Bell pot

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Uruk-period bell pot from Habuba Kabira Süd, approx. 3400–3200 BC Chr., University of Mainz

Bell pots are small, undecorated, mass-produced clay bowls. They find their greatest distribution in the 4th millennium BC. They represent about three quarters of the finds in Uruk culture sites. Their distribution area extends from Syria to Tepe Yahya in today's Iran and is therefore used as evidence of a so-called Uruk expansion .

Appearance

Bell pots are usually uniform in shape and have no decorations. They have a height of about 10 centimeters, the diameter is about 9 centimeters at the foot and 18 centimeters at the top. They consist of clay fired at low temperatures and, compared to other pottery of the time, have relatively thick walls and are therefore remarkably robust.

production

Although the exact method of making them is unclear, it is widely believed that they were made using molds. Manufacture by hand is less likely. Archaeologists who made replicas of these pots found that it was difficult to handcraft the typically smooth sides and well-defined base. The use of a form therefore offers a significant advantage in reproduction. The high number of bell pots (which are often found at a single site) also seems to support the theory, as they make mass production considerably more feasible than production by hand. It is also discussed whether there were portable forms or whether the form was dug into the ground.

use

It is mostly assumed that bell pots were used as a unit of measure for grain and oil rations. The rations were the remuneration of the workers for services rendered. This idea is supported by the fact that the bell pots have a resemblance to the cuneiform characters for "ration" (NINDA). Another argument in favor of the theory is that the pots were found whole and in large piles, as if they were disposable goods, they were used once or twice to allocate rations and then deposited at a central point. Another theory says that the pots were used to bake bread, which could also be allocated in this vessel.

distribution

Bell pots date from the middle of the 4th millennium BC. BC and can be seen as a characteristic element of the material culture of the Uruk period. As the Uruk culture expanded, so did the production and use of bell pots. According to Marc Van De Mieroop, there were finds in the Zagros Mountains (e.g. Goldin Tepe, Choga Gavaneh), in the north (e.g. Tepe Ozbeki, Tepe Sialk), in the center (e.g. Tepe Yahiya) and in the south of Iran (e.g. Nurabad). Bell pots have also been found on the modern coast of Pakistan near the Gulf of Oman (Miri Qalat).

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