Ṭabūn, Tannūr or Mustawqad? Fire Devices and Their Use in the Early Islamic Period

Abstract

Ovens, hearths and furnaces were used by early Islamic societies for baking, cooking, and the production of various artefacts. The archaeological evidence from one research area in central Israel, from the seventh–eleventh centuries, accordingly presents a variety of fire installations. This paper offers an interpretation of their function through the analyses of terminology in contemporary texts, ethno-archaeological data, and spatial relations in the archaeological record. The paper suggests that domestic baking and cooking left almost no remains in the archaeological context. Instead, fire installations in the research area were almost exclusively related to crafts.