The ‘metallic ware’ from Tell el Far'ah North (West Bank): Petrography, technology, and provenance of a hidden ceramic industry

Abstract

The present work illustrates a multi-analytical study of ceramic fragments that represent a distinctive class of pottery dating to the Early Bronze II (3050–2850 BC) from the archaeological site of Tell el-Far'ah North (West Bank). Optical Microscopy, coupled with SEM-EDS and XRPD, allowed to identify it as a ‘metallic ware’ industry produced with a low calcareous clay where quartz is dominant, along with feldspars, fragments of sedimentary and siliceous rocks, and nodules of iron oxides. This mineralogical assemblage is consistent with the geological formations in proximity to the site. The high quality of this ceramic industry was contemporarily achieved by a judicious selection of supplies and a firing temperature in a range between 800 and 900 °C. The metallic ware identified at the Tell el-Far'ah North most likely represents a ceramic industry of the central hill country. Tell el-Far'ah North, or another site in the area, may have been the production location of this pottery, according to the pattern of regional production centres, and regional specialised industries, which characterizes the Southern Levant in the Early Bronze II.