[micvay]

I have just got back from a visit to the Karnak temple at Luxor. Our guide pointed out broken pieces of terracotta on the ground , she explained that the ancients used to bring offerings to the gods in terracotta vessels. she went on to explain to us that these vessels would be smashed against the wall and the pieces gathered on the ground would be left were they fell. She said we could take one piece of the broken pottery each. I asked what age these pieces came from and she said five bc. Do you think she was having a joke with us or is this true?
Regards Micvay

[Joerg]

micvay, on Oct 19 2006, 05:11 PM, said:

She said we could take one piece of the broken pottery each. I asked what age these pieces came from and she said five bc. Do you think she was having a joke with us or is this true?

I don`t know definitely but you can find it out easily:
Yust show it to the customs officer at the airport on your depart and tell him "it`s a piece of a 2000 year old vessel I`ve found at Karnak."
If you reach the plane within an appropriate time, the sherds are most likely remains of Ahmed`s recent wedding-eve party.
But if it turns out to be actually antique, look out for a considerable extension of your holliday in Egypt

[Jane Akshar]

Joerc your reply was so funny.

Regarding artifacts. Seriously you can accidentally pick u something genuine but in 999999999/1000000000 it is not old. If you do think you have got something genuine then it is a criminal offence to remove it from the country but the previous reply was much better put and more funny

[micvay]

WHOOPS I got the temple wrong it was in fact the Luxor temple that we picked up the shards of pottery.
Regards Michael

[Jane Akshar]

If you go to Malkata there is loads of blue decorated pottery there which truly is genuine. but remember taking antiquities out of the country is an offence, nothing wrong with taking a photo though

[Dave Light]

Hi micvay and hello Tour Egypt.

This is my first post

Yes you can find real ancient pottery sherds scattered in the areas around Luxor temple. In the area SW towards the corniche in particular the sandy area is full of fragments.

Your guide should not have said you could take it though, as you may have inadvertantly takes something with some value. It is also illegal.

I have found that many ancient sites around Egypt and the med are full of pottery fragments, and other people I know report the same.

Best Regards,
Dave Lightbody
Archaeologist.

[AD1]

Dave Light, on Feb 4 2009, 05:41 PM, said:

Hi micvay and hello Tour Egypt.

This is my first post

Yes you can find real ancient pottery sherds scattered in the areas around Luxor temple. In the area SW towards the corniche in particular the sandy area is full of fragments.

Your guide should not have said you could take it though, as you may have inadvertantly takes something with some value. It is also illegal.

I have found that many ancient sites around Egypt and the med are full of pottery fragments, and other people I know report the same.

Best Regards,
Dave Lightbody
Archaeologist.

This is also true of the desert nearby the Great Pyramid in Giza. Scattered pottery and sometimes pieces of old granite with part inscription. Best looked at and left in place...

AD

[GlenP]

AD1, on Feb 4 2009, 09:49 PM, said:

This is also true of the desert nearby the Great Pyramid in Giza. Scattered pottery and sometimes pieces of old granite with part inscription. Best looked at and left in place...

AD

Same applies to Saqarra, but there are also signs pointing out that it is illegal to pick up anything found there.