Handbook of Ancient Nubia 3110416697, 9783110416695, 9783110420388, 9783110420654, 2018958022

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Dietrich Raue (ed.) Handbook of Ancient Nubia

Handbook of Ancient Nubia Volume 1

Edited by Dietrich Raue

ISBN 978-3-11-041669-5 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-042038-8 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-042065-4 Library of Congress Publication Number: 2018958022 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Cover Image: Amun Temple at Gebel Barkal © Johannes Auenmüller Typesetting: Meta Systems Publishing & Printservices GmbH, Wustermark Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com

Für Jutta und Werner Kaiser

Preface In many respects, Nubian archaeology and its study is special among the various archaeological subdisciplines. Perhaps this is because survey work is carried out in a countryside that is in many parts rather barren and remote and that promotes magnificent international cooperation under the auspices of the National Committee of Antiquities and Museums. Starting with the support from Khartoum, the number of archaeological missions, in close contact with colleagues working on related issues in Egypt, is growing. Nubian archaeology is an academic locus for the mutual exchange of information about material culture, especially at the conferences of the International Society of Nubian Studies and at the International Conference for Meroitic Studies, and this area of research provides an enormous output of scholarly publications. Another aspect worth mentioning about Nubian archaeology concerns its ‘interdisciplinary work-style’. In Nubian archaeology, interdisciplinarity is not just a buzzword. This is probably due to the research format of the surveys that has shaped many scholars in this field. Surveys do not shed light on a certain period or a certain material culture of one population, nor do they end up dealing exclusively with historical periods, as they are defined by modern humanities. As an effect, the archaeology of Nubia is used to take account of topics that are not restricted to fixed research questions. It is in this spirit that this volume tries to combine two approaches: On the one hand, subjects are dealt with from a macroscopic spatial perspective with the aim of linking periods and regions in a meaningful way. Geology and topography as the setting of all cultural development and diachronic views on fauna, flora, anthropology and language prepare the groundwork for the following chronological roadmap. This volume intends to be an update of all historical and archaeological studies ever pursued on Nubian topics, and not a full presentation. Such ventures have already been undertaken in the past decade, especially the compilation and analysis of historical data by László Török in his study Between Two Worlds in 2009. On the other hand, it is beyond any doubt that the material culture has to be understood as well as possible before developing far-reaching theories. For this reason, a number of contributions deal with the type of finds that archaeologists expect to discover in the field. Pottery studies, the most important of all find categories, give an overview of the state of research. Object categories like leatherwork and lithic tools will also be addressed. Surveys have been the basis of the tremendously rich collection of data on Ancient Nubia, and it is therefore imperative that we give credit to some survey projects that broaden again, as did their predecessors during the 20th century, our mind in respect to this prolific and fascinating human development between the Red Sea Mountains and the Eastern Sahara, next to and along the river Nile. Leipzig, November 2018 https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-203

Contents Volume 1 Preface

I

vii

General Dietrich Raue Introduction

3

Dietrich Klemm, Rosemarie Klemm, and Andreas Murr Geologically Induced Raw Materials Stimulating the Development of Nubian 15 Culture Johannes Auenmüller Topography and Regional Geography of Nubia: River, Cataract and Desert 39 Landscapes Louis Chaix A Short Story of Human-animal Relationships in Northern Sudan A. J. Clapham The Archaeobotany of Nubia

83

Michaela Binder The Role of Physical Anthropology in Nubian Archaeology Claude Rilly Languages of Ancient Nubia

129

II From Palaelithicum to 2nd Millennium BC Donatella Usai The Palaeolithic / Stone Age

155

Sandro Salvatori and Donatella Usai The Mesolithic and Neolithic in Sudan

171

103

63

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Heiko Riemer and Karin Kindermann Eastern Saharan Prehistory during the 9th to 5th Millennium BC: 195 The View from the ‘Libyan Desert’ Matthieu Honegger The Holocene Prehistory of Upper Nubia until the Rise of the Kerma 217 Kingdom Bastien Jakob Holocene Lithic Industries in Nubia

239

Maria Carmela Gatto The Later Prehistory of Nubia in its Interregional Setting

259

Dietrich Raue Cultural Diversity of Nubia in the Later 3rd–Mid 2nd Millennium BC Andrea Manzo Eastern Sudan in the 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC Christian Knoblauch Middle Kingdom Fortresses

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335

367

Johannes Auenmüller Pharaonic Rock Inscriptions in Nubia – The 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC

393

Charles Bonnet The Religious Architecture of Kerma and Dokki Gel 413 from the 3rd to the 1st Millennium BC Neal Spencer Settlements of the Second Intermediate Period and New Kingdom

433

Julia Budka Pottery of the Middle and the New Kingdom from Lower and Upper 465 Nubia André J. Veldmeijer and Lucy-Anne Skinner 491 Nubian Leatherwork Martina Ullmann Egyptian Temples in Nubia during the Middle and the New Kingdom

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Kate Spence New Kingdom Tombs in Lower and Upper Nubia

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Dietrich Raue Nubians in Egypt in the 3rd and 2nd Millennium BC

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Volume 2 III 1st Millennium BC–2nd Millennium AD Derek Anthony Welsby Settlements of the Early Kushite Period Angelika Lohwasser and Timothy Kendall Napatan Necropoleis and Burial Customs

591

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Alexandra Riedel The Sacred Architecture of the Napatan Period

643

Dominique Valbelle and Charles Bonnet 667 The Cache of Dukki Gel (Pa-nebes) Pamela J. Rose Early Kushite Ceramics of the Earlier 1st Millennium BC in Lower and Upper 675 Nubia Julia Budka Nubians in the 1st Millennium BC in Egypt

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Pawel Wolf with contributions by Ulrike Nowotnick and David N. Edwards 713 Settlement in the Meroitic Kingdom Jana Helmbold-Doyé Tomb Architecture and Burial Custom of the Elite during the Meroitic Phase 783 in the Kingdom of Kush Josefine Kuckertz Meroitic Temples and their Decoration Steffen Wenig Art of the Meroitic Kingdom

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Romain David Ceramic Industries of Meroitic Sudan

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Bogdan T. Żurawski Defending the Indefensible. Nubian Fortifications in the Middle Ages Włodzimierz Godlewski The Sacral Architecture in the Kingdom of Makuria David N. Edwards Post-Meroitic Nubia

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David N. Edwards Islamic Archaeology in Nubia

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IV Surveys and Fringes Mariusz Drzewiecki and Aneta Cedro Archaeological Surveys at the Third, Fourth and Fifth Cataract 987 Regions Tim Karberg and Angelika Lohwasser Living and Travelling in the Bayuda: The Wadi Abu Dom

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Adrian Chlebowski and Mariusz Drzewiecki Recent Research Work at the Western and Southern Fringes of Nubia

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Tim Karberg 1051 Rock Art Friederike Jesse Fending off the Desert Dwellers – The Gala Abu Ahmed Fortress and other 1069 fortified Places in the South Libyan Desert Indices

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I General

Dietrich Raue

Introduction A Rather Young Discipline The history of scientific research on Ancient Nubia is different from other archaeological disciplines. First of all, it is a rather young discipline. Early travellers were mainly interested in the pharaonic legacy south of Aswan. Stunned by the preservation and monumentality, ‘Nubian monuments’ were Egyptian monuments in Nubia: The discovery of the famous rock-temples of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel (Burckhardt 1820, 122–138) inspired others to follow the difficult track south of Aswan. But the impressive volumes of the first half of the 19th century focused on large temple sites and rock-inscriptions. Only sites far to the south like Gebel Barkal and Meroe and the more recent Napatan and Meroitic Periods attracted the expeditions: Among others, it is mainly the work of the later 18th century by James Bruce (1880), followed in the 19th century by, for example, Linant de Bellefonds (1958), Cailliaud (1823–1826), Percy (1835), Hoskins (1835), Rifaud (1830–1836), Rosellini (2006) and Lepsius (1849–1859). Other travellers left valuable documentation in their still partially unpublished manuscripts (Porter/Moss 1952 (1975), xxxiii–xxxiv). Only upstream from the Dongola Basin were Nubian Cultures appreciated as indigenous and interesting creators of art and monuments. For these monuments, early travellers produced a large corpus of sketches. Such illustrations, from the first half of the mid-19th century, are often the only testimony to a number of monuments (e.g. Onderka 2015) and few archaeological or epigraphical missions ever travelled as far as Sennar in subsequent decades. In general, the Middle Nile Region remained, also for political and technological reasons, a rarely surveyed area and the Period of the Mahdi-Regime in the later 19th century generally brought archaeological investigations to an end (Adams 1977, 625–534). Two major events smoothed the path for the unparalleled intensive archaeological investigation of Lower and Upper Nubia. With the defeat of the Mahdi and his followers, British colonial administration again gained control over all of Sudan. According to the model of the Egyptian antiquities organization, an antiquities authority was also established in Sudan, headed first by British officials and later by Sudanese archaeologists (Ahmed 2013, 13–25). The second development derived, shortly after, from the need for reliable conditions for agricultural production, e.g. to supply Egyptian cotton to the British textile industry: It led to the plan for a dam in Aswan that was finished in 1902. Its height was increased three times, each time submerging thousands of hectares of Nubian land and Nubian archaeological heritage upstream of the Bend of Korosko (Weigall 1907, 1–3; Emery/Kirwan 1935). A series of well organised surveys, headed by George A. Reisner and others (Roy 2011, 5–11), did their best to gather as much information as possible. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-001

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The term ‘Nubia’ has been a flexible one. Nubia was first addressed as Ethiopia by some scholars of the 19th century, who believed it was situated south of Aswan, north of Khartoum and close to the Nile Valley. The Eastern Desert was thought to belong to Nubia somehow while the Western Desert was rather arbitrarily divided into Libyan and Nubian parts (see Ch. Auenmüller), although Nubian material culture, e.g. from around 1700 BC, is clearly a part of the culture of the Western ‘Libyan’ Desert. Recently developed terms like ‘Libo-Nubian’ try to take account of such proximity (Darnell/Darnell 2013, 36). The prehistory of the Holocene wet phase finally forced scholars to leave the Nile Valley proper in order to understand ecological developments,1 and indicators of real or hypothetical migrations have generated new discussion about possibly larger areas. The remarkable results of research pertaining to the indigenous population of Nubia garnered astonishing reactions. The great philologist Adolf Erman, the father of the ‘Berliner Schule’ and spiritus rector of the prestigious project of the ‘Altägyptisches Wörterbuch’, stated in a letter to Georg Steindorff in December 1932: ‘Es ist doch merkwürdig, wie Nubien jetzt auch eine Gestalt und Geschichte gewinnt, in meiner Vorstellung ist es noch immer das Land von kulturlosen Barbaren, in dem nichts zu finden ist und nie etwas vorhanden gewesen ist, als was die Aegypter darin hinterlassen haben’ (Voss 2016, 248). The main reason for this negative evaluation of cultural achievements is of course the lack of textual sources and literacy. For many decades, the most interesting monuments were collected in the Topographical Bibliography by Porter/Moss (1952) in which, thanks to the textual evidence, Napatan and Meroitic monuments were also mentioned, while, e.g., the entire Cemetery N of Aniba was addressed merely in two lines of text (Porter/Moss 1952, 77). Nowadays it is still a challenge to reassemble, e.g. at Amada or other temple sites, Nubian and Egyptian cultural heritage and monuments from the documentation of those days. And it is still one of the major challenges to decipher the story of Nubia without indigenous texts for the first millennia, and with only partially understood writing – the Meroitic texts and language (see Ch. Rilly) – for later periods. Therefore, object categories like pottery or lithic tools have traditionally played a greater role than in other disciplines that have strong textual evidence from ancient cultures. The change of paradigms has led to the acceptance of such find categories as a valid source for historical disciplines w i t h literary traditions. This should by no means devalue the importance of the textual evidence at hand. Besides the textual evidence from Meroitic inscriptions (see Ch. Rilly), a growing number of reports and descriptions from the middle of the 1st millennium BC onwards exist up

1 Riemer/Lange/Kindermann 2013, 157–178. The last remaining delimiting factor, the name itself, is not connected anymore to a speculative etymology of ‘Nubia’ deriving from nbw-gold, see Breyer 2009, 173–176.

Introduction

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to the Christian and Islamic Periods, which produced their own texts on a larger scale.2

The State of the Art … As a part of the colonial history of Africa, it is important to note that none of the scholars who promoted the foundation of Nubian archaeology was Nubian. On the other hand, the fathers of Nubian archaeology were among the most prominent and skilled scholars of their time. Methodology was a serious and important issue for all leading personalities – that is why recent studies can still use their data to a certain extent (e.g. Roy 2011). The other side of the coin is the paradigm of their analysis and interpretation. All of them operated with diffusionist models. The migration of populations, indicated by the migration of archaeological styles, was considered as the state of the art. The other axiom dealt with the idea of hierarchies among ancient as well as modern cultures. While the hierarchies of modern cultures justified colonialism, concepts like ‘dynastic races’ were popular with Europeans working in the field of Egyptian archaeology five decades ago. The same approach was considered as methodologically correct by the first generation of American and European archaeologists in Nubia. The interpretation of Nubian Cultures was closely linked to Egypt and their distinct cultural developments led to observations of cultural inferiority – with the widespread racism of the early 20th century a regular constituent (Roy 2011, 7–9). In addition, Nubia became a factor in the global reconstruction of migrations and their impact. Deriving from linguistic terms for North Africa and the Near East, archaeologists suddenly tried to find ‘Hamitic’ and ‘Semitic’ populations. Especially in the 1920s and 1930s, the idea of a ex septembrione lux, ‘light emerged from the North’, was applied to the geostrategic setting of the region. From now on, migrations were a tool to verify the migration of light-skinned and preferably blue-eyed people to the Nile Valley. All of a sudden, research projects in England, Italy and slightly later in France and Germany focused on the ‘emergence of civilization’ (Voss 2016, 112–128). Nubia became a stage to investigate the supposed struggle of lighter, more attractive and creative people in their fight against darker, somehow strong but less developed groups and their relation to the superior neighbours downstream (further north) in Egypt.

2 Török 2014; Eide/Hägg/Pierce/Török 2000; 1998; 1996; 1994.

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Starting in the Periphery The effect of this history of research led to today’s state of affairs in which standard terminology in the field has by and large been developed outside of Nubia: Egyptian sites with traces of the Pan-Grave Culture and Nubian sites in the southern part of Upper Egypt are the very northern periphery of Nubian Cultures. Far away from centres like Qustul and Kerma was the relative chronology developed (Reisner 1908, 18–19). The A-Group was considered to be the earliest historical cultural formation, roughly contemporary to the Egyptian Prehistory of the 4th millennium BC (see Ch. Gatto). The next group that was identified and intensively studied was the C-Group.3 Comparatively vast cemeteries were paralleled with the earlier 2nd millennium BC. While these two designations are still frequently used, others like the ‘D-Group’, used for New Kingdom sites, were abandoned soon. The ‘B-Group’ is still heavily debated (see Ch. Raue). Earlier excavators left a gap in designations and their term ‘X-Group’ was used for the Post-Meroitic phase. That grid was used and enriched by numerous archaeological missions, among them the subsequent Archaeological Surveys of Nubia and others,4 during the course of building and raising the Aswan dam twice before 1935. This project led to the loss of major parts of the Korosko Bend.5 Parallel to this archaeological approach, enormous efforts were undertaken to save the most visible remnants in Nubia: The temples of the New Kingdom and of the Ptolemaic-Roman Era were documented in the series Les Temples immergés de la Nubie (e.g. Blackman 1911 and others). A transfer of the monuments was not yet possible and for this reason some of the temples, like the famous sanctuary of Isis on the Philae Island in the First Cataract region, suffered seasonal flooding. Even though these surveys were highly professional for their time, it is obvious that a vast number of features was inevitably lost, especially the settlements from the plains of Dakka, Gerf Hussein and others. Further south, most scholars were attracted by the relics of the Egyptian presence upstream of the Batn el-Haggar (e.g. Green: Davies 2014, 2–19). The only excavation that might have changed basic views could have been the excavation at Kerma (Reisner 1923). But even though it was admitted that this African adversary posed serious problems to the Egyptian regimes of various periods, the most impressive monuments on site were for decades described as Egyptian dependencies and the Egyptian sculptures as diplomatic gifts. It is stunning to see that even authors with a broad theoretical approach and interest and awareness of colonial patterns

3 An alternative, more neutral terminology (NA1–3 = Nubisches Altertum, NM1–4 = Nubisches Mittelalter, Nubische Neuzeit = Egyptian Presence, Steindorff 1935, 1–10) was not followed by the majority of scholars. 4 Firth 1912; 1915; 1927; Junker 1925; 1926. 5 Emery/Kirwan 1935; Steindorff 1935; 1937.

Introduction

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of thinking described the ritual centre of Kerma City as an outpost of the Egyptian fortress and trade authorities (Trigger 1965, 95).

The High Dam of Aswan The plan for a High Dam at Aswan immediately threatened the remaining parts of Lower Nubia in Egyptian territory and also considerable land south of the border at Wadi Halfa in Sudanese territory, leading to the loss of all of the sites at the Second Cataract and most buildings and features of the Batn el-Haggar area (Said 1993, 228–242, see Ch. Knoblauch). UNESCO launched an appeal to save the monuments of Nubia and was later joined by numerous countries. Nowadays, the general public remembers the translocation of Egyptian stone temples like Abu Simbel (by dismantling) and Amada (by railway). The loss of all other large monuments like fortresses, settlements, cemeteries, churches and mosques has been taken into account. The enormous speed that was forced upon these expeditions when the construction of the High Dam started in January 1960 makes their efforts even more commendable – even though most of the plans of sites like Buhen and others illustrate how much was lost. On the other hand, a vivid picture of cultural development was painted with the availability of a large new data set. New chronological sequences refined Reisner’s terminology for various parts of the Nile Valley’s history. Elaborate systems, e.g. for the 4th millennium BC (Nordström 1972) and the 2nd millennium BC (Bietak 1968), are based on the application of modern methodology of prehistory, using seriations and new standards of documentation through detailed mapping and the description of all kinds of finds. Furthermore, it is – especially in comparison with Egypt in the Nile Valley – noteworthy that the need for surveys in such a vast area again led to a rather uniform scientific approach to most periods, which included anthropology with its studies on modern Nubian life (Kennedy 1978). For example, no complete assessment of Late Roman monuments in Egypt has ever been carried out, as it was done south of Aswan for Meroitic and Post-Meroitic sites. Nevertheless, it has to be stated that only a limited number of final reports on the excavations in Nubia have been published. The projects of the Scandinavian Joint Expedition and the Oriental Institute Chicago are particularly positive examples.6 Sites like Qustul convey an idea of the potential of monumental representation in 4th millennium Nubian society (Williams 1986). For other excavations at focal sites like Afiya, Amada and Tomas only preliminary reports exist. Only some of these sites, like the fortress of Askut, are the subject of current publication projects (Smith 2014b, 103–121).

6 E.g. Nordström 1972; Säve-Söderbergh 1989; Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991; Williams 1986; 1989; 1993.

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After the Dams … before the Dams … As a result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam, a very limited number of sites can be excavated in the Nile Valley between the First Cataract and the Batn elHaggar. Only especially auspicious circumstances make the restudying of sites at some isolated spots on higher ground possible, e.g. at the fortresses of Uronarti and Semna-West (see Ch. Knoblauch). The last joint initiative, the ventures of NCAM with several international missions, succeeded in conducting numerous surveys and excavations during the Merowe Dam Project from 2005–2012 (see Ch. Drzewiecki). A hitherto almost unknown stretch of the Nile Valley from Karima up to Abu Hamed is now lost to the waters but – again – prolific documentation of the sites is now available. The prospect of solving economic problems by constructing dams has not yet come to an end (see Ch. Drzewiecki). Heavily debated, but probably unavoidable, are more dams scheduled to be built in decades to come. Various areas have been proposed as sites for such construction. Even areas with monuments of veritable economic value for tourism, like the sectors south of Dal and Kajbar with the famous temple sites like Soleb, are threatened.

Theory and Ideology There was never a lack of theoretical basis in the archaeological investigation of Nubia – but such theories were simply not treated explicitly. Theories and ideologies have often been, of course, closely related. The ideology that created colonialism and its attitude of beneficence for subdued people (Trafton 2004, 8–11) was without any doubt also shared by the Anglo-American archaeologists of the First Archaeological Survey of Nubia (Roy 2011, 7). The topic of the origins of cultures made the narratives of migration – verified by potsherds or analogies – a focal point also in German and French research. By the 1920s, German archaeology was following this track through a kind of work division: In the Western Delta in Egypt, Hermann Junker, Oswald Menghin and others tried to prove the same theoretical approaches Georg Steindorff was applying to his contemporaneous research in Nubia and the Libyan oases (Voss 2016). While most scholars lost interest in ‘racial attributions’ and diffusionistic approaches, the concept of superiority among cultures survived considerably longer. It took several decades to accept the fact that simple monodirectional processes of acculturation are also in Nubia rather the exception than the rule (e.g. Näser 2012, 87) and alternative terms like ‘entanglement’ are now used to describe such complex processes (e.g. Smith 2014a; 2015). Nowadays, objects in a funerary context are not considered as evidence for ‘identical’ corresponding funerary beliefs. On the other hand, clear proof of long-term shifts of assimilation can be observed in the Nubian cemeteries of Upper Egypt (Seidlmayer

Introduction

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2002, 104–106) and should be clearly addressed as indicators of adopting traits and probably even beliefs of the neighbouring Egyptian Culture. Major progress was has been achieved by introducing the insights of studies on ethnicity and cultural identity.7 The idea that cultures do not have discrete limits, that borders are contact zones rather than cultural no-man’s-lands and that there are many more factors in creating differing sets of material culture than ethnic affiliation, has been endorsed by the scientific community. From this perspective, ethnic differences may be expressed visually or may not be visible. It is nowadays theoretically (!) widely accepted that material culture may be used to reify ethnic differences but that ethnicity is only one of many possible causes for stylistic variants.8 The fact that cultural identity can partially be situational and negotiable led to many stimulating studies. On the other hand, a certain relativism such as the idea that ‘such objects can be made or used or manufactured by everybody’ sometimes surpass lines of probability and plausibility. The problem of colonial approaches will be addressed in many of the contributions of this volume. Decades of Nubian archaeology were devoted to this process of emancipation from Egyptology. Occasionally this turned to a political correctness that covered some of the basic motors of the historical developments of Nubian Cultures. The proximity to millions of Egyptians who need goods from the South is part of the history of all Nubian societies at least down to the Batn el-Haggar. It is not intended to reactivate any kind of Egyptocentrism when describing the side effects of supply-and-demand. Further south of the Third Cataract, the situation was different in most periods down to the medieval and early modern times. But as in all eras of archaeological research, the idea of using archaeology to prove or deny the long-term presence or the absence of ethnic groups must be applied with the utmost caution – since discrete and permanent habitation patterns will never be valid on such a geostrategic setting as the Nile Valley and its southern tributaries in Sudan, as well as in southern Upper Egypt and Ethiopia.

Problems and Perspectives Political disruptions, like the wars in the Near East in 1967 and 1973 or the conflicts between the United States and the Sudan, e.g. in 1998, only caused limited interruptions, even though internal problems like those in Darfur and South Sudan have constrained archaeological research more severely. The situation of current and fu-

7 Jenkins 1997; Jones 1997; Smith 2014a. 8 Jones 1997, 109–116; Hodder 1982; Burmeister/Müller-Scheeßel 2006; Dubiel 2008, 152–153; Keding 2006, 251–255.

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ture research is to some degree bipartite. On the one hand, vast destruction is to be expected by future dam projects. This is complemented by large-scale governmental projects to improve the country’s infrastructure. Road construction in Sudan and Egypt were only rarely accompanied by archaeological surveys. Besides claims for agricultural land, it is also the search for and the extraction of gold that has erased historical landscapes in the past decade with little documentation. On the other hand, enormous progress has been made by using the growing set of surveying techniques, e.g. satellite images, geo-radar and geomagnetic prospections. By doing this, the number of sites has increased considerably, nowadays allowing for rapid progress in areas that were inaccessible for decades (e.g. for reasons of national security) (e.g. Harrell/Mittelstaedt 2015). Work in Darfur and Kordofan is possible again and such regions may be addressed as research fields of the future (see Ch. Chlebowski/Drzewiecki). The systematic investigation of the junction from Atbai via North Tigray towards the Red Sea at Adulis (see Ch. Manzo) is another promising track of research and the same holds true in future for the Eastern Sahara on Libyan and Tchadian territory as well as South Sudan (see Ch. Jesse). Having started in the periphery of Northern Lower Nubia in the early 20th century, recent fieldwork has opened new peripheral areas that may develop into emerging fields of future research.

Bibliography Adams, William Yewdale (1977): Nubia. Corridor to Africa. Princeton, New Jersey: University Press. Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed (2013): Archäologie im Sudan – Einst und Jetzt. In: Wenig, Steffen / Zibelius-Chen, Karola (eds.): Die Kulturen Nubiens – ein afrikanisches Vermächtnis. Dettelbach: Röll, p. 13–30. Bietak, Manfred (1968): Studien zur Chronologie der Nubischen C-Gruppe. Ein Beitrag zur Frühgeschichte Unternubiens zwischen 2200 und 1550 vor Chr. vorgelegt in der Sitzung am 22. November 1967. Berichte des Österreichischen Nationalkomitees der Unesco-Aktion für die Rettung der Nubischen Altertümer. Denkschriften der Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.-Hist. Klasse 97. Vienna: Boehlau. Blackman, Aylward Manley (1911): The Temple of Dendûr. Les temples immergés de la Nubie. Cairo: Imprimerie de l’institut français d’archéologie orientale. Breyer, Francis Amadeus Karl (2009): „Nubien“ und äg. nb.w „Gold“: eine Gegendarstellung. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 20, p. 173–176. Bruce, James (1880): L’Égypte et la Mer Rouge: voyage aux sources du Nil, en Nubie et en Abyssinie, 1768–1772. Limoges: Marc Barbou & Cie, Imprimeurs-Libraires. Burckhardt, Johann Ludwig (1820): Reisen in Nubien. Weimar: Verl. des Sr. H. S. priv. LandesIndustrie-Comptoirs. Burmeister, Stefan / Müller-Scheeßel, Nils (eds.) (2006): Soziale Gruppen – kulturelle Grenzen. Die Interpretation sozialer Identitäten in der Prähistorischen Archäologie. Tübinger Archäologische Taschenbücher 5. Münster/New York/München/Berlin: Waxmann.

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Cailliaud, Frédéric (1823–1826): Voyage à Méroé, au Fleuve Blanc, au-delà de Fazoql, à Syouah et dans cinq autres oasis fait dans les années 1819, 1820, 1821 et 1822. Paris: Imprimerie Royale. Darnell, Deborah / Darnell, John Coleman (2013): The Archaeology of Kurkur Oasis, Nuq’ Maneih, Bir Nakheila, and the Sinn el-Kiddab. In: Raue, Dietrich / Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes / Speiser, Philipp (eds.): The First Cataract of the Nile. One Region – Diverse Perspectives. Sonderschriften des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 36. Berlin/Boston: Walter De Gruyter, p. 35–52. Davies, William Vivian (2014): From Halfa to Kareima: F. W. Green in Sudan. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 18, p. 2–19. Dubiel, Ulrike (2008): Amulette, Siegel und Perlen. Studien zu Typologie und Tragesitte im Alten und Mittleren Reich. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 229. Fribourg (Schweiz): Academic Press. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Eide, Tormod / Hägg, Tomas / Pierce, Richard Holton / Török, László (1994): Fontes Historiae Nubiorum. Textual Sources for the History of the Middle Nile Region between the Eighth Century BC and the Sixth Century AD. Vol. 1: From the Eighth to the mid-Fifth Century BC. Bergen: John Grieg AS. Eide, Tormod / Hägg, Tomas / Pierce, Richard Holton / Török, László (1996): Fontes Historiae Nubiorum. Textual Sources for the History of the Middle Nile Region between the Eighth Century BC and the Sixth Century AD. Vol. 2: From the mid-Fifth to the First Century BC. Bergen: John Grieg AS. Eide, Tormod / Hägg, Tomas / Pierce, Richard Holton / Török, László (1998): Fontes Historiae Nubiorum. Textual Sources for the History of the Middle Nile Region between the Eighth Century BC and the Sixth Century AD. Vol. 3: From the First to the Sixth Century AD. Bergen: John Grieg AS. Eide, Tormod / Hägg, Tomas / Pierce, Richard Holton / Török, László (2000): Fontes Historiae Nubiorum. Textual Sources for the History of the Middle Nile Region between the Eighth Century BC and the Sixth Century AD. Vol. 4: Corrigenda and Indices. Bergen: John Grieg AS. Emery, Walter Bryan / Kirwan, Laurence Patrick (1935): The Excavations and Survey between Wadi es-Sebua and Adindan 1929–1931. Cairo: Government Press. Firth, Cecil Mallaby (1912): The Archaeological Survey of Nubia. Report for 1908–1909. Vol. I. Part I: Report on the Work of the Season, 1908–1909. Part II: Catalogue of Graves and their Contents. Cairo: Government Press. Firth, Cecil Mallaby (1915): The Archaeological Survey of Nubia. Report for 1909–1910. Cairo: Government Press. Firth, Cecil Mallaby (1927): The Archaeological Survey of Nubia. Report for 1910–1911. Cairo: Government Press. Harrell, James A. / Mittelstaedt, Robert E. (2015): Newly discovered Middle Kingdom Forts in Lower Nubia. Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 19, p. 30–39. Hoskins, George Alexander (1835): Travels in Ethiopia, above the Second Cataract of the Nile: Exhibiting the State of that Country, and its various Inhabitants, under the Dominion of Mohammed Ali, and illustrating the Antiquities, Arts, and History of the Ancient Kingdom of Meroe. London: Longman Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman. Jenkins, Richard (1997): Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage. Jones, Siân (1997): The Archaeology of Ethnicity: Constructing Identities in the Past and Present. London: Routledge. Junker, Hermann (1925): Ermenne. Bericht über die Grabungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien auf den Friedhöfen von Ermenne (Nubien) im Winter 1911/12. Denkschriften der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Phil.-Hist. Klasse 67/1. Vienna: Hölder.

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Junker, Hermann (1926): Toschke. Bericht über die Grabungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien auf dem Friedhof von Toschke (Nubien) im Winter 1911/12. Denkschriften der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Phil.-Hist. Klasse 68/1. Vienna: Hölder. Hodder, Ian (1982): Symbols in Action. Ethnoarchaeological Studies of Material Culture (New Studies in Archaeology). Cambridge: University Press. Keding, Birgit (2006): Pottery of the Wadi Howar – Traditions, Transformations and their Implications. In: Kroeper, Karla / Chłodnicki, Marek / Kobusiewicz, Michał (eds.): Archaeology of Early Northeastern Africa. In Memory of Lech Krzyżaniak. Proceedings of the International Symposium held at Poznań, July 14th–18th 2003. Studies in African Archaeology 9. Poznań: Archaeological Museum, p. 235–259. Kennedy, John G. (ed.) (1978): Nubian Ceremonial Life. Cairo/New York: American University Press. Lepsius, Carl Richard (1849–1859): Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien nach den Zeichnungen der von Seiner Majestät dem Koenige von Preussen Friedrich Wilhelm IV nach diesen Ländern gesendeten und in den Jahren 1842–1845 ausgeführten wissenschaftlichen Expedition. 12 Text- und Tafelbände. Berlin: Nicolai. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs. Linant de Bellefonds, Louis Maurice Adolphe (1958): Journal d’un voyage à Méroé dans les années 1821 et 1822. Edited by Margaret Blanche Shinnie. Sudan Antiquities Service. Occasional Papers 4. Khartoum: Sudan Antiquities Service. Näser, Claudia (2012): Nomads at the Nile. Towards and Archaeology of Interaction. In: Barnard, Hans / Duistermaat, Kim (eds.): The History of the Peoples of the Eastern Desert. Monograph 73 of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, p. 80–89. Nordström, Hans-Åke (1972): Neolithic and A-Group Sites. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 3. Uppsala: Scandinavian University Books. Onderka, Pavel (2015): The Typhonia of Frédéric Cailliaud. In: Mynářová, Jana / Onderka, Pavel / Pavúk, Peter (eds.): There and back again – The Crossroads II: Proceedings of an International Conference held in Prague, September 15–18, 2014. Prague: Czech Institute of Egyptology, p. 447–463. Percy, Algernon P. Baron Prudhoe (1835): Extracts from Private Memoranda kept by Lord Prudhoe on a Journey from Cairo to Sennar, in 1829, describing the Peninsula of Sennar / communicated by John Barrow. In: Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London 5, p. 38–58, 1 Map. Reisner, George Andrew (1908): The Archaeological Survey of Nubia. In: The Archaeological Survey of Nubia Bulletin 1, p. 9–24. Reisner, George Andrew (1910): The Archaeological Survey of Nubia. Report for 1907–1908. Vol. I: Archaeological Report. Vol. II: Plates. Cairo: National Printing Department. Reisner, George Andrew (1923): Excavations at Kerma I–VI. Harvard African Studies V–VI. Cambridge, Mass.: Peabody Museum of Harvard University. Riemer, Heiko / Lange, Mathias / Kindermann, Karin (2013): When the Desert Dried Up. Late Prehistoric Cultures and Contacts in Egypt and Northern Sudan. In: Raue, Dietrich / Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes / Speiser, Philipp (eds.): The First Cataract of the Nile. One Region – Diverse Perspectives. Sonderschriften des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 36. Berlin/Boston: Walter De Gruyter, p. 157–183. Rifaud, Jean-Jacques (1830–1836): Voyage en Égypte, en Nubie, et lieux circonvoisins, depuis 1805 jusqu’en 1827. Ouvrage composé de trois cents planches et cinq volumes de texte. Paris: Imprimerie de Roissy. Roy, Jane F. (2011): The Politics of Trade. Egypt and Lower Nubia in the 4th Millennium BC. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 47. Leiden/Boston: Brill.

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Rosellini, Ippolito (2006): Monuments de l’Égypte et de la Nubie. Dessins de l’expédition francotoscane de 1828 conduite par Jean-François Champollion et Ippolito Rosellini. Edited by Christian Leblanc and Angelo Sesana. [Asnières]: Molière. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny (1989): Middle Nubian Sites. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 4. Partille: Paul Åström. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny / Troy, Lana (1991): New Kingdom Pharaonic Sites: The Finds and the Sites. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 5/2. Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksell. Said, Rushdi (1993): The River Nile. Geology, Hydrology and Utilization. Oxford/NewYork/Seoul/ Tokyo: Pergamon Press. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (2002): Nubier im ägyptischen Kontext im Alten und Mittleren Reich. In: Leder, Stefan / Streck, Bernhard (eds.): Akkulturation und Selbstbehauptung. Beiträge des Kolloquiums am 14. 12. 2001. Orientwissenschaftliche Hefte 4. Mitteilungen des SFB „Differenz und Integration“ 2. Halle: Martin-Luther-Universität, p. 89–113. Smith, Stuart Tyson (2014a): Nubian and Egyptian Ethnicity. In: McInerney, Jeremy (ed.): A Companion to Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean. Malden, MA/Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, p. 194–212. Smith, Stuart Tyson (2014b): A Potter’s Wheelhead from Askut and the Organization of the Egyptian Ceramic Industry in Nubia. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 50, p. 103–121. Smith, Stuart Tyson (2015): Hekanefer and the Lower Nubian Princes: Entanglement, Double Identity or Topos and Mimesis? In: Amstutz, Hans / Dorn, Andreas / Müller, Matthias / Ronsdorf, Miriam V. / Uljas, Sami (eds.): Fuzzy Boundaries. Festschrift für Antonio Loprieno. Vol. II. Hamburg: Widmaier Verlag, p. 767–779. Steindorff, Georg (1935): Aniba I. Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte. Mission Archéologique de Nubie 1929–1934. Glückstadt/Hamburg: J. J. Augustin. Steindorff, Georg (1937): Aniba II. Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte. Mission Archéologique de Nubie 1929–1934. Text- und Tafelband. Glückstadt/Hamburg: J. J. Augustin. Török, László (2014): Herodotus in Nubia. Mnemosyne Supplements. History and Archaeology of Classical Antiquity 368. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Trigger, Bruce Graham (1965): History and Settlement in Lower Nubia. New Haven: Dep. of Anthropology, Yale University. Voss, Susanne (2016): Wissenshintergründe … – Die Ägyptologie als ,völkische‘ Wissenschaft entlang des Nachlasses Georg Steindorffs von der Weimarer Republik über die NS- bis zur Nachkriegszeit. In: Voss, Susanne / Raue, Dietrich (eds.): Georg Steindorff und die deutsche Ägyptologie im 20. Jahrhundert: Wissenshintergründe und Forschungstransfers. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 5. Berlin: Walter DeGruyter, p. 105–332. Weigall, Arthur Edward Pearse Brome (1907): A Report on the Antiquities of Lower Nubia (The First Cataract to the Sudan Frontier) and their Condition in 1906/07. Oxford: University Press. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1986): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 1: The A-Group Royal Cemetery at Qustul: Cemetery L. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 3. Chicago/Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1989): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Parts 2, 3, and 4: Neolithic, A-Group, and Post-A-Group Remains from Cemeteries W, V, S, Q, T, and a Cave East of Cemetery K. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 4. Chicago: Chicago/Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1993): Excavations at Serra East. Parts 1–5: A-Group, C-Group, Pan Grave, New Kingdom, and X-Group Remains from Cemeteries A–G and Rock Shelters. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition X. Chicago: The Oriental Institute.

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Geologically Induced Raw Materials Stimulating the Development of Nubian Culture Introduction The regional geology largely explains the availability of raw materials that stimulated the development of ancient ethnic groups. This is also true for ancient Nubian Cultures. Their demand for raw materials mainly focused on commodities like arable soil areas with sufficient water supply, both essential for sedentary cultures. Moreover, ancient Nubian Cultures benefited from an almost endless supply of clay-rich Nile mud that not only guaranteed excellent agricultural soil but also provided the material for sun dried mud-bricks, used for architectural and cultic applications at least since the late 3rd millennium BC. Due to progressive cultural exchange with Nubia’s great northern neighbour, the use of natural building blocks, here primarily of sandstone, gained prominence in Nubian architecture. This was especially employed for the construction of sacral buildings and progressively for the construction of pyramids. In Meroitic times the mining of iron ore became the basis of major industrial and cultural development. The subsequent iron smelting industry, however, required tremendous amounts of fuel, which was particularly devastating for any available timber resources. The intensive use of such resources gradually led to regional deforestation and desertification, or at least to a steppe-forming landscape. As in almost all ancient civilisations, the use (and the production?) of copper indicates a first step towards industrial development. This is also the case in Nubia. However, the archaeological finds of copper artefacts from early Nubian (Kerma) Culture are conspicuously rare and increase in Post-Kerma Periods (Hafsaas-Tsakos 2009). There were numerous gold deposits which were exploited in the Eastern Nubian Desert and provided the country with a certain amount of economic prosperity. At the same time, however, because of the high value placed upon this particular metal, the country was subjected to numerous invasions and periods of bondage. What were the sources of the respective raw materials that enabled the development of a sustainable Nubian Culture? The answer may lie in the peculiarities of the regional geography and geology, which provided the raw materials and regulated their distribution to the local population. A better understanding of such geographical and geological contexts comes with some basic knowledge of the area’s geological evolution and its effects on the modern-day utilization of these natural treasures. Thus, we will first introduce the geology of Egypt and Sudan because both are closely connected. In spite of the fact that large parts of Arabia also belong to this https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-002

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group, we concentrate on these sister regions so that the readers are not confused by information less relevant for understanding Nubian cultural development. Nevertheless, even such a basic introduction comes with its attendant difficulties. For example, the terminology is complicated: Especially in geology, there are so many technical terms that it is difficult for non-specialists to retain a working knowledge of all of them. Thus, we have added a glossary at the end of this chapter, which will hopefully facilitate its reading. Overall, this chapter provides a brief geological and tectonic reconstruction of our area of interest, namely north-eastern Sudan, classified as Nubia. We do this with an aim to fill in some of the gaps of understanding of the origin of the raw material used in ancient (and modern) Nubian Culture. The basis of this region’s geological evolution is the very old African cratonic basement rock units of which only a few examples are exposed in Nubia. These old units, dating to the Archaean and Proterozoic Periods (Eon), were overthrusted by so-called terranes, former island arcs, together with portions of Upper Mantle material. Quite a number of such terranes with a similar geological history overthrusted large parts of the Eastern Desert of Egypt, Nubia, Arabia, and further to the south of East Africa, forming a shield-type structure called the ‘Arabian-Nubian Shield’. This shield underwent a series of tectonic events, magmatic intrusions and deformations, which came to an end around the Proterozoic-Palaeozoic boundary. This series of events is collectively referred to as the Pan-African orogeny (about 550 Ma = million years ago). From this event until the onset of the Cretaceous Period (around 130 Ma), Nubian geology remained relatively uneventful. However, during the Cretaceous almost the whole of Nubia became covered by lacustrine and fluviatile systems leaving thick sequences of sandstone, conglomerate and mudstone (and, rarely, limestone). Remains of this continental sedimentation still cover large parts of Nubia today, and also southern parts of Egypt. It was in Egypt that they served as important sources of building material and clay deposits from the Middle Kingdom (~ 1900 BC) onward.

The Geological Evolution of Sudanese Nubia and the Eastern Desert of Egypt The African continent is composed of several old cratons, which are joined by younger orogens. Clifford (1970) has established the existence of seven orogenes,

Note: The chapter “The Geological Evolution of Sudanese Nubia and the Eastern Desert of Egypt” is a concise version of “Geologischer Überblick und regionale Geologie” by Murr (1999).

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of which one dates to the Archaean Period, three to the Proterozoic Period, and one to the Proterozoic-Palaeozoic boundary (Pan-African orogeny); and there is evidence of a Hercynian and Alpine orogeny. Clifford (1970) distinguishes in northern Africa only the West Africa Craton. Bertrand/Caby (1978) add to this the Eastern Sahara Craton. Although wide areas of the latter craton were influenced by the PanAfrican orogeny, the designation craton sensu strictu is not applicable (Stern et al. 1994). The Eastern Sahara Craton includes the Tibesti Massif in southern Libya and northern Chad and the metamorphic complex at Gebel Uweinat in south-western Egypt (Klerkx/German 1977). The Gebel Uweinat belongs to an east-west trending uplift zone that extends eastward to Aswan (Uweinat-Bir Safsaf-Aswan-Uplift). Klerkx (1980) dated these units to 2673 ± 21 Ma, and later granitization to 1800 Ma.

The Arabian-Nubian Shield Vail (1988) subdivided the Precambrian of north-east Africa into three distinct, primary ancient tectonic units. Initially there exist gneisses, migmatites and metasedi-

Fig. 1: Schematic tectonic map of the Eastern Desert of Egypt and Nubia with Arabian-Nubian Shield and positions of various terranes and suture zones (modified after Kröner et al. 1992).

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mentary paragneisses in granulite-to-amphibolite facies (as Bir Safsaf-Gebel Uweinat). These are followed by metasediments also in granulite-to-amphibolite facies. Finally, above these, followed by a greenschist unit of volcanic rock, are sedimentary rock and ophiolites. Such greenschist sequences occur in Sinai, in Egypt’s Eastern Desert, in the Red Sea Hills of eastern Sudan, Ethiopia, the Arabian Shield and Yemen. Collectively, these units represent what is known as the Arabian-Nubian Shield (Fig. 1). The Arabian-Nubian Shield, adjacent to the Eastern Sahara Craton, forms the Pan-African orogen of East Africa and passes over to the south in the Mozambique Belt. Isotope geochemical investigations in Cahen et al. (1984) summarize a PanAfrican age for the Arabian-Nubian Shield (550 ± 100 Ma; Kröner 1979). The contact between the Eastern Sahara Craton and the Arabian-Nubian Shield is not exposed in Egypt. But in Sudan such outcrops exist in three areas: In the Bayuda Desert, in northern Sudan between Abu Hamed and Atbara, and around Duweishat. They are followed by greenschist facies and volcanoclastic sequences. The contact between these units represents a suture zone (Ries et al. 1983). Another insight is the Blue Nile Province between Ingessa and Kurmuk, where a contact between a volcanosedimentary sequence exists, which contains the relics of ophiolitic units and paragneisses. The contact at Duweishat in northern Sudan reveals Pre-Pan-African gneisses (Duweishat gneisses), which, however, are reworked during the Pan-African and overlain by conglomerate and metamorphic volcanic rocks (Stern et al. 1994).

Tectonic Development of the Arabian-Nubian Shield The first plate tectonic models for an Arabian-Nubian Shield where published by Al-Shanti/Mitchell (1976). By detecting ophiolites (Garson/Shalaby 1976) and volcanic rock, which may correspond to island-arc-volcanics, an accretion model has been proposed (Greenwood et al. 1976). This model posits a heterogeneous accumulation of plate rim volcanics of the Andean type (Stern 1981) and volcanic rock of the island arc type (Kröner 1985). However, within the Arabian-Nubian Shield there is also evidence of Pre-PanAfrican units.

Accretion Development Regarding the development of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, one can differentiate an eastern (Arabian Shield) and a western (Nubian) based mainly on radiometric age dating. Jackson/Ramsay (1980) interpret the Arabian Shield as an older sequence of island arc volcanics (> 900 Ma) to the east, a middle sequence (950–650 Ma) and a younger (650–570 Ma) sequence to the west. High-pressure low-temperature metamorphism was never found at any point in the Arabian Shield. Kröner (1985) concluded that it could have been a large-scale

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subduction, but the low incidence of subduction in the sediments suggests a flat accretion and obduction structure. In the Nubian shield the collision of terranes started later than in the Arabian Shield. Kröner (1985) postulated in the present-day Egyptian Eastern Desert a formerly passive continental margin, which was converted into an active continental margin with back-arc development and extension with simultaneous compression and accretion in the area of present-day Saudi Arabia. The collision age can be established on the basis of the emplacement of ophiolite-type sequences because the emplacement occurred before the onset of a calc-alkalic volcanism (Kröner 1985). The age of this volcanism indicates the minimum age of emplacement. Stern/Hedge (1985) dated a Rhyo-dacite from the Egyptian Eastern Desert, which is part of that volcanism, to 768 ± 31 Ma. This constitutes the minimum age for ophiolite emplacement. According to Kröner et al. (1992), the time between the opening of the back-arcs and their closing is about 40 Ma. Between the volcanic rocks of the island-arc or plate margin type, an ophiolite succession is formed by strongly deformed, often long-lasting sequences of serpentinite, pyroxenites, gabbros, basalts, which are designed as dyke-type intrusions or as pillow lavas and subordinate siliceous sediment rock. Based on these ophiolitetype sequences, which developed into suture zones, a subdivision of the ArabianNubian Shield into different terranes becomes obvious.

Late Tectonic Phases Following the accretion and the syn- and post-orogenic intrusion phases, the activation of large-scale fault zones occurred. One of these late tectonic phases is the Najd fault system in Saudi Arabia or the virtually parallel Oko fault zone in the Red Sea Hills of Sudan (Abd el-Salam 1993).

Stratigraphy of the Eastern Desert in Egypt and North-eastern Sudan The Eastern Desert of Egypt and Nubian Sudan largely consists of Pan-African units of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, which were liberated from large parts of their Phanerozoic cover by uplifting during the opening of the Red Sea. The stratigraphic classification of the Egyptian Precambrian is understood differently by various authors. The first stratigraphic allocation was conducted by Hume (1934), who made a division into four subunits: ‘Fundamental gneiss’, followed by the ‘middle paraschists’ and ‘acid gneiss’, then the ‘upper paraschists’. The youngest subunits are various granites. Akaad/Noweir (1969; 1978) divide the Precambrian of the Eastern Desert of Egypt into the oldest Meatiq-Group, followed by the Abu Ziran-Group and the youngest Hammamat-Group.

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Infrastructure There is disagreement about the age position and thus about the tectogenesis of this geologic ‘infrastructure’. El-Gaby et al.1 and Hassan/Hashad (1990) view this part of the basement as an old continental crust and thus an eastern extension of the Eastern Sahara Craton, which was overthrust during the Pan-African orogeny by the ‘suprastructure’. Other authors distinguish only the higher grade of metamorphism of the infrastructure.2 However, this is only a reference to an old delivery area and not to the existence of old crust in the Eastern Desert. The gneiss domes of the Egyptian Eastern Desert are real tectonic windows. The best studied gneiss dome within the Egyptian Eastern Desert is the Gebel Hafafit (Fig. 2). It is composed of granite gneisses and garnet-mica schist (El-Gaby et al. 1988; Kröner et al. 1994). Above the granite gneisses lie an ophiolitic melange and metasediments. The Gebel Hafafit is tectonically overlain by greenschist facies metamorphic units. Kröner et al. (1994) found ages of zircons between 677 Ma and

Fig. 2: The impressive Hafafit gneiss dome in the Eastern Desert of Egypt (background) running north-east to south-west. In the foreground, settlement remains of the ancient gold mining area of Hangaliya. (Photo: R. Klemm).

1 1984; 1988; 1990. 2 El-Ramly et al. 1984; Bentor 1985; Shackleton 1994; Ries et al. 1983.

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700 Ma. This Pan-African age disproves the assumption of Pre-Pan-African crustal existence in the Egyptian Eastern Desert. Equivalent gneiss series occur in northern Sudan in the Bayuda Desert and at Duweishat.

Suprastructure ‘Suprastructure’ units (El-Gaby et al. 1988) are divided into an Abu Ziran-Group and a Hammamat-Group according to Akaad/Noweir (1969; 1978). El-Gaby et al. (1988) subdivides these units into an ophiolite type succession with volcanic rocks from the island arc type and Hammamat-sedimentary rocks with associated volcanic and post-orogenic granites; their classification coincides largely with that of Hume (1934), who assigned the ophiolites and island arc to the ‘middle Paraschists’ and the Hammamat-sedimentary rocks to the ‘upper Paraschists’.

Ophiolite Type Sequence Garson/Shalaby (1976) addressed for the first time the ultrabasic and basic units of the Egyptian Eastern Desert as ophiolites. At several localities in the Eastern Desert in Egypt and Sudan ophiolites are described. Garson/Shalaby (1976) and Langwieder (1994) describe a well-preserved sequence in Fawakhir. Serpentinites are ultrabasic components of ophiolite in the Eastern Desert. Along shear and overthrust zones, serpentinites are often converted to talc and quartz-carbonates. El-Sharkawy/El-Bayoumi (1979) describe massive diabase and sheeted dike complexes in Wadi Ghadir, which are 100–200 m thick. Further, in Wadi Ghadir deepwater sediments containing clay and some chert were found. These sediments can be 100 to 200 m thick. Stern (1981) postulates a back-arc environment as the origin of these ophiolites. Since they always lie at the base of the ‘suprastructure’ (El-Gaby et al. 1990), this explains why ophiolites are often found between ‘infrastructure’ and ‘suprastructure’. Most of the ophiolite sequences within the Egyptian and Nubian Eastern Desert are melanges (Ries et al. 1983). The ultramafic units within the Hammissana zone in the Nubian Desert are also thought to be melanges, separating the Gebeit from the western Gabgaba terrane in north-eastern Sudan as a large suture zone (Fig. 1).

Age Position Kröner et al. (1992) dated ophiolites in Egypt and Sudan based on measurements of zircons from gabbros and plagiogranites. The authors obtained an age value for

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the crystallization of plagiogranites of 746 ± 19 Ma. Accordingly, the formation of oceanic crust runs parallel to the island arc development. Age dating in Sudan resulted in a higher age for ophiolite (808 ± 14 Ma; Wadi Onib).

Units of the Island Arc Type The ophiolite units in Egypt and north-eastern Sudan are overlain by volcanics metamorphosed in greenschist facies, which mainly have andesitic chemism. They are divided into a group of ‘old metavolcanics’ and ‘younger metavolcanics’. ‘Old metavolcanics’ are basalts that are often formed as pillows. Stern (1981) counts this group as part of the ophiolites. The ‘young metavolcanics’ consist mostly of andesitic flows. Basalts and dacite to rhyolite also occur, as well as volcanoclastics (Hassan/Hashad 1990). There is consensus that these volcanics are comparable with present day island arc volcanics (Stern 1979; 1981). Mostly associated with the island arc volcanics are clastic sediments, tuffs and tuffites. Pelitic rocks and carbonates are rare in Egypt, but more common in the western parts of the Gabgaba Terrane in northern Sudan where they occur as intensively folded layers of marble. In north-eastern Sudan (Gebeit Terrane), Reischmann/Kröner (1994) studied a similar volcanoclastic unit and date the volcanic rock to 832 ± 26 Ma.

Syn-, Late- and Post-tectonic Intrusions Within the Eastern Desert of Egypt and north-eastern Sudan numerous granitoid intrusions occur that differ from one another in age and respective chemistry. El-Ramly/Akaad (1960) divide the granitoids into ‘older granites’ and ‘younger granites’. The older granitoids have a tonalitic to granodioritic composition. The younger granites mostly are pink to reddish due to fine imbricative hematite in potassium feldspar. They are true granites. El-Gaby et al. (1988) propose a different division: The older granitoids are syn- to late-orogenic, the younger granites are considered post-tectonic.

Deformation Phases and Tectonic Reconstruction Within the Egyptian and Nubian Eastern Desert the Pan-African orogeny manifests itself by various deformation phases. Greiling et al. (1994) subdivides the orogenic stages: The first phase includes crustal shortening, subduction and collision. A subsequent phase leads to the uplift due to crustal thickening and thrusts. In a third phase, rapid uplift and extension and intrusion of granites take place. The final stage leads to further extension and deposition of molasse type clastic sediments.

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Within the Egyptian and Sudanese Eastern Desert the accretion of island arcs took place during the first phase of deformation. Particularly in the north of the Eastern Desert an expansion with rift formation occurred after the first compression phase. Within the tectonic trenches molasse type sediments (Hammamat sediments) were deposited. Willis et al. (1988) dated the molasse sedimentation to 595–575 Ma, and thus this age may also apply to the extensional tectonics. Another result of this extension’s tectonics is the exposure of subjacent units of gneiss domes (‘infrastructure’). The relaxation phase is followed by a recompression phase. The molasse sediments became partially schistous and folded. Another shear system is the N-S extending Hammissana system that occurs in southern Egypt and Sudan. Overthrust tectonics mainly appear simultaneously with strike-slip displacement as in Allaqi-Heiani Belt (Greiling et al. 1994; Zoheir/ Klemm 2007). These fault zones and the late compressive phase determine the present situation of the Precambrian basement complexes within Egypt, the north-eastern Sudan, and the Arabian peninsula. According to Greiling et al. (1994) two terrane boundaries are located in the Egyptian Eastern Desert. One is in the Wadi Ghadir south of Gebel Hafafit, the other in Wadi Allaqi. In north-eastern Sudan a prominent suture zone (Hammissana) separates the western most Gabgaba from the Gebeit terrane as terrane boundary, and the Amur-Nakasib suture zone in the south divides the Gebeit from the Haya terrane (Fig. 1). This is more or less the end of the Pan-African orogeny. However, geologic processes continued with minor depositions of various Palaeozoic sandstones in Wadi Qena in Egypt and in the far west around Gebel Uweinat and Wadi Abd al-Malik. Only around the beginning of the Cretaceous in Egypt and Sudan – as a result of the disintegration of Pangea – the entire north-eastern part of Africa tilted to the north and a shallow transgression developed toward the south until Nubian Sudan. As a result, mighty beds of shale, but above all of silt- and sandstones, were deposited, forming what is called ‘Nubian Sandstone’ (Fig. 3). This term, however, is strictly rejected by Klitzsch (1980) since almost all of the above noted Palaeozoic and Early Mesozoic clastic sediments were formerly added and mixed under this generic denotation. On the other hand, all sandstone varieties used in ancient times in Sudan and Egypt for temple or pyramid construction are of Cretaceous origin and thus may also be conjoined under a collective name.

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Fig. 3: Map of the Nubian Desert between the Nile Valley and Red Sea. Small black stars within the desert regions represent gold production sites of undifferentiated ages and of the two types, direct mining of gold promising quartz veins or wadi workings. To each of these sites an artificial well had to be dug.

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Main Raw Materials as a Requirement for the Development of the Nubian Culture Water The main natural resource necessary for human life is water, and its availability within an arid climate zone is a basic necessity. In addition, arable soil areas are indispensable for sedentary cultures. For both, the river Nile is the ideal contributor in the region under discussion. This water source, used to sustain people and animals and to irrigate agriculturally worked land, is almost inexhaustible where the river is accessible. Thus, throughout history, along the entire river’s course, settlements in Nubia developed. Their various locations were dependent on the shifting river bed. However, the river’s course was itself determined by mayor regional tectonic structures. This comfortable situation of easy water availability changes dramatically in the desert regions a few kilometres removed from the river. Here two possibilities present themselves: First, the organization of a storage area with a suitable number of water-filled vessels to sustain a travelling caravan. Such a setup operated at various sites in antiquity, especially in the Western Desert of Egypt (Förster 2015). The position of such artificial water reservoirs is not controlled by a geological peculiarity. A second possibility also exists for water access some distance from the Nile, and it involves a distinct method deployed in ancient Nubia. The Nubians had their own method of water storage, collecting and storing water in artificial basins, socalled hafir, which are still in use today at many sites in Sudan. Hinkel (2015) carefully studied these special Sudanese water reservoirs and their historical evolution. Especially where the Nile is too far away for pumping irrigation water and where water is rare, rainy seasons facilitate the filling these hafir. They vary significantly in depth and in lateral extension and collect between 15,000 and 250,000 m3 of water (El-Gaddal 1991). Ancient hafir normally had a roundish structure and were framed with waterproofed cone-shaped walls. Well known examples of this type exist within the environment of Meroe (Cech et al. 2016a) and Musawwarat es Sufra (Becker 2000; Gabriel 2002), but also at the Umm Garayat gold mining complex in Wadi Allaqi, indicating that this area was once under Nubian control, at least during Kushite times (Fig. 4). A detailed description of palaeochannels depending on the various shifting of the Nile in the Northern Dongola Reach is reported by Welsby (1996). Along the extension of such palaeochannels, Welsby (2001) was able to locate several ancient wells indicated by certain pebble covered mounds, presumably dating back to the Kerma Period or shortly after.

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Fig. 4: Umm Garayat gold mining site/Wadi Allaqi region. Ancient and modern buildings scattered around small mines. In the middle of the wadi are remains of ‘wadi workings’ (heaps of barren quartz pebbles that have been sorted by hand). In the foreground is an ancient hafir, which was later covered by workers’ huts. (Photo: R. Klemm).

These wells, which contributed a comparatively low amount of water, could hardly have made extended animal husbandry possible. On the other hand, intensive and successful search expeditions for well positions had taken place in the vast regions of the Eastern Nubian Desert at least since New Kingdom times. Due to the beginning of gold mining activities more or less since early New Kingdom times, and then expanding immensely during the reign of Thutmose III, a great demand for water all over the northern region of the Nubian Desert and the Red Sea Hills arose. More than 50 gold production sites were discovered. Each potential gold production site, when worked, needed an adequate amount of water to sustain the workmen, the animals, and (notably) the operation of the gold beneficiation itself.

Agricultural Soil Effectual and sufficient fertile agricultural soil combined with adequate water resources is essential to sustain men and animals. Here again, proximity to the Nile is of great relevance. Due to an almost annual periodic overflow of the plains along the river, a fertile Nile mud precipitation layer of a few mm thickness guaranteed high fertility within these zones.

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According to Wolf (1986), grain size analyses show that Nile mud is a material with a relatively high clay content. The good absorption properties, the saturation of the high calcium content, the average content of organic substance, and the good potassium and phosphorous supply make Nile mud a good starting substrate for soil formation. To evaluate this fecundity and its impact on the nourishment of the Nubian population and culture in the past, the actual course of the Nile’s palaeochannels must be known. In this regard, the investigations carried out by Welsby (2001) and Macklin/ Woodward (1998) provide valuable insight. Nevertheless, it seems that this important area of research is only in its beginnings. As more research is undertaken, the more we will know about the Nile’s palaeochannels and thus relative access to water and arable land available to ancient Nubians. Such research is already forthcoming, as demonstrated by Honegger/Williams (2015), who studied the change of the river course and its implication for the human occupation in the Kerma region. In addition, there exist numerous reports with critical remarks about land use and misuse in modern times.3 Abd el-Rahman (2006) states that almost 50 % of the country should be suitable for agriculture, which seems somewhat optimistic. In northern Nubia various Nile mud deposits, denoting the most fertile agricultural soils, the so-called ‘Old Terrace Soils’, represent a second type of soil, which is used less intensively agriculturally but seems to produce feasible grazing land. The real age of this soil has not been clearly discerned yet. On the Island of Sai this soil has a relatively poor clay content and is covered by gypsum enriched calcrete and finally overlain by well-rounded river gravel. Already Lee (1970) claimed that an analysis of land use between the six cataracts and Abu Hamed could be a kind of model investigation for the entire region. Soil and soil use in modern and ancient Nubia are not only restricted to agriculture. For millennia, Nile mud deposits in particular were the main raw material for the production of sun dried mud-bricks used for all architectural purposes. This material is easily accessible all along the Nile plains of the developed countryside. By adding water and kneading this mud forms a plastic mixture, which can be spread into brick shaped moulds and then dried in open terrain under the sun. Given that remains of such mud-brick architecture still exist today, it is obvious that this is an ideal building material, but only in arid climates, since it is not deterioration resistant in contexts with greater moisture content.

Magmatic Rocks At the southern entrance of the Third Nile Cataract near Tumbos is located a large quarry site containing granite and granitic gneisses (Fig. 5). According to the rock 3 Abd el-Rahman 2006; Lee 1970; Lebon 1965.

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Fig. 5: Granite-gneiss quarry site near Tombos with traces of work. From here the material of most of the ancient Nubian gneiss statues originated. An unfinished great statue is still in situ (Photo: R. Klemm).

inscriptions, this quarry site was worked from the 18th Dynasty until late into the Napatan-Meroitic Periods (Dunham 1947). This site is the only location in Sudan where magmatic rocks were worked for statues and steles. Harrell (2000) described two variations: One is ‘medium to coarse-grained and well-foliated with conspicuous banding and consists of quartz, microcline and oligoclase feldspars, hornblende and biotite. It has the same composition as igneous ‘granite’ and should be called ‘granite gneiss’. The second rock type, which occurs as thick intrusive veins within the gneiss, is a moderate grey, fine to medium grained granite with essentially the same mineralogy as the gneiss’. According to Harrell both rock types were used only for statues, stele and offering tables in the Sudan between the Third and Fourth Cataracts. Two impressive statues of king Taharqo (690–664 BC) made of granite gneiss can be seen at the front of the Khartoum National Museum.

Nubian Sandstone Sandstone in Sudanese Nubia is the most important building material besides Nile mud-bricks. While mud-brick architecture dates back to the earliest settlements, sandstone came into use only with the Egyptian conquests of the Middle Kingdom.

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Fig. 6: Nubian sandstone quarry (Q82-G4) near Meroe. (Photo: courtesy B. Cech, UCL Qatar).

Obviously, this new architectural invention was imported by the Egyptian invaders, who restricted this building material almost exclusively to the construction of sacral edifices like temples and their surroundings. Only since Meroitic time did sandstone become the main building stone for the construction of the numerous pyramids next to Meroe and further to the north-west near Nuri and El-Kurru (Fig. 6). As in Egypt, where the locations of gigantic buildings such as the pyramids were selected according to the availability of the required construction material (Klemm/Klemm 2010), so also in Nubia large buildings were constructed next to adequate sandstone resources. Since the course of the Nile in Nubia never passed a limestone area, limestone generally did not serve as building material in Nubian architecture. This fact demonstrates how integral the Nile and its immediate environs were for ancient Nubian Culture; ancient Nubia was a Nile-driven culture in respect to its natural resources. Cech et al. (2016b) meticulously investigated numerous sandstone quarries in the eastern vicinity of Meroe and Hamadab and described their varying qualities. The many quarry sites, some only prospects, indicate an intensive search for good stone quality, especially for the construction of the many pyramids erected during the late Meroitic Kingdom, and also for the impressive sacral buildings built within these two cities. The imposingly large city of Naga, some 90 km south-west of Meroe, and the temple city Musawarat es-Sufra, owe their existence not least to the presence of massive sandstone layers in their immediate vicinity.

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One can observe the same situation at the holy Jebel Barkal, almost 28 km south-west of the new Merowe Dam, where the nearby Jebel was the source of the building material. The Kurru pyramids may also have obtained their sandstone blocks from here. Less certain, however, is the provenance of the building material of the Nuri pyramids. Again, Jebel Barkal is the nearest sandstone source at about 10 km away, but the journey included a dangerous river crossing. In the vicinity of the west bank temples Sai, Sedeinga, Soleb and Sesebi a number of smaller inselberg sandstone deposits provided sufficient building material. The small Thutmose III temple on Sai Island is constructed directly atop Nubian sandstone, which also served as its building material. A white variation of Nubian sandstone is mentioned in Kumma as inr ḥḏ n sa’a.t ‘white stone from Sa’at’, which may be interpreted to signal its coming from Sai (Caminos 1988, 51; Devauchelle/Doyen 2009, 34–36). Indeed, the sandstone from Sai is more light-coloured than the more usual beige to light brownish Nubian sandstone in Sudan. In spite of the intensive use of sandstone as building material, it is striking that its deterioration resistance, commensurate with most Egyptian sandstone qualities, is rather poor. The real cause for this is the internal petrographic fabric of the various sandstone qualities. Here, a few remarks about the evolution of sandstone are needed: Genetically, sandstone starts out as normal sand, which receives, relative to its environment, different diagenetic compaction. Depending on the environmental formation conditions, different cements partly fill up the interspaces of the sand grains. These cements can be silica, precipitated from migrating fluids, carbonates (mainly calcite) and/or various clay minerals (mainly kaolinite). Our ‘Nubian sandstone’ is generally cemented in variable concentration by silica and clay and these two agents mainly control its deterioration resistance. According to the geological map of Sudan (GRAS), all of the sandstone that was used for building belongs stratigraphically to the Cretaceous Shendi formation. As it was stated,4 the sandstone formation within the broader surroundings of the Meroe region mainly consists of various layers of fluviatile and lacustrine sandstone and mudstone. Cech (2016a) demonstrated convincingly that many of the sandstones only have a poor packing of the sand grains and correspondingly a voluminous pore space. Due to this fact, the binding agents between the grains can only tie the various sand grains poorly, thus forming a soft sandstone. Lower resistance to deterioration is the consequence of this dynamic. Another inherent problem causing lower resistance to deterioration is the proportion of clay binder, as this cement has the characteris-

4 Abd el-Rahman (2006); Bussert (1998); Germann et al. (1990).

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tics to swell in humid environments and to shrink when subsequently dehydrated, thus losing its internal structure. For these reasons, Nubian sandstone, when used as building material, commonly deteriorates faster over long periods the closer it gets to a humid environment, in this case the Nile with its humidity fluctuations during day and night.

Meroe Iron Ore Many sandstone qualities have a yellowish to light brownish appearance, but also a dark reddish-brown spottiness. This is due to fine or sporadic impregnations of iron-oxides and -hydroxides that penetrate the sandstone structure when poorly consolidated. However, this process may also result in a total ferruginisation of the entire pore space, transforming the original sandstone to a true iron ore. Thus, quite a variation of distinct ore textures could form, of which an oolithic type seems to have been favoured by ancient miners (Humphris 2016; Germann et al. 1990). However, until recently mines explicitly exploited for iron ore around Meroe were unknown. Only Humphris (2016) found a site in the vicinity of Meroe where iron ore mining took place, and this iron was predominantly the oolithic type. If the silica content of this ore does not exceed a certain ratio, a direct smeltable ore results. Actually, the Meroites, realizing the value of iron ore, either developed their own smelting technique or adopted it from somewhere else. Recent excavations in Meroe itself (Humphris 2016) and in the neighbouring city Hamadab (Wolf 2015) culminated in the discovery of a bloomery-type smelting process. In both ancient cities, Meroe and Hamadab, huge iron slag heaps where found; this impressed Sayce (1911) so much that he gave the sites the honorary title ‘Birmingham of Africa’. However, these enormous slag heaps remain an enigma (Amborn 1976). If a rather primitive smelting method like bloomery was applied, it comes as no surprise that the archaeological finds of iron objects from Meroitic times are relatively poor, because the recovery rate of metallic iron with this technique is also poor. On the other hand, our own observations in Meroe indicated that quite a number of these slag heaps cover remains of the ancient city, thus they must be younger than the city itself. Since finds of iron objects from late Meroitic-Early Christian times denote a marked increase from previous eras (Amborn 1976), the heaps could belong to a later period. Only exact radiocarbon dating, yet to be performed, could solve these questions. These slag heaps testify to an incredible consumption of wood, which must have been a very important natural resource during these days. Most probably the need for wood caused the deforestation and near desertification of the entire region.

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Copper and Bronze Even if the archaeological finds of copper objects in ancient Nubia are rather poor, they seem to increase in Post-Kerma times when military activity and trade relations between Egypt and Nubia intensified. The search for minable copper occurrences in Nubia sensu strictu terminated in only one, albeit poor, deposit: Umm Fahm (21°17′09′′N, 34°07′14′′E). Here, in a sheared hornblende-gneiss and garnet-chlorite-schist, malachite (a copper carbonate) occurs in the schist planes of the host rocks, easy to detect due to its striking green colour. This malachite is obviously an oxidation product of primary copper sulphides (mainly chalcopyrite) occurring in a quartz mineralized zone within the above-mentioned host rock. The discovery of characteristic Kushite stone mills for gold beneficiation in and within the environment of Wadi Allaqi leads to the assumption that this area – at least temporarily – was under Kushite control, so that the Abu Zwayel (22°46′40′′N, 33°38′19′′E) copper outlier may be in the broadest sense added to the Nubian copper sources. In summary, there still exists no known prominent copper deposit that would have satisfied the ancient Nubian’s (relatively small) demand for copper. In other words, copper (and consequently bronze) tools found at ancient Nubian excavation sites must be regarded as imported goods.

Gold Klemm/Klemm (2013) describe more than 100 gold production sites that were mined during various Nubian Periods, starting in the Old and Middle Kingdom and continuing until Early Arab times. Certainly, these mining activities operated only sporadically and at least during the New Kingdom under strict Egyptian supervision. (Fig. 3 shows the distribution of mined gold occurrences during New Kingdom time). In contrast to the notion that the designation ‘Nubia’ derives from the ancient Egyptian term for ‘gold’ (nub, nebu) due to the obvious similarity, the majority of linguists argue against such a deduction (Breyer 2009). The ancient Nubian and Egyptian mining industries accessed gold from two geological environments. Basically all primary gold occurrences are bound to quartz veins, minable by ancient populations. When these veins become exposed by erosion, the hard quartz fragments accumulate within the wadi grounds, from where they can be picked by workers trained to separate barren from possibly gold-containing quartz samples. These so-called ‘wadi workings’ were first successfully applied in the early New Kingdom and then in Kushite and Early Arab times (Fig. 4). Mining in a quartz vein only allows for a few workers, but in a wadi working operations an almost unlimited workforce could be engaged, facilitating access to vast amounts of the valuable metal from the wadi ground.

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Recently, at some locations along the Nile, gold panning of river sediments has become common, but there are no archaeological indications of the use of this method during antiquity. Due to the presence of grooved stone mallets used as work tools found in some Nubian gold collection operation near the Nile (e.g. Sarras, Duweishat, Abu Sari and Sokar), we may safely locate beginning of mining activity during the Middle Kingdom. This corresponds to the Middle Kingdom stela inscription of an official SaHathor, who ‘forced the Nubian nobles to wash gold’ (BM EA 570). By far the most intensive gold gaining operations in Nubia were driven by Egyptians, predominantly from c. 1500–1000 BC. For this time more than 50 gold production sites have been located, and most of them were reused during Kushite times. Whether the Kushite gold working activities were limited to certain periods remains an open question. A new era of intensive gold working started during Early Arab times, when Arabs penetrated the Nubian Desert regions. Only at the beginning of the 19th/20th centuries did some British-Egyptian (Sudanese) companies establish new gold production locations in the Eastern Nubian Desert. However, technical and political obstacles, water problems and a low gold price put a premature end to these attempts. Very recently, a new gold prospecting campaign, with heavy modern machinery, started in the Nubian Desert, unfortunately destroying many of the remains of the sites hitherto almost completely unexplored archaeologically.

Glossary Accretion: Archean: Bloomery: Craton: Diagenesis: Dunite: Facies: Harzburgite: Infrastructure: Island arc: Lherzolite: Meta-: Migmatite:

Overthrusting of an island arc (+ ophiolite) or micro continent over a continent by collision or welding or suturing. Geological units (Eon) older than ~2.5 Ga. Primitive method of iron production in charcoal kilns. Section of the earth’s crust which achieved stability a long time ago (mostly Precambrian). Consolidation of initial loose sediment by various chemical processes. An ultramafic plutonic rock mainly composed of Mg-rich olivine. Geological unit characterizing a certain genetic history. Ultramafic plutonic rock composed mainly of Mg-rich olivine and Orthopyroxene. After El-Gaby (1984) rocks of the Precambrian basement of the East Sahara Craton. Predominantly volcanic chain of islands. Ultramafic plutonic rock with olivine, clino- and orthopyroxene. Prefix for metamorphic overprinted rocks or geological units. Composite rock of igneous and metamorphic parts, mainly intensively welded.

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Mylonite: Obduction: Oolithic iron ore: Ophiolite: Orogen: Palaeozoic: Pan-African Orogeny:

Phanerozoic: Proterozoic: Subduction: Supra-structure: Terrane: Ultramafic rock:

A rock grained down to almost powder fraction by extreme shearing as caused in suture zones like the Hammisana zone. The overthrusting of ocean crust or island arc terrane onto continental crust. Ore composed of round spherical bodies of various iron oxide minerals with diameters of 0.25–2 mm (ooids). A group of mafic to ultramafic rocks partly metamorphically serpentinized. A region that has been submitted to folding and other deformation in a mountain building process. Area from the end of the Precambrium until the beginning of the Mesozoic (~ 570–225 Ma). Event of overthrusting of island arc type terranes with ophiolites over the West African Craton (~ 700–570 Ma bp) with subsequent intrusion of magmatites. Geological periods with fossil containing rocks from the Cambrium on. Geological time (Eon) of the Precambrian from the end of the Achaean (~ 2.5 Ga) until the Cambrium (570 Ma). A lithospheric plate descending beneath another plate. In this context the geological units occur as parts of the overthrusted terranes of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. Island arc with back-arc portions of Upper Mantle. An ultramafic rock consisting of dark mafic minerals like olivine, pyroxenes (low SiO2) and serpentinization when metamorphosed.

