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Grzegorz Pryc
Institute of Archaeology, UJ
Stone vessels from Tell el-Farkha
In 2001-2006 there were a few dozens of stone vessels discovered in Tell el-Farkha 1 . The most
interesting are those found in closed sets (graves and structures) on the Eastern Kom (grave 9 and 50
as well as structure 45) and those related to the Early Dynastic votive deposit from the Western Kom
(structure 211). The analyzed material allows to draw mainly chronological conclusions based on
stratygraphy, pottery material and analogies to other Egyptian sites.
The structures in question are preliminarily dated to the period of Dynasty I.
GRAVE 9
DATE: beginning of Dynasty I - Narmer
In this grave there were two stone vessels: 1 bowl of basalt (E06/61) and 1 bowl of alabastre (E06/62),
27 pottery vessels (3 jars, 4 medium-sized jars, 4 small jars with flat body, 9 cylindrical jars, 6 bowls, 1
miniature vessel), 2 geometric palettes of schist (E06/66; E06/67), 1 bone spoon (E06/63), 53 beads
of carnelian found on the deceased’s right hand and by the left hip (E06/78), a bead of faience
(E06/78), 1 fragment of a pottery miniature vessel and a piece of ochre.
E/06/61
Measurements: H: 8.2 cm; RoD: 14.5 cm; BtD: 4.0 cm
A vessel in a bowl form. The angle between walls and the bottom’s surface is slightly obtuse. The rim
is straight with a sharp edge. The notch between the wall and the bottom surface is slightly rounded.
The bottom is flat and squat. Material: basalt.
E/06/62
Measurements: H: 6.2cm; BD: 14.5; RiD:-; RoD: 14.6cm; BtD: 5.5 cm
A vessel in a bowl form. The angle between walls and the bottom’s surface is medium obtuse.
Massive, thick walls and a squat bottom.
The analysis of stone vessels from grave 9 allows to date the burial with a great probability to the
beginning of Dynasty I, till the reign of Djer. Forms of this type were popular during the late predynastic
period till the end of Dynasty I. Their examples are numerous vessels found in Mastaba 3471 in
Saqqara 2 and in graves from the necropolis in Zawiyet el-Aryan 3 . At the same time, attention should
be drawn to the fact that in the grave in question there was a pottery vessel with Narmer’s serekh
discovered – the first ruler of Dynasty I. Such an object that so precisely dates the whole set may
suggest that the burial should be dated to the reign of Narmer. The vessels were placed one on the
other just by the deceased’s face.
GRAVE 50
DATE: end of I Dynasty: Semerchet – Qa’a
In grave 50 there were 11 stone vessels, all together, of alabastre and sandstone (1 large plate –
E06/48 – and 1 cylindrical jar – E06/46, 2 small cylindrical jars (E06/40; E06/45), 1 bowl – E06/47, 2
spindle-shaped miniature vessels – E06/41; E06/42; 3 miniature jars with straight shoulders – E06/36;
E06/37; E06/39; 1 small jar – E06/43), 1 fragment of a basalt bowl (E06/75), 37 pottery vessels (35
small jars, 2 bowls), 1 decorated seal impression, 1 fragment of a seal impression (E06/59), 1 bead of
faience (E06/23), 1 fragment of a rattle (E06/16), 1 fragment of a faience object (E06/17), 1 pottery
counter (E06/57) and a deposit of 5 pottery models of granaries (E06/31; E06/32; E06/33; E06/34;
E06/35)
1 Basic Measurements:
H vessel’s height from the bottom’s outer surface to the rim’s edge
BD body diameter – maximum body diameter
RiD rim’s inner diameter – diameter of the inner rim’s edge
RoD rim’s outer diameter – diameter of the outer rim’s edge
BtD bottom’s diameter – diameter of the outer bottom’s surface
2 W. B. Emery, The Great Tombs of the First Dynasty I, 1949 pp. 64-69
3
D. Dunham, Zawiyet el-Aryan – The cemeteries adjacent to the Layer Pyramid, pp. 6-11
2
Vessel E/06/48
Measurements: H: 4.8cm; BD: -; RiD: -; RoD: 40cm; BtD: 10.2 cm
An open form. A vessel in form of a very large bowl. The angle between walls and the bottom’s
surface is very obtuse. Walls are straight, the rim is also straight with flat edge. By the bottom where
the walls touch the bottom’s edge there is a sharp bent. The bottom is flat and slightly squat.
