Kangan: A Traditional Pottery in Southern Iran

This paper describes a traditional pottery at Kangan on the Persian Gulf, 30 km from the site of Siraf, a major port between c. AD 800 and 1000. The pottery was studied in 1969-73 by members of the expedition excavating at Siraf. Two establishments, operating on a seasonal basis and each employing nine workmen, produced a wide range of unglazed earthenware, which was sold along the Iranian coast and across the Gulf in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Despite the adoption of oil instead of brushwood for firing the kilns, the pottery seemed unlikely to survive the rising cost of labour and competition from mass-produced plastic utensils. Several features of the pottery had analogies in the 10th century potters’ quarter at Siraf.