Aswan Byzantine-early Islamic Cooking ware
Egypt/Upper Egypt
5th century - 8th century CE
Byzantine, Early Islamic - Umayyad/Abbasid/Tulunid
General Information
This ware mainly includes casseroles and cooking pots which exhibit charring on their exterior. The exterior wall is also often grooved. The shape and use traces on the vessels clearly identify this group as a cooking ware.
The fabric appears to have been of minor importance because the late antique material from Elephantine does not exhibit a typical clay paste that was only used for cooking wares. However, most cooking vessels were made of Nile clay (see: Byzantine-early Islamic Nile Silt Cooking ware).
The relatively thin walls and the often ribbed exterior wall stand out. In contrast to the tableware and common ware all vessels exhibit a thin, rough slip that usually has a red-orange to brown color similar to the break.
The exterior of some vessels is painted or decorated with a plastic ledge.
Aswan, Elephantine (Egypt/Upper Egypt)
