The House of Serenos. Clementina Caputo

66–67) are very fragmentary. Only the upper part is preserved. The handle had to start from the edge in both specimens, as we can notice from one of them (no. 67). They are made of Group-A fabric. Similar examples have been found in the early Roman Period deposits at Ismant el-Kharab/Kellis⁵³ and at Mons Claudianus.⁵⁴

      Rarely attested in the assemblages are no. 64 (Pl. III, Group 9d) and no. 68 (Pl. III, Group 9f). Both are made of A3b fabric, from the Nile Valley. The table amphora no. 64 lacks both the rim and the body. Two small, thin, handmade handles are attached from the neck to the shoulder. No direct parallels have been found for this shape, even if the fabric and the morphological characteristics suggest a date of the third–fourth century CE. It comes from one of the dump layers located below the floor of Room 2 (DSU 34), in which the ceramic types identified exhibit a wide date range, from the late first century BCE to the early fourth century CE (Phase II). No. 68, in contrast, finds comparison with some examples from Elephantine. The piece is very fragmentary, and only a small part of the rim and neck is preserved; the rest of the vessel is missing. At Elephantine, these types of bottles, very close in shape to the lekythoi, are not attested in the stratigraphy of the third and fourth century CE. On the other hand, they appear in contexts dated to the second quarter of the fifth century to the first third of the sixth century CE.⁵⁵ Our specimen comes from the collapse of the ceiling in Room 12 (DSU 245) and could be considered as post-abandonment refuse (Phase IV).

      The double-handled flagons or amphoriskoi (Pl. III: nos. 69–71, Group 9g) appear, even in small numbers (5 MNI in total), mainly in the strata above floors (Phase III). They are characterized by very long necks with filter (nos. 69–70), direct rims, slightly everted (no. 69), and sloping shoulders. The exterior surface is often cream slipped and can be, in some specimens, decorated with black or reddish/brown dots (no. 71) or abstract motifs. Commonly, they are made of B10 or A5 fabrics, with thick white or light-yellow slipped surfaces. The closest parallels for these types of vessels are from Elephantine,⁵⁶ El-Ashmunein,⁵⁷ and Kom el-Nana (Amarna),⁵⁸ and are dated between the fourth and the seventh centuries CE.

      The costrels nos. 73–79 (Pl. IV, Group 9i) are the most common type of liquid vessel identified within the assemblages from the occupation layers of Area 2.1 (Phase III). Generally, they have a direct simple rim, sometimes slightly pinched (no. 76), on which is attached the handle, a three-holes strainer at the base of the short cylindrical neck, a body ovoid in shape, and a low foot-ring base. They are often made of B1/B10/B15 or A5 fabrics, rarely in A1/2, with white- or cream–slipped exterior surfaces. The closest parallels are from Douch/Kysis,⁵⁹ Ismant el-Kharab/Kellis,⁶⁰ ‘Ain el-Gedida,⁶¹ and ‘Ain el-Chabata (Bahariya Oasis),⁶² and are dated between the third and the end of the fifth centuries CE. One similar specimen, made of calcareous clay, is attested at Taposiris Magna and dated as late as the sixth–seventh century CE.⁶³

2.1.5. Kraters

      This category includes a series of containers with an open shape, defined in this study as kraters (Pls. IV–V: nos. 80–86, Group 10). Their shape is characterized by a high rim, slightly everted, and a deep body narrowing towards the end, with a carination on the shoulder and near the base. Unfortunately, none of the specimens in the catalogue retains its base, so it is not possible to say with certainty if it was rounded, carinated as it would seem from nos. 84–86, or even with a foot. Most of them have decoration on the inner side of the rim or on top of it, generally made of vertical marks (no. 80), spiral or wavy lines (nos. 81–82, 84–85), reddish/purple in color on cream or white paint; rarely, they have a more complex combination of these decorative elements, such as in the case of no. 86.64 This krater presents a painting on the entire internal surface, from the edge to the base: thick vertical marks are on top of the rim, followed by a register of “S”-lines interweaved with each other on the inner face of it, while the main section dominates the central part of the body. This latter consists of an agricultural scene on which are recognizable palm trees with dates, vine shoots with bunches of grapes, the ladders presumably used for harvesting the fruits, and possibly some animals below the trees, such as a donkey. Dates and grapes are among the species of plants well attested and cultivated in the Great Oasis (Phoenix dactylifera and Vitis vinifera).65

      Although the presence of more or less elaborate decorations on these containers should be indicative of a table use, the thick layer of soot often detectable on their exterior walls and close to the base would suggest a parallel or secondary use as cooking vessel. They are made of A1a and A1b fabrics, rarely in the fine versions A2a and A2b. The pieces in the catalogue come almost exclusively from the contexts above floors in Area 2.1 (Phase III), especially from Room 15 (DSUs 140, 145, 152, 157), and are very close to the specimens attested at Ismant el-Kharab/Kellis,⁶⁶ Kom el-Nana (Amarna),⁶⁷ and Douch/Kysis,⁶⁸ dated between the fourth and the seventh centuries CE.

2.2. UTILITY WARE

2.2.1. Deep Bowls and Basins