Image Details

A mercantile crossroad. Ashkelon’s port and its strategic location along the Mediterranean coast made the city a hub of international trade. The finds shown here came from a plastered cistern dating to the second century B.C. Clockwise from the top are an amphora with a stamped handle to hold wine, from the island of Rhodes; a locally made amphoriskos (small amphora); a small ceramic bottle, known in Latin as an unguentarium, for holding perfumed oils; a decorated item, perhaps used to fill lamps with oil; a carinated bowl with folded horizontal handles partially decorated with black slip; a Black Glaze bowl with a rosette at center, imported from Italy; and a local red slip jug.