Eastern Desert Ware: Traces of the Inhabitants of the Eastern Deserts in Egypt and Sudan during the 4th- 6th Centuries CE

Description

This study presents the first comprehensive description of a small corpus of ceramic vessels, now defined as Eastern Desert Ware (EDW). The vessels that comprise this corpus are hand-made cups and bowls, shaped without the use of a potter's wheel, with proportionally thin walls and well-finished surfaces. Larger vessels and closed forms do occur very sporadically, although these forms may so far have escaped recognition. Many of the outside and several inside surfaces of the vessels are burnished and decorated with geometrical patterns impressed or incised in the unfired clay. These patterns are often remarkably asymmetric and frequently enhanced by a white inlay or a partial red slip. Eastern Desert Ware has been found in archaeological contexts predominantly dated to the 4th-6th centuries CE, by associated pottery, coins, and radiocarbon analysis, in the Nile Valley between the Fifth Cataract, just north of where the Atbara debouches into the Nile, and the First Cataract near Aswan, as well as in the desert to the east, between Quseir and Port Sudan, an area of roughly 350,000 km² . Front Cover Title Page Copyright TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: Historical Background of the Eastern Desert and Eastern Desert Ware CHAPTER TWO: The Macroscopic Description of Eastern Desert Ware and its Comparison with Associated Pottery CHAPTER THREE: The Provenance of Eastern Desert Ware as Suggested by the Chemical Composition of the Fabric of the Vessels CHAPTER FOUR: The Use of Eastern Desert Ware as Suggested by Lipid Residues in the Walls of the Vessels CHAPTER FIVE: The Eastern Desert and the Production of Eastern Desert Ware CHAPTER SIX: Interpretative Summary and Conclusions APPENDIX ONE: Initial Research Questions and Preliminary Answers by Selected Experts APPENDIX TWO: List of Sites at which Eastern Desert Ware has been Described (1935-2002) APPENDIX THREE: Historical Sources on the Blemmyes, the Beja, the Megabaroi and the Trogodytes APPENDIX FOUR: Classification System for Eastern Desert Ware by Vessel Form (H) and Lay-out of the Decoration (D) APPENDIX FIVE: Catalogue of the Eastern Desert Ware Sherds and Vessels in this Study APPENDIX SIX: Outline of the Geology of the Eastern Desert APPENDIX SEVEN: Clay Minerals APPENDIX EIGHT: Thin-Sections of Eastern Desert Ware APPENDIX NINE: Chemical Composition of Selected Sherds APPENDIX TEN: Biochemical Glossary APPENDIX ELEVEN: Open Fire Temperature Measurements APPENDIX TWELVE: Preliminary Reports on Eastern Desert Ware (2002-2008) LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS REFERENCES INDEX