Deir el-Naqlun 2014–2015. Preliminary report

The complex of the Nekloni monastery in Fayum (Deir el-Naqlun) was explored in yet another three seasons of fieldwork by a team from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology. On the plateau, investigations were carried out in the southern part of Building D (Rooms D.50 and D.41–D.44), northern part of Building E, western part of the 12th–13th-century Cemetery A and Building I. A 6th-century Hermitage EE.06 in the Naqlun hills to the east of the plateau was cleared, yielding a collection of study material, especially pottery from the kitchen unit dated to the second half of the 5th–6th century. The assemblage from the kitchen unit was composed of cooking pots and saucepans; tableware was represented by goblets, plates and bottles (qullae), while storage/ transport vessels mainly by amphorae. Products of Egyptian workshops were mixed with imported wares of North African and Eastern Mediterranean origin (including Cyprus, Cilicia and Gaza).