CERAMIQUES EGYPTIENNES AU SOUDAN ANCIEN - CAHIERS DE LA CERAMIQUE EGYPTIENNE [XI] 9782724707199

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CERAMIQUES EGYPTIENNES AU SOUDAN ANCIEN IMPORTATIONS, IMITATIONS ET INFLUENCES

Edite par Romain David

INSTITUT FRANC::AIS D'ARCHEOLOGIE ORIENTALE CAHIERS DE LA CERAMIQUE EGYPTIENNE 11 - 2018

Dans la meme collection:

Cahiers de la ceramique egyptienne 10, 2016. Cahiers de la ceramique egyptienne 9, 2011. Cahiers de la ceramique egyptienne 8 (2 tomes), 2007. Cahiers de la ceramique egyptienne 7, 2004. Cahiers de la ceramique egyptienne 6, 2000. Cahiers de la ceramique egyptienne 5, 1997. Cahiers de la ceramique egyptienne 4, 1996. Cahiers de la ceramique egyptienne 3, 1993. Cahiers de la ceramique egyptienne 2, 1991. Cahiers de la ceramique egyptienne l, 1987.

Ce volume a beneficie du soutien de la SFDAS Section fransing an obviously non-Egyptian vessel for a funerary purpose.73 Whether deliberate or coincidental, the funerary association of these two vessels is striking evidence of the close connection ("entanglement") between Nubian and Egyptian communities at the time and warrants deeper consideration. It should once more be stressed that the conclusions presented here must remain speculative. The topic is hindered by numerous factors; the difficulties with ceramic chronologies of the Second Intermediate Period, problems associated with cultural identification for Nubian pottery in cemeteries and settlements, the question of Egyptianisation, and the difficulties associated with linking settlement and cemetery data. Despite these problems, it is possible to speculate that the Pan-Grave element present in Egyptian society did not actually disappear entirely, but was manifest in some other way - possibly in the appearance of black-painted rims on Egyptian pottery forms. The numerous chronological synchronisms and geographic connections demonstrate that re-considerations of seemingly small details may open up new lines of investigation and lead to new conclusions. From this perspective, the possibilities raised throughout this paper are an attempt to present alternative ideas and to stimulate new discussions relating to the interplay between Nubians and Egyptians during the Second Intermediate Period.

73 Two other examples of infant burials in Nubian cooking pots have been identified, but both come from Cemetery 110 at

Kubban in Lower Nubia and as such cannot be easily compared with the Edfu example: FIRTH 1927 pp. 62-63, pl. 25e-f. Both were deposited outside larger graves dated by their finds to the early New Kingdom, but the true relationship (if there is one) between the infant burials and the larger tombs is unclear. The pot found outside grave 110:23 may be attributed to the Kerma tradition, while the pot found outside grave 110:20 may be Pan-Grave.

PAINT IT BLACK: PAN-GRAVE BLACK-TOPPED AND EGYPTIAN BLACK-RIMMED POTTERY

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Aston, D.A., Tell el-Dab'a XII. A Corpus ofLate Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period Pottery, Vienna, 2004. ASTON 2007

Aston, D.A., "Korn Rabia, Ezbet Helmi, and Saqqara NK 3507. A Study in Cross-Dating", in M. Bietak (ed.), The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B. C. III. Proceedings ofthe SCIEM 2000 - 2 nd EuroConference, Vienna, 28th of May- Jst ofJune 2003, Vienna, 2007, pp. 207-248. AsTON 2013

Aston, D.A., "Mother's Best Tea Service - Pottery as Diplomatic Gifts in the Second Intermediate Period", in B. Bader, M.F. Ownby (eds.), Functional Aspects ofEgyptian Ceramics in their Archaeological Context. Proceedings ofa Conference held at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge, July 24th-]uly 25th, 2009, Leuven,2013,pp. 375-402. AYERS, MOELLER 2012

Ayers, N., Moeller, N., "Nubian Pottery Traditions during the 2nd Millennium BC at Tell Edfu", in I. Forstner-Muller, P. Rose (eds.), Nubian Pottery from Egyptian Cultural Contexts of the Middle and Early New Kingdom. Proceedings ofa Workshop held at the Austrian Archaeological Institute at Cairo, 1-12 December 2010, Vienna, 2012, pp. 103-116. BADER2013

Bader, B., "Cultural Mixing in Egyptian Archaeology: The Hyksos as a Case Study", in W.P. van Pelt (ed.), Archaeology and Cultural Mixture. Archaeological Review from Cambridge 28.1, Cambridge, April 2013, pp. 257-286. BIETAK 1966 Bietak, M., Ausgrabungen in Sayala-Nubien 1961-1965. Denkmaler der C-Gruppe und der Pan-Graber-Kultur, Vienna, 1966. BouRRIAU 1981

Bourriau, J., "Nubians in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period: An Interpretation based on the Egyptian Ceramic Evidence",

in D. Arnold (ed.), Studien zur altagyptischen Keramik, SDAIK 9, Mainz am Rhein, 1981, pp. 25-41. BouRRIAU 1990

Bourriau, J., "The Pottery", in P. Lacovara (ed.), Deir el-Ballas. Preliminary Report on the Deir el-Ballas Expedition, 1980-1986, ARCER 12, Winona Lake, 1990, pp. 15-22. BouRRIAU 2009

Bourriau, J., "Mace's Cemetery Y at Diospolis Parva", in D. Magee, J. Bourriau, S. Quirke (eds.), Sitting Beside Lepsius. Studies in Honour of]aromir Malek at the Griffith Institute, Leuven, 2009, . pp. 39-98. BouRRIAU 2010a

Bourriau, J ., "The Relative Chronology of the Second Intermediate Period: Problems in Linking Regional Archaeological Sequences"; in M. Maree (ed.), The Second Intermediate Period (ThirteenthSeventeenth Dynasties). Current Research, Future Prospects, OLA 192, Leuven, 2010, pp. 11.:.37. BouRRIAU 2010b

Bourriau, J., The Survey ofMemphis IV. Kom Rabia. The New Kingdom Pottery, London, 2010. BouRRIAU 2012

Bourriau, J., "Nubian Pottery from Memphis, Korn Rabia", in I. Forstner-Muller, P. Rose (eds.), Nubian Pottery from Egyptian Cultural Contexts of the Middle and Early New Kingdom. Proceedings ofa Workshop held at the Austrian Archaeological Institute at Cairo, 1-12 December 2010, Vienna, 2012, pp. 149-158. BouRRIAU, ERIKSSON 1997 Bourriau, J.D., Eriksson, K.O., ''A Late Minoan Sherd from an Early 18th Dynasty Context at Korn Rabia, Memphis", in J. Phillips (ed.), Ancient Egypt, the Aegean, and the Near East. Studies in Honour ofMartha Rhoads Bell, San Antonio, 1997, pp. 95-120. BRUNTON 1930

Brunton, G., Qau and Badari III, London, 1930. BRUNTON 1937

Brunton, G., Mostagedda and the Tasian Culture, London, 1937.

