Cooking Pot

The vessel is a cooking pot that is specifically found only in the south and not earlier than the 8th century BC. It has a roughly globular body with a short neck. The base curves outward only slightly, and rises into a gentle curve that continues to the neck. The neck begins with a ridge, then three rills, then another ridge that incorporates the rim. There are two thick handles opposite one another, which leave the rim and join the body about one fifth of the way down. Each handle is decorated with two vertical rills. The clay is very hard and fine, allowing the thin construction that helps a cooking pot transfer heat; an important consideration in a region where it is as difficult to find firewood as it is to find fuel for the kiln. There is also a dark reddish brown external slip that would have been applied before firing. It is unusual to have any decoration on cooking pots. The vessel is in a relatively poor state of preservation, requiring modern implements for its reconstruction.