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CRAFTS IN ANCIENT EGYPT
Tutankhamun treasure The Egyptians developed fairly sophisticated chemistry through cosmetic-making, dying, glassmaking and gold metallurgy. Pottery making was well advanced by 3000 B.C. The earliest Egyptian pottery was unglazed red earthenware. Both Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt had the pottery wheel by that time. The potter's wheel is believed to have been invented in Mesopotamia around 3500 B.C. and may be tied to the invention of wheeled vehicles. See Mesopotamia.
In some cases, craftsmen achieved relatively high status. Anne Austin wrote in the Washington Post: “The village of Deir el-Medina was built for the workmen who made the royal tombs during the New Kingdom (1550 to 1070 B.C.). During this period, kings were buried in the Valley of the Kings in a series of rock-cut tombs...The village was built close enough to the royal tomb to ensure that workers could hike there on a weekly basis. These workmen... were highly skilled craftsmen.” They were given a variety of amenities afforded only to those with the craftsmanship and knowledge necessary to work on something as important as the royal tomb. The village was allotted extra support: The Egyptian state paid them monthly wages in the form of grain and provided them with housing and servants to assist with tasks such as washing laundry, grinding grain and porting water. Their families lived with them in the village, and wives and children could also benefit from these provisions from the state.” [Source: Anne Austin, Washington Post, February 17 2015. Anne Austin is a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University ***]
Ceramic objects could be decorative, used in daily life or have religious significance. Bottles, jars and jugs used to carrying things and for storage were often made of fired clay. Decorative pottery was sometimes covered with a blue glaze. Many types of ornamental pottery were made for royalty and aristocrats. Even beads and jewelry were made of clay.
The ancient Egyptians also created a wide variety of things from Egyptian alabaster (not a true alabaster but a form of calcite), including vases used in libation rituals, monkey headed jars used to hold mummified organs. Some were ground so thin you could see through them. Craftsman also made flint knifes inscribed with hieroglyphics, terra-cotta figures and jars, bowls and platters carved from diorite and porphyry. Black-topped vessels dated to 3500 B.C. has been found in Hierakonpolis are among the finest pottery Egypt ever produced.
On an exhibit of art related to Queen Hatshepsut Peter Schjeldahl, the art critic for The New Yorker, wrote, “Some of the loveliest and most absorbing pieces in the show are among the smallest. Two tiny items...a red carnelian amulet in the bovine form of Hathor (the goddess of love and beauty) and a white glass bead. They are inscribe with praise of the Pharaoh and, on the case of the amulet...Other objects — little boxes and baskets, charming vases in human and animal form, a chair with original caning intact."
Categories with related articles in this website: Ancient Egyptian History (32 articles) factsanddetails.com; Ancient Egyptian Religion (24 articles) factsanddetails.com; Ancient Egyptian Life and Culture (36 articles) factsanddetails.com; Ancient Egyptian Government, Infrastructure and Economics (24 articles) factsanddetails.com
Websites on Ancient Egypt: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Discovering Egypt discoveringegypt.com; BBC History: Egyptians bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians ; Ancient History Encyclopedia on Egypt ancient.eu/egypt; Digital Egypt for Universities. Scholarly treatment with broad coverage and cross references (internal and external). Artifacts used extensively to illustrate topics. ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt ; British Museum: Ancient Egypt ancientegypt.co.uk; Egypt’s Golden Empire pbs.org/empires/egypt; Metropolitan Museum of Art www.metmuseum.org ; Oriental Institute Ancient Egypt (Egypt and Sudan) Projects ; Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre in Paris louvre.fr/en/departments/egyptian-antiquities; KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt kmtjournal.com; Ancient Egypt Magazine ancientegyptmagazine.co.uk; Egypt Exploration Society ees.ac.uk ; Amarna Project amarnaproject.com; Egyptian Study Society, Denver egyptianstudysociety.com; The Ancient Egypt Site ancient-egypt.org; Abzu: Guide to Resources for the Study of the Ancient Near East etana.org; Egyptology Resources fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk
Objects Taken by Ancient Egyptians to the Afterlife
figure of a female dwarf
Ken Johnson wrote in New York Times that the ancient Egyptians believed that life “was only a prologue to the main attraction, the afterlife, and they devoted much of their tremendous creative and technological ingenuity to ensuring that their dead — the wealthy ones, anyway — would have everything needed on the next plane of existence. They pickled the bodies of the deceased, stocked their graves and tombs with food, drink, jewelry, furniture, pets, reading material and whatever else that might come in handy upon awakening in the next dimension.” [Source: Ken Johnson, New York Times, March 11, 2010]
In 2010, the Brooklyn Museum hosted an exhibition called “To Live Forever: Art and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt,” which focused on objects for the afterlife and explored all facets of the Egyptian funerary industry. Organized by Edward Bleiberg, the museum’s curator of Egyptian art, the exhibition presented more than 100 objects, from massive stone sarcophagus covers and elaborately decorated wooden coffins to statuettes and elegant ink drawings on sheets of papyrus.
“One of the exhibition’s least prepossessing objects,” Johnson wrote, “is a terra-cotta sarcophagus lid molded rather crudely into a cartoonish, bust-length portrait of a man. Made sometime between 1292 and 1075 B.C., it is like the work of an untrained folk artist imitating the kind of deluxe Egyptian artistry that museums have made more familiar. It is included to demonstrate that the quality of a coffin depended on what the family could afford. Just like today, in ancient Egypt professional coffin makers offered a range of options priced according to the cost of material and labor. Clay, painted to resemble royal sarcophagi, was the material of choice for budget-minded customers.
Another revealing piece, and a more beautiful one, is an 8 ½-inch-tall figure of a man smoothly carved in lustrous dark wood, from about 1400 to 1336 B.C. It is a particularly lovely example of a shabty, a magical servant that would do chores for the deceased in the afterlife. Rich people had many shabties made of precious materials, including wood, which was a rare commodity. The less fortunate had to settle for shabties made of faience, a glazed earthenware. According to the Brooklyn Museum catalog while the wealthy might have a different shabty for every day of the year, “40 shabties were an ideal number to own in the Ramesside Period” because that provided “enough workers for each of the 30 days of the month plus overseers and foremen.”
Faience pieces did not necessarily look cheap, however, so rich as well as poor had shabties made from it. Among the exhibition’s most striking objects is a weird jade-green faience sculpture less than three inches high representing a dwarf standing with each foot on the head of an alligator and each hand gripping a snake by the neck. Identified as Pataikos or a form of the dwarf-god Bes, this little fellow was put into a tomb to protect the dead.