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Brunton, G., Engelbach, R., Gurob, London, 1927. DE SOUZA

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de Souza, A., "The Egyptianisation of the Pan-Grave Culture: A New Look at an Old Idea",

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de Souza, A., "Crossed Lines. An Analysis of the Pan-Grave Ceramic Tradition in Upper Egypt, Lower Nubia, and Beyond", PhD Thesis, Macquarie University, 2016. EMBERLING, WILLIAMS

2010

Emberling, G., Williams, B., "The Kingdom of Kush in the 4 th Cataract: Archaeological Salvage of the Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 2007 . Season. Part I. Preliminary Report on the Sites of Hosh el-Guruf and El-Widay", GAMAR 7, 2010, pp. 17-38. EMBERLING

et al. 2014

Emberling, G., Williams, B., Ingvolstad, M., Thomas, R.J., "Peripheral Vision: Identity at . the Margins of the Early Kingdom of Kush", in

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and Beyond. Proceeding ofthe 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies, Leuven, 2014,

Gatto, M., "Peripatetic Nomads along the Nile: Unfolding the Nubian Pan-Grave Culture of the Second Intermediate Period",JAEI6.l, 2014, pp. 11-28. GIULIANI

2006

Giuliani, S., "Defining Pan-Grave Pottery", in K. Kroeper, M. Chlodnicki, M. Kobusiewicz (eds.), Archaeology ofEarly Northeastern Africa. In Memory ofLech Krzyzaniak, Conference Acts, Poznan Archeological Museum, July 14th-18th 2003,Poznan,2006,pp. 647-658. MOELLER et al.

2011

Moeller, N., Marouard, G., Ayers, N., "Discussion of Late Middle Kingdom and Early Second Intermediate Period History and Chronology in Relation to the Khayan Sealings from Tell Edfu", AgLev 21, 2011, pp. 87-121. PEET 1914 Peet, T.E., The Cemeteries ofAbydos. Part II. 19111912, London, 1914. PETRIE

PETRIE

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1907 1909

Petrie, W.M.F., Qurneh, London, 1909.

Firth, C.M., The Archaeological Survey ofNubia. Report for 1910-1911, Cairo, 1927. FORSTNER-MULLER

2014

Petrie, W.M.F., Gizeh and Rifeh, London, 1907.

pp. 328-336. FIRTH

2011

Gait, J.P., "The A-Group/ C-Group Transition in Lower Nubia (Egypt and Sudan): a review of the pottery evidence", PhD Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2011.

2012

Forstner-Muller, I., "Nubian Pottery in Aswan", in I. Forstner-Muller, P. Rose (eds.), Nubian Pottery from Egyptian Cultural Contexts ofthe Middle and Early New Kingdom. Proceedings ofa Workshop held at the Austrian Archaeological Institute at Cairo, 1-12 December 2010, Vienna, 2012, pp. 59-82. FoRSTNER-MULLER, RosE

2012

I. Forstner-Muller, P. Rose (eds.), Nubian Pottery from Egyptian Cultural Contexts ofthe Middle and Early New Kingdom. Proceedings ofa Workshop held at the Austrian Archaeological Institute at Cairo, 1-12 December 2010, Vienna, 2012.

PETRIE, BRUNTON

1924

Petrie, W.M.F., Brunton, G., Sedment, London, 1924. POWER, TRISTANT

2016

Power, R., Tristant, Y., "From Refuse to Rebirth: Repositioning the Pot Burial in the Egyptian Archaeological Record", Antiquity 90, December 2016, pp. 1474-1488. RAUE

2002

Raue, D., "Nubians on Elephantine", SudNub 6, 2002, pp. 20-24. RAUE

2012

Raue, D., "Medja vs. Kerma at the First Cataract - Terminological Problems", in I. Forstner-Muller, P. Rose (eds.), Nubian Pottery from Egyptian Cultural Contexts ofthe Middle and Early New

PAINT IT BLACK: PAN-GRAVE BLACK-TOPPED AND EGYPTIAN BLACK-RIMMED POTTERY

Kingdom. Proceedings ofa Workshop held at the Austrian Archaeological Institute at Cairo, 1-12 December 2010, Vienna, 2012, pp. 49-58. RZEUSKA

2010

WAINWRIGHT

1920

Wainwright, G., Balabish, London, 1920. WELSBY

2001

Welsby, D.A., Life on the Desert Edge. Seven

Rzeuska, T., "Zigzag, Triangle and Fish Fin. On the Relations of Egypt and C-Group during the Middle Kingdom", in W. Godlewski, A. Lajtar (eds.), Between the Cataracts. Proceedings ofthe

Thousand Years ofSettlement in the Northern Dongo/a Reach, Sudan, BAR-IS 980, Oxford, 2001. WELSBY-SJOSTROM

2001

11th International Conference for Nubian Studies,

Welsby-Sjostrom, I., "The Pottery from the Survey", in D.A. Welsby (ed.), Life on the Desert

Warsaw University, 27 August-2 September 2006,

Edge. Seven Thousand Years ofSettlement in the

Suppl. to PAM 2.2, Warsaw, 2010, pp. 397-419.

Northern Dongo/a Reach, Sudan, BAR-IS 980,

SXvE-ScmERBERGH

1989

Save-Soderbergh, T., Middle Nubian Sites, SJE 4:1-2, Copenhagen, 1989. SEILER 2005 Seiler, A., Tradition & Wandel. Die Keramik

Oxford, 2001, pp. 230-348. WESCHENFELDER

2014

als Spiegel der Kulturentwicklung Thebens in der

Weschenfelder, P., "Linking the Eastern Desert and the Nile Valley: Pan-Grave People from the Late Middle Kingdom to the Early New Kingdom", in J.R. Anderson, D.A. Welsby (eds.),

Zweiten Zwischenzeit, SDAIK 32, Mainz am

The Fourth Cataract and Beyond, Proceedings ofthe

Rhein, 2005.

12th International Conference for Nubian Studies,

SEILER

BMPES 1, Leuven, 2014, pp. 357-366.

2010

Seiler, A., "The Second Intermediate Period in Thebes: Regionalism in Pottery Developments and its Cultural Implications", in M. Maree (ed.), The Second Intermediate Period (Thirteenth-

WLODARSKA

2014

Wlodarska, M., "Kerma Burials i.o. the Fourth Cataract Region - Three Seasons of Excavations at Shemkhiya", in J.R. Anderson, D.A. Welsby (eds.),

Seventeenth Dynasties). Current Research, Future

The Fourth Cataract and Beyond, Proceedings ofthe

Prospects, Leuven, 2010, pp. 39-53.

12th International Conference for Nubian Studies,

STOCKHAMMER

2013

Stockhammer, P.W., "From Hybridity to Entanglement, from Essentialism to Practice", in W.P. van Pelt (ed.), Archaeology and Cultural Mixture. Archaeological Review from Cambridge

28.1, Cambridge, April 2013, pp. 11-28.

BMPES 1, Leuven, 2014, pp. 320-328.

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2

3

6

5

4

7

8

---

0

5cm

Fig. 1. 1: Pan Grave bowl with undefined black-top. Museum Gustavianum, SJE 47/52:5 (photo: A. de Souza, courtesy Museum Gustavianum and Uppsala University) ; 2: Pan-Grave bowl with defined black-top, from Debeira East. Museum Gustavianum, SJE 47/106:1 (photo: A. de Souza, courtesy Museum Gustavianum and Uppsala University); 3: Pan-Grave bowl with applied black-top and recessed rim from Mostagedda 3143. British Museum EA 63027 (photo: A. de Souza, courtesy British Museum); 4: Pan-Grave bowl from Rifeh Cemetery S with applied rim showing narrow line of uncoated surface between red and black zones (University College London, UC 17921); 5: Egyptian bowl with black-painted rim from Sedment. University College London, UC 18964 (photo: courtesy Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL); 6: Hybrid carinated bowl from Hu Cemetery Y (University College London, UC 19021) (photo: courtesy Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL); 7: Hybrid carinated bowl from Debeira East, SJE Site 170. Museum Gustavianum, SJE 170/14:1 (photo: A. de Souza, courtesy Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala University); 8: Hybrid beaker from Debeira East, SJE Site 65. Museum Gustavianum, SJE 65/0:10 (photo: A. de Souza, courtesy Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala University).

