Endnote 21 – Illuminating Byzantine Jerusalem

The use of the Greek word kalon or kala to describe a ceramic vessel or its contents is also attested in the early Roman period at Masada. There the inscription kalon keramion (KALON KERAMION) is painted on a number of storage jars. Of course, the cultural context is different. However, as in the case of the inscribed lamps, the plainness of the jars indicates that the inscriptions could not refer to their beauty; see Hannah M. Cotton and Joseph Geiger, Masada II, The Yigael Yadin Excavations 1963–1965, Final Reports: The Latin and Greek Documents (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1989), pp. 180–181.