Chazan, M. & P. McGovern. "Khirbet Kerak Pottery at Beth Shan: Technological Evidence for Local Manufacture" in MASCA Journal 3.1 (1984), pp. 20-24.

Introduction

Khirbet Kerak pottery, first identified by Albright (1926) at the Palestinian site of that name, is a highly distinctive class of ceramics. Its hallmark is an intense red/black surface contrast (Plate l). It first appeared in northern Palestine at the beginning of Early Bronze III (circa 2750 B.C.), and continued in use until the end of that period (circa 2300 B.C.), at which time it disappeared. Besides northern Palestine, quantities of this pottery have been found in certain other regions of the Near East (eastern Anatolia/Transcaucasia and the 'Amuq), but intervening and otherwise accessible areas (southern Anatolia the Levantine coast, southern Palestine, etc.) have yielded very little. To many scholars this peculiar geographic distribution suggested invasion and/or mass migrations from eastern Anatolia and Transcaucasia where there appeared to be antecedent ceramic traditions (Hood 1951, Woolley 1968 Amiran 1968). However, as the chronology and somewhat divergent repertoires of the various regions have come to be better understood (Lamb 1954, Mellaart 1966, Todd 1973), a more cautious approach has developed.

One alternative hypothesis is that itinerant potters from eastern Anatolia/Transcaucasia may have travelled between and even settled in, prominent towns of the 'Amuq and northern Palestine (Hennessy 1967). Such a hypothesis might better explain how local pottery types (e.g. the one-handled Palestinian jug) came to be decorated in Khirbet Kerak fashion since invaders or migrants would not have been inclined to adopt local styles. As a corollary, regional technological differences would also be expected as the foreign potters adapted themselves to the local ceramic industry. As a first step in testing this hypothesis, a pilot technical study was under taken on Khirbet Kerak pottery from Beth Shan, under the assumption that this group is representative of one of the three principal regions (viz., northern Palestine) for the pottery's production.

a. Lustrous red and black. the 'classic' decoration. Bowls and kraters usually have a hand-burnished red interior, continuing over the rim where a narrow, irregular reddish yellow band merges with the exterior black burnished surface (Plate l sherds I-6). Jugs and tall stands are sometimes similarly decorated.

b. Lustrous overall red or black. Less often. bowls have a completely red or black burnished surface (Plate l: sherd 9) Stands and jugs are most often decorated red in this fashion
(Plate l: sherd 8) Low relief plastic designs (chevrons, diagonal ribbing, elc.) also occur on the first two classes of bowls and kraters.

c., Red painted. Very rarely, bowls and jugs have red painted geometrical designs (triangles, circles, crisscrosses, etc.) over a brown body surface (Plate l: sherd 7). The red paint is
burnished to a high gloss in reserve fashion so as to contrast with the unburnished background. On stands and "fenders (horse-shoe shaped objects), this decoration is sometimes
combined with geometric and abstract figural designs.

d. Unburnished brown or gray. This surface decoration is found almost exclusively on fenders and conical lids

Seven representative burnished sherds were selected for study: three bowls and one krater from Class a, two stands from Class b (red), and one bowl from Class c. Each was sectioned perpendicular to its horizontal plane with a non-deformational diamond saw (Buehler Isomer). Additional tile-shaped pieces were cut from one of the kraters (Plate 1: sherd I), in order to carry out refining analyses at 500, 750, 850, 950, and l 000"C respectively. A servo-controlled Lindberg muffle furnace allowed attainment of the peak temperature (fluctuation, i'5"C maximum) within 20 minutes, and a prolonged stable heating of the tile in an oxidizing atmosphere for another hour after that.

All samples, retired and unrefined, were then graphite or gold-palladium coated for SEM examination, with magnifications typically in the 300X to l 000X range. It was then possible to establish (I) presence/absence of a slip or paint, and (2) the extent of the glassy phase (vitrification) which relates to the temperature and duration of firing. An EDS attached to the SEM provided semi-quantitative chemical analyses of slip/paint (when present) and of the body ware.

The data obtained are summarized in Plates 2-4 here. All the Khirbet Kerak wares are, according to the vitrification distinctions developed by Tite et al. (l982a), only in the initial stage of vitrification, i.e., uniformly low fired. Most sherds do, however, exhibit an intermediate stage of vitrification near their surfaces (of Plates 2a,b). Of the retired tiles, the one held at 500°C had an interior vitrification structure that was almost identical to its unrefined counterpart, while the tile fired to 750°C had a body structure that was closest to the intermediate stage of fusion near the surface of the original specimen (Plate 3a). By 950°C a continuously vitrified fabric with bloating pores (up to 20 microns in diameter) had developed (Plate 3b).

All the wares were made of a calcareous clay (Ca, circa 5- l0%), and marked changes in color and structural integrity with refining were typified by one of the Class a kraters (Plate 1: sherd I, and Table l). A separate layer of clay had been applied as a slip to achieve a deeper hued red (10R 5-6/8, 2.5YR 5/6-8) on sherds 1-4 and 7-9 (Plate l). That layer (of thickness ranging 10 to 100 microns) could be clearly differentiated by its finer particles, greater vitrification, and non-calcareous composition (Ca unslipped surface that is used instead of a deeper red slip on two Class a pieces (Plate l: sherds 5 and 6).