Birgit Schiller

Aegean Pottery in Nubia: Imports and Imitations

Introduction Nearly every New Kingdom excavation site in Egypt has yielded pottery from the Aegean, 1 from Minoan Crete 2 and from Mycenaean Greece. 3 This also holds true for excavation sites in Nubia. Inhabitants of settlements and forts that were founded by Egyptians were provided with products from the Aegean, and while the evidence is scarce for Minoan products in Nubia, Mycenaean pottery appears to have been in use quite frequently. This article aims to collect the imported vessels from the Aegean in Nubia, as this has not been done before. Not only will I present the original vessels, but also imitation vases, both manufactured locally in the Nile valley and imported from Syria or Cyprus. Mycenaean pottery was made of clay. Imitation vessels were made of clay too, but also in faience. 4 As faience is definitely non-Mycenaean, these vessels are easily recognizable as imitations. It is more difficult to tell whether clay imitation vessels were made in Egypt or in Syria. The ,first occurrence of Mycenaean pottery in Egypt dates to the reign of Akhenaten and from his reign onwards, Mycenaean pottery was imported on a constant basis. The last known Mycenaean-type vessel is a strainer jug that was found in Mendes 5 and was probably manufactured in Cyprus. 6 Original Mycenaean pottery in Egypt was produced in mainland Greece 7 and Cyprus. 8 Unfortunately, only a few sherds were tested. These research results may cautiously provide a picture of the following development: Mycenaean pottery from the Amarna Period was produced in the Argolid, on the Peloponnesos, and during the 19th Dynasty the vessels were still exported from the Mycenaean mainland but now from Cyprus as well. Finally, no Mycenaean pottery of the LH III C period has been found in Egypt so far. Although the above-mentioned strainer jug is of Mycenaean type, its decoration differs from the Mycenaean version. More than 1,300 sherds were first discovered in Tell el-Arnarna by William M.F. Petrie: PETRIE 1894; and the following excavations by the DOG: BORCHARDT 1913; see also HANKEY 1973. 2 · KEMP, MERRILLEES 1980. 1

1974.

3

BUCHHOLZ

4

The term faience is used here for convenience. The author is aware of the false use of the term. It should rather be termed Quarzkeramik, as used by Thilo Rehren in REHREN 1999, pp. 122-125. See also NICHOLSON, SHAW 2000, pp. 177-194. The jug dates to the reign of Ramesses VI: REDFORD 2010. Lists of find spots in Egypt and Nubia are published in: BucHHOLZ 1974; HELCK 1979; HANKEY 1993; HANKEY et al. 1992; SCHILLER forthcoming. CATLING et al. 1963; PAYNE 1966. Analyses of sherds from Pi-Ramesse prove that Mycenaean vessels were exported from Cyprus as well. See MouNTJOY, MoMMSEN

5 6 7 8

2001.

92

•

BIRGIT SCHILLER

Chronological Chart: 9 LM I Late Second Intermediate Period/early New Kingdom LM II Early 18th Dynasty LH III A Reign of Akhenaten to Ramses II LH III B End of 18th Dynasty to beginning of the 20th Dynasty

Minoan Pottery lmitations 10 So far, no original Minoan pottery has been found. This may reflect the historical situation in Egypt · · and Nubia during the Middle Kingdom. The oldest Minoan pottery11 in Egypt dates to MM III. This is fine Kamares ware, a table ware and unlike the later Mycenaean imports, it was not produced in bulk. Early excavators acknowledged the sherds, mainly from the Fayoum area, as original Minoan pottery, however after examinations it became apparent that some of them were made in Egypt. So, the amount of original Minoan pottery is potentially lower had all sherds been tested. In Middle Kingdom Egypt, imitations of MM III pottery were made. 12 Some sherds were identified in Kahun13 and a vessel in a tomb in Qubbet el-Hawa. 14 Imitations in Nubia that will be discussed below date, however, to the following chronological period, to LM I, to the end of the Second Intermediate Period and the beginning of the New Kingdom. It is possible that they were brought to Nubia from Egypt in the wake of its conquest. Tomb SA 17 in Aniba yielded an alabastron "of Cretan fabric decorated in creamy white and chocolate color, with bands of running spirals and marguerites" .15 In contrast to Woolley's evaluation, Arne Furumark identified the vessel as a Syrian imitation vessel.1 6 In the 1930s, Furumark conducted research on Minoan and Mycenaean·vessel types and shapes in which he examined vessel shapes and motifs in combination. He stated that the rosettes "are of a decidedly un-Aegean appearance" .17 He also claimed that the combination of spirals and rosettes was non-Minoan. 18 Furthermore, he pointed out that this combination of motifs appears on Syrian metal vases in Egyptian Tombs, e.g. Rekhmire, and he arrived at the tentative conclusion that this alabastron might have come from Syria. According to its shape, Furumark dated the vessel to LM I B. Barry Kemp and Robert Merrillees agree with his arguments, except for the origin of the vessel; they argue for an Egyptian imitation vessel as the "fabric and finish of the piece are quite unlike the painted wares current in Cyprus, Syria and Palestine". 19 Only an examination of the day can clarify the origin of the day vessel from Tomb SA 17.

9 This is based on WARREN, HANKEY 1989. 10 The term is used here to describe an object that was made outside of its place of origin in materials that can differ from the

11 12

13 14

15 16 17 18

19

material of the original object. The phenomenon of imitation in Egypt has been commented in MARCHAND 2011; BADER forthcoming and MARCHAND forthcoming. The work of Barry Kemp and Robert Merrillees from 1980 is still the main work on Minoan pottery in Egypt. Since then a few sherds have been found, see AsTON 2015. ASTON 2015. FITTON et al. 1999. EDEL 1980; BUCHHOLZ 1974, p. 454. WOOLLEY 1910, p. 47, fig. 31. FuRuMARK 1950, pp. 207-208. FuRUMARK 1950, p. 207. This does not hold true. ALM I A rhyton bears a zonal decoration with spirals and rosettes (within spirals). While it is predominately decorated in dark paint on light background, one zone is painted differently: in light (white) on dark: see KOEHL 2006, p. 161, no. 631. Therefore, there is no conclusive reason to argue against an Aegean origin. Both the white decoration on dark and the combination appear in the Aegean. KEMP, MERRILLEES 1980, p. 243.

AEGEAN POTTERY IN NUBIA! IMPORTS AND IMITATIONS

George Andrew Reisner also uncovered a sherd with a spiral motif The first person to publish it was William Stevenson Smith, 20 who recognized it as Minoan and dated it to LM I A. This sherd was later analysed with the petrographic thin section method and turned out to be of Nile day fabric, 21 but the shape of the vessel remained unclear. The running spiral may point to a sherd originally belonging to a smaller vessel like a cup or an alabastron.

