Chalkstone (limestone) mug, with 2 handles. Stone was thought to be a material which can never become ritually impure. From the burnt city of Jerusalem. Early Roman period.
barcode
75560
Site item id
20121
Collection name
Oded Golan Collection
Item period
Early Roman
In the late Second Temple Period (1st century AD), Jewish people in Israel adopted chalkstone en masse as drinking cups. Stone was thought to be a material which can never become ritually impure.This adoption of this considerable inconvenience was apparently based on evolving thought about purity, originating with a curious omission in the Bible’s Book of Leviticus.
