W. F. Albright and the History of Pottery in Palestine

Abstract

The publication of the pottery of Tell Beit Mirsim by Albright was a watershed event in the history of archaeology in the region. The author looks at the history of the publication of pottery from the earliest days in the second half of the nineteenth century. On the way, he looks at the way researchers treated their pottery during excavation, how they drew and described the pots and potsherds and what sorts of interpretive goals they hoped to reach with their presentations.