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designs
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Figure 2. The 18th Dynasty pottery from the fortified town (SAV 1) (scale 1:4).
Nubian traditions on the ceramics found in the Pharaonic town on Sai Island
Figure 4. A Nubian design of black triangles on a typical Egyptian form (scale 1:4).
from the middle of the 18th Dynasty. The red slip and
black painting is also more typical of this period (Hope
1987, 109).
So, what can be said about the origin of this design?
In Egypt there is no parallel known so far. It is however
also possible to find a link with the traditional Nubian
ceramics of the Kerma period (c. 2500-1500 BC); the
interaction with New Kingdom chronology would corroborate this assumption. However, the parallels are
with Kerma Moyen pottery (forms KM 5, KM 6: Gratien 1976, 175-177), and not with Kerma Classique
material. It is incised or painted under the neck of jars
or under the rims of bowls and cooking pots, always in
connection with triangles. It is the same situation with
the C-Group cooking pots found in Lower Nubia (Gratien 2000, 113-148). For the Kerma culture, we know
that the population occupied the same territory as the
Egyptians at the beginning of the conquest of Nubia. It
is the same for C-Group peoples (c. 2400-1500 BC)
who had lived with the first Egyptians of the 18th
Dynasty. Moreover, Askut, Mirgissa and Site 185 were
in the vicinity of C-Group sites.
In these four sites (Sai, Askut, Mirgissa and SJE Site
185), contact with native Nubians is certain, with either
Kerma or C-Group populations. In the fortified town
on Sai Island this design could be an innovation by
Nubian artisans who applied it to ceramics made in an
Egyptian way.
Cooking pots and
storage jars
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pottery
In the same storage pit with the mat impressed samples were found two types of pottery directly related to
Nubian traditions and with the appearance of Kerma
Classique pottery. In the pit they represent 0.2% of the
total assemblage. They can be classified in two categories, which correspond to variations in the form and the
ware.
The first is certainly a Kerma product. The forms are
opened bowls with a rounded base (Figure 7). The
Nubian traditions on the ceramics found in the Pharaonic town on Sai Island
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Nubian traditions on the ceramics found in the Pharaonic town on Sai Island