Egyptian Pottery in Nubia: Stages of Existence

Abstract

The article analyzes the stages of penetration and peculiarities of existence of ancient Egyptian pottery in Nubia – the southern neighbour of Egypt and the area of its expansionist interests. The first traces of such penetration were recorded at the beginning of the 3rd millennium B.C. and were associated with the founding of the Egyptian outposts in the middle reaches of the Nile. In the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C. Nubia became a part of the Egyptian Empire, which led to the Egyptization of various aspects of Nubian life, including craft, and to the existence of traditional Egyptian ceramic types, mainly made on a pottery wheel. After the return of independence, the wheel-made pottery of the Napata Kingdom continued to demonstrate Egyptian features, but gradually there was an individual evolution.As a result, already in the Meroitic Period, this led to the forming of the original and unique style of Meroitic ceramics. Egyptian pottery, mainly from the southern regions bordering on Nubia (primarily from Aswan), continued to be imported into the Kingdom of Meroe; its presence on archaeological sites clearly demonstrates the active trade relations of the two neighbouring regions, and also, possibly, indicates that the Aswan pottery workshops could be oriented not only to the internal, but also to the external sales market, due to their proximity to the borders of Meroe. At the same time, Egyptian pottery is represented in Nubia in much smaller quantities than one would expect. This can be explained, on the one hand, by not always accurate attribution of archaeological finds. On the other hand, the Nubian ceramics has long roots and traditions; it was able to provide for the everyday needs of the unpretentiouslocal population. Although Egyptian influence can be traced in certain groups of Nubian pottery, but local pottery producing of the Meroitic time became highly developed and was competitive with imported samples in the domestic market.