Analogous are stone vessels from Mastaba 3500 in Saqqara dated to the reign of Qa’a 4 . Another
example can be a plate-shaped vessel from the excavations in El Qara. Presently the object is stored
in the Brooklyn Museum collection. Its height is 5.7cm and the width of the rim line is over 39 cm. The
vessel was made of calcite-alabastre and is dated to the period before Dynasty II. 5
Vessel E/06/47
Measurements: H: 4.8cm; BD: -; RiD: 20.2; RoD: 21.2cm; BtD: 5.0 cm
An open form. A vessel in form of a bowl. The angle between walls and the bottom’s surface is very
obtuse. Walls are straight and so the rim with rounded edge. By the bottom where the walls touch the
bottom’s edge there is a clearly visible bent that also forms a small base. The bottom is flat and slightly
squat.
Analogous are vessels found in Mastabas: 3500 6 , 3504, 3120 and 3121 7 in Saqqara. The vessel from
the group in question corresponds to group S3 in Emery’s classification. The form is popular during the
reign of Dynasty I, periods of Hor-Aha and Den in particular. Their production tradition was continued
to the very end of Dynasty II 8 .
Vessel E/06/41
Measurements: H: 6.5cm; BD: 4.8cm; RiD: 2.4cm; RoD: 3.5cm; BtD: 2.0cm
E/06/43
(fragment)
A closed form. Vessels with a medium wide body, a very oblique neck and a slightly separated
shoulders. Walls in the upper part of the body are the most protruding and then they slightly narrow
falling down to the bottom. The neck is squat. The rim’s edge is slightly rounded. The whole vessel’s
shape is archwisely curved. The bottom is flat or slightly rounded.
Analogies for the vessels (E/06/41 and E/06/43) are numerous examples discovered in graves 452,
856, 926 dated to Dynasty I in Abu Roash. The graves themselves are similarly dated to Dynasty I 9 .
E/06/42
Measurements: H: 8,1cm; BD: 4,5cm; RiD: 3,0cm; RoD: 3,6cm; BtD: 2,0cm
A closed form. Vessels of this type are in contrast to the previously distinguished ones. They have a
narrow body with a slightly convex outline. Walls are slightly bent outwards. A hardly marked notch
cuts the rim out of the shoulders. The outer rim’s outline is convex in shape. The rim is slightly rolled
and its edge is rounded. The bottom is flat and squat.
Analogies are vessels from Early Dynastic graves in Tell el-Fara’on 10 and Minshat Abu Omar, where a
fragment of an identical vessel was found in a richly furnished, male burial dated to Dynasty I. 11
E06/39
Measurements: H: 6.2cm; BD: 10.2cm; RiD: 4.3cm; RoD: 6.2cm; BtD: 3.0cm
A closed form. A middle-sized and very squat vessel. Broad shoulders which walls slightly bent
inwards and up to the neck. Its walls are slightly concave, the rim is widen to the inside and has a
sharp edge. The bottom is flat and squat.
4 W. B. Emery, The Great Tombs of the First Dynasty I, 1949 pp. 70-80
5 W. Needler, Predynastic and archaic Egypt in the Brooklyn Museum, 1984 p. 250
6
W. B. Emery, The Great Tombs of the First Dynasty I, 1949, p. 140
9 A. Klasens, The excavations of the Leiden Museum of Antiquities at Abu-Roash. Report of the third
season, 1959, part I, XLI, 1960 pp. 69-94
10 I. A. Mostafa, Some object rating from the Archaic period found at Tell Fara’on-Imet, GM, v. II, 1988
pp.
11 Minshat Abu Omar II. Ein vor- und frühgeschichtlicher Friedhof in Delta. Gräber 115-204, pp. 124-
128
W. B. Emery, The Great Tombs of the First Dynasty III, 1959, pp. 101 - 108
7 W. B. Emery, The Great Tombs of the First Dynasty I, 1949, pp. 116 - 140
8
3
Analogous is a vessel found in Wardan, in a grave dated to Dynasties I-II. Next to stone vessels there
were also a few pottery ones. 12
E/06/36
Measurements: H: 5.1cm; BD: 9.9cm; RiD: 4.0cm; RoD: 5.8cm; BtD: 3.0cm
E/06/37
Measurements: H: 5.1cm; BD: 11cm; RiD: 4.0cm; RoD: 6.2cm; BtD: 3.0cm
A closed form. Small-sized and squat vessels. They have broad shoulders with walls slightly
diagonally bent inwards to the neck. Its walls are also slightly concave. The rim is widen from the
inside with a rounded edge. The bottom is flat.