Ancient Egyptian Art Objects
Tutankhamun Ankh-Mirror Egyptians liked jewelry. They wore necklaces with blue faience beads, and gold leaf; girdles of cowrie shells molded in gold; silver bracelets with semi-precious stones; golden amulets decorated with the face of Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of love and fertility; and pencil thick glass-stud earrings. Some jewelry was believed to be imbued with magical powers. Glass eyes bead were worn perhaps to ward off evil.
Jewelry was made from gold, silver, faience (a blue stone), lapis lazuli, carnelian, green feldspar, green jasper, ivory, bone, amethyst, and black quartz. Silver was regarded as more valuable than gold. Tombs were filled with jewelry the dead wanted to take with them to the netherworld. Tomb paintings and reliefs are also full depictions of people loaded down with jewelry.
Amulets were carried by the living and wrapped with mummies. The mummy of King Tut had 143 of them. Their primary purpose was to attract “sympathetic magic” that would protect the wearer from misfortune and maybe bring some good luck. Amulets were inserted in different stages of the embalming process, each with special spells and incantations to go along with it. Some bore inscriptions and were made of materials, such as gold, faience (a blue stone), lapis lazuli, carnelian, green feldspar, and green jasper.
Amulets with protective cobras, “ ba” (winged symbols of the soul), “ re” (sun disk), ankhs, and scarabs were popular. There were amulets for limbs, organs and other body parts and ones derived from the hieroglyphics for “good,” “truth,” and “eternity.” Hearts, hands and feet were often found on mummies in places where the real body parts were normally found, the idea being that they could be offered as substitutes if the real ones were coveted by demons.
In Genesis 41:41-42 a pharaoh gives Joseph a ring to symbolize a deal has been made. Most ancient rings were made of steatite of medals such as bronze, silver or gold. Few were adorned with precious stones. Those that were usually contained amethyst, coral or lapis lazuli. Some of the oldest known rings were used as signets by rulers, public officials and traders to authorize documents with a stamp. Signatures were not used until late in history. Describing an enamel seal Blake Gopnik wrote in the Washington Post: “The shiny bug itself, molded from glassy paste, is as bright and colorful as a real beetle’s carapace and immaculately carved to evoke the thing of nature...It exemplifies the perfect balance among the striking realism, an economy of formal means and a lust for eye-filling splendor.”
Objects in the Egyptian Museum
cult statue of taweret
The bottom Floor of the Egyptian Museum displays items in chronological order beginning with Old Kingdom to the left as you enter the museum and continuing through the Middle and New Kingdoms as you circle the perimeter of the museum and finish with Ptolemaic and Greco-Roman pieces on the right side of the entrance. Here you can see artworks, statues, sarcophagus, treasures and other items that are connected with specific pharaohs or have a historical connection. Particularly interesting are the statues of Queen Hatshepsut, the only woman to become a pharaoh. She is often depicted as a man with a false beard.
On the opposite side of the museum from the entrance is a section devoted to the pharaoh Akhenaten, who promoted monotheism. There are large statues of the unusual-faced Pharaoh. Artifacts from Ramses's reign include a beautiful gold bracelet with a pair of lapis lazuli ducks; and a scene of Ramses holding the hair and chopping of the heads of Libyan, Syrian and Nubian warriors. His wooden coffin bears his likeness and the crook and flail, symbols of power and the god of the afterlife. To give the dead something to look at, under the lid of coffin is a picture of his son Merneptah and Nut, the gods of the star-filled sky.
One of the oldest artifacts discovered from ancient Egypt is a triangular two-foot-high slate carving showing King Narmer, wearing the crown of Upper Egypt, grasping the hair and humiliating an enemy from Lower Egypt to unify the nation. The carving, dated to 3100 B.C., also shows the falcon God Horus, symbolizing victory looking on. The other side shows him wearing the crown of Lower Egypt, leading a victory parade. King Narmer founded ancient Pharonic Egypt by uniting Lower (northern) Egypt and Upper (southern) Egypt in 3200 B.C.
One of the museums greatest treasures is the splendid tomb of Prince Rahotep and his wife Nofret. This extraordinary 4,500-year-old artifact is presided over by painted life-size figures representing the royal couple. The white-skinned princess is wearing a red-and-blue necklace and headband with floral designs. Her fleshtone shirtless husband has a blue mustache. Both figures have been inlaid with quartz.
Other interesting pieces include a diorite statue of King Khafa (builder of the second largest pyramid at Giza); the unfinished head of Queen Neferteri; wooden statues scribes; the 4000-year-old hammered copper statues of the flat-headed, obsidian-eyed Pepi I; the schist statue of the pharaoh Mankaure, with a woman, mostly likely his wife Khamerernebty, putting an arm around his waist.
The Top Floor of the Egyptian Museum mostly displays treasures and artifacts according to theme. There are separate rooms for tools, everyday objects, painted clay models, religious objects, clothes and shoes, painted papyrus scrolls, animal mummies, jars for holding the organs of mummies, jewelry and small wooden statues. The King Tutankhamen Collection occupies about a forth of the top floor. There is also a large display of mummy cases and sarcophagi. One of the highlights is the display of mummy cases from Fayum and Harawa that have beautiful portraits of the dead , with three-dimensional shading, on the faces and panels of the mummy cases.
Among the items on display on the top floor are medicines and make-up cases; small statues of hippos, mongooses and hedgehogs; an obsidian-eyed golden bust of Horus; and papyrus scrolls of women and a crocodile sharing a drink in the waters of paradise. A papyrus scroll dating back to 1100 B.C. shows a gowned mouse-queen being taken care of by a retinue of cats. One cat is cuddling a mouse baby while two others are grooming the queen, who is sitting on a stool drinking some wine from what looks like a martini glass.
King Tutankhamen Collection
Tutankhamun Eye of Horus pendant The King Tutankhamen Collection (on the top floor of the Egyptian Museum) contains nearly 5,000 objects. Among them are the famous blue-and-gold funerary mask. The mask is made of beaten gold. The beard on the masks identifies the king as being one with Osiris, god of the dead, and the cobra and vulture on his forehead symbolize the Upper and Lower kingdoms of Egypt. A life-size statue of the king, which was found at the entrance of the tomb, is dressed in gilded clothing and was anointed in black resin to denote rebirth.
The mummy was enclosed in a coffin, a sarcophagus and four decorated and gilded wooden shrines — one inside the other. The shrines had images of the king emblazoned on the them. The largest, outer golden shrine is 9 feet high, 10¾ feet wide and 16½ feet long. It is inlaid with panels of brilliant blue faience with depictions of special symbols that protected the dead. The innermost one was covered in gold. The sarcophagus is made of yellow quartzite and has a sculpted goddess spreading protecting arms and wings over the feet area. Each shrine and the sarcophagus is displayed separately.
