a late uruk pottery group from tell brak, 1978

A Late Uruk Pottery Group from Tell Brak, 1978Author(s): Kate FieldenSource: Iraq, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Autumn, 1981), pp. 157-166Published by: British Institute for the Study of IraqStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4200143 .

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157

A LATE URUK POTTERY GROUP FROM TELL BRAK, 1978

By KATE FIELDEN

During the second season of excavations at Tell Brak, in 1978, work was continued in Area CH, Trench B. The small sounding below the two-staged dais in Room 1 of the

" temple

"* was further deepened and its lowest levels were found to contain evidence of Late Uruk occupation. The small sample of pottery from these levels is of some importance. It is the first stratified group of north Mesopotamian locally- made Uruk pottery to be found immediately below an early third millennium b.c.

pottery sequence of reliable stratification ; it shows certain typological affinities with

the third millennium material and with pottery from other Late Chalcolithic/

Early Bronze Age sites. Of particular interest is the first recorded occurrence of Ninevite 5 ware in a Late Uruk context.

It is our intention to describe briefly the principal Late Uruk wares found at Brak

and to illustrate some of the characteristic sherd and vessel types.2

Chaff-Tempered Ware

Over 50% of each sherd batch was of coarse, Chaff-Tempered Ware. The light, brittle, medium to poorly fired fabric is pale to dark red, orange or brown in colour

and is usually carbonized at the core. Sherds from larger vessels are more substantial

and better fired. Particularly characteristic of the ware is its high chaff content,

though other fillers were used : lime, basalt and sand grits (some of them fairly large) and shell being the most obvious.

Distinctive forms are : medium-sized, globular jars with hammer-headed or

rounded rims sloping well back from the neck (Fig. 2 : 7-16) ; shallow dishes

(Fig. 1 : 27-32) ; bowls with inward-curving, frequently hammer-headed rims

(Fig. 1 : 33-37) ; and " casseroles ", round-based bowls which are carinated at

roughly half the vessel height (Fig. 2 : 1-4). Flat base fragments were virtually absent from our sample.

Surface abrasion makes it difficult to tell whether much of the Chaff-Tempered Ware pottery was made on a fast wheel. Jar rims were certainly finished off on a

wheel, but large body-sherds show evidence of construction by hand or on a slow

wheel. Dishes, bowls and casseroles seem to have been hand- or mould-made and,

apart from the dishes, were finished off on a wheel. Vessels were usually wet-slipped on completion, the surface sometimes wiped over before drying. A thick pink, red

or orange slip was sometimes applied. Some of the bowls and most of the casseroles

display a light horizontal burnish on the inside to the rim. The bases of some bowls

and many of the hand-made dishes were roughly scraped below the carination with

a flat instrument ; we can, however, find no clear link between the Brak scraped bases and so-called "

flint-scraped " bowls 3 of the Chalcolithic period.

1 For a summary report on the 1976 excavations at Tell Brak, see : D. Oates, Iraq 39 (1977), 233 ff.

2 The late fourth and third millennia b.c. pottery from Tell Brak, 1976-8 will be more fully discussed in the writer's forthcoming D.Phil, thesis.

3 For descriptions of " flint-scraped

" bowls, see :

S. Lloyd, Iraq ? (1940), ig; S. Lloyd and F. Safar, JNES 2 (1943), 153, PI. XXIIa : 4 ; and H. Nissen, in R. McAdams, Land Behind Baghdad, 127, Fig. 11c.



I58 KATE FIELDEN

Plastic decoration is occasionally found. It is mainly limited to string or fingertip

impressions and, in one instance, diagonal notching on the shoulder and applied shoulder-rib of a medium-sized casserole or pot (Fig. 2 : 6). Some of the jar rims

are grooved on the inside neck with parallel incised or impressed lines.

