Storage

They have forsaken me...to dig out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.

Jeremiah 2:13

Large jars in the rear storeroom of Building A at Tell al-·Umayri, Jordan, twelfth century B.C.E. (Courtesy of the Madaba Plains Project)

Being able to store water and food over the long term was critical for a family's survival.

Rainwater from roofs and courtyards was collected in cisterns to supplement natural sources like springs and wells. The drain below the rain spout on the roof of the house channels runoff into a cistern. An opening in the ground floor gives access to it.

Underground silos were used for the bulk storage of grain. To the left of the house, wheat is piled next to the mouth of an open silo in the courtyard.

Large pottery jars containing grain, wine and oil are stored in the back room on the ground floor. The back room upstairs could serve the same purpose. Properly protected, wheat and barley, as well as legumes like lentils and chickpeas and nuts like pistachios and almonds, could be kept for long periods. Dates, figs and grapes were dried and compressed into cakes to preserve them.