NAHAL TILLAH REEDDECORATED POTTERY: ASPECTS EARLY oF BRONZEAGE IB CERAMICPRODUCTIONI AND EGYPTIANCOUNTERPARTS

Eric Kansa, stan Hendrickx, Thomas E. Levy and Edwin c.M. van ilen Brink

During Ram Gophna's long career as at'r archaeologistworking in Israel, he has developeda propensityfor using relatively small data sets to tackle large problems of broatl scholarly interest. His survey work, carried out ahnost single-handedly along the coastal plain and northern Negev regions,has provided a crucial and reliable index concerning the long-term processesof settlernent 'Eret7 in thoseparts of Israel'from the Chalcolithic through the Persianperiocls.Long ago, Gophna realized the importance of docuruentingthese sites in light of the rapid buitding and developntent proiects that have takenpLacein thoseregions. It was during his service as district archaeologistin the Negev,that Ram's colleaguesDan Gazit and JoeYehezkel, identffied the site of 'En Besor,located along the northern Negev coastal plain. It was Rant who appreciated the great potential of this tiny site (ca. 0.4 acres) as a keyfor understanding the nature of interaction between southern CcLnaan and the earliestEgyptianstate(Dynasties - I ). From I970 to 1983,Gophnacarried out a series 0 of 'En sntall scale excavationsat Besor which drew th.eissue of Egyptian - Canaanite interaction into the international scholarLy debate concenting ancient 'WorLd Systems'and the role of 'Core Periphery'modelson social evolution.t During the recentexcavations Nahal Tittah and.the Halif at Terrace,Rant Gophna was a welconteand important visitor to the site. His long-term interest in the nature of the earliest Egyptian - Canaanite interaction provided an important sounding board.for our ideas concerning theproblems in our researcharea. In addition to hisscholarly discussions with oLff tean':,the co-director of the Nahal Tillah project, tlte late David Alon, and Ram woulil sittg operatic duets during the hot afternoon hours of pottery washing and fi.nds processing.It is witlt great respectand affection that we dedicate this paper to professor Goplma. Reed Decorated Pottery at Nahal Tillah / The Halif Terrace Introduction In the joint 1994-1996University of California, San Diego / Hebrew Union College Nahai Tillah RegionalArchaeologicalResearch Project,excavators recoveredseveralsherdsofunique Early Bronze Ib pottery.This project focusedgreatattentionon documentingthe Early Bronze Ib Egyptianpresence in the Southern Levant through excavationsof the Halif Terrace. Excavations in these three field seasonsuncovered broad exposuresof Early Bronze Ib architecture.With this architecture,these excavationsrecovered large quantities of locally produced Egyptian and local SouthernLevantine styled pottery, lithics, ground stone artifacts,and some imported Egyptian vesselsand signs of buteaucraticactivity such as seal impressions(Levy et al. 1997 Among thesefinds is a type of S. r

cf. Algaze 1993;Levy and van den Brink,2002.

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potterymadewith locally avarlable claysthat displaysmodeleddecoration reminiscent horizontal of rows of reedsor basketry. thrsreason, term this potterytype "reed-ware". will be discussed. For we As the ancient inhabitants of the Halif Terace (Nahal Tillah Silo Site) probtrbly prociLrced this reedware as a local variantof an Egyptian lidded vesseltype. Such liddecivessels occasionally appearin morttlary, temple as well as settiementcontexts from Egypt between the 4'r'and 3'dmillennia BCE. The Halif Terracereed-waremarks the first pr-rblished finds of such lidded vesselsliom the Southern Levant.Our replicationexperiments demonstrate that,despitethe apparent elaboration and expertise of executionin the reed-ware,production of this decorationrequiresno complex procedures and Iittle investmentin sLr1lor time. Chronological Considerations Excavations recovered most of the reed decoratedpottery fragments from Stratum II (late Early BronzeIb, circa3300-3000BCE) contexts. minority of reeddecorated A potterycomesfrom Stratum I contextsat Nahal Tillah. However Stratum I is comprisedof heavily disturbedand reworked topsoil deposits, and includesfinds rangingfrom recentperiocls, the Romano-Byzantine to penod, the Iron Age, and mixed Early BronzeI and Chalcolithicperiods.Therefore,littie chlonologicalsignificance can be ascribedto the reed-decorated pottery recovered from stratum I. As stated, most of the reed decorateclpottery came from Stratum II contexts at Nahal Tillah. Stratum II contexts also yielded the vast majority of Nahal Tillah's Egyptian styled finds- both locally produced in the Southern Levant and bona ficle imports from Egypt. These results ftrrther confirm the presence both loca1lyproducedand importedE-eyptian of styledfinds (seeDessel,1991 ; Alon andYekutieli, 1995; and greatly expandthe sampleof this alien materialalreadyklown from the Halif Tenace. Unfortunately,the close resemblance the locally producedEgyptian styled of pottery to pottery from Egypt itself hamperedthe identitrcation of imported Egyptian pottery. Since this studyrelied on visual inspectionof fabrics, sometimes distinctionsbetweenlocal and imported the Egyptianstyledpotterywere subtle.Therefore,potteryanalysisutilizecla systemto ratethe certainty of fabric identitrcations sherdsconsidered potentialimports (seeTable 1). In this analysis, of as the "probable marl" refers to fabrics where identification is less certain. category Only lessthan3Vaof the total Egyptian styled assembiage from Nahal Tillah was apparentlyimported. Of these, al1 of the Egyptian imported vesselsidentified have ciosed forms. These forms include cylindricaljars. wine jars, storagejars, smail "bag-shaped" jars, and small globularjars. Wine jar sherdsoften seemto haveNile alluvial fabrics (but more exampleswere apparentlylocally produced, havin-qloess rich fabrics and small limestone grits).2It needs to be noted that such Nile alluvial fabrics need not indicate a Delta origin for these vessels,since pottels of this period usecialluvial clays sources Upper Egypt as well (e.g.Friedman,1996:Fig. 8). The wine-jar sherdsalso tend to in have darker, brownish coloration. In contrast,cylindlical jars uniformly have very hard (stone-like) fabrics typical for marl c1ays. Thesevessels often have a yellowish gray color (almostgreen).

2 For a local rmitationof a TypeIII winejar uncovered at Lod, seevan denBrink in press: Fig. 19.5:2. 194

Table l. Fabrics oJ irnported Egyptian pottery Stratum Number Egyptian ImportedDiagnostic Sherds 7o of Imported Sherdsof Clear Marl Fabrics
9. nf Tmnnrter'l

7oof Imported Sherds Niie of Aliuvial/Silt Fabrics

Sherdsof Probable Marl Fabrics

I (918 total analyzed diagnosticsherds, of which I9Vo are Egyptianstyled) 28.6Vo 42.97o 28.6Va

IIA (i238 total analyzed diagnosticsherds, of which ISVoare Egyptianstyled) t6.1Vc 7o 66.7 16.l7o

IIA,ts (416 total analyzed diagnosticsherds, of which 34Voare Egyptian styled) 25.}Vo
I5.jVo

0.)Va

IIb (3948 total analyzed diagnostic sherds, of which 42Voarc Egyptianstyled)