Bevelled-Rim Bowl Ware

Bevelled-Rim Bowl Ware is closely related to Chaff-Tempered Ware and may sometimes be confused with it ; indeed, some experts do not distinguish between the

two types.4 We feel, however, that the small repertoire of easily recognized vessel

forms which are extremely crude in appearance and construction does justify a

separate classification of ware type. The medium to poorly fired fabric is heavily tempered with chaff and, to a lesser

extent, with limestone and sand grits. Colouring varies from reddish-brown to buff

and the core fabric is frequently carbonized brown to grey. It appears that little, if any, preliminary cleaning of the clay was done prior to potting and the surfaces

of the roughly formed vessels were unfinished or wet-smoothed at most on completion. Characteristic forms are : bevelled-rim bowls, chaff-tempered plates (Fig. 2 :

24-25), chaff-tempered trays (Fig. 2 : 22-23) an^ coarse flowerpots 5

(Fig. 2 : 21). All but the latter were shaped without the use of a wheel : by hand or in moulds. Most of the forms are found in a consistently similar fabric on a large number of

Chalcolithic sites in Mesopotamia and its borderlands from south-west Iran to

south-east Turkey.

Simple Ware

Roughly 30% of sherds in our group are of well-fired, mica/grit/limestone- and sometimes lightly chaff-tempered Simple Ware. Most vessels were wheel-made,

though a slow wheel was probably used for some of the medium to large jars. Fabric colours vary from buff to pink, light brown and red, but are predominantly within the pink to red range, with cores occasionally carbonized. Buff or wet slips are common and a few sherds display red paint on the whole outside surface. Fabric texture varies considerably from fine to rough, the latter usually seen in sherds of

flowerpots.6 Vessel shapes are mainly restricted to small- to medium-sized pots, cups and

bowls. The bases of cups and pots are usually flat (string-cut in the case of the smaller

vessels) and there are four instances of ring bases. Bowls are more frequently rounded at the base.

The series of bowl rims includes: hammer-headed and flaring (Fig. 1 : 8, 10), rounded and flaring (Fig. 1 : 7) and rounded and inverted (Fig. 1 : 11). There is

4 Among others : R. and L. Braidwood, Excavations in the Plain of Antioch I, 234.

5 There has been some confusion and lack of identification of the coarse flowerpot on a number of sites. It is therefore impossible at present to determine the exact relationship of the coarse flowerpot to the bevelled-rim bowl or its possible chronological significance in the Uruk sequence.

6 The term " flowerpot

" is used to denote the clumsily wheel-made Simple Ware cup whose sides

flare out from a string-cut base. The form is often uneven and the fabric rough owing to the presence of large sand or limestone grit inclusions. For complete examples from Brak, 1976, see: Iraq 39, PI. XIII, 3, 4. Rim shapes vary but are generally similar to 1976 types {Iraq 39, PI. XIV, 7-9). The terms "

flowerpot " and " conical cup/bowl

M have both been used for this vessel in excavation reports, thus causing some confusion.



A LATE URUK POTTERY GROUP FROM TELL BRAK, 1978 159

a group of small bowls, whose forms also occur in Fine Ware, which may be

considered to be of Ninevite 5 plain ware ; their rims are frequently beaded and

include 1976 Rim Types u and 14.7 Pots are generally rounded in form with squat or flaring rims which often rise

straight from the neck (Fig. 1 : 22-25). One example (not illustrated) has the

grooved inside neck also found on some Chaff-Tempered Ware and Fine Ware

vessels.

A few Simple Ware sherds bore plastic decoration, usually of the incised line

type : "

trees ", hatched triangles, cross-hatching and parallel, combed, incised

lines. Two small greenish-buff sherds painted in a deep plum colour may be of

Ninevite 5 painted ware.

A single drooping spout and two clay cones were found in the upper levels.

Fine Ware

Fine Ware sherds comprise nearly 15% of each batch. The fabric is generally well-fired and barely tempered but texture can vary from very fine to the rougher feel of Simple Ware. Colouring ranges between pink and apricot and is only

occasionally red, buff or greenish. Some vessels are buff or red slipped or coated

with red paint on the outside surface. A slight criss-cross or vertical burnish may be seen on the outer sides of a few sherds. Rounded bases are more popular than

flat while the only three pointed bases are of Ninevite 5 type. Vessel shapes, as in

the Fine Ware of later levels, are restricted to cups, small bowls and pots or bottles.

