Amheida III. Roger S. Bagnall
well or plot, the name of the tenant who has leased the plot, the vessel’s content, and the year of reign from which the contents came and, presumably, that in which the vessel with the tag was delivered.15 These ostraka, quite well attested within Dakhla, are far less common outside the Oasis.16
3.2.1. THE MAIN FABRICS OF THE OSTRAKA
When lacking diagnostic fragments, small sherds are difficult to attribute to specific vessel types or to date within a narrow timeframe. In these instances, the identification of distinctive fabrics and surface treatments become fundamental in recognizing some vessel types.
The characteristics of the clays and the classification of the main oasis fabrics and wares have been the subject of a number of studies.17 Specifically, the analysis of the sherds’ main fabrics in the case of ostraka from Amheida has been based primarily on the Dakhleh Oasis Fabric System’s classification by Colin Hope.18
Production of ceramics, at least in the region of the Dakhla Oasis,19 is characterized mainly by two fabric types: red- and brown-firing fabrics (A) and the orange-, green-, yellow-, and white-firing fabrics (B).20 (Table 2)
Table 2. Percentage of vessel fabrics present on the site.
The first, and by far the most prominent, fabric (93.06% of the sherds used for ostraka at Amheida) is made of clays rich in iron oxides (iron-rich clays), ranging in color from red-orange (A1a/A2a) to gray-black (A1b/A2b). The distinction between A1 and A2 fabrics is not based on the clay’s composition, which is indeed identical, but on the addition of inclusions. In the A1 fabric, sand temper, quartz grains, calcareous inclusions, and red or black particles are very numerous. Conversely, the clay of group A2 is finer, resulting in a thinner and denser ceramic core. A1 and A2 groups are predominant both in the overall amount of sherds found on site as well as among the ostraka. This is in part due to the fact that these fabrics were used in the production of the most common ceramic types (i.e., storage and transport containers, cooking wares, and table wares). The existence of pottery workshops at Amheida during the Roman period (at least in Area 1)21 and at other sites in the oasis reinforces the hypothesis of a regional and local ceramic production of groups A1 and A2.22 As far as chronology goes, A1a and A1b were produced from the early second century until the mid- to late-fourth century CE, a timeframe confirmed by the ostraka found at the site. A2a and A2b are instead dated more narrowly to the third–fourth centuries.23
A variant of these groups is fabric A5, similar in composition but over-fired, with a coarser texture, more porous, and with a larger quantity of white, green and yellow particles. The inherent qualities of this fabric make it the ideal choice for containers for liquids (i.e., jugs, kegs, and storage jars).
Type A11, also known as Christian Brittle Ware, is a kaolinitic brittle fabric characterized by a hard core and fine texture. The breaks differ according to the firing: lighter surfaces have usually bluish-gray cores, whereas darker surfaces correspond to cores with orange-pink zones. The inclusions consist of several red and black particles of various sizes (silicified clay platelets), quartz grains, and some small white particles of calcite. Quite commonly the external surface is coated in a red slip, which turns gray after firing. Used in flasks of the Third Intermediate Period/Late Period, this type was resumed from the late third and fourth century CE for thin-walled cooking jars, casseroles, and bowls. With a red and cream coating, these vessels are sometimes decorated in red dots on cream bands, a characteristic of Late Antique productions.24
The B10 type is a marl clay with a porous texture; it is light in color and moderately coarse. The breaks are usually greenish-gray, with several grains of quartz, some limestone, and red and black particles of various sizes. This type was used almost exclusively for closed vessels (i.e., lids used also as footed bowls, jugs, and costrels). More specifically, water jugs are dated mainly, but not exclusively, to the middle of the third century/end of the fourth century CE.25
The B3b type is characterized by an orange kaolinitic clay containing mostly red hematite inclusions of medium and small size, quartz, and platey fragments of shale and mudstone.26 Usually this fabric is attested at Amheida in flasks and small bowls with yellow slip. Its production has been linked to sites located in the North of the Kharga Oasis.27 The double-handled flasks, designed to contain and transport wine from Kharga, are small containers similar to lagynoi of the Hellenistic world (Fig. 10). They are characterized by a yellow slip on the exterior surface, sometimes decorated in a monochrome or bichrome painted motif. They can also present thick blackened traces on the inner surfaces, on the rim, and on the outside of the neck. These are traces of resins that covered the whole internal surface to seal them so that the liquid content would not be spoiled. The small convex bowls with yellow slip are characterized by a simple rim with spiral decoration on the inner surface. They are usually found in the same contexts as the flasks. This production appears in the Kharga Oasis in small amount at the beginning of what is called Phase III, dated to the 3rd century CE, and increases progressively during the 4th or 5th century CE, at the end of Phase III.28
3.2.2. CERAMIC VESSELS
The morphological repertoire of Amheida’s pottery vessels includes a great variety of shapes, mainly of local or regional manufacture, as already mentioned above. Most of the fragments come from common wares, especially iron-rich fabric A1, and can be divided into closed forms (jars, kegs, water jugs, and cooking pots) and open forms (craters, basins, and small bowls).
Kegs constitute the main import from the oases of the Libyan desert. The manufacture of this type of container begins at the end of the Third Intermediate Period (25th Dynasty) in the oases of Bahariya (Qasr Allam),29 Kharga (27th Dynasty at Ain Manâwîr), and Dakhla during the Late Period (fifth century BCE).30 During the Roman Period and Late Antiquity, kegs have a large oval shape, short neck, cylindrical or slightly tapered, and a rounded triangular rim.31 Today, these vessels are still used, particularly in the Dakhla Oasis (El-Qasr), as churners, for storing cheese, or for drawing water in shallow channels.32
Storage containers at Amheida include several types of jars classified according to the rim shapes. They usually present short necks and rims with quadrangular sections and sometimes grooves. Roman jars have usually a projecting rib at the junction between the neck and shoulder, a short neck, and a rim of quadrangular section,33 or the surface right below the neck can be decorated with grooves.34 Containers with rounded rims are characteristic of Late Antiquity.35
Water jugs characteristic of the Late Roman Period and Late Antiquity have usually a pinched rim, narrow cylindrical neck provided with a filter, large carinated body, and flat base. The handle is attached to the lip and the upper part of the body. Generally, these vessel types are made with a marl coarse clay favorable to the keeping of water and its freshness (B10 fabric), but they can also be produced in a ferruginous clay rich in calcite particles (A5 fabric). In both cases, the outer surface is covered with a white slip.
All these containers are made in A1, A2, and A5 fabrics, attesting a local or regional production. They were intended to store water and local wine, but also dairy products (Fig. 7).
The large family of cooking vessels consists mainly of globular pots with rims of different shapes. They are usually short necked, slightly flared, and sometimes molded, or with thickened flared rims, or even neck-less with flat and flared rims. The fabric used for this types of vessel is A1, A2 or, from the late third and fourth century CE, A11 (Fig. 8).
Open forms used for food consumption and serving have many variants that are sometimes difficult to classify because of their very slow and minimal changes between