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Gabriel, Baldur (2002): Antiker Abbau mineralischer Rohstoffe im Raume Musawwarat es-Sufra (Butana, N-Sudan). In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 13, p. 36–57. Garson, Magnus S. / Shalaby, I. M. (1976): Precambrian-lower Paleozoic Plate Tectonics and Metallogenesis in the Red Sea Region. In: Geological Association of Canada. Special Paper 14, p. 573–596. Germann, Klaus / Fischer, Karsten / Schwarz, Torsten (1990): Accumulation of Lateritic Weathering Products (Kolinite, Bauxitic Laterites, Ironstones) in Sedimentary Basins of the North-Sudan. In: Berliner geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen Reihe A 120/2, p. 149–168. Geological Research Authority of Sudan (GRAS) (2006): Geological Map of Sudan 1 : 2.000.000. Greenwood, William R. / Hadley, Donald G. / Anderson, R. Ernest / Fleck, Robert J. / Schmidt, Dwight L. (1976): Late Proterozoic Cratonization in Southwestern Saudi Arabia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical and Physical Sciences 280, p. 517–527. Greiling, Reinhard O. / Abdeen, Mamdouh M. / Dardir, A. A. / El-Akhal, Hani / El-Ramly, Mahmoud Fawzy / Kamal el-Din, Gamal Mohammed / Osman, Ali Farrag / Rashwan, Abd el-Azeem Ahmed / Rice, A. H. N. / Sadek, Mohamed Fouad (1994): A Structural Synthesis of the Proterozoic Arabian-Nubian Shield in Egypt. In: Geologische Rundschau 83/3, p. 484–501. Harrell, James A. (2000): Granite Gneiss and Granite from Tumbos. In: Nicholson, Paul T. / Shaw, Ian (eds.): Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology. Cambridge: University Press, p. 34. Hassan, M. A. / Hashad, A. H. (1990): Precambrian of Egypt. In: Said, Rushdi (ed.): The Geology of Egypt. Rotterdam/Brookfield: A. A. Balkema, p. 201–245. Hinkel, Marion (2015): Die Hafire im Sudan. Eine Untersuchung zur Geschichte des frühen Wasserspeicherbaus. The Archaeological Map of Sudan Suppl. 2. Bonn: Habelt. Hafsaas-Tsakos, Henriette (2009): The Kingdom of Kush: An African Centre on the Periphery of the Bronze Age World System. In: Norwegian Archaeological Review 42/1, p. 50–70. Honegger, Matthieu / Williams, Martin (2015): Human Occupations and Environmental Change in the Nile Valley during the Holocene: The Case of Kerma in Upper Nubia (Northern Sudan). In: Quaternary Science Reviews 130/15, p. 141–154. Hume, William Fraser (1934): Geology of Egypt. Vol. II: The Fundamental Pre-Cambrian Rocks of Egypt and the Sudan, their Distribution, Age, and Character. Part 1: The Metamorphic Rocks. Survey of Egypt, Ministry of Finance. Cairo: Government Press. Humphris, Jane / Bussert, Robert / Al-Shishani, Fareed / Scheibner, Thomas (2016): The Ancient Mines of Meroe. Manuscript, Courtesy by [email protected]. Jackson, N. J. / Ramsay, Cynthia Russ (1980): Time-space Relationships of Upper Precambrian Volcanic and Sedimentary Units in the Central Arabian Shield. In: Journal of the Geological Society London 137/5, p. 617–628. Klemm, Rosemarie / Klemm, Dietrich Dankwart (2013): Gold and Gold Mining in Ancient Egypt and Nubia. Geoarchaeology of the Ancient Gold Mining Sites in the Egyptian and Sudanese Eastern Deserts. Natural Science in Archaeology. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer. Klemm, Rosemarie / Klemm, Dietrich Dankwart (2010): The Stones of the Pyramids. Provenance of the Building Stones of the Old Kingdom Pyramids of Egypt. Berlin: Walter DeGruyter. Klerkx, J. / Germann, Klaus (1977): Resultates preliminaires obtenus par la methode Rb/Sr sur lage des formations precambriennes de la region d’Uweinat (Libye). Rapport Annuel du Département de Géologie et de Minéralogie du Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, Tervuren (Belgium), p. 83–94.

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Klerkx, J. (1980): Age and Metamorphic Evolution of the Basement Complex around Jabal Al Alwaynat. In: Salem, M. J. / Busrewil, M. T. (eds.): The Geology of Libya. Vol. 3. London: Academic Press, p. 901–906. Klitzsch, Eberhard (1980): Neue stratigraphische und paläographische Ergebnisse aus dem Nordwest-Sudan. In: Berliner Geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen 20A, p. 217–222. Kröner, Alfred (1979): Pan-African Plate Tectonics and its Repercussions on the Crust of Northeast Africa. In: Geologische Rundschau 68, p. 565–583. Kröner, Alfred (1985): Ophiolites and the Evolution of Tectonic Boundaries in the Late Proterozoic Arabian-Nubian Shield of Northeast Africa and Arabia. In: Precambrian Research 27/1–3, p. 277–300. Kröner, Alfred / Todt, Wolfgang / Hussein, I. M. / Mansour, M. / Rashwan, Abd el-Azeem Ahmed (1992): Dating of Late Proterozoic Ophiolithes in Egypt and Sudan using the Single Grain Zircon Evaporation Technique. In: Precambrian Research 59/1–2, p. 15–32. Kröner, Alfred / Krüger, J. / Rashwan, Abd el-Azeem Ahmed (1994): Age and Tectonic Setting of Granitoid Gneisses in the Eastern Desert of Egypt and South-west Sinai. In: Geologische Rundschau 83/3, p. 502–513. Langwieder, G. (1994): Die Geologie des Gebietes von Wadi El Sid/Bir Umm Fawakhir & Geochemische Untersuchungen an Quarzgängen des Goldlagerstättenbezirkes El Sid/ Fawakhir. Unpubl. Master Thesis: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Lee, David R. (1970): The Location of Land Use Types: The Nile Valley in Northern Sudan. In: Economic Geography 46, p. 53–62. Lebon, J. H. G. (1959): Land Use in Sudan. In: Economic Geography 35, p. 60–70. Macklin, Mark G. / Woodward, Jamie C. / Welsby, Derek Anthony / Duller, Geoff A. T. / Williams, Frances M. / Williams, Martin A. J. (2013): Reach-scale River Dynamics moderate the Impact of Rapid Holocene Climate Change on Floodwater farming in the Desert Nile. In: Geology 41, p. 695–698. Murr, Andreas (1994): Geologische Kartierung der Goldlagerstättenbezirke Fatira und Dungash in der Ostwüste Ägyptens & Bestimmung von Homogenisierungstemperaturen fluider Einschlüsse in Goldquarzen mittels Thermogravimetrie und Differenzthermoanalyse. Unpubl. Diploma Thesis: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Murr, Andreas (1999): Genese der Goldlagerstättenbezirke Fatira, Gidami, Atalla und Hangaliya in der ägyptischen Ostwüste. Münchener Geologische Hefte. Reihe A 27. Munich: Institut für Allgemeine und Angewandte Geologie. Reischmann, T. / Kröner, Alfred (1994): Late Proterozoic Island Arc Volcanics from Gebeit, Red Sea Hills, North-east Sudan. In: Geologische Rundschau 83/3, p. 547–563. Ries, Alison C. / Shackleton, Robert Millner / Graham, Rod H. / Fitches, William Rodney (1983): Pan-African Structures, Ophiolites and Melanges in the Eastern Desert of Egypt: A Traverse at 26°N. In: Journal of the Geological Society London 140/1, p. 75–95. Sayce, Archibald Henry (1911): The Ethiopian Capital. In: Garstang, John: Meroë. The City of Ethiopians. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, p. 1–7. Shackleton, Robert Millner (1994): Review of Late Proterozoic Sutures, Ophiolitic Melanges and Tectonics of Eastern Egypt and North-east Sudan. In: Geologische Rundschau 83/3, p. 537–546. Stern, Robert J. (1981): Petrogenesis and Tectonic Setting of Late Precambrian Ensimatic Volcanic Rocks, Central Eastern Desert of Egypt. In: Precambrian Research 16/3, p. 195–230. Stern, Robert J. / Kröner, Alfred / Bender, R. / Reischmann, T. / Dawoud, A. S. (1994): Precambrian Basement around Wadi Halfa, Sudan: A New Perspective on the Evolution of the East Saharan Craton. In: Geologische Rundschau 83/3, p. 546–577. Stern, Robert J. / Hedge, Carl E. (1985): Geochronologic and Isotopic Constraints on Late Precambrian Crustal Evolution in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. In: American Journal of Science 285/2, p. 97–127.

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Vail, John R. (1988): Tectonics and Evolution of the Proterozoic Basement of Northeastern Africa. In: El-Gaby, Samir / Greiling, Reinhard O. (eds.): The Pan African Belt of Northeast Africa and Adjacent Areas. Tectonic Evolution and Economic Aspects of a Late Proterozoic Orogen. Braunschweig/Wiesbaden: Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn, p. 195–226. Welsby, Derek Anthony (1996): The Kingdom of Kush. The Napatan and Meroitic Empires. London: British Museum Press. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2001): Life on the Desert Edge. Seven Thousand Years of Settlement in the Northern Dongola Reach, Sudan. 2 Vols. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 7. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 980. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Willis, Kent A. / Stern, Robert J. / Clauer, Norbert (1988): Age and Geochemistry of Late Precambrian Sediments of the Hammamat Series from the Northeastern Desert of Egypt. In: Precambrian Research 42/1–2, p. 173–187. Wolf, Pawel (1986): The Nile Mud and its Influence on the Fertility of the Arable Lands of Egypt. In: Journal of Agriculture in the Tropics and Subtropics 87/2, p. 143–161. Zoheir, B. A. / Klemm, Dietrich Dankwart (2007): The Tectonic-metamorphic Evolution of the Central Part of the Neoproterozoic Allaqi-Heiani Suture, South Eastern Desert of Egypt. In: Gondwana Research 12/3, p. 289–304.

Johannes Auenmüller

Topography and Regional Geography of Nubia: River, Cataract and Desert Landscapes 1 Ancient and Modern Nubia Whether one is looking at old maps or modern satellite imagery of North-east Africa, one realises a striking geographical feature amidst the vast rock, gravel and sand expanses of the Sahara: The thin green ribbon of the Nile Valley cleaving its way through one of the most arid desert regions of the world. Nubia is part of this landscape, created, formed and sustained by the Nile in complex interplays of geology and river hydrology. Yet this unique landscape was inhabited, used, shaped and perceived by people, and thus in fact holds an important cultural historical value for both Africa and Europe.1 As much as it is a ‘narrow green strip of the Middle Nile Valley, from Khartoum to Aswan’, Nubia may also appropriately be called ‘the corridor through which men, things and ideas passed from one world to another’ (Adams 1977, 20). However, Nubia is not only to be understood as a transitional zone between the Mediterranean, Egypt and Central Africa, but as a ‘world’ in its own right, due to its circumscribed and remote landscapes, as well as to the unique human responses to and interactions with its landforms and environmental resources. Still, the long Nile Valley artery determines the general notion of Nubia and of Nubian identity – be it ascribed or self-assigned – up to the present day.2 There are several definitions of ‘Nubia’, each one depending on specific criteria. In general, the valley of the Middle Nile cutting through the desert between Khartoum and Aswan – or more precisely, the region extending from the Sixth (Sabaloka Gorge) to the First Cataract – is referred to as Nubia in a broad geographical sense (Fig. 1).3 The Nile in this 1847 km long strip is accordingly termed ‘Nubian’, ‘Cataract’ or ‘Desert Nile’. This Middle Nile Valley stretch can be subdivided into three parts: Southern Nubia, Central (= Upper) Nubia and Northern (= Lower) Nubia (O’Connor 1993, xi). Whilst the first two regions make up central and northern riverine Sudan, Lower Nubia politically belongs to Egypt, except for a small area downstream of the Second Cataract. The region between the First and Second Cataract – now submerged by the Aswan High Dam reservoir – is referred to as Wawat in Pharaonic sources, while the whole Nile Valley upstream of the Second Cataract was called Kush by the Egyptians in the New Kingdom (Müller 2013). Later this term became

1 Adams 1977; O’Connor 1993; O’Connor/Reid 2003; Exell 2011. 2 Even though this contribution is ideally an objective account, it is about ‘Nubia’ seen through the eyes of an outsider. Ancient – and modern, especially local – understanding of the landscape and topography may well differ dramatically from the way it is presented here. 3 Adams 1977, 20; O’Connor 1993, xi; Shinnie 1996, 1–16; Grzymski 2004. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-003

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Fig. 1: Map of Nubia (J. Auenmüller).

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eponymous for the Napatan and Meroitic ‘Kingdom of Kush’, whose territory up to Aswan can thus be used to define the extent of Nubia in historical and political terms.4 Besides these definitions, the term ‘Nubia’ has a linguistic dimension as well. With reference to speakers of Nubian languages along the Nile – Kenuz (Mattokki) between Aswan and Wadi es-Sebua, Mahas-Fiyadikkya (Nobiin) between Korosko and the Third Cataract, and Dongolawi (Andaandi) upstream of the Third Cataract until Ed-Debba5 – and their settlement area, the whole stretch of the Desert Nile from the First Cataract down to the Ed-Debba bend is to be considered the core of Nubia.6 Especially today, speaking one of these languages and belonging to one of their distribution areas is a strong element of local Nubian identity.7 The same probably holds true for earlier times (Rilly 2014). Since also the ancestors of the now Arabic-speaking population in Sudan upstream of the Ed-Debba bend spoke a Nubian language until the 16th century, the region at least up to the Fifth Cataract can be described as part of Nubia, too (Hale 1979; Fernea/Rouchdy 2010). Here, the geographical and linguistic definitions roughly coincide. The western boundary of Nubia is not precisely defined. Considering Nubia to be confined to the Middle Nile Valley, its western boundaries rather fade out into the Libyan (or Western) Desert. The region circumscribed to the north by the great Nile bend linking Khartoum, Atbara, Abu Hamed and Ed-Debba is called the Bayuda Desert. To the east, the Eastern or Nubian Desert extends as far as the Red Sea Hills. Further south, the Butana and Keraba steppes between the Blue Nile and the Atbara are, in a broad geographical and historical understanding, part of Nubia. While the southern end of Nubia is a matter of geographical, historical or linguistic definition, its northern boundary is generally to be located at the First Cataract, between Shellal and Aswan (e.g. Seidlmayer 2012; Raue et al. 2013). Geo- and ecologically, however, Nubia extends even further north to around Gebel el-Silsileh, from where the Nubian sandstone transitions into Eocene limestone that mark the Egyptian Nile Valley up to the Nile Delta (Trigger 1965, 10; Sampsell 2014, 64–69). Besides archaeological evidence for the presence of Nubian people and material culture north of the First Cataract,8 there are also textual sources that attest to the special character of this region, a region where cultural territories of Egypt and Nubia

4 Welsby 1996; Török 1997; Edwards 2004, 112–181. 5 Fernea 1979; Adams 1982; Rouchdy 1991; Bechhaus-Gerst 1996; Rilly 2014; cf. also Ch. Rilly in this volume. 6 In addition, there are also some long-standing Arabic-speaking communities along the Nile around Korosko and Wadi es-Sebua as well as larger Arab tribes in central and riverine Sudan: cf. e.g. Adams 1977, 56–61. 7 Adams 1977, 44–64; Fernea 1979; Hale 1979; Shinnie 1996, 3; Hopkins/Mehanna 2010; Osman/ Edwards 2011, 17–18. 8 Seidlmayer 2002; Giuliani 2006; Friedman et al. 2007; Gatto 2014a; 2014b; see also Ch. Gatto in this volume.

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‘cross-fade’ into each other.9 A telling example is the toponym tA-stj ‘Land of the Bow’, which was commonly used by the Ancient Egyptians to designate the First Nome of Upper Egypt on the one hand, and Nubia in general on the other (MichauxColombot 2014, 507–508). In addition, the northern linguistic boundary of Nubian languages has also been located around Kom Ombo (Trigger 1965, 10).10 Nubia can therefore be defined as the Middle Nile Valley comprising the adjacent deserts and the Cataract Nile stretching from as far as Khartoum down to the First Cataract and even beyond to about Hierakonpolis and Edfu.

2 Landscape and Change Based on this general geographical contextualisation, the following paragraphs aim at describing the unique topographical features of Nubia in view of environmental change and human presence and interaction. Further details about archaeological cultures or states along the Nile in relation to their environment will be found in the specialist chapters. Contemporary Nubia – as we see it today – differs strongly from its appearance in pre-modern times. In recent years, several local and supraregional studies have shown how much both the desert and Nile Valley landscapes were subject to climatic and environmental change throughout preceding millennia and to what extent these changes triggered human responses and adaptations.11 After the so-called ‘Holocene Wet Phase’ (9000–5000 cal. BC), the Eastern Sahara, characterised by a Savannah-like environment with freshwater lakes, wetlands and alluvial areas, gradually dried up, and the river systems draining into the Nile Valley ran dry.12 The desert margin shifted southward, pushing prehistoric populations to move to the Nile Valley or other ecologically favoured landscapes farther south in the Sudanese Sahara with sufficient rainfall and water resources. Arid conditions finally set in there, too, at around 1500 BC (Kuper/Kröpelin 2006, 805–806). These changing environments led to profound shifts in human ways of life in the later desert regions, from hunter-gatherer groups with rather sedentary and regionally determined lifestyles to specialised cattle pastoralists with larger motion ranges, while the long-term migration triggered the development of complex societies with producing ways of life – i.e. Neolithic – in the Nile Valley.13

9 Török 2009; Müller 2013, 7–11; Raue et al. 2013; Gatto 2014a; 2014b. 10 However, this situation might in part also derive from the resettlement of Nubian people to the Kom Ombo region during the mid 1960s in the course of the Aswan High Dam reservoir flooding. 11 Cf. e.g. Kuper/Kröpelin 2006; Bubenzer/Riemer 2007; Spencer et al. 2012; Macklin et al. 2013; 2015; Honegger/Williams 2015; Woodward et al. 2015; Wolf et al. 2015. 12 Pachur/Kröpelin 1987; Pachur/Hoelzmann 2000; Hoelzmann et al. 2001; Kuper 2005; see also Ch. Riemer in this volume. 13 Edwards 2004, 21–74; Kuper 2005, 409–419; see also Ch. Usai and Honegger in this volume.

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3 The Nubian Nile The Nile is, without doubt – besides all climate and environmental changes – the determining entity for the understanding of Nubian topography and landforms. With their intricate drainage networks and specific geomorphology, the modern Nile Valley and adjacent desert regions are the result of complex geological formation and erosion processes.14 The Desert Nile in Nubia forms a distinct region of ‘the longest river channel system in the world’ (Woodward et al. 2007, 261), consisting of ‘great bends and cataracts […] with ephemeral tributary wadi systems and alluvial fans in the arid lands of Sudan […] and the cataracts and vast alluvial reaches of the main Nile [...]’ (Woodward et al. 2007, 265) between Khartoum and Aswan. Within the Cataract Nile area, there are several sub-regions with distinctive topographies and geologies that will be dealt with later in this chapter. The course of the modern Nile and its major tributaries can be related to major tectonic phenomena. Especially dykes, joints, faults and other major geological features as well as the uplift of the Nubian Swell have been held accountable for the contorted path of the Nile Valley between the Sixth and the Second Cataract.15 Recent studies of sedimentary archives provide information about Pleistocene and Holocene Nile river environments, focussing on geomorphological processes in the context of varied sediment loads of the main tributaries of the Desert Nile (Williams et al. 2010; Woodward et al. 2015). During the Last Glacial Maximum (around 18,000 BC), a colder and dry period, the Desert Nile was only seasonally flowing because of the climatic situation in its White Nile and Blue Nile/Atbara catchments (Williams et al. 2010). The Nile was ‘characterized by net aggradation’ at that time, while ‘sediments were deposited in the valley floor in a braided river environment dominated by sandy bar complexes with some fine gravel’ (Woodward et al. 2007, 268). After around 12,500 BC, a gradual return to wetter conditions occurred that culminated in the Holocene Wet Phase with high Nile flows and extensive depositions of clay sediments as well as freshwater lakes and a Savannahlike vegetation in the Sahara.16 During this period, the Nubian Nile was not only characterised by several palaeochannel belts representing large discharges, but also fed by water and sediment run-off from large scale river systems with a rich archaeology like the Wadi Howar.17 In the course of the last five thousand years, the cli-

14 Berry/Whiteman 1968; Butzer/Hansen 1968; de Heinzelin 1968; Adamson et al. 1980; Said 1993; Woodward et al. 2007, 265–268; Sampsell 2014, 28–33. 15 Thurmond et al. 2004; Woodward et al. 2007, 265; Williams et al. 2010, 1118. 16 Woodward et al. 2007, 270–272; Williams et al. 2010, 1130–1134. Williams / Adamson 1980, report substantial Nile flood peaks around 9500 BC and 8500–7000 BC, while less extensive flooding occurred with peak floods at around 7000, 5500, 3000, 2700 and 2000–1500 BC. This flood data corresponds with the periods of channel and floodplain contractions given by Woodward et al. 2015, 6, at 6150–5750, 4400–4150, 3700–3450, 2700–2250, 1350–900, 800–550 cal. BC and AD 1600. 17 Pachur/Kröpelin 1987; Keding 2004; Jesse 2006a; 2006b; Woodward et al. 2007, 272; 2015a, 6.

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mate changed to the (hyper-)arid conditions of the present day. This led to the ‘establishment of the exotic Nile that flows through the arid lands of northern Sudan and Egypt without any significant tributary inputs downstream of the Atbara’ (Woodward et al. 2007, 272). Thus, the modern Nile shows ‘reduced flooding and more localised alluvial deposition’ (Williams et al. 2010, 1129). The repercussions of these climatic and environmental changes are of importance for understanding both ancient and modern landscapes as well as the scope, distribution and sitespecific duration of human presence along the Nubian Nile. Finally, they are key for describing the interaction between desert, river and people.18 The hydrological regime of the Nile river has already been touched upon in rather broad chronological scope. The Nubian Nile has three major tributaries: the While Nile, the Blue Nile and the Atbara. The headwaters of the White Nile originate in the equatorial lake region. While precipitation feeds the White Nile especially in winter and thus ensures its continuous flux, there is a strong seasonal variability of flows reaching Khartoum due to a low river gradient, high evaporation rates and the damping of water by lakes and swamps between Juba and Khartoum (Woodward et al. 2007, 274–277). The Blue Nile and Atbara originate in the Ethiopian highlands. Their drainage network traverses through a zone of complex geology with basalt, lime- and sandstone, granite and metamorphic rock that constitute the main source for the fertile sediment load forming the rich deposits of alluvial soil in both Nubia and Egypt.19 The highly seasonal Blue Nile and Atbara discharges are dominated by the summer monsoon. During flood season, the Blue Nile makes up the major share of the Nile run-off north of Khartoum (Woodward et al. 2007, 277; 2015, 6).20 In the months of low Blue Nile and Atbara levels (November to June), especially the White Nile provides a ‘perennial base flow of the desert Nile’ (Woodward et al. 2007, 278), preventing the Nubian Nile Valley to fall dry. North of Khartoum, the Desert Nile used to flow through six cataracts circumscribing distinct landscapes.21

4 Landscapes along the Nile The six cataracts along the Nile ‘hold the key to Nubia’s special identity: first, because they impede or prevent navigation on river, and second because they bespeak a landscape of narrow canyons and rocky outcrops’ (Adams 1977, 15). In contrast,

18 Welsby et al. 2002; Woodward et al. 2015, 4; Macklin/Lewin 2015. 19 Woodward et al. 2007, 277–284; 2015a; Garzanti et al. 2015. 20 The flood peak of the Atbara occurred in August, the Blue Nile reached its maximum in late August to early September, and the White Nile peaked end of September to beginning of October. 21 The following account deals with the Nile Valley without the impacts and transformations caused by modern dam building activities.

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Egypt north of Aswan lacks such distinct bands of resistant igneous and metamorphic rocks of the Precambrian basement complex through which the Nile cut its bed. These unique landscape features generally exhibit steeper river gradients than the Nile Valley in the reaches between them, generating higher water velocities with rapids and shallows over the rocky riverbeds, making the cataracts less navigable. Separated by the cataracts, there are unique reaches with specific geomorphology, microclimate and natural resources that were specifically perceived and territorialised by people and their societal institutions (Geus 2006). However, Nubia can truly be seen as a ‘product of the cataracts’ (Adams 1977, 15). From Khartoum to Aswan, the riverbed drops from 378 to 91 m a.s.l., resulting in an average slope gradient of 1 m every 6.5 km. The gradients for the individual reaches vary, however. The steepest segments are to be found between the Fifth and Fourth and the Third and Second Cataracts respectively (Sutcliffe/Parks 1999, 142–143). We will follow the course of the Nile along its physiographic subdivisions from Khartoum down to Aswan.

4.1 Khartoum Confluence and Sabaloka Gorge The confluence of White and Blue Nile at Khartoum marks the beginning of the exotic Desert Nile. The fertile plain to the south, bounded by the lower Blue and White Nile and called Gezira, is an alluvial fan deposited by the Blue Nile during the late Pleistocene (Berry/Whiteman 1968, 1–9; Williams et al. 2000). During the Holocene Climate Optimum, both Blue and White Nile rivers cut their channels into the Gezira formation, which extends further north almost up to the Sabaloka inlier, and experienced high flow intervals that gradually diminished in the period between 7000 to 1500 BC (Williams et al. 2000, 310). North of Khartoum, the Nile flows straight northwards, until it reaches the Sixth Cataract or Sabaloka Gorge, while its valley, whose margins rise comparatively gently towards the east and west, continually narrows. The area, running over basement complex and Nubian sandstone, is characterised by wide alluvial floodplains suitable for floodwater and irrigation agriculture, flanked by clay and gravel terraces. East of the modern course of the river, at least two larger palaeochannels have been detected, indicating a different topography and environment of this reach during prehistoric times (Marcolongo 1983; Caneva et al. 1986). With the Sixth Cataract or Sabaloka gorge, the first conspicuous landscape feature is reached. Its southern entrance is marked by the sandstone mesa Jebel Rauwiyan, which rests on metamorphic rocks of the Sabaloka ring-complex (Almond 1977; Almond/Ahmed 1993). This inlier surmounts the surrounding plains by 120–150 m. The Nile flows through the plutonic rocks in zigzag following fractures and tectonic breaks for about 15 km in a narrow valley of max. 0.5 km width. Within the gorge, there are only minute strips of alluvial soil, since the rock faces rise for the most part directly from the Nile waters. At the northern exit of the gorge, the Sabaloka

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rapids south of Miskit Island form a rather small cataract, impeding flow and navigation (Ritter 2012, 134–135; Sukova/Cílek 2012). Recent archaeological reconnaissance at Jebel Sabaloka shows its rich archaeology, spanning from the Middle Palaeolithic down to the recent past (Sukova/Cílek 2012; Sukova/Varadzin 2012). After passing the Jebel el-Humra, another ring-dyke element extending on both sides of the valley, the topography widens again. Along its banks, the Nile river is flanked by a lush green floodplain landscape and alluvial islands mark its course.

4.2 Berber-Shendi Reach and Fifth Cataract The Berber-Shendi Reach extends from Sabaloka down to the Fifth Cataract (Berry/ Whiteman 1968, 23–27; Adams 1977, 32–33). Leaving Sabaloka, the Nile makes an eastern turn south of Jebel Fangul to resume a more north-easterly course at Wad Ben Naga, whence it runs, in geological terms, on Nubian sandstone until it encounters the hard rocks of the Precambrian basement complex at Ed-Damer and Atbara again. The valley is relatively wide and has continuous alluvium on both banks. With a number of opulent islands in the river and rich agricultural potential, there are some similarities in topography and landform to the Dongola Reach further north. Terraces of up to 4.5 km width south of Shendi frame the floodplain, while the desert escarpment recedes for several kilometres from the river bank. Some inselbergs and rocky outcrops pepper the landscape in the desert distance. Several wadi systems draining the Butana and Keraba steppes connect sites such as Naga and Musawwarat es-Sufra with the Nile. Around Meroe, some sandstone buttes and mesas like Jebels el-Kereiba, Terabiya and Daiyiqa advance towards the river, forming a narrower valley profile up to Jebel el-Ageida, which sits on the East bank. The floodplain, however, with its ample silt terraces, is fertile and extensively used for agriculture. The Butana and Keraba steppes (‘Island of Meroe’), undulating plains, are the heartland of the Meroitic civilisation that flourished here between 300 BC and 350 AD.22 At the Atbara confluence, the course of the Nile shifts again in a more northerly direction. While entering the basement complex and the valley more confined, the Nile floodplain continues along its banks. In general, the Nile meanders sinuously in this opulent reach and exhibits typical meander scars and small flood- and palaeochannels. After passing Berber in northerly direction, the Nile makes an easterly S-bend characterised by overflow chutes and alluvial islands to enter the Fifth Cataract area at Gananita. South of this bend on the East bank, the high plateau of the extinct volcano Jebel Umm Marafieb rises c. 570 m a.s.l. from basalt formations of Jebel Nakharu flanking the valley. The mountain range continues to the north along the

22 Török 1997; Edwards 2004, 141–181. On the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment Wolf et al. 2015; Wolf 2015.

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cataract with Jebels Hamra, En-Nabati and Danab el-Kelb. The Fifth Cataract region extends from Gananita north up to Shereik and Baqqara respectively. The Nile runs along basement complex rocks in a rather straight riverbed over tectonic lineaments of the Keraf Suture. Both the southern and northern ends of the rocky riverbed have higher gradients that cause small cascades and zones of chutes and shallows. Two larger channels with numerous rocky islets and only limited riverbank floodplain flow around El-Usheir Island. After 26 km within a narrow and steep-sided channel of 0.5 km average width, the Nile exits the Fifth Cataract around Shereik, tumbling over the rocky barriers of the Baggara and Shereik rapids in north-westerly direction. Small coiling sidearms around the Islands of Sabnas, Qandisi and Malla act as spillways in this rugged desolate landscape, whose eroded higher desert terraces are characterised by lag gravels (Berry/Whiteman 1968, 23–28; Ritter 2012, 130– 134).

4.3 Abu Hamed Reach and Fourth Cataract The Nile continues to cut its corridor through igneous and metamorphic basement rocks in the Abu Hamed Reach, which is delimited by the Fifth and Fourth Cataracts.23 The river has circular bends or straight channels due to more resistant rocks or geological fractures and lineaments, and falls from c. 330 m a.s.l. at Shereik to around 250 m a.s.l. at Karima. Alluvial soil is only cultivated in rather narrow strips along the banks. North of the Fifth Cataract, there are a number of large rocky islands with only limited agricultural potential. In the desert, the course of the River is dotted by isolated buttes and rocky outcrops sitting exposed on terraces that rise slowly from the Nile. After passing Kurgus with its prominent quartz hill called Hagr el-Merwa and a slight S-shaped bend, the river bifurcates around the biggest island in the Nile, Mograt, and turns west at Abu Hamed, from where it starts a general south-westerly course until it Reaches Ed-Debba already in the Dongola Reach. The 90° turn around the Bayuda Desert is the result of long-term geological formations and processes (Cf. Stern/Abd el-salam 1996; Thurmond et al. 2004). The socalled Korosko road between Kurgus and Korosko running via Abu Hamed and through the Eastern Desert offers a considerable shortcut for travel in both directions, avoiding the traversal of larger and often difficult parts of the Nile Valley.24 The bend at Abu Hamed is overlooked by Jebel Maqran (678 m a.s.l.) at a distance of 22 km north of the Nile. South of the Nile, several rugged hills and mountain ranges as well as intrusive emplacements of subvolcanic origin constitute the northern extent of the Bayuda Desert (Almond et al. 1969; Vail 1985, 54–55).

23 Adams 1977, 31–32; Shinnie 1996, 7–8; Gabriel/Wolf 2007; Ritter 2012, 6–20. 24 Castiglioni/Castiglioni 2006; 2007; Davies 2014.

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Along the course of the quite narrow river valley, which is bounded by sand erosional surfaces from the north and exposed basement rocks from the south, there are several palaeochannels on both sides of the river. They attest to quite a different landscape during times of higher Nile flows. The undulating terraces of the vast Nubian Desert are dotted by single residual buttes and inselbergs that rise from the basement rocks, which are mainly covered by dune and wadi sediments. Farther to the south-west, the Fourth Cataract region begins at Shiri Island and extends for around 120 km to a little upstream of Karima, where the Nile exits the basement rock gneisses and enters the typical Nubian sandstone formation within the Dongola Reach (Ritter 2012a; 2012b). After Shiri Island, the Nile splits into numerous channels, creating many rocky and rugged islets and islands along its course. The river banks have only small strips of agricultural potential with an average width of far less than 0.5 km. The twists and turns of the river channels are caused by geological faults and tectonic lineaments. As in the other cataract areas, the Nile experienced several chutes, rapids and shallows along its rocky riverbed – until the whole area was flooded by the Merowe Dam reservoir in 2009. Archaeological surveys in the last decade have, until the waters reached their final level, proven the rich history of human occupation of this region (see Ch. Cedro/Drzewiecki).

4.4 Dongola Reach and Third Cataract The Dongola Reach straddles the space between the Fourth to the Third Cataract (Adams 1977, 29–31; Shinnie 1996, 8). The 320 km long region runs through Nubian sandstone formations with a comparatively gentle river gradient, letting the Nile flow in a sinuous meandering riverbed inside a wide valley. Below the Fourth Cataract, the course of the river continues south-west until Ed-Debba, from where it heads to the Third Cataract zone in a more north-west direction. Along the northern edge of the Nubian Desert, residual sandstone buttes or mesas – most famous among them is the Jebel Barkal – accompany the Nile Valley for a distance. In some places, the desert escarpment also almost directly approaches the river. Up to the southern tip of the bend, several rocky outcrops, small ring-complexes and other remains of tertiary volcanic activity in the Bayuda rise from extensive sandy gravel plains and terraces. From there, the Wadis Abu Dom and Muqqadam run to the Nile. While the Wadi Abu Dom offers a shortcut between the Napata and Meroe regions through the Bayuda Desert in order to avoid traversing the Fourth and Fifth Cataracts and the Abu Hamed bend (Lohwasser 2013; see also Ch. Lohwasser in this volume), the Wadi Muqqadam links the greater Khartoum region with the Debba bend at Korti. To the north of the bend, vast sandy and gravel plains with a quite rocky yet undulating relief extend, which often reach out directly to the river bank with large dune fields. Between Karima and Kawa, this zone is traversed by the Sikket el-Meheila desert track, which bypasses the Debba bend (Kemp 1978, 29; Welsby/Welsby-Sjöström 2007, 383). The area around Karima downstream of the

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Fourth Cataract was the heartland of the Napatan Period of the Kingdom of Kush, which ruled over Nubia from 700 until 300 BC.25 In flowing north-west, the slowly winding banks of the Nile are characterised by extensive Holocene and modern alluvial deposits and old channels, forming agriculturally favourable areas. The most important of these zones are the Letti, Seleim and Kerma basins.26 Confined by bedrock plateau to the east and the modern Nile bed to the west, recent studies on the palaeoenvironment of the Northern Dongola Reach, an area of 80 × 16 km, have proven the existence of at least three major palaeochannel systems, called the Hawawiya, Alfreda and Seleim Niles, running east of the area.27 Their respective heydays, flow regimes and abandonments can be correlated to archaeological sites from the Neolithic to the end of the period of Kerma Culture, thus exemplifying the impact of river dynamics in the context of climate and landscape change on human presence. Further north, another regional study has contributed a comparable sequence for the Kerma basin. Based on archaeological and geomorphological data, the interdependence of environmental change and human presence, extending even further back in time to the Mesolithic, is presented (Honegger/Williams 2015). In the course of changing river environments, subsistence strategies shifted from hunter-gatherer to floodwater farming, irrigation agriculture and animal husbandry. The Kerma state, ruling varying parts of Nubia from 2400–1450 BC, had its core area here.28 In the north, the up to 20 km wide Kerma basin conspicuously narrows. The cultivated and lavish green landscape with its larger or smaller alluvial islands, anabranches and its extensive flat floodplain, which is only interrupted by noncultivated areas and settlements, transitions into the Third Cataract (Ritter 2012, 130–131; Osman/Edwards 2011). The Third Cataract, which lies between Tombos and Hannek, marks the entry of the Nile into gneissic rocks of the Precambrian basement, which are in the desert distance overlain by Nubian sandstone inselbergs and buttes flanked by pediment plains. The zone has a low river gradient, therefore the cataract as such is less defined. However, several larger and smaller rocky islands and boulders impede the calm flow of the river and make navigation difficult. There are several rocky dykes approaching the Nile from the desert in long formations, their grey granites and gneisses form boulders along the Nile and in the desert (Fig. 2). The cataract exhibits only narrow alluvial areas on the riverbanks which are, however, used for agriculture. Their lavish green stands in stark contrast to the colours of the rocks and boulders. North-west of the cataract, satellite imagery has verified another palaeochannel, characterised by older alluvium, which is also to be found along the high-lying riverbanks and khors (Tahir 2007).

25 26 27 28

Török 1997; Edwards 2004, 112–140; see also Ch. Welsby and Lohwasser in this volume. Grzymski 1987; Macklin et al. 2013; Honegger/Williams 2015. Welsby et al. 2002; Macklin et al. 2013; 2015; Woodward et al. 2015. Bonnet 1990; Edwards 2004, 75–111; see also Ch. Honegger and Bonnet in this volume.

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Fig. 2: The Third Cataract Area: view to the East from gneiss boulders at the river bank to Jebel Alarambi in the desert (J. Auenmüller).

4.5 Abri-Delgo Reach, Batn el-Hajar and Second Cataract To the north of the Third Cataract, the Abri-Delgo Reach extends up to the Dal Cataract.29 The Nile continues to cut its bed through hard basement complex rocks. Tectonic fractures and lineaments determine its course, resulting in the conspicuous, almost right-angle turns especially encountered in the Mahas region that comprises the river strip between Tombos and Jebel Doshe. Here, the river and desert landscapes are particularly barren and rugged. The narrow Nile runs within a confined valley along numerous islands and rocky islets and there are only small alluvial strips on their riverbanks. The rough desert landscape is dotted by isolated tall buttes and inselbergs such as the Jebels Ali Barsi, Sadeik, Dema and Wahaba. Some of the mountains and rock formations stand close to the Nile, amongst them the two prominent conical hills at Nauri. A small side canal flows around Arduan Island to meet the Nile there. It is itself connected with the Wadi Farja that acted as a shortcut from the Third Cataract to Nauri to bypass the wide bend around Arduan (Tahir 2007; Osman/Edwards 2011). After running over the Kajbar rapids, the land-

29 Adams 1977, 28–29; Vila 1975–1985; Shinnie 1996, 8–9.

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Fig. 3: Hills, river, floodplain and desert terraces at Sesebi seen from of Jebel Sese (J. Auenmüller).

scape opens into a wider floodplain that is characterised by alluvial islands and remains of older river channels, between Kokka and Delgo (Fig. 3). Farther north, the Nile cuts its next bend through broken and barren hilly ground surmounted by Jebel Gorgod. The channel is very narrow, with rocky cliffs on each side, and has only minute alluvial deposits along its banks.30 Running in a northerly direction, the Nile Valley topography changes into wider areas again. While still flowing through a circumscribed rugged valley of Nubian sandstone resting on basement complex rocks, there are some gentle plains especially on the West bank around Soleb and Sedeinga disconnected by the Jebel Doshe dyke. In the desert distance, singular inselbergs dot the sandy and gravel desert. The Nile bifurcates around the large Island of Sai and enters the Abri region, which is dominated by an extensive sand and gravel pediment plain overlooked by Jebel Abri (Fig. 4). In the west, the desert sands of the Sahara, overlying undulating terrain, stretch out to the riverbank, while in the east the hinterland is rockier and more mountainous. The river is quite wide and has a low gradient, yet in some places it is impaired by islands and rocks, creating small narrow zones of shallows and rapids. Larger cultivated silt deposits are today found as narrow ribbons, espe-

30 Berry/Whiteman 1968, 28–29; Thurmond et al. 2004; Osman/Edwards 2011, 1–36.

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Fig. 4: View of the Nile Valley and Sai Island from Jebel Abri (M. Binder).

cially along the eastern riverbanks. Commencing between Sai and Amara-West at Sagiat el-Abd, a desert track links the Nile Valley with the Selima Oasis in the Western Desert, from where another track leads north via the Dunqul and Kurkur oases to Aswan. At Selima, also the famous 1800 km long Darb el-Arba’in (‘Road of the Fourty [Days]’) is met, which links Assiut in Egypt with El-Fasher in Darfur (Riemer/ Förster 2013, 52–53; Jesse et al. 2015). In passing the dark granite boulders of Jebel Kitfooga and the high rising Jebel Firka butte of Nubian sandstone, the Nile enters a unique region appropriately called Batn el-Hajar (‘Belly of Stones’).31 In the local Nubian vernacular, this region is named Kídin Tuu: ‘Among the Rocks’ (Bell 1970, 44–45). The southern border of the barren and inhospitable Batn el-Hajar is the Dal Cataract, its northern exit marked by the Second Cataract. The modern topography of the valley is partly modified by the backwaters of Lake Nubia. The Nile wriggled through rocks of the basement complex, its course determined by geological and tectonic faults and fissures. Constrained by steep rocky ridges, ravines and high rising escarpments, the Nile formed innumerable islands and shoals and several smaller cataracts disrupt its flow, such as at Ukma, Tanjur and Ambikol. The rugged terrain and the circumscribed riverbed prevented alluvial soils from being continuously deposited and thus forming a floodplain that, due to the seasonal gauge difference of the Nile, was even harder to irrigate and cultivate. The green fields and

31 Berry/Whiteman 1968, 29–30; Adams 1977, 26–28; Edwards/Mills 2013.

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Fig. 5: The Nile Valley in the Batn el-Hajar downstream of Kulubnarti (J. Auenmüller).

palm-tree gardens existing in this region today, however, contrast sharply with the surrounding sandy-yellow desert or stony-grey rock landscape (Fig. 5). With the bottleneck at Semna, an only 50 m wide channel confined by grey and red gneisses through which the whole flow of the low water Nile passed, the Nile reaches the southern extent of the Second Cataract, which is nowadays completely flooded by the High Dam reservoir. During the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, the Second Cataract was equipped with a chain of fortresses, marking the southern extent of the Egyptian sphere of influence at this time (see Ch. Knoblauch in this volume). North of the Semna and Kumma fortresses, the Nile continues its slowly winding course through the rugged terrain of the basement complex. After passing the Gemai and Matuga rapids, a 20 km long region of small rocky islands, churning channels, swirling gorges and dangerous shallows between Mirgissa and old Wadi Halfa formed the northern area of the Second Cataract, which is marked by a last exposition of basement bedrock within this reach (Ritter 2012, 128–130). Northwards, Nubian sandstone formations are prevalent that, especially on the West bank, tower in steep sandstone cliffs such as the Abusir rock, which acted as landmark for patrolling and travel.

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4.6 Lower Nubia: Between the Second and First Cataracts The Lower Nubian Nile Valley extends from the Second to the First Cataract. Nowadays, the fertile river basin is completely submerged by the High Dam reservoir; its higher valley sides, however, are not flooded. Therefore, one has to rely on predam maps, photographs and accounts to describe its topography and landscape coherently. The 350 km long strip had a quite gentle river gradient within Nubian sandstone formations, allowing the slowly meandering Nile to flow in a fairly wide level floodplain. Downstream of the Second Cataract, the course of the river proceeds north-east. At Tomas, a link to the Darb el-Gallaba desert route, which runs east along the Sinn el-Kiddab limestone plateau escarpment and passes the First Cataract region, branches off in northerly direction. This branch also connects to the Sikket el-Agamiya running through both the Dunqul and Kurkur oases to Aswan (Darnell/Darnell 2013, 35–52; Storemyr et al. 2013, 400–401; 412–413). At EdDerr, a little downstream of Tomas, the Nile river sharply turns south-east to resume its north-easterly course again at Korosko, where the desert bypass to and from Kurgus via Abu Hamed joins the valley. The Nile continues its north-eastern course to Dendur, whence it flows almost straight north towards Aswan. At its margins, the Nile river valley is confined by a structural inselberg and cuesta landscape with gravelly or sandy pediment terraces characterised by buttes and mesas. The successive tablelands and hills, such as the Hamid uplands, the Korosko and Riqa hills or the Aswan plateau, approach the river valley at certain points, though giving way to larger plains around Debeira and Faras, between Ed-Derr and Toshka – with Aniba in its centre –, and opposite the Wadi Allaqi depression around Dakke. These areas were agriculturally most favourable due to their rather large flood silt deposits along the river banks. Elsewhere, there are only narrow strips of agricultural land mixed with rocky patches, while the valley margins are dissected by a network of wadis. At Kubban, the Wadi Allaqi and its tributaries give access to one of the most important gold mining areas in the Eastern Desert as well as to the Red Sea hills (Klemm/Klemm 2013, 294–339). Proceeding to the north, the Nile had to cut its narrow bed once more through a strip of exposed basement rocks at the Kalabsha Gate (‘Bab el-Kalabsha’), before finally entering into the First Cataract region, signalled by a return to a rugged and rocky topography.32 Between Kalabsha and Aswan, both the Sikket el-Umbarakab and the Sikket Dehmit connect the Nile Valley with the Darb el-Gallaba low desert track as well as the KurkurDunqul desert road on top of the Sinn el-Kiddab plateau, coming from the Selima oasis (Darnell/Darnell 2013, 35–52; Storemyr et al. 2013, 400–401; 412–413). The First Cataract is formed by an exposure of a granite-granodiorite pluton, which is to the west confined by the steep desert escarpment of Nubian sandstone

32 Trigger 1965, 10–34; Butzer/Hansen 1968; Adams 1977, 24–26; Shinnie 1996, 9; Sampsell 2014, 47–55.

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covered with windblown sand. To the east, some parts of the bedrock are also covered by sandstone, while further to the Eastern Desert, the basement complex surfaces again. Cutting this geological formation, the Nile tumbled over and around more than 60 granite islands and boulders for about 12 km – before the Nile flow was controlled by successive dam constructions. The swirling rapids and shallows, whose intensity was dependent upon the seasonal gauge differences, created a stunning landscape along the riverbed channels and ravines of tectonic origin. With its narrowest point directly north of the Old Aswan Dam, there are several larger islands to the south (El-Hesa, Biggeh and Awad) and north (Sehel, Saluga and Elephantine) with high-lying alluvial silt terraces. These areas, as well as the minute floodplain deposits along the riverbanks, are cultivated and give life to green strips in this scenic landscape. To the north, downstream of Elephantine, there no longer exist rocky islands that would prevent the Nile from gently and sinuously making its way along the Egyptian Nile Valley through Nubian sandstone and Eocene limestone formations (Ritter 2012, 126–128; Sampsell 2014, 56–63). Access to the Western Desert north of Aswan is provided by the Wadi Kubbaniya, while the Wadi Abu Subeira links the Nile Valley with Eastern Desert regions of the Northern Etbai. Additionally, there is a putative road from south of Aswan via Wadi el-Hudi and Abraq to Berenike at the Red Sea (Sidebotham 2008, 345–365, esp. 353). The First Cataract region and its surrounding deserts were and still are, despite their geographical character as frontier areas, cultural contact zones between Egypt and Nubia, from prehistory to the present.33

5 Final Remarks Ancient and modern Nubia comprise a land of contrasts. Narrow and stony cataracts contrast with open and wide alluvial plains, churning waters with gentle flowing river passages, and sandy, gravely, rocky and barren deserts with opulent green riverbanks. However, the modern landscape is not how the Nubian Nile Valley looked in antiquity. The whole region was and is subject to continuous environmental change and anthropogenic transformations. Not an ecologically favoured landscape during most of the periods of human occupation, one can learn much from Nubia about how people adapted, responded to, and (inter-)acted with these particular topographic and environmental conditions. While the main focus of this contribution was on the Nile Valley, it has to be remarked that the desert played a major role, too. Given the character of the cataracts’ impeding navigation and the bending course of the Nile through Nubia, many desert routes acted as communication and transport shortcuts, integrated constituent parts of the Nubian landscape. Thanks

33 Seidlmayer 2002; 2012; Raue et al. 2013; Gatto 2014a; 2014b.

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to our growing understanding of environmental change and the cultural role and impact of the desert regions on (prehistoric) cultures in the Nubian Nile Valley,34 we have to imagine the nowadays barred desert landscape as being quite different than it was in the past. The same holds true for the Nile Valley proper. The scenic landscapes of Nubia set the stage for important social and cultural changes and transformations, which allow archaeologists and anthropologists to describe and understand the specific regional ‘conditio humana’.

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34 See Ch. Usai, Gatto and Honegger in this volume.

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Klemm, Rosemarie / Klemm, Dietrich Dankwart (2013): Gold and Gold Mining in Ancient Egypt and Nubia. Geoarchaeology of the Ancient Gold Mining Sites in the Egyptian and Sudanese Eastern Deserts. Natural Science in Archaeology. Berlin: Springer. Kuper, Rudolph (2005): After 5000 BC: The Libyan Desert in Transition. In: Comptes Rendus Palevol 5/1–2, p. 409–419. Kuper, Rudolph / Kröpelin, Stefan (2006): Climate-controlled Holocene Occupation in the Sahara: Motor of Africa’s Evolution. In: Science 313 (5788), p. 803–807. Lohwasser, Angelika (2013): Tracks in the Bayuda Desert. The Project “Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary” (W.A.D.I). In: Förster, Frank / Riemer, Heiko (eds.): Desert Road Archaeology in Ancient Egypt and beyond. Africa Praehistorica 27. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 425–435. Macklin, Mark G. / Lewin, John (2015): The Rivers of Civilization. In: Quaternary Science Review 114, p. 228–244. Macklin, Mark G. / Toonen, Willem H. J. / Woodward, Jamie C. / Williams, Martin A. J. / Flaux, Clément F. / Marriner, Nick / Nicoll, Kathleen A. / Verstraeten, Gert / Spencer, Neal / Welsby, Derek Anthony (2015): A New Model of River Dynamics, Hydroclimatic Change and Human Settlement in the Nile Valley derived from Meta-analysis of the Holocene Fluvial Archive. In: Quaternary Science Review 130, p. 109–123. Macklin, Mark G. / Woodward, Jamie C. / Welsby, Derek Anthony / Duller, Geoff A. T. / Williams, Frances M. / Williams, Martin A. J. (2013): Reach-scale River Dynamics moderate the Impact of Rapid Holocene Climate Change on Floodwater Farming in the Desert Nile. In: Geology 41/6, p. 695–698. Marcolongo, Bruno (1983): Late Quaternary Nile and Hydrology of the Khartoum-Sabaloka Region (Sudan). In: Origini. Journal of Prehistory and Protohistory of Ancient Civilizations 12, p. 39–46. Michaux-Colombot, Danièle (2014): Pitfall Concepts in the Round of “Nubia”: Ta-Sety, Nehesy, Medja, Maga and Punt revisited. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 507–522. Müller, Ingeborg (2013): Die Verwaltung Nubiens im Neuen Reich. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 18. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. O’Connor, David B. (1993): Ancient Nubia. Egypt’s Rival in Africa. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. O’Connor, David B. / Reid, Andrew (eds.) (2003): Ancient Egypt in Africa. Encounters with Ancient Egypt. London: University College. Osman, Ali / Edwards, David N. (2011): The Archaeology of a Nubian Frontier. Survey on the Nile Third Cataract, Sudan. Leicester: Mauhaus Publishing. Pachur, Hans-Joachim / Hoelzmann, P. (2000): Late Quaternary Palaeoecology and Palaeoclimates of the Eastern Sahara. In: Journal of African Earth Sciences 30/4, p. 929–939. Pachur, Hans-Joachim / Kröpelin, Stefan (1987): Wadi Howar. Paleoclimatic Evidence from an Extinct River System in the Southeastern Sahara. In: Science 237 (4812), p. 298–300. Raue, Dietrich / Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes / Speiser, Philipp (eds.) (2013): The First Cataract of the Nile. One Region – Diverse Perspectives. Sonderschriften des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 36. Berlin/Boston: Walter De Gruyter. Riemer, Heiko / Förster, Frank (2013): Ancient Desert Roads: Towards Establishing a New Field of Archaeological Research. In: Förster, Frank / Riemer, Heiko (eds.): Desert Road Archaeology in Ancient Egypt and beyond. Africa Praehistorica 27. Cologne: Heinrich-BarthInstitut, p. 19–58. Rilly, Claude (2014): Language and Ethnicity in Ancient Sudan. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of

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the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 1169–1188. Ritter, Mathias (2012a): Boni Island – Holozäne Landschaftsdynamik und Mensch-UmweltBeziehung am Vierten Nil-Katarakt (Nord-Sudan). Inaugural-Dissertation: Universität Köln (Download: kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/4958; last seen: 07. 08. 2017). Ritter, Mathias (2012b): A New Topographic Map of the Fourth Nile Cataract. In: Wotzka, HansPeter (ed.): Proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract. University of Cologne, 13–14 July 2006. Africa Praehistorica 22. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 13–14. Rouchdy, Aleya (1991): Nubians and the Nubian Language in Contemporary Egypt: A Case of Cultural and Linguistic Contact. Leiden: Brill. Said, Rushdi (1993): The River Nile. Geology, Hydrology and Utilization. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Sampsell, Bonnie M. (2014): The Geology of Egypt: A Traveler’s Handbook. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (2002): Nubier im ägyptischen Kontext im Alten und Mittleren Reich. In: Leder, Stefan / Streck, Bernhard (eds.): Akkulturation und Selbstbehauptung. Beiträge des Kolloquiums am 14. 12. 2001. Halle 2002. Orientwissenschaftliche Hefte 4. Mitteilungen des SFB 586 „Differenz und Integration“ 2, p. 89–113. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (2012): Die Südgrenze Ägyptens am Ersten Nilkatarakt. In: Dally, Ortwin / Fless, Friederike / Haensch, Rudolf / Pirson, Felix / Sievers, Susanne (eds.): Politische Räume in vormodernen Gesellschaften. Gestaltung – Wahrnehmung – Funktion. Menschen – Kulturen – Traditionen. Studien aus den Forschungsclustern des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 6. Internationale Tagung des DAI und des DFG-Exzellenzclusters TOPOI vom 18.–22. November 2009 in Berlin. Rahden/Westfalen: Marie Leidorf, p. 150–159. Shinnie, Peter Lewis (1996): Ancient Nubia. London: Routledge. Sidebotham, Steven E. / Hense, Martin / Nouwens, Hendrikje M. (2008): The Red Land. The illustrated Archaeology of Egypt’s Eastern Desert. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press. Spencer, Neal / Woodward, Jamie C. / Macklin, Mark G. (2012): Re-assessing the Abandonment of Amara West: The Impact of a Changing Nile? In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 16, p. 37–43. Stern, Robert J. / Abd el-Salam, Mohamed Gamal (1996): The Origin of the Great Bend of the Nile from SIR-C/X-SAR Imagery. In: Science 274 (5293), p. 1969–1989. Sukova, Lenka / Cílek, Václav (2012): The Landscape and Archaeology of Jebel Sabaloka and the Sixth Nile Cataract, Sudan. In: Interdisciplinaria Archaeological. Natural Sciences in Archaeology (IANSA) 3 (https://www.iansa.eu/papers/IANSA-2012-02-sukova.pdf; last seen: 07. 08. 2017). Sukova, Lenka / Varadzin, Ladislav (2012): Preliminary Report on the Exploration of Jebel Sabaloka (West Bank), 2009–2012. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 16, p. 118–131. Sutcliffe, John V. / Parks, Yvonne P. (1999): The Hydrology of the Nile. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Special Publication 5. Oxford: Alden Press Ltd. Tahir, Yahia Fadl (2007): Environmental Archaeology of the Nile Third Cataract Region: A Study of Wadi Farja. PhD Thesis. Khartoum: Lambert Academic Publishing. Thurmond, Allison K. / Stern, Robert J. / Abd el-Salam, Mohamed Gamal / Nielsen, Kent C. / Abdeen, Mamdouh M. / Hinz, E. (2004): The Nubian Swell. In: Journal of African Earth Sciences 39, p. 401–407. Török, László (1997): The Kingdom of Kush. Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. Handbook of Oriental Studies. I: The Near and Middle East. Vol. 31. Leiden/New York/ Cologne: Brill.

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Louis Chaix

A Short Story of Human-animal Relationships in Northern Sudan translated by Pierre Meyrat This short overview of the relationship between man and animal concentrates on a geographic area of Sudan ranging from Sai Island, south of the Second Cataract, down to Dongola, capital of the Northern state (Fig. 1). In recent years, several endeavours have carried out extensive research in this region, notably those of the University of Geneva and of Paris-Sorbonne in Tabo, Kerma and Dokki Gel; of the University of Lille in Gism Arba; of the University of Neuchâtel in Wadi el-Arab, el-Barga and Kerma; and of the Section française du Service des Antiquités du Soudan (SFDAS) in Kadruka. The excavation of several sites yielded many remains of animals, bones and molluscs, which enable us to reconstruct with some accuracy the environment and diet of ancient populations, but also to get an idea of their beliefs and funerary customs. We will present here a few highlights from our research, organized chronologically from the earliest to the latest periods.

Fig. 1: Map of the sites (red dots) presented in this chapter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-004

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The very early periods (Pleistocene) As shown by accidental discoveries, the presence of hominids is attested from the Early Pleistocene on, from about 2 million years ago. – Kaddanarti, on Badeen Island, to the south of the Third Cataract. During the winter of 1991, a very low river level revealed layers of pebbles in this area, under some 5 m of silt. Surveys enabled the gathering of many animal bones as well as lithic artefacts (Chaix et al. 2000). Among the faunal remains, we note the presence of a proboscidean (Elephas recki ileretensis), a subspecies datable from 1.6 to 1.3 mya. The faunal range also includes remains of hippopotami (attributable to H. amphibius), of which the most ancient specimen comes from Djibouti and is dated from 1.6 to 1.3 mya; buffalo (probably of the genus Pelorovis); medium-sized antelopes of the tribe Reduncinae (Tragelaphus, Beatragus); and wild asses (Fig. 2). The lithic industry, made of good quality flint and petrified wood, comprises choppers and retouched blades. It can be attributed to the Developed Oldowan, contemporaneous with the Acheulean complex. – Tabo lies approximately 30 km south of Badeen Island. During the digging of a well, about 2 km away from the Nile’s east bank, a polygenic conglomerate

Fig. 2: Kaddanarti (Lower Pleistocene). a: Section of a lower molar of Elephas recki ileretensis. b: Distal portion of the right humerus of Pelorovis.

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found under 6 m of silt yielded a molar tooth and a few bones of Elephas iolensis, the last member of the E. recki lineage and datable to 500,000 BC (Chaix et al. 2000; Todd 2001).

The Early Holocene (from 9000 to 5000 BC) We will now leap chronologically to about 7500 BC (Chaix/Honegger 2015). The site of el-Barga was discovered during a survey on foot carried out to the north-east of Kerma (Honegger 2004a). Located on a slight elevation some 15 km east of the Nile, it consists of a dwelling area and several dozen burials distributed among two sectors, north and south. In the middle of this ensemble, the discovery of a half-buried structure is quite remarkable. The bottom of a hut, dug in the sandstone substrate, enabled good conservation of the remains, elsewhere subject to very strong wind erosion. Three burials are related to this structure, which was dated to c. 7500 BC. Abundant material was found, including pottery, flint, shells, animal bones and artefacts. We will concentrate on the faunal remains, which illustrate the diet of the inhabitants of the site. The molluscs, found in large quantities, are mainly represented by a large gastropod (Pila wernei), which was probably consumed. Several bivalves were also discovered, notably Spathopsis rubens. These are aquatic species found in inundation ponds or in the Nile. Many fish bones were also found during sieving: 12 different species are represented, the cyprinids being the most common, which is rather exceptional in this period. The others are catfish and Nile perch. The detailed study of the ichthyofauna shows the use of nets, but also of small boats for fishing for bigger fish living in deep water. Other finds also come from aquatic or wet environments: hippopotami, crocodiles, Nile monitors and turtles. The hut yielded many other bones: giraffe, hartebeest, kob, leopard and monkey. The habitats of these species included important tree-filled savannas and riverside forests (Neumann 1989; Pöllath/Peters 2007) (Fig. 3). Another site, Wadi el-Arab, was also discovered during surveys. Located a few kilometres to the north-east of el-Barga, it extends over a surface area of more than 3 ha, with structures dated from 8300 to 6600 BC. Several bottoms of huts were also cleared, which yielded many animal remains as well as pottery, ostrich eggs and several artefacts (Honegger 2011; Linseele 2012). Among the species discovered, the large amount of the bivalve (Coelatura aegyptiaca) is interesting, as it is not found in el-Barga; this mollusc lives near large rivers and lakes (van Damme 1984). Another bivalve, Spathopsis rubens, is also present.

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Fig. 3: El-Barga. Faunal spectrum.

Fishes are represented by the Nile perch, the Polypterus and several Clariidae and Tilapia. Crocodiles and turtles are also attested. Among mammals, one also notes the presence of giraffes, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, buffalo, roan antelopes, dikdiks and warthogs. These representatives of large fauna are connected to a wooded and grassy environment very different from the present desert. South of the dwelling area, the Neolithic cemetery of el-Barga yielded a very interesting burial bearing witness to the appearance of domestic animals in the region. It consists of the tomb of a man facing that of a child, above which was deposited a skull of a domestic bovine. This grave was dated to about 5700 BC, which makes it one of the most ancient in the Nile Valley.

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The Middle Holocene (from 5000 to 3000 BC) Let us now go further south and skip a millennium. The Neolithic site of Kadruka, discovered and excavated by J. Reinold of the SFDAS, lies some 50 km upstream from the Third Cataract. It is located on the shore of an old Nile tributary, the Wadi el-Khowi. Several necropolises as well as settlement sites were discovered, dated from 4500 to 3800 BC (Reinold 2004). Two settlements (KDK 55 and KDK 29) witness the appearance of domestic animals in this region, notably cattle, caprines and dog. The faunal ranges show a clear dominance of domestic animals, cattle being the most represented species, followed by sheep and goats. A few wild animals (hippopotamus, lion, antelope, turtle and fish) suggest basic hunting and fishery activities. The cemeteries included burials where frontal bones of domestic cattle (known as bucrania), often quite large, were deposited. These elements were found inside the pits, and are closely linked to the deceased. Several artefacts were also uncovered: for example, lower incisor teeth of hippopotamuses used as make-up containers and chisels made from caprine metapodials (Fig. 4). Dogs were deposited, in groups of two, at the four cardinal points of the cemetery. Like humans, they were oriented east-west, with the head to the west. They

Fig. 4: Kadruka. Neolithic grave. a: Bucranium facing the dead. b: Chesel made from a caprine tibia.

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were slender, approximately 50 cm in size, and different from stronger dogs like those buried at Kerma some 2000 years later (Chaix 1999).

The Pre-Kerma and Kerma Periods New research in Upper Nubia has revealed the presence of populations contemporary with and later than Group A. The geographic distribution of the sites and the characteristics of the pottery motivated their designation as ‘Pre-Kerma’.1 This culture developed from 3000 to 2600 BC. The dwelling areas are known thanks to the excavations carried out by M. Honegger in the Kerma necropolis and from a site on Sai Island, further north (Geus 2004; Garcea 2007). These sites attest the appearance of permanent and sedentary settlements related to the practice of agriculture and livestock farming. The only data concerning the economy of this period come from site 8B-10A on Sai Island, where storage pits included plant and animal remains. The culture of barley and emmer is attested (Geus 2004) and the fauna shows the dominance of domestic animals, among which sheep and goats are the most prominent, followed by cattle (Chaix 2011a). The Pre-Kerma is followed by the Kerma Culture, the capital of which lies some 20 km south of the Third Cataract, on the east bank of the present Nile (Bonnet 1992). The Kingdom of Kerma extended from the First to the Fourth Cataract and developed from 2600 BC to 1500 BC (Bonnet 2004a). Two sites pertaining to this culture delivered data on its economy: the capital of Kerma and a rural site, Gism Arba. – The site of Kerma consists mainly of a city and a large necropolis located a few kilometres to the east (Bonnet 2004b). Excavations have been carried out for more than 25 years by the Swiss Mission in the ancient city and the cemetery has yielded many animal remains, which testify to both the economy of populations and the role played by some species in funerary rituals. The city is organized around a mud-brick temple called ‘deffufa’, and several areas developed around this religious centre. The majority of the animal remains studied come from Kerma Moyen levels (from 2050 to 1750 BC). The faunal range is dominated by livestock animals: cattle (49 %), sheep and goats (44 %), donkeys, and then just a few dogs and cats. The wild species are rare (3 %). Elephants, giraffes, hippopotami, gazelles and antelopes, caracal, crocodiles, turtles and fish are attested, often by very scarce remains (Chaix 1993) (Fig. 5).

1 Bonnet 1997; Honegger 2004b; 2004c.

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Fig. 5: Kerma town. Faunal spectrum.

When considering the diachronic development of the main species, we observe a decrease in cattle in favour of caprines (Chaix 1994). It is likely that this phenomenon was caused, notably, by the increasing aridification of the climate. In the city were discovered several terracotta figurines of cattle, marking the importance of this animal. The necropolis extends over several hectares, displaying a development from north to south (Bonnet 2000). It comprises several thousand tombs, consisting of rounded pits, each topped by a tumulus made of ferruginous sandstone fragments and Nile gravel. The Kerma Ancien burials (from 2500 to 2050 BC) are small and equipped very simply. The deceased was placed on his right side, head to the east, in a flexed or contracted position. He wore a loincloth and sandals made of cattle leather. Sometimes a goat horn was deposited, but this is the only faunal element observed, apart from the sandals and clothes made of cattle and caprine leather. During the Kerma Moyen (2050–1750 BC), the burials become more complex: The diameter of the pit increases and the funerary equipment becomes richer. Along with pottery and several objects, we note the presence of complete young rams to the south and west of the deceased. To the north, several pieces of ovine meat were deposited. Such meat can be abundant and show signs of conventional butchery methods (Chaix 2003). The discovery of lambs bearing discs of ostrich feathers between their horns might be related to the early phases of a cult of Amun (Chaix 2006a) (Fig. 6 and 7).

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Fig. 6: Kerma cemetery. Plan of a typical Middle Kerma grave.

Fig. 7: Kerma cemetery. Reconstitution of a lamb with an ostrich feathers disk between the horns and ears decorated pendants (Drawing: G. Deuber, 1984).

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Fig. 8: Kerma cemetery. a: Normal bucranium. b: Bucranium with parallel horns.

Outside the burial, on its southern edge, bucrania were placed so as to form a crescent pattern along the tumulus. Their number varies according to the importance of the deceased and in some cases can reach up to several thousand heads. In a few tombs, one notes the presence of bucrania whose horns were artificially distorted so as to make them parallel. This phenomenon is also reminiscent of several customs of modern Nile populations (Chaix et al. 2012) (Fig. 8). The importance of cattle is also attested by wall paintings in some chapels of the necropolis (Chaix 2000). During the Kerma Classique, around 1600 BC, the number of bucrania decreased greatly, even around the princely burials of more than 50 m in diameter, whereas ‘accompanying dead’, sometimes in large numbers, replaced the sheep and surround the deceased (Testart 2004). These phenomena were apparently linked to several factors (Chaix 2014). The increasing aridification of the region led to a diminution of pastures. Thus the ox became a rare and precious commodity. Caprines, better adapted to this new environment, became more developed and played a major part in the economy. Several elements suggest a strong increase of populations, notably the extension of the kingdom from the first to the Fourth Cataract, the large number of sites of the late Kerma Moyen and of the Kerma Classique, and above all the dramatic development of the ‘accompanying dead’ correlative of the near complete disappearance of bucrania.

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In our opinion, aridification and demography are two important factors, which influenced not only the economic changes, but also the appearance of new elements in funerary rituals, where animals were replaced by human beings. – The settlement of Gism Arba lies some 25 km south of Kerma, 3 km away from the east bank of the Nile. The main kôm is a settlement occupied from the Kerma Ancien on, around 2500 BC to the Kerma Classique, around 1500 BC. Several structures were discovered: huts, granaries, mud-brick buildings and fired brick houses. Numerous animal bones as well as figurines were found.2 The study of fauna as a whole furnishes the following results (Chaix 2006b): domestic animals, caprines and cattle, are prominent (89.2 %), and fish are well attested (10 %). Goats are more abundant than sheep, which is a distinctive feature of Gism Arba in comparison to Kerma. The ichthyofauna is well represented, contrary to Kerma, but this is probably due to the different conservation factors: Let us here

Fig. 9: Gism Arba. Two animal figurines. a: A cow as indicated by the four udders. b: Ruminant (sheep?) with marks.

2 Gratien 1998; Gratien et al. 2003; Chaix/Queyrat 2003.

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recall that the isotopic analyses carried out on the human skeletons of Kerma show that fish played a significant role in the diet of the inhabitants of the capital (Iacumin et al. 1998). Finally, many animal figurines were found, among which caprines are prominent (52 examples), followed by cattle (44) and other species (10) (Fig. 9).

Napatan and Meroitic Periods Let us now again leap forward in time, up to about 600 BC. In Nubia and central Sudan, new realms appear, first the Kingdom of Napata, from 670 to 310 BC, and then the Kingdom of Meroë from 275 BC to 50 AD (Welsby 1996; Baud 2010). In Kerma, during salvage excavations in the modern town, about 1 km to the east of the Nile, several Napatan buildings could be studied (Mohamed Ahmed 1992). A few animal remains were discovered (Chaix 1992), mainly from the inhabited layers, ovens and storage jars. Cattle are prominent, with 78 % of the remains, followed by caprines (17 %). Dogs and donkeys are attested, as well as a gazelle. Several jars were discovered in a residential building. The sieving of their content yielded many remains of small freshwater fish, mostly cyprinids (Barbus sp.) and alestids (Alestes sp.), which could probably be the remains of a foodstuff called ‘tirkeen’ (Chaix et al. 2008) (Fig. 10). This preservation technique is found in several regions at different periods (Desse-Berset/Desse 2000; Van Neer/Depraetere 2005).

Fig. 10: Kerma-Napatan building. Small fish bones from the sieving from a half liter of ‘tirkeen’.

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Fig. 11: Dokki Gel. Cattle bones from the slaughterhouse. a: Distal parts of tibia. b: Distal parts of metapodials. The fragmentation of these two bones is typical of Napatan and Meroitic butchery.

Fig. 12: Dokki Gel. Cattle skull from the Meroitic temple belonging to short-horn breed.

Still in the region of Kerma, the site of Dokki Gel lies about 1 km north of the metropolis. Established by pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty on the site of a Nubian foundation about one or two centuries older, it was then occupied from 1450 BC to 400 AD (Bonnet 2011; 2013). To the west of the temples and inhabited areas, an area rich in artisan workshops and ovens was discovered. This zone, used for the preparation of offerings for the temple, yielded bakeries as well as a slaughterhouse. The dating of these structures ranges from the Napatan to Meroitic Periods; it is not always possible to be more precise as the different facilities were used over long periods and transformed several times.

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The slaughterhouse, the plan of which is reminiscent of the Middle Kingdom model discovered in the Theban tomb of Meketre (Gilbert 1988), yielded many cattle bones, of which 85 % can be attributed to calves less than 2.5 years old, i.e. animals in good shape with an excellent meat quality. In the waste area of this slaughterhouse, a few metres to the east, only cattle bones, mainly from calves, were discovered (Fig. 11). Other remains found in Dokki Gel included short-horned cattle quite different from the long-horned animals found in Kerma two millennia earlier. Representations found in Karanog, further south, show ritual processions involving this type of bovine (Wooley/Randall-MacIver 1910) (Fig. 12). The Meroitic Period comes to an end, and new realms appear, which will witness the slow conversion to Christianity.

Christianity and Islam To this day, our study zone has not produced precise data on the economy of these populations. Further south, in central and southern Sudan, one notes everywhere the prominence of livestock, cattle and caprines still being the most important (Chaix 1998; Osypinska 2010). Since the 6th century AD, three medieval states emerged in Nubia: Nobatia in the North, Makuria in Central Sudan and Alodia (Alwa) in the South. Actually, very few studies are devoted to the economy of these kingdoms, particularly in Nobatia. For Makuria, the studies of Marta Osypinska (2014) provided interesting information about animal exploitation at some important sites like Old Dongola and Banganarti. In the Kingdom of Alodia (Alwa), Soba-East is a large Meroitic and Christian settlement with numerous faunal remains (Chaix 1998). From a general point of view, at all the sites, domestic mammals are clearly dominant, particularly cattle and caprines. Hunting and fishing are anecdotal. Old Dongola (Osypińska 2004a; 2004b; 2008) is situated on the east bank of the Nile, not far from the small town of Debba. The capital of the Makurian Kingdom yielded levels dated from the 6th century to the 17th century AD. The distribution of the main species is presented in figure 13. Short-horn cattle are dominant with the progressive development of long-horn bovines. One can observe a clear difference between early levels (6th–7th centuries AD) and later ones, with a strong decrease of pig and the development of camel. This fact has probably to do with the collapse of Makuria during the 14th century, and the pressure exerted by Islamic tribes. Banganarti (Gauza 2005; Osypińska 2007) is a small village around 10 km east of Old Dongola. The site was an important pilgrim centre. A large church and dependencies yielded faunal remains. The evolution of the main species shows a de-

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Fig. 13: Old Dongola. Evolution of the main domestic species from the 6th century to the 17th century AD (note the change in the proportions after the 13th century; after Osypińska 2014).

crease in cattle and the development of caprines. The amount of pigs diminished and camels were present, in small quantities (Fig. 14). In the south-east from Khartoum, Soba was the former capital of the Kingdom of Alodia (Alwa). The excavations revealed a large urban complex with domestic buildings, palaces, temples and churches dating from Meroitic to Christian times, before the destruction of the city in 1509 (Welsby 1998). The numerous faunal remains were studied, giving a good idea of the economy of the inhabitants (Chaix 1998). In all the cases, the fauna is dominated by domestic mammals, mainly cattle and caprines. Three complexes dated between 400 to 600 AD are briefly presented here (Fig. 15). Among caprines, sheep is dominant with 87 % in comparison to goat (13 %). Camel is present in very small numbers. In the Central Sudan, the site of Muweis (Baud 2008), excavated by M. Baud (Musée du Louvre, Paris), has revealed houses dated from the Islamic Funj Sultanate (1504–1761). The study of animal remains from this area (Chaix 2011b) show the dominance of caprines (sheep and goats) over cattle, which is dominant in the Meroitic levels. Sheep are more numerous than goats. Camels are present and some remains indicate the presence of domestic chicken.

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Fig. 14: Banganarti. Evolution of main species from 13th to 17th century AD (after Osypińska 2007).

Fig. 15: Soba. Distribution of main species in three different complexes (after Chaix 1998).

To this day, our study zone has not delivered precise data on the economy of these populations. Further south, in central and southern Sudan, one notes everywhere the prominence of livestock, cattle and caprines still being the most important ani-

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mals (Chaix 1998; Osypińska 2010). Their proportion may vary according to the different contexts to which they pertain (churches, monasteries, palaces, residences, artisanal areas, etc.). To conclude this brief overview of human-animal relationships in Nubia, we can say that this vast region offers a considerable field of research to the disciplines of archaeology, among which are the study of livestock farming and agriculture; these two domains are absolutely essential to the understanding of human cultures, especially in Sudanese Nubia.

