Mersa Gawasis (Red Sea - Egypt): UNO/IsIAO and BU 2003-2004 Field Season under direction of Rodolfo Fattovich and Kathryn Bard

Pottery

1087 diagnostic Egyptian potsherds were collected at Mersa Gawasis in the 2003-2004 field season. Forty "Nubian" fragments, including 12 diagnostic sherds, were also recorded (Fig. 8).
All diagnostic and atypical potsherds were described and classified with a list of attributes, including size, shape, paste, surface treatment, decorative motifs, and manufacturing technique, which were based on the ceramics from the 2003-2004 field season and those from the previous seasons. The ceramics were examined by T. Arpin, A. Manzo, C. Perlingieri and C. Zazzazo.

Shapes: The classification of rims, bases and profiles of the collected ceramics is represented in Fig. 9.
Rim classes 1, 2, 3-4 can be ascribed to closed jars, medium to large in size and over 1 cm thick, with a thick, with rounded or flat base (types A-B or D-E). Only the fragments of open vessels, medium to large in size, can be ascribed to large dishes or open bowls with 6c or 8a rims and a rounded or flat base, or to vessels with a conical C base (bread molds?).
Rim classes 5-7 can be ascribed to vessels, medium to small in size and less than 1 cm thick. They include small open or closed bowls, cups and dishes with a base of type A-B, D-E, and sometimes F. The small bowls with a closed shape and a thick rounded rim are similar to Egyptian henw vessels.

Fabrics: Two main classes of paste were distinguished: Nile silts and marl clays. Each class includes different fabrics, which are comparable to those of the Vienna System (see Arnold & Bourrieau 1993).

Nile silt fabrics:
NS1: Clay with very fine mineral (sand?) inclusions, and sometimes a small amount of vegetal (chaff?) inclusions. The clay is usually well fired and brown in color (7.5 YR 5/4). See Nile B1 fabric in the Vienna System.
NS2: Clay with medium (over 2 mm in size) mineral and vegetal inclusions. The paste has a dark gray or black core in the fresh fractures, and is often not well fired and can be friable. The surface is red or reddish brown in color (2.5 YR 5/8, 2.5 YR 5/4 or 10R 5/4). See Nile B2 fabric in the Vienna System.
NS3: Clay with a large amount of rough and large vegetal inclusions (chaff?), which are often visible on the surface of the vessels. The clay has a dark gray or black core in the fresh fractures, and is often not well fired and can be friable. The surface is reddish yellow (7.5 YR 7/6 to 5 YR 7/8) or reddish brown in color (2.5 YR 5/4 or 10R 5/4). See Nile C fabric in the Vienna System.
NS4: Clay with a large amount of fine and rough mineral inclusions (mainly limestone). The clay is usually hard, often with a dark gray core and reddish interior and exterior in the fresh fractures because of a not very homogeneous firing. The surface is red in color (5 YR 6/6, 2.5 YR 5/6). See Nile D fabric in the Vienna System.

Marl clay fabrics
MC1: Clay with many limestone and rarely other mineral inclusions. Limestone inclusions are whitish grains or may be completely decomposed, depending on the firing. In fresh fractures the paste is hard, usually with a uniform color, ranging from reddish yellow to pale yellow or olive (5 YR 7/3-6, 5 Y 8/2-3, 5 Y 6/3). See Marl A 2-3 fabric in the Vienna System.
MC2: Clay with a large amount of mineral inclusions. The paste is compact, with a pink core and gray-white to green interior and exterior in the fresh fracture. The surface ranges from pale olive to white in color (5 Y 6/3 to 5 Y 8/1). See Marl B fabric in the Vienna System.
MC3: Clay with a large amount of fine to medium coarse mineral inclusions (mainly limestone). The clay is hard, with a gray core and red interior and exterior in the fresh fracture, and a gray-white surface (5 Y 8/2). See Marl C fabric in the Vienna System.
MC4: Clay with some mineral inclusions (mainly limestone). The paste has a light gray core with pinkish bands in the fresh fracture, and the surface is gray-white to yellowish in color (5Y 7/3). See Marl A 4 fabric in the Vienna System.

