Technical ceramics from late period to Roman Kom Tuman (Memphis), Egypt, reveal collocation of multiple high-temperature industries

Apart from palatial and military archaeological contexts, the Kom Tuman sector of ancient Memphis features an industrial area formed by several high-temperature production and processing workshops of different specializations, operating from the Late period (ca. 664 BCE–ca. 332 BCE) to Hellenistic and Roman times. The study of crucible fragments from these workshops identified a range of coexisting activities, including glass working and metalworking, as well as the primary production of Egyptian blue pigment. This paper provides evidence for these high-temperature industries, discussing both their respective produce and the technical ceramics employed. Analysis of the latter showed that craftspeople in Kom Tuman deliberately selected different types of clay to better fit the requirement of high-temperature production. Both glass and Egyptian blue industries employed crucibles made of calcareous fabric with an external Nile silt coating, while metallurgical activities relied on the use of Nile silt fabric only. Evidence for pottery production is conspicuously absent from these workshops, while evidence for local faience production is very limited.