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ALEXANDRIA
EGYPT
manipulationonanordinarybluish-
greenishbodycreatesanappealingeffect.
Thissurfacetreatmentenjoyedpopularity
fromthe5ththroughthe6thcenturies
(designcloselycomparablewithafragment
fromApamea,datedtothe5th-6th
century,Pirling1978:139-140,Pl.1:1;for
otherfragments,seeLester2004:60)and
continuedtobefashionableintheEgyptian
regionuntiltheEarlyIslamicperiod,as
demonstratedbyalampfromFustat
(beaker-shapedlamp,ScanlonandPinder-
Wilson2001:65,Pl.32i).Thispatternis
characteristicofthetransitionbetweenlate
RomanandEarlyIslamicglassproduction.
OPENFORMS
Openformsareclearlyamongtheless
frequentfinds.Theyarerepresentedby
undecoratedtablewaresuchasdeep,thin-
walledbowlswhicharecharacterizedbyan
outfolded,verticalrim[Fig.3:2-3],and
bowlswiththickenedrimedgeandcurved
sides[Fig.3:1].Bowlsofthistypearetypical
ofassemblagesofthe4thand5thcenturies
(cf.Jennings2006[ed.]:106-108,Figs
5.20.2and5.21.6-7).Associatedbasesare
alwaysofringform[Fig.3:4].Toolmarksare
visibleasslantinglinesontheoutsideofthese
bases.Thiskindofembellishmentwas
particularlyfavoredinlocalworkshopsin
Alexandria,asindicatedbythematerial
comingfromtheexcavationsatKomel-
Dikka(Kucharczyk2007a:51-52,Fig.
3:6-12).Twootherfragmentsbelongto
bowlsorjars,whichfeatureaninward-folded
rimandsphericalbody[Fig.3:5-6].Asmall
jarwithshortneckandthickenedrim,and
apparentlyglobularbodyhasalsobeen
recorded[Fig.3:7].
An
isolated
fragment
with
thin
brownish-redtrailsapparentlyrepresentsa
bowl[Fig.3:9].Thiscolorisfrequently
attestedonfindsfromKomel-Dikka,not
onlyintheformoftrails.Vesselsdecorated
withdifferentsizesandshapesofpainted
brownish-reddotsandpatcheshavealready
beenobservedatthesite.Thesedistinctive
features,whicharequiteuncommon
elsewhere,seemtobeahallmarkofthe
Alexandrianregion(Kucharczyk2005b:34,
Fig.2:3-5;2007b:70-72,Fig.2:1-3;2008:
131-132,Fig.46:23;2008:131-132,Fig.
46:23-24).Anotherpiecewithahorizon-
tallywoundgreentrailbelowtherim
apparentlycamefromawineglass[Fig.3:8].
Amongvesselstypicaloftheendofthe
4thandthe5thcenturytherearethosemade
bythecracking-offmethodwiththe
characteristicS-shapedprofile.Theyinclude
awide-bodieddeepbowl[Fig.3:11],jar
[Fig.3:13]andthin-walledcups/beakers
[Fig.3:10,12].Thesewarescouldhavealso
beenusedaslamps.
Thepresenceofapieceofflatbowl/dish
withmoulddecorationcomesasasurprise
foranumberofreasons.Thevesselfeaturesa
short,flaredwallofS-shapedprofile,slightly
incurving,andacracked-offrimthatwasleft
unworked.Theexterioroftheflatbase
displaysageometricdesignofconcentric
circleswithinsquareswithsmallprotruding
dotsplacedineachofthecorners[Fig.4:1].
Interestinglyenough,sixidenticalfragments
werefoundafewyearsearlierduring
excavationsindifferentareasofthesite
[cf.Fig.4,fiveotherfragmentsillustrated].
Thefragmentsinquestionmeritacoupleof
remarks.Thevesselsresembleoneanother
closelyinshape,size(diameter10cm,height
1.5cm),thickness,rimfinishingand
decorativepattern.Thesurprisinglyidentical
patternwithclearlydefinedelementsinlow
60
PolishArchaeologyintheMediterranean19,Reports2007
