The Bevelled-Rim Bowls: Their Purpose and Significance

For Barbara who introduced me to Iraq and Donald who introduced me to cuneiformThe Uruk period is one of the most fascinating in the archaeology of the Near East. Its great temples, fine sculpture and glyptic, metal-working skills, and, above all, introduction of writing, mark it as the summit and the turning point in the beginnings of urban civilization. By these characteristics its spread can be traced up the Tigris and Euphrates into central Syria and Anatolia, and eastwards across Iran. Beside the impressive products of its architects, artists and clerks, the Uruk culture proclaims its presence most loudly through its pottery. Among the pots and pans, the most common is one of the simplest and least attractive of all near eastern pots, the bevelled-rim bowl (Glockentopf, écuelle grossière à lèvre bisautée).