Naqada IIIB pottery in the Nile Delta: a view from Tell el-Farkha
Naqada IIIB pottery in the Nile Delta: a view from Tell el-Farkha

Summary/Abstract: Excavations conducted at the Tell el-Farkha cemetery between the 2001 and 2008 archaeological seasons revealed graves with pottery vessels which were assigned to three chronological groups. Only the first and the second contained pottery vessels which could be dated to the end of the Dynasty 0 and the beginning of the first half of the 1st Dynasty (Naqada IIIB/IIIC1-IIIC2) or the second half of the 1st Dynasty and the first half of the 2nd Dynasty (Naqada IIIC2/IIID) respectively. Following this, several additional graves containing other, remarkably different types of vessels were explored. Based on pottery analysis, this new group of graves was dated to Naqada IIIB, probably at its beginning and prior to the reign of Iry-Hor. The assemblages from these new graves contained cylindrical jars, mostly with cord-impressed patterns beneath their rims. Other pottery types included ovoid and shouldered jars of fine ware including two examples from a single grave, each with a serekh of a different ruler. Rough ware vessels included jars with high, almost cylindrical necks,‘granary’ jars and bowls with a concave outer contour of divergent sides. Bowls with convex sides and a simple rounded rim with a more or less smoothed surface as well as half-polished bowls with convex sides were also present..

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