7. The principle of Minimum Number of Individuals consists of estimating the number of individual vessels present in each stratigraphic unit. If a shape is represented by n rims and n + 1 bases, the number of rims is the one indicating the value of MNI. For the methods of ceramic quantification see: Arthur and Ricci 1981: 125–8; Arcelin and Tuffreau-Libre 1998; Raux 1998: 11–16; Hesnard 1998: 17–22; Anastasio 2007: 36–8.
8. For the fabric classification system used at Amheida, see the paragraphs “Fabrics” and “Wares” in this chapter.
9. The ceramic drawings in this volume have been made and digitized (Adobe Illustrator) during the several excavation seasons by the author, Julie Marchand, Paola Vertuani, and Stefania Alfarano.
10. On the ceramic typological classification methods, see: Gardin 1985; Anastasio 2007: 33–6.
11. Rigoir and Rigor 1968: 327–34; Parise Badoni and Ruggeri Giove 1984; Ruggeri 1993; Mancinelli 2016.
12. Lens with resolving power 20x and field of view of 21 mm.
13. About the hardness, see Cuomo di Caprio 2007: 73–4 and 642–3.
14. Hope divided the Oasis fabrics into two broad groups: iron-rich or ferruginous fabrics (A-group), and calcium-rich or marl-like fabrics (B-group), each with further sub-divisions. For the fabric descriptions see also: Hope 1979: 188; Hope et al. 2000: 194–5; Hope 2004b: 7–9. For the characteristics of the clay and ceramic materials of the Oases, see: Soukiassian, Wuttmann, Pantalacci 2002; Ballet, and Picon 1990: 75–85; Marchand and Tallet 1999: 307–52; Hope 1999: 215–43; Patten 2000: 87–104. See also: Nordström and Bourriau 1993: 168–82.
15. Gill 2016: 47–51.
16. Eccleston has further divided the ferruginous fabrics into four sub-categories, namely “Coarse Ferruginous Fabrics,” “Mudstone/Claystone/Shale Fabrics,” “Mudstone/Claystone/Shale Fabrics Vegetal Tempered Variant,” and “Mudstone/Claystone/Shale Fabrics - Sandstone Variant.” See Eccleston 2006: 93. See also Eccleston 2000: 211–18.
17. Originally, fabrics B1/B10/B15 were distinguished on the basis of their coarseness; Colin Hope has later grouped these fabrics together, as they are all made in the same basic paste. See Gill 2016: 50.
18. No source of the clay used for this fabric has been yet identified in the Dakhla Oasis. However, the presence of this fabric exclusively in the Dakhla Oasis and not in Kharga, where there are other types of calcium-rich clay, would seem to support the hypothesis of local production.
19. Vessels made in A11 are very common at Amheida in House B1 (Area 2.1), as well as in other buildings (Church B7, Area 2.3). Large amounts of this pottery were also found during the excavations of other sites in the Oasis such as Ismant el-Kharab/Kellis and ‘Ain el-Gedida, see: Hope 1979: 196; Hope 1981: 235; Hope 1985: 123, no. 2; Hope 1999: 235; Dixneuf 2012b: 459; Dixneuf 2018.
20. The A11 fabric is probably a later version of the fabric B23 (variants B16 and B17). This is a closed-grained, sand-rich fabric in a range of colors from yellow to white. It occurs in Dakhla with uncoated and red-coated surfaces from the late 3th/ early 4th century CE. The version of B23 fabric used during the Late Period is characterized by large limestone inclusions and fired gray throughout, and resembles a fabric from Bahariya oasis. Hope 1999: 235; Hope 2000: 194; Dunsmore 2002: 131; Hope 2004b: 9; Dixneuf 2012b: 459.
21. Hope 2004a: 103.
22. Eccleston 2006: 106. B3 or B3b is not related to other “B” fabrics. According to Hope, fabric B3 might have been used occasionally during the Late Period and during the Early Roman Period: Hope 1999: 232; Hope 2000: 195; Eccleston 2006: 104. Gill argues, however, that it also occurs regularly during the Ptolemaic Period: Gill 2016: 50.
