A technological study of North‐Mesopotamian Stone Ware

Abstract

Abstract North‐Mesopotamian Stone Ware is an unusual, dense and hard Early Bronze Age pottery, made for the most part from very special noncalcareous clays which were not used for any other ancient Mesopotamian ceramics. It is in general more porous than modern stoneware and was fired at lower temperatures. Nonetheless, because of its high content of flux, it is very stoneware‐like in its vitrification and in its content of mullite. By changing kiln atmospheres and by part vitrification of the surface, deliberately varying grey to red colours were obtained. Pale olive coloured sherds, and also some of the red and grey samples of North‐Mesopotamian Stone Ware, constitute calcareous and probably local varieties. The majority of sherds analysed, of the noncalcareous North‐Mesopotamian Stone Ware from forty‐one sites, fall into only two compositional groups indicating two areas of manufacture, as yet unidentified.