Bibliography Baud, Michel (2008): The Meroitic Roal City of Muweis. First Steps into an Urban Settlement of Riverine Upper Nubia. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 12, p. 52–63. Baud, Michel (ed.) (2010): Méroé. Un empire sur le Nil. Paris: Ed. Musée du Louvre et Officina Libraria. Bonnet, Charles (1992): Excavations at the Nubian Royal Town of Kerma: 1975–91. In: Antiquity 66, p. 611–625. Bonnet, Charles (1997): Le groupe A et le Pré-Kerma. In: Wildung, Dietrich (ed.): Soudan. Royaumes sur le Nil. Catalogue d’exposition: Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung München, 2 Octobre 1996–6 Janvier 1997. Reiss-Museum Mannheim, 14 Juin 1998–20 Septembre 1998. Paris: Librairie Flammarion, p. 35–47. Bonnet, Charles (2000): Edifices et rites funéraires à Kerma. Mission archéologique de l’Université de Genève à Kerma (Soudan). Paris: Editions Errance. Bonnet, Charles (2004a): The Kerma Culture. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.): Sudan’s Ancient Treasures. An Exhibition of Recent Discoveries from the Sudan National Museum. London: British Museum Press, p. 70–77. Bonnet, Charles (2004b): Kerma. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.): Sudan’s Ancient Treasures. An Exhibition of Recent Discoveries from the Sudan National Museum. London: British Museum Press, p. 78–89. Bonnet, Charles (2011): Les deux villes égyptienne et nubienne de Doukki-Gel (Kerma, Soudan). In: Genava ns. 59, p. 35–44. Bonnet, Charles (2012): Les grands monuments égyptiens et nubiens du début de la XVIIIe dynastie sur le site de Doukki Gel (Kerma). In: Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale 112, p. 57–75. Bonnet, Charles (2013): Découverte d’une nouvelle ville cérémonielle nubienne et le menenou de Thoutmosis Ier (Doukki Gel, Soudan). Comptes rendus des séances de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 157/2, p. 807–823. Chaix, Louis (1992): La faune des édifices napatéens à Kerma. In: Salah ed-Din, Mohamed Ahmed (ed.): L’agglomération napatéenne de Kerma. Enquête archéologique et ethnographique en milieu urbain. Paris: Ed. Recherches sur les civilisations, p. 121–122. Chaix, Louis (1993): The Archaeozoology of Kerma (Sudan). In: Davies, William Vivian / Walker, Roxie (eds.): Biological Anthropology and the Study of Ancient Egypt. London: British Museum Press, p. 175–185. Chaix, Louis (1994): Nouvelles données de l’archéozoologie au nord du Soudan. In: Berger, Catherine / Clerc, Gisèle / Grimal, Nicolas (eds.): Hommages à Jean Leclant. Vol. 2: Nubie,

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Soudan, Éthiopie. Bibliothèque d’Étude 106/2. Cairo: Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, p. 105–110. Chaix, Louis (1998): The Fauna. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Soba II. Renewed Excavations within the Metropolis of the Kingdom of Alwa in Central Sudan. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 15. London: British Museum Press, p. 233–255. Chaix, Louis (1999): The Dogs from Kerma (Sudan) 2700 to 1500 BC. In: Becker, Cornelia / Manhart, Henriette / Peters, Joris / Schibler, Jörg (eds.): Historia animalium ex ossibus. Beiträge zu Paläoanatomie, Archäologie, Ägyptologie, Ethnologie und Geschichte der Tiermedizin. Festschrift für Angela von den Driesch zum 65. Geburtstag. Rahden: Marie Leidorf Verlag, p. 109–126. Chaix, Louis (2000): La faune des peintures murales du temple K XI. In: Bonnet, Charles (ed.): Edifices et rites funéraires à Kerma. Paris: Ed. Errance, p. 163–174. Chaix, Louis (2003): La découpe de l’agneau. Un rite funéraire à Kerma (Soudan) vers 2000 av. J.-C. In: Collectif (ed.) Sens dessus dessous. La recherche du sens en Préhistoire. Recueil d’études offertes à Jean Leclerc et Claude Masset. Amiens. Revue Archéologique de Picardie, no. spécial 21. Paris: CTHS Edition, p. 219–224. Chaix, Louis (2006a): Bœufs à cornes déformées et béliers à sphéroïde. De l’art rupestre à l’archéozoologie. In: Gauthier, Yves / Le Quellec, Jean-Loïc / Simonis, Roberta (eds.): Hic sunt leones. Mélanges sahariens en l’honneur d’Alfred Muzzolini. Cahiers de l’Association des Amis de l’Art Rupestre Saharien10, St-Benoist-sur-Mer: AAARS, p. 49–54. Chaix, Louis (2006b): New Data about Rural Economy in the Kerma Culture. The Site of Gism-elArba (Sudan). In: Kroeper, K. / Chłodnicki, M. / Kobusiewicz, M. (eds.): Archaeology of Early North-eastern Africa. In Memory of Lech Krzyzaniak. Studies in African Archaeology 9, Poznan: Archaeological Museum, p. 25–38. Chaix, Louis (2011a): Contribution à l’étude de l’économie de la période Pré-Kerma. Premiers résultats sur la faune du site 8B-10A sur l’Île de Saï. In: Rondot, Vincent / Alpi, Frédéric / Villeneuve, François (eds.): La pioche et la plume autour du Soudan, du Liban et de la Jordanie. Hommages archéologiques à Patrice Lenoble. Paris: Presses de l’Université ParisSorbonne, p. 207–223. Chaix, Louis (2011b): Rapport sur les échantillons de faune de Mouweis étudiés en 2011. Unpublished Report. Paris: Musée du Louvre. Chaix, Louis (2014): Boeufs, moutons et chèvres à Kerma (Soudan) entre 2600 et 1500 av. J.-C. dans l’économie et les rites funéraires. Contraintes environnementales et démographiques. In: Costamagno, Sandrine (ed.): Histoire de l’alimentation humaine. Entre choix et contraintes. Actes des congrès des sociétés historiques et scientifiques, Rennes 2013. Paris: Édition électronique du CTHS, p. 26–40. Chaix, Louis / Faure, Martine / Guérin, Claude / Honegger, Matthieu (2000): Kaddanarti. A Lower Pleistocene Assemblage from Northern Sudan. In: Recent Research into Stone Age of Northeastern Africa. Studies in African Archaeology 7. Poznań: Archaeological Museum, p. 33–46. Chaix, Louis / Queyrat, Isabelle (2003): Les figurines animales dans la culture de Kerma. In: Anthropozoologica 38, p. 61–67. Chaix, Louis / Desse, Jean / Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed (2008): Une sauce plurimillénaire, le tirkine soudanais. In: Archéologie du poisson: 30 ans d’archéo-ichtyologie au Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Hommage aux travaux de Jean Desse et Nathalie Desse-Berset. Actes des XXVIIIe Rencontres Internationales d’Archéologie et d’Histoire d’Antibes. XIVth ICAZ Fish Remains Working Group Meeting sous la direction de Philippe Béarez, Sandrine Grouard et Benoît Clavel, 18–20 Octobre 2007. Antibes: APDCA, p. 245–254. Chaix, Louis / Dubosson, Jérôme / Honegger, Matthieu (2012): Bucrania from the Eastern Cemetery at Kerma (Sudan) and the Practice of Cattle Horn Deformation. In: Prehistory of

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Northeastern Africa. New Ideas and Discoveries. Studies in African Archaeology 11. Poznań: Archaeological Museum, p. 185–208. Chaix, Louis / Honegger, Matthieu (2015): New Data on Animal Exploitation from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic Periods in Northern Sudan. In: Kerner, Susanne / Dann, Rachael Jane / Bangsgaard, Pernille (eds.): Climate and Ancient Societies. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, p. 197–214. Desse-Berset, Nathalie / Desse, Jean (2000): Salsamenta, garum et autres préparations de poissons. Ce qu’en disent les os. Mélanges de l’Ecole Française de Rome. In: Antiquité 112, p. 73–97. Garcea, Elena A. A. (2007): The Holocene Prehistory at Saï Island, Sudan. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Mélanges offerts à Francis Geus: Égypte – Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III, p. 107–113. Gauza, Marta (2005): Faunal Remains from the Church of Banganarti (2002 Season). In: Gdansk Archaeological Museum African Reports 3, p. 79–86. Geus, Francis (2004): Pre-Kerma Storage Pits on Sai Island. In: Kendall, Timothy (ed.): Nubian Studies 1998. Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the International Society of Nubian Studies, August 21–26, 1998, Boston, Mass. Boston: Department of African-American Studies. Northeastern University, p. 45–51. Gilbert, Allan S. (1988): Zooarchaeological Observations on the Slaughterhouse of Meketre. In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 74, p. 69–89. Gratien, Brigitte (1998): Gism el-Arba. Un habitat rural Kerma. Campagnes 1995–1996 et 1996– 1997. In: Sociétés urbaines en Égypte et au Soudan. Cahiers de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 19, p. 21–29. Gratien, Brigitte / Marchi, Séverine / Thuriot, Olivier / Willot, Jean-Michel (2003): Gism el-Arba habitat 2. Rapport préliminaire sur un centre de stockage Kerma au bord du Nil. In: Sociétés urbaines en Égypte et au Soudan. Cahiers de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 23, p. 29–43. Honegger, Matthieu (2004a): El Barga. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.): Sudan’s Ancient Treasures. An Exhibition of Recent Discoveries from the Sudan National Museum. London: British Museum Press, p. 31–34. Honegger, Matthieu (2004b): The Pre-Kerma Settlement at Kerma. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.): Sudan’s Ancient Treasures. An Exhibition of Recent Discoveries from the Sudan National Museum. London: British Museum Press, p. 64–69. Honegger, Matthieu (2004c): The Pre-Kerma. A Cultural Group from Upper Nubia Prior to the Kerma Civilisation. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 8, p. 38–46. Honegger, Matthieu (2011): Excavation at Wadi el-Arab. In: Kerma. Documents de la mission archéologique suisse au Soudan 3, p. 3–8. Iacumin, Paola / Bocherens, Hervé / Chaix, Louis / Marioth, A. (1998): Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes as Dietary Indicators of Ancient Nubian Populations (Northern Sudan). In: Journal of Archaeological Science 25, p. 293–301. Linseele, Veerle (2012): Animal Remains from the Early Holocene Sequence at Wadi el-Arab. In: Kerma. Documents de la mission archéologique suisse au Soudan 4, p. 16–18. Neumann, Katharina (1989): Vegetationsgeschichte der Ostsahara im Holozän. Holzkohlen aus prähistorischen Fundstellen. In: Kuper, Rudolph (ed.): Forschungen zur Umweltgeschichte der Ostsahara. Africa Praehistorica 2. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 13–182. Osypińska, Marta (2004a): Animal Bones Remains from Old Dongola. Osteological Material from Building B I on Kôm A. In: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 15, p. 224–230. Osypińska, Marta (2004b): Faunal Remains from the Banganarti Church. In: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 15, p. 261–367.

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Osypińska, Marta (2007): Faunal Remains from Banganarti Season 2007. In: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, p. 359–368. Osypińska, Marta (2008): Faunal Remains from the Monastery in Old Dongola (Kôm H). Season 2006. In: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 18, p. 376–384. Osypińska, Marta (2010): Domestic Animals from Christian Makuria. In: Paner, Henryk / Jakobielski, Stefan (eds.): Gdańsk Archaeological Museum and Heritage Protection Fund African Reports 6. Gdańsk: Muzeum Archeologiczne. Osypińska, Marta (2014): Animals in the Economy of Christian Makuria. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 903–916. Pöllath, Nadja / Peters, Joris (2007): Holocene Climatic Change, Human Adaptation and Landscape Degradation in Arid Africa as evidenced by the Faunal Record. In: Bubenzer, Olaf / Bolten, Andreas / Darius, Frank (eds.): Atlas of Cultural and Environmental Change in Arid Africa. Africa Praehistorica 21. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 64–67. Reinold, Jacques (2004): Kadruka. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.): Sudan’s Ancient Treasures. An Exhibition of Recent Discoveries from the Sudan National Museum. London: British Museum Press, p. 42–48. Salah ed-Din, Mohamed Ahmed (1992): L’agglomération napatéenne de Kerma. Enquête archéologique et ethnographique en milieu urbain. Paris: Ed. Recherches sur les civilisations. Testart, Alain (2004): Les morts d’accompagnement. La servitude volontaire. Paris: Ed. Errance. Todd, Nancy E. (2001): African Elephas Recki. Time, Space and Taxonomy. In: Cavarretta, Giuseppe / Gioia, Patrizia / Mussi, Margherita / Palombo, Maria Rita (eds.): La terra degli Elefanti – The World of Elephants. Atti del 1° Congresso Internazionale. Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Roma, 16–20 ottobre 2001. Rome: Istituto Salesiano Pio XI, p. 693–697. Van Damme, Dirk (1984): The Freshwater Mollusca of Northern Africa. Distribution, Biogeography and Palaeoecology. Dordrecht/Boston/Lancaster: W. Junk Publishers. Van Neer, Wim / Depraetere, David (2005): Pickled Fish from the Egyptian Nile. Osteological Evidence from a Byzantine (Coptic) Context at Shanhûr. In: Revue de Paléobiologie, Vol. spéc. 10, p. 159–170. Welsby, Derek Anthony (1996): The Kingdom of Kush. The Napatan and Meroitic Empires. London: British Museum Press.. Welsby, Derek Anthony (1998): Soba II. Renewed Excavations within the Metropolis of the Kingdom of Alwa in Central Sudan. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 15. London: British Museum Press. Woolley, Charles Leonard / Randall–MacIver, David (1910): Karanog. The Romano-Nubian Cemetery. University of Pennsylvania. Egyptian Department of the University Museum. Eckley B. Coxe Junior Expedition to Nubia. Vols. III and IV. Philadelphia: University Museum.

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The Archaeobotany of Nubia Introduction The systematic sampling, processing and study of ancient crops and related weed taxa from archaeological sites within Nubia is at an early stage when compared to other parts of the world such as the Near East and Europe. However, this does not mean that meaningful patterns of change through time cannot be determined and only with further work will the ideas put forward here and by other researchers will the gaps in the knowledge base be resolved. This will lead to a more complete history of agricultural innovation and practice in Nubia. Sites of a wide range of dates, from the Neolithic to the Islamic Period, have already been studied (see tables 1–2), the major concentration having been upon the Napatan and Meroitic Periods. The latter period appears to be one of great change both in terms of agricultural practice and in the types of crops that were grown. The Islamic Period also introduces new crops, but these take advantage of the innovations that were established in the Meroitic Period. Plant remains in Nubia are preserved by a variety of means, with charring (exposure to fire – either accidentally or intentionally) perhaps being the most common method followed by desiccation and mineralisation. Each type of preservation has it own problems in terms of processing, quantification and interpretation. A further example of archaeobotanical evidence comes from plant impressions in pottery. This is often the only source of evidence of plant exploitation at the earliest sites. It is often assumed that these impressions represent possible food sources, but as far as this author is concerned, unless remains of the grasses (such as seeds) are found either in or in association with the vessels rather than within the matrix of the vessel, this can only be conjectured. To be certain of plant exploitation or cultivation, remains of the plants need to be found either charred, desiccated or mineralised within well recognised archaeological contexts. Plant material preserved by desiccation preserves chemical signals to a remarkable degree, especially lipids and DNA, as demonstrated by the work on crop remains such as sorghum, barley, cotton and radish from Qasr Ibrim1. The work on barley from Qasr Ibrim has shed light on the local adaptation of the crop to drought conditions, and work done on cotton has demonstrated an African domestication of cotton. These studies will be discussed in greater detail later. The sites considered here are located between the First and Sixth Cataract of the river Nile; this may be considered to stretch beyond the accepted limits of Nubia,

1 Deacon et al. 1998; Rowley-Conwy et al. 1999; Shaw et al. 2001; O’Donoghue et al. 1996; Palmer et al. 2009; 2012; Smith et al. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-005

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but the sites at both extremities have been included to present a more complete picture of the agricultural history of the region. To understand fully the changes in crops recognised in the archaeobotanical record it is necessary to consider past and present climate conditions.

Climate and Vegetation History Climate and vegetation are inextricably linked. The current climate within the Nubian region is one of hot desert, with very little rainfall in the north towards the border with Egypt at Wadi Halfa. Rainfall increases further south towards Khartoum, where up to 200 mm of annual rainfall is recorded. There may be short-term events which witness an increase or decrease in the amount of rainfall in any given region. The effects of the building of the High Dam at Aswan (Egypt) on rainfall and climate in Nubia, and the effects of the subsequent development of Lake Nasser (Nubian Sea), which stretches beyond the border at Wadi Halfa, have yet to be assessed; but anecdotal evidence suggests subtle changes in the amount and pattern of rainfall, especially at Aswan. In Winter (late November to mid-March) the daily mean temperature is below o 20 Celsius with low humidity, and in the long summer months the daily temperature persists above 30 °C (Barbour 1961). The temperatures rise the further south one goes. In January, the coolest month, Khartoum has a mean temperature of 23.7 °C, and the mean daily temperature in summer reaches 34.1 °C. This climate pattern has not always existed as such. With the end of the last Ice Age (approximately 12,000 years ago) the climate became warmer and wetter, and what is now the Sahara was a very different place consisting of lush grasslands. Over time the climate became drier and warmer to produce the modern day expanse of the Sahara Desert.2

Agricultural History Prior to the Neolithic introduction of agriculture, human populations exploited the abundance of wild grasses, fruits and other plant foods provided by warmer and wetter conditions, as indicated at Wadi Kubbaniya (Wendorf et al. 1993) and other sites mentioned in Table 1. The abundance of grasses and other wild foods permit-

2 For a more complete review of the climatic and environmental conditions since the last Ice Age, see Edwards 2004, especially Chapters 2 (pp. 21–37) and 3 (pp. 38–40) and Figures 2.1 (p. 22) and 3.1 (p. 39) for past and present day vegetation zones.

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ted semi-nomadic peoples to become sedentary for parts of the year, which could enable the exploitation of a particular plant food resource. The wild grasses exploited are usually difficult to find on archaeological sites of this date, and there has been a reliance on impressions of seeds and other plant parts in pottery vessels and potsherds to infer the food procurement strategy of that time. The presence of cultivated barley and wheat in the Prehistoric Period can be considered doubtful, as these were from the Nubian Rescue campaign between the First and Second Cataracts and it is likely that the remains may well be intrusive. The first cultivated cereals in Nubia were barley (Hordeum vulgare) and emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp dicoccum). These were introduced in the Neolithic and their cultivation continued in the Pharaonic Period, along with associated pulses and flax (Linum usitatissimum). Cultivated fruits also became an important aspect of the average diet in Bronze Age Nubia (Fuller 2015), and included watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), dates (Phoenix dactylifera), grapes (Vitis vinifera) and figs (Ficus carica and especially Ficus sycomorus). The origins of date domestication and its subsequent spread is still debated, but it was certainly present in Egypt during the New Kingdom (Clapham/Stevens 2009; see also Table 2). This suite of crops derives from further north in Egypt and from the Near East. From the Meroitic Period onwards a second set of crops was introduced, known as the ‘summer crops’. These crops are of African origin and are considered to be more drought resistant. These crops include the cereals sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), foxtail type millet (Setaria sp) and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum). Other crops include the pulses pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), lablab (Lablab purpureus) and cow pea (Vigna unguiculata), the fibre crop cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) and the oil crop sesame (Sesamum orientale). It is likely that these crops moved north up through the Nile river system.3 Along with the introduction of the summer crops, a suite of imported foodstuffs such as peach (Prunus persica), almond (Amygadalus communis), black pepper (Piper nigrum) and hazel (Corylus avellana) have also been recorded and indicate that intricate trading systems developed in Nubia from the Meroitic Period onwards. The evidence for these exotic foodstuffs originates from Qasr Ibrim (Clapham/RowleyConwy 2007). The traditional method of agriculture within the Nile Basin in Nubia is based upon the annual inundation of the floodplain by floodwaters of the Nile, which began in June, peaked between August and September, and then trailed off until November. Peak flooding is dependent upon relative distance from the source of the flooding: the further north in Nubia, the later the peak. Reliance upon flooding meant that the cultivation of crops was limited to the period after flooding, beginning in November, when crops were sown and then harvested in March at the latest. This method of cultivation, which relied upon the natural flood waters, limited both

3 For a more complete list see Table 2.

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Tab. 1: Sites in Nubia that have published archaeobotanical results (After Fuller, 2015). *NDRS – North Dongola Reach Survey Site

Period/Calendar date

Cataract Reference

Afyeh Qasr Ibrim

2600–2400BC Napatan-Ottoman

1–2 1–2

Karanog Arminna West Qustul Wadi Qitna Abdallah Nirqi Faras East Serra East Debeira West Semna East/ West Ukma Sai NDRS* Amara West Amir Abdallah Kawa Nauri Hambukol Abu Darbein Shaqadud Cave Jebel Tomat El Zakiab Um Direiwa El Kadada Nofalab Shaheinab Kadero Umm Muri Dangeil Meroe Gabati Soba East

Meroitic Meroitic/Christian Meroitic Late Antique Christian Christian Christian Christian 1500–1480BC

1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 2–4

Chowdhury & Buth, 2005 Rowley-Conwy, 1989; Clapham & Rowley-Conwy, 2007 Woolley & Randall-MacIver, 1910 Fuller, 1998 Batrawi, 1935; Williams, 1991 Strouhal, 1984 Skofleck & Arendas, 1981 Säve-Söderbergh et al., 1981 Firth, 1927 Shinnie & Shinnie, 1978 van Zeist, 1983

1750–1580BC 4800–3800BP Various New Kingdom Napatan/Post-Meroitic Napatan/Meroitic Medieval Christian Neolithic ca. 3000 BC Neolithic/Meroitic ca. 4000 BC ca. 4000 BC ca. 3500 BC ca. 3500 BC ca. 3500 BC ca. 3600 BC ca. 100BC ca. 300BC Meroitic Meroitic/Christian Post-Meroitic/later Medieval

2–4 2–4 2–4 2–4 2–4 2–4 2–4 2–4 5–6 5–6 5–6 5–6 5–6 5–6 5–6 5–6 5–6 4–5 5–6 5–6 5–6 5–6

van Zeist, 1987 Geus, 2004; Hilderbrand, 2007 Cartwright, 2001 Ryan, Cartwright & Spencer, 2012 Fernández, 1983 Fuller, 2004 Fuller & Edwards, 2001 Welsby, 2002, p.270 Magid, 1989 Magid, 1989 Clark & Stemler, 1975; Magid, 1989 Magid, 1989; Stemler, 1990 Magid,1989; Stemler, 1990 Stemler, 1990 Magid, 1989 Magid, 1989 Stemler, 1990 Fuller, 2004 Anderson et al., 2007 Shinnie & Anderson, 2004, p. 366 Edwards, 1998 van der Veen, 1991, Cartwright, 1998

the extent (in terms of area), variety and time in which crops could be grown and safely harvested without the yield being affected by drought. Primitive methods of irrigation, such as the labour intensive shaduf, may have made possible a limited extension of the area of cultivation, but at first there was no method of irrigation available to extend the growing season throughout the year. This limited availability of water restricted the type of crops that could be grown to the ‘winter crops’ such as barley and emmer wheat.

x

x

Meroitic

x

PostMeroitic

x

Christian

x

Late Antique / Early Medieval

x

Medieval

x?

x

Anetheum graveolens W

x x

Cuminum cyminum W

Nigella sativa W

x x

x

x

x

x

Coriandrum sativum W

x

x

x

x

x

Ceratonia siliqua W x

x

Brassica cf nigra W

x

x

Allium sativum W

x

Allium cepa W

Condiments/herbs/spices

Triticum sp W

x

x

x

x

Triticum turgidum ssp dicoccum W

Triticum turgidum conv durum W

x

x

x

x

Triticum aestivum ssp vulgare W x

x

Sorghum bicolor ssp bicolor S x

x

x

Setaria italica S x

x

Pennisetum glaucum S

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x x

Panicum miliaceum S x

Hordeum vulgare var nudum W

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Black Cumin

Cumin

Coriander

Carob

Black Mustard

Dill

Garlic

Onion

Durum Wheat

Emmer Wheat

Bread Wheat

Sorghum race bicolor

Foxtail Millet

Pearl Millet

Broomcorn Millet

Naked Barley

Common name x

Roman (QI)

Barley

x

Napatan

Hordeum vulgare W x?

Prehis- Pharatoric onic

Cereals

Taxa

Period

Tab. 2: Table showing the crops cultivated, wild plant exploited and plants imported in Nubia through time as evidenced at Qasr Ibrim (Rowley-Conwy, 1989; Clapham & Rowley-Conwy, 2009) and Hisn al Bab (Clapham unpublished).

The Archaeobotany of Nubia

87

x

x

x

PostMeroitic

x

x

Citrullus lanatus W

x

x

x

Cordia sinensis Wi

x

x

x

Cordia myxa Wi

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Citrus medica I

x

x x

x

Balanites aegyptiaca Wi

x

x

Amygdalus communis I

Fruits and nuts

Vigna unguiculata S

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Vicia faba W

x

x

x

x

x

Vicia ervilia W

x x

Lupinus albus W

Pisum sativum W

x

x

x

Lens culinaris W

x

x

x

x

Late Antique / Early Medieval

x

x

x

x

x

Christian

Lathyrus sativus W

x

x

x

Meroitic

x

x

x

x

Roman (QI)

Lablab purpureus S x

x

x

Napatan

x

x

Prehis- Phatoric raonic

Cicer arientinum W

Cajanus cajan S

Pulses

Trigonella foenum-graecum W

Trachyspermum copticum W

Piper nigrum I

Lepidium sativum W

Period

Tab. 2 (continued)

x

x

x

x

Medieval

Cress

Sebesten

Citron

Watermelon

Desert date

Almond

Cowpea

Broad Bean

Bitter Vetch

Pea

Termis

Lentil

Grass-pea

Lablab

Chickpea

Pigeon pea

Fenugreek

Ajowan

Black Pepper

88 A. J. Clapham

10

x x x x 8

x

x

x

x x x x

x 4

x x

x x x

x

x x x x x x

1

x

x

x x x x x

x

x x x x x x

x 9

x x

x x

x x x x x x

x

x x x x x x

x x 4

x x x x x

x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x

W = Winter crop; S = Summer crop; Wi = Wild species; I = Import; ? = doubtful provenance.

Miscellaneous Beta vulgaris W Lagenaria siceraria Luffa cylindrica Sorghum bicolor spp arundinaceum Wi Pennisetum sp Wi Panicum sp Wi Setaria sp Wi Setaria cf sphaceleata S Number of sites

Fibre/oil crops Carthamus tinctoria W Gossypium herbaceum S Linum usitatissimum W Raphanus sativus W Ricinus communis Sesamum orientale S

Corylus avellana I Cucumis melo/sativus W Ficus carica Ficus sycomorus Hyphaene thebaica Olea europaea Phoenix dactylifera Prunus persica I Vitis vinifera

7

x

x x x x x x

x

x x x x x x x

3

x

x x x x

x x x x x x

x

x x x x x x

4

x

x

x x

x

x

x x x

Beet Bottle Gourd Loofah Wild Sorghum

Safflower Cotton Flax/Linseed Radish Castor Bean Sesame

Hazel Melon/Cucumber Fig Sycomore fig Dom palm Olive Date Peach Grape

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89

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A. J. Clapham

The evidence from Qasr Ibrim4 suggests that there may have been a limited amount of cultivation of summer crops during the end of the Napatan Period. This very limited cultivation of summer crops, both in terms of species grown and area cultivated, may have been due to the move of the Meroitic Culture into Lower Nubia at the time of Roman Occupation at Qasr Ibrim. This introduction of the second suite of crops, which began in the Meroitic Period, has often been linked to the introduction of the animal-driven waterwheel, known as the saqia (Adams 1979), into Lower Nubia, and to evidence from Egypt from the 2nd century BC (Eyre 1994). Contrary to this traditional position, there is no evidence for the saqia in Lower Nubia until the Terminal Meroitic Period.5 Therefore, the introduction of the suite of summer crops preceded that of the saqia.6 What is most likely is that the introduction of the saqia, relying on animal power rather than human labour, permitted an expansion of crop cultivation rather than permitting the growing of summer crops. The introduction of the summer crops and then their expansion after the introduction of the saqia enabled the growing of crops year round and thus paved the way for year round food security, which could in turn fuel population expansion in the area (Fuller 2015). These summer crops also widened the dietary base which beforehand was limited to the small number of winter grown cereals and pulses. This may have improved the health of the population and therefore helped to increase population numbers. Some of the summer crops are also drought resistant, such as pearl millet, which would mean that lands which were out of reach of both the shaduf and saqia could be cultivated where the water supply was more intermittent. The cultivation of another fibre crop, cotton, which is classified as a summer crop, along with the traditional cultivation of flax, may have helped increase the textile industry within Nubia. Cotton in the form of textiles was traditionally imported from India, most likely via the port of Berenice on the Red Sea coast,7 but the introduction of cotton cultivation in Nubia permitted the expansion of the textile industry into producing more high end textiles for the elite, and thus providing a new export which would have fuelled an increase of wealth in the region. Fuller (2015) has discussed at length that this increase in capacity for growing crops year round and the subsequent population increase may have led to the fragmentation of the Meroitic State.

4 5 6 7

Rowley-Conwy 1989; 1991; Clapham/Rowley-Conwy 2006; 2007. Edwards 1996; 1999; Fuller 1999. Fuller 1999; 2015; Clapham/Rowley-Conwy 2007; Rowley-Conwy 1989. Wild 1997; Wild/Wild 1998; 2005, Wild et al. 2007.

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Imports and Exotic Foods The production of textiles and other goods for export may have led to the importation of exotic fruits and other foodstuffs such as black pepper, almonds, hazel nuts and peaches. These may well have been for the elite, but this illustrates that connections were being made beyond Egypt into the Near East, perhaps as far as Turkey.

Qasr Ibrim: A Case Study One of the most studied sites in terms of both archaeology and archaeobotany is Qasr Ibrim. This site was situated on a 60 m cliff top on the east bank of the Nile 40 km north of Abu Simbel. The site was occupied from about 1000 BC until it was abandoned by the Ottomans in AD 1812. The site has been an important religious and administrative centre throughout its long occupation. The site is now an island in Lake Nasser after the building of the High Dam at Aswan. This long period of occupation, linked with systematic sampling of all archaeological strata exposed since the 1980s, has led to one of the most complete datasets of archaeobotanical remains in the region.8 Although Qasr Ibrim is in Lower Nubia, it can be used as a template for the history of agriculture in the Nile Valley in Nubia. This is true even if it is acknowledged that there may well be local variance to what is presented here, especially the summer suite of crops, which have an origin further south in Africa and therefore may have appeared earlier at sites further south than Qasr Ibrim. Rainfall at Qasr Ibrim is basically zero, and this has meant that most of the plant remains at Qasr Ibrim have been preserved by desiccation. When freshly excavated, the plant remains have a bright colour and the pliability of live plants, and it is difficult to believe that these remains were buried, not yesterday, but hundreds of years ago. This fine preservation has meant that identification of cereals, other crops and weeds can be made down to species level, and in some cases subspecies. The lack of water and biological activity has also meant that biomolecules such as DNA are well enough preserved to allow studies to elucidate further the agricultural history of Qasr Ibrim, and therefore Nubia. Table 2 details the major crops cultivated at Qasr Ibrim at each period of occupation, with added evidence from the recent excavations at Hisn el-Bab, south of Aswan (Clapham, unpublished). Two of the most important crops found in large quantities at Qasr Ibrim after the Napatan Period were the summer crops sorghum and cotton. The introduction of these two crops into Nubia had a major impact on the politics and structure of Nubia in providing a more consistent food supply throughout the year, along with

8 Rowley-Conwy 1989; 1991; Clapham/Rowley-Conwy 2006; 2007.

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other summer crops such as pearl millet and the legumes cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and lablab (Lablab purpureus) (also known as hyacinth bean). Cotton provided a fibre crop that could produce high quality textiles, which could be exported (see Fuller 2015 for a more complete argument on the effect of summer crops on polity and state formation). The names of the different periods of occupation apply to the archaeological levels at Qasr Ibrim and not to the political status of the site.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) The archaeobotanical studies at Qasr Ibrim have revealed that four types of sorghum have been cultivated or collected over time. From the earliest occupation (Napatan c. 1000 BC) wild sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp arundinaceum) has been identified in large quantities. This form consists of grains fully enclosed within the glumes, which have a brittle rachis. It is most likely that this wild grass was collected by beating the ripened heads into a basket. Whole inflorescences have also been identified from this period. In later phases of the site the presence of wild sorghum has been taken to indicate its presence as a weed rather than a deliberately collected foodstuff, unless for animal fodder (Rowley-Conwy 1991; Rowley-Conwy et al. 1997). From the Roman Period (25 BC–AD 0), the remains of a different type of sorghum have been recorded. These consisted of glumes of a domesticated sorghum and have been identified as the primitive bicolor race (Sorghum bicolor race bicolor). The grains of bicolor at Qasr Ibrim are black, elongated and larger than those of the wild species, but are still retained within the glumes, which cover most of the grain. The whole heads of bicolor are lax and when harvested they are flailed, releasing the spikelets. It is in this form that the crop is stored. After processing, the remains of the head appear as a series of stalks lacking glumes. To release the grains from the glumes a further processing stage is required. The occurrence of this cereal increases from the onset of the Meroitic Period (approximately AD 100) and continues to be present throughout the site’s occupation.9 The most advanced type of sorghum found at Qasr Ibrim is the durra type (Sorghum bicolor race durra) and is found at Ibrim from the Late Christian and early Islamic occupation of the site (AD 1200 onwards). At first it occurs with the more primitive bicolor, but towards the end of occupation at Qasr Ibrim durra becomes the dominant type of sorghum. The grains of durra at Qasr Ibrim are pale buff in colour and are wider and larger than bicolor grains. Durra grains have their widest point nearer to the distal end which is well rounded, while the proximal (embryo) end is wedge shaped. The glumes are reduced in size and do not clasp the grains tightly, making this a free-

9 Rowley-Conwy 1989; 1991; Rowley-Conwy et al. 1997; Clapham/Rowley-Conwy 2006; 2007.

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threshing sorghum, and is therefore stored as free grains. The complete heads are dense. Processing remains consist of dense heads with empty glumes (RowleyConwy 1991; Rowley-Conwy et al. 1997). In 1986 a bouquet of sorghum was excavated (Rowley-Conwy 1991); this consisted of approximately 200 heads of sorghum tied together with a cord and placed upside down in a pit. Another bouquet was discovered in 1969 (Plumley 1970) and is now in the Cairo Museum, but has not been studied. The heads of sorghum in the bouquet had durra-like qualities, the heads were quite compact and the seeds were yellow or pale buff. The compact heads and grain colour suggested that the bouquet consisted of durra heads, but in other aspects the bouquet resembled the more primitive bicolor in the way that the seeds were tightly clasped within the glumes. Therefore, the bouquet is intermediate between the primitive bicolor and the more advanced durra. The dating of the bouquet by traditional stratigraphic means proved to be difficult, but a radiocarbon date of 1520 +/− 50 bp gave an uncalibrated date of AD 430, which when recalibrated produced a date of AD 550. We may thus date this, within the 95 % confidence limit, to between AD 420–640.

Cotton (Gossypium sp) Cotton is represented at Qasr Ibrim as textiles and plant remains. The earliest textile and plant remains have been dated to the Roman occupation (25 BC–0 AD) (see Table 2). These remains consisted of seed fragments, but later phases produced bolls, empty capsules, whole seeds and products of textile production such as yarns. Other artefacts such as spindle whorls and loom weights, as well as samplers, demonstrate that there was a textile industry at Qasr Ibrim (Clapham/RowleyConwy 2009). The presence of these complete bolls, empty capsules, seeds with lint attached, ginned seeds and wads of raw cotton fibre suggest that cotton was grown locally and then processed and made into textiles at Qasr Ibrim (Clapham/RowleyConwy 2009). Cotton became the dominant fibre plant after the Napatan occupation (Clapham/Rowley-Conwy 2009). Cotton remains, especially seeds, are notoriously difficult to identify to species (Clapham/Rowley-Conwy 2009). In the Old World, there are two species of cotton, both of which are diploid, Gossypium arboreum and Gossypium herbaceum. The natural distribution of the wild ancestors of G. arboreum is in Asia, especially the Indian Subcontinent and that for G. herbaceum is Africa (Clapham/Rowley-Conwy 2009).10

10 For a more complete overview of cotton, see Clapham/Rowley-Conwy 2009 and Bouchaud et al. 2018.

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It has been argued that in the Roman Period in Egypt most of the cotton textiles were imported from India. This was attributed to the direction of spin of the yarn used to make textiles.11 This remained the case until the discovery of large quantities of cotton remains at Qasr Ibrim, which cast some doubt on this theory. It appears that cotton supplies in Egypt were augmented by imports from further down the Nile Valley in Nubia. The question then arose whether the cotton cultivated in and used to make these textiles in Nubia was of G. arboreum or G. herbaceum, In other words, was the crop grown in Nubia of Indian or African origin? To answer these and other questions on the domestication of crops in the Nile Valley and the wider context, it has been necessary to turn to the developing discipline of looking at preserved biomolecules within ancient plant remains.

Biomolecular Studies The well-preserved desiccated plant remains from Qasr Ibrim have permitted a series of studies of the biomolecules such as lipids and DNA (as mentioned above) and have advanced our knowledge of past domestication events in Nubia. It must be stated that until biomolecular work from other sites in Nubia becomes available, the conclusions of the work on the Qasr Ibrim material are limited to events occurring at that site, although they can be used to test whether or not it is feasible that similar events occurred at other sites within Nubia. The earliest work on this subject was concerned with testing whether the biomolecules in plant remains were preserved in high enough quantities and quality to permit further work. Such work has shown that the lipids and DNA were remarkably well preserved (O’Donoghue et al. 1994; 1996), and that it would be possible to carry out further studies using these well-preserved biomolecules.

Ancient DNA Studies Sorghum The earliest ancient DNA work on remains from Qasr Ibrim was on sorghum.12 This work concentrated on seeing if it was possible to determine the domestication process of sorghum within the vicinity of Qasr Ibrim and to identify the relationship between the four types (one wild and three domesticated) of sorghum found at Qasr

11 See Wild 1997; Wild/Wild 1998; 2005 for a fuller discussion. 12 Deakin et al. 1998; Rowley-Conwy 1991; Rowley-Conwy et al. 1997; 1999 and Shaw et al. 2001.

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Ibrim. The study found that there appeared to be very little difference in the two genes examined between the three domesticated taxa. The cautious conclusion drawn from this work was that, in the Qasr Ibrim area at least, the hypothesis for a late domestication of sorghum was confirmed.13 Another possibility is that the genes used in this study may be conservative and may have exhibited very few mutations over time, and thus may not represent an accurate picture of past events. A project with the aim of studying the archaeo-genomics of sorghum domestication and adaptation is being currently carried out at a number of sites, including Qasr Ibrim. This work is being undertaken under the supervision of Professor Robin Allaby of Warwick University, UK. The results are currently in the process of publication. Cotton As mentioned above, the question of the identification of the cotton grown at Qasr Ibrim is problematic. Morphological characteristics of the cotton plant remains, especially the seeds, can be difficult to identify to species. It was decided that perhaps the answer lay with studying the ancient DNA from the cotton seeds at Qasr Ibrim (Palmer et al. 2012). The work demonstrated that the species of cotton cultivated at Qasr Ibrim was Gossypium herbaceum, showing that the cotton cultivated at Qasr Ibrim was of African origin. Where this domestication first occurred is still open to debate (Clapham/Rowley-Conwy 2009), but most likely it occurred further up the Nile Valley, deeper into Nubia than Qasr Ibrim. All that is required now is to find early cotton remains from which it is possible to extract the ancient DNA from sites further south of Qasr Ibrim. This task is proving more difficult as time progresses due to the construction of dams further up the Nile, which is obliterating the archaeological evidence and sites which hold the potential to elucidate the origins of domestication of cotton and other crops in the Nile Valley. Barley Barley is one of the more common plant remains found at Qasr Ibrim. The remains mainly consist of hulled grains and rachis fragments, some of which are articulated. Complete or near complete ears of barley and sterile spikelets are also often found. The appearance of the ears suggests that the type of barley present at Qasr Ibrim is of the two-row variety, which seems to be confirmed by the presence of sterile spikelets. It has been suggested that two-row barley was the common barley grown at other Nubian sites (see Fuller/Edwards 2001). The problem with this interpretation is that although the ears may look two-row, the rachis fragments are of the six-

13 For a review of the origins of domesticated sorghum and the theories relating to its spread, see Kimber 2000.

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row type. As far as this author is concerned, the barley at Qasr Ibrim and at other Nubian sites is of the six-row type, not two-row as suggested by Fuller/Edwards (2001) at Nauri. In order to resolve this problem, it was decided that the ancient DNA from barley remains from Qasr Ibrim should be studied (Palmer et al. 2009). The results from this study did indeed show that the barley was of the six-row and not the tworow type. However, what the study also showed was that although the appearance of the ear and the presence of the sterile spikelets was a two-row trait, the gene that was switched off for production of fertile lateral florets was different from that which is usually switched off for two-row barley. It has been suggested (Palmer et al. 2009) that this may be a local adaptation to drought conditions. Whether this occurs at other sites in Nubia needs to be explored. Another interesting ancillary result of this project was that the genome of an RNA plant virus was reconstructed. This was the first detection of an archaeological RNA virus known as Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus (BSMV) (Smith et al. 2014b). The barley from which this virus was reconstructed dated to the Christian Period (AD 500–900), and it is thought that the virus originated in the Middle East or North Africa. The worldwide spread of the virus is thought to have begun in the Medieval Period and may be linked to the Crusades, which permitted the spread of the disease westwards and eastwards along well-established trade routes.

Other Biomolecular Studies Other biomolecular studies of the material preserved at Qasr Ibrim include the identification of frankincense and another pinaceous resin (Evershed et al. 1997a). The detection of palm oils in potsherds suggests that either dates or dom nuts were being processed, most likely as animal feed (Copley et al. 2001). Other research at Qasr Ibrim has provided evidence for the process of decomposition in desiccated archaeological plant material (Evershed et al. 1997b). These all utilised lipid analyses. Other studies combined lipid analysis with stable isotope studies. This provided data for the short- and long-term foraging and foddering strategies of domesticated animals at Qasr Ibrim. This work showed that sheep and goats were mainly fed on C3 plants, with some C4 plants in the later periods of the site, while the cattle were fed on C3 plants in the earliest periods (Napatan). But with the introduction of the C4 cereals such as sorghum in the Meroitic Period, cattle were mainly fed on C4 plants.14

14 C3 and C4 are different photosynthetic pathways used to fix Carbon dioxide to produce sugars in plants. C3 plants tend to be found in temperate regions and include some grasses. C4 plant are found in tropical latitudes and tend to be grasses.

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The data seems to suggest that sheep/goats were permitted to forage on their own, thereby mainly feeding on wild grasses and other wild plants (some of which may have been C4), while cattle were mainly fed C4 plants such as the leaves, stems and grains of sorghum. It is most likely that the cattle were kept in stalls or some other kind of enclosure and may well have been tethered, as supported by archaeological evidence from Qasr Ibrim. The ability of the occupants of Qasr Ibrim to feed C4 plants to cattle is again linked to the introduction of the saqia, which permitted both more land to be cultivated away from the river’s edge and the provision of water all year round. These studies show that, when carried out alongside the more traditional aspects of environmental archaeology, more in-depth knowledge of the past agricultural practices can be obtained. This further increases our knowledge of how people exploited and flourished the harsh environments of Nubia. Overall, the archaeobotanical history of Nubia provides a fascinating insight into the ability of the local people to adapt to what can be considered harsh environmental conditions. The use of the Nile floods to cultivate the thin strip of land on either side of the river and then the introduction of the saqia permitted a greater variety of crops to be grown in both winter and summer. This in itself provided food security all year round, and may have influenced the development of more complex societies (Fuller 2015).

Bibliography Adams, William Yewdale (1979): Nubia. Corridor to Africa. Princeton, New Jersey: University Press. Anderson, Julie Renee / D’Andrea, A. Catherine / Logan, Amanda / Salah, Mohamed Ahmed (2007): Bread Moulds from the Amun Temple at Dangeil, Nile State – An Addendum. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 11, p. 89–93. Barbour, Kenneth Michael (1961): The Republic of Sudan: A Regional Geography. London: University of London. Bouchaud, Charlène / Clapham, Alan J. / Newton, Claire / Tallet, Gaëlle / Thanheiser, Ursula (2018): Cottoning on to Cotton (Gossypium spp.) in Arabia and Africa during Antiquity. In: Mercuri, Anna M. / D’Andrea, A. Catherine / Fornaciaria, Rita / Höhn, Alexa (eds.): Plants and People in the African Past. Progress in African Archaeobotany. Cham: Springer Switzerland, p. 380–426. el-Batrawi, Ahmed Mahmud (1935): Report on the Human Remains. Mission archéologique de Nubie 1929–1934. Cairo: Service des Antiquités du l’Égypte. Government Press. Cartwright, Caroline (1998): The Wood, Charcoal, Plant Remains and other Organic Material. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Soba II. Renewed Excavations within the Metropolis of the Kingdom of Alwa in Central Sudan. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 15. London: British Museum Press, p. 556–567. Cartwright, Caroline (2001): The Plant Remains. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Life on the Desert Edge. Seven Thousand Years of Settlement in the Northern Dongola Reach, Sudan. Vol. 2. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 7. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 980. London: The Sudan Archaeological Research Society, p. 556–567.

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Chowdhury, Kafiluddin Ahmad / Buth, Ghulam Mohammed (2004–05): Plant Remains from the Excavation of Terraces of the Nile at Afyeh, Nubia and Egypt. In: Puratattva. Journal of the Indian Archaeological Society 35, p. 154–159. Clapham, Alan J. / Rowley-Conwy, Peter Alexander (2006): Rewriting the History of African Agriculture. In: Planet Earth NERC Newsletter Summer 2006, p. 24–25. Clapham, Alan J. / Rowley-Conwy, Peter Alexander (2007): New Discoveries at Qasr Ibrim, Lower Nubia. In: Cappers, René (ed.): Fields of Change. Progress in African Archaeobotany. Groningen Archaeological Studies 5. Groningen: Barkhuis & Groningen University Library, p. 157–164. Clapham, Alan J. / Rowley-Conwy, Peter Alexander (2009): The Archaeobotany of Cotton (Gossypium sp.) in Egypt and Nubia with Special Reference to Qasr Ibrim, Egyptian Nubia. In: Fairbairn, Andrew S. / Weiss, Ehud (eds.): From Foragers to Farmers. Papers in Honour of Gordon C. Hillman. Oxford/Oakville: Oxbow Books, p. 244–253. Clapham, Alan J. / Stevens, Chris J. (2009): Dates and confused: Does Measuring Date Stones make Sense? In: Ikram, Salima / Dodson, Aidan Mark (eds.): Beyond the Horizon: Studies in Egyptian Art, Archaeology and History in Honour of Barry J. Kemp. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, p. 9–27. Clark, John Desmond / Stemler, Ann. B. L. (1975): Early Domesticated Sorghum from Central Sudan. In: Nature 254, p. 588–591. Copley, Mark S. / Rose, Pamela J. / Clapham, Alan J. / Edwards, David N. / Horton, Mark C. / Evershed, Richard P. (2001a): Processing Palm Fruits in the Nile Valley: Biomolecular Evidence from Qasr Ibrim. In: Antiquity 75, p. 538–542. Copley, Mark S. / Rose, Pamela J. / Clapham, Alan J. / Edwards, David N. / Horton, Mark C. / Evershed, Richard P. (2001b): Detection of Palm Fruit Lipids in Archaeological Pottery from Qasr Ibrim, Egyptian Nubia. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society London. Series B: Biological Sciences 268, p. 593–597. Copley, Mark S. / Jim, Susan / Jones, Vicky / Rose, Pamela J. / Clapham, Alan J. / Edwards, David N. / Horton, Mark C. / Rowley-Conwy, Peter Alexander / Evershed, Richard P. (2004): Short- and Long-term Foraging and Foddering Strategies of domesticated Animals from Qasr Ibrim, Egypt. In: Journal of Archaeological Science 31, p. 1273–1286. Deakin, William J. / Rowley-Conwy, Peter Alexander / Shaw, Charles H. (1998): The Sorghum of Qasr Ibrim: Reconstructing DNA Templates from Ancient Seeds. In: Ancient Biomolecules 2, p. 117–124. Edwards, David N. (1996): The Archaeology of the Meroitic State: New Perspectives on its Social and Political Organisation. Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 38. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 640. Oxford: Archaeopress. Edwards, David N. (1998): Gabati. A Meroitic, Post-Meroitic and Medieval Cemetery in Central Sudan. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 3/1. London: The Sudan Archaeological Research Society. Edwards, David N. (1999): Meroitic Settlement Archaeology. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Recent Research in Kushite History and Archaeology. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. British Museum Occasional Paper 131. London: British Museum Press, p. 65–110. Edwards, David N. (2004): The Nubian Past. An Archaeology of the Sudan. London: Routledge. Evershed, Richard P. / van Bergen, Pim F. / Peakman, Torren M. / Leigh-Firbank, Elisabeth C. / Horton, Mark C. / Edwards, David N. / Biddle, Martin / Kjølbye-Biddle, Birthe / RowleyConwy, Peter Alexander (1997a): Archaeological Frankincense. In: Nature 390, p. 667–668. Evershed, Richard P. / Bland, Helen A. / van Bergen, Pim F. / Carter, James F. / Horton, Mark C. / Rowley-Conwy, Peter Alexander (1997b): Volatile Compounds in Archaeological Plant Remains and the Maillard Reaction during Decay of Organic Matter. In: Science 278, p. 432–433.

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Eyre, Christopher J. (1994): The Water Regime for Orchards and Plantations in Pharaonic Egypt. In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 80, p. 57–80. Fernández Martínez, Victor Manuel (1983): La cultura alto-meroitica del norte de Nubia. La necrópolis de Amir-Abdallah. 2 Vols. PhD Dissertation. Madrid: Universidad de Madrid. Firth, Cecil Mallaby (1927): The Archaeological Survey of Nubia. Report for 1910–1911. Cairo: Government Press. Fuller, Dorian Q. (1999): A Parochial Perspective on the End of Meroe: Changes in Cemetery and Settlement at Arminna West. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Recent Research in Kushite History and Archaeology. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. British Museum Occasional Paper 131. London: British Museum Press, p. 203–217. Fuller, Dorian Q. (2004): Early Kushite Agriculture: Archaeobotanical Evidence from Kawa. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 8, p. 70–74. Fuller, Dorian Q. (2015): The Economic Basis of the Qustal Splinter State: Cash Crops, Subsistence Shifts and Labour Demands in the Post-meroitic Transition. In: Zach, Michael H. (ed.): The Kushite World. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. Vienna, 1–4 September 2008. Beiträge zur Sudanforschung. Beiheft 9. Vienna: Citypress, p. 33–60. Fuller, Dorian Q. / Edwards, David N. (2001): Medieval Plant Economy in Middle Nubia: Preliminary Archaeobotanical Evidence from Nauri. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 5, p. 97–103. Geus, Francis (2004): Pre-Kerma Storage Pits on Sai Island. In: Kendall, Timothy (ed.): Nubian Studies 1998. Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the International Society of Nubian Studies, August 21–26, 1998, Boston, Mass. Boston: Department of African-American Studies. Northeastern University, p. 45–51. Hildebrand, Elisabeth (2007): The Significance of Sai Island for Early Plant Food Production in Sudan. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Mélanges offerts à Francis Geus: Égypte – Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III, p. 173–181. Kimber, Clarissa T. (2000): Origins of domesticated Sorghum and its early Diffusion to India and China. In: Smith, C. Wayne / Frederiksen, Richard A. (eds.): Sorghum. Origins, History, Technology & Production. New York et al.: John Wiley & Sons Inc., p. 3–98. Magid, Anwar Abdel (1989): Plant Domestication in the Middle Nile Basin – An Archaeobotanical Case Study. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 523. Oxford: Archaeopress. O’Donoghue, Kerry / Brown, Terence A. / Carter, James F. / Evershed, Richard P. (1994): Detection of Neucleotide Bases in Ancient Seeds using Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry & Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry / Mass Spectrometry. In: Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 8, p. 503–508. O’Donoghue, Kerry / Clapham, Alan J. / Evershed, Richard P. / Brown, Terence A. (1996): Remarkable Preservation of Biomolecules in Ancient Radish Seeds. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society London. Series B: Biological Sciences 263, p. 541–547. Palmer, Sarah A. / Clapham, Alan J. / Rose, Pamela J. / Freitas, Fábio O. / Owen, Bruce / Beresford-Jones, David G. / Moore, Jonathan D. / Kitchen, James L. / Allaby, Robin G. (2012): Punctuated Genome Evolution in Gossypium. In: Molecular Biology and Evolution 29/8, p. 2031–2038. Palmer, Sarah A. / Moore, Jonathan D. / Clapham, Alan J. / Rose, Pamela J. / Allaby, Robin G. (2009): Archaeogenetic Evidence of Ancient Nubian Barley Evolution from Six to Two-row indicates Local Adaptation. In: PLoS ONE 4(7): e6301 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006301). Plumley, Jack Martin (1970): Qasr Ibrim 1969. In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 56, p. 12–18. Rowley-Conwy, Peter Alexander (1989): Nubia AD 0–550 and the “Islamic” Agricultural Revolution: Preliminary Botanical Evidence from Qasr Ibrim, Egyptian Nubia. In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 3, p. 131–138.

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Rowley-Conwy, Peter Alexander (1991): Sorghum from Qasr Ibrim, Egyptian Nubia, c. 800 BC– AD 1811: A Preliminary Study. In: Renfrew, Jane M. (ed.): New Light on Early Farming. Recent Developments in Palaeoethnobotany. Edinburgh: University Press, p. 191–211. Rowley-Conwy, Peter Alexander / Deakin, William J. / Shaw, Charles H. (1997): Ancient DNA from Archaeological Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) from Qasr Ibrim, Nubia. Implications for Domestication and Evolution and a Review of the Archaeological Evidence. In: Sahara 9, p. 23–34. Rowley-Conwy, Peter Alexander / Deakin, William J. / Shaw, Charles H. (1999): Ancient DNA from Sorghum. The Evidence from Qasr Ibrim, Egyptian Nubia. In: van der Veen, Marijke (ed.): The Exploitation of Plant Resources in Ancient Africa. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, p. 55–61. Ryan, Philippa / Cartwright, Caroline / Spencer, Neal (2012): Archaeobotanical Research in a Pharaonic Town in Ancient Nubia. In: The British Museum Technical Research Bulletin 6, p. 97–107. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny / Englund, Gertie / Nordström, Hans-Åke (1981): Late Nubian Cemeteries. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 6. Sweden: Scandinavian University Books. Shaw, Charles H. / Deakin, William J. / Rowley-Conwy, Peter Alexander (2001): Ancient DNA from Archaeological Sorghum from Qasr Ibrim, Egyptian Nubia: Methods and Results. In: Millard, Andrew (ed.): Archaeological Sciences ’97. Proceedings of the Conference held at the University of Durham. 2nd–4th September 1997. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 939. Oxford: Archaeopress, p. 96–99. Shinnie, Peter Lewis / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.) (2004): The Capital of Kush 2. Meroë Excavations 1973–1984. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 20. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Shinnie, Peter Lewis / Shinnie, Margaret Blanche Elizabeth (1978): Debeira West. A Medieval Nubian Town. University of Ghana Expedition to Nubia. Warminster, Eng.: Aris & Phillips. Skoflek, István / Arendas, Vera (1981): Abdallah Nirqi 1964. Plant Remains from the Nubian Excavation. In: Mitteilungen des Archäologischen Instituts der Ungarischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 10/11, p. 215–219. Smith, Oliver / Clapham, Alan J. / Rose, Pamela J. / Liu, Yuan / Wang, Jun / Allaby, Robin G. (2014a): Genomic Methylation Patterns in Archaeological Barley show de-Methylation as a Time-dependent Diagenetic Process. In: Scientific Reports 4, 5559 (doi: 10.1038/srep05559). Smith, Oliver / Clapham, Alan J. / Rose, Pamela J. / Liu, Yuan / Wang, Jun / Allaby, Robin G. (2014b): A Complete Ancient RNA Genome: Identification, Reconstruction and Evolutionary History of Archaeological Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus. In: Scientific Reports 4, 4003 (doi:10.1038/srep04003). Stemler, Ann B. L. (1990): A Scanning Electron Microscopic Analysis of Plant Impressions in Pottery from Sites of Kadero, El Zakiab, Um Direiwa & El Kadada. In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 4, p. 87–106. Strouhal, Eugen (1984): Wadi Qitna and Kalabsha-South: Late Roman, Early Byzantine Tumuli Cemeteries in Egyptian Nubia. Vol. I: Archaeology. Publications Universita Karlova, Czechoslovak Institute of Egyptology. Prague: Charles University. van der Veen, Marijke (1991): The Plant Remains. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony / Daniels, Charles M. (eds.): Soba. Archaeological Research at a Medieval Capital on the Blue Nile. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 12. London: Royal Geographical Society, Thames & Hudson Ltd., p. 264–273. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2002): The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia. Pagans, Christians and Muslims along the Middle Nile. London: British Museum Press.

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Wendorf, Denver Fred / Close, Angela E. / Schild, Romuald (eds.) (1993): Egypt during the Last Interglacial. The Middle Paleolithic of Bir Tarfawi and Bir Sahara East. New York: Springer Science and Business Media, p. 532–573. Wild, John Peter (1997): Cotton in Roman Egypt: Some Problems of Origin. In: Al-Rafidan XVIII. Festschrift Hideo Fujii. Tokyo: Kokushikan University, p. 287–298. Wild, John Peter / Wild, Felicity C. (1998): The Textiles. In: Sidebotham, Steven E. / Wendrich, Willemina Z. (eds.): Berenike 1996. Report of the 1996 Excavations at Berenike (Egyptian Red Sea Coast) and the Survey of the Eastern Desert. Leiden: Research School, p. 223–236. Wild, John Peter / Wild, Felicity C. (2005): Rome and India: Early Indian Cotton Textiles from Berenike, Red Sea Coast, Egypt. In: Barnes, Ruth (ed.): Textiles in Indian Ocean Studies. London: Routledge Curzon, p. 11–16. Wild, John Peter / Wild, Felicity C. / Clapham, Alan J. (2007): Irrigation and Spread of Cotton growing in Roman Times. In: Archaeological Textiles Newsletter 44, p. 16–18. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1991): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 8: Meroitic Remains from Qustul Cemetery Q, Ballana Cemetery B, and a Ballana Settlement. Part 1: Text and Figures. Part 2: Registers and Plates. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition Vol. VIII. Chicago, Ill.: The Oriental Institute. Woolley, Charles Leonard / Randall-McIver, David (1910): Karanog. The Romano-Nubian Cemetery. University of Pennsylvania. Egyptian Department of the University Museum. Eckley B. Coxe Junior Expedition to Nubia. Vols. III and IV. Philadelphia: University Museum. van Zeist, Willem A. (1983): Fruits in Foundation Deposits of Two Temples. In: Journal of Archaeological Science 10, p. 351–254. van Zeist, Willem A. (1987): The Plant Remains. In: Vila, André (ed.): Le cimetière Kermaique d’Ukma Ouest. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique, p. 247–255.

Michaela Binder

The Role of Physical Anthropology in Nubian Archaeology Introduction Human remains represent the most direct remains for studying past human populations and as such constitute one of the most important sources of information for archaeology’s ultimate goal – to reconstruct life in the past. Due to its exceptional climate and long tradition of archaeological research, the wealth of large, wellpreserved collections of skeletal human remains from Nubia, covering all time periods of settlement in the region from the Palaeolithic onwards, is unparalleled elsewhere in Africa, if not worldwide. Their potential for informing and complementing research in many fields of wider cultural and historic significance – such as migration, kinship, health, living conditions and occupation – was already recognised early on in the history of the field. Ever since, anthropological remains have become an integral part of archaeological research in Nubia.

Historic Developments The First and Second Archaeological Survey of Nubia Bioarchaeological interest in skeletal collections from Nubia began only in the early 20th century, with the First Archaeological Survey of Nubia, between 1907 and 1911 (Adams 1977, 71). Over the course of the survey, an estimated 7500 skeletons and mummified remains from 151 cemetery sites, dating to all major periods of Nubian history between the Palaeolithic and the Islamic Periods, were unearthed. In a pioneering attempt, the excavators were the first to be accompanied by a group of anatomists led by Australian physician G. E. Smith, who immediately studied the human remains uncovered during the excavations in the field. When the plan of campaign for this Survey was being drawn up it was foreseen-and the results have more than justified these anticipations-that, whether the archaeological harvest might consist of objects such as Egypt provides or the products of a different culture, the value of such discoveries would be relatively slight unless something was known of the people whose handiwork the archaeologists were examining. Thus the study of the human remains became an integral part of the scheme of the Archaeological Survey of Nubia. (Smith/Jones 1910, 1)

The resulting corpus of data was comprehensively published by Smith/Jones (Ibid). In addition to recording sex and age-at-death, acquisition of metric data for addressing questions of racial typology in line with contemporary archaeological and anhttps://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-006

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thropological research themes initially represented the major focus of the work of Smith and his co-workers (for a thematic discussion see below). It was not so much the question of the preservation or destruction of a large mass of anthropological material of great intrinsic interest and value that had to be considered, as the fact that no adequate archaeological survey of Nubia could be accomplished if the racial aspect of the problem were left out of account. (Smith/Jones 1910, 2)

However, they soon realised that the human skeletal remains also displayed a large amount of evidence of pathological changes, prompting Jones (1938) to state that ‘anatomist was soon forced to turn pathologist.’ Staying true to their scientific ethic, the team consequently recorded the observed changes as well (Fig. 1). Despite obvious methodological shortcomings when compared to modern standards – such as the lack of systematic evaluation of present pathological conditions, the inaccuracy of some of the diagnoses, and the fact that the researchers were highly selective in only recording some diseases, such as tuberculosis and gout while thoroughly ignoring others (Waldron 2000) – these studies are still considered a milestone in the early development of palaeopathology (Armelagos/Mills 1993; Baker/Judd 2012). Of the large number of human remains excavated during the Archaeological Survey of Nubia, only a small fraction survives and is available for study. Only skeletal elements showing evidence of pathology were exported from Nubia (Waldron 2000), from where they were dispersed over several different institutions in the UK, Australia and Egypt such as the Duckworth Collection in Cambridge, the Natural History Museum and the Royal College of Surgeons in London. The large sample donated to the latter was destroyed during bombardment in 1941 (Molleson 1993). The whereabouts of many of the other skeletons remain unaccounted for. With the raising of the Aswan Dam, Nubia saw another large scale archaeological salvage campaign, termed the Second Archaeological Survey of Nubia, between 1929 and 1934. Amongst the large number of sites documented during this time period, again 76 were cemeteries (Adams 1977, 76). This time the human remains were studied on site by the Egyptian anatomist A. M. el-Batrawi and published in a separate report in 1935. His work focused largely on demographic and typological aspects of the skeletal collections excavated, while the recording of pathological changes was considered of minor importance due to the fact that ‘with regard to the anatomical variations and pathological conditions, there is little to add to Dr. Wood Jones’s lengthy and instructive treatment of them’ (Ibid., VII).

Other Developments in the First Half of the 20th century Aside from the efforts of the anatomists accompanying the Archaeological Survey of Nubia, the remainder of the archaeological expeditions to Upper and Lower Nubia during the first half of the 20th century contributed little to the study of the

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Fig. 1: Selection of forearm fractures recovered during the first archaeological survey of Nubia (reproduced from Smith/Jones 1910, pl. XXX).

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Fig. 2: H. Wellcome’s excavations in the cemetery at Jebel Moya 1910–1914.

Fig. 3: Different ‘types’ of skulls identified by Smith and co-workers (Smith/Jones 1910, pl. XXV).

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human remains. As was usual during the early days of archaeology, human remains received but scant attention and thus were neither recorded properly nor curated for future work. There were just a few exceptions to this unfortunate rule, despite the fact that interest in studying human skeletal remains was sketchy at best compared to the interest in other components of the Archaeological Survey of Nubia. F. Ll. Griffith, who directed the Oxford University Excavations at Sanam 1912–13, states in a report: ‘The late Sir Armand Ruffer, who stayed several days with us towards the end of our work, […], and contented himself with taking a few jaws, leg bones, etc. which showed traces of disease or other noticeable conditions.’ (Griffith 1923, 81). Nevertheless, based on the fact that population history and racial classification represented the main, if not the only justification for studying human remains, most of these early expeditions contented themselves with collecting skulls, considered to be the most important part of the skeleton to address assumed research questions (Baker/Judd 2012). H. Junker of the Austrian Academy of Science in Vienna carried out extensive cemetery excavations at the lower Nubian sites of Toschka, Arminna and el-Kubaniah (Junker 1919; 1920) between 1910 and 1912. A sample of 800 skulls excavated during these missions was donated to the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria, where they remain to the present day (Berner 2012). In a similar manner, only a smattering of skulls remains from Reisner’s excavations at Kerma in 1912–1913 (Reisner 1923), currently held in the Duckworth Collection at the University of Cambridge. During the last of several extensive excavation seasons in the New Kingdom and C-Group cemeteries at Aniba directed by the German Egyptologist G. Steindorff, a basic assessment regarding the racial affinities of the C-Group burials was carried out by H. Falconer, who was not a physical anthropologist by training (Raue 2016, 441, 459–460). A further seven skulls out of several hundred excavated burials were exported to Germany and analysed by F. Kretschmar (Voss 2016, 241– 244). The skeletons encountered in the New Kingdom burials excavated during earlier seasons, however, remained unstudied. Another sample of skulls was collected during the excavations of the Egypt Exploration Society in the New Kingdom cemetery at Sesebi (Blackman 1937) and later acquired by the Natural History Museum in London. Albeit not located in Nubia itself, but nevertheless significant for physical anthropology and research in the cultural and demographic history of Nubia, were the excavations by Sir H. Wellcome at Jebel Moya near the modern city of Sennar between 1910 and 1914 (Addison 1949). Over 3000 skeletons dating from the 1st century BC to 4th century AD (or later) were uncovered (Fig. 2), documented on site and then shipped to Europe for further study. Unfortunately, due to poor handling and storage of the original assemblage only a small number of crania, mandibles and post-cranial elements had survived by the time the study of physical anthropology finally began at Cambridge in the 1950s (Mukherjee et al. 1955). Further complicating matters, the field records of the mission’s physical anthropologists turned out

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to be largely erroneous and useless for further study. Mukherjee and co-workers again focused on inferring population affinities based on craniometrics, although with the major innovation of applying complex statistics to the analysis of the metric data. The collection remains in the Duckworth Collection at Cambridge, where it continues to be subject to bioarchaeological studies (e.g. Irish/Konigsberg 2007).

The Aswan High Dam Campaigns The next major boost for bioarchaeological research in Nubia came with the construction of the Aswan High Dam between 1960 and 1971 and the ensuing inundation of the Nile Valley between Aswan and the Second Cataract. This catalysed another major wave of archaeological expeditions. Teams from 21 countries recorded over 1000 sites, of which over a third were excavated (Adams 1977, 86). In contrast to the salvage campaigns during the Archaeological Survey of Nubia, the human remains did not have to be analysed immediately in the field; but a significant number of the skeletal assemblages resulting from the Aswan High Dam campaigns were retained and distributed to museums and university departments all over Europe and the US for further scientific analysis. Among the most important of these collections are the multi-period samples excavated by the Scandinavian Joint Expedition that included over 1500 individuals (Vagn Nielsen 1970); the Medieval Christian cemeteries of Kulubnarti and Semna-South excavated by the Universities of Kentucky and Colorado (Adams et al. 1999) respectively; and the large C-Group, Roman and Christian samples excavated by the Austrian Archaeological Institute at Sayala (Bietak/Jungwirth 1966). Due to their accessibility, their predominantly excellent state of preservation and completeness, large sample sizes and, additionally, their good contextual data and documentation, these collections became the core source of bioarchaeological data of ancient Nubian populations and have been the object of an extensive number of research projects up until the present day.1 Of further importance are the human skeletal remains of the Bishops of Faras excavated by the UNESCO High Dam’s Polish Mission and later studied by the Polish physical anthropologists T. Dzierzykray-Rogalski and E. Promińska (e.g. Promińska 1966; Dzierżykray-Rogalski 1985). After the Aswan High Dam campaigns in the 1960s, archaeological interest, and consequently the number of expeditions working in Sudan, steadily increased over the following decades. With the flooding of Lower Nubia research moved south into the regions of Upper Nubia, in particular into the Dongola Reach and the area around Meroe. Naturally, this also led to the discovery of a large number of cemeteries and their consequent human remains. Notable examples were the excavations

1 Armelagos 1969; Van Gerven et al. 1973; 1977; 1981; 1990; 1995; Hrdy 1978; Martin et al. 1984; Kilgore et al. 1997; Turner et al. 2007; Hibbs et al. 2011.

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in the vast necropolises at Kerma,2 in the New Kingdom cemetery at Soleb (SchiffGiorgini 1971; anthropological studies by Billy/Chamla 2011), the Kerma, New Kingdom, Napatan and Meroitic cemeteries on Sai Island,3 as well as the Post-New Kingdom, Meroitic and Christian cemeteries at Missiminia (Billy 1985). By the time of these projects, physical anthropological analysis of the excavated remains had become a standard element of the repertoire of archaeological work even though some missions continued to disregard skeletons, either reburying them or simply leaving them in the ground.4

The 21st century – The Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage Project In 2004, dam construction on the Nubian Nile was once again resumed with the construction of the Merowe Dam at the Fourth Cataract, prompting the renewal of major salvage excavations in its wake. Commencing in 1999, international teams surveyed the area upstream of the projected dam and again uncovered well over 10,000 sites from all major time periods of Nubian history from the Palaeolithic onwards (Welsby 2008). Among those sites were also several notable large assemblages of human remains. Over 1000 graves from the Kerma and Medieval Christian Periods were uncovered within the concession area of the British Museum where the remains are now stored and made available for study. Of particular interest is a group of exceptionally well-preserved, naturally mummified bodies dating to the Medieval Christian Period (aylor/Antoine 2014; Vandenbeusch/Antoine 2015) (Fig. 3). Another large assemblage dating to the Meroitic to Christian Period was recovered at el-Ginefab and is now under curation at Arizona State University (Baker 2008). Partially due to the necessity created by the wealth of new material to be processed, as well as major methodological advances in the study of human remains, bioarchaeology in Nubia has again seen a major boost in recent decades. Most importantly, this is characterised by the discipline’s move away from its identity as a simple, unavoidable by-product of archaeological excavation of cemeteries into being a field of research in its own right. With new scientific approaches and methods such as stable isotope analysis, the potential information to be gained from human remains has advanced greatly beyond demography and racial typology, making bioarchaeology an invaluable asset to historical and archaeological research. This is

2 Anthropological studies: Simon 1989; Simon et al. 1990, various smaller reports were published by C. Simon in and various annual reports in Bonnet et al., Les fouilles archéologiques de Kerma (Soudan), Genava between 1980 and 1995. 3 Anthropological studies by Murail et al. 2004 (Kerma burials); Murail 2012 (New Kingdom burials). 4 E.g. Pre-Napatan/Napatan cemetery at Missiminia by Vila (1980).

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Fig. 4: Tattoo of St. Michael on the inner side of the thigh of a woman from Mis Island, 7th/8th century AD (Taylor/Antoine 2014; © Trustees of the British Museum).

also becoming increasingly recognised by archaeologists, leading to an increasing number of comprehensive research projects. Notable examples of ongoing work are at the multi-period site of al-Khiday 2 (e.g. Buckley et al. 2014; Jakob 2014), the Neolithic cemetery of Kadruka (Reinold 2001), at the New Kingdom sites of Amara West,5 Sai (Budka, pers. comm.) and Tombos,6 the Meroitic cemeteries at Dangeil, Berber or Sai, as well as work on the Medieval Christian assemblages of Mis Island (Fig. 4). One remaining shortcoming of bioarchaeology in Sudan is the absence of education in physical anthropology at universities within the country itself (Jakob/Ali 2011). Consequently, all work has always been left in the hands of foreign researchers, facilitated by the fact that the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) in Sudan still allows the export of human remains for research purposes in the form of long-term loans. The importance of studying and curating human remains in a way that ensures long-term accessibility has increasingly been recognised by the local antiquities authorities as well, and hence has gained widespread support. Supported by the Institute for Bioarchaeology at the British Muse-

5 E.g. Binder 2014; Binder/Spencer 2014; Binder et al. 2014. 6 E.g. Buzon 2006a; 2006b; Buzon/Simonetti 2013; Buzon et al. 2016.

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um in London, training courses in bioarchaeology have been held at the National Museum since 2011, with the aim of providing local archaeologists with a basic understanding of the methods and possibilities of studying human remains. These efforts have also led to the creation of a modern bioarchaeology lab at NCAM.

Topics in Nubian Bioarchaeology Population History But in Nubia the significance of the question of race as an adjunct to the archaeological study becomes enormously enhanced by the fact that it is certainly the determining cause of modification of culture revealed in the graves so far examined. (Smith/Jones 1910, 1)

During the early days of research in Nubia, physical anthropology was predominantly concerned with racial differentiation and population history. This is not per se a reflection of the political views of those involved, but rather conforms to general trends within contemporary physical anthropology. The scientific study of humanity gradually emerged in the 17th century, arising alongside the impulse to make a general systematization and classification of nature – of which the species Homo was conceived to be part (Shapiro 1959). Fuelled by observations of 17th and 18th century explorers encountering numerous new ‘races’ of human populations in the New World, Africa and Oceania, racial differentiation became the main field of interest within physical anthropology and remained so until well into the 20th century. These endeavours resonated with the early archaeological community, where the integration of concepts from evolutionary theory in the natural sciences resulted in the formulation of theories of cultural diffusionism, explaining cultural development and change in terms of population movement (Trigger 1990, 150–151). Consequently, archaeology gladly welcomed the physical anthropological identification and classification of different ‘types’ of people in the skeletal record of archaeological sites. This trend was particularly prevalent in early research on Ancient Nubia, mainly due to two factors – the unique geographical location and the scientific background of those involved. The Upper Nile Valley forms a natural corridor between the Mediterranean and the tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and represents the easiest route for travel. It thus may have provided an attractive thoroughfare as early as the Early Upper Palaeolithic. From pre-dynastic times onwards, the region grew in importance as a trade route, along with its wealth in natural resources that attracted the attention of its powerful neighbours to the North. This would have led to frequent cycles of movement of people to and from the area (Adams 1977, 13). Moreover, with G. E. Smith early physical anthropology in Nubia involved as a participant one of the strongest proponents of cultural diffusionism active at that time.

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Fig. 5: Cranio-facial changes from the Mesolithic to the Meroitic Period related to masticatory function (Carlson/Van Gerven 1977, reproduced with permission from the authors).

This anatomist’s views are most drastically showcased in his 1914/15 paper on the distribution of mummification around the world, in which he explained the presence of this practice by the migration of Egyptians – which he viewed as the most superior of cultures – along coastal routes as far afield as the west coast of South America (Smith 1914). Based on the influential works of Morton (1844), who was the first to define an ‘Egyptian’ type of crania, Smith and his team applied craniometric analyses in order to distinguish different groups associated with each cultural phase and attributed them to different ‘racial’ types or mixtures thereof (Fig. 5), mainly characterised by varying degrees of ‘Negroid’ influence on the ‘Egyptian substratum’ (Smith/Jones 1910). Based on these results and further anthropological analyses of skulls from the British and Austrian excavations in Nubia, Junker (1921) shortly thereafter published a treatise about the introduction of the ‘Negro race’ in Egypt and Nubia, which he established around 1500 BC with the advances of the Egyptian pharaohs into the southern regions. Morant (1925) further defined an earlier ‘Upper Nile Type’, predominantly featuring Negroid traits, and a later ‘Lower Nile Type’ with less obvious Negroid features, which he simply explained by the diffusion of Egyptians into Nubia and the consecutive replacement of the Negroid

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peoples. This interest in population history based on osteometric analysis,7 and to a lesser extent on cranial and dental non-metric traits,8 prevailed well into the 20th century and beyond, even though research questions and interpretations eventually became markedly more diverse, moving away from the simple negroid/nonnegroid-dichotomy of the field’s early days. However, the scientific value and validity of morphological studies of population history have been increasingly called into question, ethical issues of the underlying research questions aside. Studies of population history using metric information of skulls and other skeletal elements rely on the premise that phenotypical expressions in the bones and teeth reflect the genetic background of an individual (Pietrusewsky 2008). Similar appearances therefore indicate relatedness while differences between individuals or diachronic changes occurring within a population are explained by the presence of non-local individuals. Classes of data used in these studies can either be metric parameters or non-metric traits, which are nonpathological, anatomical variants of morphological traits in bones or teeth (Larsen 2015, 362). However, despite a general heritability, both metric and non-metric traits are also influenced by non-genetic factors such as environmental factors or masticatory function (Ibid., 363). These observations also have great significance for the study of ancient Nubian population history. Doubts about models of population discontinuity had already been raised by Batrawi (1945; 1946), and later by Mukherjee et al. (1955). But only in the aftermath of the Nubian High Dam campaigns did they became more systematically challenged by archaeologists (Adams 1968) and bioarchaeologists alike (e.g. Vagn Nielsen 1970; Van Gerven et al. 1973). During the 1970s, Van Gerven and co-workers examined a large number of skeletons excavated during the Aswan High Dam campaigns, and were attempting to shed further light on the underlying reasons for observed changes in cranial morphology (e.g. Carlson/Van Gerven 1977). These authors attributed the apparent differences between populations noted by earlier researchers to changes in masticatory function due to variant subsistence strategies over time. Rather than citing population discontinuity as the cause, their model suggested that the shift to softer food sources led to a reduction in mechanical loading of the cranio–facial muscles, which gradually resulted in cranial and facial morphological changes (Fig. 5). In addition to extrinsic factors, genetic phenomena like gene drift – alterations in the genetic pool of a population developing through random mutation rather than gene flow from outside – have to be taken into consideration for significant changes in the morphological appearance of individuals as well. Thus, due to the multifactorial nature of many of these traits, skeletal and dental heritability remains

7 E.g. Batrawi 1935; 1945; 1946; Mukherjee et al. 1955; Ehgartner 1962; Vagn Nielsen 1970a; Strouhal 1973; Billy 1981; Billy/Chamla 1981; Strouhal/Jungwirth 1984; Simon 1989. 8 E.g. Greene 1966; Johnson/Lovell 1995; Irish 2005; Irish/Konigsberg 2007.

