Compositional Analysis of Cultic Clay Objects from the Iron Age Southern Levant
Compositional analysis conducted on pottery and other ceramic items can shed light on their place of production and in certain cases, on technological aspects of the production sequence. The methods used, petrography and chemical analysis, can also be employed on cultic terracotta such as figurines,...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Religions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/6/661 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850164604856958976 |
|---|---|
| author | David Ben-Shlomo |
| author_facet | David Ben-Shlomo |
| author_sort | David Ben-Shlomo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Compositional analysis conducted on pottery and other ceramic items can shed light on their place of production and in certain cases, on technological aspects of the production sequence. The methods used, petrography and chemical analysis, can also be employed on cultic terracotta such as figurines, cult stands, models, or other clay objects. Several studies of such analyses of items from various periods in the Southern Levant have been published, mostly from temple contexts. This paper focuses particularly on two groups of items: clay models from the favissa at Yavneh and pillar figurines and other (mostly horse) figurines from Jerusalem and Tell en-Nasbeh in Iron Age Judah. These two groups are both roughly dated to the time span between the 9th and 7th centuries BCE. While the former group is of objects representing a temple context in Philistia, the latter is likely related to a domestic cult in Judah. The analysis of these objects is also examined against the background of a robust compositional analysis of regular pottery from the sites. The compositional analysis can indicate whether these objects were locally produced or imported from various regions (thus possibly brought by pilgrims), as well as whether they were “mass-produced” in a single workshop. The results can shed light on aspects of religious and cultic conducts in these occasions as well as compare domestic and temple-related cultic behaviors. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-360da2f061c945afb9cc3139280fae61 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj-art-360da2f061c945afb9cc3139280fae612025-08-20T02:21:57ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442025-05-0116666110.3390/rel16060661Compositional Analysis of Cultic Clay Objects from the Iron Age Southern LevantDavid Ben-Shlomo0Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, IsraelCompositional analysis conducted on pottery and other ceramic items can shed light on their place of production and in certain cases, on technological aspects of the production sequence. The methods used, petrography and chemical analysis, can also be employed on cultic terracotta such as figurines, cult stands, models, or other clay objects. Several studies of such analyses of items from various periods in the Southern Levant have been published, mostly from temple contexts. This paper focuses particularly on two groups of items: clay models from the favissa at Yavneh and pillar figurines and other (mostly horse) figurines from Jerusalem and Tell en-Nasbeh in Iron Age Judah. These two groups are both roughly dated to the time span between the 9th and 7th centuries BCE. While the former group is of objects representing a temple context in Philistia, the latter is likely related to a domestic cult in Judah. The analysis of these objects is also examined against the background of a robust compositional analysis of regular pottery from the sites. The compositional analysis can indicate whether these objects were locally produced or imported from various regions (thus possibly brought by pilgrims), as well as whether they were “mass-produced” in a single workshop. The results can shed light on aspects of religious and cultic conducts in these occasions as well as compare domestic and temple-related cultic behaviors.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/6/661compositional analysispetrographycultic standspillar figurinesJudahPhilistia |
| spellingShingle | David Ben-Shlomo Compositional Analysis of Cultic Clay Objects from the Iron Age Southern Levant Religions compositional analysis petrography cultic stands pillar figurines Judah Philistia |
| title | Compositional Analysis of Cultic Clay Objects from the Iron Age Southern Levant |
| title_full | Compositional Analysis of Cultic Clay Objects from the Iron Age Southern Levant |
| title_fullStr | Compositional Analysis of Cultic Clay Objects from the Iron Age Southern Levant |
| title_full_unstemmed | Compositional Analysis of Cultic Clay Objects from the Iron Age Southern Levant |
| title_short | Compositional Analysis of Cultic Clay Objects from the Iron Age Southern Levant |
| title_sort | compositional analysis of cultic clay objects from the iron age southern levant |
| topic | compositional analysis petrography cultic stands pillar figurines Judah Philistia |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/6/661 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidbenshlomo compositionalanalysisofculticclayobjectsfromtheironagesouthernlevant |