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POTTERY
POTTERY
POTTERY
POTTERY
ample, there is a complete absence of ESA wares at Jericho
in Hasmonean contexts, but these were replaced
with locally produced red-slipped vessels (possibly from
Jerusalem) (Hayes 1985: 183; Bar-Nathan 2002: 121). Key
sites with Hasmonean assemblages include Jerusalem,
the Hasmonean palaces at Jericho, Tell el-Ful, Cypros,
Beth Zur, and Machaerus. Hasmonean pottery workshops
were discovered at Qumran and possibly at Jericho,
and Hasmonean pottery is found beyond the
boundaries of the kingdom, particularly during the
reign of Alexander Jannaeus (Bar-Nathan 2002: 195-96).
It was produced with minor changes until the end of the
first century but was increasingly supplanted by the new
Herodian forms and Roman imports (Bar-Nathan 2002:
199).
The Hasmonean pottery assemblage of the second
and first centuries b.c.e. includes local red-slipped fine
tableware, cups with flaring walls, bowls with drooping
rims, coarse, shallow plates with a flat or ring base,
bowls and cups with flattened, string-cut bases and incurved
walls, deep bowls with out-curved rims, mortaria,
kraters, narrow-necked, ridged globular jugs with
cup mouths, biconical jugs, carinated lagynoi, small
“Judean” flasks, flasks with an asymmetrical globular
body, bag-shaped storage jars with upright necks, and
large storage jars with everted rims. For unknown reasons
numerous small bowls and plates were found in
association with the many mikva}ot at Jericho (Bar-
Nathan 2002: 196). A small number of vessels have
crudely executed, painted geometric decoration. Globular
juglets with cup mouths were apparently produced
to store perfumed oils and possibly the expensive
Judean balsam cultivated around the Dead Sea. In addition
to globular cooking pots (the main cooking vessel
in the region from the fifth through the first centuries),
casseroles became an important addition to Jewish
kitchens (Berlin 2006: 140; Bar-Nathan 2006: 151).
Locally produced lamps include wheelmade “saucer
lamps” and pinched lamps that had a long tradition in
Palestine from the Late Iron Age period, and the moldmade
radial lamps that imitated the common Hellenistic
molded lamps.
One important type of jar that began to appear in
the Hasmonean periods is the “Genizah” or “Scroll” jar:
a hole-mouth storage jar with a vertical neck, ovoid or
cylindrical body, and a wide ring base with a concave
bottom (Bar-Nathan 2002: 23-27; pls. 1-2, nos. 2-11).
The jars were usually covered with a lid in the form of an
inverted bowl. The jars were discovered in the Qumran
caves storing scrolls belonging to the Dead Sea Scrolls
archive. They were produced throughout the first century
b.c.e. until 70 c.e. in the Dead Sea area and have
been discovered primarily at Qumran and the winter
palaces at Jericho (and possibly at Tell el-Ful), but they
have not been discovered in Jerusalem (Lapp 1961: 154,
Type 14; Bar-Nathan 2002: 26-27).
Herodian Pottery
The ceramic vessels that developed during the reign of
Herod in the second half of the first century b.c.e. had a
high degree of uniformity and were the dominant types
A set of Eastern Sigillata A dishes from the “Herodian Residence” in
Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter
that were used throughout Judea and Samaria well into
the first century c.e. (Bar-Nathan 2002: 200-201). Key
sites include Jerusalem and the surrounding area,
Qumran, Samaria, Caesarea, Tel Anafa, as well as the
royal Herodian palaces at Masada, Jericho, Machaerus,
and Herodium. When compared to Hasmonean pottery,
Herodian pottery includes new types that appear to
have been influenced by Roman pottery of the Augustan
period. Roman fine wares, imported mainly from the
West, such as Pompeian Red Ware, Thin-walled ware,
and Western Terra Sigillata began to appear in
Herodian contexts. ESA wares did not appear at either
Jericho or Masada before 30 b.c.e. (Bar-Nathan 2006:
368). At Masada, Herod’s palaces were supplied with
wine imported mainly from Italy and also from Knidos,
Chios, and Rhodes and amphorae were also used to
transport apples from Italy and fish sauce (garum) from
Spain (Bar-Nathan 2006: 313). The amphorae imported
to Masada inscribed with tituli picti in Latin include the
name “Herod, King of Judea” and indicate two dated series
of consignments: 27/26 and 19 b.c.e. (Bar-Nathan
2006: 307-8).