King Tutankhamun’s polished gold coffin weighs 250 pounds and is inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones. On the lid is a low relief golden effigy of the king. The figure holds a crook and flail, both of which symbolize the king's power. Guarding the coffin during ancient times was the goddess Selket, who was so powerful, it was said, she could cure the string of the scorpion which she wears on a crown on her head. During the Six Day War the coffin was stored in a secret bomb proof shelter.
King Tutankhamun’s tomb is regarded as the the richest royal collection every found. When the king’s coffin was opened, 143 amulets and pieces of jewelry were found tucked in the linen layers of the mummy. Also in the collection is a 15.3 inch coffin for the pharaoh's liver. Only the heart remained in the body when it was mummified. Another coffin contained his viscera.
Many of big items were found in the anteroom outside the burial chamber. These include gold couches, four gold chariots, a golden throne, alabaster vases and scores of personal items of the king — all of which are on display. The king’s wooden throne is covered in sheets of gold, silver, gems and glass and is decorated with an intimate scene of the queen rubbing Tutankhamun with perfumed oil.
Tutankhamun’s clothes chest is decorated with a scene showing the king shooting his bow and arrow from a chariot while galloping at full speed, trampling Nubians under the wheels of his chariot. Tutankhamun was buried with six chariots, 50 bows, two swords, two daggers, eight shields and assorted boomerangs and slingshots. An inscription of the chest reads "hundreds of thousands of Nubians bowed to him during the battle."
There is also a beautiful painted effigy; a feminized alabaster bust; a walking stick adorned with carvings of Arabs and Nubians; a boat with an ibex bowhead and a nude maiden captain; and statue of Anubis, the jackal god of the necropolis, whose job it was to discourage intruders. So that he may gaze upon himself and procreate in the afterlife the king was buried with a mirror shaped like an ankh, the symbol of life, and pieces of jewelry adorned with scarabs, the symbols of fertility.
Tutankhamun throne
King Tutankhamun was also was buried with ordinary things likes boards games, a bronze razor, cases of food and wine, and linen undergarments. Among the small items are gold daggers for protection in the afterlife; a headrest for rebirth; and an alabaster cup which proclaims "Mayst thou spend millions of years...sitting with thy face to the north wind...beholding felicity." There are also effigies of gods and goddesses, jeweled daggers, earrings, necklaces, 2,000 amulets and pieces of jewelry, gold figures, a leopard skin mantel decorated with gold stars, a child's chair made of ebony and ivory, 15 gold and jeweled rings, seeds, boat paddles, ear and neck ornaments, 50 ornamental vases, robes, sandals, arrows, bows, boomerangs, a forked stick for caching snakes and a lock of hair from Queen Tiye, Tutankhamen's mother.
Khonsu’s Tomb: What It Says About the Artisan’s Life
Catharine H. Roehrig of the Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote: “Almost thirty-three centuries ago, a young man named Khonsu became a "servant in the Place of Truth"—a designation that identified members of the crew of artisans who carved and decorated the royal tombs of the New Kingdom. These artisans included quarrymen, scribes, draftsmen, sculptors, painters, and carpenters. The entire crew, which usually numbered no more than sixty, lived with their families in a walled community known to its residents simply as the Village, a ruin now known as Deir el-Medina. Situated in a small desert valley on the west bank of the Nile, at the edge of the Theban cliffs, the Village was within easy reach of the two principal royal cemeteries: the Great Place, now called the Valley of the Kings; and the Place of Beauty, or the Valley of the Queens. [Source: Catharine H. Roehrig Department of Egyptian Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004, metmuseum.org \^/]
“Khonsu was the fourth son in a large family, and like most members of the royal work crew, he and at least one of his brothers had followed in the footsteps of their father, Sennedjem, who was also a servant in the Place of Truth. Sennedjem was an active member of the crew in the time of Menmaatre Seti, the son of a former general named Ramesses who had ascended the throne of Egypt and founded a new dynasty. \^/
“Sennedjem and his sons were fortunate to live during a period of great prosperity for the Village. At the height of Sennedjem's career, in the first sixteen years of the new dynasty, two royal tombs were required. The amount of time it took the crew to complete a royal tomb depended on the length of a king's reign, and work was sometimes cut short by the pharaoh's death. Because of the length of time required for mummification, the team would have up to three months to finish its work, and then the process would begin all over again for the new pharaoh. \^/
“The same talents that created a spectacular sepulchre for the ruling king were also put to use in the more modest burial places of the workers themselves. Located in a terraced cemetery on the hillside adjacent to the Village, their funerary monuments included small, vaulted, above-ground offering chapels that were topped by miniature, steep-sided pyramids. In or near the chapels, shafts cut deep into the bedrock led to groupings of corridors and vaulted rooms that were often used by many generations of the same family. One of the finest of these tombs belonged to Sennedjem and his descendants. Built at the southern end of the cemetery, the family crypt was just a stone's throw away from its owner's house. The upper level of the complex had offering chapels for both Sennedjem and Khonsu, and the decorated burial chamber contained the mummies of Sennedjem and his wife, Iineferti; Khonsu and his wife, Tameket; Khonsu's younger brother Ramesses; and four other named members of the family, as well as eleven unidentified mummies. \^/
“In preparation for his journey to the afterworld, Khonsu commissioned a pair of nesting anthropoid coffins made of wood. The lid of each depicts Khonsu in the form of a mummy, with arms crossed over his chest and hands clutching the tyet amulet and djed pillar, the same magical symbols that were used some 200 years earlier on Hatnofer's chair to ensure the owner's well-being. The coffins are covered with magical texts and vignettes featuring deities as well as Khonsu and Tameket. A mask of painted wood and cartonnage completed the ensemble. Khonsu had also obtained a painted canopic box to hold his internal organs and several shawabtis, little figurines that were intended to substitute for the deceased owner if he were called upon to perform any kind of manual labor in the next life. \^/
“When he finally began his own journey to the afterworld, Khonsu was about sixty-five years of age and had seen two generations of his descendants enter the work crew. He was placed in the family tomb along with his parents, and the funeral rites were probably performed by his sons Nakhemmut and Nakhtmin, who spoke the words of the offering texts and repeated the names of those who had passed on to the next world, thus giving them renewed life. After being used by many generations of Khonsu's descendants, the family crypt was sealed at last and remained undisturbed until February 1, 1886, when it was uncovered by agents of the Egyptian Antiquities Service.”
