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The article presents descriptions of local pottery and ceramic assemblage found in two tombs at the excavations supported by the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University and the Israeli Institute of Archaeology in Israel. Explored is the Late Bronze Age terminology as well as the chronological terminology used at Middle and Late Bronze Ages. A table is presented depicting bowl types.

Abstract: The development of pottery production during the Bronze and Iron Ages at Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel, is examined based on the analysis of 224 pottery vessels representing most periods within this ca. 1700 years time frame. The main tools employed were visual examination of manufacturing techniques and petrographic thin section analysis, all of which was conducted on the entire group. This was combined with a chronological, functional, typological, and cultural characterization of the samples. The results indicate a tendency of a diachronic shift from the use of calcareous-based clays to non-calcareous clays, from the Bronze Age towards the late Iron Age, although the primary shaping techniques do not change. Intentional tempering, when relevant, is mostly type- or function-dependent. It is suggested that this trend, possibly evident at other sites in the southern Levant as well, may be related to the employment of higher firing temperatures by the potters. This phenomenon may also be related to the decrease in the relative amount of decorated pottery that is seen during the late Iron Age. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]