Bulletin de liaison de la céramique égyptienne https://journals.openedition.org/bce Le Bulletin de liaison de la céramique égyptienne (BCE) est l’unique périodique entièrement consacré à la céramique égyptienne, constitué d’articles concis et enrichis de nombreuses planches. Il présente d’abord l’actualité de la recherche céramique en contexte archéologique en suivant un « Parcours régional » en Égypte et en Nubie pour toutes les périodes de leur histoire, du Néolithique aux époques médiévale et moderne. Chaque volume comporte en outre une seconde partie intitulée « Études » dont les thèmes s’inscrivent dans un cadre largement ouvert à tous les questionnements autour de la céramique. Carte de l’Oasis de Dakhla Carte de l'Oasis de Dakhla :

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]]> https://journals.openedition.org/bce/913 2026-05-12 Carte de la mer Rouge Carte de la Mer Rouge :

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]]> https://journals.openedition.org/bce/892 2026-05-12 Étude archéométrique des céramiques de la Basse Époque à l’époque romaine d’Elkab (Haute Égypte) Des analyses pétrographiques en lame mince, complétées par des analyses chimiques originales et inédites par spectroscopie de rayons X à dispersion d’énergie (EDS), ont été menées sur les différents groupes de céramiques datés de la Basse Époque à la période romaine découverts à Elkab dans les années 1970. Certaines céramiques en pâte calcaire ont été fabriquées dans des ateliers de potiers du site d’Elkab, tandis que d’autres, en pâte calcaire ou non calcaire, ont été importées des régions voisines. Les analyses chimiques ont fait l’objet d’un traitement statistique adapté afin de mieux caractériser les différents types de productions. Si ces méthodes confirment les déterminations macroscopiques faites par les céramologues, elles apportent de multiples informations concernant les pâtes et les recettes mises en œuvre par les potiers ; elles proposent en outre des sources pour les matières premières.

Les objectifs de cette contribution sont multiples  :

  • caractériser, selon des méthodes...

]]> Éric Goemaere Thomas Delbey Thomas Goovaerts Thierry Leduc https://journals.openedition.org/bce/694 2026-05-12 Pottery Production at the Middle Kingdom Fortress at Uronarti, Sudan Abstract

The article examines recent findings related to pottery production at Uronarti, a Middle Kingdom fortress located near the Semna cataract in Nubia. Among the evidence presented are an updraught kiln, wasters, and unfired pottery sherds. The analysis of the kiln’s design and its functionality, alongside a study of the local production context, indicates that the manufacture of Nile silt pottery at Uronarti was a specialised and administered activity, closely linked to state-controlled food production and payment of rations. It is suggested that the scale of production was significant enough to not only satisfy the requirements of the local garrison at Uronarti but those of the garrisons of nearby fortresses also. Consequently, the article highlights the role of the Uronarti workshop in the regional supply of pottery during the late 12th Dynasty and the crucial role of potters in the Nubian colonial project.

Introduction

The survival of the fortress of Uronarti is a unique oppor...

]]> Christian Knoblauch https://journals.openedition.org/bce/626 2026-05-12 Oases Wares from Sai Island New Kingdom Town Introduction

A fortified settlement from the pharaonic period is located on the eastern bank of Sai Island and represents one of the important New Kingdom sites in Upper Nubia due to its strategic position just at the southern end of the Batn el-Hagar. Pharaonic to Islamic occupation was identified during archaeological investigation by a French mission undertaken in the 1950s to the 1970s. Both textual references and recent archaeological findings by the Sai Island Archaeological Mission (SIAM) from the University Charles-de-Gaulle Lille 3 and the ERC project “AcrossBorders” attest to major building activities by Thutmose III, marking the heyday of the New Kingdom on the island. Along with the construction of new temples and adjoining structures, we must also assume an increasing occupation of the site.

Considerable amounts of New Kingdom ceramic material were unearthed during excavations in the pharaonic town of Sai Island, comprising a small amount of oases wares, which will be pre...

]]> Julia Budka https://journals.openedition.org/bce/581 2026-05-12 Pottery Decoration in Dakhleh Oasis During the Ptolemaic Period: Evidence for a “Dakhleh Style” Painted decoration is arguably the most recognisable and defining characteristic of the Ptolemaic pottery tradition in Dakhleh Oasis. Despite its striking nature, it has gone unrecognised in the past as a distinctly Ptolemaic feature, and vessels with such decoration have been attributed broadly to the “Roman” and “Christian” pottery traditions of the oasis. A number of studies dealing with Ptolemaic painted decoration in the Nile Valley have appeared in the published literature over the years, and through comparison with this material it is clear that many connections exist between the pottery tradition of Dakhleh (and Kharga) and that of Upper Egypt, particularly the Theban region. Even more noticeable is that the decoration found in Dakhleh displays a number of unique characteristics that set it apart from the Theban material and to a degree also from the Kharga material. Such regionalism points to the existence of a local oasis workshop that, whilst taking inspiration from Upper...