Mycenaean Pottery and Imitation Vessels Find Spots

[tab. 1 and fig. 2]

All vessels and vessel fragments were found in Egyptian towns and fortresses or in contexts that show strong Egyptian influence, including the residences of the idnw n kJf, Amara West22 and Aniba23 as central places in Nubia and the military sites of Buhen24 and Askut. 25 Soldiers may have received Mycenaean products as part of their wages. 26 Inhabitants of walled towns that were founded by Egyptians obtained Mycenaean products as well: Sesebi, 27 Gezira Dabarosa, 28 Tabo, 29 Sai Island30 and Tombos. 31 Imitation vessels, namely rhyta and stirrup jars, came to light along with original vessels in settlements in Aniba, Soleb32 and in Sai Island33 as well as in a fortress area, Kuban. 34 The vessel fragments in Site 218 35 were found on the surface without context, while another day rhyton of unknown provenance is housed in the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum. 36

20 SMITH 1965, pp. 39-40. 21 HANKEY, LEONARD JR. 1998, p. 31. I have not seen this sherd and it was not classified after ARNow, BouRRIAu 1993. According to Hankey and Leonard Jr. it is housed at the University of Southampton. 22 FAIRMAN 1938; FAIRMAN 1939; FAIRMAN 1948; SHINNIE 1951; FAIRMAN 1975; SPENCER 2002, pl. 56-57. 23 STEINDORFF 1937. 24 Tomb J 20: JUDAS 2008, p. 520, fig. 5; RANDALL-MAclvER, WOOLLEY 1911, pl. 48, S XLI, no. 10593; Tomb H 10: JUDAS 2008, p. 520, fig. 4; RANDALL-MAclVER, WooLLEY 1911, pl. 48, S XLII, no. 10445; Tomb H 80: JUDAS 2008, p. 520, fig. 2. 25 BADAWY 1964; BADAWY 1966; SMITH 1995, p. 165. 26 This assumption is based on sources from Deir el-Medina, where oil was delivered to workmen: VALBELLE 1985; from the vessel sherds found in Pi-Ramesse in military areas, see MOUNTJOY, MoMMSEN 2001, p. 123; and in Zawyet Umm el-Rakham, see SNAPE 2002; THOMAS 2003. 27 FAIRMAN 1938; MERRILLEES, WINTER 1972; MoRKOT 1988. There is no final excavation report yet, but Valerie Bresson's MA-thesis on the houses in Sesebi is available: BRESSON 2005. 28 NORDSTROM 1962; HEWES 1964; ADAMS 2004, pp. 64-69; SCHILLER forthcoming. 29 MAYSTRE 1967-1968. 30 BuDKA 2011. 31 SMITH 2007, p. 5, pl. 3; SMITH 2007, pl. II. 32 SCHIFF GIORGINI 1961, pl. XXV; SCHIFF GIORGINI 1971, fig. 395. 33 BuDKA 2013; BuDKA 2014. 34 HANKEY 1993, p. 114; KoEHL 2006, no. E 2. 35 SAVE-SODERBERGH 1964, p. 31, pl. Vlb (right). 36 KOEHL 2006, p. 239, no. E 11.

•

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94

II

BIRGIT SCHILLER

Find spot

Amara West

Date

Vessel type

Stirrup jar

LH IIIA-B

6 fragments of different vessels

Flask

LH IIIA-B

1 fragment

unknown Aniba

Askut

Buhen -

Condition

2 fragments

Stirrup jar (FS 179)

LHIIIB

2 vessels in good condition and more than 3 fragments

Stirrup jar*

LHIIIB

Clay, 'Simple Style', possibly made in Egypt or Syria-Palestine

Alabastron*

LMIB

Clay, Egyptian or Syrian origin

Pilgrim flask (FS 189)

LH IIIA:2-B

1 fragment with spout and handles

Stirrup jar

LH IIIA:2-B

2 fragments of handle and body

Amphora

LH IIIA:2-B

1 fragment of upper part

Stirrup jar (FS 178)

LH IIIA-B

2 vessels: 1 complete

Globular flask LH IIIA:2/LH IIIB (FS 190)

1 vessel, complete

Gezira Dabarosa

unknown

LH IIIA-B

1 lower part fragment (not diagnostic)

Kerma

Sherd*

LMIA

· Clay, Egyptian origin

Kuban

Rhyton*

SIP/18th Dynasty

Faience

Necropolis 131

Stirrup jar

·LH IIIB

1 vessel, complete

Sai Island

Stirrup jar

New Kingdom

Fragment of the lower part

Rhyton* Sesebi

Clay Nile B, lower part

Stirrup jar

LH IIIA-B

11 fragments (and 3 other fragments?)

Alabastron (FS 94)

LH IIIA-B

1 fragment (and 3 other fragments?)

Jug (FS 120)

LH IIIA-B

1 fragment with shoulder, spout and the handle

unknown

3 fragments LH IIIC

Site 218

Stirrup jar*

Soleb

Stirrup jar*

Tabo

Stirrup jar

Tombos

Globular flask LH IIIA:2 (FS 190)

1 vessel, complete

LH IIIA:2

1 vessel, complete

Pilgrim flask (FS 189) Unknown provenance

Faience, in fragments, not complete In fragments, not complete

LHIIIB

Rhyton*

Tab. 1. Mycenaean pottery and imitations(*) in Nubia.

1 fragment ('false spout')

1 vessel

AEGEAN POTTERY IN NUBIA: IMPORTS AND IMITATIONS

Mycenaean Pottery: Vessel Shapes 37 Only a few vessels were sufficiently well preserved, and only a few fragments are diagnostic, that the vessel shape can be determined exactly.

Stirrup Jars Stirrup jars are the most common type of Mycenaean pottery and were discovered at every excavation site in Nubia where Mycenaean pottery came to light. Quite often, the vessels were found in a fragmentary condition and only the "false necks" are found. In most cases, the fragments do not allow the vessel shape to be determined, but fortunately, globular vessels are identifiable. Globular vessels can be subdivided into depressed (FS 179)38 or squat shapes (FS 180). 39 Other vessels are ovoid-biconical, ovoid-conical40 and angular-cylindrical41 in shape. Regarding measurement of the vessels, few vessels are small; for instance, the Aniba vessel from Tombs S 49 measures 10.8 cm in height with a diameter of 11.3 cm. 42 Stirrup jars are supposed to contain olive oil, which can be used for lighting or cooking. 43 It was also used by Mycenaeans to produce perfume. 44 Egyptian olive oil 45 had different qualities, eight of which are known from Deir el-Medina: nbb, 46 w X

2c 2c

NILE

ARA

.6 ..c

Fig. 1. Map of the middle Nile region and the Eastern Desert, between the Nile

Valley and the Red Sea. Triangles with Roman numerals indicate cataracts in the River Nile, the numbered circles places where Eastern Desert Ware has been found. 1: Bir Umm Fawakhir; 2: Quseir al-Qadim (Myos Hormos); 3: Bir Minih; 4: Marsa Nakari (Nechesia?); 5: Samut; 6: Mons Smaragdus; 7: Bayt al-Wali and Kalabsha North; 8: Kalabsha South and Wadi Qitna; 9: Sayala; 10: Wadi al-Arab; 11: Qasr Ibrim (Primis); 12: Berenike; 13: Hitan Rayan; 14: Shenshef (Hitan); 15: Qaria Mustafa 'Amr Gama'a; 16: Bir Abraq; 17: Bir Nurayet; 18: Tabot; 19: Kurgus; 20: Wadi al-Tereif; 21: Gabati (see tab. 4-6 for additional details).

