for vessels with shiny-red slipped surfaces that imitate the productions in North African Terra Sigillata (African Red Slip Ware).24 Generally, there are three main categories produced in this technique: ceramic tableware, terracotta figurines, and oil lamps. Examples belonging to this family of wares were found in large quantities at the fortified settlement of Douch/Kysis and ‘Ain Shams in the Kharga Oasis. For this reason, Rodziewicz has termed this fabric Kharga Red Slip Ware.25 The same fabric and shapes have been identified by Hope in the Dakhla oasis, especially at Amheida, Ismant el-Kharab/Kellis, and Mut el-Kharab, initially as “material of the Christian Period” and later named Oasis Red Slip Ware.26 So far, the production centers have not been identified in either Oasis.27 The A27 fabric ranges from red/brown to light red in color with a quite dense body, rich in silica and iron oxides.28 The surfaces have a thick shiny-red slip, frequently burnished; decoration is not common.29 The vessels produced in this fabric and belonging to the family of the Oasis Red Slip Ware are found in contexts dated from the fourth to fifth centuries CE.30
Imports from the Nile Valley found in Area 2.1 consist mainly of wine amphorae Late Roman Amphora 7 and a few fragments related to small containers for liquids, mostly table amphorae. A few fragments of Rhodian amphora and Amphore Égyptienne 4 have been found in some strata pre-dating B1 and Street 2.31
1.3. WARES
Wares can be divided into families on the basis of the presence or absence of a surface coating and its color (Table 1 below). Each type of surface treatment can support further decoration in the form of painted designs, polish or burnish. In this study, the term “slip” refers to a coating that has been applied prior to firing.32
Ceramic coating increases the degree of impermeability of the body and helps to smooth the roughness of surfaces. The most frequent type of coating used for the ceramic materials from Area 2.1 is the “clay or mud” slip, obtained by immersing the pot, before firing it, into a liquefied suspension of clay particles in water. The color of the slip varies depending on the firing method, the nature of the clays, and the pigments used, if any.33 Generally, the slip of the vessels produced in ferruginous clay (Group A) ranges in color from orange to dark red. Usually, the shiny red color is due to the addition of red ochre clay34 or the use of iron-rich clay combined with an oxidant firing environment.35 The light slip, from white to cream to pale yellow, may be associated with both ferruginous and calcareous clay (Group B) products. The slip on the surfaces of vessels produced in Nile clay is reminiscent of a fine white wrap (white wash) applied by spraying on the exterior surface of the containers.36
The term “pseudo-slip” is rarely used in this study. It typically refers to a surface coating obtained by using the same clay as that of the vessel. During the modeling of the clay on the wheel, the repeated passages of the potter’s hands on the artifact polish the surface, bringing to the surface the finer clay components present in the doughs.37 The distinction between slip and pseudo-slip is difficult to define when the color of the ceramic body is the same as the coating, as in the case of products in calcareous or marl clays.
The following coding is employed to indicate the type of ware:38
• P = plain or uncoated
• S = slipped or coated
• W = washed
• D = decorated
• b = black
• br = brown
• c = cream
• o = orange
• p = pinkish
• r = red
• w = white
• y = yellow
All the fabrics and wares are summarized in the following Table 1. The macro-Photo of the fracture of some of the fabrics is showed in Figure 5. A graph illustrating the incidence, in terms of kilograms, of the fabric from the contexts above floors B1, S2, and S3, is provided in Table 2.39
Table 1. Fabric and ware descriptions
| Coarse Ferruginous Fabrics | |
| Fabric: A1 Wares: P, Pb, Sc, Sr, Sr/o, Sw, Dc, Dr | Medium to coarse textured fabric; medium-bodied. The inclusions characterizing this group vary in size and quantity, according to the fine quality of the fabric. Macroscopically, they include sand, limestone, and chaff, of varying size and quantities, as well as rare clay granules, platey shale,1 and grog.2 This fabric is fired red to brown/orange (A1a) to gray/black (A1b). The fracture is often zoned: brown/orange exterior layers with gray/black core. This is the most common fabric in the Dakhla oasis throughout all historical periods, and it is used for an extensive range of shapes (storage and transport containers, cooking ware, and table ware). |
| Fabric: A2 Wares: P, Sc, Dc, Dr | Fine to medium textured fabric; dense-bodied and hard. The distinction between the fabrics classified as A1 and A2 is based on the higher proportion of finer inclusions. In general, A2 has a finer groundmass.3 Like A1, this fabric is fired red to brown/orange (A2a) to gray/black (A2b). Zoned fracture is less common than A1: the core is usually thin and well defined, gray to brown/gray in color. Compared to A1, this fabric is used in a more limited range of shapes (short-necked jars, kegs, flasks, and kraters). |
| Fabric: A5 Wares: Sc, Sr, Sw, Db, Dr | Medium-bodied, medium-coarse textured fabric. Macroscopically visible inclusions consist of large amounts of quartz, clay pellets, and limestone (green/yellow vacuoles of different sizes are visible on the entire surface). Quartz/sand-rich variant of A1.4 The fabric appears to be over-fired purple-brown to gray in color, without a clear zoning.5 The surface has often a thick white or cream slip, sometimes red. Decorations are more frequent on the Roman jars and consist of black or dark red designs. Fabric A5 is used primarily in handled filter jugs and storage jars with foot ring, usually decorated. |
| Fabric: A28 Wares: P, Sc, So, Sr | Medium to open-bodied, medium coarse-textured fabric. Macroscopically visible inclusions consist of sand and limestone, and less frequently of clay pellets. It is a limestone-rich variant of A1/A2, which has been low-fired.6 This fabric is fired mid-brown with no clear zoning. Fabric A28 occurs rarely within the corpus and the range of forms is relatively limited. |
| Mudstone/Claystone/Shale Fabrics | |
| Fabric: A11 Wares: Pb, Sr, Dc, Dr | A dense-bodied, kaolinitic brittle fabric characterized by a hard core and medium-fine texture. Medium scatters of small calcareous inclusions, dark red and sometimes black particles are visible. Known also as Christian Brittle Wares. It was fired in a variety of colors: light surfaces usually have regular bluish-gray cores (mode A), while dark surfaces have cores ranging from pale orange to pink (mode B). The inclusions consist of very fine red (hematite) and black (plates of silica clay) particles of different sizes, fine grains of quartz, very fine shale particles, and rare very fine white inclusions. This fabric is used in Area 2.1 for thin-walled cooking jars, casseroles, and bowls, with a red and cream coating, sometimes decorated in red dots on cream bands, mainly dated by archaeological contexts to the late 3rd and 4th centuries CE |
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