DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.28687#0020
8
THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE POTTERY
Carter, Five years, pi. 1) and there are two boards
in Cairo Museum, but it is also known from Gezer
(Pal. Ex. Fund, Quart. Statement, 1904, 16).
Part of a board from Susa (no. 14 here) is
published (de Morgan, Mem. Deleg. Pers. vii, 104).
This is in the Louvre, together with others, from
the same place, mostly of stone. Also in the Louvre
is a large frog board of blue glaze, sketched in
pi. xxvi, 25, from Mr. Brunton’s information. It
has red paste in the horizontal bar, but the inlay
in the vertical bar has fallen out. The border has
inlays of red and black, and red and white, alter-
nating with rosettes. The age of it is not fixed,
and the source is unknown; it was already in the
Louvre collection in 1827.
The Gezer and Cairo examples suggest that the
form became connected with the human figure,
but the older Egyptian examples show that such
is not the origin. The seven extra holes in the
top of the Gezer board only appear in no. i3.
Some working tools were found, as the copper
hoe on a wooden pick (xiii, i3; xxii, 7) with
pottery of type 90, which puts the earliest metal
hoe back from the XIXth to the IXth dynasty
(658, U. C.); the wig-curler in 1730 (Edinburgh),
which was already known in the Xllth dynasty
(Illahun viii, 4, 5) and from the Vlth to Xth
dynasties (Tools and Weapons, lxi, 1); the mallet
of the YIth dynasty, 415 (xxii, 6); the plummet
and square 1845 (U. C.), pi. xxvi, 7, 8; and a
copper hook and adze in tomb 2120.
17. The pottery trays of offerings are the simplest
form of the soul-house models, which were found
so largely at Rifeh, dating from this period. One
with a double tray and corner pans, tomb 730,
is very unusual (xiii, 3). The others have more
or less traces of the figures of offerings. The only
one dated is no. 5, which is from tomb 1560,
of period 5, that is at the beginning of the Xth
dynasty. (Manchester.)
The wooden model of a lies vase (lvii, 8) has
the inscriptions added here on half scale. It does
not appear to have had a person named, but only
a statement of offering to Ptah-seker.
18. The scarabs lvii, 1—7 are the first group
that has been found unquestionably dated to the
IXth and Xth dynasties. So far as sex was noted,
it was found that two men had scarabs, and one
woman. That early scarabs have not been recorded
before is not to be wondered at, as they were not
in more than 2 or 3 per cent of the tombs.
We may note here the two seals from the
old town mound of Lahun (xiii, 17—19). 17 is a
regular debased pattern, cut in limestone, between
the Xlllth and XVIIth dynasties. 18 (and its
impression 19) is evidently of about the same
age: it bears a man seated, holding a bird, with
a piece of Labyrinth pattern above, and at the
top a word written with four signs which are
certainly not Egyptian, and resemble the signs
of the Mediterranean signary. This re-enforces the
example of such writing in the Xllth dynasty in
Kahun xxvii, 85 (U. C.).
CHAPTER IV
THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE POTTERY.
19. The seven plates of forms of pottery
(pis. xxix—xxxv) contain the types which may
be referred to the Vlth to Xth dynasties. As this
is an obscure period, something may be gained by
attempting to classify this pottery according to its
grave-groups. There is one tomb (274) certainly of
the Vlth dynasty, that of Ra-mery-ha-shetef, and
two others which are of the same age or very
soon after it (415, 2002). These serve as a starting
point (A); and the latest types of the series are the
round-bottomed jars 94, b, c, p, s, -which clearly
link on to the Xlth dynasty forms (Qurneh xvii).
Between these there are registers of about 280
graves. From these, 100 were selected as containing
the larger number of types for comparison. The
content of each grave was written on one slip,
and the sorting was done by means of these slips.
The first stage was to take out all graves (B)
containing the same types of pottery as those in (A)
the three graves of the Vlth dynasty. These were
probably the next in time. Then to list other types
found in the graves (B), but not in (A), as being
a later stage (C). After that, the unplaced slips
were sorted into positions where their types were
already found. Those which contained fresh types
were left over to the end. Then the whole series
was roughly divided into numbered sections. A list
of types was made, and, under each, the sections
in which it occurred. Then, wherever only a single
example began or ended a list of sections, it was
tested whether it could be brought nearer the
others without separating other types. Thus each
type was gradually reduced to the most compact
range of sections.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE POTTERY
Carter, Five years, pi. 1) and there are two boards
in Cairo Museum, but it is also known from Gezer
(Pal. Ex. Fund, Quart. Statement, 1904, 16).
