Station: [18] Nabataean Pottery

Countless fragments of painted and unpainted pottery were found throughout the city of Petra – in graves and temples as well as in private houses. They include everyday pots as well as vessels used in the ritual and religious sphere.

Although the earliest evidence of a Nabataean presence in Petra goes back to the 4th century BC, pottery production only started some 200 years later. That has to do with the Nabataeans’ traditionally nomadic way of life, which meant they tended to prefer baskets, or bags made of cloth and leather. It was only when the Nabataeans settled down that they took a greater interest in ceramics. Both pottery imports and local production took off. A settled lifestyle is required to establish clay pits and build workshops with kilns.

Among the vessels, open forms such as bowls, plates and platters account for almost 75% of finds. In the early days, the pots still had relatively thick walls, and a double line was the sole decoration. Then the walls grew ever thinner, until they were just 1 or 2 millimetres thick! They were painted using iron-rich clay slip, which produced a shade of reddish-brown. Initially, this decoration consisted of branches with delicate leaves, but eventually, the entire surface was covered with grid patterns and dots.

During this phase, the number of closed forms such as jars or bottles also grew. The main evidence for this increase comes from the small bottles that held scented oil used in anointing.

Oil lamps made of fired clay were cheap and handy. The designs changed regularly. Large numbers of these were discovered, and they play a key role in dating. In most cases, they consist of a closed chamber with a filling hole for the oil, and a nozzle with another hole for the wick. They were mass-produced by pressing wet clay into a pair of plaster or terracotta moulds. The resulting upper and lower sections were then pressed together, dried and fired.