Tomb of the Goblets: Revisiting a Middle Bronze Burial from Pella in Jordan

Summary

Robert Smith began The College of Wooster excavations at the site of Pella in 1967. Pella is among the longest inhabited sites in the Southern Levant, with first occupation in the Paleolithic and down through the late Islamic phase. In the first season, excavations were focused on the Western Church Complex and the Eastern Cemetery. One of the tombs excavated, Tomb 1, possessed in excess of 100 artifacts, mainly ceramic vessels. Publications on that season contain only a short report on the tomb. Published reports offers limited interpretation about the possible significance of the material that dates to the Middle Bronze period and has the potential to inform us about this transitional phase at the site. The present study undertakes a detailed reexamination of Tomb 1 contents curated at the College of Wooster. The examination encompasses a broad range of artifacts, including the four carinated feasting goblets that served as the basis for the label Smith applied to the tomb. In revisiting this specific tomb, I plan to broaden the coverage of the artifacts, including the four carinated goblets. Another goal of this study is to encourage the re-examination of previously excavated materials which can lead to new discoveries.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage