Earthenware

Earthenware was used frequently in the ancient Middle East. It was cheap and relatively easy to work with. Pots, pans, plates and jugs are just some examples of the end products, but there were also oil lamps and other objects for use in and around the house.

Earthenware was fragile and needed replacing frequently. When a pot broke, the shards were sometimes reused, for example as a scraper, as in Job 2:8.

Simple earthenware for use around the house was usually produced locally. It had a simple shape and up to the Roman Era, these objects were rarely decorated, if at all.
On the other hand, luxury items, such as perfume bottles, were sometimes imported and were painted and decorated. For instance, from the fifth century BC earthenware was imported from Greece. In addition to this, many remains have been found of large, solid jugs that were used to transport products overseas, such as wine, grain or olive oil. This type of jug was used throughout the Mediterranean coastal region.

In the first and second century BC, the best known type of pottery was the so-called “Eastern Terra Sigillata”. It is recognisable by the orange or yellow shiny glaze applied to the pottery.
Many items have been found from New Testament times that were imported from Rome, or that were made locally based on Roman objects.
In addition to this, very simple undecorated pottery has been found from the same era. This can be linked to an increasing desire in certain Jewish circles to express their own ethnic and religious identity.

For archaeologists, shards of earthenware are an important source of information. Because the shape of earthenware objects has changed over time, it is often possible to tell by the shape of a pot in which era, and usually also in what region it was made. If pot shards are found in the ruins of a building, they can also be used to establish when the building was constructed.