Part of a board from Susa (no. 14 here) is
published (de Morgan, Mem. Deleg. Pers. vii, 104).
This is in the Louvre, together with others, from
the same place, mostly of stone. Also in the Louvre
is a large frog board of blue glaze, sketched in
pi. xxvi, 25, from Mr. Brunton’s information. It
has red paste in the horizontal bar, but the inlay
in the vertical bar has fallen out. The border has
inlays of red and black, and red and white, alter-
nating with rosettes. The age of it is not fixed,
and the source is unknown; it was already in the
Louvre collection in 1827.
The Gezer and Cairo examples suggest that the
form became connected with the human figure,
but the older Egyptian examples show that such
is not the origin. The seven extra holes in the
top of the Gezer board only appear in no. i3.
Some working tools were found, as the copper
hoe on a wooden pick (xiii, i3; xxii, 7) with
pottery of type 90, which puts the earliest metal
hoe back from the XIXth to the IXth dynasty
(658, U. C.); the wig-curler in 1730 (Edinburgh),
which was already known in the Xllth dynasty
(Illahun viii, 4, 5) and from the Vlth to Xth
dynasties (Tools and Weapons, lxi, 1); the mallet
of the YIth dynasty, 415 (xxii, 6); the plummet
and square 1845 (U. C.), pi. xxvi, 7, 8; and a
copper hook and adze in tomb 2120.
17. The pottery trays of offerings are the simplest
form of the soul-house models, which were found
so largely at Rifeh, dating from this period. One
with a double tray and corner pans, tomb 730,
is very unusual (xiii, 3). The others have more
or less traces of the figures of offerings. The only
one dated is no. 5, which is from tomb 1560,
of period 5, that is at the beginning of the Xth
dynasty. (Manchester.)
The wooden model of a lies vase (lvii, 8) has
the inscriptions added here on half scale. It does
not appear to have had a person named, but only
a statement of offering to Ptah-seker.
18. The scarabs lvii, 1—7 are the first group
that has been found unquestionably dated to the
IXth and Xth dynasties. So far as sex was noted,
it was found that two men had scarabs, and one
woman. That early scarabs have not been recorded
before is not to be wondered at, as they were not
in more than 2 or 3 per cent of the tombs.
We may note here the two seals from the
old town mound of Lahun (xiii, 17—19). 17 is a
regular debased pattern, cut in limestone, between
the Xlllth and XVIIth dynasties. 18 (and its
impression 19) is evidently of about the same
age: it bears a man seated, holding a bird, with
a piece of Labyrinth pattern above, and at the
top a word written with four signs which are
certainly not Egyptian, and resemble the signs
of the Mediterranean signary. This re-enforces the
example of such writing in the Xllth dynasty in
Kahun xxvii, 85 (U. C.).
CHAPTER IV
THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE POTTERY.
19. The seven plates of forms of pottery
(pis. xxix—xxxv) contain the types which may
be referred to the Vlth to Xth dynasties. As this
is an obscure period, something may be gained by
attempting to classify this pottery according to its
grave-groups. There is one tomb (274) certainly of
the Vlth dynasty, that of Ra-mery-ha-shetef, and
two others which are of the same age or very
soon after it (415, 2002). These serve as a starting
point (A); and the latest types of the series are the
round-bottomed jars 94, b, c, p, s, -which clearly
link on to the Xlth dynasty forms (Qurneh xvii).
Between these there are registers of about 280
graves. From these, 100 were selected as containing
the larger number of types for comparison. The
content of each grave was written on one slip,
and the sorting was done by means of these slips.
The first stage was to take out all graves (B)
containing the same types of pottery as those in (A)
the three graves of the Vlth dynasty. These were
probably the next in time. Then to list other types
found in the graves (B), but not in (A), as being
a later stage (C). After that, the unplaced slips
were sorted into positions where their types were
already found. Those which contained fresh types
were left over to the end. Then the whole series
was roughly divided into numbered sections. A list
of types was made, and, under each, the sections
in which it occurred. Then, wherever only a single
example began or ended a list of sections, it was
tested whether it could be brought nearer the
others without separating other types. Thus each
type was gradually reduced to the most compact
range of sections.