28

35.7 Va

50.jVo

14.3Vo

IVIII (184total analyzed diagnosticsherds, of which 4Voarc Egyptian styled) 50.jVa 50.}Vo 0.07o

ilCiIIIA ( 1195 total analyzed diagnosticsherds, of which 8Voare Egyptian styled) 0.jVo 50.07a 50.07o

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The imported Egyptian pottery helps establishthe chronologicalposrtion of Stratum II at the Halif Terrace. of the Egyptian styled pottery recovered A11 fiom StratumII ciearly parallelsNaqada IIIB-C 1 (chronologrcal terminologyafterHendrickr 1989,1996,19991 ceramrcs recovered Egypt. in The imported cylindrrcal jars made of mari clays provide important chronological markers.Those recoveredat Nahal Tillah had very smooth and polished surface and were ciecorated the neck with ar fine incrsions characteristic the NaqadaIIIB period(Petrie'stypesW80 andW80b, seealsoKaiser, of 1957:Taf. Kansa,1998:Fig.1; Hendrickr andBavay,in press, 24: Table1).Unfortunately, excavarions at NahalTillah recovered mostly tiagmentarywine-jar sherds, making typologicalanalysis difficult. The wine-jarsrecovered from Nahai Tillah (StratumIIA-IIB) that colrld be identifiedaccordingto van den Brink's typology inclr,rded Type IVa wine-jars,a type common to the NaqadaIIIb2-c2 (Kaiser 1957;NaqadaIIICl accordingto Hendriclcr 1996)period (van den Brink, 1996:Tab1e and Fig. 3). 5 jar also occurs tn Straten IIId-f (Naqada IIIb) levels at Buto along with However, this type of wine Naqada IIIb / NaqadaIIIb cylindrical jars fKohler, 1999: 47 -48]. Thesefinds lead Kohler ro suggest that productionof this type of large wine jar emergedearlierin the Delta than previouslysuspected. Given this possibility, the chronological significance of Egyptian styled wine jars at Nahal Tillah remainsdiflcult to establish. The majority of Stratum II's building activities took place in the sub-phase Stratum IIB. The majority of the reed-ware fragments also originated fiom filis assignedto Stratum IIB, ancl to a lesser extent from the Stratum IIA sub-phase.In addition, excavationsdocumentedtwo reed-ware fragmentsfrom loci 59 and 102. These loci also contained fragments of imported Naqada IIIb cylindrical jars, of the same type as those discussedabove. Only two small reed-warefragments originated from a iocus assignedto an earlier sub-phasein Stratum II (Stratum IIC). The small size of thesefragments makes any significance to their recovery in these early context doubtfr-rl. Spatial Distribution Excavations on the Halif Tenace recovered reed-ware sherds primarily from filVdump contexts scatteredthroughoutAreas A, B, C, and D. Interestingly,Area A contextsyielded all of the lid fragments,including the reconstructedexample and the partially reconstructedexamples.Contexts further north, in Areas C and D, held the majority of reed-warejar fragments.Most of the reed-ware body sherdsalso originatedin Area C. This pattem is puzzling, since we hyporhesize that the jars and lids functioned together.Perhapsthis type of pottery took on multiple usesin its life time, and one can easily image accidental breakage and use of the remaining parts for other functions. The rarity of the reed-warefinds makesit difficult to determineif this spatialpatternresultedfrom chance alone. In Egypt, vesselsand matching lids have rarely been found together.Most of the reievant vessels found in -graves lack a iid. No reasonhas ever been suggestecl this. One shouldkeep in for jars, iike al1Predynastic mind though that these pottery,was not a priori intendedfor depositionin but -qraves, for use in daily life. Overa11, Egyptian styiedpotreq/ compnses20-35V0 (dependingon qlrantillcation of techniques) the StratnmII pottery from the 1994-1996excavations Nahal Tiilah (Levy et al. 1997).However, at the Egyptian styled pottery has a "patchy" distribr-rtion and, in some loci, Egyptian-styled pottery outnumberslocal pottery styies,while other contemporaryloci have very little Egyptian styledpottery 196

(Kansaand Levy 2002; seealsoAlon andYekutieli i995; Dessel 19g1,).In everycase. reed-ware the sherdsoriginated from loci with large quantitiesof Egyptian styled potrery.The pottery assemblages in theseloci probablyresultedfrom domesticuse and disposaiactivitiesas indicated the presence by of storage, serving,and cooking vesselfragments. One exceptionto this generallydomestic and ordinary picture may be Locus 841. This locus containeda reed-ware fragment and two unique, modeled pottery sherds:a bas-reliefmodeled jar "giraffe"' and a bas-reliefmodeledwith human legs (Levy et a7.1991:Fig. l7: 5-6). Thesemodeled sherds may be part of one or more Egyptianstyledritual "cult-stands", parallelingfinds flom eustul (Williams 1986:Fig. 181),Abydos(Harvey 1996),Coptos (Adams 1986: 19-20;pls. I andVII), Hierakonpolis(Adams and Friedman 1992:Fig. 12),possibly Buro (Kohl er 1993:pl. 57: 1-2),Tell IbrahirnAwad (Eigner 2000), and closer at hand. 'En Besor (Gophna 1972: Fig. 2:'/ Karrn Doran , personalcom. 1999). Other loci in the rmmediatevicinity of Locus 84 t had roughly ca. 500 kg. of bread-mouldsherdsas well as sherds from Egyptian styled strawtemperedbasins(seeGophna1990 for close parallels; for an apparentlyimported basin seeGophna and Buzaglo 2000). Such a quantitlz need not indicate production of bread beyond the needs of a household.Nevertheless, this quantity of breadmouldsis unusually rich for the Halif Terrace,and the presenceof potter's marks on some bread-mouldsherds(from this and other areas)may indicate someminor bureaucratization associated with somebreadprodr-rction (Kansaand Levy in press).Since cult-stands likely had ritual functio's and this nearby concentrationof breadmould sherdsis atypical for the Halif Terrace,the recovery of reed-ware sherdsfrom locus 841 may hint at special functions for this type of pottery. Such special usesof the reed-waremay have included (but are not necessarilylimited to) ritual functions.We emphasizethat this is merely a suggestion;the rarity of the reed-waremakes functional or syrnbolic intelpretations based on contextuai analysis premature. However, the rarity of reed ware seemsto excludea regular domesticfunction. Morphology We believe that the reed-ware sherdsfrom Nahal Tillah representa local variant of a type of lidded vesselthat occasionallyappeared Egypt and Lower Nubia betweenthe 4,hand 3d millenniaBCE. in Theselidded vessels have two basiccomponents, lids andjars, both of which appear Nahal Tillah at (seeFig.2). Based on two reconstructed examples(from Locus 123 and Locus 134),the lids had rounded,concaveinteriors and roundedand piercedtops,resembling small inverledbowls. According to the terminologypresented Rice (1987: 2I9),the lids have an "unrestricted by ovaloid" shape. The bases/rims the lids often had tracesof powdely red pigment. Interestingly, of this was not a red slip or well-boundedpaint since it remainssomewhatpowdery to the touch, and was pr-obably applied afterfiring. The overall shapeof the lids differs fi'om both the Southerr Levantine-styled Egyptianand styled bowls recoveredfiom Nahal Tillah. It is therefole unlikely that theselids were simply bowls with a specialdecoration.We recovereda portion of a pre-fired hole at the top of one lid, further reinforcing our argumentthat theseobjectswere indeed lids. The hole suggests that theselids, like someof the more completelypreserved Egyptian counterparts. joining them had string attachments jars (cf. Scharff 1926:34; Hendrickx 1994: 87). to the reed-ware Only one pre-firedperforationremainedpreserved the lip of a reed-ware sher-d 841,B. jar in (L.

