DOI issue:
Egypt
DOI article:Majcherek, Grzegorz: Kom el-Dikka: excavations 1997
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41242#0029
levelling layer, a number of Late Roman domestic installations
were discovered. In the southern end of the trench there was
a fragmentarily preserved circular basin (dia. ca.l.7m), built of big
limestone blocks faced with waterproof mortar on the inside. Yet
another section of a sewage channel running approximately E-W
was uncovered; previously, the same channel had been identified
and investigated in the western and central part of the sector. In the
northern end of the trench, the remains of a local water conduit
were uncovered, made of African spatheion-typz amphorae with
cut-off ends to serve as a pipe. The corresponding layers yielded
a rich assemblage of finds, mainly pottery. The majority of the
vessels represents Egyptian wares: Nile silt amphorae of Egloff
Forms 172, 177-179, and domestic and kitchen wares. Of interest
among the imported wares are early forms of Gazan amphorae
(LRA 4)5 and oil-containers produced in Cilicia and North Syria
(LRA 1). A few accompanying sherds of African Red Slip and
Cj/priot Red Slip wares date the use of these installation to the
5th century AD. It seems that this entire sector was used at the time
as a service area for the baths, although missing the architectural
context it is difficult to be certain about the exact function. The area
is criss-crossed with all kinds of cavities and robbers’ pits from late
Antiquity to Medieval times. In consequence of this activity, the
underlying structures have been largely destroyed. The top of the
best preserved sections of walls was found at a level some 7 m
above sea level. We succeeded in clearing another four rooms of
the east wing of the Early Roman House FA. In loc. 14, which abuts on
the courtyard, the marble floor was finally uncovered in its
entirety. The central geometric panel was found to be made of
5 For the new chronology of Gazan amphorae, see: G. Majcherek, Gazan Amphorae:
Typology Reconsidered, in: H. Meyza, J. Mlynarczyk (eds.), Hellenistic and Roman
Pottery in the Eastern Mediterranean, Warsaw 1995, pp. 163-178.
27
were discovered. In the southern end of the trench there was
a fragmentarily preserved circular basin (dia. ca.l.7m), built of big
limestone blocks faced with waterproof mortar on the inside. Yet
another section of a sewage channel running approximately E-W
was uncovered; previously, the same channel had been identified
and investigated in the western and central part of the sector. In the
northern end of the trench, the remains of a local water conduit
were uncovered, made of African spatheion-typz amphorae with
cut-off ends to serve as a pipe. The corresponding layers yielded
a rich assemblage of finds, mainly pottery. The majority of the
vessels represents Egyptian wares: Nile silt amphorae of Egloff
Forms 172, 177-179, and domestic and kitchen wares. Of interest
among the imported wares are early forms of Gazan amphorae
(LRA 4)5 and oil-containers produced in Cilicia and North Syria
(LRA 1). A few accompanying sherds of African Red Slip and
Cj/priot Red Slip wares date the use of these installation to the
5th century AD. It seems that this entire sector was used at the time
as a service area for the baths, although missing the architectural
context it is difficult to be certain about the exact function. The area
is criss-crossed with all kinds of cavities and robbers’ pits from late
Antiquity to Medieval times. In consequence of this activity, the
underlying structures have been largely destroyed. The top of the
best preserved sections of walls was found at a level some 7 m
above sea level. We succeeded in clearing another four rooms of
the east wing of the Early Roman House FA. In loc. 14, which abuts on
the courtyard, the marble floor was finally uncovered in its
entirety. The central geometric panel was found to be made of
5 For the new chronology of Gazan amphorae, see: G. Majcherek, Gazan Amphorae:
Typology Reconsidered, in: H. Meyza, J. Mlynarczyk (eds.), Hellenistic and Roman
Pottery in the Eastern Mediterranean, Warsaw 1995, pp. 163-178.
27