Rare 900-year-old ceramic bowl found at ancient city of Harran

A 900-year-old ceramic ceremonial vessel has been discovered at Harran Archaeological Site in southeastern Turkey. The bowl was fired three times to create a sophisticated multicolored lusterware glaze that gives it a metallic shine. This is the first complete example of lusterware discovered in Harran and represents the peak of medieval Islamic ceramic craftsmanship in the region.

The bowl is about 8 inches deep and was elaborately decorated with Arabic inscriptions on the interior and exterior, including the name of the maker. The largest text is the blue inscription in the interior bottom of the bowl. It reads: “He is the one to whom permanent honor is bestowed.”

Harran is one of the oldest known settlements in the world. Archaeological remains from as far back as the Chalcolithic (late-5th millennium B.C. to the late 4th millennium B.C.) have been found at the site, but it is mentioned by name in texts from the Ebla kingdom in Syria dating to the 24th century B.C. and has been continuously inhabited since before then.

The bowl was found in the excavation of Harran University, the first Islamic institution of higher learning founded in 717 A.D. It drew thousands of students to pursue studies in mathematics, philosophy, medicine, natural sciences, astrology and astronomy. Its rigorous scholarship earned it international renowned, as did the university’s translations of Greek and Syriac ancient sources into Arabic that were instrumental in transmitting the knowledge of classical antiquity through the Middle Ages. It was abandoned in 1271 when Harran was conquered by the Mongol invaders. Ottoman Sultan Selim I (r. 1512–1520) tried to revive the university when he conquered the area, but the second iteration only survived a century.

Archaeologists found the first remains of the university in 2021. The uncovered sections of one of five madrasas that were part of the university campus. This one dated to the 12th century. The team discovered the building had 24 rooms above ground, a monumental door with five rooms, a kitchen with a brick and clay oven and a portico.

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