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3103). However,sincethe Egyptian lidded-vessels hzrd four holes at the rim or lip, we sr.ispect that jars alsoprobably had four holes aroundthe lip. Like the Egyptianpara1lels, the Nahal Tillah reed-ware the reed-warejars also had a "holemouth" or neck-lessmorphology.Also parallelingf,indsfrom jars had internaiiyridged (guttered) Egypt, the reed-war rims, a shapethat faciiitatesthe useof a iicl. Unfortunately, cannotcommenton the overali shapeof thejars, sincewe only recovered we rim and body sherds. Basedon the parallelsfrom Egypt and our examinationof the rim stances, is like1y it that the jars had a restrictedmouth and an ellipsoid/ovaloidform (seeRice 1987:2\9).It is also likely, basedon theseEgyptianparallels,that the jars had a flat bottom,thoughthis inference cannot be confirmed,sinceexcavations Nahal Tillah recovered identified reed-ware at no basesherds. Manufacturing Techniques Determining the manner in which the ancient craftspeopleat Nahal Tillah / Halif Tenace decorated the reed-ware provides an important basis for determining the significance of this type of pottery. Some potential manufacturing methods require elaborateancl time-consuming proceduresand expertise. Ifthis type ofpottery did indeedresult from suchcostly procedures, productionofthis the pottery may imply a degree of craft specialization. C.ostiyproduction proceduresmay also imply that the owners of the reed-ware intended to expresswealth and statusthrough dispiay of a costly product. Some colleagueshave informally suggestedthat the reed-ware was mosr likely produced by a costly and complex procedure, and have indicated that the mostly likely manufacturing method made use of a clay mould. This "mould method" would have required a craftspersonto build or acquire a basket,cover it with clay, and fire the clay-coveredbasket in order to burn out the organi.c

t
a\

Fig. I Reed decorntecl pottery recoveredfrom Nahal Tillah

198

Fig. 2. More reed-decorateclpottery recoyered frcnt Nahal Tillalt

reedsto make a negativeimpressionin clay for use as a stamp mouid. Presumably. artisanwould the have impressedfragments of the clay mould into the surface of the vesselthat he or she wanted to produce.We also consideredanothervariant of the "mould method". The alternativemethod makes use of a specialiy carved cylinder (much like a cylinder seal) to impress a reed pattem onto the of surflace the pottery. While it rs possibleto producea similar decoration using the mould method,it is unlikely that rhe potters of Nahal Tillah actually used such an elaborate and complex procedule. Though the reedware decorationdoes resemblebasketry,it does not reproduce it exactiy.We have observedonly horizontal reed-like impressionsin the surfaceof this pottery, and no vertical rmpressions. close On "reeds" of the decorated inspection.the sherdsvary somewhatin shapeand bearno closeresemblance to naturally occumingreeds(seeFig. 8). In addition,the pattems of reed-impressions not repeat do as would be expectedif the pottersused some sort of mould or seal.The impressions also deep are and indented,and in someinstances, producedin high rellef (seeFig. 9). Such deepimpressions are difficult to produce with a mould. Finally, we have not recoveredanv such clav moulds in the excavationsof the Halif Terrace. Our repiication experimentssupportan altelnativemodeling technique.The reed-waredecoration, though apparently elaborate,is actually easy to produce. Manufactuling this pottery lequired no complexprocesses elaborate or too1s. skilled pottercan easrlyproducethesedecorations A with only some creativity and a simple concavetool, such as a small split bone shaft flagment, a split reed, or a split twig. In our replicationtechniquewe worked accordingto the following procedure: 1. The vesselbody was formed. 2. While the clay was still damp,horizontalincisionswere made with a toothpick at regulal intervals(- 2-4 mm) down the body of tire vessel(seeFig. 3)

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3. A split reed was usedto model the clay surfaces betweenthe horizontalincisions,while turnins the vesselon a tollrnette(SeeFigs. 4-6) A fragment of bone or reed with a concaveend makes for a very simple and effective modeling too1. One hand is free to rotate the tournette r,vhilethe other hand gently pressesa concavetool into the surfaceof the vessel.While the potter turns the vessei,he or she can regularly exert more presslueat a steeperangle, thereby mak-rngmodeled crescentsin the horizontal ridges. With this method, our first attempt to decorate a vessel similar in srze to the restored reed-ware lid took less than ten minlrtes. shown(seeFigs. 6-7), our replicationattemptproduceda decoration As patternvery similar to the archaeological specimenof reed-warerecoveredfrom Nahal Tillah. With practice,we could reduce this already rapid decoration time. Additional attempts demonstratethat step2 (the incision of horizontallines) may be redundant,and one can closely reproducethe decoratton without such horizontaiincisions.It shouldalsobe notedthat somesort of tournette (evena very simpleone,such as a flat mat, board, or platter) makesproduction of relatively evenly spacedand horizontal rows of reed-impressions easy to accomplish.Use of the toumette is well documentedin both Egyptian Naqada III and Sor,rthern Levantine Eariy Bronze I pottery (e.g. Mazar et al. 1996; Vandiver and Lacovara1985). We have found it more difficult to determine the vesselbuilding techniquesthan the decoration techniques.The interior of the jar bodies tend not to have riling marks and are stightly variable in thickness. The breaksofthese sherdsalso tend to be "stepped".Theseobservations coil or suggests (seeVandiverand Lacovara 1985; Rice 1981: 126-f28). However,potters slab building techniques probablyfinished the jar rims on a tournette,since one can observeriling marks at the very regular and symmetricalrims. Egyptian pottersroutinely employed such techniques jar production dunng fbr the NaqadaIII, and investigatorshave observedevidencefor thesetechniquesin SouthernLevantine jar production(examples: Bourriau 1981;VandiverzrndLacovara 1985; Williams 1986:73-74;

Fig. 3. Making of horizontal incisions

Fig. 4. Use of conc(we tool for ntodeling reed-like impressions vesselbody on

200

Fig. 5. Experilrtental replication of "reed" decoration (-1 minutes elapsed)

Fig. 6. Expet'intental repLication of "reed" decoration (-9 ndnutes elapsed)

Hendrickx 1994:16-79, pi. LXXI; Mazar and Miroschedji 1996; Kansa and Levy 2002). Unfortunately, we haverecoveredno basesherds and cannot comment on manufacturing techniquesfor this part of the vessel. The procedurefor forming the reed-warelids also remains unclear.However, according to our unlike the bowls it is likely that the observations, ancientpottersused some sort of mould (perhaps a rounded jar base) to shape the interior of the lids. We suggestthis scenario, the interior of as theselids are concaveand have shallow diagonal gouges probably a result from twisting off an interior mould. Thesegouge marks do not appearto be riling marks (seeFig. 9) We also suspectthat turning was not usedto finish the lids, sincethe 1idrims are somewhatirregular,variablein thickriess, and have an inclined edge with no visible riling marks. Close inspectionof the lid rims suggests cutting and tlimming and not toumette finishing. Additionally, the tops of the lids have no tracesof any attachmentto a turning device, though admrttedly the leed-ware makers may have obliterated thesetracesthrough surfacetreatments. Mould production presentsproblems with drying and shrinking of the clay that can hamper successfulremoval of the mould. However, since we have demonstlated that the modeling of the reed decoration can be cornpleted quite rapidly, the problem of drying on a mould may not have presenteda great obstacle.Despite suchdlying problems,Egyptian pottersappearto havecommonly used similar mould methods,as this techniquehas been observedat Kafr HassanDaud in the Delta bowls (el-Senoussipersonal com.). At the Halif Terrace,potters often produced on chaff ten-rpered otherEgyptranstyledopenforms, suchasbread-moulds and chafftemperedlotusforms,with mould techniques (Kansa and Levy 2002). Ther:eforethe technique of vessel mould building was locally known and availablefor applicationon reed-warelids. "reed"decoration Fig'7' Finishedreplicated

