Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

JIYEH

LEBANON

(including fish-plates) and the most cha-
racteristic, conical-bodied bowls or skyphoi
with pinched loop handles. Black-gloss ves-
sels, bowls and plates, were decorated with
stamped palmettae and rouletted bands.
The ESA fragment is a large variant of bowl
with incurved rim, form 20, with stamped
palmettae. The repertoire of forms and the
quality of these vessels place them in the
2nd century BC. Importantly, no single
pieces of ESA belonging to the standard
Late Hellenistic "service" (plates, forms 3-
WELL
The accidentally discovered well was hor-
seshoe-shaped, the upper section measur-
ing 1.30 by 1.10 m, the base 1.60 by 1.30 m.
The upper part of the well was built of
sandstone blocks to a depth of 2.40 m. The
lower part was cut in the sandstone, re-
aching a maximum depth of about 7 m.
The well was filled with pottery sherds. The
upper part of the filling contained mainly
large fragments of amphorae with little
interspersed earth and sand. The lower layers
revealed sherds and some better preserved
vessels of other forms mixed with earth,
sand, mud and gray soil. This filling
continued to the very bottom of the well.
The huge amount of pottery material
found in the well is estimated at about
10.35 cubic meters [cf. Fig. 3]. The diver-

4; bowl, form 22) from the 1st century BC
were found in the examined deposits.
Imported pottery comprised also one
completely preserved and several fragmen-
ted watch-shaped, turned oil lamps and
a single fragment of mould-made lamp
[cf. Fig. 7]. Additionally, three handles
of Rhodian trade amphorae (two stamped)
were recorded, as well as one mould-made
brazier pot support decorated with a beard-
ed head. All these finds conform to the dat-
ing of the fine pottery.
1 (B4)
sity of standardized vessel forms merits in-
terest. The assemblage contained amphorae,
cooking pots, jugs, bowls, dishes, pans,
and pot-stands (cf. below). It included many
diagnostic fragments and some misfired
pieces, but almost complete vessels were
also unearthed.
The well may have been dug to provide
water for a pottery workshop operating near-
by. For one reason or another, it was used
thereafter as a dump for ceramic produc-
tion wasters. It is important to note that
besides the locally-made ceramics, no
other rubbish of the usual kind was ever
thrown into it, apart from a very limited
number of imported fine ware fragments
(cf. below), bricks, shells and bones of
some small species of animals.

LOCALLY PRODUCED POTTERY FROM WELL 1 (B4)

Down to a depth of about 2 m, the
ceramic assemblage was dominated by
amphora sherds. Altogether six forms were
distinguished, including three forms
represented by a single example each. The
most frequent containers, form 1 [Figs. 8-
9} are characterized by a brown-reddish
fabric with light gray core, medium
texture and hardness, a great deal of very

small and a few large white lime grains, as
well as some black grains and quartz. They
have rather thin walls with a ribbed pro-
file. Their most characteristic features are
that they are of medium-length, have
a broad neck, plain down-turned rim, and
a conical-pointed base. Fragments of this
form included many over-fired and de-
formed pieces. Interestingly, the finds from

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