Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (18.2006(2008))

NAQLUN

EGYPT

NAQLUN 2006:
POTTERY FROM HERMITAGE 85

Magdalena Zurek

Hermitage 85, which was located already
during the first season of archaeological
work by a Polish team in Deir el-Naqlun in
1986, lies about 1 km west of the medieval
monastery, in a shallow wadi running down
to the canal by the modern village. In 2005,
when illicit digging was noted in the area,
a surface survey was made of the hermitage.
The pottery that was collected from the
surface at the time was dated to the 6th
century. Excavations in the hermitage were
undertaken in 2006 (see above, report by
W. Godlewski in this volume). It soon
became clear from an analysis of the fill,
confirmed by an analysis of pottery
assemblages, that the layers had been dis-
turbed more than originally anticipated.
Consequently, there is no point in discus-
sing the assemblages room by room as very
few vessels can be connected with a specific
unit inside the hermitage.
Cooking ware constitutes most of the
finds. The share of ceramic plate fragments
is relatively low, but compensated for by the
number of glass plate pieces (see above,
contribution by M. Mossakowska-Gaubert
in this volume). The same is true of the
lamps. The percentage of amphorae is also
glaringly low, no more than 20% of the
collected material. Among the amphora
sherds there are practically none that can be
classified as Late Roman 7, which was the
prevalent type in late antique and early
medieval assemblages from the kom in
Naqlun, as well as other Egyptian sites of

the period. Only eight vessels of this type
were recorded in the material from the
hermitage.
The relatively large number of inscribed
fragments (10) comes as yet another surprise.
The graffiti were either painted in red (1) or
more often scratched on the walls or floor of
the vessel. These were for the most part
single letters; in one case (Nd.06.316) the
name AMMWN is legible, in another
(Nd.06.445) it can safely be reconstructed. It
is possible that the resident of Hermitage 85
went under this name, which in any case was
not uncommon at the time. Similarly
inscribed vessels have been found previously
in Naqlun, e.g. the ceramics from Hermi-
tage 44, among which there is a bowl with
the name of Phibamo scratched on it (dated
to the second half of the 5 th century,
cf. Godlewski 1998: 77-86).
PLATES
Despite the relatively insignificant number
of ceramic plates found in the fill of the
hermitage, they are the best dating evidence
for the occupation of the complex. Cooking
pottery, although varied, is not an equally
precise chronological indicator.
Plate Nd.05.168
Red, rather fine clay. Shallow with profiled
rim.
Resembles plate Nd.97.013 found in
Hermitage 44. The type is an imitation of
Hayes ARS 84. Similar plates have been

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