Masters Thesis

Production and exchange of Hellenistic moldmade bowls at Tel Dor

This work will address two main questions: can we determine who produced the Hellenistic moldmade bowls and what was their source? World Systems Analysis and globalization theory provide a framework for examining trade of Hellenistic moldmade bowls in the eastern Mediterranean. The case study will use material culture to evaluate the means by which the Hellenistic moldmade bowls fit in both an archaeological context and a theoretical framework. Hellenistic moldmade relief bowls were popular in Athens and the eastern Mediterranean from the third to the first centuries BCE. They were part of the complex trade network that existed in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is difficult to pinpoint the sources of the raw material and the production, but this work will examine whether the bowls identified at Tel Dor, Israel were cheap imports from Asia Minor, the Aegean, Cyprus or Western Syria. Another matter is to describe and label the identifiable components of the pottery such as fabric and decorative elements. Examining the remains of these Hellenistic moldmade bowls and comparing them to those found at other nearby sites can help us understand a complex site and region as well as regional trade pattern with Tel Dor as part of this network.

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