The Pots and Potters of Assyria: Technology and Organisation of Production, Ceramic Sequence and Vessel Function at Late Bronze Age Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria

Abstract

“The Pots and Potters of Assyria” is a comprehensive discussion of all evidence relating to pottery production from the Late Bronze Age site of Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria. Technological, morphological, stylistic and archaeological data are integrated into the understanding of pottery production and use. The pottery itself and its chronological sequence, the shaping and firing techniques, raw materials, wasters and unfired pottery are presented. In addition, workshops and their layout, tools, as well as pottery kilns and their construction are discussed. Together with information on standardization, output and demand, as well as information from contemporary texts, these sources are used to reconstruct the organization of pottery production at the site. A chapter on vessel function and use including a list of Middle Assyrian vessel names concludes the study. Introductory chapters discuss field methodology, the historical background and stratigraphical information. Seven appendices present the database used for this study, the shape typology, a detailed study of the pottery kilns, the results of archaeometric research including thin-section analyses, potters’ marks, and cuneiform texts from Sabi Abyad related to pottery. The thesis is lavishly illustrated, including an extensive catalogue, detailed illustrations of workshops, tools, shaping techniques, kilns, thin-section slides, and vessels in iconography

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