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Fig. 8. Reed-ware specimens recovereclfrom NtthaL Tillah

{[xtericri

{i*?*ri*rj

I * c u s : 10 l Sask: 135 1

Fig. 9. Reed-ware sherd (interior) with evidence mor,tlcL licl prodrtction for from NahaLTillal

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In terms of fabric and firing conditions this decoratedpottery closely matchesthe other Egyptian styled pottery at Nahal Tillah. Pottersmade thesevesselswith a locally availablehomogenous loessial clay that had few inclusionsof iimestone.Naomi Porat has shown that this fabric is typical of Egyptian styledpottery producedin the SouthernLevant (Levy et al. 1997;Porat 1989; 1992).In addition to basedon visual inspection,Porat's petrographicanalysisof one sherd of reedtheseassessments decoratedpottery further demonstrates similarity, in terms of fabric, to the other Egyptian styled its "bamboo-relief'). For at pottery recovered the Halif Tenace (Levy et al. 1997:Table4, Sample#198 this reason,and sincethe closesttypologicalparallelsfor this pottery come from Egypt, we classify the reed-ware as an example of "Egyptian styled" production at Nahal Tillah. Whether or not the potters who produced this reed-ware actually thought of themselves as "Egyptian" or even came from the Nile Valley or Delta is open to debatebeyond the scope of this paper (seeKansa and Levy 2002). Jars with Conical Lids and Perforated Guttered Rims from Egypt and Lower Nubia Introduction The most likely influence for the Halif Terrace reed-decoratedpottery came from Egyptian "prototypes". Inspiration from Egypt seemsmost probable, given the overall context of EgyptianCanaaniteinteraction during the Late EB I (Dynasties 0-1), as attestedio by so many sites in the Southern Levant (see e.g. van den Brink and Levy [eds.], 2002), including the Halif Terrace in pafiicular. Researchers investigating sites in Pre- and Early Dynastic contextsin (Upper) Egypt and A-Group Lower Nubia have recoveredmorphologically-related,basketry-imitatedpottery jars with perforated gutteredrims and conical lids. They have also been found modeled in stone and faience. The presenceof reed decoratedpottery as described above - apparently imitating actuai organic, lidded baskets,- and recently identified for the first time rn a late EB I context at the Halif Tenace, seemsso far unparalleledin other contemporary Southern Levantine sites. The morphology of the pottery j ars at issuehere are all very much reiated.Neariy all of them have flat bases,overall "barrel" shapes,and restricted mouths without a neck or externalrim. Except for the examplesfrom Adaima tomb S 55 (Type 2, below), all of the jars have an internal (guttered)rim, usually with four perforations.In rare instancesthe pelforations are through the vessel'swall itself, immediately below the rim. The function of the hoies in the rim of the jars has never been much Except for Junker (1919: 5i), who assumedthe holes to have servedfor hanging the discussed. vessei,early on schoiarsacceptedthe interpretationofthe lid gliding on strings connectedto the rirr of the jar (Scharff 1926: 34 Hendrickx 1994: 87). In our considerationof this type of vessel,we have classified the known examplesrecoveredfrom to the Egypt.With reference Petrie(1921)'spottery classes, fabric of theselidded potterycontainers or their mode of exteriordecorationprovide the basisof the following divisions(seealsoTable 3): (of 1. C-classor White Crossed-Line Nile silt fabrics) pottetj (includedhere,but not represented Petrie'sclassification) in 2. Charcoal decorated 3. N-classor Incised decoration 4. L-class or Late (undecoratedmarl clay) 5. D-classor Decorated(marl clav)

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In addition to thesefive types of ceramiclidded vesseis, also considerbelow versionsof lidded we vessels producedin laience.stoneand actualbasketry. The decorationof the vesselsbelonging to Petrie's N-class was always assumedto represent basketry(seeType 3, below). However,it needsto be noted that the very shapeof thesevessels may also point to basketry.Indeed, both the absenceof external rims and the maximum diameter,which is locatedbelow half of the height of the vessels,are typical for basketry.This is clearly corroborated by the reed imitations of the Halif Terrace examples.Further confirmation for this is to be for-rnd in the basketry examplesfound in Tarkhan (see below, sub 8). These are, however, much larger than most of the ceramicvessels recoveredfrom other sites.Nevertheless, size of the Halif Terrace the that of some of the N-classbasketryexamples. . reed-wareresembles The number of theselidded jars known to datefrom Egypt and Nubia remainsrestricted.However, one shouid note that an important number of other types def,rned Petrie (1921) are even far more by rare. The rarity of lidded jars does not apply only to cemetery assemblages, apparenrlyalso to but thoseassociated with settlements. Although not mentionedin Hoffman's(1982)preliminaryreport, and Friedman s ( 1994) study for the settlementsat Hierakonpolis, a limited number of fragmentshas been identified among collected surface materials (Friedman pers. com.). Also at Adaima, a (very) limited number of sherdsbelonging to lidded jars has been found in the settlement(Midant-Reynes and Buchez,pers.com.).Thesevessels are,however,only occasionallyattested settlements for and they are absentfor the settlementsof the Badari region and Naqada/Khattara(Friedman 1994). On the other hand, the limited pottery sample from the temple site HK 29A at Hierakonpoiis yielded an example(Friedman1994:Fig. 9.J4,fabnc-temperClass5, subjectiveshape5-1p =Ll5 d). For the importance of temples with respectto this type of pottery, seeType 6, below. Corpus of lidded jars The following discussionoutlines the five different types of lidded jars recoveredfrom Egypt. For full referenceto the various tombs and gravesmentioned here, seebelow, Table 3. (Petrie'sC-ware): Togetherwith the next class,the White Crosslined jars l. White Crossed-Line from Tomb 162I at Naqada, dating from Naqada IC are probably the earliest examples of the vessels underdiscussion. for all of the White Cross-lined As pottery,they aremadefrom Nile si1t. They have no internal (guttered) rim and the perforations are through the wall of the vessels, belor,v rim. Otherwise,they are ordinary White Cross-1ined the jars and, therefore,do not point to a foreign origin of this type of jar. The meaning of the decorationremains somewhatunclear,but most probably the triangular wavy lines covering all the vessel are an imitation of basketry.This is i.a. corroboratedby the fact that White Cross-1inedpottery regularly imitates basketry, as already mentioned a long time ago by Petrie (1920: l4'\. 2. Charcoal decoration:The three examplesfrom Adaima tomb S 55 are unique.The jars have no internally gutteredrim and the perforations are through the wall of the vessels, below the rim. The decoration consists wavy lines,appliedwith ash- charcoal,afterthe vessels of had beenfired. As for the White Cross-lined vessels,the decoration most probably represents basketry.Apparently,