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imprecisely understood (Carson 2006; Hughes/Townsend 2013). Even though the methodologies applied in quantitative studies of population history have vastly improved over past decades, moving from simple uni- and bi-variate statistics and indices to complex multivariate analyses, the results of which are now referred to as ‘biodistance studies’, remains problematic due to the complex background of the observed parameters (Larsen 2015, 361). In recent decades new pathways of testing the validity of morphometry revealed themselves with the introduction of genetic research.9 The results were again inconclusive. While the study of Ousley/Jones (2010) attests to the significance of gene drift, natural selection and extrinsic, environmental factors as major determinants in the development of morphological traits and any variability within a population rather than external input through migration (Ibid.), Harvati/Weaver (2006) revealed significant differences in susceptibility to environmental influences between different regions of the skull. As consequence the question of validity is far from being resolved and bioarchaeologists worldwide continue to rely on osteometric and non-metric biodistance studies in identifying biological relationships of individuals or populations. This is the case because these are central parameters in contextualising many issues pertaining to both biological (demography, disease, diet, epidemiology) as well as cultural and social parameters (Pietrusewsky 2008). This also applies to the study of Ancient Nubia, since migration to and within the region remains a question central to research in all time periods of Nubian history. A considerable number of bioarchaeological studies, most of them concentrating on dental morphology, have all revealed results in support of the evolutionary model of Nubian population history and have argued for a relatively homogeneous population from at least the Neolithic Period onwards.10 In addition, craniometric analysis was applied by M. Buzon (2006a) to address questions concerning the potential presence of Egyptians in Nubian towns in the wake of the occupation of Nubia by the Pharaonic Empire during the New Kingdom Period. So far, testing the results or indeed acquiring new insights through DNAanalysis unfortunately seems hardly possible because the climatic conditions in Nubia probably prevent the preservation of DNA in skeletal remains (Grupe 1995). The data of Krings et al. (1999) once again addressed population history in Nubia using mitochondrial DNA from 300 modern and ancient Egyptian and Nubian samples. The results somewhat contradict those of the morphological studies, showing that there has been both north-south as well as south-north migration along the Nile Valley within the last 5000 years, the former occurring earlier than the latter.

9 E.g. Konigsberg/Ousley 1995; Harvati/Weaver 2006; Ousley/Jones 2010; Herrera et al. 2014. 10 E.g. Small 1981; Calcagno 1986; Irish/Turner 1990; Turner/Markowitz 1990; Larsen 1997, 312; Irish 2005.

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However, they acknowledge that further analysis of ancient samples is required to clarify when these migrations occurred, and/or to correlate them with known historical events such as the colonisation of Nubia. A certain degree of variation was also detected by Keita/Boyce (2005) when analysing variations of Y-chromosome haplotypes within the Nile Valley region, even though, again, their results are not conclusive enough to reconstruct population history. However, with the rapid advancement of the technologies used in analysing aDNA, it is possible that new ways to detect fragments of aDNA even in the poor preservation conditions of dry and hot regions such as Nubia will be devised. The introduction of another scientific research method, the analysis of stable strontium and oxygen isotope ratios, has recently opened a new avenue for exploring origin and mobility, and has garnered renewed interest in the population history of ancient Nubia (Buzon et al. 2007). Reflecting the isotopic composition of the groundwater consumed by humans and animals, the Sr/O isotope ratio in bone and teeth at least in theory allows for identification of non-local individuals because geographic regions can vary considerably in their isotope signatures. In Nubia, this approach has recently been applied to skeletal human remains from the New Kingdom cemeteries at Tombos and Amara West in order to test long-held assumptions about the presence of Egyptian individuals as part of the Pharaonic administrative apparatus controlling the region during the New Kingdom occupation of Nubia (e.g. Buzon et al. 2007; Buzon/Simonetti 2013). Despite successful identification of apparently non-local individuals, geological research has recently pointed out the potential impact of aeolian sands on the sedimentary composition of the Nile and its tributaries as a major confounding factor in the strontium signatures of water in the Nubian Nile Valley (Woodward et al. 2015). Subject to a high variability depending on climatic conditions at given times, these could severely alter isotopic values and therefore potentially lead to erroneous conclusions about the presence of non-local individuals.

Studies in Palaeopathology and Population Health With the overwhelming majority of researchers being concerned with racial typology and population affinities, the systematic bioarchaeology study of health and living conditions in Nubia remained largely under-represented until the 21st century. In light of the long history of palaeopathology going back to the early studies conducted during the First Archaeological Survey of Nubia (Smith/Jones 1910), this seems somewhat surprising. Despite being pioneering, these studies contributed little to the general orientation of research in the century to follow. Throughout most of the 20th century, reports on pathological changes were confined to short appendices to skeletal reports, usually detailing some interesting or unusual cases11 but 11 Vagn Nielsen 1970a; Dastugue 1976; 1981; Canci 2006.

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failing to provide any systematic, population-based appraisals or published casestudies. Two major developments eventually enabled change to this approach in studying diseases in Ancient Nubia: a general paradigm-shift in bioarchaeology, away from case studies to the adoption of the bio-cultural approach (Brothwell 1968; Brothwell/Chiarelli 1973) and the Aswan High Dam campaigns. Research began to recognise that parameters such as health, diet and living conditions also have significant influence on the understanding of settlement patterns; as well as cultural and sotecio-economic patterns in the past. This, combined with the wealth of new, well-preserved and, more importantly, well-excavated collections of human remains exported to Europe and particularly to the US, allowed scholars to approach life in the past from a new angle and consequently led to an increasing number of systematic, bioarchaeological studies. The first population-based study of disease patterning in ancient Nubia followed in the wake of the Aswan High Dam campaigns and was carried out by Armelagos (1969), analysing disease patterns in the Wadi Halfa region based on human remains from the Meroitic, X-Group and Christian Periods. In representing one of the first comprehensive population-based studies of pathological changes, this study is still considered a milestone in modern bioarchaeology up to the present day. Following Armelagos’ seminal work, a growing number of researchers started undertaking systematic studies, and held a focus on aspects of changes in health and disease patterns in relation to socioeconomic or cultural changes.12 Since then, a significant number of studies have employed a wide range of different health indicators such as skeletal growth, childhood mortality, dental disease (Beckett/Lovell 1994), general stress markers,13 activity (Schrader 2012; Schrader/Buzon 2017), and markers of trauma.14 In addition, due to the excellent preservation of human and mummified remains, the accessibility of the material for biomolecular analyses as well as its geographic location, Nubia has long been recognised as a major area of interest for the detection and study of the origins, evolution and epidemiology of specific infectious diseases and parasitic conditions. Tuberculosis, already noted during the First ASN, is attested in skeletal remains from around 3000 BC onwards (Roberts/Buikstra 2003, 167). Zink et al. (2006) have found evidence of DNA of Leishmaniasis, a parasitic infectious disease, in Christian mummies from Wadi Halfa. Based on similar findings in Middle Kingdom remains at Thebes in Egypt, they argue that the disease may have been present in Nubia much earlier and that sub-Saharan Sudan seems to be the most likely place of origin. Mummified remains from the same skeletal assemblage also provided the earliest known evidence for Schistosomiasis mansoni

12 E.g. Van Gerven et al. 1981; 1995; Hummert/Van Gerven 1983; Martin et al. 1984. 13 E.g. Buzon 2006; Buzon/Judd 2008; Hurst 2013; Binder 2014; Binder/Spencer 2014; Jakob 2014; 2015. 14 Filer 1992; Kilgore et al. 1997; Alvrus 1999; Judd 2002; 2004; 2006; Buzon/Richman 2007.

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Fig. 6: The earliest complete skeleton with secure evidence of metastatic carcinoma from Amara West, 12th century BC (Binder et al. 2014; © Trustees of the British Museum).

which, until then, had been assumed to be a fairly recent phenomenon in Nubia (Hibbs et al. 2011). The second form of this parasitic disease, S. haematobium, had already been detected in mummified remains from Sai Island dating to the Kerma ancien Period (Bouchet et al. 2003). Human remains from Nubia further contributed significantly to the study of cancer in antiquity, comprising a significant number of examples of skeletal manifestations of cancer (Fig. 6). These remains included the earliest complete individual suffering from metastatic carcinoma (Binder et al. 2014). Nevertheless, despite this wealth of data created by modern, scientific research projects, much remains to be learned about the biological history of Ancient Nubia and its potential impact on major cultural developments over time. While some areas and time periods like the New Kingdom occupation of Nubia or the Medieval Christian Period are beginning to be reasonably well-covered in modern bioarchaeological research, large gaps still remain for others such as the Neolithic, pre-Kerma, Kerma, Napatan and Meroitic Periods – despite the availability of a large number of well-preserved human remains for nearly all of the above mentioned (see Table 1). However, with the increasing recognition and acceptance of the potential value of skeletal and mummified human remains for addressing many of the questions held

University, Berlin)

C. Näser (Humboldt

52

Mograt Island

New Kingdom, Meroitic

Joint Expedition)

by the SJE

Various (Scandinavian

1546

excavated

Neolithic, Kerma,

A-Group – Christian

Sites

O. Langlois (SFDAS)

2015/2016

1960–1970

1984– Since 2014

J. Reinold,

1982–1987

2001–2003

since 2005

since 2001

Dates excavated

P. Chambon,

Neolithic

Kadruka

~400

Y. Lecointe (SFDAS)

188

Neolithic

S. Salvatori, D. Usai

Ghaba

198 (SARS)

Neolithic

S. Salvatori, D. Usai

R12

NDR – Site

Meroitic

Neolithic,

197

of Neuchatel)

burials

Mesolithic,

(University

Neolithic

El-Khiday 2

44 Mesolithic, M. Honegger 105 Neolithic

Mesolithic/

Excavator(s)

El-Barga

Size of the collection

Dating

Site name

Khartoum, Sudan

of Copenhagen, Denmark

Laboratory, University

Biological Anthropology

Museum Sudan

SFDAS, Sudan National

Université de Geneva, CH

Liverpool University, UK

British Museum, UK

Padova Museum, Italy

Kerma, Sudan

Current location

Tab. 1: List of archaeological sites with significant assemblages of human remains analysed anthropologically.

Jakob 2015

Buzon 2006

Johnson/Lovell 1995,

e.g. Vagn Nielsen 1970;

E. Maines (in prep.)

Irish/DeGroote 2016

Madella et al. 2014

Judd 2008, Irish 2008,

Jakob 2014

Buckley et al. 2014;

Crèvecoeur 2012

Key publications of anthropological aspects

The Role of Physical Anthropology in Nubian Archaeology

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Dating

Kerma / Middle Kingdom

Kerma

Kerma

Kerma

Middle Kingdom/ C-Group

(Neolithic?)/Middle Kingdom/C-Group/ Roman

Site name

Toshka

Kerma

Kerma

Abu Fatima

Mirgissa

El-Kubanieh

Tab. 1 (continued)

220 skulls

354 skulls, 278 mandibles

c. 40

>500

307

58

Size of the collection 1912

Dates excavated

H. Junker (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna)

J. Vercoutter (SFDAS)

S. A. Schrader (Leiden University), S. T. Smith (University of California/ Santa Barbara)

C. Bonnet (University of Geneva)

1910–1911

1963–64

since 2015

1974–

G. A. Reisner (Havard 1912–1917 University, Boston Museum of Fine Arts

H. Junker (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna)

Excavator(s)

Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria

Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France

Leiden University

Kerma University of Geneva, Switzerland

University of Cambridge (Duckworth Collection), England

Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria

Current location

Toldt 1919

Billy 1976, Dastague 1976

Schrader, Sarah A./ Smith, Stewart T. 2017

e.g. Simon 1989, de Carvalho 2002, Thompson et al. 2008

e.g. Filer 1992; Judd 2002, 2004, 2006; Buzon

Gruber-Menninger 1926

Key publications of anthropological aspects

118 Michaela Binder

C-Group/Pan-Grave Roman/Medieval

New Kingdom/ Post-New Kingdom

New Kingdom

New Kingdom

New Kingdom

New Kingdom – Napatan

New Kingdom – Napatan

Sayala

Amara West

Sai Island

Sesibi

Shellal

Tombos

Hannek

c. 15

>100

157

33

>50

c. 300

650

S. A. Schrader (Leiden University), S. T. Smith (University of California/ Santa Barbara)

S. T. Smith (University of California, Santa Barbara)

C. M. Firth (Archaeological Survey of Nubia)

A. Blackman (EES)

J. Vercoutter (SFDAS, University of Lille) J. Budka (University of Munich)

M. Binder N. Spencer (British Museum, London)

M. Bietak (Austrian Archaeological Institute, Cairo)

since 2015

since 2000

1907

1937

1972–73 since 2015

2009–2016

1961–1965

Leiden University

Purdue University, Michigan, USA

University of Cambridge (Duckworth Collection), UK

Natural History Museum, London, UK

Sai Island, Sudan

British Museum, London, UK

Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria

Akmenkalns 2018

Buzon 2006, Buzon/ Richman 2007

Smith 1908, Smith/Jones 1910; Buzon 2006

Lisowski 1952, 1959

Murail 2012; Wohlschlager/ Stadlmayr 2018

Binder 2014; Binder/ Spencer 2014; Binder et al. 2014

Strouhal/Jungwirth 1984

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Dating

New Kingdom/ Meroitic?

Meroitic – Medieval

Meroitic – Medieval Christan

Meriotic – Medieval Christan

Meroitic

Meroitic

Meroitic-Medieval Christan

Site name

Soleb

Arminna

Missiminia

Semna-South

Sai Island

Dangeil

Al-Ginefab

Tab. 1 (continued)

103

98

100–150

592

>400

450 skulls

32 skulls

Size of the collection

B. Baker (Arizona State University)

Museum, NCAM)

S. M. Ahmed (British

J. Anderson

V. Francigny (SFDAS)

2007–2009

since 2000

1976, Since 1996

F. Geus

1966–1968

1974

1911–1912

1970

Dates excavated

J. Vercoutteur

Oriental Institute of Chicago

A. Vila (CNRS)

H. Junker (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna)

M. Schiff-Giorgini (University of Pisa)

Excavator(s)

Arizona State University, USA

Dangeil, Sudan

Sai Island, Sudan

Arizona State University, USA

Centre d’Antropologie, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France

Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria

Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France

Current location

Diaz-Zorita Bonilla/ Baker 2011

in prep. A. Pierri, M. Saad

in prep. T. Dupras

Field notes by Zabkar/ Smith (Zabkar/Zabkar, 1982); Hrdy 1978, Alvrus 1999

Billy 1985; Crubézy et al. 1999, Wapler et al. 2002

–

Billy/Chamla 1981; Irish 2005

Key publications of anthropological aspects

120 Michaela Binder

Meroitic-Post-Meroitic

Medieval

Medieval

Medieval

Jebel Moya

Kulubnarti

Ghazali

Mis Island

>500

87

406

98 crania, 139 mandibles

>100

D. Welsby (SARS, British Museum)

A. Obłuski (Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology)

W. Y. Adams (University of Kentucky)

H. Wellcome

D. Welsby (SARS, British Museum)

2005–2006

since 2015

1979

1910–1914

1994–1995

British Museum, London University of Michigan, USA

Gebel Barkal Museum, Karima, Sudan

University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

Natural History Museum, London, UK

British Museum, London, UK

Antoine in prep. Sohler 2011; Papers on mummified remains in Taylor and Antoine 2014; Vandenbeusch/ Antoine 2015

in prep. J. Ciesielska, R. Stark

e.g. Armelagos 1969, Van Gerven et al. 1981, Kilgore 1997, Hibbs et al. 2011

Mukherjee et al. 1955; Irish/Konigsberg 2007

Judd 2013

This list is not aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of all cemetery sites with human remains in Sudan. It only includes major sites that are or were analysed by physical anthropologists and the results of these studies are or will be published accordingly. The references only cover publications of aspects of physical anthropology. I am deeply grateful to the following individuals who kindly provided me with details on the skeletal collections excavated, curated or analysed by them: J. Budka (University of Munich), I. Crevecoeur (PACEA, University of Bordeaux), T. Dupras (University of South Florida), V. Francigny (SFDAS), T. Jakob (Durham University), E. Maines (University of Paris-Sorbonne), M. Saad (NCAM), S. A. Schrader (Leiden University), R. Stark (McMaster University), D. Usai and K. Wiltschke-Schrotta (Natural History Museum, Vienna).

Meroitic – Medieval Christian

Gabati

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by archaeologists and researchers about Nubian history, and with the practice of integrating bioarchaeologists into research designs from the outset of projects, this picture is likely to change in coming years.

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Claude Rilly

Languages of Ancient Nubia Of the different local languages spoken in antiquity in Nubia and central Sudan, only one, Meroitic, is well documented, although it has not yet been fully deciphered. It was actually the only language of Nubia endowed with a specific script, but only in its latest stages, from the 3rd century BC onward. Other languages, such as those of the Medjay people, the Blemmyes and the Nobas, are known only from traces in the Egyptian and Meroitic texts, which can nevertheless be compared with their medieval (Old Nubian) or modern (Bedja) offshoots. These languages belong to two phyla (or linguistic superfamilies) still present in the region today, namely Afro-Asiatic and Nilo-Saharan, which appeared in early Neolithic times at the latest.

1 Language Classification The languages of Africa have been classified, in a seminal study by the American linguist J. H. Greenberg in 1963 into four phyla: Afro-Asiatic, Niger-Congo, NiloSaharan and Khoisan. This classification system, with some minor corrections, is still regarded as valid fifty years later. Niger-Congo, the most important phylum in terms of number of languages and of speakers, is marginally present in Sudan today. No ancient language attested in the area can be linked with this family.1 There are also no traces of Khoisan languages, whose speakers are considered the most ancient population in terms of genetics in Africa, and thus in the world (cf. Henn et al. 2011).2 The Afro-Asiatic phylum (Fig. 1) is divided into six families: Ancient Egyptian, Semitic, Berber, Cushitic, Omotic and Chadic. There is no consensus on when and where these languages split, but a low estimate is c. 7500 BC. The majority of specialists locate the proto-language in the north-eastern quarter of the continent. Afro-Asiatic is characterised by, among other things, the existence of a grammatical gender (with feminine suffix *t), a rich consonant system, consonantal word stems (CC or CCC) and the initial position of the verb in the sentence (VSO).3 Due to 1 Niger-Congo (which should be called Niger-Congo-Kordofan) is represented in Sudan by several languages spoken in the Nuba Mountains and included in a linguistic family called Kordofanian. It seems to have split very early from the rest of the phylum, Niger-Congo proper. The Kordofanian tribes (Tegali, Heiban, Koalib, Kau, etc.) were probably the earliest population settled in the Nuba Mountains, although no date can reasonably be suggested (cf. Thelwall/Schadeberg 1978). 2 The Khoi or Khoe were formerly called ‘Hottentots’ and the San ‘Bushmen’. Recent linguistic studies tend to divide the so-called ‘Khoisan phylum’ into three distinct phyla and one isolate language, Hadza in Tanzania (Dimmendaal 2011, 328–329). 3 These features are preserved in the core of Afro-Asiatic (Egyptian, Semitic, Berber). Cushitic and Chadic do not share all of them, probably as a result of non-Afro-Asiatic substratum languages, still more influential in the case of Omotic. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-007

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Fig. 1: Genealogical tree of the Afro-Asiatic language family.

the chronological distance between languages, just a handful of common lexical roots have been preserved. Two Afro-Asiatic families were present in antiquity in Nubia, namely Ancient Egyptian and Cushitic (Medjay language, Blemmyan and possibly the language of the A-Group).4 The Nilo-Saharan phylum is the most fragile of the superfamilies postulated by Greenberg. He aggregated in this group no less than twelve of the sixteen linguistic families previously recognized in Africa, including languages formerly regarded as isolates. However, the core of this phylum, called Eastern Sudanic, is a family whose coherency can hardly be questioned. It includes major language groups like Nilotic (Dinka, Nuer, Luo, Maasai, etc.) and Surmic (Mursi, Didinga, etc.). Within this family, a cluster of closely related languages has been evidenced by the present author (Rilly 2010, 157–350) and termed ‘Northern East Sudanic’ or NES (Fig. 2). The original cradle of this group can be located along the banks of the Wadi Howar, a former tributary of the Nile in north-western Sudan. The split of these languages resulted from the desiccation of the river and more generally from the desertification of the Eastern Sahara. It took place around the mid-3rd millennium BC, when the Lower Wadi Howar, the part of the tributary closer to the Nile, dried up and the inhabitants were forced by drought to migrate to the banks of the Nile (Rilly 2016). The NES languages have many similarities. There is no grammatical gender, the

4 The presence of Berber speakers in the Middle Nile Valley in antiquity has been repeatedly suggested by chance resemblances between some Old Nubian and Berber words. A detailed rebuttal of this hypothesis will be found in Jakobi/Kossmann, forthcoming; see Rilly 2010, 187–188 for a preliminary review of this article and Rilly 2014, 1170 for further arguments.

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Languages of Ancient Nubia

Proto-Northern East Sudanic

Meroitic Proto-Taman

Proto-Nubian

Proto-Nile Nubian

Proto-Western Nubian

Old Dongolawi

Nara

Birgid

Midob

Kordofan Nubian

Proto-Nyima

Kenuzi

Dongolawi

Old Nubian

Nobiin

Tama

Mararit

Nyimang

Afitti

Fig. 2: Genealogical tree of the Northern East Sudanic languages (NES).

consonant system is very limited, basic word stems include a radical vowel (CVCor VC-) and the verb stands in final position. They share a great number of common lexical roots, thanks to their relatively short time depth, compared with the greater antiquity of the Afro-Asiatic or Nilo-Saharan phylum. Meroitic and Early Nubian, spoken in Nubia and Northern Sudan in antiquity, belonged to this group, which also included Pre-Noubadian, the language of a tribe that merged with the northern Nobas, and presumably the language of the C-Group.

2 The Language of the Medjay Prior to the New Kingdom, only scarce elements from the neighbouring languages can be deduced from Egyptian sources, chiefly from the execration texts of the 12th Dynasty.5 Five major chiefdoms are quoted with the names and parentages of their successive rulers over three generations. From south to north, these chiefdoms are Kush, Shaat, Awseq, Ubat-Sepet and the Medjay people.6 The Egyptian scribes

5 Sethe 1928 (Execration texts from Berlin Museum); Posener 1940 (Saqqara); 1987 (Helwan); Koenig 1990 (Mirgissa). Some earlier execration texts, dated to the 6th Dynasty, were published in Abu Bakr/Osing 1973; Osing 1976; Wimmer 1993; Grimal 1985; Espinel 2013. They already include the word ‘Medjay’ (written Mdȝ) as a particular ethnic designation. They also quote some eighty personal names for all the tribes and chiefdoms of Nubia, albeit without reference to their ethnicity, so that they cannot be used as easily as the Middle Kingdom lists. 6 The location of Ubat-Sepet and Awseq is unknown (see Zibelius 1972, 72, 104). Kush is already Kerma. Posener (1958, 64–65) suggested an early location between the Second Cataract and Sai and was followed by Zibelius (1972, 167). This suggestion, however, predates the Swiss excavations

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introduced a first distinction between the populations of Kush and Shaat, called Nehesyu, and the Medjay, who are first quoted as a single tribe and then as the denizens of two places called Awseq and Ubat-Sepet. As shown by the contemporary Semnah Dispatches, the Medjay were nomads living in desert areas in the vicinity of wells, whereas the Nehesyu were settled along the Nile. The small corpus of personal names from the execration texts cannot of course be analysed in terms of statistics. However, the list of Egyptian phonemes occurring in the transcriptions of the local names is significant: Kush:

A, j, y, w, n, r, h, s, k, t

Medjay:

A, j, a, w, b, f, m, n, r, h, H, s, k, g, t, T, D

The distinction between Nehesyu and Medjay in the execration texts of the 13th Dynasty was not only geographical and sociological, but also linguistic. The names from Kush display a restricted range of consonants, whereas the Medjay names contain most of the Egyptian stock. The rich consonantal inventory that characterises the names of the Medjay chiefs is typical for Afro-Asiatic, and in this case for Cushitic languages. The connection between the Medjay, the Blemmyes in Late Antiquity, and the modern Beja, whose language constitutes the northern branch of Cushitic, has often been suggested on solid bases.7 el-Sayed gives convincing examples of connections between several Medjay and Beja words. Some Medjay place-names in Egyptian transcriptions from the Old Kingdom include a first element jb that can be convincingly linked to Beja Ɂaba ‘khor’ (see el-Sayed 2004, 359–360).8 The brother of a Medjay soldier whose stela was found in Gebelein (1st Intermediate Period) is called jhtk, a name that appears later again in Blemmyan, a closely related language, as eiaxatek ‘Yahatek’ in a letter from Qasr Ibrim (5th century AD) (el-Sayed 2004, 358–359).9 This name belongs to a category of names which respectively include the proper name of an animal (here perhaps ‘wild pig’, in Beja yaag) followed by the word for ‘man’, Beja tak. Finally, a small text in Medjay language might be preserved in the correspondence of a late Ramesside scribe, Djehutymose, who wrote a magic spell in a foreign language as he was on an expedition in Nubia. Several phonological, lexical and morphological elements point towards a language related to Beja (see Rilly 2014, 1171).10 In later times, the Medjay are mentioned

in Kerma under Charles Bonnet’s direction. It is now impossible to imagine that the execration lists would have omitted the most dangerous power of the time in the region. 7 Recent syntheses are Zibelius-Chen 2014, 290–291; el-Sayed 2004; 2011 and Breyer 2014, 197– 198. The name ‘Beja’ is certainly derived from Medjay, see Rilly 2014, 1175. 8 A khor is a small seasonal stream in Sudan. 9 The letter is published in FHN III, 1171–1172. Additional Medjay words attested in Egyptian texts with possible reflexes in Beja can be found in Zibelius-Chen 2011, 6–7, 13, 58, 59, 69, 79, 107, 126, 140, 159, 171, 173, 179, 180, 190, 192, 194, 222, 225, 226, 238, 243, 270, 276, 282, 288. 10 The papyrus is published in Demarée/Leach/Usick 2006, 27–28, pl. 27.

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again as enemies of the Kushites in late Napatan texts.11 They are probably quoted in Meroitic texts alongside other enemies, but with a different name which has not yet been identified. In the Greek and Latin texts, they are called Troglodytes. Their territory between the Nile and the Red Sea is called Troglodytice, but Pliny the Elder mentions that its ancient name was Midoe or Midioe (Desanges 2008, 4, 60–61), which is obviously the old word Medjay. They reappear in the 4th century AD in the inscriptions of the Axumite King Ezana, where they are called in Ge’ez and Greek Buga,12 an old version of the modern name Beja.

3 Blemmyan Language The Blemmyes are another Cushitic speaking tribe, or more likely a subdivision of the Medjay/Beja people, which is attested in Napatan and Egyptian texts from the 6th century BC on. The English spelling of their name is derived from the Greek transcription Βλέμμυες. The first mention occurs in the stela of the Napatan king Anlamani, who fought against a people named Bw-l-hA-jw in Egyptian transcription. Some decades later, the name of the Blemmyes appears in Demotic texts, where it is spelt Blhlm, Blhm or Blhw. It seems that a part of this tribe migrated to Egypt and successfully integrated into the society. In the Napatan texts, the names of the Blemmyes disappear after Anlamani’s stela. This is rather unexpected since they were among the fiercest enemies of the late kingdom of Meroe. They cannot be confused with the Medjay because in the late Napatan texts (Amannote-erike, Harsiyotef and Nastasen) the latter are designated by their proper name Mdd or Mdy. The disappearance of the Blemmyes is counterbalanced by the appearance of mysterious new enemies, called Rhrhs or Rrhs. This term, which probably has to be read L(h)lhs, raises suspicion. With its reduplicated syllables, it sounds rather like a derogatory nickname, mocking an unintelligible language, like drdr ‘foreigner’ in Egyptian and its counterpart ‘Barbaroi’ in Greek. In addition, the name of their chief in Harsiyotef’s stela is ¢-r-wA, which is strongly reminiscent of later Blemmyan names of princes beginning with an element Χαρα- whose meaning is certainly ‘Lord’ (Beja haɖa). Finally, this tribe, in Amannote-erike’s inscription, is said to come to Meroe from the north; that is, from the region between the Nile and the Red Sea.13 For these reasons, the L(h)lhs are considered by the present author an alternative name for the Blemmyes. From the 3rd

11 Their name is spelt Mdd in Amannote-erike, l. 46, Harsiyotef, l. 78, 81, 85, 89 and Mdy in Nastasen’s stela, l. 61, 64. 12 In Greek Bouga-eitai with a suffix used for ethnic names. The Ge’ez letter gämel or the Greek gamma in this word are transcriptions of an affricate /ʤ/ (English j), see Rilly 2014, 1175. 13 The Kushites, like the Egyptians, located north according to the direction of the Nile, so that ‘north’ in Meroe was actually ‘north-east’.

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century BC to the end of antiquity, the Blemmyes are regularly mentioned in the Greek sources, beginning with Eratosthenes’ description of Nubia (FHN II, 559–560). From the end of the 4th century until the 6th century AD, they held parts of Lower Nubia and some cities of Upper Egypt. Different documents from this time in Greek or Coptic include Blemmyan personal names, which can be linked with modern Beja words, for instance, Kirbeitak (FHN III, 1208), which means ‘the Elephant’s man’, in Beja kuribi tak, or Yasatek (ibid., 1161), ‘the Dog’s man’, in Beja yasi tak.14 These comparisons show that the Blemmyan language is so close to modern Beja that it is probably nothing else than an early dialect of the same language. In this case, the Blemmyes can be regarded as a particular tribe of the Medjay.

4 The A-Group and the C-Group Languages The A-Group population was settled along the Nile between the north of Aswan and the Second Cataract, from approximately 3700 until 2800 BC. It predates the Wadi Howar diaspora, so that it is unlikely that the language of the A-Group might have belonged to the Northern East Sudanic family. However, the range of possibilities remains wide, from Eastern Sudanic and other branches of Nilo-Saharan to Cushitic. It could even be a scion of an extinct Afro-Asiatic family of which Egyptian is the only known member. As writing was not yet widespread in Egypt during the lifetime of the A-Group, there are very few names known in Egyptian transcriptions that can be connected with this culture and virtually none with certainty. el-Sayed attempted to compare the names of the chiefdoms of Lower Nubia such as Wawat or Irtet with Cushitic phonology and lexicon and concluded that these names could have belonged to this language family (el-Sayed 2011, 46–49; Zibelius 2014, 278–280).15 This is probably the most economical solution, since the language of the Medjay, which clearly belongs to the Cushitic family, is already attested in the region by the names recorded in the execration texts of the 6th Dynasty. The Medjay in this case could be the remnants of a larger population of Cushitic speakers, which included the A-Group and possibly the earliest inhabitants of Kerma at the time it was still called Yam, as suggested by el-Sayed (2011, 118–119; Zibelius-Chen 2014, 284–287). However, in the latter two cases, the Egyptian data are too scanty to provide reliable linguistic evidence. The C-Group replaced the A-Group in Lower Nubia after a four century gap, due to the Egyptian expansion southwards. This new culture extended much farther, until Kerma. It has been suggested by some similarities in the material culture that

14 See Browne 2003 for these names and others and for the translation of the sole Blemmyan text attested so far, an ostracon found in Saqqara by Quibell. 15 These place-names are, however, attested in Egyptian texts after the disappearance of the A-Group.

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a part of the A-Group, which had sought refuge in the oases of the Western Desert such as Laqiya Arba’in, returned to their ancestral home (see Török 2009, 54, 63– 64, with further references). On the other hand, the appearance of the C-Group around 2400 BC fits chronologically with the scattering of the Northern East Sudanic speaking tribes from the desiccating Lower Wadi Howar. Different groups from this diaspora, with apparently different dialects, settled along the Nile.16 The linguistic situation of the region between the First and the Third Cataract might have been a complex one. Cushitic was represented by the Medjay nomads, and possibly by the remains of the A-Group population (see above), whereas Northern East Sudanic was represented by groups from the Wadi Howar diaspora. The Egyptian sources are of little help for identifying a language particular to the C-Group. The Execration texts from the 6th Dynasty mention C-Group chiefdoms such as Wawat, Itjet and Satju, but also the Medjay, Yam (early Kerma) and many others. The personal names they yield are mixed without any mention of the political entity to which they belong (Osing 1976, 160–164). As for the execration texts of the 12th Dynasty, they mention names of princes only for the Medjay chiefdoms, Sai and Kush. The ‘Nubian’ mercenaries from Gebelein, whose names (predominantly Egyptian) are recorded in their funerary stelae in the 2nd Intermediate Period, did not belong to the C-Group, but to the Medjay. Several scholars, including the present author, have attempted to find traces of the C-Group language in a mysterious substratum present in the modern Nubian language spoken in this region, Nobiin, and its medieval ancestor, Old Nubian. Although 70 % of its vocabulary is related to Dongolawi, the other Nubian language of the Nile Valley, Nobiin has specific terms for many items of the basic lexicon, such as ‘dog’, ‘house’, ‘white’, ‘water’, etc. These words are clearly non-Nubian. Nor are they Meroitic, as attested by the word for ‘dog’, múg in Nobiin, wel in Dongolawi, wle, pronounced /wal / in Meroitic.17 As this substratum is obviously neither Meroitic nor Egyptian, it has been suggested that it could be the remnants of the C-Group language. A first attempt was made by Peter Behrens (1981) to link it with Berber. He was particularly struck, like many before him, by the perfect similarity between Nobiin (and Old Nubian) ámán ‘water’ and the Berber languages, all of which have exactly the same word for the same meaning. A later study by two specialists respectively of Nubian and Berber, still to be published, shows that almost all these similarities are irrelevant

16 One of these groups, the Proto-Kushites, became dominant in the Kingdom of Kerma, renamed ‘Kush’, from at least the end of the 2nd millennium BC on (see below). Another related group settled in Sai Island. The list of rulers of Kush and Sai in the execration texts shows minor differences in the consonant inventory. For instance, the velar fricative ḫ is well attested in Sai and absent in Kush, see Rilly 2007–2008, 305–306. 17 The Proto-Nubian word for ‘dog’ is *wel or *weel and is not borrowed from Meroitic wle, but closely related. Compare English ‘long’ and French ‘long’, whose resemblance is due to their common Indo-European origin.

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or adventitious.18 After Behrens, Bechhaus-Gerst formulated a second hypothesis. Early Old Nubian/Nobiin speakers would have entered the Nile Valley before the 15th century BC, more than a millennium before the Dongolawi speakers. There, they would have borrowed many words from neighbouring Cushitic languages, Berber and Meroitic.19 Her theory has been discussed at length and refuted by the present author (Rilly 2008, 220–221; 2010, 274–285). One of the main counter-arguments is the linguistic affiliation of the substratum present in Old Nubian/Nobiin. It clearly belongs to another Northern East Sudanic language and more precisely to the same sub-group as Nara, a modern language of Western Eritrea.20 Accordingly, I advanced for the first time two hypotheses to explain historically the presence of this language in Northern Nubia (Rilly 2008, 222). It could have been the language of the C-Group, which would have mixed with the form of Nubian spoken by the Noubades, when they invaded Lower Nubia in the 4th century AD. Alternatively, this language may have been spoken by immigrants who settled in Lower Nubia in the 1st century AD, after it had been depopulated during the last millennium BC, according to Adam’s interpretation (1982). More recently, I reconsidered the question because both hypotheses implied the presence of a non Meroitic population in Lower and Middle Nubia, at least in the first three centuries AD. However, during this period, there are no archaeological traces of an alternative culture beside the Meroitic settlements and cemeteries. The absence of specific cultural features from populations freshly introduced in Lower Nubia according to the second hypothesis would be particularly unexpected. On the other hand, a massive influx of alien populations to Lower Nubia in the first centuries AD is not supported by the physical anthropological studies that emphasise a remarkable genetic stability during the entire Meroitic Period (Rilly 2014, 1185). It is therefore more probable that the mixture of Nubian and a language related to Nara occurred outside of the valley and that the Noubades, when they invaded Lower Nubia in the 4th century AD, already spoke this mixed language. This would imply that the Noubades came to exist as the result of a merger between an early Nubian group and a tribe related to the Nara, which can be termed ‘Pre-Noubades’.21 Over the course of time, the Nubian speaking part of this people became dominant,

18 Jakobi/Kossmann, forthcoming. I am very grateful to Angelika Jakobi for sharing this manuscript with me. See Rilly 2008, 219–220 for further details. Astonishing similarities like Nobiin and Berber words for ‘water’ are not uncommon, for example, Persian bad ‘bad’ or Mbabaram (native Australian language) dog ‘dog’. 19 Bechhaus-Gerst 1984/85, 7–134; 1989a, 85–96; 1989b; 1996. 20 For instance, Proto-Nubian *ijji/Nobiin súu/Nara sàa ‘milk’; Proto-Nubian *nor-e/Nobiin kùdùúd / Nara kùdùur-kù ‘short’; see Rilly 2014, 1182–1183 for further examples and details. 21 This term must be preferred to ‘Pre-Nubian’ used in Rilly 2010 and 2014, since this substratum is absent from other Nubian languages such as Dongolawi. The Pre-Noubades were probably a western split of a group of which the Nara, settled east of Sudan, are linguistically the last survivors.

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reducing the Pre-Noubadian language to vestigial elements. Finally, the study of the substratum found in Nobiin, although it provides significant information on the distant past of Nubian and Nara, teaches us nothing about the language of the C-Group, which still remains ungraspable.

5 Early Nubian Speakers Nubian is the most famous family of the NES language group (see above, section 1) and the largest in terms of population with some 900,000 speakers today. It comprises five extant languages: Kenuzi-Dongolawi22 and Nobiin along the Nile, from Aswan to Old Dongola; Ajang (or Kordofan Nubian) in the north of the Nuba Mountains in Kordofan; Midob and Birgid in Darfur. All these languages are closely related, regardless of the substratum present in Nobiin (see section 4), so that the split from their common ancestor, Proto-Nubian, probably did not take place earlier than the 1st millennium BC. In the early Middle Ages, the three kingdoms founded by the Nubians on the ruins of the Meroitic empire had three different languages: Old Nubian in Nobadia, Old Dongolawi in Makuria, Soba Nubian in Alodia.23 In the mid3rd century BC, Eratosthenes in his Geographica describes the Noubai as ‘a great people (…) divided in many independent kingdoms’ (FHN III, 559). The late Napatan stela of king Nastasen (c. 350 BC) already mentions two different tribes of Nubians, against which two separate expeditions were sent. In this text and in the earlier stela of king Harsiyotef, the Nubians are called Mḫ. This is obviously a Meroitic transcription of their own name for themselves (endonym), which can be reconstructed as *mag-ur or *mag-i (Rilly 2014, 1178). This term was already attested in Egyptian texts from the New Kingdom in the form m(‘)gȝ or mgj, which designates a corps of young warriors originating from Nubia.24

22 Kenuzi (or Kunuz, locally called Mattokki) is a scion of Dongolawi, originally spoken by a group of Nubians who accompanied Kanz el-Dawla, one of the last kings of Makuria, in his exile near Aswan c. 1320 AD. 23 Old Nubian is the ancestor of Nobiin and could be more properly termed ‘Old Nobiin’, cf. Bechhaus-Gerst 2011. Texts in Old Dongolawi are attested, albeit in small number so far (Łatjar 2006). From the Nubian language of Soba, only some graffiti of Musawwarat and fragments of an inscription on marble are known, to which a list of four words translated into Coptic on an ostracon from Saqqara (Erman 1897) must be added, see Rilly 2014, 1180, note 62 for the ascription of this list to Soba Nubian. This language was replaced by Arabic after the Funj conquest of Alodia in the 16th century AD. 24 In Amenhotep III’s victory stela from Semna (BM EA 657), the viceroy of Nubia Merymose fights against the land of Ibhet (localisation unknown) and captures 250 Magi-soldiers. In other texts, they are employed by the Egyptians as auxiliary troops. The Egyptian and Napatan spellings of this ethnonym are clearly related since they both use the signs of the child and the leg as determinatives, probably because they were teenager infantrymen.

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This word is later used by Meroites in the form Mho in early or very late texts (REM 0521, 0129, 0094). However, the most common name of the Nubians in Meroitic texts is Nob, pronounced /nuba/, which literally means ‘slaves’.25 This is, as are many exonyms in Africa and elsewhere, a derogatory term, which, however, spread from Meroitic to Greek and from Greek to Ge’ez, Arabic and ultimately to the European languages.26 Due to increasing aridity in the north-western part of Sudan where they led a pastoral life, the Nubian tribes launched many raids against the Kingdom of Meroe in the first centuries AD, which were met with harsh reprisals from the Kushite authorities. It became common for Meroitic officers to boast in their biographical texts about the number of Nobas they had killed or taken prisoner (Rilly 2014, 1179, note 57). However, at the turn of the 4th century, a Nubian kingdom had finally succeeded in settling in the vicinity of Nubia and had exchanged envoys with the Meroites. A Meroitic stela from Gebel Adda (GA 19) yields the name of its king, transcribed Trotihi. This name is one among the rare Nubian words attested so far in Meroitic. It was approximately pronounced /tarutiɣwi/ and probably contains the Nubian stem for ‘praise, blessing’ (Old Nubian tarouE ).27 After they settled in the Middle Nile Valley, it took a long time for the Nubians to write their own language. A bronze bowl from el-Hobagi written in Meroitic hieroglyphic characters (REM 1222) is the latest instance of this script attested to date and contains two sequences in a language that is possibly early Soba Nubian (Rilly 2011, 495–497). The tumulus where it was found belonged to one of the first Noba princes (c. AD 350) to have reigned over the region of Meroe. In Lower Nubia, the new rulers abandoned Meroitic and resorted to Greek for their official inscriptions; this is the case, for example, with the long graffito engraved in the temple of Kalabsha to commemorate king Silko’s victories over the Blemmyes (FHN III, 1147–1153). The first inscription in Old Nubian hitherto known is dated to AD 797 (Ochała 2014, 7–8), but the adaptation of the Coptic alphabet to the Old Nubian language is very

25 The word is related to Proto-Nubian *nogu ‘slaves’, singulative *nogu-di (cf. Dongolawi nugud ‘slave’) with regular shift of *g to b in Meroitic in labiovelar context, see Rilly 2010, 373–374. It is not, as still found in secondary literature, derived from Egyptian nbw ‘gold’: The toponym ‘Nubia’ is not attested before the Middle Ages. 26 Compare with Russian немец (nemets) ‘German’, originally ‘mute people’, i.e. ‘people without (understandable) language’, which has spread into all Slavic languages, Romanian and Magyar. The word ‘Nubian’ has only recently gained acceptance by the Nubians themselves, mainly under the influence of the western media. 27 The pronunciation of Meroitic x and h is not fully established. It seems it was /ɣ/ in Egyptian loanwords and /ŋ/ in native words, h being normally used in labiovelar context (before or after o). The use of h with vowel /i/ in Trotihi is extremely rare and betrays the foreign origin of the word. The sequence tihi, which I connected experimentally to Proto-Nubian *tegi ‘cows’ in a previous article (Rilly 2014, 1179), is more probably a verbal or adjectival form, given its final position: Old Nubian diei ‘to be many’ > Proto-Nubian *dig-ir ‘many’ seems a better etymon, even for the transcription of Nubian /d/ with t , since d in this position would have been a retroflex in Meroitic. The name would mean ‘rich in praises’ or the like.

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likely much older, since several Meroitic letters have been added to this alphabet in order to write sounds unknown to Greek and Coptic such as the velar nasal consonant (Old Nubian µ /ŋ/, like English ng) and the palatal nasal consonant (Old Nubian $ /ɲ/, like French gn). Given that the last Meroitic texts to date are a series of graffiti inscribed in the mammisi of Philae around AD 452 (alongside with the last Demotic inscription), it is difficult to imagine that this script would have been known for three further centuries without leaving any trace. It is much likelier that the invention of the Old Nubian script took place shortly after the conversion of Nubia to Christianity, in the mid-6th century.28 This script disappeared with the Islamisation of Nubia, but many supporters of the Nubian cultures in Sudan are presently struggling to revive it.

6 Meroitic Language As mentioned in Section 2 above, the inventory of graphemes included in the list of the kings of Kush and their parents from the 12th Dynasty execration texts is indicative of a language with a restricted consonant system, which is obviously not AfroAsiatic and matches the phonology of Proto-NES (Rilly 2010, 345), or of early Meroitic. There is no doubt now that ‘Kush’ in these lists designates the Kingdom of Kerma at the middle stage of its existence (Kerma moyen). In the last decades of independence of this kingdom (Kerma classique, c. 1580 BC), a list of important foreign officials was inscribed by an Egyptian scribe on the back of the Hymns to the Crown (Pap. Golenischeff) originating from Medinet el-Fayyum, which was at this time the point of departure of the oasis road connecting the Hyksos Kingdom to Kush. The names of these officials are clearly Proto-Meroitic (Rilly 2007, 5–11). These two clues tend to attest that, at least from the Kerma moyen, the Kingdom of Kerma was ruled by a Proto-Meroitic speaking elite. It has been assumed by specialists such as el-Sayed and Zibelius-Chen that the shift of the name of the Kingdom from ‘Yam’ to ‘Kush’ and the reversal of the diplomatic relations with Egypt, from peaceful barter in Harchuf’s time to open hostility in the 12th Dynasty, bore testimony of an elite shift resulting from the capture of Kerma by Proto-Meroites (el-Sayed 2011, 33, 45–46; Zibelius-Chen 2014, 288–290).29 Based upon physical anthropogi-

28 Many instances of evangelisers inventing a new script for writing the gospel in local languages are known in late antiquity/early Middle Ages, such as Mesrop Mashtots for Armenian, Wulfila for Gothic and Cyril and Methodus for Slavic. 29 This assumption implies that Yam was located in Kerma. Although Cooper has recently presented a long and detailed argument for a location in Northern Darfur (Cooper 2012), the most plausible theory in my opinion remains an equation of Yam and Kerma. It economically explains the absence of ‘Kush’ in the execration texts of the 6th Dynasty and the disappearance of ‘Yam’ in the Egyptian sources after the Old Kingdom.

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cal data from the Kerma cemeteries, the present author suggested that the ProtoMeroitic element was already present in Kerma since the early days of the city (but not as early as the Pre-Kerma Period) and became hegemonic at latest in Kerma classique (Rilly 2010, 405) but more probably at the beginning of Kerma moyen if the name change actually did signal the political situation of the kingdom. Meroitic is not only the earliest attested language belonging to the Nilo-Saharan phylum, it was the only one endowed with a specific script until the development of the Old Nubian alphabet. This script is twofold (Fig. 3): the cursive script, derived mainly from Demotic, and the hieroglyphic script, which uses a selection of Egyptian hieroglyphs and is used exclusively in religious inscriptions connected to the rulers. Both sets include 23 signs plus a word-divider (two or three dots). The writing-system is an alphasyllabary, like the Indian scripts. The basic signs include an inherent vowel /a/, so the sign b is /ba/, k is /ka/, etc. This inherent vowel can be modified by adding special signs, the vocalic modifiers e, i, o. Initial vowels are written with a specific sign a, which can read /a/ or /u/. For initial /e/ and /i/, a dummy y can be added before the vocalic modifier: ye and yi read /e/ and /i/. Geminate consonants are marked as simple: ato ‘water’, was pronounced /attu/, at ‘bread’ was /utta/. Nasals /n/ and /m/ are not written before another consonant: abore ‘elephant’ was pronounced /ambur/, kdke ‘Candace, queen-mother’ was /kandake/. In spite of its numerous defects, this writing system was used from the 3rd century BC (Fig. 4) until the middle of the 5th century AD (Fig. 5). Although this script was deciphered by F. Ll. Griffith over a century ago, the language itself remains little known. Highly standardised texts such as the funerary inscriptions (Fig. 6), which make up about one-third of the 1840 texts hitherto published,30 are generally well understood. The same cannot be said – far from it – for the royal chronicles31 and the spells of protection (amuletic oracular decrees), which include a rich and variegated vocabulary and syntax in tune with their content. Other significant categories of texts are temple inscriptions, mostly captions of the scenes, written in hieroglyphic Meroitic, graffiti of pilgrims in the religious compound, mainly in Philae, Kawa and Musawwarat, and numerical ostraca probably including administrative accounts. It is unfair to say, as repeatedly found in secondary literature, that Meroitic is an unknown or even a mysterious language. Thanks to the painstaking and patient work of Francis Ll. Griffith, Fritz Hintze, Karl-Heinz Priese, Bruce G. Trigger, Nicholas B. Millet, Inge Hofmann (for details and references, see Rilly 2007, 47–65), and more recently Jochen Hallof and the present author, the language of Kush is better known than previously, and this knowledge is regularly

30 This number includes the recent publications of the Qasr Ibrim texts, 780 in all, by Jochen Hallof 2011; 2014–2017; 2016. 31 The recent doctoral thesis by Gilda Ferrandino (2016) provides an excellent state-of-the-art description and analysis of all the royal texts.

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Fig. 3: Meroitic scripts.

increasing. The phonetic system is well-defined, with the exception of the velar approximants and the presence of /o/ in the vocalic inventory. The nominal clauses are now clearly described. In contrast, the verbal and pronominal systems are still poorly understood and require further research. Vocabulary remains a key issue. No

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Fig. 4: Earliest datable Meroitic inscription on the handle of Taneyidamani’s sistrum (c. 220 BC), from a private collection © C. Rilly.

more than approximately 140 words are fully understood, including nouns, verbs and adjectives, but also god- and place-names, postpositions, articles and adverbs. This is admittedly a meagre amount, but there are in addition more than 700 words for which tentative translations have been suggested, and this number is steadily increasing. The affiliation of Meroitic to the Northern East Sudanic linguistic family will not be discussed here and is considered settled.32 Meroitic belongs more precisely to the 32 See Rilly 2010 for the solution to this long-debated question. This affiliation was accepted by Zibelius-Chen (2014, 287) on the Nubian studies side and by Dimmendaal (2011, 313) on the Nilo-

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Fig. 5: Latest datable Meroitic inscription, graffito of Smet, priest of Isis, on the roof of the mammisi in Philae, c. AD 452); from Griffith, F. Ll (1912), Meroitic Inscriptions II, London, Pl. XXXIV (REM 0117).

Eastern branch of the NES-family, together with Nara and Nubian. These two latter language groups are genetically the closest to Meroitic and, expectedly, they display greater similarities with the ancient language of Kush than other NES languages. Due to a long span of time between their split from Proto-NES and their first written attestations, Meroitic, Nubian and Nara are not as close as, for example, three Romance languages. It is often necessary to compare reconstructed forms of ProtoNubian and Proto-NES to get a clear view of the relationship of Nubian with Meroitic. For instance, the word for ‘sun’ is in Meroitic ms, pronounced /masa/, with the article ms-l /masala/. In the Nubian group, the Nile languages have borrowed the word for ‘sun’ from Meroitic: ma0al in Old Nubian, màšà in Nobiin and masil in Dongolawi. The native Nubian word can be found in Ajang (Kordofan Nubian) ıjı and Birgid (Darfur) iizi ‘sun’. It is actually preserved in Nile Nubian with a slightly different meaning ‘heat of the day, noon’: Old Nubian Ese, Nobiin and Dongolawi ees. From

Saharan linguistics side. For a critical view of recent articles by Kirsty Rowan in favour of an AfroAsiatic affiliation, already refuted in Hintze 1955, see Rilly 2010, 30–31.

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Fig. 6: Funerary stela of the Lady Wos-Patamokhide, found in 2010 in Sedeinga (No IIS 022). © V. Francigny / SEDAU

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these forms, the Proto-Nubian word for ‘sun’ can be reconstructed as *ees-i. Given that the final *-i has triggered an umlaut in the root vowel (*a > *e), and that initial *m has disappeared in Proto-Nubian before palatal vowels *i and *e, as shown by several other examples,33 a common proto-word *maas-i for the Meroitic and the Nubian terms can be reconstructed. The similarities between Meroitic and the other NES-languages are not limited to lexical cognates. Although their morphology is a ‘light’ one, unlike Semitic or Indo-European languages, many commonalities can be found between them. An illustration may be given with the privative prefix *m(a)-.34 This is one of the two prefixes that can be reconstructed from all the NES-languages, which generally use suffixes. This shared exceptionality is the kind of evidence for related languages that is regarded as the holy grail in historical linguistics. In Old Nubian, for instance, on means ‘to love’ and m-on- ‘to hate’, in Nobiin esk- ‘to be able’ and m-esk- ‘to be unable’. In Meroitic, the same opposition can be found in dxe ‘give birth’ and m-dxe ‘virgin’, lit. ‘(woman) who has not given birth’. Finally, Meroitic shares with the other NES-languages a whole range of typological features that cannot be found in surrounding languages: the verb is in final position in the sentence, the adjective follows the noun, there are postpositions and no prepositions, and the genitive is placed before the main noun (e.g. peseto-l kdise ‘the viceroy’s sister’). However, Meroitic has innovated by developing a second genitive for alienable relations, a phrase using the postposition se ‘of’, (e.g. mreperi peseto-li-se-li ‘the steward (?) of the viceroy’). The phonology of Meroitic has been established through the writing-system, which is phonetic, but also through transcriptions of Egyptian, Greek and Latin words in Meroitic (e.g., Kisri pronounced /kaisari/ ‘Caesar’) and vice versa, and finally refined through analyses of the internal consistency of the phonemic system. Meroitic phonology is rather uncomplicated, as is the case with most of the Northern East Sudanic languages. The reader is referred to the table in Fig. 7 for a general overview (Rilly 2007, 359–407; 2010, 17–19), but some particularities are explained hereafter. Among the stops, the presence of consonant /p/ is highly dubious,35 even if it is marked with a specific sign that was inherited from Egyptian and mainly used for words borrowed from that language. The consonant /d/ has two realisations: [d] in initial position after a dental, [ɖ] in intervocalic position. This latter sound is a retroflex, pronounced with the tip of the tongue curled against the hard palate. It

33 For instance, Meroitic mlo, pronounced /malu/, and Proto-Nubian *eel-i ‘good’ (Rilly 2010, 362), from *maali. The Proto-Nubian form is similarly explained by umlaut (*aa_*i > *ee_*i) and disappearance of initial *m before *ee (*me > *ɲe- > *ye > *e). 34 The resemblance with the Sudanese Arabic negative particle mā is fortuitous, since the prefix is attested in Meroitic and Old Nubian, much before Arabs came to Sudan. 35 Transliterations of Meroitic signs are in Italics, phonetic transcriptions in square brackets, phonemes in slashes.

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Fig. 7: Consonant inventory of Meroitic. (In Italics, Meroitic signs transliterated; in Roman: phonetic values).

is acoustically very close to the trilled /r/ of Egyptian and Greek and that explains why Meroitic intervocalic /d/ was spelled as r in the transcriptions from some Meroitic words into these languages, e.g., Medewi ‘Meroe’, Egyptian Mrw.t and Greek Μερόη. The characters q and h form a set of labialized consonants, stop /kw/ and fricative /ɣw/, which are mainly used for k (= /k/) and x (= /ɣ/) before the rounded vowel o, but not exclusively, so that they are considered actual phonemes and not positional variants. The characters x and h (formerly transliterated ḫ and h) seem to have two values: /ɣ/ and /ɣw/ in loanwords from Egyptian (for example, Xs ‘Khons’ and Phome ‘Pachomius’), /ŋ/ and /ŋw/ in native words (for example, he ‘drink’, cf. Old Nubian µei pronounced /ŋi/).36 Only one fricative is attested, /s/. In related languages, a second fricative, /ɉ/, is present, but its instances cannot be reconstructed in the ancestor language, Proto-NES, so that its absence in Meroitic is not unexpected. Finally, the presence of the glide /y/ in the phonological inventory is dubious: in nearly all cases, the character y is a dummy sign used for initial vowels or hiatus in late Meroitic (yerike ‘begotten child’ vs. archaic erike) or for the transcription of long vowels. In these cases, the sign y was just a spelling convention and was not pronounced. In addition, this glide is absent in most of the related languages and did not exist in Proto-NES. There are only four vocalic signs in the Meroitic script – a, e, i, o – but the vowel system was broader, because some signs had several values. The character e was used for /e/ and /ə/ (schwa). The character o was used certainly for /u/ and perhaps also for /o/. The absence of a specific sign for /o/ is probably a shortcoming

36 Compare the double value of ch in English, /k/ in loanwords from Greek (e.g. archaeology) and /tʃ/ in other words (e.g. rich). The Old Nubian letter µ, reading /ŋ/, derived from Meroitic h x, is a strong argument in favour of this new hypothesis. However, it requires further research.

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inherited from Egyptian. In some words, it seems that /o/ was just transcribed by the unmarked inherent vowel, which is usually /a/ in this alphasyllabic writingsystem: st ‘foot’ should be transcribed /sata/, but the comparison with Proto-Nubian *os-ti (derived from *so-ti with regular metathesis) suggests that the first inherent vowel was not /a/, but /o/. Long vowels are rarely attested in writing and then mostly between stems and suffixes, so that their phonological status is uncertain. Finally, it is probable that, like all the other NES languages, Meroitic had tones, presumably two, high and low. Numerous homonymic sequences can be explained by tonal opposition, such as se-l ‘in behalf of’ and se-l ‘each’. But, like later in Old Nubian, there was no way to write them down with scripts inherited from Egyptian or Coptic, which have no tones. There are only traces of the case system that originally existed in Proto-NES. This system is also heavily eroded in Nara, but preserved in the Nubian, Taman and Nyima languages. In Meroitic, the accusative is still marked by hypercorrection with a final ending w in the royal benedictions of the funerary texts (x-mlo-l-w holkete ‘serve him a good meal’ vs. x-mlo-l holkete in private texts), but as in English or in French, the cases have become useless because of the strict word order, in Meroitic subject/object/verb. In addition, the indirect object, and sometimes the direct object, are marked in the verbal compound by a suffix x(e) (sing.) / bx(e) (plur.), probably a former personal pronoun meaning ‘(to) him/her’ / ‘(to) them’. The following example is taken from REM 0405B: Apedemki Tneyidmni pwrite elxte ‘O Apedemak, give life to Taneyidamani’, lit. ‘Apedemak o! Taneyidamani life give-him’, where the ending te is the singular optative marker of the verb el- ‘give’. The two forms of genitive have been mentioned above. The adverbial phrases (place, time, etc.) are marked by postpositions, for example, the locative postposition te ‘in’: Pilqe-te ‘in Philae’. The noun phrases are the best known part of the Meroitic grammar. It generally includes an article l or li, which has no real determinative function (it can be translated as ‘the’ or ‘a’ according to context), but does have a syntactic role, as it closes the nominal clause: ant-li ‘the priest’, ant lx-li ‘the high priest’, ant Mni-se-li ‘the priest of Amun’, ant Mni Pedeme-te-li-se-li ‘the priest of Amun of Primis’, lit. ‘priest Amun Primis-in-the-of-the’. In the last example, a second article has been added to the sub-group around Amun, Mni Pedeme-te-li ‘Amun, the (one which is) in Primis’. In the plural, the article is leb and no other form of plural is hitherto known for nouns: kdi ‘a woman’, kdi-leb ‘women’. The article can be blurred by process of assimilation or fusion: wide-l pronounced /wid(ə)la / ‘the brother’ > wi-l pronounced /willa/ (regressive assimilation); qore-l ‘the ruler’ pronounced /kwurla/ > qor pronounced /kwurra/ (progressive assimilation); ssor peseto-li-se-l ‘the scribe of the viceroy’ > ssor peseto-li-t, where -se, pronounced /s/, added to -l, pronounced /la/, becomes t, pronounced /ta/ (fusion). These noun phrases can become nonverbal sentences by adding the copula o (sing.) / kwi (plur.) : ‘he/she is’ / ‘they are’: qore-l-o or qor-o ‘he/she is the ruler’, peseto-leb-kwi ‘they are viceroys’. An optional particle wi can be added to the singular: mlolowi ‘he is a good (man)’.

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This cursory outline of the Meroitic language shows the importance of linguistic comparison with related languages for explaining its phonology, its morphology and its syntactic structures. The time has come to use this comparison not only to explain what is known, but chiefly to explore what is unknown. But this goal requires a better knowledge of the entire family of Meroitic, i.e. the Northern East Sudanic languages. Unfortunately, many of these languages are greatly endangered and several of them on the verge of extinction. For this reason and many others, it is necessary to record and preserve the rich linguistic patrimony of the Sudan and to encourage the recent efforts of the ethnic minorities in this country to promote their ancestral culture and save their languages from extinction.

Bibliography Abu Bakr, Abd el-Moneim / Osing, Jürgen (1973): Ächtungstexte aus dem Alten Reich. In: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 29, p. 97–133. Adams, William Yewdale (1982): The Coming of the Nubian Speakers to the Nile Valley. In: Ehret, Christopher / Posnansky, Merrick (eds.): The Archaeological and Linguistic Reconstruction of African History. Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, p. 11–38. Bechhaus-Gerst, Marianne (1984/85): Sprachliche und historische Rekonstruktionen im Bereich des Nubischen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Nilnubischen. In: Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika 6, p. 7–134. Bechhaus-Gerst, Marianne (1989a): Nile-Nubian Reconsidered. In: Bender, M. Lionel (ed.): Topics in Nilo-Saharan Linguistics. Hamburg: Buske, p. 85–96. Bechhaus-Gerst, Marianne (1989b): Nubier und Kuschiten im Niltal. Sprach- und Kulturkontakte im “no man’s land”. Dissertation. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere. Sondernummer. Cologne: Universität, Institut für Afrikanistik. Bechhaus-Gerst, Marianne (1996): Sprachwandel durch Sprachkontakt am Beispiel des Nubischen im Niltal. Möglichkeiten und Grenzen einer diachronen Soziolinguistik. Language Contact in Africa 3. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe. Bechhaus-Gerst, Marianne (2011): The (Hi)story of Nobiin – 1000 Years of Language Change. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Behrens, Peter (1981): C-Group-Sprache-Nubisch-Tu Bedawiye. Ein sprachliches Sequenzmodell und seine geschichtlichen Implikationen. In: Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika 3, p. 17–49. Breyer, Francis Amadeus Karl (2014): Einführung in die Meroitistik. Einführungen und Quellentexte zur Ägyptologie 8. Berlin: Lit. Browne, Gerald M. (2003): Textus blemmyicus aetatis christianae. Champaign, Illinois: Stipes Pub. Cooper, Julien (2012): Reconsidering the Location of Yam. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egyptology 48, p. 1–22. Demarée, Robert Johannes / Leach, Bridget / Usick, Patricia (2006): The Bankes Late Ramesside Papyri. London: British Museum. Desanges, Jehan (2008): Pline l’Ancien. Histoire naturelle. Livre VI. – Texte établi, traduit et commenté. 4e Partie. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. (2011): Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

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el-Sayed, Rafed (2004): ra n MDA.iw – Lingua blemmyica – Tu-bedawie. Ein Sprachenkontinuum im Areal der nubischen Ostwüste und seine (sprach-)historischen Implikationen. In: Studien zur altägyptischen Kultur 32, p. 351–362. el-Sayed, Rafed (2011): Afrikanischstämmiger Lehnwortschatz in älteren Ägyptisch. Untersuchungen zur ägyptisch-afrikanischen lexikalischen Interferenz im dritten und zweiten Jahrtausend v. Chr. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 211. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters. Erman, Adolf (1897): Miscellen – Nubische Glossen. In: Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 35, p. 108. Espinel, Andrés Diego (2013): A Newly identified Old Kingdom Execration Text. In: Frood, Elizabeth / McDonald, Angela (eds.): Decorum and Experience. Essays in Ancient Culture for John Baines. Oxford: Griffith Institute, p. 26–33. Ferrandino, Gilda (2016): Studio dei testi reali meroitici (III a.C.–V d.C.). Approccio interdisciplinare per la comprensione della evoluzione di una cultura dell’Africa Nera. Dottorato: Università degli studi di Napoli l’Orientale. FHN II = Eide, Tormod / Hägg, Tomas / Pierce, Richard Holton / Török, László (1996): Fontes Historiae Nubiorum. Textual Sources for the History of the Middle Nile Region between the Eighth Century BC and the Sixth Century AD. Vol. 2: From the mid-Fifth to the First Century BC. Bergen: John Grieg AS. FHN III = Eide, Tormod / Hägg, Tomas / Pierce, Richard Holton / Török, László (1998): Fontes Historiae Nubiorum. Textual Sources for the History of the Middle Nile Region between the Eighth Century BC and the Sixth Century AD. Vol. 3: From the First to the Sixth Century AD. Bergen: John Grieg AS. Greenberg, Joseph Herbert (1963): The Languages of Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Grimal, Nicolas (1985): Les noyés de Balat. In: Geus, Francis / Thill, Florence (eds.): Mélanges offerts à Jean Vercoutter. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique: Éditions recherche sur les civilisations, p. 111–121. Hallof, Jochen (2011): The Meroitic Inscriptions from Qasr Ibrim. Vol. 1: Inscriptions on Ostraka. Studien zu den Ritualszenen altägyptischer Tempel 9/1. Dettelbach: Röll. Hallof, Jochen (2014–2017): The Meroitic Inscriptions from Qasr Ibrim. Vol. 2: Inscriptions on Papyri. 3 Vols. Studien zu den Ritualszenen altägyptischer Tempel 9/2–4. Dettelbach: Röll. Hallof, Jochen (2016): The Meroitic Inscriptions from Qasr Ibrim. Vol. 3.1: Inscriptions on Stone, Wood, Parchment and Gourd. Part 1: Plates. Studien zu den Ritualszenen altägyptischer Tempel 9/6. Dettelbach: Röll. Henn, Brenna M. / Gignoux, Christopher R. / Jobin, Matthiew / Granka, Julie M. / Macpherson, Jeffrey M. Kidd / Rodríguez-Botigué, Laura / Ramachandran, Sohini / Hon, Lawrence / Brisbin, Abra / Lin, Alice A. / Underhill, Peter A. / Comas, David / Kidd, Kenneth K. / Norman, Paul J. / Parham, Peter / Bustamante, Carlos D. / Mountain, Joanna L. / Feldman, Marcus W. (2011): Hunter-gatherer Genomic Diversity suggests a Southern African Origin for Modern Humans. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. National Academy of Sciences 108/13, p. 5154–5162, doi: 10.1073/ pnas.1017511108 (http://www.pnas.org/content/108/13/5154; last seen: 07. 08. 2017). Hintze, Fritz (1955): Die sprachliche Stellung des Meroitischen. In: Afrikanische Studien 26, p. 355–372. Jakobi, Angelika / Kossmann, Maarten (forthcoming): Alleged Berber Loan Words in Nubian. In: Voßen, Rainer (ed.): Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika. Koenig, Yvan (1990): Les textes d’envoûtement de Mirgissa. In: Revue d’Egyptologie 41, p. 101–125. Łajtar, Adam (2006): Late Christian Nubia through Visitors’ Inscriptions. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łatjar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of

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the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series Vol. 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 321–331. Ochała, Grzegorz (2014): Multilingualism in Christian Nubia: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. In: Dotawo. A Journal of Nubian Studies 1, p. 1–50. Osing, Jürgen (1976): Ächtungstexte aus dem Alten Reich (II). In: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 32, p. 133–185. Posener, Georges (1940): Princes et pays d’Asie et de Nubie. Textes hiératiques sur des figurines d’envoûtement du Moyen Empire suivis de Remarques paléographiques sur les textes similaires de Berlin par B. van de Walle. Bruxelles: Fondation Égyptologique Reine Élisabeth. Posener, Georges (1958): Pour une localisation du pays Koush au Moyen Empire. In: Kush 6, p. 39–65. Posener, Georges (1987): Cinq figurines d’envoûtement. Bibliothèque d’Étude 101. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale. Rilly, Claude (2006–2007): Le nom de Saï et ses occurrences dans les textes méroïtiques. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Mélanges offerts à Francis Geus: Égypte – Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26. Lille: Université Charlesde-Gaulle Lille III, p. 303–312. Rilly, Claude (2008): Enemy Brothers. Kinship and Relationship between Meroites and Nubians (Noba). In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łatjar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August– 2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series Vol. 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 211–225. Rilly, Claude (2007): La langue du royaume de Méroé. Un panorama de la plus ancienne culture écrite d’Afrique subsaharienne. Bibliothèque de l’École des hautes études, sciences historiques et philologiques 344. Paris: Champion. Rilly, Claude (2010): Le méroïtique et sa famille linguistique. Collection Afrique et langage 14. Société d’études linguistiques et anthropologiques de France 454. Louvain/Paris: Peeters. Rilly, Claude (2011): Les chouettes ont des oreilles. L’inscription méroïtique hiéroglyphique d’el-Hobagi REM 1222. In: Rondot, Vincent / Alpi, Frédéric / Villeneuve, François (eds.): La pioche et la plume autour du Soudan, du Liban et de la Jordanie. Hommages archéologiques à Patrice Lenoble. Paris: Presses de l’Université Paris-Sorbonne, p. 481–499. Rilly, Claude (2014): Language and Ethnicity in Ancient Sudan. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 1169–1188. Rilly, Claude (2016): The Wadi Howar Diaspora and its Role in the Spread of East Sudanic Languages from the Fourth to the First Millennia BCE. In: Pozdniakov, Konstantin (ed.): Reconstruction et classification généalogique: tendances actuelles. Paris: Faits de Langues, p. 151–163. Sethe, Kurt (1928): Die Ächtung feindlicher Fürsten, Völker und Dinge auf altägyptischen Tongefässscherben des Mittleren Reiches nach den Originalen im Berliner Museum herausgegeben und erklärt. Abhandlungen der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 1926. Phil.-Hist. Klasse 5. Berlin: Akademie der Wissenschaften. Thelwall Robin / Schadeberg, Theo (1983): The Linguistic Settlement of the Nuba Mountains. In: Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika 5, p. 219–231. Török, László (2009): Between two Worlds. The Frontier Region between Ancient Nubia and Egypt 3700 BC–AD 500. Probleme der Ägyptologie 29. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Wimmer, Stefan (1993): Neue Ächtungstexte aus dem Alten Reich. In: Biblische Notizen 67, p. 87–100.

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Zibelius, Karola (1972): Afrikanische Orts- und Völkernamen in hieroglyphischen und hieratischen Texten. Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients. Reihe B (Geisteswissenschaften) 1. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. Zibelius, Karola (2011): “Nubisches” Sprachmaterial in hieroglyphischen und hieratischen Texten. Personennamen, Appellativa, Phrasen vom Neuen Reich bis in die napatanische und meroitische Zeit. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 25. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Zibelius-Chen, Karola (2014): Sprachen Nubiens in pharaonischer Zeit. In: Lingua Aegyptia 22, p. 267–309.

II From Palaelithicum to 2nd Millennium BC

Donatella Usai

The Palaeolithic / Stone Age Introduction The role of Africa in the history of human evolution is well known. The first and most ancient evidence witnessing the long evolutionary process that brought about the modern humans is linked to this continent, as witnessed by the richness of archaeological evidence of regions like Ethiopia and South Africa (Grine 2016; Osbjorn 2013). Within this history, whose outline is not yet well defined, the Nile Valley represents one of two possible paths followed by Homo sapiens in his explorations at a time when conditions in Eastern Africa became dryer and those of North Africa and Near East possibly became more attractive (Castañeda et al. 2009). Within the ‘Out of Africa’ models (Bräuer 1984; Stringer/Andrews 1988), that concentrating upon the Nile Valley represents an alternative to the model based upon the crossing of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, in the Red Sea, that could have taken place when the sea level was at its minimum, between 118 and 135 m under the modern level, during the Last Glacial period. This last model has been recently tested on the basis of anthropological and archaeological evidence.1 In the southern part of Sudan, along the Blue Nile, the remains of the Singa man (Woodward 1938) were found at the beginning of the past century and have a minimum estimated age of > 133 ± 2 Ka;2 they are the most ancient known in the Nile Valley and the only remains discovered in the Nubian and Sudanese Nile Valley; they are considered to have belonged to ancestors of the earliest modern humans. The areas with more evidence relating to the Palaeolithic/Early, Middle and Late Stone Age correspond roughly to those where ‘implementation’ events of great magnitude, like the construction of the Aswan Dam or, more recently, that of the Merowe Dam in the Fourth Cataract, provided a strong impulse for archaeological research on this subject (Fig. 1). The cultural and chronological framework of the Palaeolithic Period in the Nile Valley in Sudan, in Sudanese and Egyptian Nubia, has been fundamentally built upon the work put forward during the Nubian Campaign for salvaging the Nubian monuments and cultural heritage of the area (Irwin et al. 1968; Wendorf 1968). This work correlated with the first in-depth study of Nile sediments (Butzer/Hansen 1968). While corrections to this chronological framework have been necessary (Van Peer 1991; Vermeersch 1992), the ‘cultural’ sequence has not been revisited much. The number of Palaeolithic sites discovered after the Nubian Campaign is

1 Derricourt 2005; Rose 2010; Walter et al. 2000. 2 Stringer 1979; Stringer et al. 1985; McDermott et al. 1996. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-008

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Fig. 1: General map indicating sites of the Nubian and Sudanese Nile Valley mentioned in the text.

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rather limited and not even recent research done in the Fourth Cataract has revised this picture (Usai, pers. obs.).

The Early Palaeolithic / Early Stone Age The most ancient lithic production sites in Nubia and Sudan can be attributed to the Late Acheulean. Sites that have produced bifacial hand-axes, made of ferruginous sandstone or quartzite, are numerous and often located close to ancient terraces or on top or on the slopes of jebels. The rough evolution of the Nile and of the surrounding environment, through the various climatic transitions and because of strong erosion, have quite often reduced the Palaeolithic sites to mere surface concentrations where only stone artefacts are preserved. For this reason it is quite difficult to assess the chronological position of these artefacts and to reconstruct other aspects of the life of ancient human beings, e.g., settlement and subsistence systems, or to trace symbolic behaviour that could be linked to his evolution into a modern phase.3 A lithic assemblage including Acheulean hand-axes was found at Abu Hugar, a site located 15 km to the south of the place where the Singa skull was recovered (Lacaille 1951). The association between human remains and artefacts is not straightforward as it is based on the equivalence between deposits where they were found. The site of Abu Hugar produced relevant faunal remains, an assemblage ascribable to the Late Pleistocene and which includes species now extinct (Bate 1951). Acheulean hand-axes (Fig. 2) were also documented by A. J. Arkell at Khor Abu Anga (Arkell 1949; Carlson 2015), at Arkin 8 (Chmielewski 1968) and Site 400 in the Second Cataract (Guichard/Guichard 1968). Recently a sequence embracing the Early to Middle Palaeolithic/Early to Middle Stone Age located in the Middle Atbara Valley has been described by Abbate et al. (2010). A particular position of importance is held by site 8-B-11 on Saï Island, in Sudanese Nubia, as it witnesses the transition from the Early to the Middle Stone Age, from Acheulean to Sangoan, within a stratified and well-preserved deposit (Van Peer et al. 2003; 2004). The exploitation and processing of pigment minerals recorded in this context have been considered a sign of modern human behaviour (Van Peer et al. 2004); the ochre pigment may have been extracted using the Sangoan core-axes (Fig. 3), tools carefully worked bifacially only at the working edge and preserving thick and untrimmed butts (Clark 1965). The Sangoan industry of Saï Island is attributed to the Middle Stone Age, and is succeeded by the Lupemban, which is characterised by symmetrical lanceolate foliate tools and blades from volu-

3 Smith/Spencer 1984; McBrearty/Brooks 2000; Ambrose 2001; Tattersall 2008.

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Fig. 2: Quartzite Acheulean hand-axe from Kordofan (Courtesy Mission Archéologique Française de Gism el-Arba-Zankor. UMR 8164 IPEL).

Fig. 3: Sangoan core-axe from site 8-B-11 from Saï Island (Courtesy of P. Van Peer).

metric cores, and includes rare elements of Levallois technology of the Nubian Complex; some OSL dating puts the earliest phase at the site at c. 200 Ka (Van Peer et al. 2003; 2004). Elements of the Sangoan were previously recognised by Arkell (1949), as present also in the assemblage of Khor Abu Anga, and have been found recently at a site located at Al-Jamrab, west of the White Nile (Zerboni et al. 2016).

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The Middle Palaeolithic / Middle Stone Age The most credited chronological subdivision for the Middle Palaeolithic/Middle Stone Age of the Nile Valley nowadays is that suggested by Van Peer (1991). Accordingly, the MP/MSA can be divided into three periods: an Early Middle Palaeolithic/ Nubian Middle Stone Age, a Middle Middle Palaeolithic (Nubian Mousterian and Denticulate Mousterian), and a Late Middle Palaeolithic (Khormusan). The Levalloi technology, present in the Sangoan of site 8-B-11 and more in the upper deposits documented here, is the element characterising the MP/MSA. This is a complex reduction system aiming at predetermining the shape of flakes. In the Nile Valley it takes distinctive characteristics such to make it to be distinguished as Nubian Levallois. Among Nubian Levallois cores two types have been distinguished,4 Type 1 and Type 2 (Van Peer 1992, fig. 3, 2). Nubian Levallois cores have a triangular or cordiform shape, prepared main striking platform, a median distal ridge obtained through distal-divergent lamellar detachment (Type 1; Fig. 4a) or bilateral convergent detachments (Type 2; Fig. 4b); additional sub-types have also been described (Usik et al. 2012). Together with Nubian Levallois cores, classical ones with centripetal reduction (K-Group; Fig. 4c) also occur (Van Peer 1992). The spreading of the Nubian Levallois in areas other than the Nile Valley, in Yemen

Fig. 4: Nubian and Classic Levallois cores: a) Type I; b) Type II; c) Classic.

