Page 261 - Life & Land Use on the Bahrain Islands (Curtis E Larsen)

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Painted Wares

Painted pottery makes up as much as 15 percent of the Barbar n assemblage studied
here. Tliis frequency, of course, is affected by the sampling method used in the
upper levels. Nonetheless, Table 7 shows it to be a fairly common entity in the
upper sequence. The character of the painted ware is vastly different from that
which preceded it. Black on red painted wares are extremely rare. Single sherds
were found in levels 18 and 20. Both of these are comparable with the Umm
an-Nar painted ware of Barbar I, but may be derived from the lower levels.
New painted forms make their appearance here. TTiese are buff wares
painted with red, vertical, wavy designs (figs. 51a-b, 51e-f, 51j), which are most
frequent in levels 18 and 19. Other forms occur as well, but are not as common.
Bowls 511 and 51o have a different design around the exterior of the rim. Tlie
vessels here are small bowls. Unpainted examples 51c-d appear to have parallels in
Oman (Hastings, Humphries, and Meadow 1975, figs. 12o-p) while bowls 511 and 51o
show painted designs similar to one from Ranjapur Ha in the Indus Valley which is
Late Harappan (2000-1500 B.C. in Rao 1963b). Bowl 51k is an uncertain addition
here. It may belong to the overlying Achaemenid-Seleucid-Parthian levels.

TTie only bichrome painted pottery in this sequence occurs in the Barbar n
levels. Examples are found in levels 19 and 20. Figure 49h illustrates a bichrome
sherd from the former. This is from a large globular vessel of light red-brown fine
ware. Narrow, black, painted lines enclose a broad, meandering red band. Similar

Fig. 50. Barbar II Plain Wares.

a. A520, Level 17; cream slip on Barbar ware.
b. A520, Level 17; buff slip on light brown ware.
c. A520, Level 17; cream slip on Barbar ware.
d. A520, Level 21; fine buff ware.
e. A520, Level 20; Barbar ware.
f. A520, Level 20; Barbar ware.
g. A520, Level 20; Barbar ware.
h. A520, Level 17; sand-tempered buff ware.
i. A520, Level 17; sand-tempered light brown ware.
j. A520, Level 17; buff ware.
k. A520, Level 18; cream slip on sand-tempered, light brown ware.