204

the person(s)who handled thesevesselsappiied decorationonly at the moment of deposition with the burial or just before. In addition, the fabric of these particular vesselsdiffer from the majority of pottery recoveredat Adaima. It is neither Nile silt nor Marl clay, suggestingthat ,qreat theseexamplesweremostprobablynotlocallymadepots.3Becauseoftheircl,onologicalposition (NaqadaIC). these jars can eitherbe regarded copiesof White Cross-lined jars or of jars with as inciseddecoration(Petrie'sN-class,seebelow). The shapeand the perforationsare identical to contemporaryWhite Cross-linedspecimensfrom Naqada.It is also remarkablethat in both Tomb 1621 atNaqada and Tomb S 55 atAdaima more rhan one exampleof thesejars occuls.Perhaps theseexamplesstandas a typologicalpredecessor the of internal guttered rim with perforations. 3. Inciseddecoration(Petrie's N-class):Jarswith incised decorationare generallyconsidered be to "Nubian" (e.g. Needler 1984: 224-231).The main reason for this suppositionis that incised decorations can be frequently found on Nubian pottery. Nevertheless,the "barrel" shapedjars with conical lid at issueareextremelyrarein Nubia (one examplewith iid derivesfrom Kostamneh, a j ar from Sen a East and a lid from Mediq).aMoreover, the barrel shapeas well as this type of lid, do not occur among the characteristicshapesof A-group pottery. Therefore, the Nubian origin of this vesseltype seemshighly questionable.Nevertheless,a number of exampleswere apparently produced Nubia (cf. Needler1984:224-231;Payne in 1993:127;Raue 1999:187-189). However,
-^r ^11 i^-^ ^f not allJars or + L i ^ group are automatically to be acceptedas having been producedin Nubia. This tnls

problem of provenance can only be solvedby ware analysisof the relevantjars. Unfortunately, among the examples of certain Nubian pottery with incised decorationfound in Egyptian tombs, only a few can be dated with some certainty. Apparently this type of decoration continued to be used from the end of the Naqada I period onwards, well into the First Dynasty.The decorationhas always been supposed imitate basketry (e.g. Petrie and Mace 1901: 14; Scharff to L926),but obviously,basketryis not restricted Nubia. to Incised decoration was already present before the fourth millennium BC on pottery from the Badarian and the Neolithic pottery frorn the Sudan and the Western Desert. Incised Naqadapottery imitating basketry is, therefore,neither specifically Egyptian nor Nubian or Sudanese origin. in in Nubia, however, the early Predynastic (i.e. Naqada I-IiA/B) pottery technology (Nile silt fabrics, pottery) continuedto be useduntil the end of the Kerma culture,in the mid 2''d black-topped millennium BC. The production of incised pottery may therefore also have continued longer in Nubia than in Egypt. The banel shapedpottery with conical lids is probably Egyptian in origin, because earliest rhe examples(alsothe typologically "earliest"examples) occur in Egypt and because shape the doesnot occur among the typical A-group pottery.A few more argumentsagainst a Nubian origin are related to the next groups to be discussedbelow and will be treated there. 3 A more precisedefinition of the fabric will be given in the final publication. a Only thefoliowingpublications werechecked: Reisner1910,Firth 1912,1915,1927 (NubiaSurvey); Williams 1986,1989,1993;Nords trom 1912. These, however, represent largemajorityof Predynastic the / A-group gravesexcavated Nubia. in

205

One shouldnote,tlnally, that a few examplesbelongingto this group,andrelatedto Petrie'sType D 74, atemuch larger than the others.The size differencesmay indicate diff-erent functions for these vessels. (JnclecorcLted, c/ay (Petrie's marl L-class):The jars belonging to this groLrp certainlylocally are made in Egypt. The fabric cannot be differentiated from other Egyptian marl clay vessels.A11 datedexamplesbelong to the NaqadaIiIA-B periods.Since similar sherpes with decorationalready occur from the NaqadaIIC times onwards,one cannot rule-out the possibility that some of the undated examples and Stratum IIC examples from Halif Terrace might date to a period earlier than the Naqada III. In addition, if the original examplesderived from Nubia, this type of pottery would be very unique in representingan Egyptian imitation of a Nubian prototype. Thus far. no other Nubian shapesseems to have been imitated in Egypt di-rrin-9 Predynastic ancl Eariy the Dynastic periods.This point, of course,stands as an additional argumentagainstthe Nubian origin of this type of pottery.

5. Decoratecl,marl clay (Petrie'sD-ciass): Like the previous group, thesejars are certainly locally
made in Egypt This is not only obvious from the fabric, but also from the decoration, mainly representing painted undulating lines. Such decoration tlts very well within the repertoire of decorationtypical of iate Naqada II - early Naqada III Egypt, and may representwater or liquids in general.While this type of decoration may be evocative of liquids, the shape of these iidded vesselsseems pooriy suited for liquid storage. Especially the guttered rim would be most inconvenientfor pouring oLltwater.Therefore,we have to acceptthat the original motif of basketry, which was no longer frequently used on Naqada IIC-iII pottery, may have changed into the morphologically related motif of water - liquid, which becamevery popular from the NaqadaIIC period onwards.The faiencemodels lfype 6; seebelow) and especiallythe Nahal Tiilah pieces prove,however,that the original idea of basketrywas not yet completelylost by the NaqadaIIIBC1. Petrie'stype D 29 probably also demonstrates continuedreference basketry. the to Faiencemodels (cf. Dreyer 1986: 82 for general discussion):Becauseof their small size and relativethick walls, the faiencevessels considered are model versionsof the lidded vesseltype. This group is most important becausethe examples derive mainly trom Egypt's earliest temple sites.At least two different shapesare represented. among them the "barrel" shapewhich always is recurrentin pottery lidded vessels. The other has the shapeof a small cup. The size of the lid fiom Hierakonpolis (Adams l9l 4: n" 160)fits well the opening of both vessels from Hierakonpolis (Adams 1914: n' 217, 220) and might therefore have belonged to either of them. Most of thesefaiencemodels must originally have belongedto foundation deposits. Thosederiving from the Mdn Deposit at Hierakonpolis,sbecauseof their context, probably date from the Early Dynastic period. The examples from Qustul and Tarkhan derive from elite tombs dated to Naqada IIIA-8. These objects are most interesting, first of all becausethey also seem to imitate basketry, aithough in a manner more crude than the ceramic examplesfrom the Halif Terrace.The differences s Thesewere k-rndlybrought to our attention by BarbaraAdams. 206