4 Guichard/Guichard 1965; 1968; Marks 1968; Van Peer 1992.

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and in Oman5 is considered an indication of modern human dispersal out of North Africa. In the lithic industries of the MP/MSA – whether they exhibit the Classic or the Nubian Levallois technology, together with the by-products, scrapers, denticulates, notches, sometimes Tayac points and rare truncations, can be found. Sites of this epoch have been located in the Second Cataract region (Guichard/ Guichard 1968; Marks 1968a) and more recently in the Fourth Cataract 6 and in the Bayuda (Masojć 2010). Most of the sites of this period in the Second Cataract, because of their proximity to raw material sources and their composition – abundance of debris, cores, debitage and few tools – seem to represent mainly workshop areas. Only the lithic industry of Site 440 (Shiner 1968), the only one within a stratified context, was associated to a faunal assemblage: that of the lower level has been related to butchering and that of the upper to fishing activities (Wendorf et al. 1992). Sites with Levallois technology, Nubian or Classical types, are known in Central Sudan only from sporadic findings (Usai/Salvatori 2007). Only superficially studied and partially published are evidence of this period from the Southern Dongola Reach (Shiner 1971). The Khormusan, an industry whose type site, Site 1017 on the bank of the Khor Musa, was found in the Second Cataract, is attributed to the final phase of the Middle Palaeolithic/Middle Stone Age (Marks 1968b); among other sites worth mentioning and representative of this period in the Second Cataract are Site 34D and ANW-3 (Marks 1968b). Revisited chronology of Khormusan dated it to around 40,000 years ago (Wendorf et al. 1979). Sites that produced this lithic industry were located relatively close to the modern Nile but, apparently, they were not much disturbed by post-depositional processes, and these archaeological contexts have been generally considered in situ (Marks 1968b). Among the characteristics of the Khormusan industry is the use of different raw materials. Ferruginous sandstone, the preferred material in previous phases, is progressively abandoned in favour of quartzite, rhyolite, agate, fossil wood and flint, with flint pebbles becoming more and more numerous. Possibly linked to this raw material preference is a reduction in dimension and a tendency to microlithism. Khormusan Levallois cores have smaller dimensions than those of the Classic and Nubian Levallois, an accurate preparation and often an oval and pointed shape (Fig. 5a, b, c). The Levallois-flake type present in this lithic industry is characterised by a rather high number of dorsal scars in a centripetal pattern (Fig. 5d), collateral to the widespread use of the classical Levallois reduction method (Van Peer 1992, fig. 6, 7–9). Within the evolution of the industry the Levallois technology tends to

5 Crassard/Thiébaut 2011; Rose et al. 2011; Usik et al. 2012; Van Peer 2016. 6 Lange 2012; Wąs 2005; 2010; Usai, pers. obs.

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Fig. 5: Examples of Khormusan cores from site ANW-3 (a, b, c) and d) typical Khormusan flakes (after Van Peer 1991, fig. 6).

disappear while single platform cores (with flat or faceted platforms), cores with two opposed platforms and discoidal types become more common. The bifacial technology becomes rarer and within tool production burins, scrapers and denticulates become frequent. Some of the Khormusan sites produced abundant mammal fauna, especially Bos primigenius, as well as fish, suggesting a subsistence system based on hunting and fishing (Gautier 1968). Khormusan sites in the Second Cataract are also the only ones that produced features connected with fire use and bone artefacts (Marks 1968b). Apart from the Singa skull (far south along the Blue Nile), no human remains are associated to the Middle Palaeolithic/Middle Stone Age sites located in the Nubian area. The distribution of MP/MSA sites in Sudanese Nubia is concentrated along the Nile Valley while in Egyptian Nubia more sites of this period are better documented in the Western Desert, at least until the onset of the arid phase, c. 70,000 BC, which preceded the Early Holocene (Wendorf/Schild/Close 1992).

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The Upper Palaeolithic / Late Stone Age The later phase of Palaeolithic/Late Stone Age in Nubia is known mainly from the evidence recovered in the Second Cataract region; elsewhere sites pertaining to this period are rather scanty. Among the characteristics of the lithic industries of this phase are persistence in the use of the Levallois technology and increasing microlithism. In chronological sequence the Halfan (Marks 1968c), the Ballanan (Wendorf 1968) and the Qadan (Shiner 1968b) are the three main lithic industries known for this phase. Another lithic industry, whose type site was located at Kom Ombo in Egyptian Nubia (Vignard 1923) and very poorly dated, is the Sebilian (Marks 1968d). Compared to the other industries of UP/LSA, the Sebilian shows an enduring macrolithism. More problematic is the chronological position of the Gemaian (Shiner 1968b), a lithic industry not clearly characterised. It must be underlined, once more, that the chronological attribution of these lithic industries should be considered with extreme caution (Vermeersch 1992; Usai 2008). Most assemblages, in fact, were mostly recovered from surface concentrations, resulting from eroded deposits, quite often representing a palimpsest of different periods. The Halfan industry was named after the village of Wadi Halfa, in the Second Cataract, where sites that produced cores and flakes typical of this technology, realised on small flint, agate or fossil wood pebbles, were found. This lithic industry is the first one oriented to blade production even if flakes still represent at least 50 % of overall debitage. An approximate, but not definitely reliable dating (Vermeersch 1992) put this lithic industry between 19,500 and 17,500 BC. Halfan cores (Fig. 6a, b, c) are realised according to a particular Levallois technology that involves the preparation of a flat or faceted platform, from which a series of micro-blades, parallel or sub-parallel, are detached (Fig. 6d), and the creation of an opposed dihedral platform, which constitutes the base for some centripetal flake detachment aiming at a complete cortex-clearance of part of the core surface. The dihedral platform is then corrected to a faceted and convex format and from this a roughly square Halfan flake is produced (Fig. 6e); a successive one can also be produced. The distal end of these flakes constitutes the ‘cutting’, functional part, therefore it is never retouched, while the proximal end shows a steep retouch, like a backed piece. This flake could have been used as a geometric with a transverse tranchant. Classical Levallois specimens as well as single, opposed and ninety-degree core types are also associated with the Halfan cores. Apart from the Halfan flakes, the tool production of the Halfan lithic industry comprises backed pieces on flakes or micro-blades followed by scrapers, burins, denticulated and notched pieces. Among the sites pertaining to this lithic industry, located in the Second Cataract, Site 443 (Marks 1968c) is the most interesting as it produced a series of fire-

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Fig. 6: Examples of Halfan cores (a, b, c) with stages of preparation (d) and typical Halfan flakes (e); after Van Peer 1991, fig. 7).

places with a base made of poligonal pebbles; in this context finished and un-finished ostrich-shell beads and fragments of hematite originating from the Batn elHajar were found. Faunal remains of Bos primigenius, antelope, gazelle, hippo and fish suggest a subsistence economy based on hunting and fishing. The following lithic industries of the UP/LSA – Sebilian, Ballanan and Qadan – are possibly among the most problematic of the overall series. The Sebilian is characterised by an evident macrolithism, opposed to the tendency recorded starting from the Khormusan and Halfan, and a reduction technology based on discoidal cores that were mistakenly interpreted as Levallois (Vermeersch 1992). The most characteristic tool present in this assemblage is the ‘truncation’, most commonly basal or oblique and representing more than 50 % of the overall tool production; the raw material use is also a distinct element of the MP/MSA phase, being mostly ferruginous sandstone. This lithic industry is not dated if not on the base of an association with Nilotic sediments, but all sites of this phase were located on eroded and exposed surfaces (Vermeersch 1992). However, recently a prolonged use of the Levallois reduction technique has been postulated for a site dating as late as 16,000 years ago in the Affad region, in the Southern Dongola Reach (Osypiński et al. 2016). The Ballanan (Wendorf 1968) and Qadan (Shiner 1968b; Irwin et al. 1968) are two lithic industries that share different common traits, in the reduction technology, microlithic character and, partially, also in the tool production. Cores with a single platform – flat or faceted – or with two opposed platforms – also flat or faceted, produced from small flint pebbles, only partially cortex cleared – are

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Fig. 7: Core typology of the Qadan (a) and Ballanan (b) industries.

present in both complexes (Fig. 7a, b). The Ballanan seems to favour the production of blades while Qadan shows prevalence of flakes. The Ballanan micro-blades may have a Ouchtata retouch (marginal and continuous retouch on one side), or can be otherwise backed. Burins are present in both industries, but the tool that characterises the Qadan seems to be a small scraper realised on a primary cortical flake (Shiner 1968b). A fundamental problem with the Qadan industry is that most assemblages were surface concentrations with merging of elements of later Holocene lithic industries, pertaining to the Mesolithic and Neolithic (Usai 2008). These circumstances were not fully understood when the sites were documented and studied, during and after the Nubian Campaign, so Shiner (1968b) defined a Qadan sequence, embracing the Late Pleistocene to the Middle Holocene, with an internal sub-division in four phases, the two final ones appearing clearly permeated with elements pertaining to the Nubian Neolithic (Usai 2008). Associated with the Qadan is one of the three burial grounds (Wendorf 1968) that were located in the Second Cataract region, that of Jebel Sahaba (Wendorf 1968b). The site is renowned because the population buried here died from the consequences of inter-tribal warfare. Witness to this collective violence are numerous cut-marks, parry fractures and fragments of lithic tools jabbed in the human bones (Anderson 1968). Recent re-analysis of the human remains of Jebel Sahaba confirmed the hypothesis of violent death for many of the individuals but highlighted that they represent a quite healthy human group (Judd 2006). This contrasts with another view that attributes the origin of the conflicts to developing competition for control over a deteriorated environment (Antoine et al. 2013).

Some Final Remarks The Palaeolithic / Stone Age history of Sudanese and Egyptian Nubia that has been briefly outlined here illustrates the potential key-role of the region in understanding the processes that brought about the diffusion of modern humans across the rest of

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the world. However, it hopefully also testifies to the amount of effort still needed in order to fill the voids existing in the current state of research. Along the vast territory extending from Egyptian Nubia down to the White and Blue Niles are, in fact, vast areas that remain totally unexplored. A further issue, and not of secondary importance, is that most of the sites of the Palaeolithic/Stone Age Period are from very eroded contexts and are not associated with well-preserved and dated deposits, except possibly for Saï Island site 8-B-11. Here an exceptional, well-stratified series of lithic assemblages congruent with OSL dated deposits allowed, for the first time, the analysis of the evolution of the lithic production and the identification of important elements concerning the crucial transition from the late Early Stone Age to the Middle Stone Age. Most of the cultural sequence illustrated in these pages results from the archaeological research conducted in the Second Cataract for the construction of the Aswan Dam; considerable effort was then put into the study of the geological and geomorphological characteristics of the region, predominantly shaped by Nile behaviour (Butzer/Hansen 1968; De Heinzelin 1968). Nile sediments documented over long stretches of the river were correlated and a possible relationship between them and lithic industries was constructed (De Heinzelin 1968; Wendorf/Schild/ Close 1992). However, this system has been considered fallacious7 and, indeed, the place of some industries (the Sebilian for example) within the framework built on this basis seems highly dubious. Corrections to this framework may arrive only from strongly controlled contexts, from discoveries like that of site 8-B-11. While oversimplification should be avoided, the geomorphological and palaeoenvironmental analyses are basic preliminary instruments for piloting prehistoric field research or for the comprehension of a site history and of the man-environment relationship. In central Sudan, for example, in the Pleistocene, around 175,000 to 250,000 years ago, the White Nile basin formed a large lake, some 30 to 40 km wide and 5 m deep, extending up to 30–40 km south of Khartoum (Williams et al. 2003), whose deposits were laid down during times of enhanced summer rains and more intense monsoon cycles. To locate Palaeolithic deposits still in situ, geological and palaeoenvironmental investigations become a primary necessity, beginning with the location of the shores of this Great White Nile palaeo-lake (Williams et al. 2003). Whether the embarrassing lack of data concerning the Upper Palaeolithic / Late Stone Age along the valley, south of the Second Cataract, is also due to our inability to comprehend phenomena connected to landscape evolution in addition to the dearth of research focusing specifically on this topic, is a good question. Certainly, this picture prevents us from fully understanding the evolution of the human societies, especially at the transition to the Mesolithic pottery-bearing hunter-gathererfishers.

7 Vermeersch 1992; Usai 2008; Vermeersch/Van Neer 2015.

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Wendorf, Denver Fred / Schild, Romuald / Haas, Herbert (1979): A New Radiocarbon Chronology for Prehistoric Sites in Nubia. In: Journal of Field Archaeology 6, p. 219–223. Williams, Martin A. J. / Adamson, Donald A. / Prescott, John R. / Williams, Frances M. (2003): New Light on the Age of the White Nile. In: Geology 31/11, p. 1001–1004. Woodward, Arthur S. (1938): A Fossil Skull of an Ancestral Bushman from the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. In: Antiquity 12, p. 193–195. Zerboni, Andrea / Usai, Donatella / Meyer, Michael (2016): The Middle Palaeolithic / Middle Stone Age Site of Al Jamrab in Central Sudan. In: Antiquity Project Gallery (http://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/zerboni351; last seen 05. 05. 2017).

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The Mesolithic and Neolithic in Sudan 1 Introduction When one looks through the book Early Khartoum. An Account of the Excavation of an Early Occupation Site carried out by the Sudan Government Antiquities service in 1944–5 (1949), Arkell’s report on his work done at the first Mesolithic site excavated in the Sudanese Nile Valley, one may be struck by the sharpness and breadth of his observations. Here we find the quite precise description of human artefacts recovered during the site’s exploration, along with a valuable attempt to put these into perspective and into the most possible realistic palaeo-scenario. With the research done at Esh-Shaheinab, a Neolithic settlement, and the exploration of the El-Qoz site (Arkell 1953) in Khartoum, he also laid the foundations for an initial chronological distinction between foragers and food producers and resolved in two distinct phases the long history of the ‘Early Khartoum’ groups. Since then, and for a long time, the pottery-bearing hunter-gatherer-fishers of the central Sudanese Nile Valley have been identified with two apparently chronologically separated pottery decoration types, one characterised by a Wavy Line pattern and the other by a Dotted Wavy Line pattern. The food producers of Esh-Shaheinab stand out with a finer and apparently broader pottery production. A similar cultural sequence was disclosed in the area of the Second Cataract during the Nubian Salvage campaign (Wendorf 1968; Nordström 1972), in the Southern Dongola Reach (Shiner et al. 1971), in the Butana (Marks/MohammedAli 1991), the Atbara (Haaland/Magid 1995), and later in the deserts west of the Nile, along the Wadi Howar.1 More recently, intensive survey and excavation campaigns conducted by international teams contributed data on these periods from the Fourth Cataract area2 (from Merowe to Abu Hamad) now flooded by the construction of the Merowe Dam. A number of Mesolithic and Neolithic sites have been discovered and excavated on Saï Island (Geus 1998; Garcea/Hildebrand 2009), to the east of the Kerma site3 and in the Northern Dongola Reach (Welsby 2001) as well as along the west bank of the Nile (Tahir 2012) opposite the Dongola Reach.

1 Jesse 2006; Riemer/Jesse 2006; Keding 2004. 2 Näser/Lange 2007; Gratien 2008; Godlewski/Łajtar 2008; 2010; Paner/Jakobielski 2010; Wotzka 2012; Anderson/Welsby 2014. 3 Reinold 1994; 2001; 2004. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-009

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2 The Nile Valley: Geographic, Environmental and Archaeological Issues Traces of the Early Holocene occupants of one of the world’s longest river system, the Nile Valley, have been found all along the stretch of the river from the Second Cataract, in the core of the Nubian region (Upper Nubia), southward as far as Khartoum and further south along the White and Blue Niles (Fig. 1). While the southern course of the Nile in Egypt has produced scarce evidence of sites relating to this period, except for the El-Kab sites (Vermeersch 1978), probably due to river behaviour, the blank areas south of Khartoum are mainly caused by negligible and uneven archaeological research, since only in recent years (more or less) systematic work has been accomplished along the White and Blue Nile.4 The history of human settlements along the Nile was strongly constrained by the river regime as first underlined by Arkell, when he describes the 5 m higher level of the river during the Mesolithic occupation of Khartoum Hospital. Studies on the geology and hydrology of the Nile were first conducted at the beginning of the last century (Willcocks 1904). These studies, together with palaeo-environmental ones, provided an essential guide to archaeologists engaged in transforming their subject from a mere description of man-made objects into a ‘science of man’. The notion of the African Humid Period (AHP) was introduced to indicate a phase embracing several millennia, from the Late Pleistocene (14,500 BP) to the middle Holocene (5,500 BP), when, with co-occurrence of different variables (Zerboni 2013), of which the northward shift of the monsoon (ITCZ) was probably the most important, the large Saharan and Sahelian belts enjoyed a wetter climate. This event resulted in the rise of the Nile’s level, the activation of some of its important tributaries, and the development of perennial and seasonal lakes, which was associated with the colonization of floral and faunal species – as documented in the archaeological record – that later found refuge in the south after the retreat of the monsoon, at about 5,500 BP (Adkins et al. 2006; Patricola/Cook 2007). Climate changes are one of the variables that shaped human behaviour. Knowing when they occurred constitutes a pre-condition for understanding and reconstructing past societies (Drake et al. 2011). If there is a self-imposed limit to this field of research that can have an impact on archaeological-anthropological work, this is determined by the fact that studies are patchy, not chronologically detailed, non-comprehensive and often site dependent.

4 Fernández Martinez et al. 2003a; 2003b; Usai/Salvatori 2005; Salvatori/Usai 2008a; Eisa 2002; Eisa/Khabir 2006.

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Fig. 1: Map showing location of sites mentioned in the text.

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3 Cultural Material, Subsistence and Settlement System during the Mesolithic 3.1 Upper Nubia: Early Holocene Hunter-gatherers The Nile river system was surely in part responsible for similarities within early/ middle Holocene cultural material production, as it formed an important communication route in addition to providing the basis for the subsistence for the Mesolithic populations that inhabited its banks. The quasi-homogeneity of the landscape it crosses may also have contributed to the spread of hunter-gatherer-fisher groups along the main water courses that were active during the early Holocene. Within this framework, however, some important differences can now be clearly perceived, although not yet fully appreciated. In fact, a more complex network of human groups entered the Mesolithic context changing our perception of the chronological and cultural narrative of the period. To the north, in Upper Nubia, excavations at the prehistoric sites of El-Barga, Wadi el-Arab and Busharia, to the east of Kerma (Fig. 1), have yielded an updated, chronologically-controlled sequence of the Mesolithic of the area.5 This can easily be combined with the sequence of another region which, although a hundred kilometres west of the Nile, belonged to the same cultural sphere: the Western Desert, including its most renowned location, Nabta Playa.6 The first pottery-bearing hunter-gatherer-fishers, labelled ‘Khartoum Variant’, started exploiting the area right from the beginning of the Holocene, c. 8,300 cal. BC. Today the ‘Khartoum Variant’ (Gatto 2006b) can be divided into three phases, variously discussed and dated in the literature, but clearly embedded in the new sequence of the Upper Nubia Mesolithic dating between 8,000 and 6,400/ 6,000 cal. BC (Honegger 2014). West of the Nile, in the desert, the oldest occupation is witnessed by, essentially contemporary, sherds from Bir Kiseiba (Connor 1984) and, further to the west, from Wadi el-Akhdar (Gehlen et al. 2002; Fig. 1). It seems premature to paint a meaningful picture of the Mesolithic Period in the area between the Third and the Fourth Cataracts, since only preliminary reports on the salvage campaign on the Merowe Dam have been published, and most sites lack radiometric determinations. However, a first tentative chronology of huntergatherer-fisher groups can be proposed on the basis of pottery samples collected at 39 sites located in the Amri to Kirbekan area (Welsby 2003; Salvatori, pers. obs.). These samples, analysed on a comparative basis with the Honegger and Gatto sequences,7 allow the reconstruction, as synthesis, of a low intensity presence of a Mesolithic population, dating back to the early 8th millennium BC (six locations), growing during the first half of the 7th millennium BC (ten locations) and reaching

5 Honegger 2011; 2014; Gatto 2013. 6 Wendorf et al. 2001; Gatto 2002; 2013. 7 Honegger 2014; Gatto 2002; 2006b; 2013.

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Fig. 2: Vegetal-tempered Karmakol-type pottery from Letti basin (1–4) and the Fourth Cataract (6–7). Fragments 5, 8–10 are mineral tempered.

a substantial peak during the second half of the same millennium (30 locations). The same pattern is reflected by the number of sherds at each location; however, among these sites only three can be described as settlements inasmuch as they present an anthropic deposit accumulated through a recurrent seasonal or more permanent occupation (Salvatori, pers. obs.). Another Mesolithic Group can be identified with a pottery type characterised by a vegetal temper known from the Ed-Debba area, south-east of the Fourth Cataract, which was recovered for the first time by the Combined Prehistoric Expedition (Shiner et al. 1971) and labelled as Karmakol Group (Hays 1971; Fig. 2). A number of early Holocene sites (seven) producing the same pottery have been located by the SFDAS (Section Français de la direction des antiquités du Soudan) survey in the el-Multaga area (Geus/Lecointe 2003), an area chosen for relocating inhabitants of the Fourth Cataract. This vegetal tempered pottery is also associated with a sand tempered type and both are thought to be contemporary. Currently only the vegetal temper pottery has been dated to the second half of the 7th millennium cal. BC (Gatto 2006a, 77). Few Karmakol pottery sherds have been recorded at sites in the Fourth Cataract area surveyed by the SARS (Sudan Archaeological Research Society) (Salvatori, pers. obs.), but a more consistent presence has been ascertained in the

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Fig. 3: Chronological sequence of central Sudan and Upper Nubia, based on al-Khiday sites (16-D-5, 16-D-4, 16-D-4B, 16-D-3, 16-D-6) and Kerma (Busharia, Wadi el-Arab, El-Barga).

Letti Basin, Southern Dongola Reach (Usai 2001; Fig. 2). This vegetal tempered pottery, which seems to have a centre in the Ed-Debba area, definitely documents the presence of a Mesolithic Group that is distinct from the contemporary Upper Nubian population and corresponds to the end of the Mesolithic II – beginning of the Mesolithic III of the northern sequence (Honegger 2014) and to the Middle Mesolithic B of the Khartoum Mesolithic (Salvatori 2012; Usai 2016a; Fig. 3). A differentiation in the lithic production supports the distinction among Upper Nubian Mesolithic Groups established through pottery characterization. However, a great distance lies between this production and that of central Sudan, supported by the preferred use of quartzite in central Sudan compared to flint/chert in Upper Nubia. The lithic assemblages of this period are generally characterised by the presence of geometrics, but a few other elements seem distinctive of the Khartoum Variant and of the Karmakol. In the Khartoum Variant lithic industry, known mainly from the sites recovered in the Second Cataract,8 distinctive elements are notched/ strangulated pieces (Fig. 4), continuously retouched blades and the presence of an exotic raw material, the Egyptian flint, originating from the Western Desert Eocene Limestone formations.9 The Karmakol industry distinctive element is, on the other hand, a lunate with a burin blow on its back (Usai 2001; Fig. 5).

8 Shiner 1968; Haaland 1972; Usai 2004; 2008. 9 Usai 2005; 2008; 2016a.

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Fig. 4: Notched/strangulated pieces and scrapers from Khartoum Variant site 1045 in the Second Cataract (redrawn from Shiner 1968, fig. 3).

Fig. 5: Lunates associated with Karmakol-type pottery in the Letti basin.

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Mesolithic sites of Upper Nubia are mainly surface scatters of pottery and lithics and only a few sites preserve thicker anthropic deposits. The Wadi el-Arab and ElBarga sites, east of Kerma, are among the few where a substantial deposit was recovered and excavated (Honegger 2011). Another locality with some deposit accumulation, albeit heavily weathered, was found at site 3-Q-73, in the Fourth Cataract area (Dittrich et al. 2007). At present the regions encompassing the Nabta/Khiseiba area, the one running from the Second to the Fourth Cataract to the Mograt Island (Dittrich/Gessner 2014) to the east, and the Nubian eastern desert (Lanna/Gatto 2010) seem to outline a culturally homogeneous area. Although supported by a preliminary and largely incomplete Fourth Cataract data assessment, the evidence suggests a trend pointing to a progressive intensification of hunter-gatherer-fisher group presence towards the south (Fourth Cataract area), possibly prompted by demographic growth. An anthropological estimate of the Upper Nubia Mesolithic population is still impossible, because to date only one cemetery has been excavated. The 44 individuals from the El-Barga site (Honegger 2011, 82; 2014), dating roughly to the 8th millennium cal. BC, are the only Mesolithic human remains excavated in Upper Nubia. A preliminary study of the human material shows similarities with the older cemeteries of Wadi Halfa and Jebel Sahaba (Crèvecoeur 2012). The economy of these populations was mainly based on aquatic resources (Linseele 2012); however, faunal remains from Mesolithic sites of Upper Nubia are very scanty and/or still unpublished (Wendorf 1968).

3.2 Central Sudan and Related Areas Since the pioneering excavation of the Khartoum Hospital site by A. J. Arkell, many early Holocene sites have been located, tested and partially excavated 10. Unfortunately, the majority of these sites underwent strong post-depositional disturbances of natural and anthropic nature.11 Recent researches to the south of Omdurman along the west bank of the White Nile, at el-Salha and al-Khiday,12 provide stratigraphic data from a number of Mesolithic sites explaining the local dynamics of hunter-gatherer-fishers’ adaptation to the available food resources and possible environmental changes. Judging from these sites, the oldest Mesolithic presence in this area dates from the very late 8th millennium BC to 6,750 cal. BC (Early Mesolithic). This ancient phase is characterised by abundant Incised Wavy Line pottery (Fig. 6) and a distinctive pottery decoration, the Lunula type (Fig. 7). The Dotted Wavy Lyne decoration

10 Caneva 1983; Clark 1989; El-Amin/Mohammed-Ali 2004; Ali Hakem/Khabir 1989. 11 Salvatori 2012, Appendix A; Usai 2014; Sukova et al 2015 12 Salvatori et al. 2011; 2014; 2018; Usai 2014; 2016a.

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Fig. 6: Examples of earlier atypical (1–5) and classical (6–14) Wavy Line pottery from basal layers of al-Khiday 1.

Fig. 7: Examples of Lunula type pottery from most ancient deposits recovered at al-Khiday sites.

type, though rare, is present right from the beginning of the sequence (Salvatori 2012). No particular trend in evolution, however, is visible in the lithic industry of central Sudan; this is mostly made of quartzite and includes backed pieces and geometrics, among which lunates prevail.

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Fig. 8: A kite-view of the excavation at al-Khiday 2 site, a Pre-Mesolithic, Neolithic, Classic/Late Meroitic cemetery with a Middle Mesolithic A and B settlement phase. A) Classic/Late Meroitic graves; B) Middle Mesolithic pits; C) Mesolithic semi-subterranean hut; B1) cluster of Middle Mesolithic pits cutting each other and cut by a Meroitc grave; B2 and B3 other cluster of Middle Mesolithic pits.

Post-holes related to very light dwellings have been recognized at the base of the anthropic deposit at site al-Khiday 1 pointing to a seasonal presence at the site (residential mobility pattern). During the following periods (Middle Mesolithic A, B, C), a complex system of circular semi-subterranean pisé structures and adjoined functional areas (Salvatori et al. 2011), with hundreds of multipurpose pits, have been related to a more sedentary residential pattern (Fig. 8). The Lunula type decoration disappears before the Middle Mesolithic A (6,750–6,500 cal. BC) and is widely replaced by Rocker stamp packed decoration that increases progressively at the expense of the Incised Wavy Line (Salvatori 2012; Dal Sasso et al. 2014). The more sedentary behaviour driven by the year-round abundance of food resources (fish and shellfish) provided by the river and seasonal lakes may be responsible for a demographic increase. This increase resulted in the multiplication of sites along the western bank of the White Nile, spaced 1.5 to 2.5 km apart, during the Middle Mesolithic B Period (6,500–6,200 cal. BC). This year-round stable lifestyle which included grass collection and, to a lesser extent, hunting, may well have been made possible by the practice of storage (Maritan et al. 2018). The following

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Middle Mesolithic C Period (6,200–6,000/5,900 cal. BC) in the area is known only from deposits excavated at the al-Khiday 3 site and possibly at al-Khiday 2B, a huge shell midden and a cluster of garbage pits, respectively. A gap separates the Middle Mesolithic C phase from the Late Mesolithic site of 10-W-4 located about 9 km to the north-west of the al-Khiday sites, on the shore of a palaeolake (Salvatori et al. 2011; 2014), and dating to the mid 6th millennium cal. BC. Currently most sites of this phase seem mostly situated a few kilometres inland. A possible explanation, suggested by a faunal assemblage composed mainly of hunted animals, may be a switch back towards a residential mobility pattern and a re-appraisal of hunting activities (Salvatori et al. 2014). Hypothesizing that all sites in the central Sudan region followed an identical material cultural evolution, especially considering the pottery tradition, would be hazardous, since no other similar undisturbed stratigraphic sequences have been reported except for the al-Khiday sites (Salvatori 2012, Appendix A; Usai 2014); in addition, only a few of the sites excavated have been extensively published. Nevertheless, these unstratified sites can also provide clues for improving our understanding of the formation of what appears as a culturally homogeneous horizon. Some fruitful inferences come from the analysis of the radiocarbon date determinations of these sites (see Table 1).

Tab. 1: Khartoum Mesolithic site distribution according to available radiometric determinations. Chronology

Site

Reference

9th millennium BC

Sorourab 2 Sphinx Umm Marrahi

Ali Hakem/Khabir 1989 Suková et al. 2015 Elamin/Mohammed-Ali 2004

8th millennium BC

Abu Darbein El Damer

Haaland/Magid (eds.) 1995 Haaland/Magid (eds.) 1995

7th millennium BC

Aneibis al-Khiday 1 al-Khiday 3

Haaland/Magid (eds.) 1995 Salvatori 2012 Salvatori et al. in press

Second half 7th millennium BC

Saggai al-Khiday 2 al-Khiday 2B Awlad el Imam Umm Singid El Mahalab Sheikh Mustafa Shabona

Caneva 1983 Salvatori 2012 Salvatori 2012 Caneva et al. 1993, 223–226 Caneva et al. 1993, 226 Fernández et al. 2003b Fernández et al. 2003b Clark 1989

Late 7th /6th millennium. BC

Shaqadud Rahib 80/73 Rahib 80/87 Kabbashi Haitah 10-W-4

Marks/Mohammed-Ali 1991 Jesse 2003 Jesse 2003 Caneva et al. 1993, 227–229 Salvatori 2012; Salvatori/Usai 2008a

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All together, the picture emerging from the distribution of available dates suggests a demographic increase during the second half of the 7th millennium BC. The hypothesis of a demographic increase, suggested by the actual trend provided by the dates, seems also to be corroborated by the distribution of the oldest and rare Lunula pottery type found at the al-Khiday sites in the Early Mesolithic deposits (Salvatori 2012; Salvatori et al. 2018). This element has been recorded only at the Khartoum Hospital site (Arkell 1949, Pl. 77.2). It represents a different stage of Mesolithic production in the region, for decorative pattern as well as for the fabric. This stage of production, from what we can see at al-Khiday, is associated with a form of light dwellings (post-holes, fireplaces and dumping areas) that may be the evidence of more mobile groups. The spread of different types of rocker stamp decoration motifs, widely present in a number of new sites along the Nile, conforms to the hypothesis of a demographic increase and of a reduction in mobility as attested at al-Khiday, between the Middle Mesolithic A and B. This is indeed the time when a structured village emerged with a habitation area separated from an area with pits with different functions. This is also when we find the first evidence of fish processing and storage (Maritan et al. 2018). The nearly one hundred and fifty pits recovered at al-Khiday have produced relevant cultural and bio-archaeological material which, once analysed, may provide details by which we may distinguish these important transitions. Unfortunately, the dearth of data for the early phase produces a kind of black hole in the early history of hunter-gatherer-fisher groups in central Sudan, and of their relationship to the emergence of pottery-bearing foragers in the northern part of the country, Egypt, the Sahara (Roset 2000) and the Sub-Saharan belt (Huysecom et al. 2009) at the onset of the Holocene.

4 The Neolithisation of the region 4.1 The Neolithic of Nubia A group of sites excavated in Egypt and Sudan in the last twenty years have radically changed our perception of Neolithisation of Upper Nubia and central Sudan. Recent excavations at the Early Neolithic cemetery (early 6th millennium BC) at El-Barga (Honegger 2004a; 2005a), the analyses of phytolith (wheat, barley) concentrations from graves of late 6th/5th millennium BC cemeteries in Upper Nubia and central Sudan (Madella et al. 2014; Ryan at al. 2016), together with the recorded presence of domestic ovicaprines at Sodmein Cave and Tree Shelter in Egypt at the very beginning of the 6th millennium BC (Linseele et al. 2010; Linseele 2013), pushed back the dating of the beginning of the Neolithisation of the region. The theory of an early domestication (late 9th or early 8th millennium BC) of the African aurochs based on records from sites in the Egyptian Western Desert, at Nabta Playa,

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which has been debated by archaeo-zoologist (Pöllath 2009, 92–93; Linseele 2013, 98), seems to have been rejected by geneticists (Olivieri et al. 2015). This opens the door to very different scenarios for modelling the rise of food production in north-east Africa, and especially the Egyptian and Sudanese Nile basin. The one hundred and five graves excavated at the Early Neolithic cemetery of El-Barga, dating to the first half of the 6th millennium cal. BC,13 are furnished with pottery, stone tools, lip pugs and necklaces of different kind of beads (carnelian, amazonite, ostrich eggshell), ivory bracelets and shells from the Nile as well as the Red Sea – contrary to the Mesolithic graves excavated at the same site (Honegger 2004a). A preliminary anthropological report highlights the differences between the Neolithic and the more ancient Mesolithic populations of the area (Crèvecoeur 2012). This supports the idea that small groups coming from the Southern Levant contributed to the genetic pool of the area, as suggested by some scholars (Irish 2005; Smith 2013). There is evidence, towards the end of the 7th millennium, that Levantine Neolithic Groups, driven by the climatic crisis in 8,200 BP, moved from the Southern Levant across the Arabian Peninsula to Southern Yemen, thus introducing domestic cattle, sheep and goats (Henton et al. 2014, 121); this makes it reasonable to assume that the Nile Valley could have been one of their other routes. The grave goods, apart from the pottery that still have decorative traits reminiscent of Late Mesolithic patterns, are just forerunners of what appears in later Neolithic cemeteries (late 6th/5th millennium BC) in the Kadruka area just south of Kerma and the Northern Dongola Reach.14 The presence of a domestic cattle skull placed on the skeletal remains of a child in the El-Barga graves 111–112 is of great significance (Honegger 2005a, 248, fig. 17). At present a gap in the archaeological record separates the Early Neolithic cemetery of El-Barga from later, Middle Neolithic cemeteries and the Abkan, the Neolithic cultural phase discovered in the Second Cataract during the Salvage Nubian Campaign (Shiner 1968; Nordström 1972). In the archaeological record, the second half of the 6th millennium BC is only filled by some radiocarbon determinations from Abkan sites (Abka 9 and Sai) (Crane/Griffen 1960; Garcea et al. 2016), Kadruka 33, a destroyed cemetery south of Kerma (Reinold 2004), as well as early graves at the R12 cemetery in the Northern Dongola Reach and from Ghaba in the Shendi area (central Sudan) (Ryan et al. 2016). This Middle Neolithic phase (hereafter MN) is well represented at the R12 and Kadruka cemeteries.15 It can be subdivided in two sub-phases, A and B, according to a marked evolution in pottery production (Salvatori 2008; Fig. 9). The first phase, MNA, covering the first half of the 5th millennium BC, represents a consolidation period for the many groups that are now populating Upper Nubia. The many

13 Honegger 2004a; 2005a; 2005b. 14 Welsby 2001; Salvatori/Usai 2008b; Reinold 2004. 15 Salvatori/Usai 2008b; Reinold 1994; 2001.

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Neolithic cemeteries and villages located in the area (Welsby 2001; Reinold 2001) seem to be the result of a population increase fostered by the spread of a producing economy based both on domestic animals and cereals introduced from the Near East, still accompanied by traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering activities. The Nubian Neolithic entered a new phase at around the middle of the 5th millennium BC, the MNB, when variability in pottery shapes and decoration motifs is replaced by a new and more standardised production that can be considered as a ‘meta-linguistic’ marker of the period (Salvatori 2008), a phase that represents an integration period and is called Multaga (Fig. 9). This is widespread all over Upper Nubia, from Sedeinga to the Fourth Cataract and the Multaga area. The sequence described on the basis of the R12 cemetery conforms to a preliminary assessment of the pottery assemblages from some Neolithic sites to the east of the Kerma eastern cemetery (Honegger 2004b). It seems that during MNB, pottery assumes a strong identity value at a regional level, while at a group level markers used in the funerary program for identity purposes differ: presence or absence of bucrania and vegetal materials in the forms of pillows (R12), of bundles of barley spikes (Kadruka 1), and the absence of both these markers in the Multaga area graves.

4.2 The Neolithic of Central Sudan Credit for the discovery of the first Neolithic site in central Sudan belongs to A. J. Arkell (1953). After his work, archaeological research on the Neolithic in the area was mainly concentrated on cemeteries (Kadero, Ghaba, Kadada, Es-Sour, al-Khiday 4), while settlements (Geili, Kadero middens, Sheikh el-Amin, Haj Yusif, al-Khiday 6) received significantly less attention because of the heavy post-depositional disturbance caused to the anthropic deposits. For many years after Arkell’s publication, Shaheinab materials were considered the expression of the Early Neolithic of central Sudan. This picture was reinforced by the excavations at Kadero cemetery and the Geili site (Chłodnicki et al. 2011; Caneva 1988). A full and comprehensive study of the Ghaba cemetery (Salvatori et al. 2016) has allowed us to trace a more complex history of the early Neolithic in the region. Seriation of the Ghaba cemetery has highlighted two different periods that present some analogy with the Upper Nubian sequence, suggesting the migration of small groups from Upper Nubia, presumably during the second half of the 6th millennium BC. This old phase is also characterised by pottery types (Fig. 7) that disappear at the beginning of the second phase at about 4,650 BC and coincides with the Shaheinab phase. At Ghaba cemetery, bucrania, which is a hallmark of Upper Nubia MN cemeteries (R12: 24.1 %), are only present in a small cluster (3.02 %) dating to the first chronological phase. The graves of the Shaheinab phase, on the other hand, do not

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Fig. 9: Comparative table showing the pottery types associated with contemporary Neolithic phases of Upper Nubia and Central Sudan.

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display this distinctive element, as confirmed also by their absence in the Shaheinab phase cemetery of Kadero (Chłodnicki et al. 2011) and in the graves of this phase at al-Khiday 2. Moreover, the presence of vegetal pillows placed above the skull of 39 individuals is of great importance because these have turned out to be phytoliths – mainly from C4 plants (Panicoideae) – while evidence of starch from dental calculus proves that Neolithic people at Ghaba also ate wheat and barley (Ryan et al. 2016).

4.3 Some Remarks on the Neolithic Economy While not fully unpacked as of yet, the process of the neolithisation of the Nile Valley in Sudan is beginning to appear in all its complexity. Many authors emphasize pastoralism as a means of describing Sudanese Neolithic society; however, the data points to a much more varied picture. In fact, this economic system appears to be more than a combination of cultivating, herding, hunting and fishing. The problem has been heightened by the poor or non-existent conservation of botanical macro-remains in the archaeological deposits of Upper Nubia and central Sudan sites, which should encourage researchers to conform their conclusions to the rule that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The production of functional utilitarian and functional non-utilitarian objects marks an increasing craftsmanship, as witnessed by jewels as well as by standardisation in pottery production (Usai 2016b; Salvatori 2016). At present, the oldest phase of Ghaba is known only from the Shendi area while the Shaheinab phase spreads rapidly all over central Sudan, also reaching the interior, as attested at Shaqadud in the Butana region (Caneva/Marks 1990). This phase, like the Multaga phase in Upper Nubia, represents a period of integration. Pottery vessels, their decoration and other elements of the material culture, like the characteristic gouges, are clear markers of a regional identity, which encompasses the region at least to Jebel Aulia to the south and then to the south of Wadi Rabob and Wadi el-Hasib, south-east of Khartoum on the Blue Nile (Fernández Martinez et al. 2003a). At the very end of the 5th and at the beginning of the 4th millennium BC, the Shaheinab cultural phase suddenly disappears and is supplanted by a new cultural phase, the Late Neolithic, represented in the Shendi area by the sites of Kadada (Reinold 1982; 2007) located near Ghaba, on the east bank of the Nile. A number of sites and cemeteries, located in the Shendi region and as far south as Khartoum, can be assigned to this phase (Geili, Khartoum Hospital, Es-Sour, Qalaat Shanan).16 The Late Neolithic phase seems to be homogeneous in terms of pottery, shapes and decoration types and lithic production, with polished axes replacing gouges.

16 Caneva 1988; Arkell 1949; Sadig 2014; Nassr 2015.

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5 Conclusions The Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods represent an important stage in the evolution of Nile Valley societies and a prelude to the formation of the Kerma chiefdom/state in Sudan and the Pharaonic state in Egypt. The actual record of the Mesolithic, from north to south Sudan, composes a diversified mosaic; however, due to the many gaps in the territorial as well as chronological knowledge we are still forced to oversimplify. The situation is similar for the Neolithic. In the north, a large gap in the archaeological record separates the MNB phase from the first evidence of badly preserved Pre-Kerma settlements in the Kerma area, dating to the end of the 4th/beginning of the 3rd millennium BC; this obstructs our understanding of how and to what extent the Pre-Kerma cultural phase emerged from the previous Neolithic integration phase. In the south, the strong attempt at integration performed by the Shaheinab people seems to dissolve into a void of data and has little evidence postdating it. Currently, the Kadada cemeteries and the ‘proto-dynastic’ graves discovered by Arkell (1953) at Omdurman Bridge mark the beginning of a gap in our knowledge of the history of central Sudan until the appearance of the Meroitic and Post-Meroitic occupation of the area.

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Heiko Riemer and Karin Kindermann

Eastern Saharan Prehistory during the 9th to 5th Millennium BC: The View from the ‘Libyan Desert’ 1 Brief History of Archaeological Investigations Scientific exploration developed late in the remote desert hinterland of Sudan and Egypt, where large blank spots remained on the map until the 1920s and 30s. The deserts west of the Nile, traditionally called the ‘Libyan Desert’, saw its first boom in desert exploration during these decade, and it was also then that the first archaeological discoveries were made. Most of these activities were organized by British departments in Egypt and Sudan, mainly driven by geographical interests in frontier administration, and were accompanied by desert enthusiasts from all sides. Gertrude Caton-Thompson’s camel expedition over the Egyptian Limestone Plateau in 1928 and the prehistoric research that she conducted in the Kharga Oasis are truly the first major investigation in the systematic archaeology of this region. The discovery of rock art in Jebel Uweinat and Gilf Kebir in the borderland of Libya, Sudan and Egypt triggered a number of expeditions during the 1930s, especially the DIAFE (Deutsche Inner-Afrikanische Forschungsexpedition) 11 and 12 in 1933 and 1935, led by Leo Frobenius and Hans Rhotert, and the Sir Robert Mond Desert Expedition in 1938, which both set the pattern for rock art research in the Eastern Sahara. Interrupted by the war, desert exploration was not followed up until the close of the Nubian Campaign, with the exception of the Belgian rock art expedition to Jebel Uweinat in the late 1960s. Most of our knowledge about prehistoric settlement and cultures west of the Nile results from the following c. 40 years of archaeological research. In 1972, the CPE (Combined Prehistoric Expedition) set off to the Libyan Desert, where they have been conducting fieldwork to the present day. Other longterm missions entered the scene during the following decades, such as the DOP (Dakhleh Oasis Project), the Italian-Egyptian mission in the Farafra Oasis, as well as the Cologne University BOS (Besiedlungsgeschichte der Ostsahara) and ACACIA (Arid Climate, Adaptation and Cultural Innovation in Africa) projects that investigated a 1,500 km desert transect from the Mediterranean coast to Wadi Howar in Sudan.

2 Climate, Ecology and Resources during the Holocene Pluvial Today the Sahara is the largest and most arid temperate desert zone on earth. This especially pertains to its most continental eastern part in Egypt and northern Sudan https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-010

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Fig. 1: Most important sites and study areas investigated in the Libyan Desert, and the suggested change in vegetation zones during the Holocene (according to Kuper/Kröpelin 2006; Neumann 1989). Black dots represent study areas within the survey transect investigated by Cologne University; other study regions are: F = Farafra; D = Dakhla; A = Abu Tartur; K = Kharga; N = Nabta Playa and Bir Kiseiba.

where hyper-arid conditions with mean yearly rainfall of less than 5 mm prevail (New et al. 1999). Deep-lying oases are the only localities that are nowadays inhabited due to the permanent groundwater provided by the Nubian Aquifer under most of Egypt, eastern Libya, and northern Sudan west of the Nile. Yet the Sahara was not always so harsh during the past 10,000 years. Before climatic conditions reached those of the present, increased precipitation had turned the Eastern Sahara into a dry savannah-like environment with annual mean rainfall that has been estimated to have been some 50 to 150 mm (Neumann 1989; Wendorf et al. 2001) (Fig. 1). This Holocene humid phase, which set in after the hyper-arid Pleistocene around 9000 BC1 due to global warming and the northward shift of monsoonal rains into the Sahara, lasted for more than 4000 years before arid conditions started to return (Nicoll 2001; Kuper/Kröpelin 2006).

1 Absolute dating of events or phases based on radiocarbon are given as rounded calibrated dates in BC.

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Fig. 2: Time-frequency distribution of 520 calibrated radiocarbon dates from archaeological contexts in the Libyan Desert in Egypt during the Holocene Humid Phase (frequency histogram computed by group calibration using CalPal Calibration and Palaeoclimate Package, Version 2005).

Archaeological dating and chronology in the Libyan Desert are mainly founded on radiocarbon dating. In a desert environment, wind-erosion rates naturally exceed sedimentation, resulting in shallow deposit sites and surface aggregates often composed of multiple phases. Stratigraphy and context dating are reduced to exceptional geomorphological locations, such as lake deposits or rock shelters. Sequencing (seriation) and associating absolute dates by context are problematic, as is preservation of organic material. As elsewhere, archaeological phasing and date series are often biased by wiggle plateaus in the radiocarbon calibration curve, although this only becomes a substantial problem during the Predynastic and Dynastic Periods when contrasted with high resolution sequence dating and historical king lists. The compilation of more than 500 radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites in the Egyptian part of the Libyan Desert (the ‘Western Desert’) provides a good proxy of the human occupation history, and indirectly of the climate change that triggered periods in which desert areas became peopled or abandoned (Fig. 2). It indicates that the retreat of the summer rains to the south started around 5300 BC. This southward shift of the desert boundary was a gradual, probably staged process (Haynes 1987) with an average movement of some 35 km per 100 years (Kröpelin 1993). Hunter-gatherers began to leave regions of the Libyan Desert at this time, especially those far from access to permanent water, such as that provided by the Great Sand Sea (Kuper/Kröpelin 2006). By the mid-5th millennium BC most regions in Egypt outside of the Nile Valley, the oases and the few mountain refuges, were uninhabitable (Riemer et al. 2013). Consequently, groups remaining in the Egyptian refuges west of the Nile during the 4th millennium BC became largely isolated.

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Only in northern Sudan and some regions in southern Egypt do more intensive networks seem to have persisted or transformed into the new subsistence of pastoral nomadism adapted to a progressively dryer environment, along with the gradual southwards retreat of the monsoonal rains (cf. Gatto 2011). The climate-induced abandonment of large areas of the Libyan Desert inevitably resulted in migrational shifts of people into refuge areas, and finally also into the Nile Valley, as is indirectly inferred by some cultural traits shared by the latest groups in the Libyan Desert and the earliest Predynastic settlers in the Fayum and along the Nile (Riemer/ Kindermann 2008; Riemer et al. 2013). During the Holocene humid phase, the monsoonal summer rains fell as convectional rains, which usually feature torrential downpours, creating, over the Eastern Sahara, ephemeral wadi runoff and temporary lakes in endorheic inland basins where silty playa sediments still reveal their former existence (Kröpelin 1987). Moreover, winter rains driven by the west-wind occurred over the northern part of the Libyan Desert (Kindermann et al. 2006), apparently creating a bimodal rain pattern in the central part of the Western Desert following geomorphological observations in the oases of Farafra and Dakhla.2 For most of the Libyan Desert outside of the oases with their permanent access to groundwater, ephemeral watering places formed the key source for mobile hunter-gatherers during their seasonal rounds (Bubenzer/Riemer 2007). Rich archaeological camp sites are often to be found at such locations. A typical desert and dry savannah fauna with small gazelles and antelopes had occupied these landscapes, forming a resource for hunting, as evidenced in bone records from the camp sites.3 Gathering wild plant seeds, roots and tubers formed the vegetable food resource evidenced in archaeobotanical records;4 its processing on the camp sites is amply demonstrated by numerous grinding stones (Kindermann 2010; Lucarini 2014). However, the conditions during the humid phase were far from being a paradise. The rainfall estimates reveal an arid environment with high climatic variability expressed in a patchy and unpredictable availability of surface water and vegetation. These factors created high-risk and stressful living conditions for the foragers of the Western Desert. Flexible seasonal resource management, variable mobility patterns and high relevance of food sharing are likely to be adaptation expressions of risk minimization, as is amply demonstrated by the distribution of exotic objects, raw materials and pottery over hundreds of kilometres (Riemer 2007a). A closer look at the ecological zoning in the Western Desert illustrates that oases and mountain massifs constituted the nuclei of retreat areas during the dry season of the year-long or longer-lasting droughts. In its central part, the Egyptian oases created these retreat areas, which mainly coincide with the geological divide between the Egyptian Lime-

2 Hassan et al. 2001; Barich et al. 2014; McDonald 2009, 25–26. 3 Van Neer/Uerpmann 1989; Gautier 2001; Pöllath 2009. 4 Wasylikowa 2001; Thanheiser 2011; Fahmy 2014.

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stone Plateau in the north and the Nubian Sandstone in the south. There are only a few mountainous areas that provided lasting resources during most of the year, especially the Jebel Uweinat and the Gilf Kebir plateau in Egypt’s south-west.

3 Hunter-gatherer Cultural Traditions 3.1 The Early Holocene or Epipalaeolithic (c. 9000–6500 BC) The early Holocene occupation of the Libyan Desert, spanning from the 9th to the mid-7th millennium BC, is rather poorly substantiated compared to the subsequent mid-Holocene. This pertains especially to the very beginning when hunter-gatherers started to occupy the formerly hyper-arid environments of the Eastern Sahara. The thin data basis still hampers finding adequate answers to the key questions on how fast and from where people ventured into the greening desert regions. Although the northward shift of the monsoonal rains would suggest that the earliest huntergatherers came from the south, the oldest dates surprisingly come from sites in the Nabta Playa/Bir Kiseiba region in Egypt. Although some sites of the Early Khartoum Group are associated with early Holocene subsistence in central Sudan, there is a peculiar absence of data from the Libyan Desert in Sudan, perhaps because ‘much of the southern portion would have been swampy or flooded and so unfavourable for settlement’ (Clark 1984). In North African archaeology, there are various terms in circulation to denominate the early Holocene prehistory: scholars working in Egypt traditionally term this time period the ‘Epipalaeolithic’ (e.g. Vermeersch 1978; McDonald 1999), referring to an aceramic intermediate stage between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic. In Sudan, ‘Mesolithic’ is the prevailing term due to the occurrence of early pottery in a society without evidence of food-production (Arkell 1949; cf. Sadig 2013). With reference to (disputed) indications suggesting early cattle keeping, the CPE has introduced the term ‘Early Neolithic’ in the Nabta Playa/Bir Kiseiba region (Wendorf et al. 1984), which has otherwise not been adopted elsewhere. The Epipalaeolithic of the Sahara features some kind of conformity in its lithic industry with characteristic elongated microlithic implements and a number of other distinct tool types, combined with significant markers in technology, of which a regular (soft-hammer) blade industry is the most conspicuous one. Although spatial variations are apparent, there are astonishingly similar patterns throughout the Sahara (cf. Kuper 2015). Although a number of Epipalaeolithic sites have been investigated in the Libyan Desert spanning from the Siwa Oasis in the north to the Gilf Kebir in the south-west, and to the Dakhla Oasis in the east, the most complete and well-dated sequence has been established by the CPE at Nabta Playa and Bir Kiseiba.5 There, changes in 5 Wendorf/Schild 1980; Wendorf et al. 2001; 1984.

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Fig. 3: Key tools in the early Holocene Epipalaeolithic sequence (phase names after CPE sequence): 1–2 Elongated backed point (el-Adam); 3–5 Elongated scalene triangle (el-Ghorab); 6 Burin (el-Nabta).

the lithic tool kit are evident over the more than two thousand years this unit lasted, and are usually subdivided by three distinct phases (or ‘types’): the el-Adam type (c. 8800–8100 BC) is characterised by elongated backed points that are replaced by elongated scalene triangles during the el-Ghorab type (c. 7500–7200 BC); the final el-Nabta/el-Jarar type (c. 7100–6200 BC) features in its older stage high percentages of burins (Fig. 3).

3.2 The Mid-Holocene Diversity (c. 6500–4500 cal BC) The larger ecological zoning of the Libyan Desert, with its vast and various desert areas dependent upon unpredictable seasonal rains and the few intermittent oases and mountain areas, is not only reflected in high-mobility strategies, but also in patterns of cultural traditions during the second half of the Holocene humid phase, when the material culture in the Libyan Desert progressively separates into two distinct traditions (Fig. 4). This is indicated by chipped lithic material, both in flaking techniques and tool types, and by the occurrence of distinct ceramic traditions. In the flint-rich areas of the Egyptian Limestone Plateau ranging from the Nile Valley to the curve of the oases, the former blade industry is replaced by a less elaborate flake-oriented blank production, and increasingly by the collection of tabular flint slabs and thermo-clastic natural sherds from the desert surface, from which tools were directly made. Tool production is increasingly characterized by invasive and bifacial modification. The starting point of this development is difficult to define. New types appear rather inconspicuously during the second half of the 7th millennium BC, such as stemmed and leaf-shaped arrow points. During the 6th millennium BC this spectrum is refined by a number of distinctive tool types, such as various mostly bifacial arrow points, circular and other scrapers, and finally bifacial knives and side-blow flakes (Fig. 5A).

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Fig. 4: Map of the Libyan Desert during the 6th millennium BC showing the generalized distribution of the ‘bifacial complex’ and undecorated pottery of the Dakhla-type in the north, and the ‘Microlithic complex’ and related Khartoum-style pottery in the south.

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Fig. 5: Mid-Holocene lithic traditions in the Libyan Desert. A: ‘Bifacial complex’ in the northern Libyan Desert: 1–4 arrow points; 5 circular scraper; 6 bifacial knife; 7 scraper on side-blow flake; B: ‘Microlithic Complex’ in the southern Libyan Desert indicated by arrow heads: 1–5 transversals (triangles and trapezes); 6–8 lunates (segments); 9–10 triangular points; outer right: generalized sequence of the microburin technique (Tixier 1963, 137–145).

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Sites assigned to the Bashendi A and B phases in Dakhla (McDonald 1999), to the Wadi el-Obeiyed B at Farafra (Barich/Lucarini 2014), and the Djara A and B local phases on the Egyptian Limestone Plateau (Kindermann 2010) have yielded evidence of this lithic strategy that gave reason to establish the term ‘Bifacial complex’ for this tradition (Riemer/Kindermann 2008). In contrast, the south and south-west of the Libyan Desert is characterized by a dominating flake industry and the microburin technique to produce insets for arrow shafts (Riemer 2007b): short transversal triangles and trapezes, as well as segments (lunates) and simple triangular points (Fig. 5B). In order to distinguish this tradition from the ‘Bifacial complex’ of the north-east, it is termed ‘Microlithic complex’, for its most impressive feature is the secondary modification of flakes/ blades into microlithic elements (Riemer et al. 2013). The distinction of two cultural complexes in the Libyan Desert is largely reinforced by the occurrence of two pottery traditions, which overlap strikingly with the lithic traditions in space and time, though it is obviously more centred on refuge areas than on the remote desert regions. The southern ‘Microlithic complex’ is accompanied by Khartoum-style decorations typical for the Early Khartoum rocker stamping and Wavy Line tradition. Packed dotted zigzag and Wavy line are the most common designs in the Libyan Desert. Dotted and incised Wavy Lines rarely occur in Egypt and rather late in the sequence there (Fig. 6B). The earliest potsherds featuring Khartoum decorations were found in early Holocene sites in the Nabta Playa/Bir Kiseiba region (Nelson 2002). Radiocarbon dates from the associated sites cover the entire 9th and 8th millennium BC. Certainly, the number of potsherds from these contexts is extremely small compared to later phases (Gatto 2002), but the early age was recently confirmed by a few sherds from a stratified context at Nabta Playa, associated to a date around 8400 BC (Jórdeczka et al. 2011). In the vast desert areas to the west, however, the earliest Khartoum pottery appears only some 2000 years later, with a number of stratified contexts radiocarbon dated as early as 6500 BC (Kuper 1993; Riemer/Jesse 2006). The northernmost spread of Khartoum pottery reaches Dakhla, Abu Tartur and Kharga (Warfe 2003). In the southern Libyan Desert, Khartoum pottery is abundant as far south as the Wadi Howar region, some 900 km south of Dakhla. In the Laqiya region, the earliest evidence of this pottery is given from 5700 BC onwards,6 in Wadi Howar from around 5300 BC. Here, Khartoum pottery has often been found associated with so-called Laqiya type pottery, a regional decoration style confined only to the Laqiya region and the Wadi Howar (Jesse 2003; Jesse/Keding 2007). Sites in Egypt differ from southern sites in the proportion of decorated pottery. While Egyptian sites yielded only small amounts of decorated sherds as opposed to undecorated material, decorated pottery clearly predominates in sites in Sudan.

6 Jesse 2002; 2003, 169–194; Keding 2006; Lange 2006, 107.

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Fig. 6: Mid-Holocene ceramic traditions in the Libyan Desert. A: Undecorated thin-walled pottery from Dakhla and the Limestone Plateau in Egypt: 1–6 Vessel forms, decorated sherds are very rare; 7–8 Beaker decorations; 9 Black-topped and rippled; B: Khartoum-style pottery from southern Libyan Desert: 1–2 Vessel forms; 3 Incised wavy line (top) together with packed dotted zigzag; 4 Packed dotted zigzag.

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Khartoum pottery disappears in most northern regions with the onset of drier conditions around 5300 BC. At Nabta Playa and Bir Kiseiba, it is replaced around 5000 BC by other local traditions. Yet, farther south, it lasted significantly longer: in the mountain refuges of Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uweinat, it is replaced only after the mid-5th millennium BC by a new regional ceramic tradition of cattle pastoralist (Riemer et al., in press). In the Laqiya region, new pottery does not appear before 4700 BC with the Early Nubian Horizon (Lange 2006). The north-eastern ceramic tradition, which can be connected to the ‘Bifacial complex’ in the lithic material, features undecorated thin-walled small ceramic vessels distinctively different from the Khartoum-style pottery (Riemer/Schönfeld 2010; Riemer et al. 2013). Its dating is less precisely developed than the dating of Khartoum material, because most of the pottery comes from surface collections. However, it is evident that it predominantly occurs in inventories of the 6th millennium BC, with growing evidence in the second half. The vessel forms are of small size and thin-walled. While most vessels of this ceramic tradition comprise burnished or slightly polished surfaces, there are also red-polished surfaces, some of which indicate early blackened rims and rarely a kind of surface rippling (Fig. 6A). Some undecorated pottery from the Nabta Playa/Bir Kiseiba region might be seen in a related tradition, although this pottery tends to differ in fabrics and treatments. The spread of this pottery tradition is, however, more restricted because it centres especially around Dakhla Oasis (Hope 2002), as well as on the southern Egyptian Limestone Plateau (Riemer/Schönfeld 2010), with very few examples distributed as far north as the Djara sites, some 250 km north of Dakhla (Riemer/ Kindermann 2008). As a matter of fact, it is unknown from the Farafra region (Muntoni/Gatto 2014), and this still lacks a plausible explanation. However fragmentary our knowledge of sites in the Western Desert is, Dakhla currently appears as the main centre of this tradition (perhaps as its primary site of production). This pattern may parallel the ecological zoning with the oases as the nuclei of retreat, communication and exchange, while the spread of objects into the episodically occupied desert areas outside is more occasional. The two regional traditions mentioned above are quite distinctive in attributes and distribution, but on the archaeological map they appear with some overlap along their fringes (cf. Fig. 4). This contact zone is evident at Dakhla, in the south of Kharga Oasis, and in the Nabta Playa/Bir Kiseiba region. Sites situated in Dakhla and its southern and south-western margins are dominated by the bifacial tradition in lithics and the thin-walled Dakhla pottery. However, minor intrusions of microlithic elements and Khartoum-style potsherds occur as well (cf. Kharga Oasis, Dachy et al. 2018). The occurrences of elements of both traditions stand in inverse proportion according to the distance from the oases to the south and south-west. Sites some 80 to 100 km from the oasis proper still reveal a dominance in bifacial lithics and Dakhla pottery. The reverse is true when entering regions farther from the oasis. In the Great Sand Sea and at Mudpans, some 150 to 200 km from Dakhla,

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the predominance of microliths and Khartoum-style pottery is clearly indicated, while only very few elements of the bifacial tradition have been left there. There is currently no site beyond this that has produced evidence of bifacial elements. This distributional pattern can best be explained by the seasonal mobility of huntergatherer groups that usually covered up to some 100 to 150 km, rarely more, in search of water, vegetation and game (cf. Riemer 2007a).

4 Holocene Socio-economic Transformations In most parts of the Sahara, a full-fledged Neolithic subsistence, in terms of a sedentary lifestyle, together with agriculture and/or livestock keeping as the primary source of subsistence, has never been developed. The term ‘Saharan Neolithic’ found widely in older scholarly literature was mainly an archaeological misinterpretation of cultural groups using early ceramics, grinding stones and polished stone items. The foundation of this view lies in a largely Eurocentric position, which viewed the transition from hunter-gatherers to food-producers as a fundamental change (‘Neolithic revolution’) that is associated with the contemporaneous appearance of a ‘Neolithic package’ including the above cultural traits. In African contexts, the term ‘Neolithic’ is often more of a hindrance than a help (cf. Smith 2013). It is appropriate to be applied to fully food-producing farmers and herders who followed a sedentary way of life, the first indications of which come from the Nile Valley in Egypt and Sudan from the 5th millennium BC onwards, and probably from the Fayum already during the second half of the 6th millennium BC (Linseele 2013; Linseele et al. 2014). On the other hand, there were trends in the Libyan Desert during the 6th millennium BC of subsistence transformation among hunter-gatherers towards more diversified resource management and regionally adaptive practises. This also included, on a low level, the introduction of early livestock and a number of early transformations of the entire socio-economic complex.

4.1 Mobility Patterns, Innovative Technologies and Prestige Items Hunter-gatherer communities in the Libyan Desert during the 6th and early 5th millennium BC evince a number of changes in material culture, site structures and mobility patterns, as well as in the early appearance of domesticated livestock, all of which signals trends of socio-economic relevance. It is a matter of fact that not only pottery occurs in hunter-gatherer communities, but also the steady increase of grinding stones on camp sites. Micro-regional studies (e.g. Kindermann 2010; Kindermann/Bubenzer 2007) prompt the conclusion that – compared to the early

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Fig. 7: Grinding slab and associated hand stone cached in a small rock shelter at a camp site, still awaiting the return of their owner.

Holocene – mobility patterns markedly shift towards a logistical mobility system along Binford’s forager–collector continuum (Binford 1980). Camp sites at episodic water pools become larger, and more repeatedly and regularly occupied over longer portions of the year. Other resources, such as game and raw material for lithic production, were obtained during various logistical trips in the vicinity of the camps (Kuper/Riemer 2013, 42). The increased accumulation of grinding stones at the camp sites reveals that vegetal food resources were exploited from the surroundings of the camp sites and preferably processed at these sites (Lucarini 2014). The heavy lower grinders were usually left at the camp sites, indicating a certain predictability to return to the same sites (Fig. 7). Seasonal long-distance movements between the large camp sites still occurred, but became less frequent throughout the year, and perhaps covered a smaller territory as in the early Holocene. Moreover, research in the oases of Dakhla and Farafra has revealed the existence during the 6th millennium BC of large complexes of stone slab structures at playa depressions and outflows of major wadis (McDonald 2009; Barich et al. 2014). This is also the time when small livestock were kept at these sites. Although their function is not yet sufficiently clear, they indicate a nucleation of camp site activity and a kind of future-orientation at places that provide reliable water and food resources in retreat areas. As such, they are interpreted explicitly as an expression of ‘increased sedentism’ and ‘intensification’ of group agglomeration and local

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Fig. 8: Items probably representing the appearance of ‘Prestige Technologies’: 1. ‘Toggle’ made of an unusual and probably exotic stone; 2. Pendant worked from a cowrie shell (Cyprea) from the Red Sea; 3. Stone bead; 4. Stone labret; 5. Large bifacial point; 6. Flint knife with elaborate bifacial surface retouch.

resource management (McDonald 2009, 26). In looking for a rationale to explain this pattern, McDonald also refers to somewhat wetter conditions during the midHolocene, presumably fostered by the bi-seasonal precipitation pattern that provided rains during summer and winter (McDonald 2009, 26; cf. Barich/Lucarini 2014, 467). Yet the development in the oases did not develop in isolation from the desert territories outside. This is given by the overall connectedness of the different environments and their inhabitants, amply demonstrated by identical material cultures and the fact that the oases created retreat areas during the dry season or during longer periods of drought. Rather, the elaborate stone structures and the suggested semi-sedentism in the oases are a more pronounced result of the same shift to complexity occurring in the entire Western Desert, with the oasis sites constituting the stable retreat places of the same (still mobile) groups that ventured to the more ephemeral desert sites in seasons of increased rainfall. It has been emphasized that this kind of intensification ‘may also have been driven by (or have promoted) increased social complexity’ (McDonald 2009, 27), which might be indicated by a number of ‘prestige technologies’ (according to Hayden 1990; 1998) emerging at the same time, as represented by ‘labrets, carefully-

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Fig. 9: Grinding palette (right) and pestle (left).

fashioned large arrow heads, the scarce pottery of the time, and marine shell pendants’ (McDonald 2009, 27). The appearance of such objects increases during the end of the 6th millennium BC, often exotic in provenance and of unusual material. Among these are stone beads, labrets or ear/lip plugs, and the so-called toggles, as well as pierced shells of marine and land gastropods (Fig. 8.1–4). Such items do not only evidence far ranging contacts, which in the case of Red Sea cowries could only be obtained by exchange networks, but also the growing significance of adornment to express group or personal identity, and perhaps an incipient kind of social inequality among group members (McDonald 2009). Stone palettes and associated small pestles are another artefact class that begins to occur during this time. They might have been used for pulverizing ochres for rock art and body decoration (Fig. 9). As a parallel to McDonald’s large bifacial arrow (or spear) heads (Fig. 8.5), elaborately made bifacial flint knives can be interpreted in the same manner. They begin to appear in the second half of the 6th millennium BC on sites of the ‘Bifacial complex’ (Kindermann 2010; Barich et al. 2014) (Fig. 8.6). They indicate a very regular parallel (pressure) flaking of the surfaces, often with the handles carefully worked. The amount of work spent in the production of such show items certainly surmount the investment of time usually spent on solely utilitarian work tools. Moreover, these items were obviously not (primarily) produced as work tools, because the delicate bifacial modification prevents any re-sharpening of the knives without a substantial loss of material (cf. Kindermann 2010; Kuper/Riemer 2013, 42–44). Following McDonald, such items represent Hayden’s ‘prestige technologies’ that ‘are generated in resource-rich environments by ‘aggrandizing’ individuals who employ surpluses in a competition for power, prestige and wealth’ (McDonald 2009, 27; cf. 2008).

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4.2 Early Domesticated Animals The keeping of incipiently domesticated cattle is suggested for the early Holocene on the basis of bone remains of large bovids found at the respective sites of Nabta Playa and Bir Kiseiba (Wendorf et al. 1984; 2001). More recently, an autochthonous domestication of African cattle was supported by genetic studies of mitochondrial DNA lineages (cf. Linseele 2013, 98). However, the above bovid bones fall morphologically into the range of the Nile Valley wild cattle (Gautier 2001), and the assessment of their domesticated status builds largely on a number of environmental and ecological arguments.7 Judging from the analysis of osteometric data from early to mid-Holocene sites at Nabta Playa and Bir Kiseiba, a marked decrease in body size, as indicative of the domestication process in cattle, is for the first time evident in bones dating from 6000 BC onwards (Gautier 2001; Wendorf et al. 2001). Even if we take the domestication status of the early Holocene cattle for granted, this obviously had no substantial impact on other hunter-gatherer communities in the Libyan Desert. Rather, it appears that the undisputable keeping of cattle during the 6th millennium BC parallels initial attempts to integrate small and large livestock in increasingly complex hunter-gatherer communities in the Libyan Desert, which can be termed ‘pastro-foragers’ (Riemer 2007b). Although the number of sites providing evidence for domesticated animals and associated dating information is still small for this period (cf. Riemer 2007b; Linseele 2013), the existing data allow for a number of approximate conclusions. It is undisputable that sheep and goats were introduced from the Asian continent, because potential wild progenitors do not exist in Africa (Gautier 2001; cf. Linseele 2013). Yet, it is still a matter of debate when this took place, and how and where their introduction into and spread over North-east Africa can be reconstructed. Initial domestication of ovicaprids (goats or sheep) has been dated back in the Levant to the 8th millennium BC (Legge 1996). The 7th millennium BC is regarded as the period when Neolithic activity shifted to previously marginal regions out of the Levantine corridor, including the Sinai Peninsula, where contacts with African groups were conceivable. Although earlier contacts have been suggested (cf. Bar Yosef 2013), they did not leave much positive evidence in Egypt. Early evidence of small livestock (goat or sheep) was found at Sodmein Cave and Tree Shelter in the Eastern Desert with dates ranging between 6200 and 5300 BC.8 In the Libyan Desert, Farafra Oasis currently holds the earliest reliable evidence of small livestock dating to around 6000 BC (Gautier 2014). In the Dakhla Oasis, small livestock, and possibly cattle as well, have been identified from some Late Bashendi A sites, providing an approximate date range between 6200 and 5400 BC (McDonald 1998; 2001). An

7 Cf. Smith 1984; 1986; 2005; MacDonald 2000. 8 Vermeersch et al. 2015, 487; Vermeersch 2008; Linseele et al. 2010; Linseele 2013.

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ovicaprid bone fragment from a site at Djara, some 250 km north of Dakhla, is associated to a date around 5900 BC (Kindermann et al. 2006; Pöllath 2009). Although the percentages of domesticated animals in the bone records at sites of the 6th millennium BC vary, bones of game and other wild animals are predominant. Sites in remote desert locations have the lowest proportions, such as 1 % at Djara (Kindermann 2010), or even yield no evidence of domesticated animals. More favourable conditions in the oases or other refuges were perhaps supportive of keeping livestock in greater quantity, as might be suggested from the Nabta Playa/ Bir Kiseiba region where about 16 % of the bones are from cattle and small livestock (Gautier 2001). Hunting obviously still predominated as a source for meat, a fact which is also reflected in the still large amount of arrow heads in the lithic tool assemblages over most of the 6th millennium BC (Riemer 2007b). Early ovicaprids and cattle were introduced to hunter-gatherer communities, and there is no doubt that this happened through direct or indirect contact with groups that initially brought them into Africa. It is also established that this occurred around the same time as these communities started slowly to intensify subsistence along with technological innovation. Yet it is hard to say whether complexity and intensification were initiated by the incipient introduction of livestock, or if livestock was adopted at a certain point of technological and social complexity. The latter might be supported by the observation that a number of new cultural technologies, such as the increase in grinding stones or the earliest pottery, obviously predate the beginning of the 6th millennium BC. Starting from a more theoretical point of view, this interpretation might also be reinforced by the often cited conservatism of mainly egalitarian foragers whose risk-minimising mentality of food-sharing9 is opposed to an ideology of future-orientation by food and livestock accumulation, and social inequality (Woodburn 1982; Smith 1998). Thus, the introduction of livestock would need a certain substrate of initial inequality on which the keeping of stock can grow as a ‘delayed return foraging’ (Woodburn 1982, 432). On the other hand, it has been shown that food-sharing ideologies of relatively egalitarian hunter-gatherers are varied (Kent 1993) and not inviolable. They can be corrupted over time when in close contact with farmers or pastoral groups, and if domestic animals promise a major improvement in risk minimization (Cashdan 1980). Only during the final 6th and beginning 5th millennium BC, when the first desert regions were abandoned, did livestock begin to represent a significant component of subsistence. In the late 6th millennium BC, livestock account for some 35 % of bone records from the Nabta Playa/Bir Kiseiba region.10 The 5th millennium BC key site KS 43 in the south of Kharga Oasis even yielded 85 % livestock (Lesur et al. 2011), representing the accumulation of wealth on the hoof characteristic of pastoral societies (Kuper/Riemer 2013). It is during this time when arrowheads dramatically

9 E.g. Marshall 1976, 295; Winterhalder 1986; Kent 1993. 10 Lesur et al. 2011, 72; Riemer 2007b, 120; Gautier 2001.

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diminish or disappear. They were replaced by ‘show-tools’, prestige items and exotic objects, indicating a shift towards social complexity and pastoral ideology.

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Matthieu Honegger

The Holocene Prehistory of Upper Nubia until the Rise of the Kerma Kingdom Introduction The Holocene prehistory of Upper Nubia has long been poorly known due to the few research projects focused on this period. In comparison, Lower Nubia and the Central Sudan have been much better studied. In Lower Nubia the sequence of Nabta Playa 200 km west of the Nile (Wendorf/Schild 2001), complemented by the results of the High Dam campaign of the 1960s (Wendorf 1968), covers all of the Holocene from 8400 BC to historical times (Gatto 2011a). In the south, Central Sudan is rich in sites from the Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods (from 7000 to 3500 BC) even if there is still a chronological gap between the end of the Neolithic and the 2nd millennium BC (Usai 2016). Between these two aforementioned regions of the Nile Valley, more than 700 km apart, few studies concentrated on the prehistory of Upper Nubia until recently. This area, particularly its chronological and cultural sequence, remains poorly known even if some research has been or still is ongoing at different sites. Some of the research projects focused on Neolithic cemeteries of the 5th millennium that were identified south of the Kerma basin in Kadruka (Reinold 2001; 2006), in the Northern Dongola Reach (Welsby 2001; Salvatori/Usai 2008) or between Debba and Korti (Peressinotto et al. 2004). Along the Fourth Cataract, the construction of a new dam between 2004 and 2008 led to the discovery of Mesolithic and Neolithic sites, which are available in preliminary publications for the time being (Osypiński 2014). In the north, between the Second and the Third Cataracts, the excavations on Sai Island have revealed evidence of the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Pre-Kerma (Garcea/Hildebrand 2009). Despite these discoveries, the picture is patchy and does not allow for a clear understanding of the cultural dynamics in this part of the valley. For this reason, a programme of surveys and excavations has been conducted since 2000 in the area of Kerma, south of the Third Cataract, in order to build a chronological framework and to follow the evolution of human societies during the Holocene Period from the Mesolithic to the beginning of the Kerma civilisation. It has produced a large volume of new data that substantially modifies our perception of prehistory in Upper Nubia.1 The obtained results and the exceptional sites that were discovered are less due to the particularity of the region – rich in remains due to its geographical location – than a consequence of long term research.

1 Honegger 2004a; 2005; 2014; Honegger/Williams 2015. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-011

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1 The Kerma Area: Location, Chronology and Environment The Kerma area is located a few kilometres south of the Third Cataract on the right bank of the Nile. It consists of two main geological units: the Mesozoic Nubian Sandstone plateau lying at least 13 km east of the present-day Nile channel and the late Quaternary Nile alluvial plain situated between the plateau and the Nile. The alluvial plain includes the capital of the Kingdom of Kerma and its vast cemetery, which flourished between 2500 and 1500 BC. It belongs to the Northern Dongola Reach, which is the largest alluvial plain of Upper Nubia. For millennia the area has been densely populated, giving rise to a wealth of archaeological remains, whose number and interesting features were already noted during the surveys undertaken to the south of the region of Kerma (Reinold 1993; Welsby 2001).