In 1965-83 excavations on the site of Tell el-Fara’on there was a pre- and Early Dynastic cemetery
uncovered, where a significant amount of stone objects comes from. In one of the graves the
deceased was surrounded with nothing but calcite vessels and two of them can be analogous to the
vessels from Tell el-Farkha 13 . Examples are known also from other sites: Tell Basta 14 , Tarkhan 15
enabling to date the Tell el-Farkha’s vessels to the reign of the next to last ruler of Dynasty I -
Semerkhet.
The typological analysis of stone vessels found in grave 50 together with numerous examples known
from the Delta area and from Upper Egypt allows to state that the burial should be dated to the reign
of the last two rulers of Dynasty I – Semerkhet or Qa’a.
The majority of vessels was made of calcite-alabastre and sandstone, both rather soft and easy-to-
model raw materials. Their particular popularity coincides with Dynasty I. The vessels from grave 50
do not diverge from certain standards on account of their shape and form from vessels discovered on
many sites in the Delta or Upper Egypt (PRZYPIS). They may confirm the existence of a cultural
unification or a trend for this type of containers. The number of discovered stone vessels in relation to
other objects, i.e. pottery forms, certifies only the high status of the former ones. Perhaps, it is not a
coincidence that they all were deposited in just one grave. Vessels in closed sets are often found in
places completely separated from other objects. Anyway, it is similar in graves from Minshat Abu
Omar 16 . It also happens very often that stone vessels are deposited just by the diseased, close the
head and the face in particular, while other offerings are far from the body or concentrated by its lower
part.
STRUCTURE 45
DATE: 2nd half of Dynasty I
In the structure, the majority is formed by closed forms. 3 examples represent jars (10N1; 11N2,
17N8), further 3 are small, squat vessels with shoulders bent outside (13N4; 16N7; 14N5), 1 small
bowl (15N6) and 1 jar of Palestinian tradition (12N3).
E/05/10N1
Measurements: H: 14cm; BD: 10,8cm; RiD: 4,7cm; RoD: 6,4cm; BtD: 5,3cm
A closed form in a jar shape made of calcite-alabastre. The vessel has a squat neck with walls slightly
concave to the rim’s inside. The upper rim’s surface bends to the outer edge with a wide angle. The
lower rim’s outer edge has a sharp notch. In the upper part the vessel has a protruding body then the
walls diagonally fall to the massive and flat bottom. The vessel is well preserved. The rim is slightly
jagged. In the inside, there are traces of processing visible – rubbing and stroking. On the surface,
there are also visible some black spots – rests of some organic substance.
Analogies are vessels recently discovered in Tell el Ibrahim Awad. In a grave dated to the Early
Dynastic period, there were a few pottery forms and small vessels in the type in question made of
12 K. Kroeper, Settlement in the Nile Delta to the end of the Old Kingdom – according to contemporary
archaeological evidence (an unpublished doctoral thesis) pp. 242 - 243
13 I. A. Mostafa, Some Objects Dating from the Archaic Period Found at Tell el-Fara’on-Imet, GM 102
(1988), pp. 75-76
14 K. Kroeper, D. Wildung, Minshat Abu Omar. Müncher Ostdelta Expedition. Vorbericht 1978-1984
15
W. M. F. Petrie, Tarkhan I and Memphis V 1913
16 K. Kroeper D. Wildung, Minshat Abu Omar II. Ein vor- und frühgeschichtlicher Friedhof in Delta.
Gräber 115-204, pp. 3-234
 
4
calcite-alabastre 17 . Further examples come from Tarkhan 18 . In three grave, there were vessels in
similar forms and shapes. They are dated to the Early Dynastic period, the reigns of Den, Andjib or
Semerkhet in particular 19 .