in quality of executionmay stemhom the smallerdimensionsof the faienceexamples. The Elepirantine models are slightly different. The lid has three perforations and a central knob, while rhe cup had 4 or 5 perforations in the upper part of the walI. These differencesmay weil be expiainedby the more recent( i.e. Early Dynastic)date of rheseobjects.-' Since symbolic food offerings are very important in foundatron deposits, this might be a confirmationof the use of the banel shapedvessels with lids as containers food (seeHendrickx for 1994:87)ThiscanverywellbebroughtintoconnectionwiththeinterpretationbyRaue(1999: 189) jars are used for feasts of particular families or clans of Nubian origin. As mentioned that these above,the Nubian origin is a not very iikeii' given the chronological position of the earliestexamples from Upper Egypt. It seemson the other hand obvious that during the Early Dynastic period, ther-e is a Nubian connection as suggested Raue. Frustratingly, attemptsat Gas-Chrornatography Massby / Spectrometryanalysisof one leed-decorated sherdrecoveredfrom the Halif Terracefailed to recover detectableresidues,despitethe generally excellentpreservationand rate of organic residuerecovery from the other analyzed Halif Terracesamples(Reber,Kansa and Levy in prep.). Becauseof their inclusion in foundation deposits.in which foreign objectsdo not occur, the lidded jars may not have been considered"foreign" during the Early Dynastic period. This point may stand as one more argllment againstthe often acclaimed Nubian origin of this specific type jars. 7. Stone vessels'. Only two examplesof stone lids ale known, both of them imitating basketry.They were found in the "royal mastaba"at Naqada, and indicate once more the importanceof many of the tombs when these objects are found in a funerary context. The smail size of the lids could indicate that they are to be considered model vessels, similar to the faienceexamples. 8. Basketry,: Only two exampiesfrom Tarkhan are known and anotherfrom the Turin museumwhich is consideredPredynastic unclearreasons. for Their dimensionsareby far superiorto the imitations in pottery, stone and faience. It is, however, to be noted that similar basketsare known for all of the more recentperiodsof the Egyptian history (e.g. Gourlay 1981:pl. X, XIII-XVI, XVID. Discussion The Nahal Tillah reed-ware fragments appearto come from secondarydomestic disposalcontexts. This situation standsin marked contrast to the distribution of the majority of other lidded vessels known fi'om Egypt. In Egypt, most suchlidded vessels camefrom tomb and templecontexts.6 Although this pattern couid well result from iimited archaeologicalexplorations of settlements, seems it corroboratedby Friedrnan (1994)'s caleful perusal of settlementceramics from Hierakonpolis and Naqada.Neveltheless, the recovery contextsof most the Egyptian lidded vesselsclearly refer to reli-sion (temple sites) and the elite (various elite tombs). The symboiic value -and, therefore,ritual context-is corroborated the modelsin faienceand stone.The recoveryof lidded vessels such by in contexts and occasionaluse of faience and stone may sirnilarly suggestan element of prestige with theseitems. associated 6 Notable exceptions sofar are few relatedfragmentsuncoveledin clear settlement contextsat Adaima aswell as,mostrecently, Hierakonpolis, at identifiedamongcollected surface materials.

201

The specialdecoration, rzinty,and poorly bor-ind parnt, of the Halif Terracespecimens red coLrld also indicate ritr"ral. The fact that their context in the Halif Terrace does not suggesta rituarlcontext, seemsirrelevantbecause preceswere not recoveredin primary contexts. This ritual importance the of the preces shouldbe stressed with the conclusionthat elementsof Egyptianritual apparently were -unfortunately- we klow littie of the nature of this also conductedat the Halif Terrace,even though ntual activity. Therefore, the Halif Terracejoins 'En Besor, where Ram Gophna's excavations recovereda "cult-stand", as well as a faiencestatuette, providing evidencefor eiementsof Egyptian in ritual activrtyin the SouthernLevantat the closeof the 4'hmillennium BCE (Gophna,I9l2:Ftg.2:7; Gophna,1993:Figs. | -2). Theseobservations deserving consideration provide importantevidence on how scholarstreatthe Egyptian presence this region. in pottery,we cannotdemonstrate expression Despitethe likely ritual role of the reed-decorated the of wealth or prestige in the lidded vesselsrecoveredfrom Nahal Tillah, as seemsto have been the case for their Egyptian counterparts.Though ornately decorated.they recluiredno significant investmentin labor or skill to produce.Our replication experimentsreproduceda closelpproximation of the decoration for a lid in under ten minutes. Given that this type of decoration does not involve any specialinvestmentin time or specializedlabor, we cannot concludethat the reed-wareservedas objects of wealth or prestige.Though their rarity sLrggests special,non-utilitarian function for the a reed-ware vessels,we should not tmmediately assumethi-itthey functioned to display wealth. The Nahal Ti1lah reed-ware should be considereda local manifestation of a highly variable, yet well-defined,lidded vesseltype found occasionallyin Egypt and Egypt's nearneighbors. discussed, As excavations Egypt and Lower NLrbiahave recoveredthis type of vesselin stone,faience, and in ceramic forms, a1l decorated in a variety of techniqr-res. The variability in media and decorative techniqLres used in the production of this vesseltype may suggestthat both conslrmers and producers exertedf'ew constraintsor pressuresto standardizethe expressionof this type of container.Unlike much of the pottery typically producedin Naqada iII Egypt, ancientpottersdid not make thesereeddecorated vessels accordingto pre-established The Egyptian/ Egyptiantrainedpottersof standards. Nahal Tillah displayed more flexibility and individual creativity in producing thesereed decorated vesselsthan they did in producing more standardEgyptian pottery types sr-rch storagejars. The as fact that the reed-waredecorativetechniqueis unique (at leastthus far), straight-forward.and requires littie labor investment,suggestsan aclhoc and idiosyncratic approachto the production of this lidded vesseitype. The great variability in the lidded vesselsmay stem from severaifactors (more than one may apply): l. Rarity of the vesselt,vpe.Arttsansmade lidded vesselsso infrequently that theirproduction dtd not become ror:tine and was therefore more improvisational than standardized. 2. Variablefunction. The ancient craft workers may have produced thesevesselsfor related but differing tunctrons.If, for example.thesevessels had some ritual purpose,their inconsistenctes may reflect variability in the ritual. Most lidded vesselsrecoveredin Egypt come from mortuary and temple contexts.In addition, the faience and stonespecimenshaveto be considered models. as Bearing thesepoints in mind, and that excavations recoveredthe Nahal Tillah versionsfrom settlementcontexts,any ritual or symbolic activity associatedwith theselidded vesselsmay have beensomewhat variable.

208

3. More corrlrrlonin other media. Perhapscraft producers made lidded vesselsmore typically in other media, such as basketry. The archaeologically observedlidded vessels may be occasional and rdiosyncraticarlifactsinspiredby, or dedvativefrom, a cefiain common tirpeof lidded basketry. Support for this scenario can be found in the many. but highly valiable examplesof basket-like decorationfound on the lidded vessels Egypt. in Thus far, lrttle can be said with certainty regarding the reed-decorated pottery at Nahal Tillah or the relatedlidded vesselsof Egypt. As mentioned,the morphology of thesevesselsmay suggestone possiblefunction, namely that thesevessels may have servedas containers food. More exampies of needto be recoveredfi'om more informative archaeological contextsto enablefunctional,sociological, and symbolic interpretations.We can oniy conclude with celtainty that the lidded vessel-typeseems to be highly variable and only occasionally produced. Hopefully, future excavationsand analyses may shedmore light on the lidded vessels and their significahce. 2. Table l'lahal Tillah/Halif Terrace provenience aII recovered reed-wqre sherds o.f
Area Square Stratum IIB Context Type fill
|l11

