Production of red-slipped table vessels made from fine alluvial Nile clays occured throughout both Lower and Upper Egypt, from the Delta to Aswan. Potters everywhere made small saucers and bowls for individual table service; but the range of other shapes differed depending on local taste and demand. At Dime/Soknopaiou Nesos, this ware appears as early as the 4th century BCE but continues only until the 3rd century BCE. At Coptos, vessels in this ware first appear in the early 3rd century BCE, and continue into the earliest Roman ceramic assemblage, dating to the 1st century CE (Herbert and Berlin 2003, 28). The repertoire of shapes from Syene mainly includes cups, plates and occasionally also beakers and pitchers. In Syene, the v...
Nile Silt Ptolemaic-Roman Red-Slipped Ware is made of somewhat soft, dull brown alluvial fabric, with a fine to medium-coarse texture. There are some small rounded grey and black inclusions, as well as lime flecks and fine fragments of chaff. Examples from Dime/Soknopaiou Nesos exhibit inclusions consisting of small grains of quartz, mica, and rare white nodules of different sizes. A burnished dull brick-red slip is applied before firing, and vessels are generally almost fully fired, with ...
