Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (19.2007(2010))

TELL EL-RETABA

EGYPT

Ramesses IV (Aston 1996: 79), but without
the ornament pattern a more accurate dating is
impossible. The sherd is made of NB2 clay, the
sandy variant.
Jars made of Marl A4 clay [Fig. 2:1—2\
seem to be very common at the site. They are
always well smoothed and sometimes slightly
polished. Published parallels from other sites
place them in the late New Kingdom (tomb
of Ramesses VI, cf. Aston 1996: 19, 120,
Fig. 18:4) and the Third Intermediate Period
(Aston 1996: 24,130, Fig. 28:6).
Jars with rounded recurved rim made of
Marl A4 clay [Fig. 2:3] can be dated to the
late New Kingdom and beginning of the

Third Intermediate Period, particularly the
Twentieth-Twenty-first Dynasties (Aston
1999: 46). Their surface is uncoated, only
smoothed. Aston describes similar jars found
on Elephantine (1999: 49-50, PL 10:247).
Vessels made of marl clay were not as
common as those made of Nile silt. The closed
pots made of Nile clay are either uncoated
[Fig. 2:6] or coated with white or pinkish slip
[Fig. 2:4—5, 7] and well smoothed.
A jar with long straight neck and
rounded rim is made of Nile B2 sandy clay
(Redmount 1989: 404-405, Fig. 54:336-
349, especially 339) [Fig. 2:6]. A pinkish
coat occurs on the external and partly


Polish Archaeology in rhe Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007