COMPOSITION

• brick red
• brick red to buff
• brownish
• brownish buff
• buff
• creamy buff
• dark gray
• grayish buff
• light orange-buff
• light reddish brown
• light reddish buff
• orange
• orange to red
• pinkish buff
• pinkish to reddish buff
• reddish
• reddish buff
• reddish to grayish buff

1. Type ACC (additional external layer, colored core, colored internal layer)



2. Type AGA (additional external layer, gray core, additional internal layer)



3. Type AGC (additional external layer, gray core, colored internal layer)



4. Type AGG (additional external layer, gray core, gray internal surface)



5. Type PPP (temporary designation for LMLK pithos handles until more photos become available)



6. Type SCC (single external layer, colored core, colored internal surface)

Note by Bliss in PEQ vol. 32, July 1900, p. 213:  "One specimen from Tell ej-Judeideh & one from Tell es-Safi show a red colour all through the section of fracture, but the clay appears to be the same as in the other handles, & the red colour inside probably means that these 2 specimens had been subjected to the severest firing."


7. Type SCG (single external layer, colored core, gray internal surface)



8. Type SGA (single external layer, gray core, additional internal layer)



9. Type SGC (single external layer, gray core, colored internal layer)



10. Type SGG (single external layer, gray core, gray internal surface)



11. Type WPP (temporary designation for whitewashed LMLK pithos-ware handles until more photos become available)

COMPLETE JARS

• 1/4:  2 (possibly 5); H4C, H4L
• 2/4:  3 (possibly 6); S2U, x2x, H4L
• 3/4:  0
• 4/4:  6; G2T, H4C, H4L, S4L

Note:  Some scholars have remarked that all possible combinations of stamped jars have been found, but actually, the Tel 'Erani jar might have originally had all 4 stamped.

Click here for information about Handle Matching to assist in jar restoration projects.

• From Lachish (at least 9 partially complete jars have been excavated & restored--the first 8 listed below are numbered sequentially with Roman numerals per David Ussishkin):
1. Jar 5461 (H4C (4/4); 45.33 lit.)
2. Jar 5400 (1 personal seal, no LMLK seals now, but there might have been; 46.67 lit.)
3. Jar 10456/10457/10458/10547 (S2U (2/4) & personal)
4. Jar 10091 (H4L (1/4); 51.80 lit.) along with a stopper
5. Jar 10074 (x2U (2/4) & personal; 44.25 lit.)
6. Jar 8162 (H4L (4/4); 39.75 lit.)
7. Jar 8580 (H4C (1/4); 43.00 lit.)
8. Jar 8585 (H4L (2/4); 44.75 lit.)
9. Jar 10616 (H4C (4/4); 46.75 lit.)
10. Jar 31266 (H4C (1/3); 43.20 lit.)
11. Unstamped (& unidentified) Jar

Note:  Two unidentified Lachish jars measured 44.5 & 52.25 lit. ("Archaeology of the Land of Israel" p. 257)
• Click here to see Lachish jars 10074, 10616, & 10091 in situ (Room 4014)


• From Nasbeh:
• Jar 396 (G2T; 4/4; 40.7 lit.)


• From Rimmon (Tel Halif):

Note:  Neither of these jars has seal impressions; they are only included because they are excellent color photos of restored Type 484 jars.
• Jar G820C1
• Jar G849A3


• From Tel 'Erani:
• Jar 60-501 (H4x; 3/4)


• From Timnah:


• Jar 7202-2 (Z4CI; 1/3)
• Jar 7358 (Z4L; 1/3)--coming soon
• Jar 7094 (S4L made from another S4L impression--not from the S4L seal; 4/4)
• Click here to see Timnah jar fragments in situ (Bldg. 737) along with the skeleton of someone who may have known the mysteries surrounding the LMLK seals!


• Unbroken jars from unknown provenance:
• Stamped, unbroken Type 484 jar (Harvey Herbert collection; H4L 1/4)
• Stamped, 2-handled Type 467 jar (location & details unknown)
• Unstamped, unbroken Type 484 jar with an incised LMLK inscription (location unknown)

MEASUREMENTS

• Oval seal depression:  34 x 24mm (1.3" x 0.9")
• Handle cross-section:  30-40 x 10-20mm (1 1/8"-1 5/8" x 3/8"-7/8")
• Handle radius from the jar to the center of the handle:  40mm (1 5/8")
• Center-to-center from the points where the handle joins the jar:  70mm (2 3/4")
• Jar thickness:  3-9mm (6mm typical)
• Approximate jar height:  550-700mm
• Approximate maximum jar diameter:  400mm
• Approximate jar opening diameter:  100mm
• Approximate maximum jar volume:  40-52 litres (9-14 gallons)


Note:  It is safe to assume that these jars were designed to contain an even measurement of either 1 bath (~40 litres or 9 gallons (1 British imperial gallon = 4.546 litres)) or 2 baths (based on a smaller Judean jar (about half the volume of a LMLK jar) inscribed "BT LMLK" (click for details)) depending on which interpretation of ancient baths you use.  (Also see the incised oil jar page.)

