ASEA Lecture

»Imported Pottery at Tell Edfu from the Middle Kingdom through early New Kingdom«

Natasha D. Ayers | OeAI and Mary F. Ownby | University of Arizona

The provincial capital of Edfu in Upper Egypt was connected to the wider Mediterranean world via indirect trade networks, evidenced in part by the pottery corpus. During almost 20 years of excavations at the site of Tell Edfu, directed by Dr. Nadine Moeller and Dr. Gregory Marouard, pottery imported from outside of Egypt has been found in a variety of Middle Kingdom – early New Kingdom contexts. The majority of these imports are transport amphorae, colloquially called Canaanite jars. These amphorae include numerous pre-Amarna Period examples, which were not previously well-attested outside of the Delta and Memphite regions. Petrographic analysis was possOnlineible at Tell Edfu for the first time in spring 2024. This brought a new dimension to the study of the Edfu pottery, especially in regard to the imported wares and the development of Marl D found at the site, which will also be discussed. This lecture presents some preliminary results of this exciting collaboration between the traditional ceramic study of the pottery (e.g., on-site fabric classifications and chronological developments of shapes) and the petrographic study of the pottery.