Figure Lid, restored Body sherd Lid, restored Body sherd Body sherd Body sherd of jar Body sherd Lid Lid Rim of jar 1:A l:Band9 l : C a n d8 : A

r23
t23 t34 148

r315
1380 1461 1505 5084 3062

v20 U1
Fl8

IIB IIA/IIB iIB

Ii1 fill

nrl
IIB IIB IIB IIB IIB fiIl / breadmould dump

K18/Li9 F15

1034 91
124l

nil
fill
p1t

v20

r02
91 841 821 820 56
o/
J 7

I 285 t241 3103 Ltg-20 K18 3047 1026

ItJ/-l

filt

IIB IIBl IIB

fill / breadmould Perforated rim jar dump of f,111 fill topsoil/fill topsoil Body sherd Body sherd Body sherdof jar Body sherd Lid Body sherdofjar of Shor,rlder jar sheld Lid ofjal sherd Shoulder

1:D 2:A
2 : B a n d 8 :G

L20 V3 1J3ft14 Ui A20 F16

2:C 2:D
2:Eand8:E
/.'- t

r019
t243 5043 1405 2300 1045 2300 4006
L

IIA

hll

-101 693

fi11
IIC ashy frll f,rli fill

8:B 8 :C 8:D 8:H

8:l

1.+8
625 625 1000 625

U1
F17-F18

IIB
IIBl IIA IIBl

U1
F17-F18
G16

fi11 filr
topsoil fiil Body sherd Body sherd Body sherd

8:J 8:K

F17-F18

IiBl

209

Table3. Predynastic- Early Dynastic basket-imitctted vessels from Egypt Site tomb type Naqada period l. White Cross-lined Nluseum or site Bibliography

Naqada Naqada
Naqada

1621 1621
1621

c61 d c 61 d
1id

IA IA
IA

oxfordANl1895.486payne 1993:n416 Beriin 13027

Philadelphia E.1411

scharff t93t: n 25?

Baumgartet 1970: lii pt.

2. Charcoul decorution Adaima S 55 IC Adaima Midant-Reynes 1996:15 a.o.

3. Incised decoration Abadiya 8.107 N 65 IC (?) oxfordAM E.2830 petrie 1901:pl. xiv, N 65 Petrie1921:pl. xxvii, N 65 P a y n e1 9 9 3 : 1 0 8 1 n

Abu Zeidan

N 65

III (?)

Brooklyn 09.889.446 Needler1gg4:130,n 67,

f i g . 2 5 ; 2 2 1 - 2 2 89n ,3
(no sfrino hnleq)

Abu Zeidan

N 75

III (?)

Brooklyn 09.889.444 Needter1984:130,n 6g.

f i r g . 2 5 ;2 1 - 2 2 8 ,9 I 2 n Adaima
Adai'ma Adaima (?) Armant Badari DiospolisParva 1425 3223

s 153
s 552

D 14 N 75 lid N 68 a D 74 k N 70

rrrc2
IIIAI-IIIA2

Adaima
Adaima Brooklyn 0'/ .411.485

Midant-Reynes in press ao. H e n d r i c k x9 9 8 : 1 1 1 1

unpublishedT Needler 1984:221-228,n 94 Mond and Nlyers 1937:27

IIA III LondonUC 14516 cairo cG 18803, J d E3 3 6 8 3

BruntonandCaton-ThomDson

1928: xl, D 74k pl.

petrie 1901:pi.xiv, N 70 p P e t r i e1 9 2 1 : l . x x v i i , N 7 0 v o nB i s s i n g 9 1 3 : 4 7T f . I I 1 , petrie 1901:pl. xiv, N 6g P e t r i e1 9 2 1 : l . x x v i i , N 6 8 p Raue 1999: Abb.41.5.

DiospolisParva bought Elefantine

N 68 bowl Dyn.2-4

LondonUC i0871 Elefanrine

Elkab
Gebelein Hu R.131

D 74 N 65 N 67

III (?)

oxfordAM

pr. 1898: xi,7 Quiberl

St.-Germain-en-Laye Cleyet-Merleand Vallet '77 .'/48d 1982:li .i 48d III (?) P e t r i ei 9 0 1 : 1 0 ,p i . v i , x i v N67

(sD68)

7 We are thankfui to Bdatrix Midant-Reynesand Nathalie Buchez for the information provided conceming this and reiatedspecimens and for their pennissionto mention this unpublishedspecimen,as well as another one listedbelow.sub4.

2r0

Site

tomb

t)'pe

Naqada period

Nluseum or site

Bibliography

cem. 89 Koshtamna, 683 Masaid Matmar Mediq, cem.79

Naqada

N 708

A -srnrrn

F i r t h1 9 1 2 : 9 3 , p l . 4 6 , c 5 i N e e d i e r 9 8 4 :l 4 l . n 4 6 , 1 f r g .3 1 ;2 2 1 - 2 2 8 . n 2 9

l4

N67

IIIAl-IIIC2 (?)Brooklyn 09.889.445 IIIA2

1028
5'l
Iide

Brunton 1948: xxi,6 pl.

(nn q.rrino hnleq\

A-group

F i r t hl 9 l 2 : 1 3 4 . p I4 6 . c 3 . Petrieand Quibeli 1896: pl. xxxv, D 74 Petrie1921:p1.xxxvi, D 74

D14

Sena East,cem. 298 Tarkhan Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown

.r--lo

"*v

A -sror rn

Nordstrom p|. 1972: 162,2

London IJC 11214 New York MMA P e t r i e1 9 1 4 p l . i v , v , 1 2 : Arnold and Bourriau 1993: 9 3 , f i g . 1 0 3A

2033

glazed? N 67-80 D14d

III

21.2.1r8
LondonUC 36304 London IJC 11814

N75 N80

London 17875 UC

4. Marl clay. undecorated Abadiya

8.56 140
32e3

(lid)

I-IIA

AM 8.3140 Oxford
Cairo Museum

Pavne 1993: 707 n

unpublished

Abu Umuri
Abusir el-Meleq Adaima Diospolis Parva Diospolis Parva DiospolisParva DiospolisParvarr Elkab Hammamiya cemetery1600 Hammamiya 1700 cemetery

m?
rough

Berlin18629
IIIAl-IIIA2 Adaima London,BM EA 30895 IIIA.IIIB

Scharff 1926:34, 155 n

unpublished

s 546
H i03

L 1 5d L 1 5d
L15a

Petrie pl. 1901: xix, L 59 b Petrie 1921: 1i. 75 d pl. L

Petrie1901:pl. xix, L 59 a P e t r i e 9 2 1 : p l . l iL 7 5 a 1 , Petrie1901:pl. xix, L 59 n p P e t r i e1 9 2 1 : 1 .l i , L 7 5 n P e t r i e1 9 0 1 : l . x i x , L 5 9 m p P e t r i e 9 2 1 : p l . l iL 7 5 m 1 ,

(?)(sD75,78)
L 1 5n (rid) L75m (rid)
L75 a IIIA] Cairo Museum 18 v2 (lid) --18 v3 (lid) ---

Hendrickr 1994 87, pl. xi, xxx Brunton 1927 pI. xiii, 18 v2 Brunton\927'.pl. xiii, 18 v3

8 It can not be seenon the publishedphotographwhetheror not thereare holesin the rim. s "Cup polishedbrown warewith incisedpattern, hole in base"(Firth 1912:134). r0 Round-based cup with large number of perforationsthrough the wali, just under the rim. Without internalrim.

