Roman Pottery Production Centres and Trade Routes in the Egyptian Western Desert (the case of Bir Shawish/el Hayz Oasis)
Abstract
This poster is mapping pottery production and manufactural areas in the Egyptian Western desert in the Roman period, and connection between them. It also tries to solve an question: whether pottery that was found in individual Roman localities in the Western desert was of local origin or imported and what could its production say to economical situation in the area.
Poster deals also with the classification and typology of different ceramic types in the area, its coexistence in localities and trade routes between them. Summary of ceramic spectrum analysis enables us to confirm where were located principal production centers and how they communicated together and how are attributed to the rest of Roman settlement.
As a reference group would be used pottery from Bir Shovish/el Hayz Oasis. Later pottery kilns there document steps during production of local pottery, concentration of shards in their vicinity but also shed light to other goods imported from Northern Africa.
Evaluation of the traffic of pottery in Mediterranean plays important role in assessing contacts of Western desert with Nile Valley and other areas of Roman Empire in the Eastern Mediterranean.