was the so-called "Red Ware". These wheel-made hemispherical bowls were made of red or orange slip and painted with separated motifs such as boxes with inner cross-hatchings, stylized floral motifs or crosses. The outlines of the motifs were drawn in black while the interiors were white. In their design, they are a direct continuation of Kushite styles, with possible influences from Aksumite Ethiopia. Due to their relative rarity, it has been suggested that they were imported, although they bear similarities to the pottery type, known as "Soba Ware", that succeeded them. "Soba Ware" was a type of wheel-made pottery with a distinctive decoration very different from that found in the rest of Nubia. The shape of the pottery was diverse, as was the repertoire of painted decoration. One of the most distinctive features was the use of faces as painted decoration. They were simplified, if not geometric, in form and with big round eyes. This style is foreign to Makuria and Egypt, but bears a resemblance to paintings and manuscripts from Ethiopia. It is possible the potters copied these motifs from local church murals. Also unique was the application of animal-shaped bosses (protomes). Glazed vessels were also produced, copying Persian aquamaniles without reaching their quality. Beginning in the 9th century, "Soba Ware" was increasingly replaced by fine ware imported from Makuria. Economy Agriculture Alodia was in the savannah belt, giving it an economic advantage over its northern neighbor Makuria. According to al-Aswani the "provisions of the country of Alwa and their king" came from Kersa, which has been identified with the Gezira. North of the confluence of the two Niles agriculture was limited to farms along the river watered by devices like the shadoof or the more sophisticated sakia. In contrast, the farmers of the Gezira profited from sufficient rainfall to make rainfall cultivation the economic mainstay. Archaeological records have provided insight into the types of food grown and consumed in Alodia. At Soba, the primary cereal was sorghum, although barley and millet were also known to be consumed. Al-Aswani noted that sorghum was used to make beer and said that vineyards were quite rare in Alodia compared to Makuria. There is archaeological evidence of grapes. According to al-Idrisi, onions, horseradish, cucumbers, watermelons and rapeseed were also cultivated, but none were found at Soba. Instead, figs, acacia fruits, doum palm fruits and dates have been identified. Sedentary farmers formed one