NEW ANALYSIS OF CYLINDRICAL AND OVOID JARS (‘ARCHIVE JARS') FROM SOUTHERN JUDEA

This paper presents new compositional analysis of 26 fragments of the much-debated cylindrical and ovoid jars, a vessel type first defined at Khirbet Qumran and associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls. The new samples include 15 examples from Tel Ḥevron, a site which yielded a pottery workshop and that carries certain similarities with Khirbet Qumran during the Early Roman period, as well as several examples from Jericho and Masada. According to the new as well as previous analyses, many of these jars were produced in the Ḥevron area; another source may be located in the northern Dead Sea area. The actual function of these jars, and whether they ever contained scrolls, is still unclear.