23. About the workshops and the ceramics from Kysis (Kharga Oasis), here called Kharga Red Slip Ware, see Rodziewicz 1987; Ballet and Picon 1990: 298–301; Ballet and Vichy 1992: 116–9, Fig. 13 (g–h); Ballet 2001: 122–3. Phase III finale, see Ballet 2004: 224–5, 237 (Fig. 220, nos. 48–50).
24. Hayes 1972: 13–315.
25. Rodziewicz 1985: 235–41; Rodziewicz 1987: 123–36.
26. Hope 1979: 196; Hope 1980: 300–03, Pl. XXIV (e–k); Hope 1986: 87, figs. 8i–9ff; Ballet 2004: 224.
27. According to Ballet it is unlikely that the workshops that produced this type of fine ceramics were located in the Kharga Oasis; for this reason, she agrees with C. A. Hope’s suggestion that they were produced in the Dakhla Oasis. See Hope 1987; Ballet 2004: 211, n. 8.
28. In the Kharga Oasis the Red Slip Ware is produced in a red-brown clay (Munsell 4/8 10R, 10R 6/8), see Rodziewicz 1987: 124, n. 7.
29. The surfaces usually have decorative patterns incised or imprinted, see Rodziewicz 1987: 126–7.
30. Hope 1985: 123–4.
31. The fabrics of these amphorae have been described on the basis of the information collected in the websites http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk and http://www.cealex.org.
32. See Aston 1998: 30–1.
33. About the firing modes see Dixneuf 2018: 288–9.
34. The red ocher clay is made of iron minerals and of a clay component. In its natural state it is in the form of an earthy blob, relatively compact and powdered, red/brown in color: Cuomo di Caprio 2007: 285–6.
35. The iron minerals are mainly hematite and limonite, which are also present in ocher aggregates: a prevalence of hematite translates into a red color (red ocher), while a prevalence of limonite results into colors ranging from yellow to orange (yellow ocher). See Cuomo di Caprio 2007: 285–6.
36. The semi-liquid blend (also defined as semi-dense suspension) becomes a slip after firing and is applied by the potter on the surfaces of the container by means of dipping, perfusion, or brushing. See Cuomo di Caprio 2007: 290–3.
37. See Cuomo di Caprio 2007: 312.
38. The original bulk of the coding has been created and used by Hope for the study of the ostraca from Kellis: see Hope 2004: 7. Some colors and combinations have been added by the author according to the material analyzed in this study.
39. The Rhodian and Lake Mariout amphora fragments are not illustrated in the graph because they do not belong to the living phase of the house.
1. The presence of beige plaquette (schist), characteristic of the Oasis fabrics, does not seem to be always found in the Amheida productions, while according to P. Ballet the plaquettes are well attested in other sites not only in the Dakhla Oasis (Balat), but also in the Kharga Oasis (Douch/Kysis and el-Deir). See Ballet and Picon 1990: 75–84.
2. Eccleston 2006: 95–7.
3. Eccleston 2006: 95–7.
4. Eccleston 2006: 99–100. See also Gill 2016: 49, n. 4.
5. The firing method to obtain A5 was discussed directly in the field with P. Ballet (2014).
6. Gill 2016: 49, Pl. B.60. See also Eccleston 2006: 98–9.
7. The fabric description has been defined with P. Ballet during a workshop in January 2013 and February 2014 in Dakhla. See also for the description Gill 2016: 50.
8. Gill 2016: 50. See also Eccleston 2006: 112–14.
9. Gill 2016: 50. See also Eccleston 2006: 113.
10. Gill 2016: 50, Pls. B.63 and B.64. See also Eccleston 2006: 120.
11. The containers that are common to the Great Oasis, but for which no precise place of manufacturing has yet been found, are considered as regional. All the fabrics/wares that are not produced