Fig. 2. Photographs of four examples of Eastern Desert Ware (see catalogue for

additional details).

•

EDW4

EDW1

~I -\

EDW7

EDW6

/UI

----

-~

EDW9

EDW17

=

J EDW48

EDW 109

EDW 126

(t3

I EDW 132

EDW 127

-- 7

\CJ EDW 148

EDW 234

EDW 232

0

10cm SC.

1/3

Fig. 3. Reconstruction drawings of fourteen examples of Eastern Desert Ware (see catalogue for additional details).

297

298

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P 885

BE96 / Fig. 6-4/44

P669

BE96 / Fig. 6-4/40

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7 BE96 / Fig. 6-4/52

without scale Fig. 4. Examples of Late Meroitic to X-Group C-Ware (top-left), X-Group R-Ware (bottom-left), and 4th-5th centuries AD Egyptian

Red Slip A (top-right), Egyptian Red Slip B (bottom-right). (Modified from STROUHAL 1984, pp. 101-195; ToMBER 1998; ToMBER 1999.)

•

Century CE

Eastern Desert

Lower Nubia

Eastern Desert Ware Meroitic and X-Group Early Christian

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7.5 - 9.5 mm.

thickness

(thin to thick)

(proportionally thin)

Nile clay, with sand and organic temper, Fabric

soft and crumbly due to firing at low temperatures

Fig. 5. The characteristics of Nubian hand-made wares (Family D) in the 3rd-9th centuries AD (modified from ADAMS 1967/1968, p. 37). The decorations are likely skeuomorphs of basketry or textiles . The period in which Eastern Desert Ware occurs in the archaeological record is indicated at the top.

299

300

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--- 7

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Not to the same scale Fig. 6. The comparison of Eastern Desert Ware retrieved at various sites (left) revealed obvious similarities with H-Ware (right), previously identified in the Nile Valley (modified from BARNARD 2008, p. 24, figs. 2-4; STROUHAL 1984, pp. 101-195).

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Fig. 7. Micrographs of the fabric of selected Eastern Desert Ware sherds in cross-polarized light (XPL, crossed Nichols), showing a large variety of poorly sorted, angular inclusions, including minerals, rock fragments and metal oxides.

0 .....

302

•

HANS BARNARD

1000 - , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,

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Fig. 8. Top: Summary of the results ofICP-MS fingerprinting of Eastern Desert Ware. Comparison of the abundance of samarium (Sm, on the x-axis) and cobalt (Co, on the y-axis) indicates three production areas. The lines do not have statistical meaning but encompass sherds found in the same area. Bottom: Summary of organic residue analysis of Eastern Desert Ware. Comparison of common mono-unsaturated fatty acids (on the x-axis) and common odd-chained fatty acids (on the y-axis) indicates that most vessels were used for cereal-based foodstuffs (such as porridge, stews or beer).

William Y. Adams

The Aswan Wares in Nubia, AD 1~1500

of Aswan ware were excavated and described at least as far back as Petrie's time. 1 So far as I know, however, I was the first to recognize that these vessels belong to a very distinctive and long-lived family, comprising more than a dozen individual wares. I first mentioned the group, very briefly, in my unpublished Field Manual of Christian Nubian Pottery "\\Jares, 2 distributed to a number of expeditions in 1963. My first extended discussion, though without technical details, was in Kunst und Geschichte Nubiens. 3 I did not however provide full technical descriptions and illustrations until Ceramic Industries of Medieval Nubia. 4 Nearly all the discussion that follows here is drawn from the latter source. I have to add that my data are derived overwhelmingly from the study of sherd collections, for intact vessels were never buried in Christian graves, and they are rarely found in any other contexts. Most of the vessel forms I describe and illustrate I have never seen in complete form. Although my studies were based entirely on material found in Nubia, it was evident from the start, primarily on the basis of fabric, that the Aswan wares were not Nubian products. The exact place of their manufacture has never been identified, but I attributed them to an origin at or near Aswan because of their super-abundance in the kom at Elephantine and the nearby St. Simeon Monastery, and I named the family accordingly:5 Nearly all later scholars have followed me in this, although J.W Hayes 6 has suggested an origin in the Theban area, where they are also abundant. However, because of their still greater abundance at Aswan, as well as their very extensive importation into Nubia, I continue to prefer an Aswan origin. Neither the beginning nor the end dates of manufacture for the Aswan wares is certainly attested The earliest specimens known to me came from the Roman deposits at Qasr Ibrim (ca.30 BC -150 AD),7 but I have not excavated in any deposits of earlier age. No intact specimens have come from any site dated after AD 1500, but sherds of the unslipped utility Ware U6 were scattered all through the post-Christian deposits at Qasr Ibrim, right up to the time of abandonment in AD 1812. Since this is an exceptionally hard and durable ware, however, it is possible that these sherds were merely survivals .

1

NDIVIDUAL SPECIMENS

1910, pp. 129-131.

. 1

PETRIE

· 2

ADAMS n.d. 1.

3

ADAMS 1970, pp. 118-120.

4

ADAMS 1986, PP· 525-560.

See now BALLET et al. 1991, pp. 140-142; BALLET, VICHY 1992, pp. 113-116; Roozrnwicz 2005, pp. 43-50; PELOSCHEK et al. 2016. 6 HAYES 1972, p. 387. 7 ADAMS n.d. 2, pp. 44-50. D. Aston (1999, p. 7) suggests production in the Third Intermediate Period and perhaps earlier. 5

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The most clearly distinguishing factor of the Aswan wares is their fine, hard, dense paste. Its color in the earlier wares is usually dull to bright pink; in the later wares it is more commonly buff to grey. Temper at all periods consists of highly abundant, very small particles of black, white, and red material. Hardness of the paste consistently exceeds that in any of the Nubian wares, and this quality allows for generally very thin vessel walls.

Classification The full inventory of the Aswan wares as currently known to me consists of 16 wares, which fall into a succession of four ware groups, each of which evolved out of the preceding. Each group includes one or more red or pink wares, one of more white or cream wares, and one or more utility wares. The complete classificatory scheme follows: 8 FAMILY A. ASWAN WARES

Ware Group A. l Graeco-Roman Wares R30 .. Ordinary red ware 9 R37. Polished red ware W24 . .Ordinary cream ware W32. Fine cream ware Ware Group A.ll Byzantine wares R 4. Polished red ware R14. Decorated pink ware W3. Cream ware U2. Pink udlity ware \%re Group A.Ill Early Islamic wares R12. Red decorated ware Rl3. Plain red ware W22. White ware US. Red utility ware Ware Group A.IV. Medieval wares Rl3. Plain red ware (unchanged from Group A.III) R24. Decorated red ware W12. White ware U6. Grey utility ware Developmental relationships among the wares are shown in fig. 1.

8

9

In creating the typology, wares were numbered in the order of recognition. Therefore, numbers do not follow any logical sequence. See ADAMS 1986, pp. 525-560. Name of each ware begins with the name of the ware group, omitted here for simplicity.

THE ASWAN WARES IN NUBIA, AD I-I500

Wares Group A.I: The Graeco--Roman Wares In Nubia, these vessels were imported chiefly from 30 BC or earlier until about AD 475, with some vessels continuing in use until about 550. The wares have been found fairly abundantly in Lower Nubia, and occasionally also in the Batn el-Hajjar. In Egypt they were abundant at least as far north as Ashmunein, with some specimens finding their way as far as Alexandria.

