An Examination of Gaza Gray Ware Infant Jar Burials at Tell el-Hesi, Israel

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The study of Gaza Gray Ware (GGW) represents an important opportunity for understanding lifeways in Ottoman-era Palestine. Chiefly produced in Gaza, this ceramic industry was present during the 400 years of Ottoman occupation in the Southern Levant, continuing to a lesser extent into modern times. Favored for their high quality, these vessels were manufactured in large numbers and exported across the region, including into Bedouin territories. The popularity of GGW among the Bedouins is evident in the ceramic assemblages from the cemetery at Tell el-Hesi, Israel. These burials contain significant amounts of GGW, including ibrīq water jugs and large water storage containers. The latter type is of particular interest, as all were found to contain the remains of infants. Burying infants in jars is an uncommon practice among the Bedouins who populated the cemetery at Hesi. This begs the question: why were some individuals buried in jars while others were not? What follows is a discussion of the human remains interred at the cemetery, with a particular focus on the age of the individuals found in jars. From this, conclusions are drawn about the function of these unique burials, and possible meanings are suggested.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36122.0