QALE POTTERY KILNS, OPERATION BB33

Operation BB33 during a dust storm. Now and then such storms would be so bad we would have to stop digging, send the workmen home, and retreat to the dig house.

A

B

Operation BB33 was opened to investigate an anomaly discovered during the magnetometer survey. Excavations revealed the remains of five two-chamber pottery kilns. Above left (A) we see the best preserved kiln after the south half had been removed to show a section through the combustion chamber. The floor of the pottery firing chamber, with holes connecting to the combustion chamber, is seen on the left. Overfired pots were discarded in the combustion chamber. On the right above (B) we see the same kiln after the kiln wasters and other debris had been removed from the south half of the combustion chamber. Fibrous ashes found on the bottom of the combustion chamber suggests that the kiln may have been fired with animal dung-cake fuel. The third picture(C) shows the same kiln on the left after the floor of the firing chamber was removed and the combustion chamber was emptied. The other kiln (right) shows the central column in the combustion chamber that supported the floor of the firing chamber above.

Home Page

Iran Map

Site Map

ABC Layers

Banesh- ABC

Banesh-TUV

Kaftari

Elamite

Bibliography

C

Above: Warped remains of a bail handled Qale pot. Right: Classic Qale pot. Both from BB33 kilns.