Technological aspects of Middle Bronze Age II production of pithoi at Tel Kabri, Israel: specialized pottery production in a palatial system

A study of pithoi production technology at the Middle Bronze Age Canaanite palace at Tel Kabri, Israel, utilized experimental and analytical methods. Pithoi from two phases of the palace were produced using local alluvial raw material, by coil/slab technique, and finished on a slow wheel. Firing at c. 600°C for a short duration seems to be related to the potters’ knowledge of the limitations of the raw material used, further indicating no significant environmental effect despite growing palatial demand. Differences in pithos rims, sizes and contexts may relate to various consumption patterns in the earlier and later phases of activity at the palace.