* The Bronze Hoard from Tiberias *

A Fatimid Bronze Hoard from Tiberias

Introduction

• A hoard of about one thousand vessels and objects was retrieved at Tiberias, comprising a majority of bronze objects, some iron artifacts, one ceramic jar and one glass bottle. The importance of the hoard lies in the fact that it can be dated to a well-defined period. The coins found among the vessels indicate that the hoard was concealed not earlier than 1078. Most of the vessels can also be independently dated, on the basis of form, decoration and inscriptions, to the ninth-eleventh centuries (i.e., the Late Abbasid and Fatimid periods). A few are attributed to the sixth-eighth centuries (Late Byzantine, Umayyad and Early Abbasid periods).

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• The majority of the vessels can be defined as domestic ware; they are divided into three main groups. The largest and most interesting group is that of lighting devices, including dozens of lampstands and candlesticks; several fragments of perforated lacework mosque lamps, oil lamps, and lamp-fillers. The second group consists of tableware, and comprises a large variety of vessels, the most prominent of which are ewers, bottles, bowls, goblets, cups and round boxes. The last group includes a large variety of kitchenware such as buckets, cooking pots, frying pans, pestles and mortars. In addition to these utensils, hundreds of other objects were also retrieved, such as furniture-legs, various types of small legs and handles belonging to vessels, as well as decorated handles, hinges, clasps, bronze strips and plaques, which apparently adorned intricately decorated wooden caskets. Besides the bronze artifacts, several iron items were found, including a pair of gold-threaded stirrups, hooks, nails, bucket-handles and scissors.

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Part of the Hoard after cleaning

Photograph by Gabi Laron

• Early Islamic bronze vessels are rare, chiefly to be found in museums and private collections, usually making precise dating difficult. Only a small part were found during official excavations or in hoards. One of the most important hoards found recently in archaeological excavations is the one found at Caesarea, which is also the closest in style and decoration to the hoard found at Tiberias. The discovery of a hoard in an active bronze workshop at Tiberias constitutes a rare opportunity to examine the typical forms and decorations of Fatimid metalwork, as well as its production techniques. New vessel types and decorations can now be dated and defined.

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Copyright: Jan Gunneweg Ph.D., The Hebrew University, August, 1999