Grey Burnished Ware
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Ledge Handle Jar
Red Burnished Teapot

This vessel was found at Megiddo and dates to the EB I.

 
Southern Levant : Megiddo
Red Burnished Teapot
Period: Early Bronze I
Era: Megiddo XX-XIX
AL Chronology: 2900—2700 BC (era)
Middle Chronology: 3500—3000 BC (era)
Civilization: Early Canaanite

The aptly named “teapots” were made by hand and had thick walls. Their color was achieved by coating the pot with a fine, red slurry or “slip” before firing. The slip was allowed to dry and then rubbed with a smooth stone. Upon firing, the rubbed surface of the vessel assumed a bright, metallic finish or “burnish.”

Characteristics

  • red slip
  • handmade
  • thick walls
  • spout
  • thick loop handle

The vessels date to the beginning of the EB I. Similar pots have been found in Egypt and Mesopotamia from the same time period.

Red Burnished Ware

From Megiddo, this teapot has a “bent” spout that helps to pour liquid without spilling.  It is similar to “bent” spouted vessels produced in Mesopotamia from the same period.

 

Left: A spouted “Decorated Ware” vessel from Egypt (Late Predynastic period).  Right: A spouted vessel from Uruk (Jemdet Nasr period).

 
[Review Quiz]

Amiran, R. Ancient Pottery of the Holy Land; from its Beginnings in the Neolithic Period to the end of the Iron Age. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1970.
Helene J, Kantor. “The Early Relations of Egypt with Asia.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 1, no. 2 (1942): 174–213. Link

Last modified: August 11, 2025