Ware R30: Graeco.-Roman Ordinary Red Ware This is far and away the most abundant of the Graeco-Roman wares, and occurs in a truly extraordinary variety of forms of all sizes (figs. 2-4). Most vessels have a rather thin wash, varying from dull pink to pale red or red-orange. Decoration in Style A.IA (fig. 5) is fairly common in large vessels, rare in small ones. The designs are mostly very reduced and stylized variations of the vine wreath. These vessels were buried fairly commonly in Meroitic graves, then with rapidly diminishing frequency in graves of the Ballafia ("X-Group") period. Amphora sherds are also abundant in townsites.

Ware R37: Graeco.-Roman Polished Red Ware A very uncommon ware having a polished red-orange slip and decoration in black and, occasionally, cream, Style A.IB (not illustrated). The only recognized forms are wide bowls and plates. They have be.e n found almost entirely in the form of sherds, in late Meroitic and early Ballafia townsites from Qasr lbrim northward. A very few intact vessels have also been found in early Ballafia graves. Distribution in Egypt is unknown.

Ware W24: Graeco.-Roman Ordinary Cream Ware A rare variant of Ware R30 having a thin cream wash that sometimes does not extend all the way to the base. Vessels are mostly medium-sized forms: lekythoi, jugs, jars, and small amphorae. Decoration with plain body stripes is common; Style A.IA occasional. Specimens have been found mainly in Meroitic graves. ·

Ware W32: Graeco . .Roman Fine Cream Ware "Fine" is actually a misnomer, as surfaces are notably gritty. The name was bestowed because the only known vessel forms are small bowls, having a dull cream wash shading to buff or tan. Interiors are nearly always finely corrugated; exteriors also occasionally. Decoration in plain body stripes is usual. The ware has been found entirely in the form of sherds, mostly from Qasr lbrim northward.

Group A.II: The Byzantine Wares These wares as a group are distinguished from their predecessors by two factors: the finer quality of their finish and the great variety of footed bowl forms, largely absent earlier. The forms seem clearly to have been inspired by North African red wares. 10 The period of their importation into Nubia coincides closely with the Ballafia ("X-Group") and Early Christian periods, AD 400-850, with some continued use until AD 950. 10

See

HAYES

1972.

II

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WILLIAM Y. ADAMS

The vessels have been found almost entirely in Lower Nubia, except for wine amphorae of Ware U2, which traveled as far upriver as the Fourth Cataract. In Egypt they were common at least as far north as Luxor. The overwhelming bulk of material known to me has come from habitation sites, since the burial of objects in graves ended with the coming of Christianity.

Ware R4: Byzantine Polished Red Ware This is very much the most abundant ware in Group A.II, except for amphorae of Ware U2 .. It occurs almost entirely in the form of footed bowls (fig. 6), having a dark red slip which sometimes covers only the upper part of the exterior. Painted decoration is absent, but some have a fine collar groove below the rim, and · a few have a stamped design, usually a cross, in the bottom.

Ware Rl4: Byzantine Decorated Pink Ware A very rare, thin-walled ware known only from fragments of small, plain bowls. They have a thin pink wash or no wash at all, and decoration in concentric black stripes, very occasionally with white secondary stripes. AJl known finds are from domestic refuse in Lower Nubia.

Ware ·W3: Byzantine Cream Ware An 4ncommon ware used almost entirely for wide bowls and plates, mostly large. The vessels have a thick, hard, highly polished slip, cream to pale yellow in color. Decoration in the distinctive Style A.II (fig. 7), usually in both black and red, is usual, applied mostly to plate and bowl rims. These vessels are known in Nubia only from fragmentary finds in Lower Nubian habitations. Their distribution in Egypt has not been determined.

Ware U2: Byzantine Pink Utility Ware This ware is in most respects a continuation of Ware R30 in Group A.I; indeed, body sherds of the two wares usually cannot be distinguished. However, Ware U2 is now used almost exclusively for wine amphorae plus a very few small, unslipped bottles, jugs and jars. Due to the Nubians' taste for wine, amphora sherds are super-abundant in townsites; a few intact vessels have also been found in Ballana graves. Amphorae of the Ballana period usually have level surfaces, while those of the Christian period have gentle, all-over ribbing. Ware U2 has been found in Nubia at least as far south as the Fourth Cataract, and in Egypt as far north as Luxor, though not in great numbers.

Group A.III: The Early Islamic Wares This is a relatively short-lived group, transitional between the better defined Groups A.II and A.IV. The wares in most respects are close to those of Group A.IV, but certain unusual and easily recognized nuances of decoration (Styles A.IIIA and A.IIIB) make separate designation useful for dating purposes. These wares came at a time when pottery importation into Nubia was at a minimum (ca.850-950 AD); consequently they are known only from very limited sherd collections from Lower Nubia. Actual beginning and ending dates of manufacture are uncertain.

THE ASWAN WARES IN NUBIA, AD 1~1500

Ware R12: Early Islamic Red Decorated Ware A very uncommon ware used mainly for vases and bowls. They have a very dark red slip, and decoration in both black and white in the distinctive Style A.IIIB (not illustrated), which exhibits some features alike of Ballan.a, Early Christian, and Classic Christian design in the Nubian wares (Family N).

Ware R13: Islamic Plain Red Ware An obvious outgrowth of Ware R4 in the preceding period, but appearing in somewhat different forms (fig. 8) and with coarser finish. It continues unchanged through the following period, and is therefore included in both Groups A.III and A.IV. The vessels generally have a thin red wash that does not entirely mask the gritty texture of the surfaces. Painted decoration is absent, but repeating chisel impressions are common on bowl exteriors.

Ware W22: Early Islamic White Ware A very uncommon ware used mostly for plain and footed bowls and vases. It is distinguished entirely by its unusual decoration, in which primary decoration is in red with secondary filling in black (Style A.IIIA; fig. 9); the reverse of what is found in all other white wares. The designs are otherwise largely the same as those in the succeeding Ware Wl2, but are usually more carefully executed.

Ware US: Early Islamic Red Utility Ware A very thin-walled ware found mainly in undecorated cooking pots and occasional amphorae. The vessels differ from those in the succeeding Ware U6, Grnup A.IV, only in having a medium to dark red .slip.

Group A.IV: The Medieval Islamic Wares These wares appeared suddenly in Nubia, in enormous numbers, around the year AD 950, at the same time when production ceased at the Nubian factory at Faras, 11 and for a century and more they wholly dominated the Nubian pottery market. The Nubian wares began a comeback around AD 1100 and recovered most of the market after AD 1200, but the Aswan wares continued, with declining popularity, until around AD 1350. The finer wares disappeared at that point, but importation of the utility Ware U6 continued until · at least AD 1500, and possibly later. The outstanding characteristic of these wares is their evidence of rapid mass-production, apparent in both forms and decoration. In finishing the vessels, small excrescences of clay were not always removed, and stringcut marks on the bases were often not obliterated. Decoration in both black and red was usual in Wares W12 and R24, but was applied with such haste there is often a very poor "register" between black outlining and red filling. ·One colleague of mine compared a vessel of Ware Wl2 to a Kandinski painting. Examples of Group A.IV wares were highly abundant in Lower Nubia; considerably less so farther south. They have been found entirely in domestic refuse, except that small bowls of Ware Wl2 were very often used as lamps, both in house and on graves. Specimens of Ware Wl2 have been reported from various places in Egypt, but their frequency is unknown.

