Two EB III Red Polished Jugs from Palace B in Khirbet al-Batrawy And Jugs With Reserved Alternate-Hatching Decoration (RAHD) from Palestine and Transjordan

The Early Bronze Age III (around 2700-2350 BC) represents the zenith of the Southern Levantine cities of the 3rd millennium BC, both in terms of growth and social complexity. Between the numerous valuable items (high-quality stone objects, metal weapons, Egyptian or Egyptian-style luxury pieces, jewels) gathered by local élites inside temples and palaces, or preserved as heirlooms in grave goods, a specific typology of ceramic vessels seems to be linked to these prestigious contexts: red-burnished/polished jugs, with a reserved decorated band on the girth in form of diagonal burnished hatching. Two jugs recently recovered from the EB IIIB Palace B of Khirbet al-Batrawy (North-Central Jordan) have allowed an evaluation of this decorative motif with its related retrieval contexts.