Uploaded June 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
An Iron Age Philistine krater was recently excavated in Grid 38. It is one of the finest and best preserved whole vessels from this period that have been found at the site.
The krater has bright red and black decoration, a hallmark of the "Philistine Bichrome" class of pottery. It was found sunken into the ground up to its rim and surrounded by a basin of shells, which are visible in the photo. All of the shells were placed cusp side down.
This placement created an installation that we believe was used to collect and retain liquids. Many of these types of sunken vessel installations have been found at Ashkelon in Iron Age (Philistine) levels, although none but this one have included such a beautiful Bichrome vessel.
An Iron Age Philistine krater was recently excavated in Grid 38. It is one of the finest and best preserved whole vessels from this period that have been found at the site.
The krater has bright red and black decoration, a hallmark of the "Philistine Bichrome" class of pottery. It was found sunken into the ground up to its rim and surrounded by a basin of shells, which are visible in the photo. All of the shells were placed cusp side down.
This placement created an installation that we believe was used to collect and retain liquids. Many of these types of sunken vessel installations have been found at Ashkelon in Iron Age (Philistine) levels, although none but this one have included such a beautiful Bichrome vessel.