Many of the cup and small bowl rim types are paralleled in the later levels (Iraq 39, PI. XIV, 3, 7, 8, 11, 14 and 21) while new types include the beaded rims on Fig. 1:12

(Ninevite 5 plain) and Fig. 1:13 (Ninevite 5 incised). In addition we found a

number of finely made, thin-walled, carinated bowls with delicately incurving or

flaring rims (Fig. 1 : 1, 2, 6), similar examples of which occur at Nineveh (Level 3)

and, possibly, Habuba Kabira South.8 The form is also found in Simple Ware.

Small pots with flaring mouths (Fig. 1 : 14-21) are frequently elaborately shaped at the rim. Of particular note are the ledge at the inner lip (Fig. 1 : 18-20) and the

use of incised lines on the inner or outer necks of bowls or pots (Fig. 1 : 2, 14, 15), both features also found on Simple and Chaff-Tempered Ware vessels. Fine Ware

vessels are generally wheel-made.

Uruk Grey Ware (not illustrated) There are a few sherds of medium-fired, wheel- or slow wheel-made, limestone/

grit/shell/chaff-tempered fabric which are carbonized grey throughout or grey with

black at the core. The inside and outside surfaces are well burnished, possibly over

a slip, in horizontal or criss-cross strokes, giving the sherds a soapy feel. The rim

sherds belong almost exclusively to small- to medium-sized bowls and dishes with

beaded or rolled rims. The only three base fragments found (from different vessels) are slightly rounded below a low carination.

7 K. Fielden, Iraq 39 (1977), PI. XIV, 11, 14. We wish to point out an error in the title of Plate XIV : Frequently Occurring Rim Types in Fine Ware should read 2-28 and 85 instead of 2-82 and 85.

8 References to similarities between specific examples are made in the Catalogue of Illustrations.



160 KATE FIELDEN

We are not confident that all grey burnished sherds should be classed as of Uruk

Grey Ware. There is, in fact, a lack of adequate description of this ware in excavation

reports which makes comparison difficult. However, our fabric seems to resemble

that of the Uruk Grey Ware from sites in north Iraq.9

Cooking-Pot Ware

A small number of hand-made cooking-pot sherds was noticed. The medium- to

poorly-fired fabrics are generally badly preserved and friable in texture. Tempering includes grit/chaff/shell/mica/limestone, and colouring ranges from red to dark

brown or black. Most sherds are carbonized at the core and display patches of

carbon on the inner/outer surfaces. Some sherds are similar in fabric and surface

treatment to the Burnished Cooking-Pot Ware of later levels 10 but no triangular

lugs were found. The burnish may be criss-cross as well as horizontal.

Other sherds were heavily slipped and left unburnished ; these include the only two rim sherds found, both from hole-mouthed vessels. One of the rim sherds bore a

crescent-shaped lug close to the rim : this type of lug was popular over a wide area

and chronological period but approximately contemporary examples were found at

Chagar Bazar,11 Thalathat12 and Habuba Kabira South.13 It was noticed that a few of the Chaff-Tempered Ware casseroles showed carbon

deposits on the outer surfaces ; it is possible that they may have been used as cooking vessels.

Conclusions

Within our small ceramic sample we are able to point to a strong local tradition

in the manufacture of Brak Uruk pottery as well as to certain intrusive elements

from elsewhere.

The Chaff-Tempered Ware is closely similar in fabric, forms and predominance to the " Chaff-faced Simple Ware

" of the Amuq, Phase F 14 and may be related to

other chaff-tempered wares from Late Chalcolithic sites in west Syria, south-east

Turkey, north Mesopotamia and, possibly, Luristan.15 Parallels to Brak examples

may be found in all of the above mentioned areas, especially in rounded/carinated bowls and casseroles with hammer-headed rims and pots with grooved or ledged inner rims.

The Brak Fine and Simple Ware forms which belong to the " northern

"

tradition have a similar distribution to that of the chaff-tempered wares. Distinctive

features include : small, carinated bowls with flaring rims and, as in Chaff-Tempered Ware, parallel grooves or well defined ledges at the rims of pots and bowls.

Clear links may be seen with the " southern " (Mesopotamian) Uruk ceramic

? S. Lloyd, Sumer 4 (1948), 47. 10 K. Fielden, op. cit., 248-9. 11 M. E. L. Mallowan, Iraq 4 (1937), 142-3,

Fig. 19: 14. 12 S. Fukai et al., Thalathat III, 41, Fig. 2, Bowl VI ;

PL XXXIII, ? : ? and PI. LU, 15. 13 D. S?renhagen, Untersuchungen zur Kera-

mikproduktion innerhalb der Sp?t-Urukzeitlichen Siedlung Habuba Kabira-S?d in Nordsyrien, in Acta

Praehistorica et Archaeologica 5/6 (1974/5), 67 and Tab. 35 : 1.

