The “Combed Ware” storage and transport vessels from Khirbet ez-Zeraqon: a reappraisal of the EB II-III evidence in light of recent petrographic studies

Abstract

The present study offers new petrographic data on selected pottery from the EB II-III site of Khirbet ez-Zeraqon in northern Jordan, which includes storage and transport vessels with combed surfaces traditionally grouped under the label “Combed Ware.” The results contribute to our understanding of the role played by these vessels in relation to the wider ceramic production documented at the site. On a larger scale, and thanks to the recent chronological reassessment of Khirbet ez-Zeraqons’s stratigraphic sequence, our study provides further evidence for evaluating the developments of the broad phenomenon of Levantine combed vessels.