ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Levantine pottery

Hi there! Have you ever seen a clay pot or plate that someone used to cook or eat food with? Levantine pottery is kind of like that, but it's from a special place called the Levant.

The Levant is an area in the Middle East that includes countries like Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel. People have been making pottery there for over 7,000 years! That's a really long time, even longer than how old your grandparents are.

Levantine pottery is special because it has lots of different designs and colors. Sometimes there are shapes like circles, zigzags, or lines on the pots or plates. Other times, there are pictures of animals, people, or things from nature. The colors can be really vibrant, like red, blue, green, or yellow.

People make Levantine pottery by first taking clay from the ground. The clay is like a really soft and squishy dough that they can mold with their hands. Then, they shape the clay into the size and shape they want for their pot or plate. After that, they let it dry in the sun for a few days. Once it's dry, they put it in a special oven called a kiln. The kiln gets really hot and turns the clay into hard pottery that can be used for cooking or eating.

Levantine pottery is still made today, and people around the world love to decorate their homes with it. It's a special way to bring a piece of history and culture into your own house.