14 R. and L. Braidwood, op. cit., 232 ff. 15 The finds from Brak support Braidwood's

statements (op. cit., 513-4) concerning the northern affinities of the chaff-tempered wares. The absence of the ware type at the Amuq G stage (except in bevelled-rim bowl form) is puzzling.




repertoire in Simple Ware clay cones, drooping spouts and elements of incised

decoration.

The Bevelled-Rim Bowl Ware fabric and forms are found on widely situated Uruk

period sites and though almost certainly manufactured locally, do not at present seem to be strictly local in origin.

We may consider the Ninevite 5 plain, painted and incised wares to be another "

intrusive "

element ; they occur at the Late Uruk/Jemdet Nasr to Early Dynastic

stages on sites in north-west Syria, north Iraq, the Diyala and west Iran. The wares, which are accompanied by new forms and decorative styles, are, in a few instances, similar to those of preceding and contemporary Uruk Fine Ware so that we may

suggest some local involvement in establishing the Ninevite 5 tradition and certainly in its manufacture.

It is principally the occurrence of Ninevite 5 pottery together with " southern "

Late Uruk/Jemdet Nasr forms which encourages us to postulate a Late Uruk/Jemdet Nasr date in terms of ceramic typology for our Uruk material from Brak, 1978. Our

levels would therefore be contemporary with Amuq G and possibly a little later than

sites such as Habuba Kabira South and Jebel Aruda. Thus the Chaff-Tempered Ware fabric and forms as well as the Simple and Fine Ware forms, which parallel those of Amuq F and G and the Late Chalcolithic in south-east Turkey, may be

assumed to have remained locally in fashion over a long period.

Tell Brak, 1978: Catalogue of Illustrations

Vessel descriptions are prefixed by T. or T.S. (Sherd Catalogue) and, sometimes, T.B. (Site Register and Aleppo Museum) numbers followed by batch numbers.

The term " wet slip " is used to describe a slurried surface, not a slip applied by

dipping or pouring. The following abbreviations are used : lt., light ; si., slip ; i., inside ; o., outside ;

d., diameter.

Abbreviations used in the Catalogue COW A R. W. Ehrich (Ed.), Chronologies in Old World Archaeology, Chicago, 1965. Halaf"Vol. I M. von Oppenheim, Tell Halaf Vol. I, Berlin, 1943. Hama Vol. II. 1 E. Fugmann, Hama II. 1 : L'Architecture des P?riodes Pr?-Hell?nistiques,

Copenhagen, 1958. Keban 1970 Keban Project 1970 Activities, Middle East Technical University Keban Project

Publications, Series, 1, No. 3, Ankara, 1972. Keban 1972 Keban Project 1972 Activities, Middle East Technical University Keban Project

Publications, Series, 1, No. 5, Ankara, 1974. Moortgat (1959) A. Moortgat, Arch?ologische Forschungen der Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-

Stiftung im n?rdlichen Mesopotamien 1956, Wissenschaftliche Abhandlungen der

Arbeitsgemeinschaft f?r Forschung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen Band 7, K?ln und Opladen, 1959.

OIP LXI R. and L. Braidwood, Excavations in the Plain of Antioch I, The Earlier

Assemblages Phases A-J, Chicago, i960. S?renhagen (1974/5) D. S?renhagen, Untersuchungen zur Keramikproduktion innerhalb der

Sp?t-Urukzeitlichen Siedlung Habuba Kabira-S?d in Nordsyrien, in Acta Praehistorica et Archaeologica 5/6 (1974/5).

Tarsus II H. Goldman, Excavations at G?zl? Kule, Tarsus, Vol. II, Princeton, 1956. Thalathat Vol. Ill S. Fukai et al., Telul Eth Thalathat Vol. Ill, Tokyo, 1974. UVB IV E. Heinrich et al., Vierter Vorl?ufiger Bericht ?ber die von der Notgemeinschaft der

Deutschen Wissenschaft in Uruk Warka unternommenen Ausgrabungen, Berlin, 1933.



