Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (13.2001(2002))

NAQLUN

EGYPT

NAQLUN 2001: GLAZED POTTERY

Anetta tyzwa

The glazed pottery that was found at
Naqlun during excavations in the 2001
season comes for the most part from the
debris filling rooms AA.20.2, AA.30.2,
AA.30.3 of a structure in sector A and
from layer 1 in trial pit AA.50.4. Graves:
T. 246 and T. 253 in this area of the
cemetery yielded a few pieces as well A
Considering the disturbed stratigraphy in
this area, it cannot be excluded that more
pieces from this very uniform assemblage
of solely tableware shapes had originally
constituted the furnishings of now
damaged or destroyed tombs.

The prevalent form is a small bowl.1 2) 3 4
Regular bowls and a plate have also been
recorded. As regards ceramic type, the
sherds can be attributed to one of three
types that are characteristic of the Fatimid
and early Ayyubid periods: Fustat Fatimid
Sgraffito (FFS)A Fayyumi and Mono-
chrome. Thus, a provisional dating of the
material, based on parallels, points to a late
10th through early 13th century horizon.
This is in keeping with the current
knowledge of site history, the date of the
destruction of the monastic compound and
the functioning of the later cemetery.

FUSTAT FATIMID SGRAFFITO

Fustat Fatimid Sgraffito is represented by
a single, incomplete small bowl of olive-
green color (Nd.01081: H. 4.5 cm;
Dia.rim 12.0 cm; Dia.base 5.0 cm) (Fig. 1).
The clay in the break is buff in color, the
glaze transparent inside and out. The bowl
is decorated on the inside with incised
stylized floral ornament consisting of
branches scrolling away from two parallel
stems running across the middle.
A bowl similar in both form and

decoration is found in the Benaki
collection in Athens, where it is dated to
1100-early 13th centuryA Analogous
decoration can be seen on a bowl from the
collection of the Graeco-Roman Museum
in Alexandria. The fragment has been
dated to the Fatimid period, that is, the
late lOth-llth centuries.5)
Our bowl is definitely the most
luxurious item of glazed pottery from this
year's explorations.

1) For a discussion of this year's investigations, cf. report by W. Godlewski in this volume.
2) Distinguished from a regular bowl by its size, that is, having a diameter of less than 20 cm.
3) Also current in the literature as Fatimid Fustat Sgraffito.
4) H. Philon, Early Islamic Ceramics. Ninth to Late Twelfth Centuries, The Benaki Museum Athens — Islamic Art.
Publication (Athens 1980), Inv. no. 487: 266, Fig. 584.
5) V. Francois, Ceramiques medievales a Alexandrie. Contribution a l'histoire economique de la ville, IFAO, Etudes
alexandrines 2 (Le Caire 1999), Inv. no. P.13970.3bis: 60, Fig. 6/16. For FFS description and dating see page 23.

185