P-56 The use of 3-D Scanning in the Analysis of Ancient Pottery Sherds from Jalul

Buller Hallway

Broken pottery sherds from an archaeological site can tell much about the ancient settlement and the people who lived there. Pottery was an abundant and common artifact in ancient sites. Pottery was used for making vessels for storage, cooking, eating, as well as for making other objects such as figurines. The shapes of the baked clay vessels are one key characteristic that tell much about both the date and use of these ancient vessels and objects. By using 3-D scanners, we can (fairly) quickly obtain a more accurate 3-D image of the shape of the vessel that will enable us to both date and determine the usage of these ancient vessels. This information can then be incorporated into the interpretation of the site in which these vessels are found. My presentation will describe the procedure and the results of my scanning of ceramics from the ancient Iron Age site of Jalul, Jordan.