Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (15.2003(2004))

NAQLUN

EGYPT

D.l. The assemblage from this last room
has been dated rather broadly from the
middle of the 8th to the middle of the
12th century.I2) Based on parallels, the pan
from the deposit in room AA.40.2 should
be assigned a date in the 9th-11th century,
but most likely in the beginning of this
period.
Of the three amphorae, Nd.00.259
(Fig. 5:1) is of brown clay. The body is
heavily shortened, narrowing to a somewhat
rounded bottom, with ribbing in the up-
per part. The rim, unfortunately, has not
been preserved. Nd.00.261 (Fig. 5:2) has
a similarly rounded bottom, but is made of
red clay. It is big (39 cm high) with a fairly
long, slightly inward sloping neck, broad
shoulders, round handles, a heavily short-
ened and narrowing body. It is covered
with white slip and bears a wavy combed
decoration on the shoulders. Finally,
Nd.00.262 is also an amphora of red clay,
big (more than 30 cm high) with a wide
neck, narrow shoulders and small loop
handles (Fig. 5:3). The body is also fore-
shortened and narrowing toward a gently
rounded, flattened out bottom, the walls
covered with flat wide ribbing. Of similar
form (but with handles attached in a dif-

ferent way) is amphora Nd.98.119 dis-
covered in sector D.
Finally, the assemblage yielded an oil
lamp of the Fustat type, Nd.00.239
(Fig. 4:11). It is characterized by a flaring
rim, short nozzle and not very high oil
reservoir. Many similar lamps have been
found at Naqlun, for example, in the fill of
the staircase AA.30.1 (Nd.00.013,
Nd.00.129X At nearby Tebtynis, a lamp of
this type was recorded in a well-dated layer
from the second quarter of the 9th through
the middle of the 10th century.13)
As can be seen from the above
presentation, the deposit from room
AA.40.2 consists of typical vessels,
representing forms that remained in use
for a long time. Vessels of this kind
occurred at Naqlun from the 8th/9th
centuries through the middle of the 10th
century. The pottery discussed here was
deposited presumably sometime in the
late 9th century. At this time most of the
AA complex went up in flames. Traces of
a violent conflagration can be seen in
many of the rooms, while an associated
thick layer of ashes recorded in the
northern part of the complex yielded
a golden dinar issued in AD 891/892.l4)

12) Godlewski, Derda, Gorecki, op. cit., 227.
13) Rousset, Marchand, op. cit., 448.
14) C. Morisot, “Quelques monnaies decouvertes a Deir el-Malak”, Anlsl 34 (2000), 327-333.

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