11

See especially ADAMS 2005, p. 89.

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Ware R13: Islamic Plain Red Ware This ware continues unchanged from the previous group, except that vessels show increasing signs of careless finish.

Ware R24: Medieval decorated red ware This is a very rare variant of the common Ware Wl2, described below, differing only in that the color scheme is reversed; the slip is a pale, dull red-orange, with primary decoration in black and secondary in white. The only definitely identified specimens are plain and footed bowls.

Ware W12: Medieval White Ware This was for a century and more the most common light colored table ware in Nubia, almost wholly replacing the indigenous products. It occurs in a very wide variety of vessel forms, of which the most common are bowls and vases (figs. 10-11). Very small bowls were very commonly used as lamps, both in houses and on grave superstructure. The vessel surfaces are nearly always rough and gritty, as the slip or wash is not thick enough to mask this quality. The most common slip color is a rather dirty cream, but individual vessels may shade to .buff, tan, pink, or medium grey when over.fired. Decoration in Style A.IV (figs. 12-14) is usual in larger vessels but rare in smaller ones.

Ware U6: Medieval Grey Utility Ware .This hard, thin-walled ware provided most of Nubia's cooking pots in the later Christian periods, supplanting the hand-made vessels (Ware Hl) of earlier times. By far the most abundant forms are globular pots, but some smaller bowls, vases, and lamps were also made. A good many of the pots have been found intact because they were often buried in house floors, to serve as storage receptacles. The pots usually have a kind of grey""brown wash which might have been meant to simulate iron. Unlike all the other wares in Group A.IV, Ware U6 continued to be imported in abundance right to the end of the Christian period, and possibly beyond. Though most abundant in Lower Nubia, considerable numbers were traded as far south as the Fourth Cataract.

Discussion On their home ground, the Aswan wares have received only recently the attention they deserve. 12 There has been relatively little attention to townsite archaeology in post-pharaonic Egypt, and of course the graves of Roman and later times do not usually contain offerings. As a result our information comes almost entirely from Nubia, and overwhelmingly from sherds in all the groups except A.I. It is certainly not fully comprehensive for any period, and is decidedly insufficient for periods A.II and especially A.III, when importation was limited. Abundance or scarcity of any ware is not of course a measure of the volume of production, but of trade.

12 Large corpora are henceforth available for the New Kingdom to the Byzantine period: GEMPELER 1992; AsTON

1999; Ronzrnwicz 2005. See also the last results of the work on clay sources made within the frame of the Aswan-Syene Project in PELOSCHEK et al. 2016.

THE ASWAN WARES IN NUBIA, AD 1~1500

Production While the actual manufacturing site or sites for the Aswan wares have not been discovered, evidence from other sites, both ancient and modern, leaves no doubt that the wares were produced in factories, staffed by full-time specialists. At these places most probably several kilns were in production at once, again as suggested by other known sites. 13 There may possibly have been more than one factory operating simultaneously, though the extent of standardization, at any given time, makes this unlikely. On the other hand it is possible and even probable that there was a succession of factories over time, as there was in Nubia, where none of the known factories remained in production for more than about three centuries. Reasons for their abandonment are not definitely attested in any case, but it seems probable that exhaustion of local fuel supplies was an important factor. In Nubia, each new factory introduced new vessel forms and decoration. If any such thing happened at Aswan, it would most probably have been around AD 850, when Group A.III made its appearance. At this time there were not only new forms and decoration but a minor change in the fabric, with more sand in the temper. Evidence of rapid mass production seems clearly to imply production of the Aswan wares on the fast wheel, introduced in Egypt possibly in Ptolemaic times. 14 Firing was beyond doubt done in double-chamber, updraught kilns, in use in Egypt since early pharaonic times. The average diameter of the kilns at several Nubian sites was between 160 and 200 cm; 15 diameters might have been limited by the size of the arch needed to support the kiln floor. Very much larger kilns were in use at Qena in the recent past, but in these cases the floors may have been supported on steel beams. Firing at Qena, where a single kiln could contain several hundred vessels, typically continued over three days. The firing period might have been shorter to Aswan, where smaller kilns were probably in use.

Distribution At modern Qena, vessels were collected by jobbers directly at the kiln site, and were brought away by strings of donkeys. There is no reason to suppose that the procedure was any different in earlier times and places; Some vessels would undoubtedly be delivered or resold to local retailers, but the largest number would surely have been taken to the riverbank and sold to boat captains, for transport to more distant regions. Before modern times, bulk goods did not travel in any other way than by boat, in either Egypt or Nubia. In Nubia the Nile was readily navigable, by vessels of all sizes, as far upriver as the Second Cataract. This would undoubtedly account for the abundance of the Aswan wares, at times, in Lower Nubia. The Second Cataract however could be negotiated only by small craft, and at the season of the high Nile, and this would account for the scarcity of the Aswan wares and most other imports in the Batn el-Hajjar and beyond. Transshipping from large to small vessels would surely have added to the cost of the products. In the largest Nubian communities, like Qasr Ibrim, Gebel Adda, and Faras, there were probably pottery retailers. Indeed, commercial stocks of pottery were found at two localities at Qasr Ibrim, although neither included Aswan vessels. At smaller communities, it may be that the boats with their load of pots stopped here and there at villages along the river, to allow individuals to buy directly from the boats. This kind of trade was common in the Dongola Reach in the recent past, where large trading vessels plied among the villages.

13 14

15

Cf. especially ADAMS 1964 and ADAMS 1986, pp. 13-25. 1962, p. 369. Cf. ADAMS 1962 and ADAMS 2005, pp. 81-93.

LUCAS, HARRIS

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WILLIAM Y. ADAMS

Consumption The pottery used by the medieval Nubians falls into five categories, each of which moved in a different market.

Table wares They were small to medium-sized vessels used mainly for the serving of foods and liquids. The most abundant by far were plain and footed bowls, though cups and goblets were also common in the Meroitic and Ballan.a periods. The Aswan wares before about AD 1000 did not have a large share of this market, which was well supplied by the Nubian potters. After that date for a century and more they virtually monopolized it, as the only known factory in Lower Nubia, at Paras, went out of production. Nubian wares made an increasing comeback after 1100, but the Aswan products - especially Ware W12, remained popular until around 1250.

Prestige and display wares During times of limited importation (especially in the time of Group A.II), almost any kind of imported vessel might have conferred a certain prestige just because of its scarcity. For example, Nubian-made goblets were super-abundant in the Ballan.a period, but there were also a few vessels of the same form in Aswan Ware R30. These would not have been functionally superior in any way to the Nubian products; they were presumably purchased just for the sake of prestige. The same would have been true of certain footed bowl forms in the Early Christian period. Some decorated vessel forms have to be identified as display wares simply because we cannot imagine any practical use for them. This was true above all of vases, abundant in the Classic and later Christian wares, but also found in small numbers in Aswan Ware W12. These vessels never show any recognizable sign of use, as for example do decorated bowls.

Mortuary ware These constitute a special class of prestige wares, imported specifically for inclusion as funerary offerings. They consist very largely of decorated jars and amphorae, which have been found almost exclusively in Meroitic graves, alongside far more numerous Nubian products. Burial of pottery with the dead continued in Ballan.a · times, but Aswan vessels were now very rarely included. The practice ceased altogether with the coming of Christianity.

