And The Answer Is...

Well,I'm not sure.
This is what just emerged from the test kiln after a rapid blast to 1020-ish [according to trusty cone 06- the pyrometer was meanwhile reading 100 degrees more,but then they are misleading in fast firings]. Either way,the clay [which has lost its raw orange and turned an interesting pale yellow- green] doesn't look fully fired [still porous] so maybe this will also [like the previous sample of Tsfat well-bottom clay Amir brought me] turn out to be a stoneware...
Which is fairly amazing [to me,anyway] because I've been [patiently] explaining to customers for 20-odd years why there are no stoneware clays in the Middle East [my theory made sense,at the time- the museums are full of earthenware,after all].
But then again...maybe it's not so simple. Maybe the location of the clays [at the bottom of wells] is a factor- I don't think those wells are so old.
Next step is to slake the rest of the clay [conveniently,I have rainwater] to see if its physical properties improve. Though if it does turn out to be a stoneware,I can use the softening recipe that worked nicely on Meir's clay [see below]. I'm not sure what you would add to a recalcitrant earthenware other than a different [more plastic] earthenware.
The cracks,by the way,are from drying,not firing.