The plain, utilitarian wares of the Herodian assemblage
differ from the Hasmonean wares in being more
levigated with a metallic quality and petrographic analysis
of storage jars found at Jericho, showing that they
were produced from different clays (Bar-Nathan 2006:
199). The Herodian repertoire includes many older
forms such as the ubiquitous globular perfume juglets,
globular jugs, asymmetrical flasks, and more refined
(usually thinner) versions of cups and bowls with ring
bases. A variation of the globular cooking appears with
a short neck and triangular rim at the end of the period.
New forms include: carinated plates, globular lagynoi,
barrel-shaped jugs, cooking ware jugs, casseroles with
carinated shoulders, one-handled jugs of cooking ware
fabric, and a tall, ridged neck storage jar. Painted fineware
vessels (Jerusalemite Painted Pottery) similar to
Nabatean painted wares began to be produced in Jerusalem
at the end of the century (Hershkovitz 2003: 31*).
Large storage jars and handmade pithoi, or dolia, probably
used for storing grain, were discovered at the
Herodian palaces (Bar-Nathan 2006: 39, 377). In the
Galilee, the most common type of cooking wares began
to be produced at Kfar Hananya while the Galilean village
of Shikhin near Sepphoris produced large storage
jars admired by rabbinic sources throughout the first
century (Adan-Bayewitz 1987; 1989; 1993: 23-26). In the
second half of this century, piriform unguentaria superseded
the Hellenistic fusiform unguentaria. The Hasmonean
radial moldmade lamps appeared until the beginning
of the first century c.e., while toward the end of
the period knife-pared “Herodian Lamps” with saptulate
nozzles began to be produced.
First Century c.e. until the Year 70
From the mid first century b.c.e. there appears to have
been an increase in piety and influence of Jewish sects
such as the Pharisees who transmitted a rigorous ideal
of ritual purity, formerly a monopoly of the priestly
class, to the common people. This ideal of ritual purity
was manifested materially in the increased construction
and use of mikva}ot or ritual baths, the production
of stone (chalk) vessels for storing water, earthen and
dung vessels for storing dry goods, and locally produced
pottery vessels and utensils. Key sites include Jerusalem,
Gamla, Masada, Herodium, Macherus, Callirrhoe,
Qumran, {Ein Gedi, {Ein Boqeq, and Caesarea.
Imported fine wares and amphorae are found in
Judea and Samaria in rather limited quantities. The
same may be said of Italian cooking vessels such as
Pompeian Red Ware and orlo bifido pans. These were
found in cities and in the Herodian palaces throughout
the Herodian realm as late as the First Revolt but are
rarely found in rural areas (Bar-Nathan 2006: 358-59).
Imported wares were probably purchased primarily by
the wealthier classes, and religious considerations prevented
higher demand. This is particularly apparent in
regard to oil lamps, with the plain, undecorated
“Herodian lamp” (probably produced in Jerusalem) the
most common lamp throughout Palestine, even among
pagan populations (Barag and Hershkovitz 1994: 4).
“Citadel lamps” (a type of gray ware lamp with molded
floral designs similar to those found on Jerusalemite
Painted Pottery) were produced in Jerusalem late in the
period, several of which were discovered at Masada
Jerusalem painted or “pseudo-Nabatean” bowls from the 1st-century-c.e.
mansions in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter.
(Hershkovitz 2003: 32*-33*). Imported Roman lamps,
with their molded depictions of pagan gods, mythology,
and erotic scenes are rare. These lamps, usually produced
in Imperial workshops, may have been introduced
into the area by Roman soldiers (Bar-Nathan
2002: 188).
