Ancient Cookware from the Levant - An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective - Gloria London
17. Iron Age and Persian Era Cookware
Ancient Cookware from the Levant - An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective - Gloria London
Gloria London [+]
Independent Scholar
Description
In the Persian era, large shallow mortaria associated with food preparation joined the globular and bag-shaped deep pots as part of the kitchen repertoire. They were traded over long distances via sea routes but did not reach inland sites. In Transjordan, grinding bowls resembling stone mortars were in use. A closed jar or amphora, possibly used to transport fresh fish, may have functioned as a “cooling” container brought from the coast. Scoops, trays, and graters were likely used in other periods but have not been preserved. At Hisban, the shift from calcite to quartz temper for cookware was completed by the Persian era. The same shift for jars, jugs, and other types of pottery followed. It would seem that potters who made cookware led the shift, which was followed by potters who made the rest of the ceramic repertoire.