Vessels with NS1 and MC1 fabrics are usually burnished. All other vessels are roughly finished. Often, a whitish to yellow slip or wash was applied to vessels with MC3 fabric.
Almost all medium and small size vessels, less than 1 cm thick, were made with a wheel. The large storage jars show traces of a separate modeling on a turning device and subsequent assembling of the different parts of the vessel.

Decoration:
Surface decoration is rare. Designs include horizontal rows of oblique cord impressions on the external surface of open dishes; bands of incised wavy lines or parallel "commas" on the upper part of the external surface of carinated bowls or on the shoulder of small bottles; and painted parallel lines on the body of a medium-size jar.
Sometimes potter's marks were incised before firing or scratched after firing on the body of medium and large jars. The marks include hieroglyphic signs such as ntr, nfr, mn, possible numerals, a Y-shaped sign, and boats.

Preliminary classification
Fabrics NS1, MC1, and MC2 include small cups or bowls with a 5-6 and 7 rim, and rounded or ring bases. Surfaces can be burnished. Decoration is rare. Carinated bowls with a 6e rim are often decorated with rows of incised wavy lines or commas. Some open rounded bowls may have a Y-shaped pot mark under the outside rim.
Fabric NS3 includes medium and large dishes and bowls with a 6c and 6g rim and rounded or flat bases. Surfaces are usually rough and decorations absent.
Fabrics NS2, NS4, MC1, MC2, and MC3 include medium and large jars with a 1-4 rim, and large bowls with an 8a rim and rounded or flat bases. Surfaces are rough or burnished and decoration is rare. Pot marks occur frequently near the rim and on the shoulder.
Fabric MC4 includes a carinated small bowl with a 6f rim.

Comparative materials
The following potsherds are similar to samples from other pharaonic sites:
1) A MC4 (Marl A4) 6f rim of a small closed bowl from WG 18 SU14 is similar to carinated bowls dating to the First Intermediate Period, or possibly the early Middle Kingdom. An earlier date cannot be excluded, as fragments of Marl A4 bowls similar to the one from Mersa Gawasis were discovered in Old Kingdom assemblages at Elephantine. Marl A4, however, is considered a typical fabric of the Middle and New Kingdoms (see Kelley 1976; Arnold & Bourrieau 1993; Raue 1999).
2)A NS3 (Nile Silt C) open bowl with a 6g rim from WG 15 is similar to vessels from assemblages dating to the end of the Old Kingdom or the First Intermediate Period (see Fakhry 1961; Soukassian, Wuttmann, Pantalacci, Ballet, & Picon 1990; Raue 1999).
3)A MC3 (Marl C) necked jar with an 11 rim from WG 16 SU11 is similar to vessels dating to the very end of the Old Kingdom or the First Intermediate Period (Kelley 1976; Soukassian, Wuttmann, Pantalacci, Ballet, & Picon 1990; Raue 1999).
4)A NS3 (Nile Silt C) open dish with a 6c rim and decorated with rows of rope impressions from WG 19 SU3 is similar to vessels from Middle Kingdom tombs at Lahun (see Kelley 1976).
5)A MC1 (Marl A 2-3) 1b1 rim from WG 19 SU8 is similar to rims of jars dating from the end of the Old Kingdom to the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty (see Bourriau 1998).
6)The MC1 (Marl A 2-3) 2e rims from WG 15 SU5, WG 16 surface, SU7-9, WG 19, SU2, SU3, SU4, and SU13 are similar to rims of ovoid-globular jars typical of the Middle Kingdom, but made up to the early New Kingdom (Holthoer 1977; Bourriau 1998).
7)The MC1 (Marl A 2-3) 4e rims of corrugated jars from WG 18 SU8, SU14 and from WG 15 SU1 are similar to samples dating from the reign of Senusret II to the end of the Twelfth Dynasty (Arnold 1982; Bietak 1991; Bourriau 1996, 1998).
8)A MC3 (Marl C) potsherd decorated with painted parallel black lines from the profile of WG 16 W-E 3 is similar to a class of decorated jugs and jars dating to the beginning of the New Kingdom (Holthoer 1977). Unfortunately, this fragment was not found in a clear stratigraphic context.
9)Sherds of open bowls or cups with a 5a and 5b rim from WG 16 SU2, SU3, SU3-4, SU3-5, SU5, SU7, SU6, SU8, SU7-9, SU9, and SU11; WG 17, SU1, SU2, SU4, SU7; WG 18 SU1, SU4, SU6, SU7-8, SU8 , SU9, SU10, SU11, SU12, SU13; WG 19 SU1, SU2, SU3, SU4, SU7, SU8; WG 22 surface; and WG 23 SU1 are similar to samples dating from the Middle Kingdom to the early New Kingdom. (Arnold 1982; Bietak 1981).
10)Sherds of small jars or bottles with a 2f rim from WG 16 SU7, WG18 SU13, and WG19 SU3 are similar to samples which were made in Lower Egypt in the first half of the Twelfth Dynasty (reign of Amenemhat II) (Kelley 1976; Bourriau 1998).
11)The 2c rims of jars from WG 16 SU1 and WG 17 SU7 are similar to samples dated to the Middle Kingdom (Tyson Smith 1997)
12)Jar sherds with a 3a rim from WG 16 SU3, SU2, SU3-5, SU5; WG 18 SU1; and WG 19 SU1 are similar to samples dating from the late Middle Kingdom (Amenemhat III) to the beginning of the New Kingdom (Arnold 1977, 1982; Holthoer1977; Tyson Smith 1997).
13)Sherds of MC3 jars with a rounded 1c rim from WG 19 SU13 and WG 16 SU1 are similar to Lower Egyptian (Marl C) samples dating to the mid-Twelfth Dynasty to early Thirthteenth Dynasty (Arnold 1977; Bourriau 1998).
14)Sherds of jars with a 4a and 4b rim from WG 17 SU1, SU7 and WG 18 SU8 are similar to late Middle Kingdom/Thirteenth Dynasty vessels (Bietak 1981; Tyson Smith 1997).
15)Sherds of storage jars with B flat bases and different fabrics from WG16 SU1, SU2, SU3, SU3-4, SU3-5; WG 17 SU1, SU7; WG 18 SU1, SU4, SU8; WG 19 surface; and WG 22 surface are similar to vessels dating from Senusret I to the Thirteenth Dynasty (Kelley 1976; Bietak 1981; Arnold 1982, 1993; Shaw & Bloxam 1999).