162 KATE FIELDEN

Catalogue Fig. ? : Late Uruk Pottery from Trench CH ?

Note : All Simple and Fine Ware vessels are wheel-made unless stated otherwise. i. T.S. 256; B104. Incomplete carinated bowl; greenish-yellow Fine Ware; fine grit temper; buff si. i. and o. Base smoothed i. and o. in various directions. Very finely made and delicate to the touch. Deposit of red powder on i. base. Undecorated Fine/Simple Ware carinated bowls with

flaring rims were found at Habuba Kabira South (S?renhagen (1974/5), Tab. 1 : 10 and 21 :

B61-3, 65) ; Jidle 5 and 6 (Iraq 8, Fig. 12 : 19-20, 26) ; Nineveh 3 (AAA 20, PL XLIX, 4, 5) ; Norsuntepe (Keban 1972, PL 49 : 6) and in the Amuq, Phase F (OIP LXI, 233, Fig. 173 : 1). 2. T.S. 257 ; ?105. Rim sherd from small carinated bowl ; It. red Fine Ware, bufi at rim ; fine grit temper ; wet si. i. and o. Base smoothed i. and o. in various directions. Incised parallel line decoration on o. shoulder to rim, executed while wheel in motion. Similar decoration is found on Fine/ Simple Ware carinated bowls at Gawra XI-IX (Vol. II, PL CXLV, 385-8) and Norsuntepe (Keban 1972 PL 49: 4). 3. T.S. 181 ; B99. Rim d. 15cm. Carinated bowl rim sherd; red Simple Ware, fabric turning grey at core. Grit and chafT temper ; It. red si. i. and o. Base smoothed in various directions. For similar examples elsewhere, see remarks under No. 1, above.

4. T.S. 180; B99. Rim d. 16 cm. Round-based bowl fragment ; pinkish-buff Fine Ware ; fine grit temper. Base smoothed o. and i. almost to rim. Round-based bowls of similar profile were characteristic of the lower levels at Brak, 1976 (Iraq 39, p. 250) but were known throughout the third millennium b.c. Roughly contemporary examples were found at Habuba Kabira South (S?renhagen (1974/5), Tab. 2: 25-6, 28); Tarsus Late Chalcolithic (Tarsus II, Fig. 343: 26, 29, 31) and Warka IV-II (UVB IV, 45-6, Tf. 20C : d, e). 5. T.S. 235 ; ?105. Rim d. 20 cm. Bowl fragment ; well fired, It. brown Fine Ware. Small grit and limestone temper; wet si. i. and o. Ledge at i. rim. Cf. Nineveh 3 (AAA 20, PL XLIX, 2). 6. T. 335 ; ?106. Rim d. 18 cm. Incomplete Fine Ware carinated bowl. See remarks under No. 1, above.

7. T. 74A ; B97. Rim d. uncertain. Sherd from It. brown Simple Ware bowl. Core fabric carbonized ; grit and limestone temper ; wet si. i. and o. Similar profile found in Chaff-Tempered Ware. 8? T. 249A ; ?106. Rim d. 16 cm. Bowl sherd; red Simple Ware, fabric carbonized at core; wet si. i and o.

9. T. 364; B103. Rim d. 9.5cm. Small Fine Ware bowl sherd; greenish-yellow; (?over-fired). Cf. Habuba Kabira South (S?renhagen (1974/5), Tab. 22 : B71). 10. T. 321 ; B97-9. Rim d. 17 cm. Bowl sherd ; red Simple Ware, carbonized at core. Flowerpot rim type. 11. T. 266 ; B99. Bowl sherd ; rather coarse Simple Ware ; It. red ; pink si. i. and o. For similar forms in unspecified wares, see ?ayboyu II (An. St. 23, 103, Fig. 3 : 68) and Nineveh 2-4 (AAA 20, PL XLIX, 27). 12. T. 263A ; B103. Rim d. 15 cm. Small (Ninevite 5 plain) Fine Ware bowl fragment; yellow fabric. Cf. Nineveh Temple Area (AAA 19, PL LXI, 2, 3) and 5 (AAA 20, PL LIII, 1) and Thalathat

