ABSTRACT
Basalt bowls were among the most distinctive artifacts placed in the EB IA shaft tombs at Bâb edh-Dhrâo. That the basalt bowls were so recognized is suggested by the fact that their numbers are minuscule compared to the overwhelming number of pots found in the tomb chambers of the Bâb edh-Dhrâo cemetery. Although a local stone production workshop has not been discovered in the Bâb edh-Dhrâo region, size of the vessels related to available sources may be used to argue for local production. Other features of the basalt bowls demonstrate their value in the eyes of the Early Bronze I community. Closer to the context of Bâb edh-Dhrâo, the basalt vessels of the Late Chalcolithic period have been related to cultic practices. An unusual group of basalt pillar figurines from the Golan and northern Jordan which all share same essential traits of a circular pillar-like form and a shallow offering bowl' also have been related to cultic practices.
