J5 Ceramics
General character of ceramics in Unit J5 stratum 14

Back to top: J5 Ceramics General character of ceramics in Unit J5 stratum 14

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Typical stratum 14 shapes: carinated bowls with either a rounded or sharp carination, deep bowls and necked jars(these have been common since the beginning of the Khabur period), goblet bases (q189-p16 f141, q239-p4 f157, q236-p4 f157, q189-p2 f141), characteristic beaker ring base, but there are few of these in this stratum (q239-p3 f157), slightly raised disk base (q106-p1 f72).

Other characteristics of the ceramics in the stratum: few sherds from vessels used for cooking,few gray ware sherds, few painted sherds.

Gray ware: Two types, fine and coarse. The coarse ware type includes chaff, calcite and quartz and is medium fired. Coarse shapes include a thick bowl with a slight groove at the base of the rim on the exterior (q328-p2 f158). The fine gray ware type includes very fine chaff and usually no other inclusions, can be either dark or medium gray in the color of the exterior and interior, high fired, burnishing on the exterior and interior. Shapes include a bowl with an overhanging rim with groove below (q236-p21 f157, q239-p12 f157, q103-p14 f72), a dark gray convex base (q99-p5 f72).

Types of painted and impressed decoration: few red banded bowls, only 3 double painted (“Nuzi ware”)sherds 1. head and eye of a bird q189-p70 f141, 2. head of long beaked bird q239-p70 f157 3. alternating white and red triangles on the neck of a deep bowl q241-p10 f157), other painted vessels include a sherd with painted and impressed decoration (solid horizontal band with thinner vertical bands and 2 rows of impressed crescents below q234-p70 f157). Khabur type painted decoration includes solid band below the rim with running triangles filled with diagonal lines below q241-p8 f157. Shapes with bands only include a very thick walled jar with wide solid band below the rim that is inverted and rounded, overfired q350-p7 f70, a conical cup q96-p7 f39, a goblet rim q189-p9 f141, carinated bowls q316-p3 f158 and q249-p70 f158, a goblet with a slightly rounded shape q96-p8 f39, a necked jar q103-p12 f72.

Unusual decoration: running diagonal oval applied decoration, overfired q303-p1 f158.

Unusual shapes, large storage jar: large coarse storage jar q253-p15 f158, thick base of large storage vessel q253-p2 f158 (probably the base of the large storage jar q253-p15 f158) very coarse lid q253-p3 and p4 f158, (this lid was probably used to cover the storage jar q253-p15 f158)

Other unusual shapes: jar with deep ribbing on the exterior of the rim (q103-p19 f72), bases with central hole (q182-p11 f124, q209-p18 f137, q236-p14 f157); these bases with a hole in the center are characteristic in Phase 4 strata although some are found already in Phase 3, necked beaker in RC1 ware, thin walled, surface texture somewhat coarse, surface smoothed but not fine (q297-p1 f158), bowl made from white-buff clay with white-buff slip (q266-p11 f158) this type of clay and slip found later in the Middle Assyrian period but unusual there in the Urkesh Middle Assyrian stratum (J5s11), deep bowl with exaggerated rib below the rim (q253-p17 f158).

Earlier sherds in stratum 14: Some Late Chalcolithic 3 sherds and even fewer early ED sherds (especially in comparison with the number of LC3 sherds in the stratum) mixed into some stratum 14 features. The number of Late Chalcolithic 3 sherds is less than in J5s12.