(Vol. Ill, PL XLVII, bead rim bowls). See also : remarks on Ninevite 5 pottery in Iraq 39, 248. 13. T. 3A ; B97 and 89. Rim d. 11 cm. Incomplete Fine Ware (Ninevite 5 excised) bowl. Greenish- buff; fine grit and lime temper ; wet si. i. and o. Excised decoration o. Cf. Arbit (Iraq 4, Fig. 25 : 4) which is similar in decoration but not form and Ailun (Moortgat (1959), Abb. 12). 14. T. 253 ; B99. Rim d. 10 cm. Incomplete, well fired Fine Ware pot. Red with buff si. i. and o., becoming It. apricot towards base. Rough horizontal and criss-cross burnish on o. body. Incised

parallel grooves i. rim to neck. For similar decorative technique see: Amuq F (OIP LXI, 231, Fig. 171 : 29) and, possibly, Taskun Mevkii (Keban 1970, PL 39: 15). 15. T. 346; B105. Rim and neck of small Fine Ware pot. Incised parallel lines i. rim to neck. See remarks under No. 14, above. 16. T. 368 ; ?103. Rim d. c. 6.5 cm. Incomplete small Fine Ware pot ; It. brown fabric with cream sl. o. and wet si. i.

17? T.S. 243; T.B. 1007; B105. Small, well made Fine Ware pot or bottle with rounded base, fragment of rim missing. Buff; grit, chaff and limestone temper; wet si. o. Carination at i. neck.




Fig. 1. Tell Brak, 1978. Late Uruk Pottery. Nos. 3, 7-8, 10-11 and 22-26, Simple Ware; 1-2, 4-6, 9 and 12-21, Fine Ware; 27-39, Chaff-Tempered Ware. Scale, 1/2



164 KATE FIELDEN

18-21 : pots with ledge rims, a feature characteristic of the Uruk pottery at Brak and also found in Fine/Simple Ware fabrics at: ?ayboyu (Keban 1970, PL 34: 4) and Phase II (An. St. 23, 103, Fig. 3 : 90) ; Gawra VII (Vol. I, PL LXVI, 78) and Arslantepe VIIA (Origini 3, Fig. 13 : 19). 18. T.S. 163 ; T.B. 1033 ; ????. Small pot or bottle with fragment of rim missing ; red Fine Ware ; fine grit temper ; wet si. i. and o.

19. T. 241A; Bi 10 and 105. Rim d. 10 cm. Pot rim sherd ; It. red Fine Ware. Fine grit and some limestone temper ; wet si. i. and o. Thin deposit of brown substance i. and o. 20? T. 361 ; B99. Rim d. 12 cm. Pot rim sherd; It. brown Fine Ware; small grit and limestone temper ; buff si. i. and o. 21. T. 358; B105. Rim d. 12 cm. Rim sherd from small Fine Ware pot. 22. T. 246; B99. Rim d. 10 cm. Small Simple Ware pot rim sherd; red fabric; grit and mica temper; pinkish-buff si. o., wet si. L Cf. ?ayboyu (Keban 1970, PL 34 : 1). 23. T. 250 ; B99. Rim d. uncertain. Rim fragment from small, well fired Simple Ware pot. Core fabric carbonized, fired pink o., red i. Grit and much mica and limestone temper ; wet si. i. and o. 24. T. 317 ; B97-9. Rim d. n cm. Apricot Simple Ware pot rim sherd. Probably handmade. 25. T. 304; ?105. Rim d. 12 cm. Small Simple Ware pot rim sherd. 26? T. 316; B97~g. Rim d. 16 cm. Rim sherd from small red Simple Ware pot; grit and mica temper ; buff si. i. and o.

27-32 (dishes) and 33-39 (bowls) are of the red or reddish-brown Chaff-Tempered Ware fabric described on p. 157. The construction of most vessels involved some use of a slow wheel, at least. 27. T.S. 183 ; B99. Rim d. c. 28 cm. Made in a mould ; underside rough and scraped, towards rim, with wide-edged instrument. Finger impressions on i. base. 28? T.S. 236 ; ?105. Rim d. c. 27 cm. Base roughly finished o., below carination. For similar dish with slight base carination, see Grai Resh (Iraq 7, Plate III, Fig. 7). 29? T. 340 ; Bi 10. Rim d. 27 cm.

