skip to content

Faculty of Arts and HumanitiesInstitute of Archaeology

03.10.2017

CERAMEGYPT - Pottery production and consumption in Ptolemaic-Roman Egypt

The research on pottery that is produced in Egypt during Hellenistic and Roman times is still in its beginnings, although it makes up around 95% of the ceramic finds in many excavations. In some excavations, local typologies have been developed but until now an interconnected consideration is missing and thus a reliable foundation. Another problem is formed by the absence of scientific analyses: On the one hand, it was assumed that geochemical analyses would lead to no results due to the homogenous circumstances in the Nile river valley and delta. On the other hand, the strict export regulations for laboratory analyses of the country of Egypt that usually do not apply to most regions anymore, also limit further research.

The Archaeological Institute of Cologne and the Centre d’Etudes Alexandrines conducts a research project on the investigation of Egyptian pottery from the 4th century until the end of late antiquity in a special program of the ANR-DFG since 2010. The project has recently entered the second phase. In the first part (CERAMALEX) a comprehensive reference database and a working process for the analysis of pottery by using x-ray fluorescence analysis have been developed on the example of finds in Alexandria. This approach is now used in the second phase for more sites in Egypt.

 

pXRF-analyses in several sites in Egypt have shown that geochemical differences of locally produced wares can even be achieved in the Nile river delta.  This result allows further possibilities of use for future research on pottery from Egypt. The reference database is supposed to be used as a networking platform for future ceramic research in Egypt.

Responsible:

Employees:

Cooperation:

Funding:

*