Pottery production during the third and second millennium B.C. in Western Syria. The development of ceramic technology as a result of the rise of Qatna as a regional capital

The ancient site of Qatna was one of the most powerful Syrian urban sites during the 2nd millennium B.C. During the Middle Bronze Age (MBA or MB), Qatna was cited as a regional capital with extensive influence over a considerable area, in competition with some of the most important contemporary sites in Syria and Mesopotamia (Aleppo, Carchemish, and Mari). The origin of its status as a regional capital has been investigated through the excavation of a large sounding opened on the top of the Central Hill. However, the precise trajectory of Qatna from a simple settlement to a major urban site is still unclear. Analysis of an uninterrupted ceramic sequence spanning from the Early Bronze Age (EBA or EB) III to the Late Bronze Age (LBA or LB) helps to shed light on some of these changes. It also allows us to see how ceramic production changed between the 3rd and the 2nd millennium B.C., corresponding to the major modifications to the site as it transformed from a simple village into a capital controlling a significant portion of Central Western Syria