Corpus of types of ceramic vessels discovered in Proto- and Early Dynastic graves at Tell el-Murra cemetery

Abstract

Excavation conducted at the Tell el- Murra cemetery between the 2011 and 2018 archaeological seasons revealed 24 graves containing pottery sets. Analyses of vessel forms allow us to arrange them into five chronological groups, determined according to the chronological phases of the Naqada period: Naqada IIIB-C1, Naqada IIIC2, Naqada IIIC, Naqada IIIC2/D, and Naqada IIID.3 Pottery assemblages from each group contain some specific and repeatable types of vessels. There are several aims to this comprehensive presentation of pottery forms occurring in particular groups of graves, and for their comparison to the types recognised in graves assigned to groups at other Nile Delta sites. The first is to provide other scholars with information regarding all vessel types occurring at the Tell el-Murra cemetery. The second is to examine whether the pottery assemblages from Tell el-Murra have been subject to any changes over time. The next is to analyse whether these pottery collections are comparable to sets from other sites (and, if so, to what extent). The last goal is to indicate the reasons for and origins of eventual changes, and to discuss the conclusions arising from the analyses outlined above.