treatment was carried out for each ostrakon.
The macroscopic study of all inscribed ceramic fragments followed the criteria below:
• the composition of the clay;
• the color of the surface and fractures;
• the texture and appearance of the fabric;
• the color, appearance, size, frequency, and quality of the inclusions;
• the final processing and surface treatment (i.e., slip, decoration, etc.).
The diagnostic fragments for which a secure vessel type has been recognized have been drawn and compared with similar shapes already present in the Amheida ceramic catalogue.11 The combined data regarding fabric, shape, and function made it possible to establish a typological classification of the fragments analyzed.
3.2. OSTRAKA AND CERAMICS
The corpus of the Amheida ostraka consists of approximately 889 pieces. The Greek ostraka form the largest part of the corpus, with 813 specimens, while Hieratic and Demotic ostraka are less frequent, 13 and 25 examples respectively. 12 pictorial and 26 unidentified ostraka complete the corpus (Table 1).
Table 1. Distribution of the ostraka by language.
The contexts in which the ostraka were found during excavation belong mostly to dump layers and occupational deposits (75%). The dump layers are primarily foundation fills or dumped waste, but ostraka were also found on the surface or embedded in the walls as building material (“chinking sherds”) (Figs. 4–5).12
In general, the range of datable ostraka coincides with that of other textual and numismatic evidence dating between the mid-first century and the end of the fourth century CE. The identified texts comprise accounts of different commodities, such as hay, oil, vinegar, wine, cotton, and bread, letters and delivery orders, lists of names, and writing exercises. The largest number of texts, with 344 examples or 36% of the total, are tags, especially well tags. Such small tags were used to label the contents of jars containing wine and other commodities and were placed in mud stoppers, as attested by three examples from the site where the ostrakon is still embedded in the stopper (O.Trim. 1.161, 200, and 204) (Fig. 6).13 Comparanda have also been found in 14 complete stoppers, still with their tags, from a Roman building at Kellis.14
Figure 4. Body sherds embedded in a vault as building material (“chinking sherds”).
Figure 5. Ostraka reused as chinking sherds in a dome covering a room.
Figure 6. Tags still embedded in mud stopper.
Among the items of information written on the well tag sherds were the name of the 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