Fig. 1: The Area of Kerma, south of the Third Nile Cataract (Sudan), with the location of the Holocene archaeological sites including the sites discussed in the text. The excavated sites are indicated by larger symbols.

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Kerma cemetery (19 dates)

Busharia II (4 dates) El-Barga (15 dates)

Kadruka (21 dates)

Probability density

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Wadi El-Arab (45 dates)

0.04 0.02 0

Busharia I (7 dates) caprines bovines

BC cal 8000

7000

barle y, wheat Neolithic

Mesolithic

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5000

storage pits Pre-Kerma

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3000

kingdom Kerma

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Fig. 2: C14 chronology of the human occupation in the Kerma area with the main cultural complexes and the innovations that characterized this evolution. For each site, the sum of the calibrated dates (2s) is represented by a density curve (OxCal v4.2.4; Bronk Ramsey 2009).

Around Kerma, recent surveys have revealed the presence of 130 sites belonging to the Holocene Period and dated between 8300 BC and the beginning of our era (Fig. 1). A large number of the discovered sites are eroded or partially destroyed by agriculture, but the fragmentary material they have yielded has generally been sufficient to propose reasonably precise dates by means of typological comparisons of the collected pottery, based on previous classifications. In most instances, the sites represent the remains of habitations, campsites or villages. A limited number of cemeteries were also found. The most interesting sites have been excavated and have provided numerous C14 dates on which to establish their chronologies (Fig. 2). This general chronological framework allowed the distinguishing of Holocene hunter-fisher-gatherer-groups, traditionally named Mesolithic in the Sudan; Neolithic pastoral societies who practice small-scale agriculture; the Pre-Kerma Period, which corresponds to a more complex agro-pastoral society; and the Kingdom of Kerma, the first state society in Upper Nubia characterised by a concentration of power, the development of urbanisation and the emergence of institutions. During the first half of the Holocene, North Africa was subject to important environmental changes with the return of the summer monsoon and its production of a wetter climate, which corresponds to the African Humid Period (AHP). This starts around 9000–8000 BC while the present-day (semi-)arid climate became established around 2500 BC (Usai 2016). The AHP was punctuated by some arid epi-

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sodes whose effects on human populations were more or less important (Zerboni 2013). In the Kerma area and in the Northern Dongola Reach, recent studies have tried to evaluate the effects of the environmental variations on human occupation, taking into consideration the river flow and floods, phenomena governed by climatic changes (Honegger/Williams 2015; Macklin et al. 2015).

2 From the Mesolithic to the Neolithic Societies During the first half of the Holocene, the sites are located on the fringes of the alluvial plain, above the Nile flood-waters. Three principal sites, which were occupied by either pottery producing Mesolithic groups of hunter-fisher-gatherers or groups from the beginning of the Neolithic, have been excavated with sequences stretching from 8300 to 5400 BC. The occupation started one or two centuries after that of the Eastern Sahara, which took place after the beginning of the AHP (Kuper/ Kröpelin 2006). The regular presence of habitation structures and the development of cemeteries allow us to hypothesize that the occupants were sedentary, or at least that they organised their activities around a principal habitation site. One of the excavated sites, Wadi el-Arab, extends over more than three hectares and contains stratified occupation levels (Honegger 2012; 2013a). It was occupied for almost three millennia and produced the bases of semi-subterranean habitations, hearths and some ten tombs disseminated within the habitations. A few kilometres to the south-west, the site of El-Barga has yielded the base of a hut dug into the Nubian sandstone dating from 7500 to 7300 BC. Close by lies a Mesolithic cemetery containing approximately 50 tombs dated between 7800 and 6900 BC (Honegger 2004b; 2006). A second necropolis, further south, contained some 100 tombs dating from the Early Neolithic between 6000 and 5500 BC. The contrast between the Mesolithic and Neolithic burials is striking and evokes those discovered in the Central Sahara (Sereno et al. 2008). The individuals from the earlier burials have a robust morphology (Crèvecoeur 2012) and are seldom buried with personal adornments. By contrast, the later ones are more gracile and are accompanied by offerings and personal effects, mostly tools and adornments made of polished stone, which were produced by a new technique in the region (axe blades, beads, labrets and earrings). The pottery presents either surfaces covered in impressed decorations (Sudanese Style) (Jesse 2010), or a burnished surface whose evolution has been traced in the Western Desert and which spread from the north to the south from c. 6500 BC (Riemer 2007). Finally, a bucranium was deposited on top of a tomb, which must have been from a domesticated bovid, given that the wild aurochs is not present during the Neolithic south of the Second Cataract (Linseele 2004). This cemetery provides evidence of the rites practised in the Nubian necropolises from the 5th millennium BC onward (Chaix 2011). Once again, the Initial Neolithic in north-east

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Africa does not appear to date from before 6200–6000 BC.2 This process occurs during a major period of Nile channel and floodplain contraction between 6150 and 5750 BC which coincided with drier conditions (Macklin et al. 2015). This MidHolocene aridification has likely been a critical stimulus for the Neolithisation process in north-east Africa (Barker 2013). Starting from 5400 to 5300 BC, most of the sites in the area of Kerma are relocated onto the alluvial plain. This shift occurs at precisely the same time as it does in the Egyptian Western Desert (Kuper/Kröpelin 2006), and could be the consequence of regional aridification, but the data collected in the Nile basin (floodplain, lake, delta) indicates higher river flows. This would suggest that local climate change made occupation of the desert plateau regions less viable, even if the Nile river does not seem to be influenced by this dry episode (Macklin et al. 2015). Beginning in the 5th millennium, the populations adopt a pastoral economy based on the breeding of bovines and caprines (Chaix/Honegger 2014); they may have also practised small-scale incipient agriculture (Out et al. 2016). On the plain, the earliest dated sites are represented by a series of villages found either on the surface or in stratigraphic contexts in the Kerma Eastern Cemetery, as well as by some 20 cemeteries at Kadruka and further to the south in the Northern Dongola Reach. These ensembles cover the whole of the 5th millennium BC, giving the impression that it was a prosperous period. This period of prosperity lasted for no more than a millennium in Sudan. Not a single site is known in the valley after 4000 BC (Sadig 2013) with the exception of the cemetery at Kadada in Central Sudan, dated c. 3600 BC (Reinold 2008). At Kerma, this hiatus lasted until at least 3400 BC, but in most of the regions of Upper Nubia, virtually nothing has been found prior to 2700–2600 BC. It would appear that around 4000 BC a prosperous and stable society that had lasted a millennium collapsed. The data on the Nile River dynamics indicates a major period of channel and floodplain contraction at c. 3700–3450 BC, which could explain why dryer conditions would have affected the human population. Nevertheless, we cannot rule out that sedimentary processes may have obliterated some of the sites from this period. This hiatus in occupation during part of the 4th millennium is not present in Egypt, where the population prospered under the development of the Predynastic Period. It could be that the arid episode was more marked in Nubia, but it is also possible that agricultural practices were more advanced in Egypt, already incorporating water catchment or irrigation systems, which allowed for a better resistance to shortfalls in precipitation or flooding.

2 Close 2002; Kuper/Riemer 2013; Linseele et al. 2014.

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3 From the Pre-Kerma to the Kerma Kingdom Beginning in 3400–3200 BC, traces of settlements are again found on the alluvial plain. These settlements belong to a cultural horizon known as Pre-Kerma and correspond to agro-pastoral populations with affinities with the A-Group from Lower Nubia, whilst also showing precursor affinities with the Kingdom of Kerma. Initial study of the Pre-Kerma pottery has helped to define a Middle Phase c. 3000 BC and a Late Phase between 2900–2600 BC (Honegger 2004a). The Early Phase is assumed to begin c. 3500 BC, but is, to date, not documented. The Middle Pre-Kerma pottery presents affinities with that of the A-Group. Many of the dishes and bowls are often red with black mouths and their surfaces are carefully polished. A fine rippled decoration evokes a decorative technique well attested in the A-Group, but here it is limited to the upper part of the pottery in the black-coloured area (Fig. 3). Some rare pots resemble the egg-shell pottery from the Terminal A-Group. This Middle Phase is only known from two settlements, one found in the middle of the Kerma Eastern Cemetery, the other on the Arduan Island (Edward/Osman 2011), where some of the pottery was similarly decorated. The Late Pre-Kerma pottery was somewhat different from that of the preceding period, presenting elements that herald the Early Kerma Period. The most characteristic decoration is composed of combed horizontal impressions and geometric fishbone motifs similar to those known from the Terminal A-Group. There are also impressed motifs of inverted triangles filled with geometric decorations, as well as a few red vases with black rims impressed with fine decorations below the lip recalling the characteristic Early Kerma decorations (Fig. 3). The comparison of these elements with other complexes has permitted the identification of the Late Pre-Kerma phase over a relatively extensive area, stretching from the Fourth Cataract in the south to Elephantine in the north. The most southerly site is a settlement 30 km south-west of Abu Hamed, close to the village of El-Ginifab (Herbst/Smith 2014). To the north, the assemblages related to the Pre-Kerma are known in the region of the Third Cataract (Edward/Osman 2011; Honegger/Williams 2015), at Soleb (Schiff-Giorgini 1971), Abudiya (Geus 1978) and Sai (Garcea/Hildebrand 2009). Similar pottery has also been found at Second Cataract sites, such as Saras (Mills 1967–1968), Buhen where it has been placed in a redefined B-Group (Gratien 1995), Faras (Nordström 1962) and even beyond in the stratigraphy of Elephantine (Raue 2014–2015). As regards the typology of the pottery, the differences between the PreKerma and A-Group are rather subtle and it is difficult to interpret their significance. Overall, they represent a single cultural horizon, but it could be that the differences observed reflect the existence of several political groups, similar to those described at a later date during the expeditions of Harkhuf under the reign of Pepi II. (Török 2009, 69–70). The continuity between Pre-Kerma and Early Kerma is demonstrated by the recent discovery of an initial phase in the Kerma Eastern Cemetery. Prior to this dis-

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Fig. 3: Pre-Kerma pottery. a. Middle Phase (c. 3000 BC); b. Late Phase (2900–2600 BC); c. Early Kerma ancien Phase (2550–2450 BC).

covery, the earliest known tombs were dated to c. 2500–2400 BC and were assimilated into the Early Kerma Phase (Bonnet 2000). To the west of this ensemble, several tens of earlier graves have been discovered and dated between 2550 and 2450 BC

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(Honegger 2013b). Their pits are a little more rectangular than those from Early Kerma, whilst the ritual is somewhat similar, with the bodies in a flexed position on their right side and heads pointing to the east, laid out on the pelt of a bovine with the ceramics placed on the surface, next to the tumulus. The pottery is, however, different, made up almost exclusively of red vases with black mouths, which are either undecorated or decorated with combed horizontal impressions, similar to those from the Late Pre-Kerma. No red pottery was found with black mouths and fine impressed decoration under the rim, so characteristic of the Early Kerma, just as few examples of C-Group pottery were discovered, although these are regularly found in the Early Kerma assemblages (Privati 1986). This initial phase of the cemetery is interesting since it belongs to the Kerma civilization, whilst being distinguished by a pottery with definite links to the Late Pre-Kerma. There was thus in all probability a degree of continuity of the population in the region to the south of the Third Cataract. The intrusive elements characteristic of the C-Group within the Kerma cemetery shortly after its initial phase continue to evade satisfactory explanation (Bonnet 1982; Honegger 2010). They could represent the arrival of a new human group from 2500 BC on if we accept the hypothesis that the C-Group, similar to the Kerma population, was an ethnic group (Hafsaas 2005). The origins of this group, which occupied Lower Nubia from 2500 BC, continues to be unknown, and its presence in the Kerma cultural context could be indicative of contacts between the two groups.

4 The Pre-Kerma Agglomeration and the Beginning of Complexity The Pre-Kerma is essentially known from settlements that have often been subjected to intense aeolian erosion. The habitations are made of wood and mud, with mudbricks only appearing towards the end of the Early Kerma Period, shortly before 2000 BC (Bonnet 2014). The remains, which are visible as depressions, particularly as regards the storage pits, are therefore not easily identifiable on the surface. On the Island of Arduan, the excavated area only brought to light a few such pits. At Sai there are more archaeological remains (Geus 2004; Garcea/Hildebrand 2009) and a concentration of about 100 storage pits. A certain number of them, particularly well preserved, were still equipped with the sealing mechanism, which consisted of slabs of shale and silt. Sherds were found in the pits, as well as 17 different varieties of plants and fruits. The most abundant remains consisted of wheat (Triticum dicoccum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare), which proves that the storage pits were used as granaries. Surfaces around the pits were excavated, but no other structural remains were found. At Sedeinga, some ten storage pits were also excavated, without any evidence for other structures (Delattre 2014), whereas above the

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Fig. 4: Plan of the Pre-Kerma agglomeration.

Fourth Cataract, the site close to the village of El-Ginifab produced evidence for two occupational phases dated between 3800 BC and 2300 BC. The evidence is in the form of semi-subterranean hearths and the post-holes of circular huts 4 m in diameter, as well as a rectangular building and a palisade (Herbst/Smith 2014). The best known settlement is currently a large agglomeration located in the Eastern Cemetery of Kerma, a few kilometres to the east of the ancient town (Honegger 2004b; 2007). The settlement has been excavated over a surface of about one and half hectare. It displays a fascinating image of the layout of an agglomeration that can no longer be considered as a simple village and which already bears witness to the densification as well as a complexification processes, characteristic of a proto-urban stage of development (Fig. 4). A total of 285 pits have been excavated and, considering how many must have been destroyed during the digging of the Kerma tombs, one can estimate that there must have been almost 500 of them. With the exception of two pits containing complete jars, the cavities only yielded fragments of objects. They give the impression of having been emptied prior to the abandonment of the site and in any case have not been reused as rubbish dumps. Their function probably involved the storage of cereals, as was the case regarding the pits on Sai Island. Two C14 dates have been obtained: one on charcoal from a pit and the other from the organic temper from one of the jars, which yielded almost synchronous dates around 3000 BC. Several types of buildings were identified,

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thanks to the alignments described by the post-holes. The most numerous represent habitation huts, the majority of which have a diameter close to 4 m, and a few others reach 6 m in diameter. On the edge of the area covered by the huts, two rectangular buildings were identified, one of which was rebuilt three times at precisely the same location, confirming the importance of the particular spot. It could have been an administrative building or the seat of power. The other building was erected with particularly large uprights, with an apse on the north side, which evokes the form of temples during the Kerma Period (Bonnet 2000). Numerous regular alignments of posts correspond to palisades, and if some of these appear to mark separations inside the habitations, the majority are located on the periphery of the settlement. They trace large oval enclosures, which correspond to cattle pens, like those currently known on the periphery of present-day villages in East Africa, where pastoralism is practised (Denyer 1978). The hoof-prints of bovines identified inside one of these enclosures confirm this interpretation. Finally, the most spectacular remains have been discovered to the north of the excavated area. They consist of an impressive system of fortifications, 8 m wide, made up of at least six parallel rows of palisades, reinforced with earthworks. Although the detailed organization of this structure is hard to understand due to the numerous superimposed reconstruction phases and the more marked erosion in certain sectors, two entrances can be clearly made out. These are 70 m apart, with one being 8 m wide, whilst the second, close to a cluster of habitation huts, is limited to 4 m. The total agglomeration must have covered an extensive area of 5 to 10 ha. The duration of the occupation – such as can be estimated based on the pottery style, the dates and the number of reconstructions – does not appear to have exceeded a century. We can consider that this settlement represents a first evolutionary phase, which would, 500 years later, give birth to the town of Kerma, located 4 km to the west, nearer to the present-day course of the River Nile (see Ch. Bonnet). The site might have been abandoned due to the progressive silting up of the Nile channels close-by. Architecturally, the Pre-Kerma agglomeration bears characteristics similar to those south of the Sahara and no similar site has been identified in the Nile Valley, where sites for the period in question have only very partial plans, and thus do not allow for a clear understanding of the general settlement organization (Midant-Reynes 2003). As compared to the ancient city of Kerma, the Egyptian influence is not perceptible due to the fact that mud-brick was as yet unknown and quadrangular buildings were rare. Some architectural similarities were, however, present in the ancient town: Storage pits have been found in the oldest levels, wooden palisades were used and huts continued to exist in some quarters (Bonnet 2014). The construction of a real defensive structure surrounding the agglomeration during the Pre-Kerma underscores the need for defence and indicates that conflicts could exist between communities established in Upper Nubia. The important number of storage pits, which is regularly mentioned in other settlements, signifies that agriculture was practised more intensively at that time. The large animal corrals inside the protec-

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tive structure confirm the importance of pastoralism within these 3rd millennium BC societies, which has on numerous occasions been claimed for the A-Group (Gatto 2011b), the C-Group (Bangsgaard 2014; Hafsaas 2005) as well as the Kerma civilization (Chaix et al. 2012). This is explicitly expressed in the funerary rituals, but also by the presence of figurines and the representations of bovines, as well as by the supposedly ephemeral nature of their campsite settlements, which leave few identifiable remains.

5 The First Stages of the Kerma Eastern Cemetery The Eastern Cemetery of Kerma is the largest known for this kingdom, which extended from the Second to the Fourth Cataract. It is located 4 km east of the ancient city in the direction of the desert. Its exploration was initiated by George A. Reisner, who between 1913 and 1916 excavated hundreds of graves (Reisner 1923; Dunham et al. 1982). In 1977, archaeological work at Kerma was resumed by a Swiss team led by Charles Bonnet, who – during more than 30 years – undertook extensive excavations in the ancient city and opened 27 sectors in different areas of the cemetery in order to establish a precise chronology of this civilisation.3 Since 1998, a new project has been initiated in the oldest sectors of the cemetery to better understand the first stages of development and the emergence of a stratified society (Honegger 2013b; Honegger/Fallet 2015). A recent plan of the cemetery, including the tumuli of the largest graves visible on the surface and the main graves excavated by the different teams, gives a general idea of its organisation (Fig. 5). To date, it covers about 70 ha and, according to estimates calculated from completely excavated sectors, comprises approximately 40,000 tombs. Since the time of Reisner, its western part has been partially destroyed by the extension of agriculture. The Eastern Cemetery is one of the few areas of the Kerma alluvial plain that has not been cultivated over the millennia. The sheer number of graves, particularly their stone and earth tumuli, has contributed to the preservation of the area. For this reason, the remains of many Neolithic settlements have been found on the surface or in stratigraphic contexts, covered by silt deposits from ancient Nile floods. In the centre of the cemetery (sector 12), the PreKerma agglomeration covering many hectares was also discovered (see above). Developed from north to south, the necropolis was exploited during the entire span of the Kerma civilisation. A first detailed chronology of this civilisation was proposed by a study based on the material recovered from the excavations within the cemetery of Sai Island (Gratien 1978). This chronology was improved by the work based on the ceramics from the excavations of Bonnet in the Eastern Ceme-

3 Bonnet 1992; 2000; Emberling 2014.

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Sectors excavated by the Swiss mission

4 initial limit of the cemetery

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Kerma ancien Kerma moyen

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Kerma classique

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Sectors excavated by Reisner

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Fig. 5: Plan of the eastern cemetery of Kerma with the main graves and tumuli, and the location of the excavated sectors.

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tery (Privati 1999). A division of the Kerma civilisation into three periods was proposed: Kerma ancien (KA: 2500–2050 BC), Kerma moyen (KM: 2050–1750 BC) and Kerma classique (KC: 1750–1500 BC). Each period is subdivided into phases: KA I– IV, KM I–VIII and KC I–II. The dating of the phases was established by the associated Egyptian pottery (Bourriau 2004). More recently, a series of C14 dates obtained from the oldest part of the necropolis suggest that the first graves were established c. 2550 BC with an initial Kerma ancien phase in which pottery shows analogies with the Late Pre-Kerma (see above). The Kerma ancien phase I developed between 2500 and 2300 BC, followed by phase II (2300–2100 BC). The main characteristics of the funerary ritual and its evolution are well known and have been described on numerous occasions (Reisner 1923; Bonnet 2000). The graves can attain depths of 2 m, even more for the largest ones. Each grave is covered by a tumulus composed of mud, with black stones and white gravel on top, carefully arranged in circular patterns. Some pottery is placed around the tumuli. Within the tombs, the bodies were in the same flexed position resting on the right side, head toward the east. During the Kerma ancien, they are systematically placed on a carefully cut piece of bovine skin and then covered by a second skin. Later, they are installed on a bed. The Kerma ancien tombs are circular and small; they generally contain the remains of a single individual. Only at the end of this period do larger burials appear; these are indicative of greater social distinction between individuals. Objects deposited within and around these burials are notably more numerous, as is the presence of animal offering. Pottery and objects imported from Egypt can be found in small proportion during this period (1 to 5 %) and will increase later, especially during the Kerma classique. Complete caprines and dogs are placed in the graves and bucrania can be deposited in front of the tumuli. During the Kerma moyen, several hundreds of them can be found close to the largest graves (Chaix et al. 2014). Within some graves, the bodies of accompanying individuals are interred next to the central burial. Around or sometimes inside the largest tumuli small subsidiary graves were dug. Differences between burials increase during the Kerma moyen, and at this time it is not rare to find grave-pits of up to 10–15 m in diameter. This ranking between burials suggests a stratified society, which will culminate at the end of the Kingdom of Kerma. The central inhumations in the largest tumuli are supposed to be the graves of the rulers, the other tumuli could belong to high status individuals or to free men and women (Hafsaas-Tsakos 2013). Anthropological studies indicate that the accompanying individuals deposited around the central inhumation and those coming from subsidiary small graves show similarities with the people buried in the other graves (Eades 2003; Judd/Irish 2009). They could be part of the Kerma community. In certain instances, a mud-brick chapel was erected on the west side of the tumulus. During the Kerma classique Period, pits are generally rectangular. Animal offerings in the graves become less numerous compared to the earlier period. Bucrania are still deposited in front of burials, but are lesser in number. Even in the larger tombs, measuring more than 30 m in diame-

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ter, only a few dozen were included. The decrease in the use of oxen in the funerary rituals corroborates the notion of the decline in stock breeding due to the increased aridity, which was noted with the fauna of the city of Kerma (Chaix 1994). The Kerma classique Period can be divided in an Early Phase with tumuli no larger than 40 m and a Late Phase with the largest graves of the cemetery. The three most famous ones were built to a uniform size with tumuli approximatively 90 m in diameter (KIII, IV, X). They are composed of a complex internal structure of mud-brick walls, with a corridor accessing a central vaulted chamber. They are assumed to belong to the most powerful rulers of Kerma (Kendall 1997). It is in these royal graves than the number of subsidiary graves and accompanying individuals increase considerably and can reach many hundreds. The grave goods found in these burials and in some subsidiary ones were particularly elaborate and the proportion of Egyptian imports high. The fine Nubian pottery, some burial beds with ivory inlays representing animals and probably divinities, mica ornaments of leather caps, quartzite statues and others of local production express the richness and the sophistication of the Nubian society. Many other objects were of Egyptian origin, obtained by trade (jars, copper daggers, etc.) or obtained during periodic raids such as was probably the case of the Middle Kingdom statues found in the largest graves. Two monumental funerary chapels (KI, KXI) were erected north-west of the tumuli KIII and KX. They measure about 40 to 50 m in length and are composed of two narrow rooms. Their internal walls were painted with scenes of animals and fleets of ships (Bonnet 2000). The Eastern Cemetery was abandoned with the conquest of Kush by the Egyptians during the 18th Dynasty. Systematic excavations have been carried out in recent years in the most ancient sectors of the cemetery. During the Kerma ancien I, between 2500 and 2300 BC, the small burials do not contain numerous grave deposits and they give the image of relative equality of treatment in the face of death. Animal sacrifices are not attested and graves with accompanying individuals are exceptional. These first inhumations were less rich in objects of value than the later ones and thus less attractive to the pillagers. About two-thirds of them were still intact or have only been slightly disturbed (Honegger/Fallet 2015). The Kerma ancien II phase (2300–2100 BC) shows spectacular changes in the funerary rites. The tombs are generally larger, contain more objects and were systematically plundered. Animal sacrifices make their appearance (dogs, caprines), as do bucrania in front of the tumuli. Tombs with multiple burials are also more frequent. All these indices point to the emergence of a first stratification within society, before the appearance of the first large tumuli 20 m in diameters at the end of the Kerma ancien and the beginning of the Kerma moyen (Hafsaas-Tsakos 2013). In sector 23 (Kerma ancien II) a total of 27 tombs with bow(s) and/or quivers have been identified, whilst 9 others contained a stick (Fig. 6). The presence of the bow and its attributes (quiver, arrows) clearly evokes the importance of the bowmen in Nubia, particularly in the Kingdom of Kerma. The anthropological study of the skeletal remains shows that these archers are always

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1m

Fig. 6: Graves of an archer and of a woman with a stick of the Kerma ancien II Phase (2300–2100 BC), found in sector 23 of the eastern cemetery of Kerma. The grave of the archer contained two individuals: A young man in central position and a woman placed by his side. A dog, a bow, an ostrich feather fan, and a bronze mirror accompanied the young man. The grave with a wooden stick contained a woman of 20–29 years. Both graves were partially plundered and a part of the skeletons is reconstructed here.

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represented by adult males, whilst those with sticks are associated with females. When they were not too heavily plundered, these graves regularly contained an ostrich feather fan that was placed in the hand of the deceased, sea-shell earrings, strings of stone or faience beads, bracelets or rings. More valuable grave goods were represented by bronze mirrors slipped into their leather bag, pendants, necklaces and earrings made of gold. At the feet of the deceased a leather bag has sometimes been found, whilst in the larger tombs one or two sacrificed dogs, or else sheep were present. The references to war, the hunt and pastoralism no doubt bore symbolic value. In Pre-Dynastic Egypt, hunting scenes in iconography usually express the power of the elite (Hendrickx 2013). Bows, dogs on leads, control of the natural world and their correlation with military triumphs are part of the recurrent themes later found in Pharaonic Egypt. By analogy, it is possible that the references to the hunt or warfare at Kerma carry the same connotations. The Kerma ancient II phase is contemporary with the 5th Dynasty. It is a period of more intensive interactions with the Egyptians as related in Harkhuf’s biography (Török 2009, 67–72). The contacts would not have always been peaceful and could have valorised the role of archers. In any case, in the Eastern Cemetery this period shows the emergence of a first elite, which expresses itself in richer tombs in which an important number are endowed with bows and to a lesser extent with sticks. From this time on the Kerma society will evolve rapidly into a more stratified and more complex society.

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Bibliography Bangsgaard, Pernille (2014): Nubian Faunal Practices: Exploring the C-Group “Pastoral Ideal” at Nine Cemeteries. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 347–355. Bonnet, Charles (1982): Les fouilles archéologiques de Kerma (Soudan). Rapport préliminaire sur les campagnes de 1980–81 et 1981–88. In: Genava n.s. 30, p. 1–42. Bonnet, Charles (1992): Excavations at the Nubian Royal Town of Kerma 1975–91. In: Antiquity 66, p. 611–25. Bonnet, Charles (2000): Edifices et rites funéraires à Kerma. Mission archéologique de l’Université de Genève à Kerma (Soudan). Paris: Editions Errance. Bonnet, Charles (2014): La ville de Kerma. Une capitale nubienne au sud de l’Egypte. Mission archéologique de l’Université de Genève au Soudan. Lausanne: Favre. Bourriau, Janine (2004): Egyptian Pottery Found in Kerma Ancien, Kerma Moyen, and Kerma Classique Graves at Kerma. In: Kendall, Timothy (ed.): Nubian Studies 1998. Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the International Society of Nubian Studies, August 21–26, 1998, Boston, Mass. Boston: Department of African-American Studies. Northeastern University, p. 3–13. Bronk Ramsey, Christopher (2009): Bayesian Analysis of Radiocarbon Dates. In: Radiocarbon 51/1, p. 337–360. Chaix, Louis (1994): Nouvelles données de l’archéozoologie au nord du Soudan. In: Berger, Catherine / Clerc, Gisèle / Grimal, Nicolas (eds.): Hommages à Jean Leclant. Vol. 2: Nubie, Soudan, Éthiopie. Bibliothèque d’Étude 106/2. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale, p. 105–110. Chaix, Louis (2011): A Review of the History of Cattle in the Sudan throughout the Holocene. In: Jousse, Hélène / Lesur, Joséphine (eds.): People and Animals in Holocene Africa. Recent Advances in Archaeozoology. Reports in African Archaeology 2. Frankfurt am Main: Africa Magna, p. 13–26. Chaix, Louis / Dubosson, Jérôme / Honegger, Matthieu (2012): Bucrania from the Eastern Cemetery at Kerma (Sudan) and the Practice of Cattle Horn Deformation. In: Kabaciński, Jacek / Chłodnicki, Marek / Kobusiewicz, Michał (eds.): Prehistory of Northeastern Africa. New Ideas and Discoveries. Studies in African Archaeology 11. Poznań: Archaeological Museum, p. 189–212. Chaix, Louis / Honegger, Matthieu (2014): New Data on Animal Exploitation from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic Periods in Northern Sudan. In: Kerner, Susanne / Dann, Rachael Jane / Bangsgaard, Pernille (eds.): Climate and Ancient Societies. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculaneum Press, p. 197–214. Close, Angela E. (2002): Sinai, Sahara, Sahel: The Introduction of Domestic Caprines to Africa. In: Jennerstrasse 8 (eds.): Tides of the Desert – Gezeiten der Wüste. Contributions to the Archaeology and Environmental History of Africa in Honour of Rudolph Kuper. Africa Praehistorica 14. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 459–469. Crèvecour, Isabelle (2012): First Anthropological Insights on the Early Holocene Funerary Assemblages from El-Barga, Kerma. In: Kerma. Documents de la mission archéologique Suisse au Soudan 4, p. 19–28. Delattre, Hélène (2014): The Pre-Kerma Site of Sedeinga. In: Honegger, Matthieu (ed.): Abstracts of Papers presented at the 13th International Conference for Nubian Studies. Neuchâtel: Université de Neuchâtel, p. 41–42.

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Honegger, Matthieu (2004b): Settlement and Cemeteries of the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic at El-Barga (Kerma Region). In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 8, p. 27–32. Honegger, Matthieu (2005): Kerma et les débuts du Néolithique africain. In: Genava n.s. 53, p. 239–249. Honegger, Matthieu (2006): El-Barga: un site clé pour la compréhension du Mésolithique et du début du Néolithique en Nubie. In: Revue de Paléobiologie 10, p. 95–104. Honegger, Matthieu (2007): Le Pré-Kerma de Haute Nubie. In: Archéo-Nil 16, p. 77–84. Honegger, Matthieu (2010): La Nubie et le Soudan: un bilan des 20 dernières années de recherche sur la Pré- et Protohistoire. In: Archéo-Nil 20, p. 76–86. Honegger, Matthieu (2012): Excavations at Wadi El-Arab and in the Eastern Cemetery of Kerma In: Kerma. Documents de la mission archéologique Suisse au Soudan 4, p. 3–9. Honegger, Matthieu (2013a): Wadi El-Arab: Seeking out Occupations from the 6th Millennium BC. In: Kerma. Documents de la mission archéologique Suisse au Soudan 5, p. 11–16. Honegger, Matthieu (2013b): The Oldest Sectors of the Eastern Cemetery: Neolithic Occupations and the Early Stages of the Kerma Civilisation. In: Kerma. Documents de la mission archéologique Suisse au Soudan 5, p. 17–31. Honegger, Matthieu (2014): Recent Advances in our Understanding of Prehistory in Northern Sudan. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 19–30. Honegger, Matthieu / Fallet, Camille (2015): Archers’ Tombs of the Kerma ancien. In: Kerma. Documents de la mission archéologique Suisse au Soudan 6, p. 16–30. Honegger, Matthieu / Williams, Martin (2015): Human Occupations and Environmental Changes in the Nile Valley during the Holocene: The Case of Kerma in Upper Nubia (Northern Sudan). In: Quaternary Science Reviews 130, p. 141–154. Jesse, Friederike (2010): Early Pottery in Northern Africa: An Overview. In: Journal of African Archaeology 8/2, p. 219–238. Judd, Margareth A. / Irish, Joel D. (2009): Dying to Serve: The Mass Burials at Kerma. In: Antiquity 83, p. 709–22. Kendall, Timothy (1997): Kerma and the Kingdom of Kush 2500–1500 BC. The Archaeological Discovery of an Ancient Nubian Empire. Washington DC: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. Kuper, Rudolph / Kröpelin, Stefan (2006): Climate-controlled Holocene Occupation in the Sahara: Motor of Africa’s Evolution. In: Science 313, p. 803–807. Kuper, Rudolph / Riemer, Heiko (2013): Herders before Pastoralism: Prehistoric Prelude in the Eastern Sahara. In: Bollig, Michael / Schnegg, Michael / Wotzka, Hans-Peter (eds.): Pastoralism in Africa. Past, Present and Future. New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books, p. 31–65. Linseele, Veerle (2004): Size and Size Change of the African Aurochs, In: Journal of African Archaeology 2/2, p. 165–185. Linseele, Veerle / van Neer, Wim / Thys, Sophie / Phillipps, Rebecca / Cappers, René / Wendrich, Willeke / Holdaway, Simon (2014): New Archaeozoological Data from the Fayum “Neolithic” with a Critical Assessment of the Evidence for early Stock keeping in Egypt. PloS ONE 9(10): e108517 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108517). Macklin, Mark G. / Toonen, Willem H. J. / Woodward, Jamie C. / Williams, Martin A. J. / Flaux, Clément F. / Marriner, Nick / Nicoll, Kathleen A. / Verstraeten, Gert / Spencer, Neal / Welsby, Derek Anthony (2015): A New Model of River Dynamics, Hydroclimatic Change and Human Settlement in the Nile Valley derived from Meta-analysis of the Holocene Fluvial Archive. In: Quaternary Science Reviews 130, p. 109–123. Midant-Reynes, Béatrix (2003): Aux origines de l’Égypte. Du Néolithique à l’émergence de l’Etat. Paris: Fayard.

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Mills, Anthony J. (1967–1968): The Archaeological Survey from Gemai to Dal: Report on the 1965–1966 Season. In: Kush 15, p. 200–210. Nordström, Hans-Åke (1962): Excavations and Survey in Faras, Argin and Gezira Dabarosa. In: Kush 10, p. 34–58. Osypiński, Piotr (2014): Prehistory of the Fourth Cataract. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/ Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 9–17. Out, Welmoed A. / Ryan, Philippa / García-Granero, Juan José / Barastegui, Judith / Maritan, Lara / Madella, Marco / Usai, Donatella (2016): Plant Exploitation in Neolithic Sudan: A Review in the Light of New Data from the Cemeteries R12 and Ghaba. In: Quaternary International 412, p. 36–53 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.12.066). Peressinotto, David / Schmitt, Aurore / Lecointe, Yves / Pouriel, Raphaël / Geus, Francis (2004): Neolithic Nomads at El Multaga, Upper Nubia, Sudan. In: Antiquity 78/299, p. 106–112. Privati, Béatrice (1986): Remarques sur les ateliers de potiers de Kerma et sur la céramique du Groupe C. In: Genava n.s. 34, p. 23–28. Privati, Béatrice (1999): La céramique de la nécropole orientale de Kerma (Soudan): Essai de classification. In: Cahier de Recherche de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Egyptologie de Lille 20, p. 41–69. Raue, Dietrich (2014–2015): Nubier auf Elephantine und an der Stufenpyramide von Sinki. In: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 70–71, p. 1–12. Reinold, Jacques (1993): S.F.D. A. S. Rapport préliminaire de la campagne 1991–1992 dans la province du Nord. In: Kush 16, p. 150–157, 162–164. Reinold, Jacques (2001): Kadruka and the Neolithic in the Northern Dongola Reach. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 5, p. 2–10. Reinold, Jacques (2006): Les cimetières préhistoriques au Soudan – coutumes funéraires et systèmes sociaux. In: Caneva, Isabella / Roccati, Alessandro (eds.): Acta Nubica. Proceedings of the X International Conference of Nubian Studies, Rome 9–14 September 2002. Rome: Libreria dello Stato, p. 139–162. Reinold, Jacques (2008): La nécropole néolithique d’El-Kadada au Soudan Central. Vol. 1: Les cimetières A et B (NE-36–0/3-V-2 et NE-36–0/3-V-3) du kôm principal. Paris: Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations. Reisner, George Andrew (1923): Excavations at Kerma I–III and IV–V. Harvard African Studies 5–6. Cambridge, Mass.: Peabody Museum of Harvard University. Riemer, Heiko (2007): Mapping the Movement of Pastro-foragers: The Spread of Desert Glass and other Objects in the Eastern Sahara during the Holocene Humid Phase. in: Bubenzer, Olaf / Bolten, Andreas / Darius, Frank (eds.): Atlas of Cultural and Environmental Change in Arid Africa. Africa Praehistorica 21. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 30–33. Sadig, Azhari Mustafa (2013): Reconsidering the Meolithic and Neolithic in Sudan. In: Shirai, Noriyuki (ed.): Neolithisation of Northeastern Africa. Studies in Early Near Eastern Production, Subsistence, and Environment 16. Berlin: ex oriente, p. 23–42. Salvatori, Sandro / Usai, Donatella (eds.) (2008): A Neolithic Cemetery in the Northern Dongola Reach: Excavations at Site R12. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 16. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1814. Oxford: Archaeopress. Schiff-Giorgini, Michaela (1971): Soleb. Tome II: Les nécropoles. Firenze: Sansoni. Sereno, Paul C. / Garcea, Elena A. A. / Jousse, Hélène / Stojanowski, Christopher M. / Saliège, Jean-François / Maga, Abdoulaye / Ide, Oumarou A. / Knudson, Kelly J. / Mercuri, Anna Maria / Stafford Jr., Thomas W. / Kaye, Thomas G. / Giraudi, Carlo / Massamba N’siala, Isabella / Cocca, Enzo / Moots, Hannah M. / Dutheil, Didier B. / Stivers, Jeffrey P.

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(2008): Lakeside Cemeteries in the Sahara: 5000 Years of Holocene Population and Environmental Change. In: PLoS ONE 3(8): e2995 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0002995). Usai, Donatella (2016): A Picture of Prehistoric Sudan: The Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods. Oxford Handbooks Online. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2001): Life on the Desert Edge. Seven Thousand Years of Settlement in the Northern Dongola Reach, Sudan. 2 Vols. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 7. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 980. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Wendorf, Denver Fred (ed.) (1968): The Prehistory of Nubia. 2 Vols. The Fort Burgwin Research Center Publication 5. Southern Methodist University Contributions in Anthropolgy 2. Dallas: Fort Burgwin Research Center and Southern Methodist University Press. Wendorf, Denver Fred / Schild, Romuald (eds.) (2001): Holocene Settlement of the Egyptian Sahara. Vol. 1: The Archaeology of Nabta Playa. New York: Springer. Zerboni, Andrea (2013): Early Holocene Palaeoclimates in Northern Africa: An Overview. In: Shirai, Noriyuki (ed.): Neolithisation of Northeastern Africa. Studies in Early Near Eastern Production, Subsistence, and Environment 16. Berlin: ex oriente, p. 65–82.

Bastien Jakob

Holocene Lithic Industries in Nubia 1 Introduction Lithic industries are unavoidable sources of information for the study of Prehistoric Cultures. However, they lose some of their importance during the Holocene with the diversification of the material culture and the introduction of pottery in particular, which is considered a better chrono-cultural marker. With the advent of pottery, lithic studies become less detailed and have even been omitted when the first metal objects make their appearance, so that flint is relegated to a secondary position in the analysis of the material culture. In Nubia, starting in the 2nd millennium BC, the manufacture of stone objects is progressively replaced by those made of metal. For the most part, therefore, the most important studies regarding lithic industries relate to prior periods. Flint, however, retains a place in Nubian production up to the beginning of the current era. This chapter retraces over 9000 years of Nubian lithic industries and takes us on a journey in time from hunter-gatherers to the Kushite Kingdoms (Fig. 1). In Nubia, the Holocene lithic productions show little technical and typological diversification when compared, for example, with that in Egypt, where the large Predynastic and Early Dynastic ripple-flaked blades attain technological and aesthetic levels seldom reached (Hikade 2010). As a matter of fact, here in Nubia, the debitage is characterised by small volumes, essentially of flint, chert, agate or quartz pebbles (< 10 cm), found in the alluvial terraces of the Nile, or coming from the wadi water-courses which constrained the work of the knappers. The sources and quality of the available raw material are limited. The dimensions of the objects are small and the knapping skills utilised to produce tools and armatures somewhat limited; abrupt retouch, sometimes obtained on an anvil, is the most prevalent. One of the major problems facing researchers is that of obtaining collections from controlled contexts which are well defined chronologically. The finds come either from highly eroded surface collections – which have been abraded by wind action (the erosion of the stratigraphy increasing the risk of stratigraphic mixing) – or else from more dilated stratified contexts, but where the stratification is difficult to read and where perturbations (ditches, bioturbation, cracking from desiccation, etc.) frequently result in mixing. The only series that come from closed and clearly dated contexts are those from necropolises, especially from the Neolithic Period. These, however, seldom include more than a few examples, which have been selected to

Note: We particularly wish to extend our thanks to Professor M. Honegger for his support and confidence. We also wish to thank M. Templer for his translation. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-012

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Fig. 1: Chronological Sequence (after Gatto 2014; Honegger/Williams 2015; Usai 2016; Welsby/Anderson 2004, 315).

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Fig. 2: Chronology of the Pleistocene and Holocene subdivisions (after Gradstein et al. 2012; Walker et al. 2012).

be buried as grave-gifts, and thus are not fully representative of the production of the period nor of everyday life, which would include the entire production range as well as knapping debris. The first proper lithic studies undertaken in Nubia date from the 1960s: the UNESCO salvage campaigns, undertaken as part of the Aswan High Dam project, and in particular those of the Combined Prehistoric Expedition (Wendorf 1968). These studies constitute the basis for defining the cultural sequences stretching from the Late Pleistocene to the Middle Holocene (Fig. 2). Their approach is essentially typological with a few technological observations, and in the final analysis they are rarely used for comparisons. The French works quoted as references are Bordes, Sonneville-Bordes and especially Tixier for the Holocene series (Tixier 1963; 1967). The cross-referencing of the typology of the tools with stratigraphic context permits one to establish the regional cultural sequence. Several industries that cohabit and succeed each other are highlighted: Arkinian for the Epipalaeolithic, Khartoum Variant and Shamarkian for the Mesolithic, or the Abkan for the Neolithic; the latter belongs to what Shiner calls the Cataract Tradition and evolved from Upper and Late Palaeolithic traditions: the Gemaian and the Qadan (Shiner 1968a). These studies will remain the long-term point of reference for the whole of Nubia. Based on the work of Binford on the Nunamiut (Binford 1979; 1980), Usai was able to demonstrate the importance of taking into consideration the technological aspects of the collections being studied, giving priority to this aspect of production instead of typological features (Usai 2008a). In fact, the differences in the make-up of the corpus of tools are not necessarily due to cultural criteria, but could reflect differences in the functions of the sites. This new approach, highlighting technological distinctions, has permitted a more linear and less disjointed vision of the sequence. The completion of the comparisons with the discoveries at Nabta Playa by the Combined Expedition from the early 1970s (Usai 2005; 2008b), along with the cross-referencing the results with those obtained from the study of the pottery (Gatto 2006), has enabled a readjustment of the sequence (Fig. 1).

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2 Early Holocene Period The evidence for the occupation of the Nile Valley and its fringes between the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene is scarce, which is not to say non-existent (Vermeersch/Van Neer 2015). The reasons for this hiatus are not clearly established and could be due to the poor state of conservation of the sites, environmental changes, or the present state of research. We have to wait until the 9th millennium BC and the onset of the Humid Period for groups of hunter-gatherers to reappear and for the desert to be reoccupied (Kuper/Kröpelin 2006). Some of the settlements are important, with substantial concentrations of material remains and the occasional presence of habitation structures (Usai 2016). These settlements suggest a certain stability in the peopling of the land and a certain level of sedentarisation (Garcea 2006). This initial phase came to an end in the early 6th millennium, with the simultaneous appearance of domesticated bovines and caprines at several sites in Southern Egypt and Nubia (Linseele 2013). The lithic industries of these hunter-gatherers is characterised by the production of flakes as well as blades and bladelets. It is not a blade-based industry, since there is no evidence for lames à crête (Usai 2008a, 46), but long regular supports were favoured, especially for the manufacture of numerous geometric microliths (lunates, triangles, trapezes), used as arrowheads or to arm the shafts of the arrows. In Nubia, these groups of huntergatherers, which we can call Epipalaeolithic, begin to manufacture pottery starting in the 9th millennium BC. This pottery, decorated with impressed dots, is typical of the earliest Saharan production (Jesse 2010). In the Sudan, referring to the work done by Arkell in the region of Khartoum in the 1940s and his definition of Early Khartoum or Khartoum Mesolithic (Arkell 1949), hunter-gatherers who manufactured pottery are traditionally considered to be Mesolithic. In Egypt, on the other hand, these groups are referred to as Neolithic, especially in the Western Desert (Wendorf et al. 1984), where they might have independently domesticated bovines (Linseele 2013).

2.1 Lower Nubia The recent reappraisal of pottery and lithic assemblages have permitted the revision of the cultural sequence from Lower Nubia, establishing in particular comparisons with occupations in the region of Nabta Playa (Gatto 2014). It would also appear that the occupations of the Western Desert, notwithstanding the fact that they are considered to be peripheral according to the traditional definition (Adams 1977), can be attached to the Nubian cultural sphere. The Lower Nubian Early Holocene lithic industries are characterised by a simplification of the nuclei over time, particularly as regards the preparation of the striking platform (Usai 2008a). The characteristic tools are scrapers on cortical flakes, which are present from the Arkinian;

Holocene Lithic Industries in Nubia

Fig. 3: Map of the sites and places mentioned in the text.

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pieces with lateral notches, especially at the end of the period; and bladelets with abrupt retouch and microlithic geometrics, although these are proportionally less prevalent than in Upper Nubia. The excavations of Early Holocene sites in Lower Nubia all date from the 1960s UNESCO archaeological salvage campaign, before the river banks were flooded by the rising waters. All these sites are located in the region of Wadi Halfa and the Second Cataract (Fig. 3), which is the principal sector covered by archaeological prospection. We refer to the recent re-evaluations of these assemblages undertaken by Usai.1

2.1.1 Arkinian The most important Arkinian site is that of Dibeira-West 1 (Schild et al. 1968). The lithic industry from this site is characterised by a large majority of single-platform cores. The opposed-platform cores are fewer compared to the assemblages dating from the Late Palaeolithic from Qadan and or from Ballanan. Finally, there are also a few multi-platform cores. The use of the bipolar-on-anvil debitage technique is attested as at Ballanan. The preparation of the striking platforms, which are for the most part flat or cortical, is less prevalent than during previous periods. The lithic production is flake-based with a small production of blades and bladelets. The tools produced are scrapers, often on cortical flakes (Fig. 4.1–4), bladelets with abrupt retouch and geometric microliths, especially lunates. Notched pieces and denticulates are relatively rare. The dating of the Arkinian is not certain. The C14 dates are not reliable and appear to be in the region of the 11th millennium BC (Wendorf et al. 1979), but the similarities with the lithic industry from the El-Adam phase of Nabta Playa, particularly as regards the treatment of nuclei, and the presence of a few objects made of Egyptian flint, exploited precisely in this region, allows a comparison which suggests that they were contemporaneous (Usai 2005).

2.1.2 Shamarkian The site of Dibeira-West 53 (Schild et al. 1968) is particularly representative of the Shamarkian. The technological characteristics of the lithic industry are a continuation of the Arkinian. Single-platform cores continue to constitute the majority, followed by the multi-platform and opposed-platform ones. The knapping platforms are generally flat and are now only very rarely faceted. The production of blades and bladelets continues to be small. The production of scrapers on cortical flakes decreases compared to the Arkinian. The bladelets with abrupt retouch, which continue to be prevalent, are accompanied by microliths (trapezes, triangles and lu-

1 Usai 2005; 2008a; 2008b.

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Fig. 4: Early Holocene Tools – 1–4: Scrapers (Schild et al. 1968, 673, fig. 14.5, 4, 9, 10); 5–9: Notched pieces (Shiner 1968b, 770, fig. 2.u, bb, z; 771, fig. 3.h, i); 10–19: Lunates and geometrics (Schild et al. 1968, 717, fig. 41.24, 26, 30; 719, fig. 42.1, 2, 3, 12, 10, 4, 5); 20–21: Mèches de foret (Schild et al. 1968, 677, fig. 17.7; 699, fig. 34.7); 22–26: Points (Schild et al. 1968, 719, fig. 42.30, 31, 19, 24; Shiner 1968b, 771, fig. 3.g).

nates – Fig. 4.10–19). Points appear, which seem to be typical of the Shamarkian, with the proximal end retouched to create a rhomboid-shaped tool (Fig. 4.22–23), which is also found at the sites in the region of Nabta Playa and which belongs to the El-Ghorab Phase. These ‘Shamarkian’ points are also accompanied by a few points known as Bou-Saâda points, which have a notched base (Fig. 4.24–25), as well as Ounan points, which have a stem obtained by means of two notches (Fig. 4.26). These typological, as well as technological, similarities lead us to believe that these productions belong to the same cultural group and that there was regular

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contact between the Nile Valley sites and those in the back-country. For this same period, there are also similarities between the Western Desert and the site of Elkab (Vermeersch 1978), which is also in the Nile Valley, albeit further north in Upper Egypt (Fig. 3). These clues have led to the suggestion that a seasonal displacement of the population occurred,2 which appears to continue during the El-Nabta/Al-Jerar Phase.

2.1.3 Khartoum Variant The name Khartoum Variant refers to the Neolithic of Khartoum (Arkell 1953), which presents typological similarities with the discoveries of the Combined Expedition (Shiner 1968b). The most characteristic site belonging to this culture is site 1045, which was also studied by the Scandinavian Joint Expedition (Site 428 in: Nordström 1972). The re-evaluation of the Khartoum Variant sites has allowed it to be placed between the Shamarkian and the Abkan (Gatto 2006; Usai 2008a). The study of the pottery in particular has allowed five phases to be distinguished, spread between the beginning of the 8th and the end of the 6th millennia BC, which was not evident from the lithics. The Shamarkian, which overlaps the Early Khartoum Variant and which has a very similar lithic tradition, is considered an early phase of this culture. It is on the basis of the work of Haaland (1972) that Usai was able to draw up a technological description of the lithic industry of the Khartoum Variant (Usai 2008a): single-platform, opposed-platform and multi-platform cores. Faceted knapping platforms no longer exist and are either flat or cortical. The production of bladelets continues to be attested. The principal tools of this cultural horizon, which are probably also found in the Shamarkian, are notched pieces and, more particularly, oppositely notched pieces, which either form a ‘strangled’ tool or else merge to create a point (Fig. 4.5–9). There are also numerous scrapers, bladelets with abrupt lateral retouch, a few triangles and lunates, as well as Ounan points. As with the preceding phase, similarities have been recognised with the El-Nabta/Al-Jerar settlements of the Western Desert (Usai 2005).

2.2 Upper Nubia Very few Mesolithic sites have been the subject of excavations or have been studied in Upper Nubia (Honegger 2014). There exists a genuine lack of data, but recent excavations, for the most part still being analysed, allow the gap to be filled and a chrono-cultural sequence for the region to be established. The discoveries made in the Kerma Basin, especially since the year 2000, allow a complete picture of the

2 Usai 2005; Vermeersch 2002; Wendorf/Schild 2001.

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Mesolithic to be drawn, from its inception in the second half of the 9th millennium BC to its final phase in the early 6th millennium BC (Fig. 1). Four occupational phases have been identified through the cross-referencing of archaeological data, stratigraphies and C14 dates (Honegger/Williams 2015). The Early Holocene toolkit from Upper Nubia is characterised by a large proportion of geometric microliths, especially lunates, which can represent more than half of the assemblage, as well as pieces with abrupt retouch. There are also numerous perforators and mèches de foret, which can often be associated with the important production of ostrich-shell beads, of which hundreds were found at the sites. Scrapers are, however, poorly represented, whilst they are numerous in the lithic assemblages of Lower Nubia, as well as later during the Neolithic. The study of the lithics from the region of Kerma, currently underway, has not as yet permitted the analysis of the evolution of the knapping techniques during the Mesolithic. It is, however, possible to affirm that most of the nuclei are single-platform, followed by multiple and opposed-platform (pers. obs.). A particular type of nucleus, which has also been observed further south in the Letti Basin and at the level of the Fourth Cataract (Usai 2003), used a centripetal method of knapping. The striking platforms are flat or cortical, and very rarely faceted. The production is largely made up of flakes with a few bladelets. Chert, agate and quartz pebbles are the most commonly used, with a few pieces of fossilised wood.

2.2.1 Mesolithic I The first Mesolithic occupations of the Kerma Region were discovered at the site of Busharia (Honegger/Williams 2015). The corpus of the lithics assemblage confirms observations from the nearby site of Wadi el-Arab, which was also occupied during this early phase. The toolkit from this assemblage is different from that of contemporaneous sites in Lower Nubia. There are, in fact, few scrapers and bladelets with abrupt lateral retouch, whilst the assemblage is dominated by lunates, notched pieces, denticulates and burins. Further north, in the region of Amara-West, the recent discoveries at site 2-R-66 have produced dates a little earlier than those from the Kerma Basin (Florenzano et al. 2016). These would appear to represent the earliest Mesolithic occupations in Upper Nubia, but few details are at present available regarding this assemblage, which could have contained a lithic assemblage similar to that of the Arkinian.

2.2.2 Mesolithic II The second phase of the Mesolithic is particularly well observed at the site of ElBarga, which contains a settlement as well as a necropolis belonging to this period

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(Honegger/Williams 2015). The nearby site of Wadi el-Arab also contains a good assemblage. The Mesolithic industries of the region of Kerma are characterised from this phase onward by a voluminous production of lunates, which occasionally exceed 50 % of the total assemblage of tools. At El-Barga, some of these lunates are large (> 30 mm) – these are also generally considered to be sickle-inserts – whilst the smaller lunates, which often show stigmata of impact, are considered arrowheads (Honegger 2009). Bladelets with abrupt lateral retouch, perforators and mèches de foret are also characteristic. A few scrapers, triangles and truncations are also present. The typology does not permit convincing comparisons with contemporaneous sites in Lower Nubia, nor with the site of 8-B-10C recently excavated on the Island of Sai (Garcea 2011), which has been dated to the second half of the 8th millennium BC, and which instead manifests affinities with the Khartoum Variant: numerous notched or denticulated pieces, perforators, several scrapers and few lunates. The raw materials exploited are chert, quartz and agate pebbles, as well as blocks of quartz found on the island. Single-platform, opposed-platform and multiplatform cores are present, and reassemblages have shown that different knapping techniques were in use, dependent on the type of raw material.

2.2.3 Mesolithic III–IV The site of Wadi el-Arab has permitted this final Mesolithic phase in Upper Nubia to be clearly illustrated. The assemblage is largely dominated by lunates, with the addition of bladelets with abrupt lateral retouch, perforators and mèches de foret. This lunate supremacy has also been recorded further south, in the region of Karmakol (Hays 1971), where a particular type of lunate with a burin-type retouch at each extremity was produced, as well as at the site of Umm Klait (Dittrich et al. 2007), which is the only Mesolithic site excavated in the region of the Fourth Cataract (Osypiński 2014). In Central Sudan, where quartz is almost exclusively knapped, the same typological assemblage is also found, especially at the site of Saggai, where Caneva has been able to demonstrate that a particular manner of exploiting the nuclei was in use, with a production of crescent-shaped secondary flakes, starting from a cortical striking platform (Caneva 1983). It is towards the end of this phase that the first indications appear at the site of Wadi el-Arab of the presence of points with bifacial retouch, a technique rarely seen in Nubia. This discovery echoes the appearance of this same tool-type in the Western Desert beginning in the second half of the 7th millennium BC (Riemer 2007). These same bifacial points also appear at the Al-Jerar sites in the region of Nabta Playa, particularly during the subsequent period, known as El-Ghanam (Wendorf/Schild 2001). The origins of this technique are not clearly established, and whilst a transfer from the Near East at the time when the Neolithic attributes were being disseminated appears possible (Shirai 2016), it could equally well be a local African ‘invention’ (McDonald 2016).

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3 Neolithic Period The aridification of the Neolithic climate pushed the populations to relocate into ‘refuge areas’, such as the Nile Valley or the oases (Riemer et al. 2013). The archaeological data for this period is far more fragmentary than for the Early Holocene. The habitation sites are rarer, often eroded or in a poor state of preservation. Important hiatuses in information, still not clearly explained, which could relate to the climatic and environmental changes, have been noted (Honegger/Williams 2015; Salvatori/Usai 2007). It is precisely at this time that animal husbandry was to develop and become particularly important within Nubian societies, whilst agriculture appears to have been of secondary importance. The best-preserved sites are necropolises, which permit the archaeologists to work on homogeneous and well dated complexes, whilst not directly reflecting the production of objects for daily use. The Neolithic lithic assemblages are flake-based with occasional blades and bladelets. Generally speaking, a greater level of cultural homogeneity is observable for this period as compared to the Early Holocene. The presence of bifacial points and side-blow flakes (Fig. 5.1–3) also bear witness to contacts with Egypt, which occur from the initial introduction of the Neolithic components on.

Fig. 5: Neolithic Tools – 1–2: Bifacial arrowheads (Schild et al. 1968, 754, fig. 55.1, 2); 3: Side-blow flake (Schild et al. 1968, 754, fig. 55.4); 4–5: Perforators (Shiner 1968a, 617, fig. 46.i, f); 6–7: Planes (Schild et al. 1968, 760, fig. 58.8; 754, fig. 55.6).

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3.1 The Early Neolithic In Nubia, the earliest evidence for the presence of domesticated animals is at the site of El-Barga, in the region of Kerma, where a bucranium was deposited in a tomb dated to the first half of the 6th millennium BC (Honegger/Williams 2015). At the nearby site of Wadi el-Arab, the earliest occupation is also dated to this time. These are the only two sites in the valley attributable to the earliest phase of the Neolithic. The sepulchres at El-Barga, contrary to Mesolithic practices, contain grave-gifts (polished stone axe-heads, body ornaments, pottery; see Honegger 2005), but no significant chipped stone objects (Honegger, pers. comm.). The small corpus of objects that the site of Wadi el-Arab yielded does not differ substantially from the productions of the previous period (see above) and is a continuation of the Mesolithic tradition. However, there is an increased presence of bifacially retouched points, which confirms the hypothesis that contacts were established with Southern Egypt and that the Kerma Basin sites belong to the initial phase of the Neolithisation process.

3.2 Abkan and Middle Neolithic The Abkan of Lower Nubia was first identified by Myers (1958; 1960) prior to being defined as an industry by the Combined Prehistoric Expedition (Shiner 1968a). Contemporaneous with the Abkan, an industry affiliated with the Shamarkian was also identified: the Post-Shamarkian (Schild et al. 1968). The data regarding the two complexes are not extensive and are of variable quality, but comparing the two allows one to obtain a more complete picture of the lithics industries of that period (Usai 2008a). The site of Abka (level 5) and the sites of Dibeira-West 4 and 50 are the most characteristic of this period. Continuing the Shamarkian/Khartoum Variant tradition, the majority of the nuclei have single-platforms, followed by multipleplatforms and opposed-platforms. The presence of lithic pieces with side-notches and scrapers on cortical flakes also mirrors the Early Holocene substrate, as do the few lunates, triangles, trapezes and bladelets with abrupt lateral retouch. Along with the perforators and borers, perforators on cortical flakes (Fig. 5.4–5) also appear there, as well as ‘planes’ or ‘proto-gouges’ (Fig. 5.6–7), which echo the ‘gouges’ of Central Sudan, and side-blow flakes, which are characteristic of the contemporary Neolithic productions from the Egyptian Desert and Nile Valley (Ibid.). In Upper Nubia, the most important lithic study for this period is that realised by Usai for the site R12, a necropolis in the region of Dongola (Ibid.). From a technical point of view, the corpus of objects found in the tombs is in almost all respects similar to the finds from the habitation sites of Abkan/Post-Shamarkian, although they do differ slightly typologically, which can be easily explained by their emanating from different contexts. Single-platform cores are in the majority, followed by multi-platform, 90° and opposed-platform cores. Flakes continue to represent the

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bulk of the knapping output, but there are also a few blades. The affinities with Lower Nubia are compounded by the presence of scrapers on cortical flakes and similar ‘planes’. The raw materials used are essentially flint from Nile pebbles, quartz and agate. The majority of the retouched pieces are lunates. Affinities thus appear to be discernible with Lower Nubia, which is not the case for Central Sudan (Ibid.), where the industries, mostly manufactured on quartz nuclei, are in large part characterised by single-platform cores and a particular knapping technique (Caneva 1983; Kobusiewicz 1996) already observed for the Mesolithic (see above). The principal tools manufactured are lunates and perforators, as well as a few scrapers and notched or denticulated pieces. There is also a production of typical ‘gouges’, manufactured on rhyolite, which are similar to the ‘planes’ from the north. ‘Gouges’ are usually polished on one face and with invasive retouch on the other.

3.3 A-Group and Pre-Kerma The A-Group developed in Lower Nubia during the 4th millennium BC. It was defined thanks to the work of Nordström and the excavations undertaken by the Scandinavian Joint Expedition in the region of the Second Cataract during the UNESCO salvage campaign (Nordström 1972). The majority of the sites excavated were necropolises, which yielded little by way of lithic remains; but the excavations of a few habitation sites (sites 371 and 430 in particular) produced sufficient material to summarise the lithic industries of this group. They are characterised by a flakebased industry, with very few blades and bladelets. The main tools are scrapers, perforators and irregularly retouched pieces (notches, denticulates, etc.). Lunates and pieces with abrupt retouch are rare. The materials used are mostly local (Nile pebbles), but a few objects are manufactured using Egyptian flint. In Upper Nubia, after a hiatus for which there is a lack of data, the Pre-Kerma develops (Honegger 2004). A large proto-urban agglomeration surrounded by a wall was discovered in the Kerma necropolis. Unfortunately, the hollowed-out structures that survived contained few lithic remains. The few items found are largely made up of tools with abrupt retouch, which have been interpreted as sickle inserts (Honegger, pers. comm.). Another important Pre-Kerma site has been discovered on the Island of Sai. A building (Garcea/Hildebrand 2009) and silos (Geus 2004) produced pottery, which attests to contacts with the A-Group, but no lithics were mentioned.

4 Kerma and Historical Periods The sites from this period are essentially concentrated in the valley, the climate being similar to that at present. It also witnessed the rise of much larger entities, of states that controlled vast territories and whose influence sometimes spread beyond

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the borders of Nubia. Notwithstanding the development of copper and its alloys, followed by that of iron, during the first half of the 1st millennium BC, chipped stone artefacts continued to be manufactured until the beginning of our era, especially for armatures. Despite its apparent weakness compared to metal, flint has certain advantages, being lighter and having a sharper cutting edge. It would also seem that its symbolic content, associating it with meteoric iron, snakes and the celestial world, in texts and iconography from dynastic Egypt, might have played a nonnegligible part in its continued use (Graves-Brown 2015, 52). The study of lithic assemblages in the domestic sphere here has not received much attention. In fact, lithic artefacts found at historic sites are often considered to be of secondary importance, or are thought to belong to prior periods, and are therefore incorrectly interpreted. They have, consequently, been little studied, and it is difficult to appreciate the role they might have played at this time.

4.1 Kerma Period Habitation areas from the Kerma Period have yielded only a modest quantity of lithic material.3 The industry is not only characterised by a flake-based industry, but also by blades which may have been produced by specialised workshops (Caneva 1990). The raw materials used are essentially made up of chert, quartz, agate and cornelian pebbles. In the large necropolis at Kerma, the discovery of 36 cornelian lunates dating from the Middle Kerma (early 2nd millennium BC) suggest the presence of a quiver and bow, as has been found in other tombs dating from this period (Honegger 2009). These lunates, smaller than in previous periods, are of a standardised size, and half of them bear the stigmata of impacts. The study of more than 100 complete arrows discovered in tombs dating from the 6th to the 12th Dynasty at the Egyptian site of Naga ed-Der, which were globally contemporaneous with Middle Kerma, has produced invaluable information regarding the methods of hafting these armatures (Clark et al. 1974). The arrows studied all have a lunate hafted transversally to the axis of the shaft, which is itself often armed with lunates so as to form barbs. In the tombs, numerous imports from Egypt also accompany the deceased (copper and bronze objects, alabaster bracelets and vases, pottery, etc.), as well as large bifacial flint objects unknown in the Kerma repertoire (Caneva 1990).

4.2 Egyptian Kingdoms Flint spearheads and arrowheads have been found in the Egyptian fortresses built on the Nubian border (Graves-Brown 2015) after their first incursions, contempora-

3 Bracco/Gratien 2002; Caneva 1990; Gratien/Olive 1984.

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Fig. 6: Egyptian spear- and javelin-heads. Scale 1 : 3.

neous with the Kerma Period. The best known example, built during the Middle Kingdom, is the Fortress of Mirgissa, where a complete arsenal of spears, bows, arrows and shields was discovered in an armoury of the fortress (Vila 1970). The close to 400 spears and javelin-points stored in the armoury were manufactured from Egyptian flint to a standardised regular design. They were produced in Egypt, by experts in specialised workshops, prior to being shipped on site. They had been shaped by invasive bifacial retouch using the pressure-technique. The spear-points were manufactured with a stem, sometimes denticulated, and a large massive head (Fig. 6.1), whilst the javelin-points were shorter and finer, with a long stem and a relatively short ogive-shaped head (Fig. 6.2). Almost 2700 cutting-edge arrowheads in the shape of lunates and trapezes were also found. Despite the use of metal weapons at that time, this discovery demonstrates that flint continued to be used to equip the Egyptian troops during the Dynastic Periods (Graves-Brown 2015).

4.3 Napatan and Meroitic Kingdoms Whilst in Egypt the use of flint objects became progressively more anecdotal, in Nubia, as Herodotus reminds us in his Histories, ‘stone’ continued to be used especially for the manufacture of arrowheads (Clark et al. 1974). In fact, numerous arrowheads have been found in the settlements and tombs dating from the Kingdoms of Napata and Meroe. The majority of these points are manufactured with

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Fig. 7: Napatan and Meroitic arrowheads. Scale 2 : 3.

bifacial retouch; the geometric arrowheads with abrupt retouch, which are typical of Nubian productions, are rarely present and appear no longer to meet the demands of the archers or the evolution of armament. A fine assemblage of Napatan points has been discovered in the royal necropolis of El-Kurru (Dunham 1950). These were for the most part manufactured in cornelian and quartz. Other than a small collection of lunates, there are triangular points with straight or concave base (Fig. 7.1–2), which are all manufactured with bifacial retouch. Some are ogiveshaped with convex edges (Fig. 7.3), whilst others are tanged and barbed (Fig. 7.4). During the Meroitic Period, the triangular arrowheads with a concave base are found in association with drop-shaped points (Fig. 7.5), which occasionally have a notch at the base. These are manufactured in cornelian and quartz. Their average size is smaller than the Napatan points, and the smallest examples are in fact under 20 mm. Examples of this type have in particular been found in the tombs of the royal necropolis of Meroe, but also in the town of Kawa (Welsby 2001).

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Salvatori, Sandro / Usai, Donatella (2007): The Sudanese Neolithic revisited. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Mélanges offerts à Francis Geus: Égypte – Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III, p. 323–333. Schild, Romuald / Chmielewska, Maria / Więckowska, Hanna (1968): The Arkinian and Shamarkian Industries. In: Wendorf, Denver Fred (ed.): The Prehistory of Nubia. Vol. 2. The Fort Burgwin Research Center Publication 5. Southern Methodist University Contributions in Anthropolgy 2. Dallas: Fort Burgwin Research Center and Southern Methodist University Press, p. 651–767. Shiner, Joel Lewis (1968a): The Cataract Tradition. In: Wendorf, Denver Fred (ed.): The Prehistory of Nubia. Vol. 2. The Fort Burgwin Research Center Publication 5. Southern Methodist University Contributions in Anthropolgy 2. Dallas: Fort Burgwin Research Center and Southern Methodist University Press, p. 535–629. Shiner, Joel Lewis (1968b): The Khartoum Variant Industry. In: Wendorf, Denver Fred (ed.): The Prehistory of Nubia. Vol. 2. The Fort Burgwin Research Center Publication 5. Southern Methodist University Contributions in Anthropolgy 2. Dallas: Fort Burgwin Research Center and Southern Methodist University Press, p. 768–790. Shirai, Noriyuki (2016): Establishing a Neolithic farming Life in Egypt: A View from the Lithic Study at Fayum Neolithic Sites. In: Quaternary International 412, p. 22–35. Tixier, Jacques (1963): Typologie de l’Epipaléolithique du Maghreb. Mémoires du Centre de recherches anthropologiques préhistoriques et ethnographiques Alger II. Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques. Tixier, Jacques (1967): Procédés d’analyse et questions de terminologie concernant l’étude des ensembles industriels du Paléolithique récent et de l’Epipaléolithique dans l’Afrique du nord-ouest. In: Bishop, Walter W. / Clark, John Desmond (eds.): Background to Evolution in Africa. Proceedings of the Symposium “Systematic Investigation of the African Later Tertiary Quaternary”, Burg-Wartenstein, Austria, July-August 1965. Chicago: University Press, p. 771–820. Usai, Donatella (2003): The Lithic Industries. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Survey above the Fourth Nile Cataract. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 10. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1110. Oxford: BAR Publishing, p. 79–110. Usai, Donatella (2005): Early Holocene Seasonal Movements between the Desert and the Nile Valley. Details from the Lithic Industry of some Khartoum Variant and some Nabta/Kiseiba Sites. In: Journal of African Archaeology 3(1), p. 103–115. Usai, Donatella (2008a): Lunates and Micro-lunates, Cores and Flakes. In: Salvatori, Sandro / Usai, Donatella (eds.): A Neolithic Cemetery in the Northern Dongola Reach: Excavations at Site R12. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 16. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1814. Oxford: Archaeopress, p. 33–52. Usai, Donatella (2008b): Tracing the Movements of the Western Desert Dwellers: Site 11-I-13 in Wadi Karagan, Sudanese Nubia, closely akin to El Ghorab or El Nabta. In: Journal of African Archaeology 6(2), p. 219–232. Usai, Donatella (2016): A Picture of Prehistoric Sudan: The Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods. Oxford Handbooks Online (doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935413.013.56; seen 05. 05. 2017). Vermeersch, Pierre M. (1978): L’Elkabien, Epipaléolithique de la vallée du Nil égyptien. Leuven: Universitaire Pers Leuven. Vermeersch, Pierre M. (2002): The Egyptian Nile Valley during the Early Holocene. In: Jennerstrasse 8 (eds.): Tides of the Desert – Gezeiten der Wüste. Contributions to the Archaeology and Environmental History of Africa in Honour of Rudolph Kuper. Africa Praehistorica 14. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 27–40. Vermeersch, Pierre M. / Van Neer, Wim (2015): Nile Behaviour and Late Palaeolithic Humans in Upper Egypt during the Late Pleistocene. In: Quaternary Science Reviews 130, p. 155–167.

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Vila, André (1970): L’Armement de la forteresse de Mirgissa-Iken. In: Revue d’Égyptologie 22, p. 170–199. Walker, Mike J. C. / Berkelhammer, Max / Björck, Svante / Cwynar, Les C. / Fisher, David A. / Long, Antony J. / Lowe, J. John / Newnham, R. M. / Rasmussen, Sune Olander / Weiss, Harvey (2012): Formal Subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch: A Discussion Paper by a Working Group of INTIMATE (Integration of Ice‐core, Marine and Terrestrial Records) and the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (International Commission on Stratigraphy). In: Journal of Quaternary Science 27(7), p. 649–659. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2001): Life on the Desert Edge. Seven Thousand Years of Settlement in the Northern Dongola Reach, Sudan. 2 Vols. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 7. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 980. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Welsby, Derek Anthony / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.) (2004): Sudan’s Ancient Treasures. An Exhibition of Recent Discoveries from the Sudan National Museum. London: British Museum Press. Wendorf, Denver Fred (ed.) (1968): The Prehistory of Nubia. 2 Vols. The Fort Burgwin Research Center Publication 5. Southern Methodist University Contributions in Anthropolgy 2. Dallas: Fort Burgwin Research Center and Southern Methodist University Press. Wendorf, Denver Fred / Schild, Romuald (eds.) (2001): Holocene Settlement of the Egyptian Sahara. Vol. 1: The Archaeology of Nabta Playa. New York: Springer. Wendorf, Denver Fred / Schild, Romuald / Close, Angela E. (eds.) (1984): Cattle-keepers of the Eastern Sahara: The Neolithic of Bir Kiseiba. Dallas: Department of Anthropology, Institute for the Study of Earth and Man, Southern Methodist University. Wendorf, Denver Fred / Schild, Romuald / Haas, Herbert (1979): A New Radiocarbon Chronology for Prehistoric Sites in Nubia. In: Journal of Field Archaeology 6(2), p. 219–223.

Maria Carmela Gatto

The Later Prehistory of Nubia in its Interregional Setting 1 Introduction Nubia has long been considered a ‘corridor to Africa’ with a cultural development strongly influenced by the great civilization of ancient Egypt (e.g. Adams 1977). Such a view, deeply rooted in traditional Egyptological narratives, is misleading, as it assumes both an Egyptian cultural supremacy and a correspondence between Nubia as a geographical region and the territorial distribution of the Nubian culture. The concept of cultural territoriality has been addressed by recent scholarship (Gatto 2002b; 2011a), resulting in a new ‘inclusive’ approach, which brings together evidence from the Nile Valley and the nearby deserts as two sides of the same coin (Figs. 1–2). This shift has been informed by the interdisciplinary investigations of the past decades, which, through the study of environmental changes, have brought to light a long-lasting human occupation of the deserts surrounding the Nile.1 Recent archaeological research has also provided data that has led to a better understanding of the timing and trajectories of the interregional interactions and the cultural contacts between Nubia and its surrounding regions. Since its beginning in the early 20th century, archaeological research in Nubia has been shaped by the need to investigate, salvage and relocate sites, most of which are now lost under the waters of human-made lakes following the construction of a series of dams along the Nile. Past scholarship has been heavily impacted by the nature of fieldwork, and the data relating to those areas with a longer history of research is incomplete in many ways, including the limited availability of radiometric dates. For sites in Egypt this continues to the present day, as current law restrictions forbid the export of archaeological samples, creating a further gap between the most recent archaeologically determined data from Egypt and that from Sudan. The importance of such data for furthering our knowledge of this period is underlined by the work done by the Swiss Mission in the Kerma region2 and by the Italian and Franco-Italian team in the Dongola area (Salvatori/Usai 2008) and in the Shendi region (Salvatori et al. 2016). These excavations have provided an unparalleled wealth of information on the late prehistoric archaeology in Nubia (see Usai/Salvatori and Honegger, this volume).

1 See e.g. Wendorf/Schild 2001; Kuper/Kröpelin 2006; Gatto 2011b; Riemer/Kinderman, this volume. 2 Honegger 2001; 2004a; 2004b; 2014; this volume. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-013

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Fig. 1: Map of Middle-Upper Egypt, Lower Nubia and surrounding deserts with location of sites mentioned in the text.

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Fig. 2: Map of Lower-Upper Nubia, the Khartoum Region and nearby deserts with location of sites mentioned in the text.

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This chapter discusses the palaeo-environmental and archaeological data for the period corresponding to c. 5400–2900 BC, partially overlapping, but also complementing other contributions in this volume.3

2 Chronology and Terminology The availability of radiometric determinations for the later Prehistoric Period in Nubia is limited 4 and cross-referencing with the newly revised Egyptian chronology (Dee et al. 2014; Stevenson 2016) is still needed to strengthen the current relative sequencing, especially for the 4th millennium A-Group Culture. The sequential stages here discussed highlight moments of discontinuity within the flux that characterized the process toward socio-political complexity, relying both on available absolute chronometry and geo-archaeologically-informed data. It is also crucial to address the difficulties that arise from the terminology currently used to define 5th and 4th millennia cultural units across the Nile Valley. At present these cultural units are identified by a variety of names, as intra-cultural variability is often wrongly interpreted at a culture level, or even worst, at site level. There have been attempts to revise the current terminology (see e.g. Gatto 2011b), but it has been difficult to find a consensus toward a new lexicon. To sidestep the issue, in this chapter the sequential stages are defined only by their timeline while the current terminology will be mentioned in the text only as reference to the data debated.

