On the significance of pottery vessels in private burial contexts of Early Dynastic Egypt. Selected case studies from the necropolis area Operation 4, Helwan

Abstract

From 1998 up to 2012, an unexplored area affiliated to the Early Dynastic cemetery of Helwan located about twenty kilometres south of Cairo was excavated (Fig. 1–2). This area was called Operation 4. It mainly housed private burials from the lower and middle classes of the nearby city of Memphis and dates from 2950 to 2600 B.C. 218 tombs were excavated and are currently being analysed regarding archaeological, architectural, physical anthropological, zoological, and botanical aspects. The ceramic vessels discovered in these tombs form the basis of the present paper. It attempts to exceed the material aspects of pottery vessels to learn more about ideational and practical circumstances leading to the selection, utilization, and deposition of certain objects focussing on Operation 4 as a case study. For this purpose, particular phenomena were chosen and exemplarily illustrated, partly considering selected similar pieces deriving from contemporary Egyptian cemeteries.