Feathers in Ancient Egypt
Tutankhamun Anubi Emily Teeter of the University of Chicago wrote: “Throughout Egyptian history, feathers appear in purely utilitarian settings and also in ritual contexts where they ornament crowns and personify deities. Feathered fans were used to signal the presence of royal or divine beings, and feathers identified certain ethnic types. Feathers are known from representations and also actual examples recovered primarily from tombs. [Source: Emily Teeter, University of Chicago, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]
“Feathers appear frequently in ancient Egyptian iconography, they are are referred to in texts, and they are incorporated into hieroglyphic writing. The prestige and value of feathers is attested by New Kingdom tomb paintings that show foreign delegations from Nubia, Libya, Asia, and Punt laden with exotic merchandise, including feathers. Most commonly shown are what appear to be the wing and tail feathers of ostriches and the wing feathers of falcons; however, it is often difficult to associate the representations with specific species of birds. Feathers were obtained by felling birds with bow and arrow and throw stick, by trapping birds with nets, and through trade.
“As a hieroglyph, the ostrich feather conveyed the phonetic value Sw, and, when used to write a word, served as the ideogram for Swt (feather) and mAat. It could also serve as determinative for mAat. The same sign was used to write the name of the gods Shu and Maat. In Late Period funerary papyri, a female figure with a head in the form of an ostrich feather may represent Maat or in other cases Imentet). In some personification of the West (vignettes of Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead, the judges of the deceased wear an ostrich feather on their head symbolizing their ability to determine the truthfulness (maat) of the deceased’s confession. Feathers could be a distinctive feature of gods, such as Behdety, a form of Horus of Edfu, whose epithet is sAb-Swt (“dappled of plumage”) and who is represented by a winged disk.
“Tall narrow feathers in sets of four are used as the identifying headdress of Onuris. A similar arrangement appears on crowns of Amenhotep IV at East Karnak where they may allude to his association with Shu. Less clear is the symbolism of two ostrich plumes that often flank the crown of Osiris and the single or double ostrich feather with a midrib that is characteristic of the atef crown and the crowns of Amun, Isis, the God’s Wife, and some queens. Statues of Ptah and Menkaret from the tomb of Tutankhamen wear garments of feathers.
“In the New Kingdom and later, the deceased may be shown grasping one or more ostrich plumes in each hand, and feathers may also adorn their hair, probably symbolizing that the deceased is imbued with maat. Many royal and private coffins of Dynasty 17 and the New Kingdom are covered with chevron patterns representing a mantle of feathers (rishi), and the feathered wings of the deities Nekhbet and Wadjet encircle the shoulders and chest.
“Semi-circular feathered fans on long handles were held over a divine presence or a divine intermediary to proclaim its presence in processions and festivals. The phonetic value for “fan” was the same as for shade (Swt). In the New Kingdom, Swt became synonymous with the presence of the god, for example, “the shade of Ra had come to rest upon it” or the god’s shade “being upon his head”. A similar feather fan (sryt) served as a military standard for the army and navy. A tall slender fan (bht/xw or xwyt) of a single ostrich plume accompanied the king or members of the royal family as a sign of rank. “Fan bearer on the right of the king” was a prestigious title born by courtiers and princes. Horses who draw the king’s chariot often wear feathered plumes on their heads.
“Feathers that have been identified as ostrich were worn in the hair of Libyans and Nubians. This ethnic association of Nubians with the feather is so close that the text of a Dynasty 20 letter refers to an escort group as “feather-wearing Nubians”. A deposit of ostrich feathers from a campsite at tomb HK 64 at Hierakonpolis is related to both Nubians and Libyans. This group of deliberately arranged feathers was accompanied by an ostracon that refers to the return of the goddess Hathor from the desert. The texts of the Mut Ritual and the Hymn of Hathor from Medamud relate that the goddess was escorted by Libyans and Nubians who offered her ostrich feathers. The HK 64 deposit has been interpreted as the remains of an annual celebration that heralded the return of the goddess.”
Archaeological Evidence of Feathers in Ancient Egypt
vessel with a feather pattern
Emily Teeter of the University of Chicago wrote: “Only a few examples of feathers are preserved in the archaeological record, and there has been little effort to identify them precisely. What has been described as “large black feathers, possibly the wing or tail feathers of a crow or some such bird” were recovered from a tomb at el-Balabish. Several examples of unidentified feathers, some bound with red-dyed leather (perhaps the remains of fans), were found in C-Group tombs. [Source: Emily Teeter, University of Chicago, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]
“Feathers have been recovered from several New Kingdom tombs. The pillows used to pad the seat of a chair from the tomb of Yuya and Tuya contained what was described as “pigeon feathers” or “down”, and another in the collection of the British Museum is stuffed with “feathers of a waterfowl”. The tomb of Tutankhamen contained eight fans once trimmed with plumes. One fan had alternating brown and white feathers. Although the feathers were not identified by a specialist, their origin is described by decoration on the fan’s semi-circular “palm” that shows scenes of an ostrich hunt and by the inscription on its staff that states that ostriches were bagged by the king while hunting in the desert east of Heliopolis. Another fan from the tomb was fitted with white ostrich plumes.
A hand fan was fitted with well-preserved whitish ostrich feathers that emerged from a shorter row of brown feathers. These fans from the tomb reflect the demand for, and popularity of, ostrich plumes. Carter no. 242 was fitted with 30 plumes, no. 245 with 41, and another with 48. The use of ostrich feathers for these fans, which, according to scenes of royal processions, were held near the head of the king or the deity, may be due not only to the beauty and large size of the feathers, but also because the ostrich plume is the hieroglyph for Maat, the incarnation of truth and cosmic balance. A “carefully laid mass of ostrich feathers” (see above, Feathers as Ethnic Designators) was discovered in a round pit near the central heart of tomb HK 64 at Hierakonpolis. Carbon dating has established a date of the Second Intermediate Period for the deposit. The cache tomb KV 63 in the Valley of the Kings has yielded at least ten pillows stuffed with yet unidentified feathers.
Ostrich Eggshells in Ancient Egypt
Ostrich egg
Jacke S. Phillips of the School for Oriental and African Studies in London wrote: “Ostriches were hunted in what are now the southern Egyptian, Sudanese, and Libyan deserts for food, feathers, and eggshells from the earliest times. From their eggshells beads, pendants, and vessels were manufactured. Decorated eggshells were used from the Predynastic Period onward and seem to have a religious meaning. [Source: Jacke S. Phillips, School for Oriental and African Studies, London, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org ]
“Ostrich eggshell has been recovered at prehistoric and Predynastic sites all along the Nile Valley, and in the Fayum and deserts. Individual eggshells, which can be as large as 170 by 130 mm and 3.5 mm thick, have been found in graves of Naqada I– III and some settlement contexts. A few were decorated and occasionally clay “eggs” were used in lieu; one shell even substituted for the missing head of the deceased. Eggshell jewelry is common from Predynastic times through Dynasty 22, mostly as small disc-beads that were shaped, drilled, and strung as simple necklaces. Larger perforated discs may have been ear, forehead, or clothing ornaments. Pendants, likely having amuletic significance, were perforated at one end and cut to a variety of shapes. Eggshell is sometimes painted, but seems not to have been used as inlays in Egypt.
