Pithoi
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| Material | Ceramic |
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| Size | Approximately the size of a human, some larger, some smaller. |
| Writing | Sometimes inscribed with an identifying mark. |
| Created | Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age |
| Discovered | Most frequently at large administrative centers |
| Present location | Circum-Mediterranean |
Pithos (/ˈpɪθɒs/,Greek: πίθος, plural: pithoi πίθοι) is the Greek name of a large storage container. The term in English is applied to such containers used among the civilizations that bordered the Mediterranean Sea in the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the succeeding Iron Age. Pithoi had been used for bulk storage, primarily for fluids and grains; they were comparable to the drums, barrels and casks of recent times. The name was different in other languages; for instance, the Hittites used harsi-.
Secondarily, discarded pithoi found other uses. Like the ceramic bathtubs of some periods, the size of a pithos made it a convenient coffin. In Middle Helladic burials in Mycenae and Crete sometimes the bones of the interred were placed in pithoi. The ancient Iberian culture of El Argar used pithoi for coffins in its B phase (1500-1300 BC). In warfare the pithos full of flammable olive oil was a liability to the defense of a palace. An enemy had only to knock over a pithos full of oil and touch a torch to it to produce a major conflagration. Most of the palaces of the Bronze Age Aegean were burned at one time or another in this way.
The external shape and materials were approximately the same: a ceramic jar about as high as a man, a base for standing, sides nearly straight or generously curved, large mouth with a lid, sealed for shipping. Jars of this size could not be handled by individuals, especially when full. Various numbers of handles, or lugs, or some combination, gave a purchase for some sort of harness used in lifting the jar with a crane.
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