem; Excavations by K.M. Kenyon in Jerusalem 1961-1967; H. J. Franken

H. J. Franken † [+–]

H. J. Franken, who died in 2005, was Emeritus Professor at the State University Leiden, The Netherlands, and the author of Excavations at Tell Deir ‘Alla: The Late Bronze Sanctuary (Louvain, 1992) and of numerous articles on Near Eastern archaeology.

PAPERBACK EDITION PUBLISHED MARCH 2013

This book surveys four thousand years of pottery production and presents totally unexpected fresh information, using technical and analytical methods. It provides a study of ancient pottery of Jerusalem, from the earliest settlement to the medieval city and brings to light important aspects that cannot be discovered by the commonly accepted morphological pottery descriptions. New insights include the discovery that third millennium BCE pottery appears to have been produced by nomadic families, middle Bronze Age ceramics were made by professional potters in the Wadi Refaim, the pottery market of the Iron Age II pottery cannot be closely dated and is still produced during the first centuries after the exile, and the new shapes are made by Greek immigrant potters. The book contains a chapter on the systematics of ceramic studies and numerous notes about the potters themselves.

Prelims

List of Figures [+–] ix-x

PAPERBACK EDITION PUBLISHED MARCH 2013 This book surveys four thousand years of pottery production and presents totally unexpected fresh information, using technical and analytical methods. It provides a study of ancient pottery of Jerusalem, from the earliest settlement to the medieval city and brings to light important aspects that cannot be discovered by the commonly accepted morphological pottery descriptions. New insights include the discovery that third millennium BCE pottery appears to have been produced by nomadic families, middle Bronze Age ceramics were made by professional potters in the Wadi Refaim, the pottery market of the Iron Age II pottery cannot be closely dated and is still produced during the first centuries after the exile, and the new shapes are made by Greek immigrant potters. The book contains a chapter on the systematics of ceramic studies and numerous notes about the potters themselves.

List of Tables [+–] xi

List of Illustrations of Potter’s Actions [+–] xii

Preface and Acknowledgments [+–] xiii-xiv

Introduction [+–] xv

Theory and Practice of Ceramic Studies in Archeology [+–] 1-18

This chapter critically examines the value of pottery typologies as used in the dating of archaeological finds, and attempts to show that pottery from ancient cultures deserves a study for its own sake and value. The chapter discusses the idea of explanation, “Hume’s problem”, the typological system in Near Eastern Archaeology, as well as the Idea of identity of forms and their synchronous development. It is also concerned with archaeometry and provides some examples of Explanation in Pottery Studies.

Pottery from the Early Bronze Age [+–] 19-28

This chapter is concerned with pottery from the Early Bronze Age. This pottery cannot be considered as a locally produced homogeneous group. The raw materials used in the production indicate a wide range of sources. Therefore, the wares are first described, followed by the pottery drawings and description which cover the range of shapes found. This is followed by some notes on the manufacturing of the pottery and a list showing the quantity of sherds from each class and other features found.

Pottery from the Middle Bronze Age [+–] 29-38

This chapter is concerned with pottery from the Middle Bronze Age. It describes the total assemblage of this pottery as it was found in the Site A squares. A sketch of complete forms suggests to which forms the classes may belong and further, a survey of the classes and variants is provided as well as a list of the provenance of the illustrated sherds. It further presents a survey of the total amount of sherds found; the cave pottery is compared with the total amount of sherds found elsewhere on the site. This is followed by notes on the construction of this pottery, on the firing temperatures and the influence on the colour of the sherds. The most common ware by far is the dolomite clay already described in Franken and Steiner 1990.

Pottery from the 12th Century BCE [+–] 39-52

This chapter is concerned with pottery from the 12th Century BCE. The pottery is published in provenance groups. This is preceded by a list of wares and followed by a discussion of the potters’ techniques.

Pottery from the 10th Century BCE [+–] 53-64

This chapter is concerned with pottery from the 10th Century BCE. It describes the wares as well as the published sherds concerning the period.

A Survey of Pottery Production in the Iron Age [+–] 65-88

This chapter presents a survey of pottery production in the Iron Age. It discusses the development of the potter’s craft from the 12th century BCE until its end around the 4th or 3rd century BCE. The survey presented is restricted to the developments of the pottery found in ancient Jerusalem.

The Pottery from Square A XVIII, 6th–5th Centuries BCE [+–] 89-104

Chapters 7–10 present pottery from the Neo-Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic and Early Roman times is described. All this pottery was found in the ancient dumps overlying the Iron Age ruins on the eastern slope of the Ophel. This chapter is concerned with the study of Square A XVIII, 6th–5th Centuries BCE.

Post-Exilic Pottery from the Other Ancient Dumps [+–] 105-132

This chapter is concerned with describing a survey of the pottery found in the ancient dumps, except for the Persian pottery from the dump in Square A XVIII and the imported Greek wares.The dumps from Squares A I–III had been studied and phased by Kenyon and the pottery sorted accordingly.

Imported Slip-glazed and Plain Pottery from Greece [+–] 133-158

This chapter discusses imported slip-glazed and plain pottery from Greece. Therefore, after a preliminary study of the wares of a sample of black-slipped and red-slipped sherds, a test of the slip colours by means of refiring had been performed. Moreover, the chapter analyzes the Greek imported non-slipped pottery.

The Later (Roman) Dump Pottery [+–] 159-166

This chapter discusses the later Roman sherds found on the eastern Ophel slopes. These sherds, with the exception of two sherds of class 12D2 (jars), had only been found in the dumps lower down the slopes and in Site C. It is considered that these later sherds were transported lower down the slopes by erosion of the surfaces in higher areas.

Pottery from the Byzantine Period [+–] 167-188

This chapter is concerned with pottery from the Byzantine period. In this period the clays used in the pottery production were not similar to those used during the Iron Age. It is considered that that pottery was produced in large quantities in several ‘factories’ with very efficient production systems. The chapter presents the wares of the Byzantine pottery, as well as a survey of the pottery classes and ends with a note on the date of this pottery.

In Search of the Jerusalem Potters [+–] 189-202

This chapter presents the transition from the profile of the pot to the profile of the potter as a representative of a unique cultural tradition. It presents the potters who produced pottery in the differenced periods discussed in the book. The chapter ends with some general remarks regarding pottery and the writing and interpretation of this survey.

End Matter

Appendix [+–] 203-208

Bibliography [+–] 209-211

Index [+–] 212-214

Reviews

This work by H. Franken provides a solid and valuable overview of the developments that took place within the ceramic production at and/or near Jerusalem during several millennia. …the book forms a good apologia for the contextual study of ceramics, which was for this work based on Franken’s notion of ceramic traditions. …as Franken stated throughout his long and fruitful career, the study of ceramic assemblages has to transcend its purpose for dating layers and to focus on the study of the context of the production and distribution of ceramics to obtain a valuable insight into a society. It is regretted that archaeologists in this region and especially those working on the biblical period remain reluctant to fully implement this notion, which has so many advantages as testified by this book and [its] visionary author.Bibiotheca Orientalis LXVI 5/6

This volume is significant and its publication is celebrated because it contains hard data, i.e., primary evidence from Kenyon’s excavations that will always be important and valuable to students of Jerusalem’s archaeology. The archaeological community owes Franken a debt of gratitude for undertaking this study and seeing it through to completion. Jane Cahill, BASOR 346

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A History of Pottery and Potters in Ancient Jerusalem

Excavations by K.M. Kenyon in Jerusalem 1961-1967

H. J. Franken † [+–]

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