Collection: Macquarie University History Museum
Pilgrim flask
| Accession # | MU3182 |
| Creator | |
| Culture | Canaanite |
| Period | Iron Age I I |
| Date | Ca. 1185-980 BCE |
| Provenance | Unknown |
| Material/s | Ceramic |
| Dimensions | 18.84 cm (l) x 11.39 cm (d) x 12.97 cm (h) |
| Collection | Macquarie University History Museum |
| Source | Macquarie University, MAC |
| Classification | Container |
Click here to inspect 3d item.
MU3182 is a pilgrim flask, a common ceramic artefact found at many sites in the Near East and Mediterranean. It is a vessel with a lentoid body, narrow neck and two handles for suspension. The flask has been cracked around the base. The crack moves from the base, going up one side of the flask. It is made of a very gritty brown fabric. Pilgrim flasks were used to store water or oil collected from sacred sites visited by a pilgrim so that these may be kept and carried back home. This particular form of pilgrim flask is characteristic of the Iron Age I period, although it represents a tradition from the Late Bronze Age that continues into the Iron IIA-B. Pilgrim flasks were all created in the same way. First, two identical moulds were used to make the globular body with its flattened sides. Then, the two handles and the short slightly tapering mouthpiece was placed onto the vessel. The decoration on pilgrim flasks varies considerably depending on time period, context, geographic location and associated ancient cultures, although common motives across the Ancient Near East included hunting scenes, mythical creatures, floral motifs, knotted designs, inscriptions and heraldic emblems.
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Syllabus Links
- Syllabus Links Stage 6 Preliminary
- Investigating Ancient History, The investigation of Ancient sites and sources
- Features of Ancient Societies, Trade and Cultural Contact in Israel
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Stage 6 HSC Ancient Societies. Option C Society in Israel from Solomon to the fall of Samaria
- The economy, including; economic exchange
- Religion, death and burial, including; nature of conflicting religious beliefs and practices (ACHAH114).
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Stage 6 HSC Historical Period. Option C The Ancient Levant - First Temple Period c.970-586 BC
- The Ancient Levant as a strategic geopolitical location and the evidence for the presence of other peoples.
- Expansion of the population, trade and settlement in the region
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Historical Concepts and Skills; Analysis and use of sources
- Explain the meaning and value of sources for an historical inquiry (ACHAH007, ACHAH009)
- Analyse sources to identify and account for the different perspectives of individuals and groups in the past (ACHAH010)
- Analyse and synthesise evidence from different types of sources to develop reasoned claims (ACHAH008)
- Identify and analyse problems relating to sources in the investigation of the past (ACHAH011)
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Historical Concepts and Skills; Historical investigation and research.
- Use evidence from a range of sources to inform investigation and research (ACHAH005)
- Syllabus Links Stage 6 Preliminary
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Online Resources
- Imitation and Emulation of Pottery - Canaan and Ancient Israel at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology:https://www.penn.museum/sites/Canaan/Imitation.html
- Pilgrim Flasks, Musée du Louvre:https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/pilgrim-flasks
- C.Gallorini, Innovation Through Interactions; A Tale of Three 'Pilgrim Flasks, University of Birmingham.:https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/connections/Essays/CGallorini.aspx
- Archaeology; A publication of the Archaeological Institute of America, (August 22, 2013), Traces of Cinnamon Found in 3,000-Year-Old Vessels.:https://www.archaeology.org/news/1237-130822-israel-cinnamon-spice-trade
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Bibliography/References
- Amiran, R. (1970) Ancient Pottery of the Holy Land, New Brunswick, NJ.
- Emre, K. (1995) “Pilgrim-Flasks from Level I of the Karum of Kanish” in Bulletin of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan Vol. VIII. Wiesbaden. pp. 173-200.
- Gallorini, G. Innovation Through Interactions; A Tale of Three 'Pilgrim Flasks, University of Birmingham.
- Sauvaget, J. (1932) Poteries Syro-Mésopotamiennes du XIVe siècle, Damascus.
- Williams, E. Trade and Commercial Activity in the Byzantine and Early Islamic Middle East, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Cite this page
Macquarie University History Museum (2020). Pilgrim flask, MU3182. //objectbasedlearning.com/Macquarie-University-History-Museum/MU3182 (accessed on: 14 June 2020).Rights & Permissions
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External Objects
- British Museum, 1980,1214.15590.
- British Museum, 1980,1214.15016.
- British Museum, 1880,0710.93.
- British Museum, 1880,0710.93.: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=416162&partId=1&searchText=pilgrim+flask&images=true&page=1
- British Museum, 132324.
- Israel Museum Jerusalem, IAA 1963-791.
- Israel Museum Jerusalem, IAA 1934-7698.
- Israel Museum Jerusalem, IAA 1980-1030.
- Israel Museum Jerusalem, 71.79.206.
- Israel Museum Jerusalem, IAA 1957-175.
- Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 85-48-776.
- Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 86-18-763.
- Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 49-12-1013.: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/333772
- Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 69-35-1503.: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/203575