30. T. 262 ; B99. Rim d. 22 cm. Cf. Shemshara (Es-Soof, Sumer 20, PL V, 20-1), for rim type only. 31. T. 258 ; B99. Rim d. 23 cm. Large limestone grit inclusions. ?Made in a mould. 32. T. 239 ; ?101. Rim d. c. 30 cm. Outside base rough, below carination. 33. T.S. 238; ?110. Rim d. 25-6 cm. Base roughly scraped o. with wide-edged instrument. Cf. Norsuntepe (Keban 1970, PL 71 : 5, 6) ; Tepecik (Keban 1970, PL 114: 2, T. 70-759 and 842; PL 114 : 1, T. 70-1287) where parallels are drawn to Amuq F Chaff-faced Simple Ware ; Arslantepe VIIC (Origini 3, Fig. ? : 10) Daim VI (Sumer 16, PL 7 : 22) and Amuq F (OIP LXI, 234, Fig. 174: 14). 34. T. 285 ; ?104. Rim d. uncertain. Fabric grey throughout. For similar forms in chaff-tempered wares, see No. 33, above.

35. T. 288 ; ?106. Rim d. 28 cm. This rim type also occurs in Simple Ware. Cf. Sak?a G?z? VI (Iraq 12, Fig. 21 : 5) ; Shemshara (Es-Soof, Sumer 20, PI. V, 7, 8, 15) and Amuq F (OIP LXI, 234, Fig. 174: 7). 36? T. 296 ; ?103. Rim d. 30 cm.

37. T. 275 ; B99. Rim d. 34 cm.

38. T.S. 223 ; B99. Rim d. r. 27 cm. Surface worn o. base. Cf. Grai Resh (Iraq 7, PL III, Fig. 7 : 7 (Uruk Grey Ware)). See also Iran 9, 144-5 where similarities to Grai Resh Pink Ware and club-rim forms are recorded in Luristan.

39? T.S. 179 ; B97. Rim d. 30 cm. Surface worn o. base.

Fig. 2 : Late Uruk Chaff-Tempered and Bevelled-Rim Bowl Wares from Trench CH ?

Chaff-Tempered Ware Casseroles 1. T.S. 244; Bin. Rim d. 38cm. Shell temper added; horizontal burnish i. and on rim; three fingertip impressions on o. shoulder ; surface worn o. base. Cf. Halaf (Vol. I, Tf. IV, 4, 5, 8) for similar forms and decorative technique, and Amuq F (OIP LXI, 237, Fig. 177: 4) for fingertip decoration. It is not always easy to identify casserole rim sherds since they are frequently broken above the carination. A flat- or ring-based form seems to have been popular on some sites. Cf. Hama ? (Vol. II. 1, Fig. 37: 4B626, 4B607 and Fig. 46 : 4B998) and Gawra VII (Vol. I, PL LXV : 52 and p. 46).




F ?

F

?

Fig. 2. Tell Brak, 1978. Late Uruk Pottery. Nos. 1-20, Chaff-Tempered Ware; 21-25, Bevelled- Rim Bowl Ware. Scale, 1/2



166 KATE FIELDEN

2? T.S. 184; ????. Rim d. 26 cm. Red si. i. and o; horizontal burnish i.

3. T. 302A ; B105. Rim d. 25 cm.

4. T. 308 ; ?104. Rim d. 22 cm. Thick red si. i. and o.

5. T. 269 ; B99. Rim d. 22 cm. 6. T.S. 237; B104, 105 and no. Rim d. 26 cm. Fragment of rim and shoulder from ?casserole. Thick It. red si. o. ; horizontal (ring) burnish i. rim ; three incised slashes and applied, slashed rib on o. shoulder.

