LEAD ISOTOPE ANALYSES OF ISLAMIC POTTERY GLAZES FROM FUSTAT, EGYPT*

Abstract

Lead isotope analyses have been undertaken on a group of Islamic lead‐glazed pottery artefacts from Fustat, Egypt, spanning the period from the eighth to the 14th century ad, that had previously been the subject of a comprehensive typological, chronological, petrographic and technological study. Comparison of the lead isotope ratios for the glazes with those for lead ores from Egypt, Iran, Tunisia, Anatolia, Greece, Sardinia and Spain provided information on the possible sources of the lead used in the production of the glazes. The results show that the lead used in glaze production by the Islamic potters at Fustat was most probably obtained from distant ore sources in Iran or Tunisia, Sardinia, Spain and the Taurus Mountains. Different ore sources were favoured in different periods and, to a limited extent, for different types of pottery, but at no time did the Fustat potters use the potentially more accessible Egyptian ore sources.

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