E/05/11N2
Measurements: H: 8.4cm; BD: 5.6cm; RiD: 1.8cm; RoD: 3.4cm; BtD: 2.2cm
A closed form in a jar type made of calcite-alabastre. A vessel with a medium wide body, very squat
neck and slightly separated shoulders. Walls in the upper part of the body are the most protruding,
then slightly narrowing they fall to the bottom. The neck is squat. The rim’s edge is softly rounded. The
vessel’s outline is archwisely bent, the bottom is flat. The vessel is well preserved. It is unfinished from
the inside off. On the surface, there are black spots visible, interpreted as rests of some organic
substance.
In royal tombs in Abydos, there were identical vessels but all with damaged rims. They were
discovered in the Mastabas of the last two kings, Semerkhet and Qa’a 20 . The further ones were found
in Tarkhan in grave 162 and dated to Dynasty I. Petrie assigned the type to class 78h 21 .
E/05/17N8
Measurements: H: 9.8cm; BD: 5.7cm; RiD: 3.4cm; RoD: 4.4cm; BtD: 2.7cm
A closed form in a jar type made of calcite-alabastre. The vessel has a narrow body with a slightly
convex outline. Walls are slightly bent outwards. A small notch cuts the rim off the shoulders. The
outer side has a convex outline. The rim is slightly rolled, its edge rounded. The bottom is flat and
squat. The vessel is well preserved. On its surface, there are black spots visible, interpreted as rests
of some organic substance.
Analogies are vessels from the site of Tell Ibrahim Awad. In a burial from layer X dated to Dynasty I
were found a few pottery and 6 calcite vessels, two of which are identical to vessels 17N8 from Tell el-
Farkha 22 .
E/05/13N4
Measurements: H: 11.5cm; BD: 13.5cm; RiD: 3.3cm; RoD: 6.6cm; BtD: 5cm
A closed form made of calcite-alabastre. It has a very broad upper part of the body. Its outline is
trapezoid. Shoulders are clearly marked and visibly moved outwards. The rim is obliquely widened
outwards, with a rounded or slightly sharpened edge. The edge itself is bent along the straight angle.
Between the rim and the shoulders, there is a small notch. The bottom is flat and squat. The vessel is
preserved in two parts. It is probable that this state represents an attempt of repair of the upper or
lower part of the vessel. Both parts are made of the same material. On the vessel’s surface there are
black spots visible, interpreted as rests of some organic substance.
Analogies are vessels found in graves 315, 684 and 908 on the necropolis in Sedment. One vessel
from grave 315 (Dynasty I) is incomplete. However, its state of preservation enables to catch its
general shape 23 . Vessels from graves 684 and 908 are far better preserved. Graves 684 and 908 are
dated to Dynasty II 24 . In B. Aston’s opinion, forms of this type were very popular during Dynasty I –
VI 25 .
E. C. M. van den Brink, Transitional Late Predynastic – Early Dynastic Settlement in the
Northeastern Nile Delta, Egypt, MDAIK 45 1989, pp. 55-73
18 W. M. F. Petrie, Tarkhan I and Memphis V 1913 tabl. XLIV
19 B. G. Aston, Ancient Egyptian stone vessels: materials and forms, Heidelberger Orientverlag, 1994,
p. 100
20 W. M. F. Petrie, Diospolis Parva. The cemeteries of Abadiyeh and Hou 1901, tabl. LI
21
W. M. F. Petrie, Tarkhan I and Memphis V 1913 p. 3; tabl. XLIV
22 E. C. M. van den Brink, Transitional Late Predynastic – Early Dynastic Settlement in the
Northeastern Nile Delta, Egypt, MDAIK 45 1989, pp. 65-66
23 W.M.F Petrie , G. Brunton, Sedment I, London 1924, tabl. III:38
24 W.M.F Petrie , G. Brunton, Sedment I, London 1924, p. 75 tabl. V:71
25 B. G. Aston, Ancient Egyptian stone vessels: materials and forms, Heidelberger Orientverlag 1994,
p. 123
E/05/16N7
Measurements: H: 8.5cm; BD: 12.6cm; RiD: 3.7cm; RoD: 6.4cm; BtD: 6.3cm
17
5
A closed form made of calcite-alabastre. Is has a very broad upper part of the body. Its shape is
trapezoid. Shoulders are clearly marked and slightly go diagonally to the rounded body. The neck is
visibly separated from the rim and the body has its walls slightly concave. The rim is widened on the
outside and has a rounded edge. The bottom is flat and medium squat. The vessel is well preserved.
