Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 50 (2023) 104105 Available online 1 July 2023 2352-409X/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Early stonepaste ceramic technology in Fustat, Egypt Moujan Matin a, * , Mary Ownby b a Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada b Ownby Analytical, LLC, Albuquerque, NM, USA ABSTRACT The origins and early development of stonepaste pottery has been a subject of controversy. This paper examines eleven pottery fragments from Fustat, Egypt that were previously studied and discussed based on art historical grounds. Using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy examination of bodies and glazes, different stages of the development of stonepaste technology in Fustat are demonstrated. The relationship of this technology in Fustat with other Islamic regions is discussed based on available data. 1. Introduction Stonepaste (also known as fritware) is an artifcial ceramic body that is made mainly of crushed quartz (or quartzite), mixed with clay and ground crushed glass (i.e. frit). After fring, the paste fuses into a compact, white-toned body. Manufacture of stonepaste is generally believed to have begun in the eleventh/twelfth century and marked a turning point in the development of ceramics in the central and eastern Islamic. The fne quality of the stonepaste body facilitated the produc- tion of some of the most accomplished wares in Egypt, Syria, Iran, and later in Turkey. The fundamental recurring question associated with the study of stonepaste pottery is the ‘where’ and ‘how’ of its frst invention. This, in turn, is followed by the question of the ‘spread’ of this technology. The establishment of production in Egypt, Syria and Iran by the 12th century is not in doubt, but the relationship between production in these widely separated countries and the precise sequence of development is not clear. Two main but contradictory theories seek to explain the origins and spread of stonepaste pottery. Lane (1947, 32) attributed the dis- covery of stonepaste to Iranian potters, arguing that “the Persian wares show no Egyptian infuence” and suggested a westwards movement of the technique from Saljuq Iran to Fatimid Egypt. Watson (1999), on the other hand, suggested the frst development of stonepaste wares in Egypt during the 11th and 12th centuries, followed by a subsequent eastward transfer to Syria and Iran. Egyptian stonepaste pottery has been found in large numbers in Fustat, also known as Old Cairo. Excavations were directed by Bahgat between 1912 and 1920 and a report on pottery was published in 1930 (Bahgat and Massoul 1930). Later excavations by Scanlon in the late 1960s provided the frst stratigraphic evidence for the study of Fustat stonepaste pottery (see e.g. Scanlon 1984, 1971). Despite this, a detailed chronology of the wares is not yet fully understood and the dating of Egyptian stonepaste is often based on stylistic comparison and the study of inscriptions (see Philon 1980). This paper presents a selection of eleven Fustat pottery fragments of lustreware and incised and carved wares (so-called Fustat Fatimid Sgraffto wares (FFS) (see Bongianino 2014, 2015, 2017)) in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (Fig. 1). These fragments were acquired from travellers visiting Egypt and returning to England during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Table 1 out- lines details of these samples. Information on their acquisition was reproduced from publication by Rosser-Owen (2013, 166). The eleven pottery fragments were previously discussed and selected by Watson (1999) as examples of the gradual development of stonepaste pottery production in Fustat. Watson (1999, 302) argued “From a technical point of view, the wide range of bodies using high proportions of quartz in Fatimid Egypt argues strongly that it was there that fritware developed; it indicates an industry prepared to innovate, experiment, and develop. The simple explanation is that fritware developed in Egypt, and travelled, along with lustre and the new styles of incising, to Iran and Syria at some point in the 12th century.” It is the aim of this paper to assess this hypothesis by conducting a more comprehensive technological study of these fragments. For this purpose, the bodies and glazes of pottery sherds were examined using a Scanning Electron Microscope with Energy Dispersive Spectrom- eter (SEM-EDS) and thin-section petrography. The art historical back- ground to these fragments is an important pillar of our arguments. The obtained data is discussed and compared in the context of previous sci- entifc analysis of medieval stonepaste pottery from Fustat. * Corresponding author. E-mail address: moujan.matin@utoronto.ca (M. Matin). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jasrep https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104105 Received 26 January 2023; Received in revised form 9 June 2023; Accepted 28 June 2023