DOI issue:
Egypt
DOI article:Majcherek, Grzegorz: Kom el-Dikka: excavations, 1997/98
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41273#0033
ALEXANDRIA
EGYPT
proto-majolicas were also discovered.
Wares originating from Tunisia and Spain
were also quite frequent. Egyptian-made
pottery is represented by practically all the
known types and decoration techniques.
Noteworthy are the numerous examples of
conspicuous, color, Fayyumi-type pottery.
Apart from quite frequent monochromatic
vessels, fragments of Fatimid Lustre Ware,
and a variety of Mamluk Sgraff and Slip
Painted wares were also recorded. One
should mention numerous examples of
semi-artistic pottery, presumably locally
made, although tangible proof is lacking.
The rich repertoire of imported ceramics
provides direct evidence for Alexandria's
overseas trade and the prominent part
played by the city in the commercial
exchange of the Middle Ages. The finds
from the Islamic strata have never been
thoroughly studied; it is only now that the
research has been undertaken in a broader
archaeological context A
Immediately below the layer of debris,
ashes and kiln refuse (ca. 0.80-1.20 m
thick) a level of the Middle Necropolis
appeared (ca. 10.50 m above sea level).
Graves belonging to this phase of the
cemetery were located mostly along the
northern and southern border of the
trench. The central area, following an E-W
axis was left free, apparently serving as
a small internal passage. A fragment of the
passage (ca. 1.20 m wide), its surface rein-
forced with crushed bricks and gravel, was
cleared at the eastern edge of the excava-
tion area.
Middle Necropolis graves are of a differ-
ent kind entirely. Usually, they are built as
relatively large, rectangular structures made
of bigger, tightly fitting limestone blocks.
Floors inside the stmctures were paved with
gravel or small pebbles set in lime mortar.
Bodies were buried in shallow trenches with
no additional, protective structures. In two
cases, inscribed stele giving the names of the
deceased along with the usual Quranic vers-
es were found. Neighboring graves seem to
belong to one family as suggested by the
names: Isma'il Ibn Ahmed {Fig. I) and
Musahir(d) Ibn Ahmed. Both steles can be
safely dated to the first half of the 3rd cent.
AH (9th cent. AD).
Fig. 1. Inscribed Arabic stele
(Photo W.Jerke)
}> See preliminary study of imported wares, W. Kubiak, Overseas pottery trade of Medieval Alexandria, Folia Orientalia,
X (1969), pp. 5-30.
31
EGYPT
proto-majolicas were also discovered.
Wares originating from Tunisia and Spain
were also quite frequent. Egyptian-made
pottery is represented by practically all the
known types and decoration techniques.
Noteworthy are the numerous examples of
conspicuous, color, Fayyumi-type pottery.
Apart from quite frequent monochromatic
vessels, fragments of Fatimid Lustre Ware,
and a variety of Mamluk Sgraff and Slip
Painted wares were also recorded. One
should mention numerous examples of
semi-artistic pottery, presumably locally
made, although tangible proof is lacking.
The rich repertoire of imported ceramics
provides direct evidence for Alexandria's
overseas trade and the prominent part
played by the city in the commercial
exchange of the Middle Ages. The finds
from the Islamic strata have never been
thoroughly studied; it is only now that the
research has been undertaken in a broader
archaeological context A
Immediately below the layer of debris,
ashes and kiln refuse (ca. 0.80-1.20 m
thick) a level of the Middle Necropolis
appeared (ca. 10.50 m above sea level).
Graves belonging to this phase of the
cemetery were located mostly along the
northern and southern border of the
trench. The central area, following an E-W
axis was left free, apparently serving as
a small internal passage. A fragment of the
passage (ca. 1.20 m wide), its surface rein-
forced with crushed bricks and gravel, was
cleared at the eastern edge of the excava-
tion area.
Middle Necropolis graves are of a differ-
ent kind entirely. Usually, they are built as
relatively large, rectangular structures made
of bigger, tightly fitting limestone blocks.
Floors inside the stmctures were paved with
gravel or small pebbles set in lime mortar.
Bodies were buried in shallow trenches with
no additional, protective structures. In two
cases, inscribed stele giving the names of the
deceased along with the usual Quranic vers-
es were found. Neighboring graves seem to
belong to one family as suggested by the
names: Isma'il Ibn Ahmed {Fig. I) and
Musahir(d) Ibn Ahmed. Both steles can be
safely dated to the first half of the 3rd cent.
AH (9th cent. AD).
Fig. 1. Inscribed Arabic stele
(Photo W.Jerke)
}> See preliminary study of imported wares, W. Kubiak, Overseas pottery trade of Medieval Alexandria, Folia Orientalia,
X (1969), pp. 5-30.
31