Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have unearthed a 1,600-year-old (Roman period) pottery workshop at the archaeological site of Bat el-Jabal in Shlomi, a town in northern Israel.
Dr. Gosker inside the pottery workshop’s water reservoir. Image credit: Royee Liran / Israel Antiquities Authority.
The ancient workshop included a water storage system, compartments and a rare rock-cut kiln.
“What makes the pottery works so special is its unique kiln, which was hewn in bedrock and is unlike most of the kilns known to us that were built of stone, earth and mud,” explained Dr. Joppe Gosker, excavation director from the IAA.
“The kiln was meticulously constructed,” he said.
“It consisted of two chambers – one a firebox in which branches were inserted for burning, and a second chamber where the pottery vessels were placed that were fired in the scorching heat that was generated.”
“The ceramic debris that was piled up around the kiln indicates that two types of vessels were manufactured: storage jars that could be transported overland, and jars with large handles (amphorae) that were used to store wine or oil which were exported from Israel by sea,” Dr. Gosker said.
“We can explain the quarrying of this rare kiln right here because of the special geological conditions found in the area of Shlomi,” said Dr. Anastasia Shapiro, IAA geologist.
“There is chalk bedrock, which on the one hand is soft and therefore easily quarried, and on the other is sufficiently strong to endure the intense heat.”
At the site, the IAA archaeologists also unearthed the remains of a royal structure with a gate — probably from the Late Roman period, which coincides with the use of the pottery workshop.
In addition, the remains of Byzantine-era buildings were identified, and “as in the case of the unique kiln their builders took advantage of the natural stone in order to hew high foundations in the bedrock,” the scientists said.
