A fine pottery industry developed at the site of Meroe in the Sudan north of Khartoum in the first centuries of the common era. Although the inspiration for the painted decoration may have come from contact with the Mediterranean civilizations to the north, the stamped decoration has roots in indigenous Sudanese traditions. This delicate fine-walled beaker has been restored from a single sherd that was recovered by the John Garstang excavations at Meroe in 1909-1910. The background of the vessel is painted white decorated with horizontal bands. One polished red-orange band runs around the rim with a black line around the lower edge. Below this is another polished red-orange band flanked by a single black line above and a double black line below. Within this band are a series of impressed double triangles, one pointing upward and one downward. A further horizontal line breaks up the lower white surface of the vessel. (Rexine Hummel & S.B. Shubert)