* Iron Age Edomite Pottery in 'En Hazeva *
Edomite Pottery found in 'En Hazeva,
Israel
The present Homepage concerns a collaborative project
between:
- The Hebrew University (Dr. Jan Gunneweg, Archaeometrist,
Archaeologist)
- The Technical University of Budapest (Dr. Marta Balla,
Geologist, Archaeologist)
- The Israel Antiquity Authority (Dr. Rudolph Cohen and
Yigal Israel, Archaeologists)
This page concerns the question whether Edomite pottery
found in 'En Hazeva in the Arava of Israel was imported from Edom
in Jordania during the 7th century B.C. or that it was locally
made by Judahites who imitated Edomite pottery. This potery is of
a specific importance because it looks different from other
Edomite pottery found in the Qitmit Shrine near Arad and in
Kadesh Barnea (Sinai) which were analyzed and we determined that
they had been manufactured in the Beer Sheba region. Edomite
pottery from these two sites was published by Gunneweg and
Mommsen in 1989, 1992 and 1994 respectively.
The recent main question is:
Where were the anthropomorphic vessels produced
which have been found in the Temple Compound at 'En Hazeva?
Our Provenience Project consists of: To submit 'En Hazeva
"Edomite" pottery vessels to neutron activation analysis. This
pottery was found in association with many other pottery styles,
most of them Judahite (from Judah).
The most reliable method to trace pottery to the place
where it has been manufactured (rarely even its clay source)
still is by means of neutron activation analysis (hereafter NAA),
a nuclear method specificly employed to determine the
quantitative abundances of the chemical elements which are
different for every clay source on earth, thus, obtaining a
chemical "fingerprint".
What does one expect to learn?
1. One may be able to establish whether all or part of the
sampled pottery was locally made in 'En Hazeva in the Arava of
Israel.
2. By analyzing various rare potteries found at En Hazeva and
similar ones from sites in Jordan (and elsewhere), we might be
able to trace the interrelations which certainly took place
between the population of 'En Hazeva and other peoples nearby and
remote.
The Edomite anthropomorphic jars at En
Hazeva
This page deals with the following items
- Technical data of the Ein Hazeva pottery
- Proposal for Edomite Pottery Analysis
Click here for the
Technical Data Still Under Construction
Click here for the
Archaeological Interpretation of NAA data Still Under
Construction
The necessary Funds have been provided by the Israel Antiquity
Authority, whose financial support is very much acknowledged.
My Correspondence address:
- Dr. Jan Gunneweg
- Institute of Archaeology
- The Hebrew University
- 91905 Jerusalem
- Israel
- Tel: 972-2-6234830 (or leave a message)
- Fax: 972-2-6234830
Do you have any questions and/or comments?
Please, don't hesitate to write to:
Jan
Gunneweg's Email
Copyright: Jan Gunneweg, June, 1998
Since June 28, 1998, 
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