•  
  •  
 

Abstract

From July 2009 to May 2010, archaeological excavations were conducted on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority in the parking lot of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Giv‘at Ram, Jerusalem. The site is located on a broad, rocky hill that rises 25 m above its surroundings and lacks a natural source of water. Despite this, pottery workshops were established here, using runoff water, collected and stored in subterranean reservoirs, to prepare the clay. Excavations previously conducted in the area by Avi-Yonah (1949 and 1968), Arubas and Goldfus (1992), and Avner and Ben-Or (2004–2007), uncovered the remains of pottery workshops dating to the Second Temple period and the Late Roman period. The workshops operated for about 300 years, from the mid-second century BCE to the second half of the second century CE. The location of this production area near the main Jerusalem–Jaffa road undoubtedly facilitated transport of the pottery products to markets in the city and its rural hinterland. Pottery produced at this site was found in excavations throughout Jerusalem. Remains of the potters’ village were found in the northern part of the site (south of Jaffa Road, near the Central Bus Station), including dwellings, courtyards, streets, water installations, ritual baths (miqva’ot), industrial installations, kilns and bathhouses. Finds from the new excavations at the site shed light on the production technology of pottery vessels in the vicinity of Jerusalem. It appears that the workshop was owned by one or more families of potters, who settled there during the Hasmonean period and produced vessels, primarily cooking pots, at least until 70 CE. Following the destruction of the Second Temple, the workshop was reestablished, focusing on the production of construction materials, mainly ceramic roof tiles and pipes, under the direction of the Roman Tenth Legion, which was based in Jerusalem.

Download

Share

COinS