Glossary Pottery and vessels
Monochrome ware
A name used for several unrelated classes of plain, single-coloured pottery, from Neolithic Cyprus, Late Bronze Age Cyprus and Philistia.
In the Ceramic Neolithic, monochrome pottery with a plain red or brown surface makes up most of the pottery at sites such as Kalavasos-Tenta, far outnumbering the decorated Combed ware. In the Late Bronze Age, Monochrome ware is a handmade Cypriot class of plain bowls and jugs, exported to the Levant but absent from Egypt.
"Philistine Monochrome" is different again: the earliest pottery of the Philistine cities in the 12th century BCE, made locally in an Aegean style. It is discussed on the Philistines page. Which class is meant has to be read from the period and place.
Related terms
- Coarse ware
Everyday pottery made from gritty, heavily tempered clay, mostly cooking pots and storage vessels with little or no decoration.
- Ware
A class of pottery defined by a shared fabric, surface treatment and way of making, such as Red Polished or White Painted ware.