The Potter’s Wheel in Ancient Egypt at the Second Half of the 1st Millennium BCE: Foreign Influence or Technological Progress?

Abstract

The article is devoted to ancient Egyptian pottery technologies at the second half of the 1st millennium BCE. The evidence for this study is representations of the potter’s wheel at scenes of the temples dated to 6th – 2nd BCE. All temples are situated on the territory of Upper Egypt. All wheels are divided in two type – the simple potter’s wheel and the kick-wheel. The main feature of the kick-wheel is flywheel in the lower part. The representations provide evidence that potters used various types of the simple potter’s wheels and the kick-wheels at that period. The simple low wheel is well-known since the Old Kingdom, whereas the kick-wheel first appears in the end of the 6th c. BCE. The pottery dated to 6th BCE – 2nd CE (for example the pottery found during the excavations of the Russian archaeological mission (the Centre for Egyptological Studies of the Russian academy of Sciences) at Memphis (Egypt)) has angular and precise grooves. The wheelmarks point that these vessels were thrown. However, it is difficult to determine the type of the potter’s wheel.