Jar Rims

7. T. 270 ; B99. Rim d. c. 30 cm. 8. T. 298 ; B103. Rim d. c. 26 cm.

9. T. 352 ; B105. Rim d. 30 cm. 10. T. 247 ; B99. Rim d. 18 cm. Horizontal burnish o. 11. T. 354; B105. Rim d. 20 cm. Cf. Nineveh 2-4 (AAA 20, PL XLIX, 40) and Amuq F (OIP LXI, 236, Fig. 176: 11), 12. T. 289; B105. Rim d. 28 cm. Cf. Arslantepe VIIC (Origini 3, Fig. 11 : 29). 13. T. 312 ; B97-9. Rim d. 28 cm. Cf. Nineveh 2-4 (AAA 20, PL XLIX, 19) ; Amuq F (OIP LXI, 236, Fig. 176 : 13, 14) ; Sak?a G?z? VI (Iraq 12, Fig. 21:7) and Arslantepe VIIC (Origini 3, Fig. 11 : 12, 13, 22, 25). 14. T. 377 ; Bin. Rim d. 26 cm. For similarly grooved rims, see No. 13, above. 15. ? 297 i B103. Rim d. 32 cm. Cf. Sak?a G?z? VB (Iraq 12, Fig. 20: 11). 16. T. 307 ; B104. Rim d. 32 cm. Cf. Arslantepe VIIC (Origini 3, Fig. u : 24) ; Tabara el Akrad VII-VI (An. St. 1, Fig. 6 : jar rim g) and Warka K/LXII (Bag. Mitt. 5, Tf. 76: 31/7). 17. T. 348 ; ?105. Rim d. 26 cm. Cf. Sak?a G?z? VI (Iraq 12, Fig. 21 : 9). 18. T. 300 ; ?103. Rim d. 44 cm. Impressed string decoration on o. rim.

19? T. 252 ; B99. Rim d. uncertain. Possibly hand-made though ?wheel marks from finishing on i. rim. Impressed string decoration below rim. 20? T. 336 ; Bi 13. Rim d. c. 44 cm.

Bevelled-Rim Bowl Ware 21? T.S. 222 ; B99. Incomplete coarse flowerpot. Medium fired, red fabric with carbonized core ; grit and much chaff temper. Wheel-made ; string-cut base. Among the sites at which this form has been recognised are: Habuba Kabira South (S?renhagen (1974/5), Tab. 1 : 20, 21) ; ?Arslantepe (Origini 3, 44-5) and Warka : see discussion by Nissen in Bag. Mitt. 5, 132-6. 22? T.S. 224; ?103. Base d. c. 42 cm. Incomplete chaff-tempered tray; roughly constructed by hand; poorly fired It. red with carbonized core. Cf. Habuba Kabira South (S?renhagen (1974/5), Tab. 23: C8). 23. T.S. 182; B99. Base d. 27cm. chaff-tempered tray fragment; crudely made, possibly in a mould. Grit, chaff and large limestone grit temper; wet-smoothed i. and o. rim. Cf. Susa 15 and 17A (CDAFI 1, Fig. 60 : 16 and 46 : 7, 8, respectively) ; Warka VII and VI (UVB IV, Tf. 18D : b-c and 19A : d-f, respectively) and K/LXII (Bag. Mitt. 5, e.g. Tf. 92 : 39/11-15) ; Habuba Kabira South (S?renhagen (1974/5), Tab. 23 : C10-11) ; Nippur Inanna XX-XVII (CO WA, 202, Fig. 8) ; Tall-i-Malyan (Iran 12, 163, Fig. 5: e) and Nineveh unstratified (Ashmolean Museum collection, unpublished). 24? T. 238; ????. Hand-made miniature chaff-tempered plate fragment. Poorly fired; It. red; centre base carbonized ; grit and much chaff temper ; wet si. i. and o. (not on base). Uneven form, may have been oval. Cf. Warka K/LXII (Bag. Mitt. 5, Tf. 76: 31/5) and Hama ? (Vol. II. 1, p. 42, Fig. 49: 7A616). 25. T.S. 221 ; ?103. Hand-made chaff-tempered plate fragment. Buff; grit, chaff and much limestone grit temper ; wet-smoothed i. and o. rim. Cf. Susa 16 (CDAFI 1, Fig. 60 : 15) and Amuq F (OIP LXI, 234, Fig. 174 : 25) which is larger than the Brak examples.

EDITORIAL NOTE: In this article the terms Cooking Pot ware, Chaff Tempered ware and Bevelled Rim Bowl ware appear with hyphens added by the Editors. Miss Fielden has asked us to point out that in future references, in the interests of consistency with her other publications, these hyphens should be omitted.



a late uruk pottery group from tell brak, 1978

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