“Vessels are the only other objects known to have been made from ostrich eggshell. Extremely few are published, but the variety of types chiefly dating to Dynasty 18 include a “container” and cup, both featuring a drilled hole (that on the cup probably intended for a wooden handle), and fragments thought to be a vessel. The added anhydrite neck/rim of a flask from Abydos suggests its date is Dynasty 12 or the Second Intermediate Period, despite its 18th Dynasty context. At least six vessels are reported from Hyksos Period tombs at Tell el-Dabaa. Vessels also were produced earlier despite their extreme rarity in the archaeological record, as attested by an elaborate Dynasty 6 perfume vessel recently found in the Dakhla Oasis, and undoubtedly were used as water containers from earliest times before the production of ceramic vessels. Ostrich eggs were exported to the Aegean from the late Old Kingdom onwards and converted to vessels there.
“In Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt ostrich eggs, sometimes painted, have been found in religious contexts, such as at Berenike. In Coptic Egypt, the egg itself came to symbolize the birth and resurrection of Christ, often decorating the church interior. This symbolism has passed down into both the eastern and western churches.”
Ancient Egyptian Pottery and Ceramics
Tutanhkamun Shabti Pottery making was well advanced by 3000 B.C. The earliest Egyptian pottery was unglazed red earthenware. Both Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt had the pottery wheel by that time. The potter’s wheel is believed to have been invented in Mesopotamia around 3500 B.C. and may be tied to the invention of wheeled vehicles. See Mesopotamia.
The Egyptians developed fairly sophisticated chemistry through cosmetic-making, dying, glassmaking and gold and iron metallurgy. Ceramic objects could be decorative, used in daily life or have religious significance. Bottles, jars and jugs used to carrying things and for storage were often made of fired clay. Decorative pottery was sometimes covered with a blue glaze. Many types of ornamental pottery were made for royalty and aristocrats. Even beads and jewelry were made of clay.
Paul T. Nicholson of the University of Wales wrote: “Pottery is usually the most common artifact on any post- Mesolithic site. In Egypt its abundance can fairly be described as overwhelming, and it generally requires substantial resources in order to be properly recorded by excavators. Pottery was the near- universal container of the ancient world and served those purposes for which we might now use plastics, metal, glass and, of course, modern ceramics. Its abundance in the archaeological record is not due merely to its wide use, but to its near indestructibility, and this is in turn a facet of its technology. [Source: Paul T. Nicholson, University of Wales, Cardiff, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org ]
“Pottery represents one of the earliest complex technologies—that of changing a plastic material, clay, into an aplastic material, ceramic, more colloquially known as pottery. In order to produce pottery it is necessary to obtain clay, either from a water course or sometimes by mining, and to process it by adding “opening materials” (“temper”) to improve its working properties, or by removing materials such as calcite. Egyptologists recognize two broad types of clay, that containing silt from the Nile River and the calcareous marl clays obtained from the desert. The clay, or mixture of clay and other materials, is then shaped either by hand-forming, using the potter’s wheel, or by molding. The finished form is then dried. This is the last point at which the potter could rework the material by simply adding water to it. Once dry, the material is fired either in the open or in a kiln. Firing leads to the fusion of the clay platelets, which renders the material aplastic. It is the sherds of this aplastic material that are most commonly encountered in the archaeological record.
“The raw material for producing pottery is clay. Egyptologists have distinguished two main types of clay for indigenous Egyptian ceramics: Nile silt and marl. As the name suggests, Nile silt clay comes from the Nile River. Strictly speaking it is a misnomer, since to a geologist “silt” and “clay” refer to two different particle-size fractions. For the Egyptologist it is simply a convenient way of distinguishing this riverine, alluvial clay—which is rich in iron and so fires to a red color in an oxidizing atmosphere—from the marl clays. Marl clays usually contain at least 10 percent calcium carbonate (lime), and in field tests can be distinguished using a 10 percent solution of hydrochloric acid, to which they react by effervescing. Marl clays normally fire to a cream or buff surface. This surface starts to form during the drying of the vessel, when the calcium carbonate begins to effloresce on the vessel’s surface, in the same manner as the glaze in effloresced faience.
“Whereas Nile clays can be obtained virtually anywhere along the course of the Nile and are therefore widely available, the occurrence of marl clays is much more limited, being confined to a few main localities, notably around the Qena area of Upper Egypt. In these localities the marl is quarried or mined as though it were a rock and generally arrives at the workshop as solid blocks that must be broken up, soaked, and trampled in order to produce a workable clay. Veins of calcite frequently occur in marl deposits, and any pieces of calcite that are included in the clay mixture are carefully removed by those treading the clay, since to leave them in may lead to flaws in the vessel. This refining of the clay by picking out aplastic material may also be applied to Nile silt, which may contain undesirable pieces of shell, small stones, and other debris.”
Clay Preparation of Pottery in Ancient Egypt
Paul T. Nicholson of the University of Wales wrote: “The amount of preparation given to the clays is, to some extent, dependent upon their final use. Coarse utilitarian wares may require relatively little cleaning. As well as the cleaning of clays, it is frequently necessary to make additions to their mixture in order to enhance their working properties. These additions are usually referred to as “temper” or “filler” by archaeologists, although potters use the term “grog.” “Opening materials” might be a more suitable term. For example, some clays, or mixtures thereof, may be too sticky to handle well and so have another material such as sand added to them. This has the effect of reducing their plasticity somewhat, as well as “opening” the clay fabric so that air can penetrate it and help it to dry more evenly. Such open clay bodies may also fire more readily with simple technology, in that the more coarse fabric allows the escape of steam as the moisture is driven out of the clay during the firing process. A coarse body requires only simple kiln control; a finer one may require careful handling during the firing process if the vessel is not to become bloated and deformed as a result of the buildup of steam in the fabric. In addition to sand, it is possible to use crushed rock fragments, pieces of fired pottery, and plant fibers or hair. Dung can also be added, which brings with it plant material. Chopped straw or chaff may be used where an open-textured fabric is required, since it burns out during firing to leave voids. These voids help to prevent the propagation of large cracks, as well as allow the fabric to heat quickly, or to “sweat”—the evaporation thus enabling the vessel to keep any water stored within cool and fresh. [Source: Paul T. Nicholson, University of Wales, Cardiff, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org ]
Canopic jars
“Porous fabrics, be they silt or marl, are suitable for the storage of water. The amphora-like “Ballas jar,” still made from marl clay in the Qena/Ballas region of Upper Egypt, has been made in much the same form since Roman times. The porous clay allows the transport and short-term storage of water: the vessel “sweats” gently in the sun, the resulting evaporation helping to keep the water cool. The same principle is true of a whole range of present-day Nile silt-ware vessels, including the coarse straw-tempered gidr used in Middle Egypt, and the ubiquitous zir vessels for the longer-term storage of water, which are frequently found outside houses for the convenience of guests and travelers. Similar vessels seem to have served the same purpose in ancient times; zir emplacements are a common feature of the archaeological record.