Many ceramic vessel forms of the Herodian period
continued to be produced in Judea as late as the destruction
of the Second Temple in 70 c.e. The production of
plain ware bowls appears to have declined during this
period (Bar-Nathan 2002: 202). Fine “Jerusalemite
painted pottery” decorated with painted floral designs,
found in Jerusalem and the Judean Desert, was probably
a special tableware used for the Sabbath and high holy
days (Hershkovitz 2003: 33*). At Masada few ceramic
cups were found in Zealot contexts, possibly due to the
use of glass cups toward the end of this period (Bar-
Nathan 2006: 374).
Globular pots, carinated casseroles, and cooking
jugs continued to appear throughout this period. A new
type of cooking pot with carinated shoulders appeared
toward the end of the period. Casseroles dishes (kdera)
were important kitchen implements used for cooking
both solids and liquids (m. Ned. 6:1-2), and, according
to Jewish sources, in the case of divorce even the poor
were required to supply their wives with this kind of vessel
(t. Ketub. 5:8; Zevulun and Olenik 1979: 68-71; Bar-
Nathan 2002: 68). Cooking ware jugs with one or two
handles were abundant in Judea and spread to the Galilee.
This was probably a vessel that Jewish sources call
the yorah, used for heating and boiling liquids (Bar-
Nathan 2002: 68, 177). Red ware kraters (tamkui in Jewish
sources) were used to serve cooked food to diners or
as vessels to collect food that could be distributed daily
to the destitute (Zevulun and Olenik 1979: 24; Bar-
Nathan 2002: 179). Three ceramic ladles (the tarvad referred
to in Jewish sources) used as pouring and measuring
utensils were found at Masada (t. Baba Batra 7;
Bar-Nathan 2006: 231). Globular jugs with triangular
rims were the dominant type, and toward the end of the
period ridged-neck jugs and jugs with sieves and spouts
began to appear.
Bag-shaped storage jars with a capacity of 20 to 29
liters continued to be the most widely used type of jar
throughout the region in this period (Bar-Nathan 2006:
371). Ovoid storage jars were discovered in Jerusalem
and sites around the Dead Sea (Bar-Nathan 2006: 47-
50). At Masada storage jars were found with inscriptions
in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek (tituli picti) of the
names of the owners, the contents, or the amount (Bar-
Nathan 2006: 44-45). A variety of convex ceramic funnels
were discovered in Zealot contexts at Masada, a
number of which were found together with vessels apparently
used for purification (Bar-Nathan 2006: 228).
Some unusual vessels used by the Zealots (66-73/74
c.e.) discovered at Masada include a jar (or jug) used as
a spindle for holding balls of thread during spinning
and hand basins or washstands used for ritual purification
(Bar-Nathan 2006: Fig. 75; p. 235, Fig. 74). The
hand basins are flaring, crater-like vessels attached to a
globular body supported by tall, cylindrical stands. Jew-
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1059
Consulting Editors
Esther Chazon
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Shaye J. D. Cohen
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Devorah Dimant
Haifa University, Israel
Hanan Eshel †
Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Erich S. Gruen
University of California, Berkeley
Martha Himmelfarb
Princeton University, New Jersey
James L. Kugel
Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Hindy Najman
University of Toronto, Ontario
George W. E. Nickelsburg
University of Iowa, Iowa City
Lawrence A. Schiffman
New York University, New York
Michael E. Stone
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
James C. VanderKam
University of Notre Dame, Indiana
ESSAYS
Early Judaism in Modern Scholarship
John J. Collins
Jewish History from Alexander to Hadrian
Chris Seeman and Adam Kolman Marshak
Judaism in the Land of Israel
James C. VanderKam
Judaism in the Diaspora
Erich S. Gruen
The Jewish Scriptures: Texts, Versions, Canons
Eugene Ulrich
Early Jewish Biblical Interpretation
James L. Kugel
Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
Loren T. Stuckenbruck
Dead Sea Scrolls
Eibert Tigchelaar
Jewish Literature Written in Greek
Katell Berthelot
Archaeology, Papyri, and Inscriptions
Jürgen K. Zangenberg
Jews among Greeks and Romans
Miriam Pucci Ben Zeev
Early Judaism and Early Christianity
Daniel C. Harlow
Early Judaism and Rabbinic Judaism
Lawrence H. Schiffman
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