Dipper Juglet

MU158 is placed within MU 169 in the hollow holder for the dipper jug. The vessel is a small juglet with a globular body. The profile from the base of the vessel to the top of the shoulder is, allowing for the vessel's small size, a uniform curve some three fifths of the vessel's height. The neck leaves the shoulder in a smooth curve and terminates in a plain mouth. The handle is undecorated and tubular, leaving the vessel just below the rim and joining the base of the shoulder. The dark clay of this vessel is unique in the collection, chosen possibly because of its fine grain - it needed to be less porous in order to not soak up any of the oil. The vessel shows many areas where the clay has been worked in all directions. The interior of the throat is one of the vessel's smoothest surfaces, possibly because it would have required finishing by a tool. There is some evidence of vertical burnishing, although it is very irregular; burnishing consists of several irregularly spaced strokes on the body, some of only a few millimetres in length, others running over the shoulder. Two yellowish brown spots on the throat may indicate the presence of iron oxide in the clay. Very fine lime is sparsely distributed, as well as some fine burnt out-organic material.