“Some authors have argued for the levigation of ancient Egyptian clays and have cited tomb scenes as supporting this view. The levigation process involves the mixing of clay with large volumes of water (in a large container, such as a tank), followed by a period of settlement whereby the coarsest fraction of the clay settles to the bottom first, allowing the finer fraction to then be skimmed off so that a fine and uniform clay is produced. The tomb scene most frequently regarded as showing this process is in the tomb of Kenamun at Thebes, where a man is shown—apparently— wading in a tank. This would, in fact, stir up the clay again, defeating the object of levigation. The scene should rather be considered as showing the treading of clay, which helps to homogenize the mixture and drive out air.”
Pottery Vessel Forming in Ancient Egypt
Paul T. Nicholson of the University of Wales wrote: “Once prepared, the clay must be formed into a vessel. Although there are many methods by which this can be achieved, they are divided into two main groups: hand forming and wheel forming. Arnold and Bourriau have established a three-fold scheme for the development of pottery forming in Egypt, using “non-radial,” “free-radial,” and “centered-radial” techniques, according to how radial symmetry (that is, the walls being at an equal distance from the vertical axis of the vessel) is incorporated. Non-radial methods treat the vessel as though it were a piece of sculpture and essentially model it without reference to a particular vertical axis. In the free-radial method the pot might be constructed by coiling or rotating intermittently as the clay is drawn up to form the walls. Centered-radial techniques involve a rotating support with a fixed central axis—the potter’s wheel. The rotation of this device at speed allows the use of centrifugal force to help in the drawing up and shaping of the vessel. [Source: Paul T. Nicholson, University of Wales, Cardiff, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org ]
Naqaqa black vase
“In practice, techniques might be combined so that, for example, a vessel made by coiling is given a rim made on the wheel. However, historically there was an increasing tendency for vessels to be wheel made. There are numerous ways in which vessels may be shaped within each technique. Among the non-radial methods, Arnold and Bourriau define pinching and hollowing, paddle and anvil, shaping on a core or over a hump, and shaping in a mold. All of these methods were in use by the mid-18th Dynasty, but some were employed only for relatively specialized vessels. For example, bread molds were frequently made by pressing the clay over a core, known as a “patrix,” which gives the interior of the vessel its shape and smooth surface. The technology is simple and requires little skill. It is not unlikely that unskilled potters may have produced these bread molds in close proximity to bakeries, since that would have been more efficient than transporting large numbers of fired vessels. The paddle and anvil technique, in which a bat, or paddle, is used to beat the clay against an anvil (often no more than a round stone) in order to thin the clay and draw it up, enjoyed wide use from Predynastic times and was often used in association with coiling, which is a free-radial method.
“The free-radial methods include slab- building, coiling—sometimes in association with a simple wheel—and turning on a turn- table. This latter might be used with various non-radial methods. All were known by the Archaic Period/early Old Kingdom. Arnold and Bourriau differentiate between types of wheel and whether they are rotated by hand or “kicked” by movement of the foot. All wheels, however, are capable of producing pottery using centrifugal force, as has been demonstrated in experiments by Powell. The first known wheels appear in the Old Kingdom (Dynasty 5 or 6), with the kick- wheel perhaps appearing in the Late Period. It has been supposed that the introduction of the potter’s wheel necessitated the use of a finer paste than that required by the hand- making techniques. However, this is not necessarily true. Many Egyptian potters of the present day use very coarse clays, with sharp inclusions, but work the clay very wet, with the wheel revolving relatively slowly, so that any sharp inclusions are easily pressed into the clay body by the pressure of the hands without causing undue abrasion.”
Firing of Ancient Egyptian Pottery
Paul T. Nicholson of the University of Wales wrote: “There is a relationship between the fabric of a vessel, its firing technology, and its intended function. Generally speaking, fine clays require more careful firing, in a more controlled regime, than coarse ones. Fine clays are also generally more suitable for the application of painted decoration, or for service as prestigious table-wares. The same fine nature that makes them unsuitable for firings where the temperature rises quickly also makes them unsuitable as cooking vessels, as rapid heating leads to differential thermal expansion with resultant cracking of the vessel. Thus, for example, marl clays were often used in the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.) for high quality table-wares and for producing amphorae for the storage of wine. The surfaces of these marl vessels are often carefully slipped and burnished—that is, compressed with a smooth stone or piece of hard leather so that they are shiny and less porous. The finely burnished surfaces of some marl clays, and indeed of some Nile silt clays as well, can be mistaken for glazing by those unfamiliar with Egyptian pottery, which is not glazed before the Roman Period. Coarse fabrics, frequently silts, can be fired in a relatively uncontrolled way, with a rapid rise in temperature. The porous nature of the final product renders it well suited for use as a cooking vessel, since the numerous small cracks that developed during firing (as a result of the burning out of organic material sometimes added as temper) prevent the propagation of larger cracks. [Source: Paul T. Nicholson, University of Wales, Cardiff, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org ]
Ancient Egyptian-style kiln
“Firing is the means by which the transformation from the plastic clay to the aplastic ceramic is achieved, and there are a variety of ways by which the process can be carried out. The simplest method is sometimes called “bonfire firing.” As the name suggests, the fuel is piled over and around the unfired vessels. Once the fuel is lit there may be almost no control over the firing, but experience allows suitably fired pots to be produced. However, there are numerous ethnographic examples of potters using this technique with great care, positioning vessels in particular parts of the fuel heap, and building elongated heaps such that the wind drives the heat back toward the rearmost pots, which require the longest firing but perhaps the slowest initial heating. In this way fine vessels might be produced. Little is known of the means by which the extremely fine black-topped red ware of the Naqada Period was produced, but it was surely the product of open firing. The makers of this ware were able to fire it sufficiently to produce a hard fabric, but not at so high a temperature that the burnished surface was degraded. They also managed to produce a vessel whose lower part was oxidized red, while the upper part was black as a result of reducing (oxygen deficient) conditions at the end of the firing. This may have been achieved by inverting the hot vessel in sand or vegetable matter at the end of the firing.
