northwestern edge. They
seem to be the remains of
another roof and just behind
them there is an empty
space.
Pottery found in the
stratum covering these
structures indicates that the
enclosure and shafts were
used mostly in the times of
the 2nd and early 3rd
dynasties. A limited number
of sherds may belong to the
later Old Kingdom. Simple
handmade Nile-silt jars,
sometimes betraying poor
workmanship, predominate
here (Fig. 2). Finer plates
and bowls with a red-
burnished slip are much less
numerous. Pottery sherds of
later date, right down to the
Byzantine period, were
found in association with
the later burials uncovered
in the upper strata.
Deserving special attention is a category of objects which
occurs in context with the early pottery, but is also found in the
higher strata: small, rectangular faience tiles analogous to those
used in the decoration of some walls in the subterranean galleries
of the Djoser complex.5 The better preserved examples usually
have a rectangular protrusion on the back. Some bear incised
Fig. 2. Archaic jar found in pit I.
Drawing by M. Puszkarski.
ETxvii, pp. 186, 188-189, figs. 11-12.
108