Remains of Two Iron Age IIB–C(?) Updraft Pottery Kilns at the Foot of Tel Gamma (Tell Jemma)

Authors

Davida Eisenberg-Degen, Israel Antiquities AuthorityFollow
Ilana Peters, Israel Antiquities Authority
Svetlana Talis, Israel Antiquities AuthorityFollow
Yael Abadi-Reiss, Israel Antiquities AuthorityFollow
Emily Bischoff Bruintjes, Israel Antiquities AuthorityFollow
Yotam Asscher, Israel Antiquities AuthorityFollow

Abstract

An excavation southwest of Tel Gamma exposed two Iron Age II updraft pottery kilns and a refuse pit. The eastern kiln was only partially preserved; its fill contained workshop debris and storage-jar wasters. The better-preserved western kiln retained an almost intact, elongated combustion chamber with two sets of mud-brick flues and evidence of periodic upkeep. An activity layer was identified between and around the kilns, from which a mixed Iron IIA–C ceramic assemblage and a few stone artifacts were collected. The stone artifacts likely served in fine grinding and burnishing. In the refuse pit, potsherds, vitrified bricks, animal bones and a ceramic spacer were found. The latest of the pottery dated to the seventh century BCE, attesting to the latest date that the kilns could have been in use.

Keywords

Tell Jemmeh, Iron Age II, pottery production, updraft pottery kiln, ceramic wasters, XRF and FTIR analyses, combustion chamber

Recommended Citation

Eisenberg-Degen, Davida; Peters, Ilana; Talis, Svetlana; Abadi-Reiss, Yael; Bischoff Bruintjes, Emily; and Asscher, Yotam (2025) "Remains of Two Iron Age IIB–C(?) Updraft Pottery Kilns at the Foot of Tel Gamma (Tell Jemma)," 'Atiqot: Vol. 118, Article 16.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70967/2948-040X.2328
Available at: https://publications.iaa.org.il/atiqot/vol118/iss1/16