]]> James C.R. Gill https://journals.openedition.org/bce/582 2026-05-12 From the Middle Kingdom to the New Kingdom: A Study of the Pottery Found in Qubbet el-Hawa Tomb QH33, Season 2021 Abstract

El objetivo principal de estudio por parte del equipo de ceramología, durante la campaña de 2021, fue el estudio del material cerámico descubierto en campañas de excavación anteriores en la tumba QH33, en la necrópolis de Qubbet el-Hawa. Durante la 13ª campaña de excavación, nos centramos en la documentación, dibujo y estudio de la cerámica perteneciente a varias unidades estratigráficas (UE) de cinco sectores del interior de la tumba. En concreto, estudiamos la UE 130 y la UE 204 del sector C6; la UE 208 y la UE 213 del sector C4; la UE 102 del sector C7; la UE 256 del sector C17; y finalmente, la UE 347 del sector C24.

Introduction

The necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa is located on the opposite bank of the modern city of Aswan. It comprises over one hundred rock-cut tombs arranged on artificial terraces carved into the rocky cliffs of the hillside. This site served as the burial ground for several nobles who held authority in Elephantine during the Old and Middle Kingdoms. It wa...

]]> Desirée Pérez Navazo Dámaris López Muñoz https://journals.openedition.org/bce/560 2026-05-12 Oases Vessels from the Tomb of Osiris at Umm el-Qaab/Abydos Abstract

Substantial quantities of ceramic material originating from the oases have been excavated during recent fieldwork at Umm el-Qaab/Abydos by the German Archaeological Institute Cairo. As early as the late 18th Dynasty, large corpora of amphorae, most likely imported from Dakhleh Oasis, has been recovered in the presumed tomb of the god, being associated with the cult of Osiris, at Umm el-Qaab. During the Libyan period, the corpus of oases ware includes slender bottles, flasks, and small amphoriskoi. The slender bottles continue into the 25th Dynasty. The latest form group at Umm el-Qaab is represented by various types of oases kegs. This paper provides an initial overview of the diachronic development of the quantities of these oases vessels according to their form groups and types. The possible use and function of the individual containers in connection with the cult of Osiris at Umm el-Qaab will be discussed.

Introduction

The German Archaeological Institute Cairo has been exca...

]]> Julia Budka https://journals.openedition.org/bce/540 2026-05-12 New Kingdom Pottery from Zawyet Sultan Introduction

The archaeological site of Zawyet Sultan, also known as Zawyet el-Meitin or Kom al-Ahmar, is located on the east bank of the Nile, close to modern Minya, in Middle Egypt. In the past it was the site of the ancient city of Hebenu, the capital of the sixteenth upper Egyptian nome. Best known are a small early Old Kingdom step pyramid, a series of late Old Kingdom decorated and inscribed rock tombs, and the Ramesside rock tomb of Nefersekheru (Fig. 1). The site was inhabited at intervals from the Predynastic period up to the early Islamic period.

Fig. 1. Location of the main archaeological features in Zawyet Sultan.

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(Google Earth image, 25 February 2013)

Large-scale excavations were conducted across the site in the first half of the 20th century by Raymond Weill. Unfortunately, hardly anything of his work was ever published. Further fieldwork was carried out in the second half of the latter century by several Egyptian colleagues, and a team, directed by Barry Kemp, worked ther...

]]> Ashraf El-Senussi Bart Vanthuyne Richard Bussmann https://journals.openedition.org/bce/505 2026-05-12 Les pots à cuire d’Ayn Soukhna : caractérisation technologique et pratiques alimentaires au Moyen Empire Les céramiques culinaires du Moyen Empire découvertes sur le site d’Ayn Soukhna, identifiées grâce à la présence de traces de feu, sont peu diversifiées. La majorité de ce corpus est en effet constituée de moules à pain ainsi que de quelques cuves à bec verseur dont les usages pourraient avoir été variés (préparation de la nourriture, entreposage de liquides, cuisson, etc.). En parallèle, les poteries destinées au stockage et à la présentation dominent l’ensemble du mobilier céramique. Parmi les formes ouvertes – bols, coupes et jattes –, il est probable que certaines aient été utilisées de manière plus ou moins opportuniste comme céramiques de cuisson, leur état fragmentaire ne permettant pas toujours d’étudier leurs usages. Il demeure en effet difficile à ce jour d’identifier une ou plusieurs formes que l’on pourrait assurément qualifier de « pots à cuire » – de larges céramiques ouvertes présentant des traces de feu –, contrairement à ce qui est observé sur d’autres sites et sugg...

]]> Adeline Bats https://journals.openedition.org/bce/529 2026-05-12