Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (13.2001(2002))

MAREA

EGYPT

MAREA 2001: NOTE ON THE POTTERY

Grzegorz Majcherek

This season's pottery finds come either
from the topsoil layer or from fill deposits
and, consequently, cannot be safely
attributed to any undisturbed contexts A
Although some rebuilding and changes of
the bath plan are easily identified, so far
none of the deposits could be associated
with these alterations. Some of the finds,
therefore, can be either residual or post-
dating the destruction of the building.
Due to the usual shortcomings of such
material, all the observations should be
regarded as largely provisional.
The spectrum of pottery forms appears
to be broadly similar to that briefly
discussed in the previous report.1 2) Com-
monwares apparently prevail in the
collected material. All the type-forms are
a representative cross-section of the 7th-
8th century repertoire. Beside bowls, jugs
and basins, recorded forms include also
some cooking pots, casseroles, pans and
lids that can be readily paralleled in
material found on other Egyptian sites.
Some of the kitchen vessels were imported
from the Nile Valley proper, as evidenced
by their conspicuous dark red Nile silt
fabric, very often with a black core. Most
of the recorded commonware fragments,
however, appear to be of local Mareotic

production, made either on the site itself
or in the surrounding region. Unfortun-
ately, the similarity of regional raw
materials excludes specific attribution.
The fabric is invariably made of local
calcareous marl clay with considerable
quantities of calcite inclusions frequently
erupting on the surface, and fine sand
temper. Very few mica specks are visible
occasionally. Color ranges from reddish-
yellow (7,5 YR 7/4) through olive gray
(5/6 Y 6/2) to yellow (2,5 Y 8/4), and is
most likely due to varied firing condi-
tions.3) 4 The surface is usually unslipped,
although very often coated with a light
cream self-slip, resulting from salt precip-
itation during drying. The most numerous
regionally produced pottery group
consists of deep, footed, carinated bowls,
with everted or knobbed rims, displaying
a great variety of contours {Fig. 1). Some
of the examples were painted with faint
dark red decoration representing wavy
lines or simplified festoons (cf. Fig. 1:2),
typical of Coptic-period potteryA Of
greater interest are several fragments of
Mareotic incised ware (cf Fig. 3:3). They
represent mostly jugs or pitchers, usually
decorated with parallel or diagonal
incisions, sometimes forming a triangular

1) For a discussion of the archaeological work on the site, see report by H. Szymanska and K. Babraj in this volume.
2) H. Szymanska, K. Babraj, PAM XII, Reports 2000 (2001), 44-45.
3) On the color variations of Mareotic pottery, cf. M. Rodziewicz, “Experimental identification of local and imported
pottery from Mareotis”, BCH Suppl. 33 (1998), 245-260.
4) For similar, but slightly earlier forms, cf. D. Bailey, Excavations at el-Ashmunein, V (London 1998), 54-55, pi. 31.

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