This is a study of ceramics of the prehistoric Naqada culture and early Old Kingdom period discovered in the region of Buto, a site south of Tanis in the Delta and the capital of the Lower Kingdom in Predynastic times. Detailed analysis of materials, forms and decoration is supplemented by discussion of find-contexts, manufacturing methods and the origins of imported objects discovered. This site has provided controversial evidence for regular contact with the emerging civilizations of Mesopotamia at this formative period.