Lamps The small and windowless Nubian houses certainly required illumination after dark, and would have been improved by it at other times as well. Ceramic lamps were used in considerable abundance at all times, and especially in the Christian period when they came to be used votively both in churches and on graves. Before Classic Christian times the great majority of lamps were Nubian-made, but in the Ballan.a period, especially, there were also certain elaborate, mold-made specimens that I have assigned, tentatively, to Aswan Ware Group A.II. From the later Classic Christian period onward, the market for lamps was virtually monopolized by very small, plain bowls of Aswan Wares W12 and U6, which were used both domestically and votively. At

THE ASWAN WARES IN NUBIA, AD 1-1500

Meinarti caches of from two to five of these vessels were sometimes found buried under house floors, evidently in anticipation of their future use. 16

Transport wares These were imported not for their own sake but for their contents. In the Meroitic and earlier Ballaiia periods we find a number of very small vessels - lekythoi and oil bottles - that were presumably containers for perfumes and oils. These vessels are nearly always in Aswan Ware R30. The forms were not copied by the Nubian potters, because perfumes and oils were not locally produced. However, far and away the most abundant transport wares were wine amphorae, and the great bulk of these came from Aswan, which was famous since early times for its vintages. 17 Already numerous in Ware R30 in Meroitic times, they became virtually a flood in Ware U2 in the Ballaiia period, when at Qasr lbrim the Aswan amphorae comprised something like 10% of the entire sherd complex. 18 Importation on a considerable scale continued through the Early Christian period, then virtually ceased.

Technical, economic and cultural considerations

Technical factors The Aswan products were at all times superior to the Nubian products in one respect: they were very much harder and more durable. This would not have been a matter of great importance in the case of the table wares or the mortuary wares, but it was a major consideration in the case of the larger utility wares. It surely accounts for the dominance of utility Ware U6 in utility market from Classic Christian times onward: At the same time the Aswan products were not recognizably superior in any other respect; their impor!ation was governed by other than purely intrinsic considerations.

Economic factors The Aswan wares were commercial products that moved in a competitive market. In Nubia they had to compete at all times with the local products, both wheel- and hand-made. Other things being equal, importation costs would presumably have put them at a certain competitive disadvantage, and this is the rriost likely explanation for their scarcity (amphorae excepted) before the Classic Christian period. Importation costs could nevertheless have been offset, at least to some extent, by economies of scale achieved by mass production. This may be in part the explanation of the abundance of the Group A.IV wares after the middle of the Classic Christian times. The sudden appearance and abundance of the Group A.IV wares (particularly Ware W12), virtually capturing the table ware market from the Nubian products, is nevertheless far from fully understood. The contrast between the Classic Christian Nubian wares and their Aswan successors could hardly be more extreme. The Nubian vessels very elaborately finished and finely decorated, exhibiting a degree of quality equaled only in the Meroitic wares, 19 while Ware W12 with its careless finish and slapdash decoration represents the nadir

2001, p. 86. 1966, p. 279. ADAMS 1986, p. 630. See AnAMs 1986, pp. 485-497.

16 ADAMS 17 ADAMS 18 19

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of quality among the Aswan wares. The Aswan products made their appearance just when the great Nubian factory at Paras went out of production. 20 Did the much cheaper imports drive the Paras factory out of business, or did they just flood into the vacuum created by its disappearance? Nubian decorated wares (Groups N.V and N.VI), from unknown kiln sites, began to reappear around AD 1100. They remained scarce however until a century later, and during that time the Aswan wares retained a large share of the table ware market. The Nubian wares however became once again abundant after 1200, and this may be why the Aswan wares, except utility Ware U6, ceased to be imported after about 1250. Whether their manufacture in Egypt also ceased at that time is not known, at least to me. At times the Aswan wares were also in competition with other imports. This was true in particular in the Ballafia period, when the wares of Groups A.I and A.II had to compete with a mass-produced and very · . carelessly slipped rriud ware vessels (Ware R25) which were abundant both in Egypt and in Nubia. 21 These latter would surely have been cheaper than the rather nicely finished vessels of Group A.II, which perhaps accounts for the scarcity of the latter. During the same period a particular form of light-colored amphora, manufactured in the eastern Mediterranean 22 (Ware U3) was imported in very large quantities, though it does not seem to have diminished the demand for the Aswan vintage. Unlike the Aswan amphorae of Ware U2, the Ware U3 vessels were very commonly buried in graves. 23 In the Late Christian period a variety of glazed wares of Lower Egyptian manufacture began to appear in small numbers. 24 The vessels were nearly all small bowls, almost certainly purchased simply for prestige. As such they did offer some significant competition to the Aswan products. 25

Religious factors Religious factors affected the Nubian pottery market in both direct and indirect ways. The most important one was a consequence of the introduction of Christianity, around AD 600. The Nubians like all other Christians embraced the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul, and accordingly ceased to bury offerings with their dead. Consequently the market for mortuary wares, including Aswan products, disappeared overnight. There was a slight compensation in the newly created market for votive lamps, which after the Classic Christian period was entirely supplied by Aswan vessels. The importation of amphorae was affected, indirectly, by religious factors. The Ptolemies had converted the Egyptians from a nation of beer-drinkers to a nation of wine-drinkers, and the Nubians followed suit. Wine consumption, as indicated by amphora numbers, was extensive in the Meroitic period, and then became a virtual flood in the Ballafia period. It slacked off somewhat in the Early Christian period, then ceased .altogether. This did not betoken any lessening of the Nubians' taste for wine, for after the end of importation they tried, unsuccessfully, to produce their own vintage. 26 Religious decorative motifs were fairly common on the Nubian wares from Classic Christian times onward, but their absence on the Aswan wares does not seem in any way to have diminished the market.

2005, p. 89. 1986, pp. 468-469. Mainly known as LRA 1: PEACOCK, WILLIAMS 1991, pp. 185-187, class 44; PIERI 2005, pp. 69-85. Cf. ADAMS 1986, p. 580. ADAMS 1986, pp. 585-597. See notably WILLIAMS 2015. ADAMS 1966, p. 282.

20 ADAMS 21 22 23 24 25 26

ADAMS

THE ASWAN WARES IN NUBIA, AD 1-1500

Aesthetic factors? While technical quality was always the strong suit of the Aswan wares, aesthetic quality was the strong suit of the Nubian wares. Except during the Ballan.a phase (Ware Group N.II) they were always more elaborately and more carefully decorated than their Aswan counterparts. How, then, to account for the sudden abundance of the sloppily decorated Aswan Ware W12? Cheapness and, for a time, lack of competition might be the whole answer, but could there also have been a reaction against the nicety of the earlier style, just as, in modern painting, impressionism and abstraction were reactions against the earlier academic tradition? Probably not, since the Nubian wares, when they resumed production, made no effort to imitate this particular quality. I mention it only as a remote possibility.

Final thoughts Our knowledge of the Aswan wares, particularly in Groups A.II and A.III, is far from comprehensive. In Nubia, however, virtually all the sites that have yielded Aswan vessels are now under water. However, ·new studies are underway in Aswan, led by the Swiss-Egyptian Joint Mission which carries out both detailed excavations and ceramic analyses. 27

27 For the excavations, see http://swissinst.ch/html/forschung_neu.html and older reports; for ceramics, PELOSCHEK et

al. 2016.

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WILLIAM Y. ADAMS

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