A Christian Basin from Jerusalem

Abstract

In a salvage excavation carried out in 2005 north to the Old City of Jerusalem (the Third Wall site) some pottery fragments of a basin, dated to the Late Byzantine or Umayyad period, were found. The basin, which is significant regarding both its decoration and its context, is made of hard-fired, yellowish ware and has a broad ledge rim. The edge of the rim is decorated with thumb impressions. The rim’s surface is decorated with applied disks, on each of which is impressed a Greek cross, and between the disks there are small round impressions which form larger crosses. Below this panel there are remains of fringes of oval or rhomboid impressions. This basin is unique as far as its rim surface decoration goes. Only two other basins of this type with a decoration on their rim surface have been published so far. We can assume that the basin, decorated with Christian motifs, had a certain use in the liturgical rites that took place in the monastery’s chapel which was identified during the excavations.