211

Site

tomb

type L15 -

Naqada period

Nluseum or site

Bibliography

Hierakonpolis HK 29A Matmar Matmar Matmar Mustagedda Naqada

tempie 908

IID2-IIIA1 IIIA2

Hierakonpolis

Friedman1994:fig. 9.74,5-1p

Brunton 1948: xxi,8 p1. Brunton pl. 1948: xxi,7

Rrrrntnn lQJR nl rvi a5

(lid) 219 1212 IIC-IIIB'': L 75 m (lid)

Brunton 1931 pI. xxxv,25

CambridgeFW Bar-rmgartel

E 1 0 .8 9 5 1
Qau el-Kebir, cem.400 --L24b

1970:pl. xxxiv Bruntonand Caton-Thompson 1928:pl. xliv (internal rim, but holesin shoulder) Petrie1914:pl. xxxi Petrie1914:pl. xxxi P e t n e1 9 1 4 : l . x x x i p

Tarkhan
Tarkhan Tarkhan

1113
1113 1651

91 r
91 t 9i v

IIIA2
IiIA2 IIIA2

5. Marl clav. decorated AbLrUmuri Abu Umuri Abu Umuri Adaima GebelTarif Hammamiya 1534 S 543 D 20 b D 66 p D 66 n D 20 b D 29 D 20 b3 IIIB IIIAI-IIIB IIIAI-IIIB IIIAI-IIIB IIIAI-IIIA2 Cairo Museum Cairo Museum Cairo lvlr.rseum Adarma Cairo JdE 31473 unoubiished unpublished unpublished unpublished Quibell 1905:CG 11740 Brunton and Caton-Thompson 1928:pl. xxxix, D 20 b3 Kubaniya-south 20.h.1 lvlahasna 12 D 66 p

IID (?)
IIIA1

J u n k e1 9 1 9 : 5 1 r
A y r t o na n dL o a t 1 9 1 : 1 8 ,p l . 1 xxxviii, D 66 f P e t r i e 9 1 l : p l . x x x v .D 6 6 p l

lvlediq,cem.79 Nlustagedda Naqada Nirqada

66 1648 524 1126

D 17rr D 29 c D 75 b D 29 a

A-group IID1 IIC IIA Oxford AM 1895.580A

- Firth pL.43,a7 1912: 135, Brunton pl. 1937: xxix

Petrie1921:pi. xxxvi, D 75 b P a y n e1 9 9 3 : 9 i 5 n

Oxford AM 1895.610 Payne1993:n 836

Lr One of the two lids published Petrieand Mace 1901:pl. xix, L 59 m-n is probablythe one pubby lishedby Payne1994:n 707,which she,however, to attributes tomb B 56 at Abadiya,with a reference to PetneandMace 1901:pl. v, photoB 56 objects, lower right corner. Howevertheobjectidentified her by as a 1idis in realitya macehead,probablya symbolicone,madeout of clay. 12 Tomb 2I9 at Mustagedda containeda very iarge number of objects,mainly pots, which, however, seemnot to be chronologically homogeneous. r3 Uncertainif rim is perforated.

114

Site

tomb

type D75a

Naqada period

Nluseum or site

Bibliography

Naqada/ Ba11as

P e t r i e n dQ u i b e l li 8 9 6 : p l . a xxxv, D 75 a Petrie192i: pl. xxxvi, D 75 a

Qaw e1-Kebir, cem.200 Semaina unknown unknown unknown unknown unknown unknown unknown unknown unknown unknown

surf. H.8

D20b2 D55b D20b D20b D20b D20b D20b

D 20 -15

Brunton and Caton-Thompson p 1 9 2 8 : l . x x x i x ,D 2 0 b 2

IIC.IID (?)

AM E.2876 Oxford
London IJC 36210

P a y n e1 9 9 3 : 8 8 1 n
Datrio lOf1. . ^l yr. ---ii ^^^u

d e M o r g a n1 8 9 6 p l . i x . - l a - b : ParisLouvre E 22508 unpublished'1

1 6 M S t o c k h o l m M 1 8 . 8 1 2G e o r s e 9 7 5 : 8 , n 1 1 0 n 1 M S t o c k h o l m M 1 1 . 0 9 1G e o r q e 9 7 5 : 6 8 , 1 1 5 1 . S t o c k h o l m M M 1 8 . 8 0 8G e o r g e 9 7 5 : 6 8 n 1 3 7 LondonUC 10888 Petrie1921:pl. xxxii

D-r.i- t or I . ^t """,.;

D29c
n7<

unpublished NewYork MMA 12.182.41

n 75 d

D75d

D75d

Cairo CG 2124

v o n B i s s i n g1 9 1 3 : 8 ,T f . V I I 3

6. Faience models Abydos,temple, chamberM 69 Buto TeF87T IX --fragm. Schicht IIIc-IIId IIIAI.IIIA2 Elefantine Elefantine Hierakonpolis Main Deposit Hierakonpolis Main Deposit Hierakonpolis lid early dyn Oxford AM 4006 Kaczmarczykand Hedges 1 9 8 3 : g . 3 3 , b ;D r e y e r1 9 8 6 : 8 2 h Hierakonpoiis Main Deposit Hierakonpolis cup early dyn IIIA2 IIIAl-IIIB fragm. IIIAi-IIIB LondonUC 27598 A d a m s1 9 1 4 : 4 3 n o . 2 2 0 . lid early dyn. L o n d o nU C 1 1 0 1 2 Adams 1914 33, no. 160'6
fra sm

tid

dyn. I Buto von derWay 1997: \ 6 1 , 2 0 5T f . 7 1 ,n o . 4 0 . ElefantineK 1103 K Elefantine 9i3 L o n d o nU C 1 1 0 1 4

cup lid barrel

earlyO.K. dyn. 3-4 early dyn early dyn.

D r e y e1 9 8 6i:2 3 ,n o . 2 5 8 r Dreyer 1986: 125, no.2'/3

1914 42. no. 2Il Adan-rs

UC London i5037

12, Adams 1911: no.22t

Qustul Qustul Qustul

L2 L5 L22

barel

pl. Wiiliams 1986: 128, 60,b

Williams 1986:128,pl. 60,a

pl. Williams 1986: 128, 60,c

1a Information kindly providedby CatherineBridonneau. r5 Moderndecoration.

2r3

Site

tomb

type

Naqada period

Nluseum or site

Bibliography

Tarkhan

2051

barrel and lid

IIIA2

Manchester

Petrie 1914: pl. iv, v,13

irnknown

barrel

early dyn.

Berlin 22.693

Scharff 1931 243,no. 736'7

7. Stone Naqada Naqada mast. mast. lid lid IIIC 1 IIIC1 Cairo CG 1 1926 CairoCG 11927 de Morgan 1897: I 87, fig. 681 Quibell 1905:CG 11927

8. Basketry Tarkhan Tarkhan unknown ? \25 lid basketand lid basket E.6141 Brussels IIIC2 Torino supl. 282 Petrie1913:25,pl. X,l P e t r i e1 9 1 3 : 5 . p l r X , 2 2 Bergamini 1988:21

16 Dreyer(1986:82) considers lid to be a "Spitskorbmodell". the r? Scharff 1926: 243 mentionsan identical example,also unprovenanced, the privatecollection of in Guy Brunton,London.

214

References

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