The currently thriving research on Meroitic ceramics and their great variability stimulated discussions on the mode and the organisation of pottery production in the Meroitic kingdom. Excavations of a Late Meroitic pottery kiln at Hamadab, an urban town near Meroe, has yielded thousands of overfired ceramic wasters which are evaluated to provide new insights on the manufacture of Meroitic utilitarian goods.
Using the broad potentials of ceramic analysis, the kiln load can be reconstructed in terms of composition in forms, fabrics and wares. The incorporation of archaeometric analyses determined the ‘fabric fingerprint’ for this production site, offering new perspectives on the raw material procurement and the distribution of ceramic containers in the Meroitic south. The kiln wasters are furthermore examined towards the prevailing production parameters and technologies of this urban workshop. These suggest an industrial mass-production of standardised ceramic wares in the 3rd/4th century AD. As the first analysis of production wasters from a potter’s kiln in the Meroitic heartland, the Hamadab case study examines the production activities in a non-elite Meroitic community. These will be discussed towards the role of ceramic industry in the economy of the Meroitic state and how local production activities were regulated.

For the community, for the ‘market’ or for the royal house? – Meroitic ceramic production in urban Hamadab