Potters

Aleppo

Date: Fifteenth century

Ibn al-Shihna (d. 1485) reports that outside the city walls of Aleppo was a “Khan of the Potteries” (khān al-fākhūra) … read more

Armanaz

Date: Thirteenth century

The geographer, Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229) reports that the potters operating at this town, five farāsikh (approximately 30 km) from Aleppo, were well known for the quality of their cooking pots (qidr) and drinking … read more

Baniyas

Date: 1 August 1938

Photographer John D. Whiting (d. 1951), who also worked as a tour guide, captures an image of potters closing a kiln near Baniyas. The kiln appears to be firing unglazed ceramics, including jugs … read more

Busra

Date: Late twentieth century

Women in this area use the process of open-firing to produce water-tight vessels and items such as bread moulds. Prior to firing, the shaped containers are dried in the sun for at least eight days. Rather than using a … read more

Damascus

Date: Thirteenth century

The “road of the potteries” (darb al-fawākhir) is mentioned by the historan, Abu Shama (d. 1268), as the place of his birth in 1203. This road was, according to Ibn Shaddad (d. 1285), formerly known as darb al-kīsān. This road leads toward Bab Kisan and the extra-mural … read more

Deir Ali

Date: 1928

Freya Stark (d. 1993) notes that many village women had taken to using petrol cans for carrying water. In Deir Ali, however, she saw locally made ceramic pitchers painted with waves or stripes in a manner she likens to … read more

Halabiyya

Date: Thirteenth century (?)

A waster from from the site was subjected to petrographic analysis. Similarities were noticed with the pieces from the so-called Tell Minis group … read more

 

Kafr Tab

Date: Fourteenth century

Kafr Tab is described by the geographer and historian, Abu al-Fidaʾ (d. 1331) as a town so small that it could be classed as a village. Located between Hama and Antakiyya, the settlement is known for producing … read more

Latakia

Date: c. 1938

Photographer John D. Whiting (d. 1951), who also worked as a tour guide, captures a photograph of a cluster of pottery goods in the Syrian port. These are presumably locally produced … read more

Raqqa

Date: c. 771-825

The workshops located in the area known as Tal Aswad (“black hill”) appear to have been established around the time of the foundation of al-Rafiqa in 771. The workshops stopped operating in c. 825. Tal Aswad is located immediately north of the walls of … read more

Shayzar

Date: Fourteenth century

Pottery made in Shayzar is recorded as having been employed as having been used at the feast held in 1392 by the sultan of Yemen to celebrate the circumcision of his sons … read more

Tal Barri (Kahat)

Date: Eleventh to twelfth centuries

Overfired pottery recovered from the site suggests that there was some level of manufacturing in the eleventh or twelfth centuries … read more

Tal Hrim

Date: Eleventh to thirteenth centuries

Excavations revealed evidence for the manufacture of unglazed wheethrown pottery and turquoise-glazed pottery on the site … read more

Tarqa (Ashara)

Date: Twelfth century

A kiln dating to the twelfth century was found during excavations on the site. The finds indicated that it had been used for the firing of unglazed and glazed pottery … read more