“A more usual way to control firing, however, is the kiln. Among the advantages of this structure over open firing is that the fuel can be separated from the vessels, thereby preventing their discoloration from contact with the fuel and avoiding localized areas of reduction/oxidation. The structure also protects vessels from the wind. Furthermore, if partially sunk into the ground, it can provide insulation, allowing for firing for longer periods or at higher temperatures without significant increases in fuel, as well as easier manipulation of the kiln atmosphere and more controlled cooling.
“Ancient Egyptian kilns were invariably of the updraft type—that is, the fire was located beneath the stack of vessels, which were separated from it by a gridded floor or “chequer.” The hot gases (the draft) would pass up through the chequer and so heat the pots stacked above it. Vessels were frequently fired mouth-down so that each filled with hot gases, thereby slowing the passage of the heat through the kiln and increasing its effectiveness. As the stack of vessels heated up, the vessels themselves radiated heat. The heat trapped within the kiln helped to fire the vessels more effectively.
“Ancient Egyptian kilns are depicted in a number of tombs, such as that of Bakt III at Beni Hassan (BH15), where they appear to have been open-topped, rather than having a sealed dome. The top would probably have been covered with a layer of broken pottery, as is the case with most contemporary Egyptian kilns. Such covering serves to provide some insulation, but equally importantly serves as a layer on which soot collects. At the end of the firing, after the kiln has cooled, the layer of blackened sherds is removed and the cleanly fired pots are removed from the kiln.”
Kilns and Firing Structures in Ancient Egypt
early Greek potters' kiln
Paul Nicholson of the University of Wales wrote: “The purpose of firing pottery is to change clay, a plastic material, into ceramic, which is aplastic. Examined here are structures designed to fire pottery or faience or to make glass (although the latter might be better described as furnaces). Firing can take place in an open, bonfire-like environment, which can also be enclosed as a firing structure. Beyond this is the development of the true kiln of which there are two main types: updraft and downdraft. The first of these is by far the most common on archaeological sites throughout the world dating to before the nineteenth century CE. Here the firing technology of ancient Egypt is discussed in particular. [Source: Paul Nicholson, University of Wales, Cardiff, UK, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]
“Pottery is fired in order to effect the change from clay, a plastic material, into aplastic ceramic. This is done by first evaporating the water that lubricates the clay platelets and renders the clay malleable, then driving off the water that is chemically combined in the clay mineral structure. The clay platelets subsequently begin to fuse together at their edges in a process known as “sintering.” This is the first stage in vitrification and varies according to the clay type but usually begins between 600°C and 700°C. If continued to higher temperatures the clay would eventually become fully vitrified and collapse after becoming essentially molten. Firing aims to sinter the material to a point below complete vitrification, so rendering the clay ceramic.
“The history of the kiln is a history of improvements or changes to the way that pottery is fired and encompasses arrangements that would not strictly qualify as “kilns.” Holthoer has attempted to provide a fourfold classification of kilns, but this has not gained wide acceptance and is inconsistently applied in his examples. A simpler classification has been proposed, making three broad distinctions: 1) open firing; 2) firing structures; and 3) updraft kilns. The latter might be further subdivided as suggested by Arnold. A fourth type, the downdraft kiln, is not encountered in Pharaonic Egypt.
“Among the methods that do not employ a fixed kiln structure is the so-called “open firing,” sometimes referred to as “bonfire firing,” although this latter term implies a rather less orderly arrangement than is usually the case. In open firing the fuel is stacked over (and sometimes among) the vessels. Maximum temperatures reached in an open fire are comparable to those of an unroofed updraft kiln and quite sophisticated results can be obtained. Temperatures of up to c. 1000°C can be reached—the upper range of the firing of pottery referred to as “terracotta” . By its nature an open firing leaves little or no detectable archaeological trace, and any remains that do survive could be mistaken for a large domestic hearth. Indeed, small quantities of pottery may have been fired at the domestic hearth, and it should be remembered that many clays will begin to vitrify at temperatures between 600°C and 800°C.
“Open firing may suffer from lack of control of the firing and from the smudging of the vessels from contact with the fuel; it is furthermore susceptible to sudden changes in weather conditions. Over wide areas of the world this latter problem was countered by firing in trenches, as did the Hopi of North America, or by adding a small wall around the base of the fuel heap, as was done in parts of India. These strategies might be regarded as the simplest kinds of firing structure.”
Types of Kilns and Firing Structures in Ancient Egypt
1st Dynasty pottery jar
Paul Nicholson of the University of Wales wrote: “The arrangement described by Harlan and Hoffman at Hierakonpolis, locality 11C, may represent a development from simple open firing. Dated c. 3200 - 3100 B.C., the structure is a pit in the ground that seems to have contained fuel, while the vessels to be fired stood on “dog-biscuit shaped blocks,” 150 – 250 mm high. The excavators describe this as a simple updraft kiln, because the vessels were raised from the fire on the “dog biscuit” blocks. Although technically correct in that the draft (hot gases) moved upward, it is preferable to regard such arrangements as firing structures to avoid confusion with true updraft kilns. [Source: Paul Nicholson, University of Wales, Cardiff, UK, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]
“A further development, and one providing greater protection to the vessels than the arrangement from Hierakonpolis, is the structure known, rather misleadingly, as the “box oven,” a step between open firing and the true updraft kiln. The box oven is essentially a containing wall within which pots are stacked. The fire may be within the wall or, as in the Amarna example described below, outside it and drawn in through an opening at the bottom of the wall. In a true updraft kiln, on the other hand, the fire is located beneath the stack of vessels and is separated from them by a perforated floor. Box ovens are known from at least as early as the Middle Kingdom, at sites such as Mirgissa, and from the New Kingdom at el-Amarna, where an example has been excavated containing its charge of vessels. Holthoer regarded the Mirgissa structure as a bread oven, and it is indeed possible that the same structure served the dual function of breadmold-firing and subsequent bread- baking. It has been shown experimentally that the Amarna kiln/oven could have been used to fire the vessels found within it, and this would certainly have been a more fuel-efficient way of firing the pots than open firing.
“Kilns for the reduction of limestone to lime for use either as mortar or for agriculture are not securely attested from Pharaonic Egypt. James Harrell notes that the use of lime plaster is not certainly recorded before the Ptolemaic era; consequently the occurrence of lime kilns cannot be expected before that date. Lime kilns differ from kilns for firing pottery or faience in that they did not bind material together, but rather reduced it to a friable state. Henein, however, records the use of a combined pottery and lime kiln in Dakhla Oasis, though this appears to be a very localized practice introduced in Islamic times and requiring further study. Because of their specialized nature, lime kilns do not normally feature in accounts of kiln technology.