On the surface, there are black spots visible, interpreted as rests of some organic substance.
Analogous is a vessel found in Mastaba 3504 from Saqqara. The burial is dated to the reign of Djet -
Dynasty I 26 . In one of chambers labeled GG were discovered: a dozen or so of fragments of bones,
flint tools, vessels of pottery and also of breccia. W. Emery assigned it to group G13 – “barrel-shaped”
and squat vessels 27 .
E/05/14N5
Measurements: H: 7cm; BD: 15.3cm; RiD: 3.8cm; RoD: 6cm; BtD: -
A closed form made of sandstone. A small-sized and very squat vessel. Shoulders are broad, massive
and the body is rounded. The neck’s walls are slightly concave, the rim is widened outwards with a
rounded edge. The bottom is also rounded. The vessel is badly preserved. The rim is partially
damaged.
Analogous is a calcite vessel found is a female grave from the necropolis in Minshat Abu Omar. In the
grave dated to Dynasty I, there were 7 calcite vessels 28 . One of them is identical to the vessels from
Tell el-Farkha. It is squat with clearly separated shoulders. In this case, the bottom is flat.
E/05/12N3
Measurements: H: 7.2cm; BD: 6cm; RiD: 2.9cm; RoD: 3.5cm; BtD: 3.5cm
A closed form made of calcite-alabastre. The vessel has its walls archwisely bent and on their central
part there are wavy handles . The neck is slightly squat with straight walls. The rim is widened obliquely
outwards and has a rounded edge. The bottom is flat and squat.
From the Delta area, there is a very limited amount of stone vessels known, that can be analogous for
the form in question. One of them is a small-sized vessel made of basalt discovered on the site of Tell
el Daba’a in a grave dated to Dynasty I. Beneath the rim, it is surrounded by wavy handles 29 . The
shape and some details such as the handles’ type are borrowings from culturally strange regions. The
fusion of vessel production traditions from Palestine and the Delta are the result of mutual contacts. An
inspiration were also vessels of Levantine tradition 30 .
E/05/15N6
Measurements: H: 4.5cm; BD: 5.1cm; RiD: 3.6cm; RoD: 4.4cm; BtD: 3cm
A closed form in shape of a beaker, made of calcite-alabastre. The rim is straight with slightly rounded
edge. The vessel’s walls are archwisely bent outwards. The bottom is flat and medium squat. The
vessel is composed of a few fragments that in their shape resemble flat discs.
Analogous are fragments of a vessel found in grave 81 from Tarkhan dated to the beginning of
Dynasty 0. The burial itself was very well preserved and the vessel was deposited by the deceased’s
face. According to Petrie’s classification, forms of this type belong to group 26d 31 .
Another examples are vessels discovered in two burials dated to Dynasty I (1571 and 3053) from
Naga ed-Der. In both cases, the vessels were made of calcite-alabastre. According to Reisner’s
classification, they belong to group XX 32 .
The discovered group comprises of 8 vessels made of calcite-alabastre and 1 of sandstone. All of
them were placed in an upside-down position, very tightly adhering themselves. The set’s
arrangement suggests that the vessels were primarily deposited in a basket or a plaiting. Small
amounts of organic traces were found in situ and seem to confirm the theory. All the vessels are of
small size.
26 K. M. Ciałowicz, Początki cywilizacji egipskiej, 1999 p. 273
27 W. B. Emery, The Great Tombs of the First Dynasty I, 1949, p. 135
28 K. Kroeper D. Wildung, Minshat Abu Omar II. Ein vor- und frühgeschichtlicher Friedhof in Delta.
Gräber 115-204, pp. 109-113
29 E. C. M. van den Brink, E. Braun, South Levantine influences on Egyptian stone and pottery
production: some rare examples, in press
30 E. C. M. van den Brink, E. Braun, South Levantine influences on Egyptian stone and pottery
production: some rare examples, in press
31 W. M. F. Petrie, Tarkhan I and Memphis V 1913 pp. 8-9
32
G.A. Reisner, The Early Dynastic Cemeteries of Naga-ed-Der, Part I 1908, pp. 43-100

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