New insights on Early Bronze Age IV pottery production and consumption in the southern Levant. The case of Khirbat Iskandar, Jordan

This work reports the results of a multi-analytical approach, including optical microscopy (OM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM- EDX), aiming to define the mineralogical and petrographic composition of 35 ceramic samples dated in the Early Bronze Age IV (EB IV) from the archaeological site of Khirbat Iskandar (Jordan). OM analyses distinguished six petrographic fabrics and identified numerous inclusions, such as limestone, angular calcite, silica-rich and volcanic rock fragments as well as elongated fragments of bivalve shells. XRPD and SEM-EDX analyses revealed morphological and compositional features, which led to the identification of calcite, quartz, dolomite, hematite, and gehlenite. The concurrent presence of calcite and traces of gehlenite suggested a firing temperature within the range of 750–850 °C. Although numerous studies have been published on EB IV ceramic repertoires in the southern Levant, few of them concern different phases within the period. Khirbat Iskandar is a key-site for EB IV as it provides a multi-phase occupational sequence, possibly stretching the entire length of the period, that makes the site a regional stratigraphic benchmark for the study of a still enigmatic period in southern Levantine archaeology. Therefore, a comparative study of two-phases of ceramics from Area B at the site can further provide a unique contribution to the study of pottery production, consumption, and exchange during the late Early Bronze Age in the southern Levant.