“The downdraft kiln is not known from Pharaonic Egypt and is mentioned here only in passing. In this type of kiln the hot gases usually pass over a baffle wall of some kind before being drawn down through the stack of vessels and leaving the kiln via a chimney at the rear of the structure, the chimney acting as the means by which the gases are drawn. The firing chamber of such a kiln is enclosed—usually by a dome. The advantage of such a structure is that the heat remains within the kiln longer and there is less chance of discoloration of the vessels as a result of smoke or ash. The downdraft kiln is also capable of reaching temperatures of up to c. 1300°C, whereas the maximum for an uncovered updraft kiln is c. 1000°C. If a dome is added to an updraft kiln, then temperatures of up to c. 1150°C may be achieved, since the dome helps to retain heat as well as reflect it downwards.”
Updraft Kilns Used in Ancient Egypt for Pottery Faience, and Glass
Paul Nicholson of the University of Wales wrote: ““True” kilns can be divided into two main types, updraft and downdraft, the distinction between them being whether the hot gases pass upward or downward through the stack of vessels being fired. The updraft kiln is by far the most common historically. In this type of kiln the fire is in the lowermost part of the kiln, known as the fire box or fire pit, and is separated from the vessel stack by a perforated floor or “chequer,” through which the hot gases travel up into the firing chamber where the vessels are stacked. Vessels are commonly inverted in the stack so that each becomes filled with the hot gases, thereby slowing the upward passage of the gases through the structure. This has the effect of increasing the efficiency of the firing, consuming less fuel to achieve the desired result. This is particularly important since it is common for Egyptian updraft kilns to be open at the top, rather than enclosed by a dome. Vessels stacked in such open-topped structures, at least as observed in modern Egypt, are usually given a covering of sherds. The sherd layer acts as a collecting point for soot from the firing, so that the vessels themselves are not blackened by the fuel. It also serves to give a minimal amount of insulation to the stack. The last phase of a firing is often to throw dry vegetation onto the covering of sherds, where it ignites and removes much of the buildup of carbon. [Source: Paul Nicholson, University of Wales, Cardiff, UK, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]
“The expansion of vessels tightly packed in a kiln puts considerable stress on the kiln walls, which are usually made of mud-brick that becomes fired brick in situ over time. It is likely that the walls were reinforced in some way, probably by tying large ropes around them in order to prolong their lives. Several tomb scenes show kilns with what appear to be reinforcement bindings around them. This practice of binding the kiln, albeit with iron chains, wire belts, or metal bands rather than ropes, remained common in the European pottery industry into the twentieth century. Such features are clearly demonstrated on the so called “bottle kilns” at Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom.
“It is these updraft kilns that are commonly depicted in tomb scenes, particularly from the Middle and New Kingdoms although Old Kingdom examples are known, such as those in the tomb of Ty at Saqqara. Due to the conventions of Egyptian art, it is difficult to determine the scale of these structures, but it is evident from scenes depicting them being unloaded (for example, those at Beni Hasan) that they stood taller than a man and sometimes needed a step or bench at the bottom in order that they could be reached into. Determining the diameter of such structures is more difficult, and there are no known scenes showing a kiln being loaded or unloaded from the inside, as is often the case with present-day Egyptian kilns.
“Fortunately, we are not solely dependent upon depictions of pottery kilns: there are numerous extant examples from Egypt from several periods, including the Old Kingdom at Elephantine and the First Intermediate Period at Ayn Asil (Balat). The excavation at the latter site gives a good impression of the spatial organization of a First Intermediate Period workshop, including tall, tower-like kilns quite wide enough to have accommodated a person during stacking and unloading. The excavators grouped the kilns into several types, largely depending on how the perforated floor, or chequer, was supported. In types 1 through 3 the chequer rested on walls or pillars, while in types 4 and 5 it was supported on projections around the wall, rather than extending onto a support at or near the center of the structure.
Kiln Technology in Ancient Egypt
Paul Nicholson of the University of Wales wrote: “All the contemporary Egyptian pottery kilns with which the writer is familiar have the perforated floor springing as a low vault from ground-level projections around the side, as seen in Balat types 4 and 5, or from projections higher up the walls. This arrangement leaves the fire box free of obstruction and makes fueling and raking easier. It is the arrangement that appears to have been used in the several known New Kingdom kilns from el-Amarna. The first of these was discovered by Borchardt (1933), who believed it to be a bread oven. This structure, in house P47.20, was re-excavated in the 1990s and found to be a pottery kiln similar to several others at the site. [Source: Paul Nicholson, University of Wales, Cardiff, UK, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]
“Archaeologically, kilns may show evidence of vitrification, since the mud-brick with which they are constructed—often of the same Nile clay as the pots themselves—is fired over and over again. This vitrification is commonly referred to as “slag” by archaeologists as a convenient shorthand, a term that sometimes leads to the belief that the kilns were actually employed for metallurgy (or less correctly glass production, since slag is specific to metallurgy). In fact the substance in question is not true slag and is not encountered in all kilns. Because much Pharaonic pottery is fired at temperatures of 800°C or less it is quite common for the walls of kilns simply to be reddened rather than vitrified. By the same token kiln sites should not be expected to feature “wasters” (overfired vessels): underfiring was almost certainly a more common fault than overfiring.
“One of the reasons for the buildup of so- called slag can be the reaction between the “fly ash” (literally, particles of ash moved up through the structure by the hot gases) and the kiln wall. The silica from ash, along with alkalis contained in it, act to make up the siliceous slag, essentially a layer of glass or glaze on the kiln wall. Fly ash is undesirable, particularly during the firing of vessels with a decorated surface or of glazed wares (such glazed pottery is known in Egypt from Roman times onward).
“One way of obviating the problem of fly ash is to use a downdraft kiln. These were not common in antiquity, however, and the difficulty was more usually solved by the use of “saggars.” Saggars were ceramic containers, stacked one on top of the other, in which pottery whose surface might be damaged by fly ash, or blackened by soot from smoke, was fired. In essence each saggar acted as a miniature, closed kiln. An alternative was to channel the hot gases through vertical pipes between which the vessels were stacked. This arrangement is known from Europe during the Roman Period, and although not yet known from Egypt, it would not be surprising to find it there.
“It is worth repeating here that the top temperature for an uncovered updraft kiln is c. 1000°C. The addition of a dome, which serves to reflect heat back into the structure as well as to contain it, can yield temperatures of 1150°C. Beyond this the Nile silt clay rapidly vitrifies and begins to collapse. Mud-bricks and pottery are essentially of the same material and are thus subject to the same considerations when heated. Where kilns show evidence for a dome, one should consider the possibility that they were glass or metal furnaces rather than pottery kilns, although domed pottery kilns are documented from the ancient world. It has been suggested from the raw materials found in their association that the large kilns or furnaces discovered at el-Amarna, and which show signs of a dome, were intended for the making of glass.”
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Tour Egypt, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com; Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
Last updated September 2018