3 The Environmental Setting and Human Adjustment In Nubia, the flow of the Nile is interrupted by natural barrages (cataracts); north of the Third Cataract (Lower Nubia) its floodplain is narrow and rocky, but south of it, in the Seleim Basin and the Dongola Reach (Upper Nubia), it widens. Here many palaeochannels were discovered, evidence of a repeated shifting of the river course over time, and archaeological sites were found along their respective contemporary palaeochannels (Honegger/Williams 2015; Welsby et al. 2002). On the contrary, in Lower Nubia the course of the Nile has always been constrained by the narrow floodplain and sites are usually located along the river or at the mouth of the wadis intersecting it. As a consequence, cultivable land in Lower Nubia is quite limited, while it is abundant in Upper Nubia. Plains with evidence of palaeolakes and wells

3 See Riemer/Kindermann, Usai/Salvatori, and Honegger, this volume. 4 For exhaustive citations of C14 dates see e.g. Salvatori/Usai 2008; Tassie 2014; Salvatori et al. 2016; Wengrow et al. 2014.

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are found on both sides of the valley, bounded by the Red Sea Mountains to the east and by the Limestone Plateau and the Gilf Kebir, Gebel Uweinat and Ennedi to the west. The period under discussion roughly corresponds to the Middle Holocene and represents a transitional moment in the long history of climatic changes of the past 10,000 years. After the abrupt arid spell dated to c. 6200 BC, which marked the end of the Early Holocene humid phase, climate, although generally moister than today, was characterized by pronounced oscillations (Gatto/Zerboni 2015). The monsoon regime which, during the Early Holocene, brought summer rains as far north as Middle Egypt and the Western Desert oases, started retreating south. A gradual desiccation began at c. 5400 BC and arid conditions were established by c. 3300 BC (Kuper/Kröpelin 2006). The flow of the Nile consisted of rather erratic alternating flood events and low flow stages. Major tributaries of the Nile, like Wadi Melik and Wadi Howar in the south, as well as palaeolakes in the Nubian deserts, ran dry or diminished significantly. Despite a northern retreat, Mediterranean rainfall continued to bring wet conditions in the Delta and the Egyptian Nile Valley, but also in areas such as the Gilf Kebir and Gebel Uweinat, and most certainly the Red Sea Hills (Gatto/Zerboni 2015 with references wherein). Localized econiches reacted to climatic changes with timing and ways of their own, depending on: local change in rainfall rate, on a long- (e.g. ten-hundreds of years) or short- (seasonal to few years) term scale; the response of the physical and biological environment to such changes, which could be abrupt or delayed; and the grade of resilience of geo-morphologically favoured areas.5 The desert plains on both sides of the Nubian Nile Valley, such as the Nabta-Kiseiba region of the Western Desert and the Atbai region of the Eastern Desert, were the first and most affected by the onset of aridity. They soon became unsuited for long seasonal occupations, such as those reported in the Early Holocene (Wendorf/Schild 2001). Such changes produced an important superregional readjustment of socioeconomic and settlement systems. It is possible that during this phase a larger number of people settled in the Nile Valley, with the inevitable stimulus to maximise and better exploit its resources. Nubian communities consisted of segments mainly settled along the Nile, with an economy based on fishing and foraging/farming, and segments roaming the desert, with an economy primarily based on husbandry and hunting. Archaeological evidence suggests that the latter undertook seasonal movements involving larger areas of the deserts and longer and more random routes compared to those proposed for the Early Holocene (Usai 2008; Gatto 2006b). Mobile communities became fundamental in expanding the superregional sphere of cultural contact, creating what Wengrow has defined as ‘a cultural convergence in the Neolithic of the Nile Valley’ (Wengrow et al. 2014).

5 Gatto/Zerboni 2015; see also Riemer/Kindermann and Usai/Salvatori in this volume, for further information on the Libyan Desert and the Central Sudan region.

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4 The Sequential Discourse 4.1 c. 5400–4500 BC Sites of this period are found both along the river and in the deserts. Along the Nile, they mostly consist of remains of open-air campsites and temporary occupations in shelters.6 A series of sites dated to this phase were recently excavated on Sai Island (Garcea 2016; Garcea/Hildebrand 2009). At site 8-B-10C, several hut’s floors, post-holes, hearths and trash pits were discovered. Poorly preserved faunal remains consist of wild species, mostly land and aquatic gastropods. The pottery from the site is said to have a coarse mineral tempered fabric, mostly undecorated, with only few examples of rocker and simple impressed patterns, including milled and notched rims.7 Four radiometric determinations date the site to c. 5000–4900 BC (Garcea 2016). Test trenches excavated at Site 8-B-76 revealed a sequence of discrete occupational surfaces, some contemporary to the previous site. Again, faunal remains were very poorly preserved, but the fragment of a cattle lower molar is reported to be dated to the earliest part of the sequence. Pottery is described as having a silty and porous fabric, tempered with mineral and organic inclusions, the latter probably being remains of animal dung; surfaces were mostly burnished; the rare decorations consisted of incisions, black-topped and rippled patterns (Garcea 2016). Regrettably, it is not clear if chronological variability is attested; if not such evidence of black-topped ware would be among the earliest found in the Grater Nile Valley thus far (see below). As stated by Garcea (2016), the pottery at site 8-B-76 corresponds to that of the Abkan Culture (Nordström 1972), while that found at 8-B-10C corresponds to that of the Khartoum Variant Culture (Nordström 1972; Gatto 2006b). The presence of two different, but contemporary, pottery traditions is interpreted as evidence of two groups living on the island at the same time, one of hunter-gatherers, the Khartoum Variant, and one of herders, the Abkan. The variation in economy is based on the absence of domesticated species from the Khartoum Variant site and the cattle molar found at the Abkan site (Garcea 2016). While it may well be that those two contemporary communities had different subsistence systems (despite an assumption based only on very poorly preserved remains), it is not possible to apply this interpretation at a cultural level. In fact, Khartoum Variant pottery like that found at Sai (which mainly corresponds to that of sub-phase 2a, as defined in Gatto 2006b) is also found in the Nabta-Kiseiba region of the Egyptian Western Desert, where it is dated to the first half of the 6th millennium BC. There, it is associated to communities with a multi-spectrum economy that included herding (Wendorf/Schild 2001). To be accepted, the intriguing possibility of a transitional phase with contemporary communities having

6 Shiner 1968; Nordström 1972; Gatto 2006a. 7 Garcea/Hildebrand 2009; Garcea 2012; 2016; D’Ercole et al. 2015.

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diverse approaches to subsistence and mobility (which seems to be suggested by the presence of architectural features only in the Khartoum Variant site) requires further supporting data and a superregional perspective. Unfortunately, no secure radiometric and archeo-zoological data are currently available for other Khartoum Variant and Abkan sites of Lower Nubia. No burials have been recorded north of the Third Cataract and this could either be caused by a bias in the archaeological record or by a settlement pattern in the area different from that of Upper Nubia, where cemeteries are instead very common (Welsby 2001). Some of these cemeteries were excavated in Kadruka (Reinold 2001) and one, R12, in Kawa (Salvatori/Usai 2008). Graves here consist of single inhumations of both adults and children, with bodies contracted on one side, often accompanied by a diverse array of offerings, to include cattle bucrania, pottery and personal ornaments. Many objects are made of imported raw materials, like precious stones or Red Sea shells, suggesting long-distance connectivity and exchange. There is variety in the graves’ spatial arrangement, as well as in quantity and quality of the offerings. This hints at inequality within the social group. Micro-botanical evidence of domestic cereals is attested already in graves dated to 5000 BC (Mandella et al. 2014), supporting the idea of a multi-spectrum economic pattern. The pottery from funerary contexts of this phase is extremely well made, with peculiar shapes, to include a flared-rim (tulip) beaker, an indicator of the 5th millennium BC across the Greater Nile Valley, and complex decorative patterns obtained mainly using the impression technique (Salvatori 2008). This repertoire has no counterpart in domestic contexts where most of the sherds recovered are burnished with few decorations, such as the so-called rippled, another diagnostic feature of the late Nilotic Prehistory (Gatto 2002b; 2006c). Domestic contexts with such pottery were associated to the Abkan Culture in Lower Nubia and the Karat Group in the southern Dongola Reach (Gatto 2002b), a misleading distinction that should no longer be retained. The discrepancy between domestic and funerary pottery repertoires argues for specialized craftsmanship, which is also suggested by the degree of technological specialization in the production of other objects, such as beads (Usai 2016). Evidence of occupation in the Nubian deserts is mainly provided by work done in the Nabta-Kiseiba region. Delimited by two short arid spells, when the desert was too unpleasant for human presence, the occupation phase is dated to c. 5400– 4700 BC (Wendorf/Schild 2001). Small campsites featuring a few hearths, the occasional hut floor, and sometimes man-made walk-in wells, are scattered across the area. Artefacts resemble those found in sites along the Nile, including burnished pottery and the earliest example of black-topped red-polished wares, radiocarbon dated at site E-75-8 to c. 5000 BC (Gatto 2006c). This class will become a marker of the late prehistoric cultures in Nubia and Egypt, and will be produced in Nubia up to historic times. While no formal burial ground was dated to this phase, a ceremonial complex was found in Nabta Playa. It measures c. 10 km2 and consists of many megalithic structures of different shapes and sizes, often covering pits, stone stelae

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alignments and large hearths. The earliest features date back to the Early Holocene, but radiocarbon dates attest the continuous use of the ritual complex up until the 4th millennium BC (Bobrowski et al. 2014). A cluster of stone structures was associated with the remains of cattle, sheep and goat. In the largest of those deposits, radiocarbon dated to the end of the 6th millennium BC, the skeleton of a young cow was found in a specially prepared chamber covered by a roof made of tamarix (Applegate et al. 2001). A stone circle located nearby, dated to c. 5000 BC, has been interpreted as a solar calendar (Applegate/Zedeño 2001). It appears the alignment of the stone stelae was not incidental. Palaeo-astronomical research has demonstrated that they indicated the point where the sun rose on the summer solstice around 5000 BC, which signalled the arrival of the rainy season and thus of the water (McKim Malville et al. 1998). The many large hearths found in the area were probably used during ceremonies involving food offering and communal consumption. The labour-intensive and collective effort needed to create and maintain such a ritual complex is impressive, and underlines the necessity to bind strongly a social group living in an environment as stressful as that of the desert. While rituality and social markers along the river focused on individuals and their tombs, in the desert they focused on the community and its public space. In Upper Egypt, after a long gap in the archaeological record, evidence of human occupation is again reported, although rare. At the First Cataract, the remains of a burial (Fig. 3) were found heavily weathered by water in a natural sinkhole at the southern edge of Elephantine Island (Raue 2008; 2018). The pottery resembles that from the Second Cataract region associated to the Abkan Culture of the 5th millennium BC, with sand tempered fabrics and rippled decorations. Such unique finding tells of catastrophic inundations and the difficulties of recovering good evidence of this period along the Nile. In the area of the Qena Bend, sites are found in the low desert and mostly consist of hearths and rarely of shallow pits, in association with lithic artefacts and sometimes potsherds.8 The lithic from sites at el-Tarif and in the Dendara area, shows similarities with the Western Desert assemblages, and here we need to mention the finding in Dendara, and in other few locations in the Egyptian Eastern Desert, of side-blow flakes, a production typical of Western Desert sites of this phase (Vermeersch et al. 2002; Köhler et al. 2017). The pottery assemblage associated to the Tarifian Culture in the original publication (Ginter et al. 1979) is not chronologically discrete, but rather a mixed assemblage with later intrusions. However, some of the potsherds are described as tempered with fine shale, quartz or sand, thin-walled, and with smooth surfaces (Ginter et al. 1979; Ginter/Kozlowski 1984), a description that matches that of the contemporary Bashendi Culture of the Egyptian oases (Warfe 2003; see Riemer/Kinderman, this volume for more information), strengthening the already noted desert connection. The so-called Tarifian pottery also has parallels in the ceramic from a cave in

8 Darnell 2002; Vermeersch et al. 1992; Ginter et al. 1979; Ginter/Kozlowski 1984.

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Fig. 3: Sherds found in a sink-hole from Elephantine Island that resemble Neolithic Abkan-related pottery from the Second Cataract (photo: DAIK, Peter Windzus).

the Rayayna Desert, the lower layers of which are radiocarbon dated from c. 5200 BC.9 Another cave in the area with a contemporary occupation phase has painted hands on the ceiling similar to the ones already known from Saharan rock art, the closest example of which is from the Wadi el-Obeyied Cave, in the Farafra

9 Darnell, pers. comm.; Gatto 2012.

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Oasis (Barich 2014). This evidence points to influence in rituality and beliefs from Saharan groups. Caves with contemporary occupations are also reported from the Eastern Desert, in the Wadi Hammamat region (Vermeersch et al. 2002; 2015). The Wadi Atulla grave provides securely dated funerary evidence for this phase in the Eastern Desert (Friedman/Hobbs 2002). It is located in a side wadi, north of the central portion of the Wadi Hammamat. The grave shaft was cut into the sloping ridge; at its bottom, many lateral niches were dug into the walls. The western alcove and the north-west niche were used for human burials. The function of the central shaft is less clear, since the tomb was plundered and bodies were disturbed. Apparently, there was a single upright stone at the edge of the ridge, possibly a sort of stelae marking the location of the grave. On top of the shaft there were ten oblong, 50 cm long rocks set vertically in the ground. Offering items were found in the western alcove; they consisted of pottery vessels, two flint knifes, beads and other assorted objects. The floor area of the alcove was levelled probably with matting or wickerwork. In another niche animal remains, possibly including Bos, were found. Pottery was mainly represented by flared rim beakers, a shape that resembled the tulip beaker encountered in the cemeteries of the Dongola Reach, and one of them provided an AMS date of c. 4700 BC (Friedman/Hobbs 2002). A cluster of graves with a stone superstructure found in the Rayayna Desert (behind Armant) has pottery similar to that of the Wadi Atulla and may be dated to the same phase (Darnell 2008; Darnell, pers. comm.). This bears witness to a different form of funerary architecture and rituality, albeit still community-oriented, among northern desert groups. By the beginning of the 5th millennium BC, and following the retreatment of the summer monsoons, the ‘Neolithic package’ was adopted also in the Upper Nile region. Sites such as Ghaba, at the beginning of the millennium, show strong similarities in material culture, as well as socio-economic system, with Nubia, suggesting a shift southward of population.10 By the end of this phase, a local tradition develop, as attested at sites such as Kadero and Shaheinab.11

4.2 c. 4500–3800 BC A settlement found in the same location of the Royal Cemetery in Kerma, and dated to the mid-5th millennium BC, shows the nature of the domestic installations in Nubia at this time. The excavation uncovered a series of occupational layers separated by alluvial deposits, with hearths and post-holes; the post-holes were arranged either in circles, evidence of huts, or in line, marking the location of wind-shields or enclosures; no storage pits were found (Honegger 2006; this volume). The pottery

10 Salvatori et al. 2016; see Usai/Salvatori, this volume, for further details. 11 Chlodnicki Et Al. 2011; Salvatori Et Al. 2016.

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includes burnished, black-topped red polished, and rippled wares (Gatto 2006c). The stratigraphic sequence, the architectural features and the lack of storage facilities were interpreted by the excavator as evidence of seasonality and of an economy likely based on herding, gathering and fishing. The presence of temporary settlements with comparable material culture in the Nubian deserts (Wendorf/Schild 2001; Lange/Nordström 2007) supports the idea of seasonal mobility between the river valley and its hinterland. The remains of domesticated animals are common in the archaeological record, which point to communities mainly relying on herding while roaming the desert. The recovery of domestic grains in funerary contexts in Upper Nubia suggests, once again, that part of the population was permanently settled along the river and that a multi-spectrum economy, including plant cultivation, was in place at a superregional level. Results of the isotope analysis at Cemetery R12 in Kawa show along the Nile a trend toward a larger amount of plants consumed throughout the 5th millennium (Iacumin 2008). Changes in the funerary material culture are detected, for instance in the pottery, now with incised or impressed decorations mostly confined on the rim band and top (Salvatori 2008). Vessel forms with flat base and tall straight bodies resemble those found in the contemporary Badarian Culture of Middle Egypt (Salvatori 2008). Pottery assemblages with such characteristics are found as far south as the Fourth Cataract and in the Lower Wadi Howar.12 Variability in funerary and social practices are further attested by intra-site spatial patterning. At Kadruka (KDK) 1, the most prominent grave, centrally placed, is that of an adult male with rich offerings; in contrast at KDK 18, it is the grave of a woman that has a more prominent location (Reinold 2001, with radiometric data). The important role of women in Nubian society is confirmed also in other cemeteries in the area, such as in Cemetery KDK 21 where in a pit a double interment was found: that of a man and a woman. The position of the bodies argues for a greater importance of the female. The evidence gathered from burial sites in the deserts follows a similar pattern, where the majority of inhumations found are of females,13 although multiple inhumations are also reported. From an isolated tumulus in a side valley of Wadi elLawi, in the desert east of Kom Ombo, the bodies of a female and a male were found, unfortunately disturbed by looting. In another tumulus nearby, again plundered, remains of three individuals were found, this time female and male adults, together with a child (Gatto et al. 2014). Burials of children are commonly found both along the Nile and in the deserts, many of them are individual inhumations with a variety of offerings.14 Those in the deserts have, in addition, a stone superstructure, such as the tumulus of the so-called ‘Prince of Nabta Playa’, radiocarbon

12 Edwards/Fuller 2005; Edwards, pers. comm.; Jesse 2007; pers. comm. 13 E.g. in Gebel Ramlah, Kobusiewicz et al. 2010; and Wadi Allaqi/Gabgaba, Paris et al. 2006; Gatto 2012. 14 Salvatori/Usai 2008; Reinold 2001; Salvatori et al. 2016.

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dated to the end of the 5th millennium BC. Unique in its own right is a burial ground found in Gebel Ramlah, north of Nabta Playa, where only inhumations of new-born and stillborn were found (Zdziebłowski 2014). That of Gebel Ramlah is indeed a much more complex funerary and ritual centre, including clusters of human graves, which may represent different segments of the social group (as suggested by pottery variability between the clusters, see Gatto 2010), temporary campsites and areas with large hearths. Again, these argue for communal feasting. It is important to highlight that, usually, human burials out in the desert are isolated or in small clusters and have stone superstructures. This is not the case at Gebel Ramlah, where the clusters of graves form proper necropolises and share many similarities with those found along the Nile. Building a stone tumulus is a time-consuming, community effort, which a small group of people in a harsh environment such as that of the desert would probably be willing to perform only if driven by social ties and beliefs. The limited number of tumuli across the deserts, and the larger number of women found in them, further suggests social and gender inequality, as well as ancestral kinship along matrilineal lines. No contemporary funerary evidence is reported along the Nile Valley in Lower Nubia and Upper Egypt, in the area between Armant and Aswan. A bias in the archaeological record could explain such absence, but it could also be the result of a different occupation pattern. In Upper Egypt evidence for settlement activities datable to this phase is rare and amounts to a handful of sherds. The lack of archaeological record in this part of the Nile Valley may be interpreted as the result of oscillation of river level, with major, permanent sites now lost under modern cultivations. Support for this hypothesis seemed to come from Hierakonpolis and Elkab. A rippled sherd was found in a four-meter deep test pit excavated in the ‘town site’ of Nekhen, in Hierakonpolis (Hoffman 1982). Because of the very limited area investigated, which was under the ground water level, no further information on the nature of the archaeological context could be obtained. In Elkab, although the excavation was again limited in scope, it established that the settlement was a temporary fishing installation, located on a sand dune of early/mid-Holocene date that sloped down toward the river (Claes et al. 2014). The assumption that sites closer to the river would have been the largest, and permanent, may not stand the test of newly acquired data, which suggests that they were in fact as temporary and small as those already known from Middle Egypt. In the Badari region, many settlements of this phase have been investigated over the last hundred years.15 The villages were located on the lower spurs of the desert, on the edge of the cultivated land. The site of Maghar Dendara, instead, found few kilometres south of Qena and dated to c. 4100 BC (Hendrickx et al. 2001), was closer to the river and in use during the dry season (winter), when the level of the Nile was low. The occupation features consist of hearths, post-holes

15 Brunton 1937; Brunton/Caton-Thompson 1928; Holmes/Friedman 1994.

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and storage pits. The faunal remains indicate that people arrived at the site with their flocks, looking for grazing when it became scarce elsewhere. They were also fishing, probably in the main channel of the Nile. The site was abandoned when the waters started to rise, and the flood zones became fordable and work in the fields began again. The expectation that one would find in the Nile Valley large permanent settlements draws upon a Near Eastern model of Neolithization, which apparently has no counterpart in the Nilotic world. Archaeological evidence, instead, supports an ‘urbanization’ of funerary and ritual landscapes (Wengrow 2006; Wengrow et al. 2014), an idiosyncrasy likely shaped by the multi-spectrum economy and semi-mobile strategy of the Greater Nile Valley system. Badarian cemeteries are numerous and usually found close to the settlements. The graves were furnished with a range of goods and personal ornaments often produced with exotic materials. Variation in the quantity and quality of the funerary offerings among the burials is reported (Anderson 1992) and is comparable to that encountered in contemporary graveyards in Upper Nubia. The funerary record clearly provides evidence for a shared set of concepts and practices across the Greater Nile Valley, including at this time also the Khartoum region (Salvatori et al. 2016; Usai/Salvatori, this volume). These concepts and practices transcend social groups and their identities. The ceramic evidence offers a perfect case study to detect such patterns of connectivity. In the Nabta-Keseiba region, pottery of the previous phase was sand tempered, undecorated with burnished, smoothed and blacktopped red polished surfaces. Pottery of this phase, instead, has fine-sand and shale-tempered fabrics and rippled and rocker-stamped decorations, in association with burnishing and black-topping (Gatto 2010). While the fine shale fabrics are characteristic of the Bashendi-related groups of the preceding phase and encountered in Upper Egypt and the nearby deserts, rippled and impressed decorations are typical of the Nubian tradition. The same combination of pottery has recently been discovered in the desert east of Kom Ombo (Fig. 4), associated with tumuli found in the Wadi al-Lawi (Gatto et al. 2014). As already mentioned above (section 3), an arid spell of c. 200 years divided the two desert occupations (dated at Nabta to c. 5400–4700 and 4500–3600 BC, respectively). Judging from the attributes distinguishing the latest pottery assemblage, during the arid spell the groups seasonally inhabiting the Nabta desert, moved both north and south, coming back into the region with the onset of better climatic conditions, bringing with them new technological elements that were combined to create an innovative ceramic tradition. The chronological and spatial distribution of the black-topping suggest that such treatment never reached the Khartoum region, where a local variant, the black-rimmed, developed at this time (Gatto 2006b; Salvatori 2016). The rippled decoration (Fig. 5), instead, originated in Nubia and during this phase rapidly spread north and south across the Greater Nile Valley (Gatto 2002b; 2006c). There is evidence of regional variations in the tools and technique used to obtain the rippling. In Nubia, the rippled effect is mainly obtained by using a plain or

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Fig. 4: 5th millennium BC tumuli from Wadi al-Lawi with rippled sherds in association to Feature 2 (archive of the Aswan-Kom Ombo Archaeological Project).

dotted comb applied with a rocker/zigzag movement; in Khartoum, a comb is commonly used to create rows of deep vertical lines; in Middle Egypt, alongside Nubian techniques, there is evidence of the pattern being obtained by impressing or modelling the pot in a basket/matting (see e.g. the black-topped carinated bowl from the British Museum EA 59721). Another typical pottery vessel of this period showing interregional connectivity is the tulip beaker. At this point in time, tulip beakers,

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Fig. 5: Examples of rippled decorations: A–B. from site E-00-1 in Nabta Playa, mid 5th millennium BC (courtesy The British Museum, photos by Jim Rossiter); C. from Nag el-Qarmila, early 4th millennium BC (archive of the Aswan-Kom Ombo Archaeological Project).

also known in Middle Egypt as Tasian beakers and in Sudan as caliciform beakers, are widespread across the Greater Nile Valley, from Middle Egypt to Khartoum and from the Gilf Kebir to the Nile (Gatto 2002b; 2006c). Again, interregional variability

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is attested, either in shape, decorations, and fabrics. Therefore, a detailed analysis of the ceramic evidence suggests multiple layers of connectivity, which not only include the movement of objects and people, but also of ideas. The fact that different techniques were used across the Nile Valley to obtain the same decorative outcome implies that people were keen to copy what they had seen, either because they moved or because others or their artefacts moved; however, to do so they used techniques familiar to them. Technological knowledge is thus retained, and networks of knowledge kept separated, but the intention of sharing a vocabulary, although symbolic, that expressed and helped to reproduce a common set of values and beliefs, is clearly present. A shared identity would have facilitated interregional interaction by creating a network that could have been used as needed, and social, economic and climatic factors were certainly the driving forces behind such need. Rituality was a key way to create social and symbolic connectivity and evidence dated to this phase is again attested in the deserts, at Nabta Playa, where the ceremonial complex previously described was still in use. This is also true of Wadi Khashab in the Eastern Desert, midway between Edfu and the Red Sea. Here a complex system of stone structures, stelae and a large stone enclosure with animal (mainly cattle) and human graves has been recently investigated (Osypiński/ Osypińska 2016). The construction and use of the complex seems to originate in this phase, but radiocarbon determinations and the superficial finding of a vessel elsewhere associated to Middle Nubian Cultures, such as C-Group and Pan-Graves, points toward a long-life span for the complex, at least up to the 2nd millennium BC. The end of this phase corresponds in Egypt to the transition from Badarian to the Naqada Culture. The recently published program of radiocarbon dating (Dee et al. 2014) shows how the transition lasted c. 200 years, with some overlapping. The initial evidence of Naqada material culture (corresponding to phase NIAB), was found in the Abydos region (Hartmann 2011), spreading as far south as Lower Nubia (Dakka-Sayala region) soon after (NIC-IIAB), and northward as far as the Delta by NIICD. This dispersal has to be interpreted as the dissemination of a novel ideological system, based on a shared set of beliefs and practices, instrumental in creating, for the first time, an ‘Egyptian’ identity that would support a new socioeconomic network and ultimately justify the rise of a political power.

4.3 3800–3300 BC For the first time a dense occupation system, which included domestic and funerary sites, was established, both in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia, as far south as the Dakka/Sayala area. Habitation and funerary sites were placed relatively close, at points where cultivable land was available, which suggests a growing investment in agriculture and sedentism. A settlement hierarchy developed in Upper Egypt since the beginning of the phase (NIC-IIAB). In Lower Nubia, settlements of this phase are too poorly studied to show clear tiers; they, however, vary in typology

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from simple campsite to rock shelters, and in domestic architecture, to include remains of stone hut foundations alongside post-holes of wattle-and-daub structures (Nordström 1972, 20–21; Gatto 2006a). In Upper Egypt, archaeological research has mainly focused on major sites, mostly cemeteries; only recently the interest has shifted to smaller sites. Nag elQarmila is particularly important in this discussion, because it is located at what will soon become the southern frontier of the Egyptian state and provides great insight into community identity there. The remains of a hamlet were found in a small valley, c. 15 km north of Aswan on the west bank. They consist of a sequence of occupations with hearts, post-holes, in situ pots, small plastered pit basins and sand floors. Radiometric determinations from two hearts date the site to c. 3800– 3600 BC, corresponding to NIC-IIAB (Gatto et al. 2009; Gatto 2014; 2016). The cemetery was located nearby and, according to the pottery, was in use for longer time, suggesting that it also served a settlement contemporary to its latest phase (NIICD), closer to the river and now lost under modern cultivations. Tombs were either shallow depressions dug into the sand with no visible cover, or pits (the most recent having a lateral niche) dug into the alluvium and covered by stone slabs. Such funerary architecture rarely found in Upper Egyptian contexts16 is typical of Nubia. Most of the ceramics and lithic artefacts have parallels elsewhere in Egypt, whilst others are local productions, such as the shale tempered wares. Objects typical of the Nubian tradition, for instance black-topped rippled wares and lunates made of quartz or agate used as harrow-heads or sickle-blades, are also found. Hybrid objects, like Naqada red polished bowls with a Nubian milled rim decoration, were additionally reported, displaying an ongoing process of cultural entanglement in the area. While north of Gebel es-Silsila the number of Nubian or hybrid objects is consistently limited (Gatto 2003; 2014), in Lower Nubia there is a direct link between the number of Naqada objects found and the geographical location of the site, with the higher percentage being recorded on the northernmost sites (Gatto 2006a). The farther it was from the core of the Naqada Culture, the more Nubian identity was detained by local communities, yet they clearly shared membership to the same socio-economic system, as suggested by the down-the-line distribution of Naqada pottery in the southern region (Takamiya 2004). At Nag el-Qarmila, a number of storage pits were found on top of the lowest spur overlooking the valley, away from the main occupation area at the bottom (Fig. 6). The location of storage units separated from the main settlement is a feature well known in Egypt since the 5th millennium BC, the earliest evidence found in the Fayum (Caton-Thompson/Gardner 1934; Wendrich/Cappers 2005). In Lower Nubia there is at least one other locale of the kind found in Serra-West (Nordström 2014, 19) and a similar one was found in Qustul (Williams 1989).

16 E.g. in Adaima and Elkab, Crubézy et al. 2002; Hendrickx/van Rossum 1994.

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Fig. 6: The valley of Nag el-Qarmila with location of Predynastic sites: in the foreground, the cemetery; in the middle-ground, the habitation area; in the background, the granaries (archive of the Aswan-Kom Ombo Archaeological Project).

This new information provides background for reconsidering the complex of 578 storage pits found in the 1960s at Khor Dawd, on the opposite bank of the Dakka Plain (Piotrovski 1964; 1967), later interpreted as a trade or market place (Nordström 1972, 26). The evidence from Nag el-Qarmila, and from Egypt more generally, suggests that the Khor Dawd pits may have been the storage facilities for the local community. Colin Firth in his publication (1915) describes the finding of a large Predynastic settlement in the Dakka Plain with remains of stone huts, which regrettably was not investigated. Clusters of graves dating from NIC to NIII were found surrounding the settlement, pointing to a long-lasting use of the site. The great number of pits at Khor Dawd supports the idea of a large regional centre in use during the whole 4th millennium BC, further indicating the presence of communal property, uniform distribution of provisions and no need for securing the area. Storage facilities were also found in contemporary desert sites; in particular, at Bir Sahara in the Western Desert two pottery caches were located in the vicinity of the local well. The ceramics consists of Nubian black-topped and Naqada marl wares, as well as a number of Clayton rings and disks of unknown function (Gatto 2002a). The site was probably a stopping place along one of the desert roads connecting Nubia

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with the Egyptian oases, and highlights a new use of the desert for trade. Interregional trade in fact develops late in this phase and is supported by requests of exotic items from the rising Egyptian elites. The Nubian population of this phase, archaeologically known as the A-Group,17 served as tradesmen providing Egypt with resources from the south. Their knowledge of desert mobility, acquired as part of their pastoral tradition, was probably a key element in developing their role as middlemen. Such knowledge mitigated the impossibility of navigating the river and its cataracts in Nubia. The funerary data in Lower Nubia displays geographical, chronological and social variability. Earliest tombs consist of pits cut into the alluvium, circular in shape, which became rectangular with rounded corners and with a lateral niche by the end of this phase. As a general rule, tombs do not have superstructures but are closed by stone slabs. In the Gerf Husein area there are few examples of graves covered by stone structures, which may denote a connection with the desert funerary tradition (Firth 1912, 124–126), a connection facilitated by the intersection in the Dakka Plain of the Wadi Allaqi, the largest fossil confluence of the Nile in Lower Nubia. Multiple burials are reported and typically include same-sex individuals or adults and children, although the latter often have their own burials containing rich offerings. Bodies are usually contracted on the left side and oriented toward the south. Most of the bodies in northern Lower Nubia were lying and/or covered by matting or linen (Gatto 2006a). Many objects were placed in the graves as offerings to the dead; they included local productions but also objects of Egyptian manufacture, such as pottery and palettes. Animal tombs are often found in cemeteries of the First Cataract region and date to the first part of the phase (Flores 2003; Roma 2010). Inequality among the inhumations is reported, as well as the important social role of females alongside males (Reisner 1910; Gatto 2006a). Evidence from this period is very scanty south of the Korosko Bend (Nordström 2014) and almost absent in Upper Nubia (see Honegger, this volume). This gap is hard to explain with reference only to poor site preservation or adverse environmental conditions that prevented human occupation in the region. A superregional perspective, which takes into consideration the new economic and political setting created by the development of the Naqada Culture in Egypt, may help to better understand such hiatus. The absence of sites in Upper Nubia, in fact, counterparts their presence in significant number, and for the first time, in Lower Nubia, suggesting a possible movement and clusterization of Nubian population closer to Egypt early on during this phase, with a spread southward throughout the millennium, from the Dakka/Sayala area to the Second Cataract, and by the end of next phase, to Upper Nubia and possibly further south as well (see below). Sites of this phase are also known in the Khartoum region, such as Kadada and Geili (Usai/Salvatori, this volume); how-

17 Reisner 1910; Nordström 1972; 2001; Gatto 2006a.

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ever, they mostly retain a traditional Neolithic setting that sets them apart from the new socio-economic narratives developing up north.

4.4 3300–2900 BC Parallel to the rise in Egypt during the NIIIAB phase of a centralized political system based at Abydos (Dynasty Zero), an indigenous form of power developed in Nubia. By this time Egypt was a sedentary society with an economy increasingly based on agriculture, while Nubia retained her traditional semi-nomadic organization and multi-spectrum economic pattern, with herding still having an important symbolic value (Gatto 2011a). Addressing such diverse socio-economic and symbolic backgrounds is thus paramount to properly understanding variability among the early Nilotic polities. The mobile and flexible politics practiced by the Nubian agro-pastoral peoples gave rise to a regional polity, the A-Group, based primarily on spatial networking and distributed authority. It is the interplay with Egypt that sped-up the long-term process toward complexity and hierarchy that was already in place among the Nubian Neolithic communities. In the Nubian Nile Valley sites of this phase are found as far south as the Batn el-Haggar (Gatto 2006a), suggesting the A-Group had an interest in including southern areas. By the end of the phase (Terminal A-Group/NIIIB), the number of sites both north and south of the First Cataract diminishes, following a pattern of clusterization in major regional centres that characterized the settlement pattern in Egypt at the inception of the unification (Gatto 2014 with references), but also the establishment in the region of the geo-political frontier of the soon-to-be Egyptian state. Alongside the settlement at Dakka, a new important centre developed at Afyeh, in the Korosko Bend (Smith 1962; Lal 1967). Located in one of the narrowest and rockiest parts of the Lower Nubian Nile Valley, its setting can only be explained by the crossing in the region of the most important desert routes linking Egypt (including the Abydos region) to Upper Nubia and the Khartoum region. In an area of 1500 m2 several stone buildings were excavated, the biggest of which covered an area of c. 200 m2 and had at least six rooms. In situ pots, fire and small storage pits, the latter plastered on the inside, were found in some of the rooms, pointing to a domestic function. A circular platform was found to the south-west of the 6-room building. The great quantity of material found, both on the surface and in stratigraphic contexts, consists of lithic, bone and copper tools, grinding equipment, ceramic containers, but also personal adornments, such as beads and rings, spindlewhorls, which hint to possible textile manufacturing, and stone vessels (Stevenson 2012). Animal bones and a great quantity of carbonized remains of wheat, barley and legumes were found as well (Lal 1967, 106). There are many elements that make this settlement unique, from its high position controlling the trade routes to the large-scale stone architecture and the exceptionally rich and varied material culture. Although contemporary sites like Dakka and er-Riqa could provide useful par-

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allels, they have not been excavated (Smith 1962; Stevenson 2012). This lack of comparable data undermines our present ability to clearly understand Afyeh’s significance while leaving ample room for data misinterpretation (see interpretation by Gatto 2006a and response by Stevenson 2012). Cemeteries of this phase are numerous and regional variability is detected in architecture, rituality and material culture. For instance, grave superstructures occur only occasionally, particularly in the Dakka/Koroko region (see above and below); in the northern part of Lower Nubia graves could contain up to six bodies, often wrapped in linen and matting, contrary to southern graves where multiple inhumations comprised up to three bodies, wrapped in animal fur or leather, evincing a stronger ‘pastoral character’. The percentage of Egyptian materials is also lower in the south, where only selected types of Egyptian objects reached the Second Cataract area, and this is clearly attested in the ceramic assemblage, which only consists of marl jars and bowls (some used as jar’s lids), with very few wavyhandled pots. Takamiya (2004) has suggested a different pattern of distribution for the Egyptian pottery from sites south of the Korosko Bend, which could imply a trade directly controlled by the Abydos elite and its Nubian counterpart in the Second Cataract region. This stands in contrast to sites north of the Korosko Bend, where supplies would have been still provided by centres such as Hierakonpolis and Elephantine, and this is particularly true for the early part of the phase. Inequality is well attested among graves from the same cemetery and in many cases female graves are particularly rich. It has been stated that such an apparent status of females reflected the importance of agriculture in the Nubian society, where (re)producing activity was seen as parallel to the act of giving birth (Nordström 1996). However, such status was already previously noted in the pastoral nomadic segment of the society, leaving scope for further interpretation. There is no doubt that women as mothers played a fundamental role in creating prosperity for the group and by facilitating survival in times of droughts. This is true regardless of group economy and settlement pattern. Within a group, women are usually in charge of social order and rituality, as well as in passing knowledge through generations. The special role entrusted to women in Nubia, thus, mainly talks about a society where social cohesion, identity and kinship following a matrilineal line were of high importance. It is, however, in specific burial grounds that narratives of power are detected. The most remarkable is Cemetery L at Qustul, which shows many unique features (Williams 1986). This small cemetery of 33 graves, including seven cattle burials, was part of a larger landscape of rich graveyards, and also storage facilities (Williams 1986; 1989); unfortunately, no settlement was found in association therewith, probably already destroyed by the time the archaeological investigation took place. Burials were all thoroughly plundered and not much was left of human remains; however, in some cases the presence of multiple inhumations of adults (of the same or different sex, or adult and infant) was attested. This suggests that the

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burial ground was that of an elite group rather than of powerful male individuals and that power was, at least, partially shared at a communal level. Most of the human graves were monumental, with large and long rectangular shafts and a lateral niche; remains of funerary beds were noticed in some of them. The rich and varied number of offerings were partially placed on the outer corridor, such as the large Egyptian jars, or inside the funerary chamber, such as personal adornments. Stone incense burners were probably placed outside the burials, as indicated by fragments found on the surface near the shaft; and this has parallel in the cemetery of Tunqala-West, in the Korosko Bend (Stevenson 2012). The graves had up to 200 pottery vessels, 75 % of which was local production, while the rest consisted of extremely rich imports from Egypt and even Palestine. Of particular importance are the painted wares, also known as eggshell or variegated haematitic wares. They are of two types: deep bowls with painted patterns on the outside and black on the inside or large shallow bowls with painted patterns on the inner surface. The latter are less common than the former, which is more common in cemeteries throughout Lower Nubia; however, although the earliest examples are found in cemeteries of the Dakka Plain (contemporary to NIICD), it is in Qustul that this kind of ceramic manufacture reach its climax. Here, in fact, they also have unique shapes and decorative patterns, and many are miniature in size. The Qustul region seems to have been its centre of production and from there probably the pottery was distributed across Nubia, a specialized production for, and controlled by, the elite. Objects such as palettes, beads and pebbles were found in great numbers as well. Other items rarely found in A-Group funerary contexts were likewise of common occurrence; this is the case with incense burners, stone vessels, lip plugs, clay tokens, pieces of sculptures, bread models, seals and mace-heads, most of which are of Egyptian provenance. As for the incense burners, they are at this time, like the painted wares, a new item associated with rich graves. Usually they consist of circular-shaped softstone vessels with only a shallow depression on the top where burning incense was placed. Whilst their use for funerary rituals is supported by their presence within and outside of the burials, a use in religious ceremonies is depicted in a seal impression found in the cemetery of Siali, south of the First Cataract (Reisner 1910, pl. 65 f.; Williams 1986, fig. 59). In the central part of the scene, a male figure is represented sitting on a chair and looking toward a serekh (palace façade) and a standard with a falcon on top; between him and the serekh a bow is depicted, a sign interpreted by Williams (1986, 169) as the archaic Egyptian name for Nubia (Ta-Seti ‘the land of the bow’). Behind him a bovine figure is standing on a pedestal, followed by two dogs. On top of the human figure there is a serekh surmounted by a falcon; a line of incense burners with a stylized pointed flame coming out of them frame the upper part of the scene. The illustration clearly refers to a ritual act attended and/or performed by a ruler, and the serekh with the falcon on top, used in Egypt to write royal names, attests to his leadership. The ritual included a ‘divine’ cattle and was

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enacted in front of a palace façade (probably a sacred building) and a falcon standard. The many Egyptian iconographic elements, such as the serekh and the falcon, are here intertwined with traditional Nubian symbols, such as cattle, and more recent ones, such as incense burners. That incense burners were objects of high symbolic value in the new Nubian political narrative is also attested by the unique scenes engraved on two of them found in Qustul. On these burners, parades of sacred boats are represented going towards a palace façade. In both scenes, a royal figure dressed like a pharaoh and sitting on a throne wears the white crown of Upper Egypt. The iconography in both cases is purely Egyptian, but the medium on which it is depicted is symbolically meaningful only in Nubia. The artist may have well been working for the Egyptian court; the patron, however, was certainly Nubian. The cemetery in Qustul is not the only cemetery of the kind in Nubia. There are two others in the Sayala area, south of the Dakka Plain. Cemetery 137 dates to the first part of the phase (corresponding to NIIIA in Egypt). It contained 31 large graves, all rectangular, of which only 13 were published (Firth 1927). Although thoroughly plundered, the graves yielded evidence of multiple inhumations, several objects of Nubian manufacture, including some painted wares, and remarkable objects of Egyptian provenance. Grave 1 contained seven copper tools and two pearshaped mace-heads with gilded wooden handles, one of which had detailed depiction of wild fauna. Not only the iconography of the decoration is Egyptian, but the fine manufacturing suggests the object was produced in Egypt by a royal workshop and reached Sayala as a gift given by one elite to another. Yet, despite the rich imports from Egypt, the Sayala cemetery does not rival that of Qustul in grave sizes and shapes or in the number and uniqueness of objects in each tomb, including those of Nubian manufacture. The cemetery of Naga Wadi, instead, few kilometres south of Sayala, which dates to the second part of the phase (corresponding to NIIIB), has more affinities with Qustul, including the funerary architecture, the number and type of offerings, both Nubian and Egyptian, and the presence of cattle burials. The fact that in Nubia there were two contemporary burial grounds of powerful elites suggests shared and geographically-distributed power. There are three other cemeteries that need to be mentioned because of the richness of their offerings – particularly of painted wares, incense burners and Egyptian imports, including a few seals – but also because of their architecture. One is a small cemetery found in Tunqala-West, very close to Afyeh in the Koroko Bend, where graves have the stone superstructures of desert tradition. Its location, close to the major A-Group site and to the desert routes, is not coincidental. It probably relates to a desert population ‘working for’ the A-Group or sharing in some way their power and wealth. The other two sites are south of the Second Cataract, at Serra West (Nordström 2014) and Saras (still unpublished except for one grave, Mills/Nordström 1966); in the latter, there is also a grave shaft covered by mudbricks, a unique occurrence in the A-Group repertoire of clear Egyptian influ-

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ence.18 The location of those rich cemeteries at the southern border of the A-Group territory is related to the importance of trade with the south and the development in Kerma of a large semi-permanent settlement, which for the standard of that time has all the potential to be defined as an urban centre (see Honegger, this volume, for further discussion). Furthermore, remains of two important cemeteries, one in the Mograt Island at Abu Ahmed (Weschenfelder/Rees 2014; Weschenfelder 2015), north of the Fifth Cataract, and the other in the Sabaloka area of the Sixth Cataract (Gatto 2007), included ceramics very similar to those from Qustul and the Terminal A-Group, although they are not imports as fabrics are not the same. This suggests that, by the end of the 4th millennium BC, trade controlled by the A-Group and related communities had reached also the Khartoum Region. The roaming of the desert for pastoral purposes is still well attested, particularly in the Laqiya region, where pottery found in the local campsites suggests a direct link with that produced in the Second Cataract region (Lange 2006), pointing once more to seasonality and/or segmentation among social groups. A very large stone tumulus (20 m in diameter), found in the Wadi Allaqi heartland and radiocarbon dated to c. 3100 BC, is evidence of contemporary funerary activities. The burial pit was located on the eastern side of the stone circle, while an offering area, with a fireplace and many animal bones of sheep and cattle, as well as charcoal, was located in the centre of the tumulus. The archaeological evidence of the A-Group disappears with the beginning of the 1st Dynasty in Egypt (NIIIC), dating the collapse of this early Nubian polity and the trade network under its control. A multi-scalar explanation for this includes a climatic arid spell that affected the whole of North Africa and a change in the external politics of Egypt. It seems, in fact, that the newly founded Egyptian state secured direct control of the trade system, causing not only the collapse of the A-Group but, like a domino effect, also the disappearance of other centres further south (Kerma, Mograt and Sabaloka). Contrary to the traditional view (e.g. Adams 1977), a revaluation of old data and the analysis of newly acquired evidence – mostly of temporary sites and storage facilities – demonstrates that during the first half of the 3rd millennium BC the Nubian Nile Valley was still inhabited (Gatto 2011b with references). The evidence, approached from a supra-regional perspective, suggests a substantial change in settlement pattern and in socio-economic and political organization. It is clear that Nubian sites of important wealth and communal ritual function are present also in this phase, just not in the Nubian Nile Valley. For example, there is an elite Nubian cemetery found in the low desert of Armant in the 1930s, and still unpublished,19 that has graves with rich offerings, including a large number of

18 Unpublished data from the ASSN Batn al-Hajar Survey Project Archive, now housed at the University of Leicester, under the supervision of David Edwards. 19 Notes and drawings regarding Cemetery 1600/1700 of Armant are kept at the Egypt Exploration Society, who kindly provided the present author with permission to publish them. Objects from the

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Fig. 7: Plan of cemetery 1600/1700 at Armant, black-filled graves are those of animals (courtesy The Egypt Exploration Society).

Egyptian alabaster vessels. Some of the largest graves are surrounded by several cattle burials (Fig. 7), a clear connection with Qustul and Naga Wadi. The Egyptian pottery dates the site to the beginning of the 1st Dynasty, right after the abandonment of Qustul (or partially overlapping with it). As in Qustul, wealth and power are expressed here with both rich Egyptian objects and Nubian media of wealth, such as cattle. Two important ritual and funerary centres generally contemporary with the Armant cemetery have been found in the Eastern Desert: that of Wadi Khashab (already discussed) and that of El-Arib.20 The latter consists of a large cemetery with many standing stelae and, again, human and cattle burials. The pottery from El-Arib perfectly matches that from Armant and that from sites along the Nubian Nile Valley, but also in Upper Egypt, currently

cemetery are housed at the University of Swansea Egyptian Centre and the Museum of the University of Manchester. A final publication of the burial ground is planned for the near future. 20 The site, yet to be investigated, was first visited by Murray 1926 and more recently by Sidebotham et al. 2008 and Harrell, pers. comm.

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defined as Pre-Kerma or B-Group.21 The Nubians, thus, neither disappeared nor lost their socio-political complexity. Rather, they adjusted to new environmental and geo-political challenges by returning to a more pastoral nomadic organization. Their form of authority and their political system were disaggregated and fluidly reconstructed in different terms, strongly relying on communal rituality and kinship. The interplay with Egypt also changed, with segments of the pastoral elites settling closer and in a more symbiotic manner. Nubian symbols of wealth, such as cattle, were in this phase retained, alongside Egyptian imports; however, Egyptian royal iconography was abandoned, as indeed there was no reason for retaining Egyptian symbols in the new mode of power organization.

5 Conclusions The sequential flux here discussed has shown that, between the end of the 6th millennium and the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, the Greater Nile Valley witnessed important socioeconomic and political transformations in which the Nubian Culture was actively involved and influential. Nubia developed a multi-spectrum economy in which pastoralism had a unique social importance, clearly expressed in the use of cattle as a symbol of rituality and power. Segments of society were living along the Nile while others moved across the desert. These mobile communities became fundamental in expanding the superregional sphere of cultural contact and in creating, during the 5th millennium BC, a shared set of beliefs and practices, instrumental to the dispersal of the ‘Neolithic package’ across the Greater Nile Valley and for the rise of the earliest African complex polities in both Nubia and Egypt. Complexity is attested particularly in funerary grounds and communal ceremonial complexes, the latter mainly found in the deserts. Inequality, either in terms of economic, gender or age, is well attested in funerary contexts. Tiers are also confirmed in settlements of the second half of the 4th millennium BC (e.g. Dakka, Afyeh and Kerma). Power developed as the result of the interplay with the Egyptian Naqada Culture, emphasising trade and transport and exhibiting variations in the way the Nubian nomadic tradition was expressed. It was based on wealth (e.g. Egyptian imports, but also cattle), kinship, sacred knowledge, communal rituality, including feasting, and funerary and ritual monumentality. A centralized organization of power is mainly attested along the Nile, while a corporate organization is mainly visible in the desert. Political practices effectively distributed authority across the social space, resulting at the end of the 4th millennium BC in the rise of multiple centres

21 Glück 2010; Gatto 2011b; Gratien 1995; Raue 2008; Nordström 2014; Herbst/Smith 2014; Honegger, this volume.

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or seats of power, hinted at by sites such as Qustul, Naga Wadi and Afyeh, which interrelated in ways more flexible than fixed hierarchy. Authority was delegation beyond central areas of leadership, as suggested by cemeteries such as Tunqala and Serra, with differentiated and dynamic political persona. The Nubian society, as other societies of pastoral mobile tradition (Honeychurch 2014 with references), retained alternative modes of organization ready to enact them when circumstances were appropriate. The forms of social-political organization that developed in Nubia during the mid-3rd millennium BC, known as the Middle Nubian Cultures, are the result of such enactment, part of a long process already started in the later prehistory.

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Vermeersch, Pierre M. / Paulissen, Etienne / Huyge, Dirk / Neumann, Katharina / van Neer, Wim / van Peer, Philip (1992): Predynastic Hearths in Upper Egypt. In: Friedman, Renée Frances / Adams, Barbara (eds.): The Followers of Horus. Studies dedicated to Michael Allen Hoffman. Egyptian Studies Association Publication 2. Oxbow Monograph 20. Oxford: Oxbow Press, p. 163–172. Vermeersch, Pierre M. / Van Peer, Philippe / Moeyersons, Jan/ Van Neer, Wim (2002): The Tree Shelter, a Holocene site in the Red Sea Mountains. In: Archéo-Nil 12, p. 123–138. Vermeersch, Pierre M./ Linseele, Veerle / Marinova, Elena / Van Neer, Wim / Moeyersons, Jan / Rethemeyer, Janet (2015): Early and Middle Holocene human occupation of the Egyptian Eastern Desert: Sodmain Cave. In: African Archaeological Review 32, 465–503. Warfe, Asten R. (2003): Cultural Origins of the Egyptian Neolithic and Predynastic: An Evaluation of the Evidence from the Dakhleh Oasis (South Central Egypt). In: African Archaeological Review 20, p. 175–202. Wendrich, Willemina Z. / Cappers, René T. J. (2005): Egypt’s Earliest Granaries: Evidence from the Fayum. In: Egyptian Archaeology 27, p. 12–15. Weschenfelder, Jens / Rees, Gareth (2014): Preliminary Report of the First Field Season of the Kerma Cemetery MOG034 on Mograt Island, Sudan. In: Der antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 25, p. 145–154. Weschenfelder, Jens (2015): The Terminal Neolithic Cemetery in the Funerary Landscape of MOG034, Mograt Island, Sudan. In: Der antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 26, p. 145–152. Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.) (2001): Life on the Desert Edge. Seven Thousand Years of Settlement in the Northern Dongola Reach, Sudan. 2 Vols. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 7. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 980. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Welsby, Derek Anthony / Macklin, Mark G. / Woodward, Jamie C. (2002): Human Responses to Holocene Environmental Changes in the Northern Dongola Reach of the Nile, Sudan. In: Friedman, Renée Frances (ed.): Egypt and Nubia: Gifts of the Deserts. London: The British Museum Press, p. 28–38. Wendorf, Denver Fred / Schild, Romuald (eds.) (2001): Holocene Settlement of the Egyptian Sahara. Vol. 1: The Archaeology of Nabta Playa. New York: Springer. Wengrow, David (2006): The Archaeology of Early Egypt. Social Transformations in North-East Africa, 10,000 to 2650 BC. Cambridge: University Press. Wengrow, David / Dee, Michael W. / Foster, Sarah / Stevenson, Alice / Bronk Ramsey, Christopher (2014): Cultural Convergence in the Neolithic Nile Valley: A Prehistoric Perspective on Egypt’s Place in Africa. In: Antiquity 88, p. 95–111. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1986): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudanese Frontier. The A-Group Royal Cemetery at Qustul: Cemetery L. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 3. Chicago/Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1989): Excavations Between Abu Simbel and the Sudanese Frontier. Neolithic, A-Group and Post A-Group Remains from Cemeteries W, V, S, Q, T and a Cave East of Cemetery K. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 4. Chicago/ Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Zdziebłowski, Szymon (2014): PAP – Science and Scholarship in Poland. Unique Neolithic Child Cemetery found in Egypt. In: Past Horizons, January 5, 2014 (http:// www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/01/2014/unique-neolithic-child-cemeteryfound-in-egypt, last seen: 10. 01. 2014).

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Cultural Diversity of Nubia in the Later 3rd–Mid 2nd Millennium BC At first it might be a bit surprising that a number of classical topics like ‘C-Group’, ‘Pan-Grave’ or Kerma-Culture are not treated as separate chapters. These terms were coined 100 years ago by archaeologists with a different cultural imprint, limited access to data and a rather coincidental section of a cultural landscape that they were just starting to investigate. Nowadays these terms create more problems than they solve. Even though they will (for the sake of unambiguity) have to be used in the future, the division into such isolated groups is, at least in the present writer’s view, part of the problem of current interpretations: Obsolete terminology is applied to excellent new archaeological data. How many contributions start or end with remarks on problems of attributing new data: How can alien pottery in Tell el-Daba be compared to Kerma Culture? How can Pan-Grave features at the Fourth Cataract be explained? Should the term ‘B-Group’ be used? Why do rock-pictures from the very western Libyan Desert show ‘Libyans’ (Förster 2013, 305, fig. 17) although they look like the ‘Nubian’ hunters in tombs of the later 3rd millennium BC (Seyfried/Vieler 2008/3, 1800, fig. 7, cf. 1996–1999)? Are not the pottery of the ‘Libyan’ Handessi-A-Culture of the later 3rd millennium BC (Lange 2006, 293–295) and the recent finds from North Tigray (Raue 2012, 172–173; see Ch. Manzo) quite similar to ‘Nubian’ pottery? To avoid misunderstandings: Old terms will also be used in the future – but that does not mean one has to follow strictly Reisner’s categorization.

2900 BC: The Lower Nubian Hiatus The archaeology of Nubia is aware of a number of periods with an extremely low population density.1 The people who were responsible for the material culture of the ‘A-Groups’ changed their economic strategies and are thus difficult to trace for at least 400 years. For sure, during this time there was no society that accumulated means for elaborate funerary cults or imports from Egypt as was the case earlier. It can be excluded that any kind of centres like Qustul existed in Lower Nubia in the late 4th millennium BC (see Ch. Gatto). The theories of genocidal events have been rejected with good reason (Wenig 1996, 368–371), but scholars agree that considerably fewer people with a predominantly mobile lifestyle inhabited Lower Nubia (e.g.

1 Similar observations can be made in the Egyptian Nile Valley with a remarkable decrease of sites during phases of rigid centralisation between the 2nd and 5th Dynasty. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-014

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Smith 1991, 101). Such developments might have been repeatedly caused by raids as they are attested in the Old Kingdom at Khor Aqiba where 17,000 Nubians were captured (Lopez 1967), even though the connection to the annals of Sneferu (Urk. I, 236.8–18) with a note on 7,000 captured Nubians is not as self-evident (Raue 2018a, 117–119) as was assumed by Helck (1974). It is not clear how far south this expedition moved. This point would be crucial for the validity of the number of prisoners in both texts. While no Nubian Culture with such a large population is known from Lower Nubia, current research in Upper Nubia has provided evidence for concentrations of people labelled Pre-Kerma Recent south of the Third Cataract (see Ch. Honegger). Other raids may have taken place based on weaker evidence, e.g. a depiction of a subdued Nubian on a stela from Hierakonpolis (Wilkinson 2001, 180). A limited number of sites can be taken into consideration during the ‘Lower Nubian Hiatus’, especially since a study by Smith (1966) proved that most tomb groups of Reisner’s ‘B-Group’ were indeed to be assigned to the early phase of the A-Group era, the earlier 4th millennium BC. Some of them cluster on the southern fringe of the First Cataract. A date between the 2nd and 4th Dynasty, e.g. at Shellal, is far from certain, but there seems to be at least some additional evidence further south.2 Nevertheless, it will remain a fact that the regular settlement pattern of the earlier to later 4th millennium ceased to exist at the beginning of the 3rd millennium. Egyptian stations and trade node sites were visited often enough by Nubian groups to leave archaeological material traces. In the north, the settlement on the Island of Elephantine illustrates the situation (Raue 2018a, 102–103): It has previously been assumed that centralization led to the disappearance of the local network of prehistoric village structures north and south of the First Cataract, and to an increase in the number of inhabitants on Elephantine (Seidlmayer 1996, 112– 114). The material culture (Fig. 1) confirmed the assumption of a direct continuity of the Nubian Culture within the containments of an Egyptian settlement during the 2nd–4th Dynasty. The subsequent process of assimilation led to very low percentages of Nubian pottery: Starting with 25 % in the 2nd Dynasty, not more than 1 % can be identified as Nubian after three generations. A number of new features in fabrics and decoration can be identified during the earlier 4th Dynasty (Raue 2018a, 126– 128; 2018b, 231–232). It remains a matter of debate as to how far such changes might be parallelized with reports on raids in Lower Nubia and subsequent movements of Nubian populations toward the northern, Egyptian Nile Valley. Recent archaeological evidence from Kerma will help us understand these shifts. The cultural phase Pre-Kerma Recent precedes the formation of the Kerma Ancien south of the Third Cataract (see Ch. Honegger). Some stylistic features have close parallels to those markers of continuity of populations of the 4th millennium BC on Elephantine. On the other hand, recent 14C-dating has indicated earlier

2 Glück 2005, 149–150; O’Connor 1993, 27; Smith 1991, 101; Emery/Kirwan 1935, 471, fig. 443.

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Fig. 1: Early Nubian vessels from the First Cataract, around 2750 BC. 1: vessel with dent-du-loupimpressions, Z3827, scale 1 : 1; 2: red burnished vessel with white paste filled chequerboard pattern, Z2415, scale 1 : 2; 3: burnished incised decorated bowl, Z364, scale 1 : 2; 4: black burnished cooking vessel, Z531, scale 1 : 4; 5: red burnished service vessel, Z1286, scale 1 : 4.

dates than would be expected from parallel developments at the First and the Third Cataract. Whether these are connected by historical events or not (Baud 2002, 258– 260) is a matter of debate. In particular, the recent finds of ‘C-Group-related’ tomb units in the necropolis of Kerma (see Ch. Honegger) will provide a better understanding of this complex interaction of migrations and indigenous developments. Contrary to numerous assumptions (e.g. Török 2009, 55; Zibelius-Chen 1988, 144–145), there is no definite proof of any Old Kingdom forerunners of such places like the fortresses of Quban, Ikkur and Aniba. Only the fortified settlement of Buhen at the Second Cataract was undoubtedly an outpost of Egyptian interests in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. The site occupied an area of 1.24 ha (O’Connor 2014, 17), being quite similar in size to the contemporaneous settlement on Elephan-

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tine at the First Cataract. The spatial arrangement separates production workshops, room units with evidence for administrative procedures and a place for cultic/ritual activity (O’Connor 2014): The settlement was founded in the middle of the 4th Dynasty, probably in the reign of Khafra. Its final stage of use spanning slightly more than 100 years does not extend into the 6th Dynasty while seal impressions mention king Nyuserra of the later 5th Dynasty.3 The excavation of this fortified settlement yielded some evidence for metallurgical activities for processing copper ore, but recent publications question the previously assumed importance of its output (O’Connor 2014; Emery 1963, 119–120). Another reason for the need for regional control are the ‘Toshka Quarries’. The quarrying of gneiss, monopolised by the royal family since at least the later 2nd Dynasty (about 2750 BC), required free access to the fishing place (for stones) of Khufu (Shaw/Bloxam/Heldal/Storemyr 2010). Few rock-inscriptions of later Early Dynastic date in Lower Nubia can be listed. It is interesting to note that such indicators are found in geostrategic settings with longterm significance, e.g. at the access to the road to Abu Hamed in the Korosko Bend (e.g. Žába 1974, 27–31). This attests to the intention to control fully the important routes to the south. The reason will have been the quest for gold, as can be deduced from seal impressions from Buhen and Elephantine dating to the 3rd–5th Dynasty (Pätznick 2005, 72; Kaplony 1977, 369). In addition, the changes which occurred during the Old Kingdom seem to be related to another stimulus, the trade with Punt. This toponym is first mentioned in the 5th Dynasty in the reign of Sahura (Urk. I, 246.4), and these enterprises, commissioned by the royal house, may have been depicted in the pyramid precinct of this king (El-Awady 2006, 39–41). Without entering the discussion about the location of Punt, all available evidence seems to argue in favour of the border region of North-east Sudan, Eritrea and North Tigray in the 2nd millennium BC (Breyer 2016).

2450–2150 BC: Formation of Archaeological Visibility The earliest textual evidence for expeditions to Punt predates all Nubian sites with the reappearance of a sedentary lifestyle: The earliest sites with predecessors of the ‘early C-Group’ can be dated parallel to the second half of the 5th Dynasty (Raue 2014/2015). What seemed, for a long time, to have been a rapid movement (Näser 2013, 106) may have developed more successively. Besides the Old Kingdom settlement of Buhen (Fig. 2), some campsites and tumuli can be mentioned from the Batn el-

3 Kaplony 1977, 369–372; O’Connor 2014, 34, 119. For attempts to link the considerably earlier military expedition of Sneferu with the fortified settlement of Buhen, see Moreno Garcia 2010, 10 and Wilkinson 2001, 180.

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Fig. 2: Nubian pottery from the Old Kingdom settlement of Buhen (after O’Connor 2014, pl. 52.XXXIX, pl. 52.XL, pl. 48.XI, pl. 51.XXXVIII, pl. 48.XIV).

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Hagar region in the Saras Plain (Nordström 1966, 66–68). Further upstream it is Abudiya (Geus 1978, pl. IX–XII), and further south of the Third Cataract it is the recently identified phase Pre-Kerma-Recent, that provided the most important insights into the process of resettling the Nile Valley (see Ch. Honegger). A vivid discussion focuses on the origin of the ‘C-Group’, as the population who resettled Lower Nubia has been called since the days of the First Survey of Nubia. Two directions of argument currently stand in juxtaposition: 1) M. Bietak, as the most prominent representative of this argument, located the origin of the C-Group southwards in the region of Kordofan and Darfur, and south-west, including the Wadi Howar where fragments of ‘C-Group-Pottery’ have been considered indicators of their provenance since the 1920s (Bietak 1966, 41; 1987, 115–116; Glück 2005, 139–140); 2) Other scholars have pointed to the fact that the stylistic resemblances might argue in favour of a direct local relationship between the populations of the late 4th millennium BC and the culture that can be observed in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC (e.g. Adams 1977, 142–143, 156; Näser 2013, 106). Surveys in Kordofan and Darfur did not provide new supportive evidence for the diffusionist view, and 14C-dates from Wadi Howar and Laqiya Arbein postdate the first occurrence in the Nile Valley (Jesse 2006, 990–991, Tab. 1). Sites like Elephantine seem to support the idea of a continuous population in Nubia (Raue 2018a, 159–165; 2018b). Trade with Egypt was probably a vehicle that connected distant material cultures: Handessi A, Proto/Early-C-Group (Fig. 3), Pre-Kerma-Recent/Kerma Ancien I and Early Gash-Culture. For the present writer, this is more a reflection of active style patterns (Keding 2006, 238–240) that prove contact of individual cultural and regional settings than a result of migrations from Western/South-western Deserts. The synchronisms of Upper Egypt and Upper Nubia have shifted in the past decades. After 14C-dates marked a rather old age of the Kerma Ancien, a change in the materials used for 14C-measurements led to younger ages.4 This fits well with recent results on developments in style that shift in parallel at, e.g., Kerma and Elephantine. The discovery of tombs with features of the ‘Early C-Group’ (Honegger 2014, 29–30; 2012, 6–8) and other sites of Kerma-Ancien-date (Welsby 2012, 27, pl. 17–18) are especially apt to provide new evidence for a better understanding of this relation (see Ch. Honegger). Representations of Egypt’s southern neighbours during the Old Kingdom are rare (Grimm 1985, 35–41). Rock-inscriptions testify to expeditions reaching the Cataract of Dal (Hintze/Reineke 1989, 180). The most telling sources about the continued Egyptian interest in Nubia are the autobiographies of the royal emissaries for foreign trade during the 6th Dynasty (Kloth 2002, 175–211). Harkhuef, who successfully travelled to the south three times for the kings Merenra and Pepy II, headed for a place called Jam (Urk. I, 124–131; Obsomer 2007, 39–52). On one of his journeys

4 For a critical review on 14C-dates from Sudan and their calibration, see Riemer 2011, 188–194.

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Fig. 3: Nubian pottery of the C-Group Ia from Aniba and Qurta with contemporaneous Egyptian vessels of Dynasty 6 (after Bietak 1968, pl. 2).

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Fig. 4: Stelae from cemetery N at Aniba, C-Group Ia (after Steindorff 1935, Bl. 8d).

he had to deliver a dwarf, and it is explicitly stated that about 100 years earlier king Djedkara had sent an expedition to Punt for the same reason (Urk. I, 128.17–129.1; Breyer 2016, 176–177). Most scholars agree that the centre in Kerma with its material culture Kerma Ancien is the most promising identification of Jam.5 The discovery of hieroglyphic inscriptions from the 6th Dynasty close to the ritual precinct of Kerma City support such an identification (Bonnet 2004, 143–144, fig. 109). Other expeditions headed directly to Punt by taking the route along the Red Sea (Breyer 2016, 597, Dok. 4). It is very interesting to observe how little some of the leading officials of the system took notice of such journeys and how excited their subordinates were when reporting about travels to combined Byblos-Punt (Seyfried/Vieler 2008/1, 468–469). Larger cemeteries reflect the concentration of Nubian populations in the first half of the 6th Dynasty. Impressive stelae of up to 3 m in height were erected close to these early tumuli in Qurta, Dakka, Aniba and Faras, some of them bearing scratched depictions of cattle (Fig. 4; Steindorff 1935, 38–40). This feature attracted some attention, but it seems to be only vaguely related to other context of stelae in the Kerma Basin or the Atbai Region (see Ch. Manzo). The social structure of these early sedentary groups reveal less developed hierarchies – in contrast to later developments (Bietak 1968, 23–25, 93–96, 133). It has been argued that some Egyp-

5 The hypothesis that Jam should be located further south in the Bayuda (O’Connor 1991, 151, map 2) has not been widely accepted.

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tian attempts to translate Nubian functions, like ‘overseer of the entourage’, may reflect social realities (Zibelius-Chen 1988, 60–61). The chiefs of such groups negotiated terms with the Egyptian expedition leader for precise arrangements of caravan protection and trade conditions. A short note in the biography of Harkhuef 6 describes the uniting of tribes during this time. Such developments may reflect a short-lived, ephemeral situation, and so far no archaeological evidence from Lower Nubia itself indicates that they developed into states as was assumed by several scholars (e.g. Gundlach 1994, 130). A meeting of the king with the chiefs of Nubian groups is reported by Merenra in the 6th Dynasty at the southern access to the First Cataract (Baines 2009, 32–33; Urk I, 111.5–11). This archaeological visibility seems to be related to the general situation of increased trade that connected people along the river, and consensual relations for trade are reported until the end of the Old Kingdom (Seyfried/Vieler 2008/2, 816– 817) even though Pepynakht/Heqaib describes armed conflicts with the chiefdoms of Lower Nubia under Pepy II (Seyfried/Vieler 2008/2, 683–688; Urk. I, 133–134). The fertile flood plains around Dakka, Wadi es-Sebua, Aniba and Tomas were resettled again. The strategy of Egypt had shifted from fighting a barrier zone to establishing a zone of trade partners. Gold always played a key role, besides items like ivory and resins (Bietak 1987, 117–119; Zibelius-Chen 1988, 73–74). The fact that the system of expeditions for the supply of the Egyptian market indirectly resulted in widely dispersed similar styles in decorative arts does not have to be connected with migrations or expulsions of populations. It can be securely stated that finds from along the trade routes from Egypt to the First Cataract in Aswan to centres like Aniba and Tomas in the Korosko Bend upstream to Kerma City and further to the earlier Gash-Culture in North-east Sudan display an ‘international style’ that leads directly to the areas that could deliver the items needed by at least a million Egyptians. It cannot be overestimated that the earliest archaeological presence at sites like Aniba and the outposts of such a development in the Western Desert like the Handessi-A-horizon (Riemer/Lange/Kindermann 2013, 179–181) postdate the earliest sources for royal long-distance trade by at least one generation. They all have in common a possible mobile lifestyle and segments of social structures with pastoral components (see Sadr 1991, 2–10; Liszka 2012, 115–116), although the Nile Valley Nubians practised a sedentary lifestyle from 2300 BC onwards, at least in their central regions at Dabod-Dehmit, Kalabsha – Gerf Hussein – Daqqa, Sayala-Wadi esSebua, Amada-Aniba and Abu Simbel-Debeira. The common denominator for this early phase in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia are pointed wide vessel shapes, v-shaped beaker-like deep bowls and the lack of restricted shapes (Fig. 3). The designation of this phase as C-Group Ia was introduced by Bietak (1968). Two different decoration modes exist from the Old King-

6 Edel 1967, 133–158; Urk. I, 125–127; Obsomer 2007, 43–50.

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dom onwards: Motifs that are applied only to the rim zone, mostly with variations of triangle-friezes, and motifs that cover the whole vessel. For most of these, closely related stylistic parallels can be found in the repertoire of the 4th millennium BC (see Ch. Gatto). Further to the south, another line of development can be derived from local developments of the earlier Pre-Kerma Phases (see Ch. Honegger). The resemblance between Lower Nubian and Upper Egyptian sites is restricted to their respective material cultures: The stylistic analogies to the pottery of the earlier Kerma Ancien are proof of contact but not of dependency or ancestry. As recent excavations have attested for sections of the cemeteries at Kerma, there exist strong resemblances to the styles and tomb types of Lower Nubia (see Ch. Honegger). The typical marker of the Kerma Ancien, a large variety of decorations on a bordered rim-zone, reaches the First Cataract only as an (rare) import (Raue 2018a; Gratien 2014, 95). The situation is different for the areas east of the Nile Valley. Even though regions like Ibehat (El-Sayed 2011, 141–143) were undoubtedly inhabited, no archaeological culture has been identified for the later 3rd millennium BC as of yet. The identification and location of Medjay-tribes is still a matter of debate (see below). Inscriptions like the autobiography of Weni mention the delivery of wood for shipbuilding and attest to at least seasonal stays in the Nile Valley (Urk. I, 108.13–109.2; Liszka 2012, 250).

2150–1950/1850 BC Hierakonpolis – Aniba – Semna A considerable number of sites of the Lower Nubian C-Group belong to the phases Ib and IIa, as they have been defined by Bietak (1968). Recent studies have proposed slightly earlier dates for these phases.7 The picture of the C-Group that flourished in the shadow of the Egyptian fortresses after the occupation and under the protection of an oppressive foreign domination should therefore be revised. It is during the 11th and 12th Dynasty that sites like Cemetery N of Aniba reach their largest extension. It is fascinating to observe how neatly the repertoire develops over long distances with very similar products, indicating a long-distance connection between these ethnic groups during the First Intermediate Period and the early Middle Kingdom from the Second Cataract down to Hierakonpolis (Fig. 5; e.g. Steindorff 1935, pl. 36; Friedman 2007). The burials develop throughout time, regarding their orientation (E-W, heading north > N-S, heading west) and size. This change can also be observed from the

7 E.g. Bader 2006, 100–101; Rzeuska 2010, 413–416; Raue 2018a, 194. See, for example, the tumuli on the fringe in the latest occupation phase with vessels of the first half of the 12th Dynasty: N25 (Schiestl/Seiler 2012, 495), N111 (Schiestl/Seiler 2012, 395), N191 (Schiestl/Seiler 2012, 399).

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Fig. 5: Bowl from Aniba tomb N284, Leipzig ÄMUL 4192 (Photo: M. Wenzel).

Korosko Bend down to the cemeteries of Qubaniya and Hierakonpolis north of the First Cataract (Seidlmayer 2002, 104–105). The latter orientation (N-S, heading west) is typical for contemporaneous Egyptian burials. It is possible to trace such contacts with Egypt not only by means of imported goods like metal objects and scarabs. In Nubian tumuli, amulets from the Middle Kingdom were arranged according to ritual instructions from Egyptian spells for protection (Dubiel 2012, 67–69), e.g. according to sophisticated Egyptian ritual knowledge.8 This contact probably also led to another remarkable feature. It is widely accepted that the rock-inscriptions of ‘kings’ that are only attested in Lower Nubia (von Beckerath 1999, 80, note 2; Postel 2004, 379–381) were commissioned by local rulers who adopted the representative patterns of their northern Egyptian neighbours. During the early Middle Kingdom, roughly-made restricted vessels with a wide variety of incised decoration appear (Fig. 6; Bietak 1968, pl. 7 bottom; Raue 2018a, 194). Among the most prominent motifs of pottery decoration is the rhomb. It also appears among bead girdles (Steindorff 1935, pl. 24a–b, 25) and tattoos indicated on figurines.9 Of similar interest is the interaction between the Nubian and Egyptian pottery production: Egyptian fabrics may have the same decorations as those used in regions with Nubian populations (Rzeuska 2010).

8 Steindorff 1935, 147, pl. 26d: Tomb N318 (C-Group IIa, 12th Dynasty). Publication by Ulrike Dubiel in preparation. 9 Steindorff 1935, pls. 71.3, 72.7; for this motif as tattoo and on Nubian kilts in Egypt, see also Ch. Raue.

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Fig. 6: Nubian vessels from Elephantine/1st Cataract, around 2050 BC. 1: vessel with incised decoration, Z4452; scale 1 : 4; 2: cooking vessel, Z4439; scale 1 : 2; 3: cooking vessel, Z4150, scale 1 : 2; 4: black-topped bowl, Z3858, scale 1 : 4; 5: incised bowl, Z4739, scale 1 : 2; 6: incised restricted vessel, Z898, scale 1 : 2.

Tensions between Nubians and Egyptians, inhabitants of the Nile Valley as well es Medjay-people (Postel 2008, 330), increased after the unification of Egypt by Mentuhotep II. Towards the end of his long reign, Lower Nubia and the oases were at least temporarily occupied (Habachi 1963, 29–30, fig. 10). At least once, the royal

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emissaries of the 11th Dynasty reached the Gebel Aweinat at the modern triangle of Sudan, Egypt and Libya: The mention of Jam, one of the last dated examples, probably alludes to the sphere of interest of the Kerma Culture (Espinel 2013, 16, fig. 1; Clayton/de Trafford/Borda 2008). Such enterprises in distant regions had no lasting effect; private and royal inscriptions again attest to conflicts under Amenemhat I and are followed by the first fortresses under Senusret I.10 Undoubtedly, the chiefdom of Kerma (see Ch. Honegger and Bonnet) flourished in the same way as the cultural phase Kerma Moyen started to spread along the Nile Valley. Especially the Salvage Excavations during the Merowe Dam project multiplied the material for this phase and revealed the heterogeneous character of, e.g., the orientation of burials during the early 2nd millennium BC (Paner 2014, 60).

