Ashkelon: An International City

From Around the Eastern Mediterranean

A port of call for ancient Mediterranean mariners, Ashkelon was the destination of wares from Phoenicia, Ionia, the Greek islands, Greece and Egypt, which were traded for wine, olive oil and other goods from the surrounding regions and the interior.

Imported pottery provides evidence of trade with the Greek island of Chios (next photo) and with Cyprus (second photo below). The collection of sherds above contains a number of distinctive styles, such as Wild Goat Style pottery (which includes depictions not only of goats but also of geese and stags), thought by some to be manufactured in Ionia, but more likely produced at many different centers in East Greece. The sherd with the human-headed sphinx is also from Chios, while the sherd with scallops (top photo, bottom row, second from left) is from Corinth.