Potmarks from Tell el-Murra and Tell el-Farkha Cemeteries (Seasons 2011-2016)

Abstract

The Necropolis at Tell el-Murra site, situated in the north-eastern part of the Nile Delta just several kilometres east of Tell el-Farkha, contains 22 marked vessels distributed in nine graves. The tall jars discovered there (wine jars and jars decorated with half-bows) were the most commonly marked items, but signs were also found on other types of vessels: broad-shouldered jars, a barrel-shaped jar, small jars with broad-shoulders, red-coated plates and a bowl. In the course of excavations carried out between 2011 and 2016 at Tell el-Farkha cemetery four vessels with potmarks were found. Marks from both cemeteries correspond with signs published in corpuses from other sites dated to the Early Dynastic period: Tell el-Farkha, Minshat Abu Omar, Kafr Hassan Dawood, Abydos, Abu Roash and others.