Pottery and people in Old Kingdom Kom Ombo
within the framework of ASEA-series (Austrian Studies In Egyptian Arachaeology
Pottery and people in Old Kingdom Kom Ombo: An Insight into the Recent Work of the Austrian-Egyptian mission
Uroš Matić | ÖAI
Since 2017, the joint work of the Austrian-Egyptian mission at Kom Ombo has significantly contributed to a better understanding of the development of the ancient town and its earliest history. The so far oldest traces of settlement were found in area S9/N, between the northern modern enclosure wall of the temple and the Crocodile Museum. In this area, first activity can be dated to the late Early Dynastic period and the first settlement phase to the very early Old Kingdom. The Old Kingdom settlement in this area continued to exist until mid 5th Dynasty, after which the area was levelled and became a cemetery of the late Old Kingdom-Early First Intermediate Period. The large amount of pottery found in the settlement of area S9/N dates to the late Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom. It does not only help us to roughly date and synchronize the phases of the earliest town of Kom Ombo with those of neighbouring Elephantine, but is also indispensable for our understanding of the daily life and economy of the town. Therefore, this lecture will focus on pottery and people of Kom Ombo and present the results of the recent work on this material. Utilizing the chaîne opératoire approach allows us to follow the production, use, and refuse of pottery in Kom Ombo, step by step. Documentation of pre-firing fingerprints on the interior and exterior walls of the vessels can prove to be of great importance for identification of social groups involved in ceramic production. Analysis of imports and use of non-Egyptian pottery, such as Nubian ware, is informative on cultural contacts and potentially of cooking preferences of the town´s inhabitants. Furthermore, a study of fragmentation and abrasion of refused pottery is useful for better understanding of the site formation processes in Kom Ombo.