"Nubian" ceramics
"Nubian" ceramics were recorded at WG 15 SU1, SU2; WG 17 SU1; and WG 18 SU1, SU9, SU14. They are characterized by an atypical fabric (AF1) with mineral (sand?) and organic (straw or dung?) inclusions in the clay. The paste is friable with a uniform brown to dark gray/black color in the fresh fracture. This fabric is similar to the Nubian Fabric in the Vienna System.
AF1 vessels include small hand-made bowls or cups with a 5 rim, and incised and impressed decorations. Incised motifs include herring-bone motifs, rim bands with oblique criss-cross lines, horizontal grooves along the rim covering the whole or most of the sherd surface, and parallel oblique or crossing lines within a geometric frame. Impressed motifs consist of rectangular notches.

Chronology
Most diagnostic potsherds can be ascribed to different phases of the Middle Kingdom. Some of the sherds, however, may date to earlier and later periods.
The ceramics from the upper strata at WG 16, WG 17, WG 18, and WG 19 date to the late Middle Kingdom /Thirteenth Dynasty.
The lower strata at WG 16 and perhaps WG 18 SU14, can be tentatively dated to the end of the Old Kingdom or the First Intermediate Period. All ceramics from WG 16 SU13 are consistent with this date. At WG 18 SU14 earlier types are apparently associated with later Middle Kingdom pottery. All other assemblages in WG 15, WG 16, WG 17, WG 18, WG 19, WG 20, WG 21, WG 22, and WG 23 can be dated from early to late Twelfth Dynasty.
A decorated potsherd from WG 16 suggests that the site was also used at the beginning of the New Kingdom.
The "Nubian" ceramics are similar to Middle Nubian samples from domestic C-Group and Kerma assemblages, dating from ca. 2100-1400 BC. An early date cannot be excluded for some of these vessels, as samples similar to those from Mersa Gawasis occur in assemblages of the First Intermediate Period (ca. 2185-2050 BC) at Elephantine (Bietak 1979; Gratien 1984, 1985; Säve-Söderbergh 1989; Tyson Smith 1997; Raue 1999).