Late 3rd millennium BC painted pottery from Tell Arbid

Painted pottery (Middle Bronze Khabur Ware) is widely believed to have reappeared in northern Mesopotamia at the advent of the 2nd millennium BC after a long break during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC when plain (i.e., unpainted) pottery prevailed. Strictly speaking, "Jazirah Bichrome Stands", attested as late as the EJZ 3A period (around 2500 BC), can be regarded as the last, well known mid-3rd millennium BC manifestation of the painted pottery. Revival of painted decoration on pottery is observed during the OJZ 1 period (around 2000 BC), with the appearance of the "Early Khabur Ware". However, painted ornaments on pottery in late 3rd millennium BC contexts occur fairly occasionally. Late Akkadian and post-Akkadian layers at Tell Arbid yielded a handful of painted potsherds that evidently preceded the Khabur Ware style. Three different types of ornaments can be distinguished among them: (1) dots and bands in black bitumen paint; (2) simple monochromatic bands in red or brown paint; (3) bichrome cross-hatched patterns on fine-ware vessels, a very rare and unusual design, which finds only a few parallels in the region. By presenting these examples, this paper is an attempt to contribute to a debate on the Early Bronze–Middle Bronze Age transition in Upper Mesopotamia.