GITIN'S SJO SYSTEM

In "The lmlk Jar-Form Redefined:  A New Class of Iron Age II Oval-Shaped Storage Jar" (a chapter within "'I Will Speak the Riddle of Ancient Times':  Archaeological & Historical Studies in Honor of Amihai Mazar on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday" edited by A. M. Maeir & P. de Miroschedji, 2006), Seymour Gitin proposed the following system of classifying not only jars bearing LMLK stamps, but also Rosette stamps, with 4 handles or only 2, & unstamped jars of similar shape found in earlier strata (known as "Pre-LMLK" jars):

Note that Gitin presented the above classification as a preliminary analysis, recommending further quantitative research.  Currently there are too many stratigraphical crossovers at sites where they have been excavated, & too many anomalies among the 5 major features he described:

1. Shoulder Width
2. Widest Point Location
3. Neck Shape
4. Rim Shape
5. Fabric/ware

Note that the SJO 5 spans the "mid 7th to early 6th" century per Gitin's examples, but Gitin lists the Timnah S4L specimen as "late 7th".  This is misleading because it was found just above the Assyrian destruction layer, so any time in the 7th century would be feasible.  Also note that this particular specimen is a strange anomaly (the only one known) of a LMLK handle stamped not by a LMLK seal, but by another LMLK handle.

ORIENTATION

The impressions were made at varying orientations with respect to the jar's body, & some handles contain multiple impressions at diverse orientations.  Bear in mind that these round-bottomed jars may have been upside-down when the handles were sealed making it awkward for the person doing the stamping to see the impression.  The classification system within this website uses the numbers on the face of a clock to denote the approximate position of the jar's body with respect to the impression when reading the inscription:

Another system from the opposite perspective, developed by Gabriel Barkay & used by him in "Jewish Quarter Excavations vol. 1", utilizes 8 arrows pointing in the direction the inscription would read (in Hebrew from right to left) if you were looking at the handle while it was attached to the jar in an upright position.  So a cross-reference to the website's clock-dial orientation would be:

v = 3:00
> = 6:00
^ = 9:00
< = 12:00

His system also has 4 diagonal arrows that would correspond to 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, & 10:30, but half-hour designations are not used in the system on this website.

RIDGES

• Ridges along outer curve; none along inner curve



• Ridges along outer curve (no central depression) & along inner curve



• Ridges near center (central depression) diminishing near joints



• Ridges near joints diminishing near center



• Ridge along one side



• No substantial ridges

USAGE SPECULATION

• Carrying:  It's not likely that 2 people would have carried the jars by their 4 handles because of their being evenly spaced instead of adjacent pairs, & the handles are too small for an entire hand to fit through (see photos below showing adult fingers in handle); probably one strong man lifted the filled jar from a squatting position by wrapping his arms around the body & carrying it a short distance (e.g., from a delivery cart to a storage room).  When full, the handles could have been used to tie multiple jars together with ropes for stability (on a cart or in a ship); when empty, similar ropes could have connected the jars so one person could carry several.
• Emptying:  Portions were probably extracted through the wide opening with a long-handled ladle, & the rounded bottom of the jar made it easy to dip out the greatest amount before it became necessary/possible to lift the jar & pour out the remainder; pouring from a full (or even half-full) jar could not be done in a controlled manner & would cause the contents to gush out like a waterfall.  Note--A few restored Type 484 jars have a manufactured hole near the bottom that could allow non-liquid contents such as grain to be vended if the jar were stored above ground.



• Recycling:  It's easy to imagine unmarked Type 484 jars being sent back for refills similar to the way bottled water is nowadays; if marked (i.e., royal) jars were recycled, that may explain the mixed assortment of seal types excavated from the same location, & may also explain the innovation of incised circles (if indeed the cancellation theory is true--refer to the Circles section of the Theories page).



• Seepage:  As noted in the Composition section above, slip was commonly (but inconsistently & unevenly) applied to Type 484 jars to reduce seepage, but liquids such as wine & oil contain solid particles that eventually build up & prevent any significant loss of content.



• Stopping:  Several stoppers of 2 distinct types have been found near the jar fragments.  One was a lump of clay placed over a leaf fitted so as to overlap the jar mouth, thereby forming an airtight seal that had to be broken to access the contents.  Another was carved to fit like a cork, which could be removed/replaced whenever necessary, but would have been susceptible to spilling during bumpy transport; strings may have been tied through the handles to hold this form of stopper in place, thereby explaining why the handles were not designed for adult-sized hands.



• Temperature Control:  They were probably semi-buried up to their handles & then filled like miniature reservoirs; the cool earth or sand helped preserve their contents by protecting it from temperature extremes during the day & preventing condensation.



• Transporting:  If they were filled & then transported, the delivery carts may have been partially filled with cushioning material (e.g., soil, sand, bundled cloth) for the same quality control purpose but also to protect the jars during the bumpy journey.  To date, there is no evidence that LMLK jars were ever transported by ship.