The Hellenistic and early Roman common-ware pottery from Tel Anafa.

Abstract

In this dissertation the corpus of common-ware pottery from the site of Tel Anafa, in Israel's Upper Galilee, is presented. This material, representing the basic kitchen equipment of the site's inhabitants, comes from three main periods of occupation: mid 3rd c. BC (early Hellenistic), late 2nd-early 1st c. BC (late Hellenistic) and early 1st c. AD (early Roman). The pottery has been analyzed and organized by both fabric and shape, leading to an initial broad distinction between vessels intended for table, kitchen or storage use. Within these groups the corpus is presented by shape, and includes an overview of the origin and development of the form, its specific regional and chronological range and its history at Anafa. A close analysis of the assemblage in its entirety has shown that common-ware pottery can provide information on historical, economic and social aspects of ancient societies. For Tel Anafa, the ceramic corpus has shown that in the early Hellenistic period the inhabitants were linked economically to the southern Phoenician coast. That area's prosperity was not shared by the inhabitants of Anafa, who instead lived the most marginal of lifestyles. In contrast, the late Hellenistic period was a time of great wealth, with the inhabitants building and decorating a large peristyle court house, similar to the villas on Delos. The pottery shows clearly that these cosmopolitan residents were Phoenicians, probably from Tyre or Sidon, and that their culinary patterns were essentially Greek. A gap in occupation throughout much of the 1st c. BC ended with a re-occupation in the early 1st c. AD. The introduction of several new common-ware shapes reveals these new occupants to be of Italic origin, while the dramatically increased reliance on vessels imported from the lower Galilee shows that the site's economic affiliation shifted southward, perhaps in response to Roman tolls between Syria and Judaea.