Materials Characterization and Technological Aspects of Hellenistic Grey Ware Lamps From Nysa‐Scythopolis (Israel): Evidence Suggesting Local Production?

Grey ware lamp fragments and a production waster from Tell Iẓṭabba (Israel) were analyzed to determine their manufacturing technology and provenance. These were compared with a light brown‐orange reference fabric from the same site. Macroscopic inspection, petrography, SEM‐EDS, and XRD analyses were applied to assess composition, microstructure, fabric, pigment, and firing technology. The grey ware lamps exhibit a consistent mineralogical signature dominated by quartz, with mullite, calcite, iron‐titanium oxide, titanium oxide, and albite. The presence of mullite indicates high‐temperature firing knowledge, whereas the reference lamp, lacking mullite, reflects a lower‐temperature tradition. The dark slip on some of the lamps contains higher concentrations of iron oxide than the underlying fabric. As the waster shares a similar chemical composition, phases, and firing characteristics with the grey lamps, local production at Tell Iẓṭabba appears plausible, although its quartz‐rich fabric suggests the use of non‐local raw materials derived from Lower Cretaceous formations in Transjordan. These findings enhance understanding of Hellenistic‐Seleucid ceramic production in the southern Levant.