1950/1850–1700 BC: Life in the Shadow of the Fortresses A series of military expeditions under Senusret I (Müller 2009, 123–124) extended the border to the Second Cataract at Buhen. Fortifications were erected at Aniba, Quban, Ikkur, Buhen und Khor (Vogel 2004, 66–69; see Ch. Knoblauch). ‘Resistant clans’ (Sadek 1980, 84–85) are not attested in the following decades. Some names of Nubian rulers and regions are conveyed by execration figurines (Posener 1958a; 1958b; Liszka 2012, 165–166). Even though the annals of Amenemhat II mention tributes from Kush and the Medjay-region Webat-sepet (Altenmüller 2015, 34), the situation remained unstable. Under Senusret III, the border is extended upstream to the Batn el-Haggar with a chain of fortresses. The daily routine at the fortresses is described in some administrative documents known as the ‘Semna Despatches’.11 Recent studies revealed important aspects of this unique collection of first-hand reports from the southern frontier. They attest to the presence of Medjaypeople serving the fortresses as well as to Medjay-groups as cross-border commuters (Kraemer/Liszka 2016b; see Ch. Knoblauch). Recent survey work east of Lower Nubia discovered numerous new campsites, some of them dating to the Middle Kingdom (Harrell/Mittelstaedt 2015, 30–39). Many of them may be identified with labour camps that are known from Egyptian texts. It is probably no coincidence that the Korosko Bend, with its concentration of Nubian sites, witnesses the erection of a similar camp at Areika (Wegner 1995, 127–

10 Aufrère 2005, 50; Žába 1974, 31r–35, No. 4, pl. VII, fig. 9 and 39–44, No. 10, pl. VII, fig. 9. 11 Smither 1945; Kraemer/Liszka 2016a. The assumption of a coincidental occurrence of the fortress communication by a ritualist as waste paper was contested by Meyrat 2015, who pointed out the relation between the fortress communication and the characteristics of some texts as execration texts.

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160). Such nodal points might have ensured forced labour work, since this is described several times (Zibelius-Chen 1988, 59–60, 190). Other inscriptions are proof of the re-opening of the quarries west of Toshka (Darnell/Manassa 2013, 60–61) and the intensive amethyst mining activity in Wadi el-Hudi (Liszka 2015a, 37–40; Seyfried 1981). Regional centres like Aniba retained their importance. The corpus of C-Group Phase IIa continues to display globular decorated bowls as well as a large variety of rough restricted vessels with incised decoration (Fig. 7; Raue 2018a, 196–197). Recent progress in dating Middle Kingdom pottery (see above) has resulted in slightly earlier dates for the majority of the tumuli tombs of Cemetery N at Aniba. Bietak’s phase IIa (1968, 135) probably comprises large parts of the 12th Dynasty while phase IIb (Figs. 8–9) seems mostly to cover the very late Middle Kingdom. While this needs further study, it cannot be doubted that the society of the Lower Nubian groups rapidly developed hierarchical differences in funerary grave goods and funerary investment, leading to exceptionally large tumuli 16 m in diameter (Steindorff 1935, 32–35; O’Connor 1991, 153). Many scholars assume that the fortresses were supposed to curb the sphere of influence of the Kerma Basin as a potential threat. All agree that Kerma Moyen started to be a potential threat and a significant regional power.12 Whether this was implicitly intended or not, the names of the fortresses address the (local) mdA-, stj and jwn.tjw-populations as enemies (Vogel 2004, 62) who apparently threatened trade. Actually, there is sufficient evidence for regular trade relations benefiting both sides until the late Middle Kingdom (Gratien 2004, 74–82). Kasch is mentioned for the first time under Senusret I (Obsomer 1995, 678; Urk. VII, 5.17). A crisis under Senusret III, who travels to the Batn el-Haggar himself, leads to an Egyptian invasion of Nubia down to at least the Cataract of Dal (Vercoutter 1970, 22; Török 2009, 87–88), but there is no evidence that they reached the heartland of the Kerma Basin. In the execration texts, magical protection shifts further south: Kerma, Sai and the Medjay-regions Ausheq, Webat-Sepet and Irisheq are mentioned (Posener 1987, 23–34). The regulations deal with the conditions for continuing trade with the realm of Kerma. No Nubian should travel north of Semna, except for those who traded goods and who were allowed to sail downstream to Mirgissa.13 Although the strategic plan might have aimed at Kush/Kerma, there is no evidence for direct conflicts until the earlier 13th Dynasty (Trigger 1965, 94–95; Adams 1977, 185–186). The regional centres south of the Third Cataract are well known from Egyptian textual evidence, like the execration texts, as well as from the necropoleis of Sai, Kerma and other sites. These sites allowed Gratien (1978) to determine the first

12 E.g. Smith 1991, 125; Zibelius-Chen 1988, 36; Näser 2013, 111. 13 Meurer 1996, 10–15. Effects of some kind of ‘blockade’ have been claimed (Zibelius-Chen 1988, 101), but more evidence would be desirable.

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Fig. 7: Nubian Pottery contemporanuous to the Middle Kingdom from Dakka, Qurta, Aniba and Toshka (after Bietak 1968, Taf. 7).

sequence of Kerma Culture pottery, which has been refined since then by research in Kerma City and during the salvage campaigns at the Fourth Cataract. In particular, the survey work in the Dongola increased our knowledge of the Kerma Moyen considerably (Welsby 2001, 206–224, 579, fig. 14.4, 584, 587). In its early stages, the

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Fig. 8: Nubian Pottery contemporanuous to the late Middle Kingdom / early Second Intermediate Period from Aniba and Toshka (after Bietak 1968, Taf. 12).

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Fig. 9: Bowl from Aniba tomb N322, Leipzig AMUL 4212 (Photo: M. Wenzel).

material culture of the Kerma Moyen developed an independent style that includes a vast variety of impressed motifs in its pottery production (e.g. Dunham 1982, 223, 237, 242–246; Privati 2004, 169, fig. 131.7 and 12). It is important to distinguish the earlier Kerma Moyen, which had several close affiliations with the Kerma Ancien (Fig. 10), from the later Kerma Moyen (Fig. 11), which bears stylistic resemblances to decoration schemes of the Late Middle Nubian formations of the 13th Dynasty and the ‘Pan-Grave-Culture’, especially when dealing with fully decorated, incised/hatched cooking vessels (Dunham 1982, 62, fig. 105). This does not coincide with the change of the name of the Kerma Region: It is called Jam for the last time in the later 11th Dynasty and Kush for the first time under Senusret I. The pottery of the early phases of the Kerma Moyen as defined by Gratien (1978) and Privati (2004, 170–171) can be compared with the Nubian pottery that was produced parallel to formation ‘IIa’ as defined by Bietak (1968), while the later part of the Kerma Moyen (Privati 2004, 164–165) can be equated with the end of the Middle Kingdom and the transition to the Second Intermediate Period (Raue 2018a).

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Fig. 10: Kerma Ancien (developed) from Kerma, Eastern Necropolis, tomb 72 (after Privati 1982, pl. III).

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Fig. 11: Vessels from Tombs of the advanced Kerma Moyen (after Dunham 1982, p. 221, CVII, 235, CXI, p. 17, fig. 34: from Tomb K5418, p. 57, fig. 93: from Tomb M20).

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1700–1500 BC: In the Realm and Sphere of Interest of Kerma Until the reigns of Neferhotep I and Sobekhotep IV, trade with Kerma seems to have functioned smoothly (Gratien 2006b, 116–117; Trigger 1982, 4–5). Numerous pottery finds indicate that trade was still conducted subsequently (Bourriau 1991, 129– 130). During this time, expeditions to mining areas were carried out, probably for the last time (e.g. Kubisch 2008, 85, 131, 251–254; Zibelius-Chen 1988, 83–84). The troops of the fortresses started to act in regional networks and, even though they originated at first from, e.g., Upper Egypt, burial grounds at sites like Buhen and Mirgissa prove that many of the Egyptians became part of the regular population and stayed when government control ceased (Smith 1976, 69–81). While similar conditions might have prevailed in Mirgissa and Aniba, the most telling source is the stela of the official Ka from the fortress of Buhen, who claims that he was loyal to the ruler of Kush and that he restored the temple of Horus of Buhen for him (Kubisch 2008, 36 and 87). The increase in tumuli size at cemeteries like Aniba (see above) quite likely dates to the last decades of Egyptian control and the first years lacking central authority from Egypt (Bietak C-Group IIb), while the equation of the Late Middle Nubian horizon with the growing dominance of the realm of Kerma and the vicinity of the ‘Pan-Grave-People’ (see Ch. Raue) leads to a local Lower Nubian group, C-Group III, in some areas (O’Connor 1991, 156; Edwards 2004, 97–98). The overlap of the ‘C-Group-tradition’ and the late Middle Nubian presence of, e.g., the ‘Pan-GraveCulture’ and the later phases of the ‘Kerma-Culture’ did not last as long as was assumed (see above). Nevertheless, a limited phase of mutual influence can be traced in Lower Nubia, leading to intra-Nubian adoptions of funerary culture in cemeteries like Aniba.14 All over Lower Nubia, there are cemeteries of the ‘PanGrave-Cultures’ (Liszka 2015b, 44, fig. 1). Fortresses like Serra are named after Medjay-people and have large ‘Pan-Grave-Cemeteries’ of the Late Middle-Nubian era within their glacis. The general idea of Kerma was shaped by the excavations of Reisner and his publications in the 1920s. The site seemed to be suitable for studying – from an Egyptian perspective – the political and economic background necessary to understand how and why this entity was able to oppose its northern neighbours so successfully. As of yet, most studies still focus on presenting survey results and excavations of single sites. From this it is difficult to gain a coherent picture of the developments and regional variations that existed on the one hand, and the successful centralization that developed during the Kerma Classique on the other. In 14 Bietak 1987, 121–124; see Ch. Spence. Nowadays, the scarabs of the type ‘Nub-kheper-Ra’ are not considered evidence for the influence or presence of the Theban king Nubkheperra, see Polz 2007, 12–13.

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Fig 12: Tulip beaker, Kerma Classique, from Kerma, tumulus III, tomb K 309, Leipzig ÄMUL 3866 (Photo: M. Wenzel).

addition, the same caution that is nowadays applied to the interpretation of migration processes based on single pottery finds should be applied to Nubian Cultures as well: The presence of the famous beakers of Classical Kerma (Fig. 12) is taken too often as proof positive of the presence of the regime of Kerma. The site of Kerma/ Dokki Gel bears witness to the continuous rise of local rulers with highly ambitious symbolism in funeral representation and monumental ritual architecture (Bonnet 2004; 2015, 2–3, 9, fig. 4), hyper-sized tumuli and burials of hundreds of subordinates together with the king that seem to replace the former offerings of vast amounts of animal skulls at the tumuli (Chaix 2011, 14–15) (see Ch. Bonnet and Honegger). Serving the ruler of Kush also meant visiting the capital at Kerma (Smith 2003, 80–81; Kubisch 2008, 36 and 87). A stela from Semna probably depicts one of the owners of the large tumuli from the Eastern Necropolis of Kerma (Welsby/Anderson 2004, 100–101, No. 74; Zibelius-Chen 1988, 205), and an authentication sealing of the ‘son of the ruler of Kush’ was found on Elephantine (Fitzenreiter 2014; von Pilgrim 2015). The last object may point to a far reaching sphere of interest of the ‘ruler of Kush’ down to the First Cataract and it may explain why there are no representations of the Theban kings south of Edfu during the 17th Dynasty (Polz 2007, 90–91, 113, see Ch. Raue). Seal impressions in the Kerma style from Elephantine can be taken as evidence for trade relations between the Kerma basin and Upper Egypt (Gratien 2006, 116–122; von Pilgrim 1996, 249, fig. 105 bottom). In the end, Kush managed a large diplomatic network that was able to form an alliance between Punt, Lower Nubia, Upper Nubia, the MedjayRegions and the oases (Davies 2003, 52–54).

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Contrary to the Egyptian narratives, the conquest of Nubia required continuous effort and took more than 50 years. Kamose reached the Second Cataract (Smith 1976, 8–9, 135, pl. LVIII.1) and Ahmose approached the northern glacis of the Kerma Basin (Edwards 2006, 58–59, pl. 4). At the turn from the late 17th to the early 18th Dynasty, a special royal subordinate, the king’s-son, was installed in the conquered regions (Morkot 2013, 924–925). Thutmose I modelled himself on Senusret III (Quirke 2009, 225) and devastated the capital and its monuments (Bonnet 2000, 112). He killed the ruler of Kush and displayed him at the bow of his ship on his return to Thebes (Müller 2009, 127–128). But his arrangements with family members of the former Chief of Kush were instantly rendered void with his death and it was not until Thutmose II (Morris 2005, 82–83; Gabolde 2004, 139–140) that organized supraregional resistance came to an end. A way to attack led via the shortcut from Korosko-Abu Hamed (see Ch. Auenmüller) into the Miu-Region, which can probably be identified with Kurgus/Hagar el-Merwa (Kubisch 2008, 91, 239– 244; Morris 2005, 109–112). The last tumulus of a Chief of Kerma was built in the Western Necropolis (Bonnet 2000, 144–156), close to – but not overlain by – the area where the Egyptian occupants erected the religious and economic centre at Dokki Gel (Bonnet 2015; 2012, 71–73, fig. 14–15; see Ch. Bonnet). The inscription of Hagar el-Merwa dating to the 35th year of Thutmose III (Davies 2004, 152–154) is one of many waymarks in the struggle to keep Upper Nubia out of Egypt. The Lower Egyptian situation is characterised by a fast process of ‘Egyptianisation’; within three generations Nubian ethnicity was almost obliterated by parts of Egyptian funerary culture (see Ch. Spence). Sites like Debeira in the northern glacis of the Second Cataract, on the other hand, are proof of the successful strategy of engaging local elites in ruling foreign territories. Such elites may have had supraregional family ties like the chiefs of the Serra region and their relatives at the First Cataract (Seyfried/Vieler 2008/2, 911–933). Based on Nubian engagement, the ‘Egyptianisation’ left room for local representation and the ongoing entanglement with Egyptian cultural traits created a Nubio-Egyptian society with its own, heterogeneous character (e.g. Säve-Söderbergh 1991, 198–200, pl. I), even though an impoverishment among contemporaneous cemeteries has also been observed (Morris 2005, 184–191; see Ch. Spence). The Upper Nubian material culture south of the Third Cataract shows the traits of the Late Middle Nubian horizon. The most remarkable characteristic of the pottery finds is the almost complete change of inventory. Except for some ‘proto-PanGrave-sherds’ in the 12th Dynasty and a few examples with traits of 11th/12th-Dynasty Nubian pottery in the 13th Dynasty and Second Intermediate Period, the overlap is minimal. From the beginning, the new corpus was complete, with all segments of fine and decorated wares, and with a clear and unmistakable difference from the production that led from the 4th millennium to the second quarter of the 2nd millennium BC (Fig. 13). The most important feature is the free rim-zone of most cooking pots, followed by a large variety of hatching variations. A limited number resemble

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Fig. 13: Late Middle Nubian vessels from the First Cataract / Elephantine. 1: bowl with vertical wall, Z4560; scale 1 : 2; 2: cooking vessel, Z4001; scale 1 : 4; 3: cooking vessel, Z4276, scale 1 : 4; 4: bowl with mat impressions, Z3952, scale 1 : 4; 5: incised semi-restricted vessel, Z4297, scale 1 : 2; 6: incised semi-restricted vessel, Z4812, scale 1 : 4.

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the hatched specimens of the late 3rd and early 2nd millennium, but otherwise it is a distinct corpus. Well processed clays, most frequently with anorganic temper, are also used for cooking vessels. Almost-vertical body-walls of bowls are distinctive markers in all ‘Pan-Grave-Cemeteries’ in Nubia (Fig. 13.1). On the other hand, already at the Second Cataract assemblages with objects of the ‘Pan-Grave-Culture’ display alien elements like pointed bottoms (Säve-Söderbergh 1989, 166–174, pl. 80–87) that are better known from the Kerma Basin. The ‘end’ of the ‘Pan-GraveCulture’ at the Second Cataract (Säve-Söderbergh 1989, 15–16, fig. 5–6) seems to be based on the idea that the Kerma Culture entered the area rather than on the end of styles and features south of the Batn el-Haggar. The change in inventory can also be identified much further south in the tumuli of the late Kerma Moyen within the Dongola Basin and can be compared with the first signs of the Late Middle Nubian stylistic change that occurred all over Nubia and Egypt (e.g. Welsby-Sjöström 2001, 354; Privati 2004, 169, fig. 129.13). Important sites of the later phases of the Kerma Culture are found (from north to south) in Ukma (Vila 1987) and Sai, where tumuli up to 40 m in diameter were discovered (Gratien 1978, 46–62). Vast numbers of new sites were found during the surveys of the past four decades, especially of the Kerma Moyen and Kerma Classique (see Ch. Cedro/Drzewiecki). Numerous cemeteries at important geostrategic spots, e.g. downstream of Arduan at Gebel Wahaba and further south at the track from Nauri to Habaraab (Edwards/Osman 2011, 60–63), still await excavation. Typical markers are tumuli with pebbles of various sizes and colours (cf. Bonnet 2000, 41, fig. 32; Honegger 2014b, 57). The majority of the burials of the late 3rd millennium BC are oriented east-west, facing north, though some heterogeneity in this can be observed (e.g. Welsby 2012, 24, fig. 2). Other typical markers in the Kerma Basin are the use of animal hides and, in the 2nd millennium BC, wooden beds (see Ch. Honegger). With regard to the settlements, at least some places in the Arduan Region attest to similar domestic mud-brick architecture (Osman/Edwards 2011, 63–64), as is found in the late Kerma Classique further south in the Kerma Area (e.g. at Gism el-Arba, Gratien/Marchi/Sys/Dissaux 2008, 21–35) and in Kerma itself (see Ch. Bonnet). The Late Middle Nubian pottery from the Kerma Basin is famous for the fine tulip beakers of the Kerma Classique (Pl. 3; Bourriau 1981, 31–33) that developed from a preceding flat-bottomed variant of the late Kerma Moyen (Fig. 11 top; Gratien 1978, 236). Throughout the later phases of the Kerma Moyen and the earlier Kerma Classique, impressed decoration (Privati 2004, 162–163) continued to play a far greater role than in the northern Late Middle Nubian Horizon. As of yet, more publications on the so-called ‘Domestic Kerma’ are needed (Bourriau 2010, v–vii). The assemblage of settlements like Kerma (Privati 2004, 130, fig. 130.12–13), Gism el-Arba15 and tomb assemblages of the late Kerma Moyen at Kerma (e.g. Dunham 15 I am grateful to Brigitte Gratien who showed me the unpublished Late Middle Nubian material from Gism el-Arba/Kadruka in 2010.

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1982, 54, fig. 87.6, 62, fig. 105) leave no doubt that stylistic similarities were connected with the style of the ‘Pan-Grave-Culture’ and settlement finds of the Late Middle Nubian Horizon in Egypt during the late Kerma Moyen (von Pilgrim 1996, 343, fig. 152a). On the other hand, differences in morphology (plenitude of rim shapes), technology (e.g. rich variations of pebble burnished surfaces) and decorations that do not enter the corpus south of the Third Cataract and vice versa (continuous triangular decoration schemes, Privati 2004, 165, fig. 129.12) mark the differences among the diverse cultural groups. One important segment is the product line of bowls with mat impressions that starts in the Second Intermediate Period and can be traced until the 15th century BC (Fig. 13.4; Ruffieux 2011, 33, fig. 26, 37, fig. 29). It is present in Egypt as well as in the Eastern Sahara where it connects stylistically the Handessi-B-Group (Lange 2006, 284) with the Late Middle Horizon of the Nile Valley (see Ch. Raue). Another aspect is the inclusion of Upper Nubia in the trading network of the Middle-Bronze-Age II-Period that led to large numbers of fine containers in the Levante style – known as Tell el-Jehudiya-vessels – at Aniba, Buhen, Kerma and other sites (Aston/Bietak 2012, 207–334). Further south, the core of stylistic expressions and taxonomic properties is found again in the Dongola Basin, predominantly around the later site of Kawa (Welsby 2001, 206–224). Even though the fabric differs, stylistic relations and connections and common denominators undoubtedly existed along the river Nile upstream of the Third Cataract with its centres in Kerma and around Kawa (WelsbySjöström 2001, 354). Was there a similar relation between the Kerma Culture and mobile groups with comparable seasonal mechanisms (Sadr 1991, 95–108) of entanglement and acculturation? Seen from this perspective, it is not surprising to find Pan-Grave-morphology (see Ch. Raue) in ‘Kerma contexts’ in the survey areas up to the Fourth Cataract. The survey work of various missions (see Ch. Cedro/Drzewiecki) during the construction of the Dam of Merowe has enriched our picture of the distribution of the Kerma Culture considerably. Here, styles that are known in the north as ‘Pan-Grave-Culture’ are combined with features of the ‘Kerma Moyen’ in the middle of the 2nd millennium (Paner 2014, 67–70). The undated contexts of the Eastern Desert, including the Late Middle Nubian surface finds from sites like Agordat, are contextualised just like Bietak (1966, 70) had suggested based on less evidence, and this is becoming more obvious thanks to current fieldwork in the Kassala region and the emergence of a growing set of data for the Mokram Group (see Ch. Manzo) and the region upstream of the Blue Nile (Caneva 2002, 232–236). Two more sites should be highlighted in this context: The Island of Mograt obviously played an important role due to its geostrategic position. The short-cut between the Korosko Bend and the Kurgus region reached the river near this large island (see Ch. Auenmüller). It is no surprise that large tumuli of the Kerma Moyen can be found here (Schulz 2008, 56–57). Furthermore the site of Kurgus should be

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mentioned as a border for Thutmose I and III, Ramesses II and the Egyptian sphere of interest and a landmark for the realm of the kings of Kerma (Klotz 2010, 236– 237).

1500–1100 BC: The Southern Fringe of an Empire By the 18th Dynasty Nubia had been conquered in various stages and with differing systematic approaches. Details of the regime after Thutmose II are not known. Supraregional relations among the Nubian elites are evident, e.g. in the family of the chiefs of the Serra-Region, who had relatives in the region of the First Cataract (Zibelius-Chen 2007, 403–404; Seyfried/Vieler 2008/2, 911–933). The Lower Nubian cemeteries display in this ‘transitional occupation phase’ an increasing impoverishment of funerary equipment (Morris 2005, 184–191; Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 220–223) – even though the reasons for this are still a matter of debate (see Ch. Spence). Local centres of Lower Nubia can be identified in Aniba, Debeira, Faras and probably also in Quban (Morkot 2013, 946–947), and tombs like the rock-tomb of Penniut from Aniba show the ambition of local rulers (Fitzenreiter 2004, 181–185). Border protection was considered a necessity and was organized from centres like Faras (Darnell 2003). The situation is more complex south of the Batn el-Hagar. Recent fieldwork at Tombos has shown that Nubians can still be identified by archaeological evidence like pottery grave goods and the orientation of the body (Smith 2008, 103–105; see Ch. Spence); however, it cannot be excluded that, in addition, the owners of tombs like the complex of Siamun in Tombos and their wives may have had a local or regional ancestry. This process is closely connected with changing seats of local administrations (e.g. Soleb > Sesebi > Amara) and can be observed until the late Ramesside Period (see Ch. Spence and Spencer). The same applies to the vast building program of the later 18th–19th Dynasty (see Ch. Ullmann), which was connected to regulations as they were fixed by Sethos I in the Nauri decree (Morris 2005, 665–668). Then a phase of low archaeological visibility begins again.16 While the new strategies seem to have worked well in the Nile Valley, an uninterrupted chain of events attests to continuous struggles (Morris 2005, 665–668) between Egyptian authorities and mobile populations in the adjacent desert regions like Irem and others from 1425–1200 BC. Irem’s location is disputed, but this region caused long-lasting problems for the Egyptian authorities (O’Connor 1987, 99–136).

16 The sacral landscape of the Ramesside Period nevertheless sets the stage for the succeeding Napatan Dynasties (see Ch. Riedel), one of the reasons for addressing the early Kushite Kingdom as a post-colonial phenomenon, see Morkot 2013, 914–915.

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In addition, revolt broke out in the former Medjay-regions of Ibehat and Ikayta (Darnell 2011, 142–143; Zach 2010, 543–547), with populations living hidden in desert valleys (Urk. IV, 1545.20–1546.1) and erecting additional fortifications (see Ch. Jesse). Again, their defeat was made possible by the support of Nubian troops employed by the Egyptians (e.g. Urk. IV, 1659.10–1660.17; Helck 1967, 140–141), refuting a ‘Nubian Nationalism’ also in the later 2nd millennium BC. On the other hand, the number of war prisoners from Nubia should not be overestimated in regard to their importance for temple projects (Morris 2005, 648) or for the entire Egyptian economy. The pottery of this period is a clear descendant of what was known from the Late Middle Nubian Horizon. The corpus of the 14th century BC consists of mat impressed simple cooking wares and hemispherical black-topped wares, as well as incised criss-cross decorations, e.g. at Tombos (Smith 2003, 155, fig. 6.22 A/B) and Elephantine (Raue 2017). In addition, recent excavations at Amara brought evidence to light for simple handmade fabrics that continue the technical traditions of Nubian pottery far into the later Ramesside Period (Spencer 2012, 26, fig. 8). A limited number of sites, like Qala Abu Ahmed (see Ch. Jesse), have enriched our knowledge of the transition from this Late Middle Nubian horizon, attesting to the special treatment of rim-zones and black-topped fabrics, to the turn of the 1st millennium BC (cf. Smith 2007, 350, fig. 2). The very end of this phase has long been described as another dark age of Nubian history, i.e. another phase of low archaeological visibility. Nevertheless, some places seem to attest to a continuation of local structures. The burial places at Amara-West (see Ch. Spence) yielded interesting specimens for the transition from New Kingdom funerary culture (see Ch. Spence), and the Semna Region provides evidence for the transitional period (Rose 2008, 206–207). Sites like Hillat elArab also attest to the continuation of traditions that led to the reappearance of traits of the Upper Nubian material culture, e.g. the tulip beakers of the Napatan era, while other aspects like the incised decorations ceased to exist (Vicentelli/ Liverani 1995a and 1995b; 1999).

Beyond the Cemeteries: Settlements For decades the Nubian cemeteries attracted the most interest and archaeologists were rewarded quite reliably with beautiful and interesting finds. The settlements were less fortunate. Few places in Lower Nubia have been properly documented and rarely any stratigraphy was observed. An exception is a settlement at Aniba (Fig. 14; Langsdorff 1935, 202–219). Three strata of huts were ascertained, the last stratum making use of mud-bricks, the well preserved stratum underneath containing stone-slabs as foundation row. Pottery finds as well as figurines point to a date during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Elsewhere, only ash deposits were noted and surface pottery collected. Also in the later phases of the Late Middle Nubian Hori-

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Fig. 14: The Middle Nubian settlement from Aniba (after Langsdorff 1935, 207, fig. 17).

zon, the situation stays desperate. Very well preserved and documented settlement features, as found in Sayala (Bietak 1966, 49), Mirgissa (Vercoutter 1970, 197–201) and Faras (Säve-Söderbergh 1989, 261–262), remain exceptional in Lower Nubia. The fort of Wadi es-Sebua-East is the best preserved stone-built fortified settlement of a small group that clusters in the Korosko Bend (Sauneron/Jacquet 2005; Gratien 1985). The Nubian pottery (Gratien 1985) from this site yields no evidence for the Late Middle Nubian horizon (e.g. late Kerma Moyen / Kerma Classique or

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‘Pan-Grave-Culture’) and it remains difficult to guess against whom and for how long this settlement was erected. Contemporaneous stone built Nubian settlements in Tomas, Wadi es-Sebua, Korosko and Wadi el-Arab (Emery/Kirwan 1935, 106– 108, 151, pl. 23, 62 and 209, pl. 63 etc.) also seem to date to the earlier 2nd millennium BC. The most important sites for the study of Nubian urbanism are the centres of Kerma-City (see Ch. Bonnet). Starting with post-hole-huts, an impressive centre with monumental architecture in galoos mud-brick developed, probably surrounded by numerous smaller agglomerations of mud-brick built settlements in the later phase of the Kerma Classique like Gism el-Arba (Gratien/Marchi/Sys/Dissaux 2008, 21–35).

Ritual Life In addition to and within the mortuary cult, an important aspect of Nubian ritual life focused on cattle. Although small livestock also appears in tumulus decoration, the highest prestige was given to bovines. Ethnological analogies from African pastoral societies point to religious beliefs of cycles of rebirth (Steffensen 2007, 149– 150; Dubosson 2011, 22–24). Numerous figurines of cattle were found at Lower and Upper Nubian sites (Fig. 15), pointing to performative segments of Nubian religion that will have involved aspects of regeneration, fertility and probably also certain facets of ancestor worship. The universe of other sacred animals, spirits and demons is mainly unknown due to the lack of textual evidence and restricted use of depictions in Nubian crafts. Nevertheless, the inlays and micaornaments from Kerma, dating to around 1600 BC, indicate other animals like hippopotami, ostriches (Honegger 2014b, 62), multiheaded lions, two-horned rhinoceros, winged giraffes and other partially supernatural creatures (Reisner 1923b, 265–280, pls. 55–56). Bovines and ostriches are also well attested in Lower Nubian incised vessel decoration (Steindorff 1935, pl. 56). The importance of cattle for the religion of Nubian Cultures was widely recognized in the early days of Nubian archaeology. Its importance for ritual-life may help to explain the absence of religious symbolism in the contemporaneous architecture (Näser 2013, 112–113). The very few properly excavated settlement remains prove that ritual performance with female figurines is equally attested in settlements and cemeteries. Given the poor number of documented settlements and the vast number of tumuli, one may ask whether, at least in Lower Nubia, the settlements were the customary location for such performances and not the tombs. Such figurines, especially the steatopygous types (e.g. Steindorff 1935, pl. 94 top left), link the Middle Bronze age phases of Nubian Cultures, again, with the practices of the 4th millennium BC (see Ch. Gatto). Especially the figurines from the 19th–17th century BC have for eyes merely incised slits, perhaps suggest a sleeping mode (Fig. 16; Steindorff 1935, pl. 72.8–14). The few undisturbed contexts seem to point to a relation between female figurines and female burials (Steindorff 1935, 122.15–16), as it was assumed

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Fig. 15: Middle Nubian cattle figurines from the northern cemetery of Aniba (Photo: M. Wenzel).

Fig. 16: Middle Nubian female figurines from the northern cemetery of Aniba (Photo: M. Wenzel).

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Fig 17: Female figurine from Aniba, Leipzig ÄMUL 7685 (Photo: M. Wenzel).

for the 4th millennium BC (Säve-Söderbergh 1989, 146). Otherwise, female figurines, mostly baked, belong to regular finds also in the settlements of the Kerma Classique Period (Gratien 2009, 321–332). Few scholars still regard such figurines as ‘toys’, as was assumed earlier in 20th century (Brunton 1930, 7). Ritual performance using Egyptian royal and private sculpture may have constituted part of execration rituals that were performed at the royal tumuli of KermaCity. The rich data from statuary fragments from the Middle Kingdom (Reisner 1923b, 22–44, pls. 31–36) was interpreted by scholars as ‘diplomatic gift’ to the ruler of Kush in the early days of Nubian archaeology – because the largest tomb was considered to be a tomb of the famous mayor of Assiut, Djefaihapi (Reisner 1923a, 135–189). The fragmented state, especially of the most recent finds (Bonnet 2000, 149, fig. 107), may have been caused not by the modern-day search for gold (Bonnet/Valbelle 2006, 185) but by systematic damaging of Egyptian statues on the occasion of the king’s burial, just like the burial of an upright, intact female statue located 10 m away from the sacrificial burials (Bonnet/Valbelle 2006, 184; Reisner 1923a, 138, pl. 7.1) might have also served the chief of Kerma in this appropriating sense (Raue 2018a, 54–56). Other aspects of ritual life and cultural identity can probably be found in certain patterns of decoration. Between 2000–1700 BC, a large variety of rhomboid patterns in tattoos, incised decorations of figurines and ceramics may be identified as a partial embodiment of such cultural patterns (Lohwasser 2012, 536, 541; see also Ch. Raue). Since these rhomboid motifs (Fig. 17) are clearly restricted to Nubia when it

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comes to pottery and wall paintings, the argument that bears no ethnic connotations (Tassie 2003, 92–93) is not convincing. Except for the capital of Kerma17, the religious beliefs of the inhabitants of Lower and Upper Nubia did not promote types of durable, specific ‘sacral’ built architecture. A type of ritual cult place that seems to appear several times in the late 3rd and 2nd millennium BC is the cliff abrit with rock-pictures and -paintings. Again, it is the Korosko Bend that has preserved a number of good examples, at sites like in Sayala (Bietak/Engelmayer 1966) and Korosko (Suková 2015). Such places sometimes reoccupy ritual places of the 4th millennium BC (Török 2009, 47). Others exhibit first material traces around 2300 BC and 1650 BC and are still used by a ‘medjay of his majesty’ in the later 18th Dynasty (Simpson 1963, 37–41, fig. 30, 32, pl. XXII).

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Polz, Daniel (2007): Der Beginn des Neuen Reichs. Zur Vorgeschichte einer Zeitenwende. Sonderschriften des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 31. Berlin/ New York: Walter De Gruyter. Posener, Georges (1958a): Pour une localisation du pays Koush au Moyen Empire. In: Kush 6, p. 39–68. Posener, Georges (1958b): Nehsiu et Medjaiu. In: Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 83, p. 38–43. Posener, Georges (1987): Cing figurines d’envoûtement. Bibliothèque d’Étude 101. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale. Postel, Lilian (2004): Protocole des souverains égyptiens et dogme monarchique au début du Moyen Empire. Monographies Reine Elisabeth 10. Leiden: Brepols Publishers. Privati, Béatrice (2004): Contribution à l’étude du quartier religieux: le materiel céramique. In: Bonnet, Charles (ed.): Le temple principal de la ville de Kerma et son quartier religieux. Paris: Editions Errance, p. 162–199. Quirke, Stephen (2009): Sehel and Suez: Canal cutting and Periodisation in Ancient and Modern History. In: Fitzenreiter, Martin (ed.): Das Ereignis. Geschichtsschreibung zwischen Vorfall und Befund. Internet-Beiträge zur Ägyptologie und Sudanarchäologie 10. London: Golden House Publications, p. 223–230. Raue, Dietrich (2007): Der Anfang in Nubien. In: Dreyer, Günter / Polz, Daniel (eds.): Begegnung mit der Vergangenheit. 100 Jahre in Ägypten. Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Kairo 1907–2007. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern, p. 285–290. Raue, Dietrich (2012): A Journey to Central and Western Tigray. In: Ityopis 2, p. 169–180. Raue, Dietrich (2014/2015): Nubier auf Elephantine und an der Stufenpyramide von Sinki. In: Polz, Daniel / Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (eds.): Gedenkschrift für Werner Kaiser. Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 70/71 (2014/15). Berlin/New York: Walter De Gruyter, p. 361–372. Raue, Dietrich (2017): Nubian Pottery on Elephantine Island in the New Kingdom. In: Spencer, Neal / Stevens, Anna / Binder, Michaela (eds.): Nubia in the New Kingdom. Lived Experience, Pharaonic Control and Indigenous Traditions. Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Egyptological Colloquium held at the British Museum in 2013. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 3. London: Peeters, p. 525–536. Raue, Dietrich (2018a): Elephantine und Nubien vom 4.–2. Jahrtausend v. Chr. Sonderschriften des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 40. Berlin/Boston: Walter De Gruyter. Raue, Dietrich (2018b): Zu den Keramikfunden des 3. Jahrtausends v. Chr. In: Kopp, Peter (ed.): Funde und Befunde aus der Umgebung des Satettempels, Elephantine XXIV. Archäologische Veröffentlichungen 104. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern, p. 185–236. Reisner, George Andrew (1923): Excavations at Kerma IV–VI. Harvard African Studies 6. Cambridge, Mass.: Peabody Museum of Harvard University. Riemer, Heiko (2011): El Kharafish. The Archaeology of Sheikh Muftah Pastoral Nomads in the Desert around Dakhla Oasis (Egypt). Africa Praehistorica 25. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut. Riemer, Heiko / Lange, Mathias / Kindermann, Karin (2013): When the Desert dried Up: Late Prehistroic Cultures and Contacts in Egypt and Northern Sudan. In: Raue, Dietrich / Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes / Speiser, Philipp (eds.): The First Cataract of the Nile. One Region – Diverse Perspectives. Sonderschriften des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 36. Berlin/Boston: Walter De Gruyter, p. 157–183. Rose, Pamela J. (2008): Early Settlement at Qasr Ibrim. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series Vol. 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 195–209.

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Ruffieux, Philippe (2011): The Pottery of Dukki Gel. In: Kerma 2010–2011. Université de Neuchâtel. Documents de la mission archéologique suisse au Soudan 2011/13. Université de Neuchâtel, p. 33–37. Rzeuska, Teodozja Izabela (2010): Zigzag, Triangle and Fish Fin. On the Relation of Egypt and the C-Group during the Middle Kingdom. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part Two: Session Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series Vol. 2/2.2. Warsaw: University Press, p. 397–419. Sadr, Karim (1991): The Development of Nomadism in Ancient Northeast Africa. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny (1989): Middle Nubian Sites. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 4. Uppsala: Paul Astrom. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny / Troy, Lana (1991): New Kingdom Pharaonic Sites. The Finds and the Sites. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 5/2. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. Sauneron, Serge / Jacquet, Jean (2005): Ouadi es – Sebou’ est. Un village fortifié du groupe C en Nubie. In: Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 105, p. 321–356. Schiestl, Robert / Seiler, Anne (eds.): Handbook of the Pottery of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom. Vol. I: The Corpus Volume. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie 72/1. Contributions to the Chronology of the Eastern Mediterranean 31. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Schulz, Regine (2008): MOG034 und MOG064 – Zwei mehrperiodische urgeschichtliche Fundstellen auf dem Plateau von Karmes (Insel Mograt). In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 19, p. 53–60. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (1996): Town and State in the Early Old Kingdom. A View from Elephantine. In: Spencer, Jeffrey (ed.): Aspects of Early Egypt. London British Museum Press, p. 108–127. Sethe, Kurt (1933): Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums. Band I: Urkunden des Alten Reichs. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs. Sethe, Kurt (1935): Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums. Band VII: Historisch-Biographische Urkunden des Mittleren Reiches I. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs. Seyfried, Karl-Joachim (1981): Beiträge zu den Expeditionen des Mittleren Reichs in die Ostwüste. Hildesheimer Ägyptologische Beiträge 15. Hildesheim: Gerstenberg. Seyfried, Karl-Joachim / Vieler, Gerd (eds.) (2008): Elmar Edel: Die Felsgräbernekropole der Qubbet el-Hawa bei Assuan. I. Abteilung. Band 1. Architektur, Darstellungen, Texte, archäologischer Befund und Funde der Gräber QH 24–QH 34p. Band 2: Architektur, Darstellungen, Texte, archäologischer Befund und Funde der Gräber QH 35–QH 101. Band 3: Architektur, Darstellungen, Texte, archäologischer Befund und Funde der Gräber QH 102– QH 209. Aus dem Nachlaß verfaßt. Paderborn et al.: Ferdinand Schöningh. Shaw, Ian / Bloxam, Elizabeth G. / Heldal, Tom / Storemyr, Per (2010): Quarrying and Landscape at Gebel el-Asr in the Old and Middle Kingdoms. In Raffaele, Francesco / Nuzzolo, Massimiliano / Incordino, Ilaria (eds.): Recent Discoveries and Latest Researches in Egyptology. Proceedings of the First Neapolitan Congress of Egyptology, June 18th– 20th 2008. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 293–312. Simpson, William Kelly (1963): Heka-nefer and the Dynastic Material from Toshka and Arminna. Publications of the Pennsylvania-Yale Expedition to Egypt 1. New Haven/Philadelphia: Peabody University Museum of Pennsylvania. Smith, Henry S. (1966): The Nubian B-Group. In: Kush 14, p. 69–124. Smith, Harry Sidney (1976): The Fortress of Buhen. The Inscriptions. Egypt Exploration Fund 48. London: Egypt Exploration Society.

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Andrea Manzo

Eastern Sudan in the 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC Introduction The archaeological exploration of Eastern Sudan, a large area presently included in the administrative region of the Kassala State, is quite recent (Fig. 1). The region was practically unexplored from an archaeological point of view until the early seventies. At that time, an American team led by Joel Shiner started investigations in the Khasm el-Girba area, immediately east of the Atbara (Shiner 1971). Before that, the only known ancient sites in the region were ‘Mahal Daqlianus’, presently known as Mahal Teglinos, near the town of Kassala, where Crowfoot collected some surface materials that he considered to be Aksumite as well as other materials related to the Nile Valley, and which he published in an article in the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (Crowfoot 1928), some sites with possible Islamic remains recorded there in the late 19th–early 20th century (Conti Rossini 1903; Crowfoot 1922), a handful of sites visited by British residents and amateur archaeologists, as shown by several entries in the register of the Sudan National Museum, and four sites near the Eritrean town of Agordat, just across the border, visited by Arkell, who correctly related the material from the sites to the Nubian 2nd millennium BC cultures (Arkell 1954). The first large programme of systematic archaeological exploration of the region only started in 1980, when a research project aimed at investigating the relations between the Nile Valley and the Ethio-Eritrean highlands in ancient times was started by the Istituto Universitario Orientale – presently University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’ – and the Butana Archaeological Project, jointly sponsored by the University of Khartoum and Southern Methodist University (Dallas); the project focussed on studying the relations between Eastern Sudan and the Nile Valley in the ‘Neolithic’ Phase (Fattovich/Marks/Mohamed Ali 1984, 173–174) (Fig. 1). Since the very beginning the collaboration between the two teams was close and resulted in the establishment of a long regional cultural sequence starting in the 6th millennium BC and ending in the 2nd millennium AD.1 In the course of this work, researchers outlined the process of adopting cattle domestication and plant cultivation in the region from at least the 4th millennium BC, the progressive shift to a nomadic and pastoral life style starting in the mid-2nd millennium BC, the rise of hierarchic societies in the region, as well as the progressive inclusion of the region in a broad network of relations extending from Egypt to the Yemeni highlands in the 3rd–2nd millennium BC.2 1 Fattovich/Marks/Mohamed Ali 1984; Fattovich 1989a; Marks/Fattovich 1989. 2 Fattovich/Sadr/Vitagliano 1988–89; Marks/Sadr 1988; Sadr 1987; 1988; 1990; Fattovich 1990; 1993b, 443–444. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-015

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Fig. 1: Map showing the location of Eastern Sudan and the investigated area.

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In 2010 the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’ and ISMEO resumed fieldwork in the region after a fifteen year pause (see Manzo et al. 2011, 1–2; 2012, 1) in order to: obtain better knowledge of the relations between Eastern Sudan and Upper Nubia, investigate the possible relations between the cultures of Eastern Sudan and the Red Sea coast via the Eastern Desert, increase our knowledge of some phases in the cultural sequence of the area that were only marginally investigated, elaborate a broader palaeoenvironmental model for the whole region also by means of systematic geoarchaeological studies, as well as to continue the archaeozoological and palaeobotanical studies aimed at getting a better definition of the ancient economy and manenvironment relationships in the region. To these tasks, a further and more urgent one related to the rescue archaeology was added because of the ongoing construction of new dams on the Atbara and Setit rivers and of an irrigation agricultural scheme in the area between the Gash and the Atbara (Upper Atbara Agricultural Irrigated Scheme). It is noteworthy that salvage archaeology is also contributing to the overall archaeological research in the region, as the area affected by the irrigation scheme and surveyed in 2010 by the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums largely complements the one surveyed in the eighties by the AmericanSudanese and the Italian projects (see Sadr 1988; 1991, 33–38) (Fig. 2).

Environmental Setting Eastern Sudan is a region also known as Southern Atbai, located east of the Atbara, bordering the Eritrean-Ethiopian highlands in the south and east, and the southern fringes of the Eastern Desert and of the Red Sea Hills in the north and north-east (Barbour 1961, 219). The region is almost flat except for a few granite hill masses, such as the Jebel Taka, near Kassala, and Jebel Abu Gamal south-west of there. It is traditionally inhabited mainly by the groups of livestock breeders who periodically move across it, following the availability of resources determined by the monsoon rains and by the seasonal availability of water from the two rivers crossing the region and originating from the Ethiopian-Eritrean highlands, i.e. the Atbara and the Gash (Barbour 1961, 26–29, 38–39). The areas along the banks of the Gash, and in the Gash delta, as well as some specific spots between the Gash and the Atbara rivers, are richer in water and soil resources and are therefore more suitable for agricultural exploitation, while the rest of the region offers more or less rich pasture (Barbour 1961, 37, 128, 219). Moreover, Eastern Sudan is also extremely rich in terms of mineral, plant and animal resources relevant to ancient trade. A large variety of plant and animal species occurs in the number of rich and distinct ecological niches characterizing the slopes and foothills of the Ethiopian-Eritrean highlands. This is due to the variation in altitude, and makes the Eastern Sudan and the Eritrean lowlands traditionally

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crucial for the availability of commodities such as African ebony, ivory, aromatic resins and even gold occuring in the region or its vicinity (Manzo 1999, 6–9, 13). The exchange of these commodities may also have been favoured by the fact that Eastern Sudan is crossed by several routes connecting the Middle Nile, the Red Sea coastal area, the Eastern Desert and the Ethiopian-Eritrean highlands (Manzo 1999, 12–13). The region is presently inhabited by different groups such as the Hadendowa, Halenga and Beni Amer, all part of the broader Beja family and traditionally nomadic herdsmen, the Rashaida, recently arrived from the Arabian Peninsula and basically devoted to camel breeding, and the Nubians, cultivators, traders and administrators, mainly concentrating in the towns and in the areas more suitable for agriculture (Barbour 1961, 221–226). As we will see, there are reasons to believe that also in the past, at least from a certain point, the region was a kind of crossroads between the Middle Nile and the Red Sea, Eastern Desert and EthiopianEritrean highlands, a cultural and even ethnic melting pot (see below). The environment of the region certainly underwent several changes throughout the period dealt with in this contribution. In general, the region was involved in the climatic trends affecting all of north-eastern Africa, with wetter conditions characterizing the earliest part of the Holocene; after some oscillations and with noticeable differences between various regions in the moment when the change of the trend was evident, more arid conditions set in by the mid-3rd millennium BC (see e.g. Williams et al. 2015, 85–87; Lesur et al. 2013, 149). In Eastern Sudan this presumably entailed the slow southward shift of the deciduous savanna woodland (Sadr 1991, 30, fig. 3.6). This trend was recently confirmed by geoarchaeological observations on the sites of Mahal Teglinos (K 1) and UA 53. At UA 53, the formation of thick clay strata possibly related to a nearby stream continued at least up to the end of the 4th millennium BC, while an impressive erosion suggesting the reduced activity of the stream, in turn related to the decrease of the rains, seems already to have affected the site in the 2nd millennium BC (Manzo et al. 2012, 9, 106; Manzo 2014a, 386). At Mahal Teglinos (K 1), a water table in the western sector of the site, progressively dried up and completely disappeared around 2000 BC (Manzo 2014a, 386; 2015, 235). In this changing environment, the old hypothesis that an additional factor was also affecting the region, i.e. that the bed of the Gash river – thought originally to have reached the Atbara – may have progressively moved north up to its present location (see e.g. Sadr 1991, 33, fig. 3.7), is not supported by more recent investigations: the streams crossing the region between the Gash and the Atbara rivers, and previously considered palaeochannels of the Gash, are now interpreted as autonomous water courses, most likely already crossing the region in ancient times, as the thick sediment strata covering some sites may have originated through their pedogenetic action prevailing in more humid phases on wind erosion (Manzo 2015, 235).3 3 M. Cremaschi and S. Constanzo are in charge of the geo-archaeological investigations and these remarks are based on the preliminary results of their analyses.

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Fig. 2: Map showing the location of the sites recorded in the 1980s by the Italian and American-Sudanese projects and the ones recorded in 2010 in a general survey of the area affected by the Upper Atbara Agricultural Irrigated Scheme by the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (courtesy of the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” and ISMEO; elaborated by V. Zoppi).

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The Eastern Sudan before the 3rd Millennium BC Already in the 1980s and 1990s the richness of 3rd and 2nd millennium BC cultures of Eastern Sudan as well as their importance in a broader macro-regional scenario emerged, and this also seems to be confirmed by more recent investigations. A synthesis of the results of the archaeological investigations so far conducted on these cultures is here preceded by a short discussion of the earlier phases from which these cultures emerged. Actually, the reconstruction of the history of the Eastern Sudan before the 3rd millennium BC is still sketchy and certainly needs further research and investigation; nevertheless, it may already provide important elements for understanding the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC cultures. The earliest phases of the cultural sequence of Eastern Sudan were labelled as Pre-Saroba and Saroba. As will be shown below, they roughly date from the 6th to the 5th millennium BC and are followed by the Kassala Phase, roughly dating to the 4th–2nd millennium BC. The Pre-Saroba Phase, whose absolute chronology is based only on a couple of radiocarbon dates, suggesting that it may go back to the second half of the 6th millennium BC, was characterized by two different groups of sites apparently marked by distinctive traits in terms of material culture,4 and located in the northern Gash delta (Amm Adam Group) and near Kashm el-Girba in the south.5 More recently, other sites somehow related to those of Kashm el-Girba were recorded not only in the vicinity of Khor Marmareb, but also in the steppe east of Atbara river (Manzo et al. 2012, 43), suggesting a broader distribution of the remains from this phase. The very limited available information on the adaptive system of this phase was collected in Amm Adam Group sites in the Gash delta and consists of impressions of grains of small seeded grass and millet sp. on ceramics (Alemseged Beldados 2015, 74–75, 79–80, Tab. 8.2) (Tab. 1), and of remains of buffalo, hippopotami, grazing antelopes and fish, suggesting the exploitation of water-dependent animals (Geerards 1983) (Tab. 2). More recently a shell-midden excavated at site UA 50 shows that at that time land snails were exploited in humid conditions (Manzo 2016, 194). All this provisionally suggests the exploitation of wild animals and plant species available in a more humid environment, also coherent with the general palaeoenvironmental setting (see above) as well as with the location of the sites in humid environments such as the areas by the streams in the southern sector of the region and in the Gash delta in the north. As far as material culture is concerned, the sites near Kashm el-Girba were mainly characterized by impressed ceramics recalling the Mesolithic assemblages in the Nile Valley with some knobbed ware, a very distinctive type of pottery, whose

4 Fattovich 1990, 11; 1991a, 95; Marks/Fattovich 1989, 453–454; Fattovich/Marks/Mohamed Ali 1984, 178. 5 Marks/Fattovich 1989, 453–454; Fattovich 1990, 11–13; 1991a, 95–96; Fattovich/Marks/ Mohamed Ali 1984, 178; Manzo et al. 2012, 47–50; Marks 1987, 90.

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Tab. 1: The vegetal species represented in the palaeobotanical record form the different phases of the cultural sequence of Eastern Sudan (based on Alemseged 2015; Alemseged/Costantini 2011; Alemseged et al. 2018; Costantini et al. 1982; 1983; D’Andrea/Tsubakisaka 1990; Winchell et al. 2018).

surfaces were covered by the typical knobs and with cylindrical cavities in the wall of the vessel in correspondence with the knobs, which was apparently prevalent in the sites in the Gash Delta. For the rest, it was recently remarked that the sites going back to this phase surveyed in 2010 and 2011 between Gash and Atbara yielded ceramics related to the Mesolithic in the Nile Valley. These are characterized by impressed decorations similar to the ‘Rocker Stamp Packed’, and incised wavy lines as well as the knobbed ware typical of the local regional tradition (Manzo et al. 2012, 47–50). Interestingly, in the Nile Valley some sherds with scraped surfaces were recently recorded in Mesolithic assemblages (Salvatori/Usai/Zerboni 2011, 196), a fact which may also throw new light on the origins of this very distinctive trait which was later to become typical of Eastern Sudan and for several millennia characterized the ceramic sequence of that region. These sherds may also shed new light on the origin and development of the local Atbai Ceramic Tradition, whose the local cultures dating to the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC were also expression.6 In the Saroba Phase, the region was characterized by the Malawiya Group. This scarcely known culture, whose absolute chronology to the mid-5th millennium BC

6 See Fattovich/Marks/Mohamed Ali 1984, 176–178; Fattovich 1990, 10–11; Marks/Fattovich 1989, 453; Marks/Sadr 1988, 71.

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Tab. 2: The animal species represented in the archaeozoological collections from the different phases of the cultural sequence of Eastern Sudan (based on Gautier/Van Neer 2006; Geraads 1983; Peters 1989; 1992; Sadr 1991).

is only based on a couple of radiocarbon dates, is represented by several sites in the steppe between Gash and Atbara.7 Although no systematic investigation was conducted on the adaptive system of this culture, it was remarked that bones of different species of antelopes as well as shells of land snails characterized the Malawiya Group sites (Marks/Sadr 1988, 74– 75). This, together, with the evidence represented by the grinding stones and by the location of the sites far from the Atbara and the Gash delta, may suggest that, although the exploitation of the river environment near the streams crossing the region east of the Atbara continued, a major emphasis was placed on the exploitation of animals and plants available in the – at that time more humid – steppe itself. In particular, a more intensive exploitation of plants is apparently supported by the fact that grinding stones were common in the assemblages of this phase (Marks/ Sadr 1988, 72). The pottery is characterized by rocker ‘alternated pivoted stamp’ impressed patterns, a feature already occurring in the Late Mesolithic, but mainly related to the

7 Fattovich 1990, 13; 1991a, 97–98; Marks/Fattovich 1989, 455; see also Shiner et al. 1971, 317– 334, fig. 5a–b; Manzo et al. 2012, 43.

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Fig. 3: Ceramics of the earliest phases: a) rim sherd of a Malawiya Group knobbed ware from site UA 18; b) Butana Group rim sherd with herringbone band on the lip from site UA 113; c) Butana Group rim sherd of a black topped cup with parallel rows of notches on the external surface from site UA 14/KG 23; d) Butana Group rim sherd of scraped vessel with impressed indented rim from site UA 113 (courtesy of the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” and ISMEO). Scale in centimeters.

Neolithic in the Nile Valley, by spaced rocker comb impressions also similar to the ones recorded in the Nile Valley, and perhaps by a more accurate type of knobbed ware from some Malawiya Group sites (Fig. 3a).8 Apparently, this represents the latest occurrence of knobbed ware in the region, and it is remarkable that this very distinctive type of pottery also occurs in the Kerma classique and Kerma moyen Phases at the Upper Nubian sites of Kerma and Sai (see e.g. Gratien 1978, 147–148, fig. 40, 5, 178–179, fig. 51, 10). Although given the specificities of this technique of decoration a connection between the knobbed ware of Eastern Sudan and the Kerma ‘poterie à pois’ seems possible and even probable (see Privati 1990, 128), a considerable chronological and spatial gap between the two still remains to be filled. The following phase of the regional cultural sequence of Eastern Sudan, named Kassala Phase, started in the 4th millennium BC and continued up to the very begin-

8 Fattovich/Marks/Mohamed Ali 1984, 178; Fattovich 1989a, 484; 1990, 13; Manzo et al. 2012, 51.

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ning of the 1st millennium BC. Its first culture is the Butana Group, whose absolute chronology may correspond to the 4th–early 3rd millennium BC; this is suggested by several available radiocarbon dates9 and is in agreement with a couple of radiocarbon dates from the earliest occupation phase at Mahal Teglinos (K 1), which can be ascribed to an eastern variant of the Butana Group.10 Test-excavations were conducted in the eighties at several Butana Group sites near Kashm el-Girba (KG 28B, considered a transition site between Malawiya Group and Butana Group, KG 23, KG 27; KG 29, KG 1, KG 96, and KG 5) (Winchell 2013, 17–21, 192–210), and at Mahal Teglinos (K 1), where the earliest occupation phase can be ascribed to a local variant of this culture.11 In more recent years excavations were conducted at UA 53, an early Butana Group site along the Wadi Marmadeb, in the southern sector of the area between the Atbara and the Gash rivers.12 These excavations unveiled elements of this culture’s economy, which apparently relied on wild game like antelopes, but also suids and elephants, as well as on fish, fresh water shellfish and land snails, especially in the earlier phases.13 In the later phases remains of livestock also occur (Peters 1989; 1992), with great emphasis on the exploitation of cattle and ovicaprids (Gautier/Van Neer 2006, Tab. 1) (Pls. 2, 3). In the meantime, wheat, barley and morphologically wild sorghum and millet were exploited 14 (Tab. 1). Therefore, the economic bases on which the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC cultures relied seem to emerge in this phase. They mainly consisted of the exploitation of a mix of Near Eastern domesticated species arriving via the Nile Valley and of African and local species. The pottery of this phase is characterized by rims with incised parallel herringbone bands on the lip (Fig. 3b), fingernail impressed sherds, restricted orifice bowls with incised or impressed external decoration, burnished patterns, rippled ware, black topped ware, often with parallel rows of notches on the external surface (Fig. 3c), and scraped vessels with pinched or impressed indented rim, a type widely characterizing the following periods too (Fig. 3d).15

9 See Marks/Sadr 1988, 73 (SMU 1156: 4421 ± 93 bp, SMU 1151: 4569 ± 69 bp, SMU 1188: 4519 ± 67 bp, SMU 1155: 4542 ± 253 bp, SMU 1201: 4727 ± 154 bp); Shiner et al. 1971, 381 (TX 445: 4410 ± 90 bp); Manzo et al. 2012, 8, 15 (Beta 311300: 5010 ± 30 bp, Beta 311302: 5080 ± 30 bp); still unpublished dates are: Beta 437223: 5004 ± 30, Beta 437224: 4560 ± 30. 10 Fattovich 1993, 246 (Gif 7654: 4220 ± 90 bp); an unpublished date is: GX 18105: 4900 ± 170 bp. 11 Fattovich 1989b, 227; 1991a, 99; 1993a, 263. 12 Manzo et al. 2012, 6–21; Manzo 2013, 259; 2014a, 380–282. 13 Peters 1989; 1992; Manzo et al. 2012, 94–95; Manzo 2013, 259; 2014a, 380–382. 14 D’Andrea/Tsubakisaka 1990; Alemseged Beldados 2015, 7980, Tab. 8.2. After the preparation of this contribution some evidence suggesting that the process of cultivation of sorghum was on its way in Butana Group times emerged, see Winchell et al. 2018. 15 Fattovich 1990, 14; 1991a, 99; Fattovich/Marks/Mohamed Ali 1984, 179–180; Manzo et al. 2011, 5; 2012, 52–55; Marks/Fattovich 1989, 455; Shiner et al. 1971, 346–348, fig. 11a–b, 356–358, 365–368, fig. 15–16, 375–377, fig. 19a–b, 379–381, 387–389, fig. 22a; Winchell 2013, 148–192.

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Interestingly, the Butana Group ceramic materials can be compared to Late Neolithic and Pre-Kerma Upper Nubian ceramic assemblages because of the big bowls with incised decoration on the thickened lip, the rippled ware and the continuous edge rocker decorations on the walls of the vessels.16 However, the possible comparisons with the finds from the Shaqadud cave, in the Butana and chronologically overlapping the late Butana Group, seem less evident, although not completely absent (Winchell 2013, 139–142). These comparative remarks not only show that the Butana Group fits well into the general 4th and early 3rd millennium BC cultural framework of Nubia and Sudan, but also support the absolute chronology suggested for this culture by the radiocarbon dates. The settlement pattern of the Butana Group is characterized by the occurrence of large settlement sites, some of them with thick stratified deposits suggesting a prolonged, or at least a repeated, occupation close to the Atbara and in the steppe between the Atbara and the Gash rivers, along the streams crossing that area.17 This distribution of sites seems also to cohere with an adaptive strategy based on the exploitation of wet environments near the rivers and streams, and from a certain point onwards, on agropastoralism. Interestingly, some sites may have had specialized functions, as in the case of KG 50, possibly a lithic production site (Winchell 2013, 17), N 125, perhaps a ceramic production center (Winchell 2013, 17; Shiner et al. 1971, 381), while UA 53 may have been a seasonal site specialized in the exploitation of land snails in early Butana Group times (Manzo et al. 2012, 103; Manzo 2014a, 386). A late Butana settlement, originally labelled Proto-Gash Group, with post-holes to be interpreted as traces of two possible circular huts, was discovered at Mahal Teglinos (K 1) (Fattovich/Manzo/Usai 1994, 15). A Butana Group cemetery dating to the last centuries of the 4th millennium BC was partially investigated at site UA 53.18 No traces of superstructures, possibly destroyed by erosion, were recorded, while the bodies were in a contracted position with different orientations and grave goods consisting of personal ornaments, mainly lip plugs, but also ornaments made from Red Sea shells. Interestingly, at other Butana Group sites it was remarked that personal ornaments as well as mace heads were often made of exotic stones, possibly originating from as far as the Red Sea Hills (Winchell 2013, 14). This suggests that at that time the inhabitants of the region were involved in inter-regional exchange networks, a recurring pattern in following phases. In turn, the mace heads may be regarded as elsewhere in northeastern Africa as prestigious artefacts used in elite display (see e.g. Wengrow 2006, 140). In this case we may have a trace there, unfortunately the only one so far recovered, of emerging social hierarchies in the region.

16 Manzo 2014b, 1152–1153; Manzo et al. 2011, 5; 2012, 55. 17 Fattovich 1989a, 487; 1990, 14; 1991a, 98; Fattovich/Marks/Mohamed Ali 1984, 179–180; Manzo et al. 2012, 44; Marks/Fattovich 1989, 455; Marks/Sadr 1988, 75; Sadr 1988, 391, 394– 395; 1991, 38. 18 Manzo et al. 2012, 7; Manzo 2014a, 379–382; 2015, 233–234.

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Therefore, at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, a well-established and distinctive ceramic tradition existed in the region and an agropastoral economy had emerged (although the long-established exploitation of the wild plant and animal resources was far from being abandoned), thanks in part to the closeness to the highlands which made the region less exposed to the progressive generalization of more arid conditions after the humid phases of the early Holocene. Moreover, since the earliest phases of its history, the region was culturally linked to the Nile Valley. Although, this link with the Nile Valley may not have been exclusive, and may appear so just because of the limited archaeological evidence available from the regions immediately south, east and north of the Eastern Sudan, this is an undeniable trait that continued in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. Apparently, the sectors of the Nile Valley somehow connected with Eastern Sudan changed through time: in the 6th and 5th millennia cultural links existed with the Middle Nile Valley, while later on they existed mainly with Upper Nubia. Of course, this might be expected, given the decreasing number of settlements in the Middle Nile Valley in late Neolithic times, while a relationship may have continued with the groups living inland in the Butana, as perhaps suggested by the evidence from the Shaqadud cave (Winchell 2013, 130, 139–142). Interestingly, the relationship with Upper Nubia, and especially with the PreKerma Culture perhaps emerging from the above outlined traits in the Butana Group pottery, may be related to a more general broadening of the relations of the people of Eastern Sudan in the 4th and early 3rd millennium BC, emerging also from the admittedly patchy evidence represented by the use of the exotic stones as raw materials and of the Red Sea shells for making personal ornaments. This process may be certainly related to the adoption of an agropastoral lifestyle in the region in the 4th millennium BC, favouring the seasonal movements of cattle breeders and thus interactions with the surrounding regions (see e.g. Lesur et al. 2013, 153–154), and the circulation of commodities along this network. Nevertheless, the involvement of the region in such long-distance contacts may also be related to the intensification of trade in prestige commodities and raw materials from the African inland and largely available in Eastern Sudan and nearby, whose increasing demand was stimulated by the fledgling hierarchic social organizations in Egypt, and from a certain point onwards, in Lower Nubia (Wengrow 2006, 138–140, 166–167). If processes of emerging social hierarchies were already active also in Eastern Sudan, as is known to have been the case in Upper Nubia and in the Middle Nile Valley, it remains to be clarified by future research, although the occurrence of highly evocative objects such as the Butana Group mace heads seems to support this possibility. This was roughly the socio-economic and cultural setting in Eastern Sudan when the Gash Group, the second culture of the Kassala Phase, made its debut.

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The Gash Group This culture is the best known component of the cultural sequence of Eastern Sudan because one of the largest Gash Group sites, Mahal Teglinos (K 1), near the modern town of Kassala, was investigated from 1980 to 199519 and more recently in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015.20 Moreover, in addition to those where surface collections were made in the 1980s, other Gash Group sites were surveyed in 2010 and 2011 (Manzo et al. 2012, 117–123). The chronology of the Gash Group is based on twelve radiocarbon dates from Mahal Teglinos:21 they suggest a date between the mid-3rd and the first part of the 2nd millennium BC for this culture. Although it was thought that the Gash Group could extend up to the mid-2nd millennium BC and that the bad preservation of the upper layers at Mahal Teglinos could have prevented the preservation of organic remains suitable to be dated for the late Gash Group phases, a recently investigated stratigraphic sequence clearly demonstrated that the transition to the following phase took place around 1800 BC (Manzo 2018). A general ceramic sequence for the Gash Group ceramics from Mahal Teglinos (K 1) was outlined and four different phases were distinguished.22 The Early Gash Group Phase, dating to around the mid-3rd millennium BC, was characterized by bowls decorated with comb impressed bands often extending to the body of the vessel, rim bands obtained with rocker movement of double teethed tools or simple impressed rim bands (Fig. 4a), accurately scraped and wiped ware, and a distinctive vegetal tempered ware. The Middle Gash Group Phase, dating to the end of the 3rd millennium BC, was characterized by accurate black bowls with regular impressed rim bands forming a distinctive ‘rail track’ pattern and grey black greasy slip (Fig. 4b). The Classic Gash Group Phase, dating to the end of the 3rd – very beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, was characterized by bowls and cups often with flat lips and decorated with accurately impressed rim bands and red slip on the top of the lip (Fig. 4c). The Late Gash Group Phase, dating to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, was mainly characterized by bowls and cups decorated with impressed or incised rim bands, crossing patterns forming rim bands (Fig. 4d), horizontally grooved decorations crossed by oblique grooves, fingernail ware, abundant

19 Fattovich 1989b; 1991a, 105–108; 1993a; Fattovich/Manzo/Usai 1994. 20 Manzo et al. 2011, 27–30; Manzo 2014, 376–379; 2015, 231–233; 2016, 191–194. 21 Fattovich 1993a, 230, 246 (unspecified laboratory: 3860 ± 60 bp, Gif 7651: 3780 ± 90 bp, Gif 7652: 4010 ± 90 bp, Gif 7653: 3980 ± 90 bp); Manzo et al. 2012, 128 (Beta 311299: 3740 ± 30 bp); Manzo 2018 (Beta 401122: 3570 ± 30 bp); Alemseged Beldados et al. 2018 (Beta 380246: 3560 ± 30 bp); unpublished dates are: Beta 404210: 3770 ± 30 bp; Beta 428646: 4140 ± 30 bp; Beta 437215: 3740 ± 30 bp; Beta 437216: 3380 ± 30; Beta 437217: 3750 ± 30 bp. 22 Capuano/Manzo/Perlingieri 1994, 114; Fattovich 1989b, 223, 229–231; 1990, 16–17; 1991a, 104; 1993a, 246–248; 1993b, 439–441; see also Manzo 2014a, 379; 2015, 232–233.

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Fig. 4: Gash Group ceramics: a) rim sherd of a closed bowl with band of impressions parallel to the rim from excavation unit K 1 XII at Mahal Teglinos (K 1); b) rim sherd of a black open carinated cup with regular impressed band parallel to the rim and grey black greasy slip from excavation unit K 1 X at Mahal Teglinos (K 1); c) rim sherd of a cup characterized by flat lip, accurately impressed rim band and red slip on the top of the lip from site UA 115; d) rim sherd of a rim banded bowl from site UA 138; e) rim sherd of an indented impressed lip scraped bowl from excavation unit K 1 IX at Mahal Teglinos (K 1) (courtesy of the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” and ISMEO). Scale in centimeters.

scraped ware sometimes with molded clay decorations and often with pinched and indented rims (Fig. 4e). Exotic ceramics betraying similarities with Kerma, C-Group, Pan-Grave and Yemeni Bronze age types were collected at Mahal Teglinos. Some of these may well have been imports.23 Interestingly, a Kerma ancien I-C-Group IB vessel was found in a badly eroded double tomb containing two skeletons in contracted position in the western cemetery at Mahal Teglinos (Fig. 5): this is very different from the other

23 Fattovich 1991b; 1993b, 443–444; Manzo 1997; 2012, 77–78; 2014b, 1150–1152; Manzo et al. 2012, 60.

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Fig. 5: A Kerma ancien I-C-Group IB vessel from a tomb of the western Gash Group cemetery in excavation unit K 1 XII at Mahal Teglinos (K 1) (courtesy of the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” and ISMEO). Scale in centimeters.

tombs in that cemetery, usually single and with skeletons in extended position, and may even suggest the presence of Nubians at the site or the adoption of a Nubian, most likely Kerma, funerary ritual by local people (Manzo 2016, 193). Of course, all this suggests the involvement of the region in a broad network of long-range contacts also confirmed by the fact that some Gash Group personal ornaments were made from Red Sea shells24 and sometimes also included imported faïence beads from Egypt or Nubia (Manzo 2012, 77) (Fig. 6). Moreover, the fact that the largest collection of Egyptian ceramic materials south of Upper Nubia was found at Mahal Teglinos in Gash Groups assemblages dating from c. 2300 to 1800 BC certainly supports this hypothesis (Fig. 7).25 On the other hand, in this phase sherds from Eastern Sudan were found at some Eastern Desert sites (Manzo 2012, 81–82), and scattered sherds and vessels reminiscent of types from the Eastern Sudan were recorded at some sites in the Fourth Cataract, as shown e.g. by a pot with fingernail impressions from a Kerma moyen tomb (Paner 2014, pl. 21, middle column, upper row), and even in Egypt, at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis, the Middle Kingdom harbour in the land of Punt, on the Red Sea coast (Manzo 2012, 76), and possibly at Elephantine (see Ch. Raue).

24 Fattovich/Manzo/Usai 1994, 17; Manzo 2012, 77; 2014b, 1152; Manzo et al. 2012, 96–97. 25 Manzo 1993; 1997, 79; 2012, 77; 2014a, 378; 2015, 233; 2016, 192.

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Fig. 6: A tomb with faïence and cawri personal ornaments in the western Gash Group cemetery, in excavation unit K 1 BPLF-Z and BPQA-E (K 1 VIII 1994) at Mahal Teglinos (K 1) (courtesy of the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” and ISMEO).

Interestingly, the culture of the Gash Group was not limited to the region between Atbara and Gash, nor to the Gash delta: it extended certainly to the region of Agordat in the Eritrean western lowlands (see Brandt et al. 2008, 43–44), possibly even further south, upstream on the Gash river (Raue 2012, 172–173), perhaps to the southern fringes of the Eastern Desert – as it has been suggested on the basis of finds from Erkowit (Ghanim/Khabir 2003, 64–65) – and maintained relations with the sites of the Butana, as perhaps shown by parallelism with finds from Shaqadud, like the fingernail pottery (Fattovich 1991b, 45). The Gash Group lithic industry is characterized in the earliest phases by multiple platform cores, flakes from multiple platform cores and blades from opposite platform cores; the prevailing tools are perforators and the prevailing raw material is agate. In later phases the opposite platform cores, flakes from single platform cores, blades from single and multiple platform cores, and backed pieces are typical, quartz being the prevailing raw material. In later phases also we see a peak in the use of flint, and there is a significant occurrence of scattered pieces of imported obsidian.26

26 Usai 1997, 94–95; 2002, 187, 189–190; Manzo 2015, 232.

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Fig. 7: Rims of Egyptian First Intermediate Period jars from a Gash Group assemblage in the central sector of Mahal Teglinos (K 1), excavation unit K 1 X (courtesy of the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” and ISMEO). Scale in centimeters.

At Mahal Teglinos sealings and administrative devices such as tokens and mushroom shaped objects also found at Kerma and regarded as seals were discovered.27 This may suggest the organized management of certain commodities and that the administrative techniques may have somehow been related to those of Upper Nubia. As far as the subsistence economy of this phase is concerned, both remains of wild and domesticated plants have been collected: among them the occurrence of domesticated sorghum, of rare remains of barley and wheat, and of baobab grains from the western Sahel should be mentioned (Tab. 1).28 The zoological remains are also characterized by the co-presence of wild and domesticate species such as freshwater gasteropods, fish, reptiles, birds, mammalian game and livestock, with an apparently increasing importance of cattle (Gautier/Van Neer 2006, 231–232; Geraads 1983) (Pls. 2, 3). The Gash Group sites occur mostly close to the Gash river, across the area of Shurab el-Gash and in the north-western end of the Gash delta, near Eriba Station, while some are also located between the Gash and the Atbara, usually near the

27 Fattovich 1991, 72–73; 1995, 193–194; Manzo 2007, 51–54; 2015, 232–233. 28 Alemseged Beldados 2015, 79–80, Tab. 8.2; Costantini et al. 1982, 33; Manzo 2014a, 384– 385; Alemseged Beldados et al. 2018.

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Fig. 8: Maps showing the distribution of the sites across the region in Gash Group (a) and Jebel Mokram Group (b) times (courtesy of the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” and ISMEO; elaborated by V. Zoppi).

modern cultivated areas or close to little streams (Fig. 8a).29 The thickness of the deposit of some of the sites as well as their dimensions suggest a permanent or at least repeated occupation of the major sites such as Mahal Teglinos (K 1) and perhaps Jebel Abu Gamal (JAG) 1. The structured and articulated settlement pattern of the Gash Group, with several dimensional classes of sites regularly spaced in the region, was regarded as possible evidence of social hierarchy (see Sadr 1991, 65–66). Moreover, both the distribution of sites throughout the region and the presence of permanent or semi-permanent sites seem to be in agreement with an agropastoral adaptation suggested for this culture by the archaeozoological and palaeobotanical studies. In particular at Mahal Teglinos (K 1), the largest Gash Group site which extends for c. 10 ha, two large cemeteries intensively used from the 3rd to the early 2nd millennia BC were partially investigated. These were characterized by tombs with contracted as well as extended bodies and marked by monolithic stelae (Fattovich 1989c), with personal ornaments and more rarely ceramic vessels as grave goods.30 Fireplaces and concentrations of animal bones associated with the stelae and the

29 Fattovich 1989a, 490; 1990, 17; 1991a, 99–100; 1993b, 442; Manzo et al. 2012, 44; Marks/ Fattovich 1989, 455; Sadr 1988, 392, 395; 1991, 41. 30 Fattovich 1993a, 248–255, 259–261; 1995, 194–197; Fattovich/Manzo/Usai 1994, 15–17; Manzo 2016, 192–194.

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Fig. 9: Map of Gash Group mud and mud brick structures in the central sector of the site at Mahal Teglinos (K 1), excavation unit K 1 BSQV-Y and BVAA-T (courtesy of the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” and ISMEO).

tombs may be related to ritual funerary offerings (Fattovich 1995, 196–197; Manzo 2016, 193). In the western cemetery, some of these tombs contained two bodies, and it has been suggested that one of the two may represent a sacrificed person (Manzo 2014c, 16, fig. 7; 2016, 193). A settlement area with traces of light rounded huts as well as of mud and mudbrick structures dating from the 3rd to the early 2nd millennium BC, sometimes overlapping or overlapped by funerary phases on the edge of the cemeteries, was recorded at the same site (Fattovich 1995, 197; Fattovich/Manzo/Usai 1994, 14–17). In particular, those discovered at Mahal Teglinos represent the southernmost examples of mud and mud-brick structures in Africa in the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC, and as a matter of fact are the only ones south of Upper Nubia (Fig. 9). In the central sector of the site, between the two cemeteries, a large area used for the preparation and consumption of food dating to the last part of the 3rd millennium BC was discovered and may have been related to the preparation of ceremonial meals (Manzo 2015, 232–233; 2016, 192). There, after their use, vessels and other artefacts like administrative devices were carefully deposited inside the fire pits. Among them, the occurrence of large rounded trays reminiscent of the ethnographic dokka and per-

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haps used to prepare sorghum bread should be noted. Also in the same area, small clay statuettes of lions, so far unique in the region, were collected. It is noteworthy that a part of the Gash Group settlement extended at the very beginning of the 2nd millennium BC over an area in the western sector of the site that may have been previously occupied by a water table, which dried up completely at around 2000 BC; this could be an illustration of the local impact of drier conditions affecting the whole region, which would be in agreement with the above outlined general climatic trends (Manzo 2014a, 386; 2015, 235).

Jebel Mokram Group This culture was described on the basis of surface collections from sites in the region between the Gash and the Atbara and closer to the river Gash, as well as on the basis of assemblages from test pits excavated at some of these sites such as N 100, N 120, Mahal Teglinos (K 1) and lastly UA 53.31 The absolute chronology of this culture is based on five radiocarbon dates ranging from the early 2nd millennium BC to the late 2nd–early 1st millennium BC.32 Evidence from Mahal Teglinos (K 1) suggests a quick transition between the Gash Group and the Jebel Mokram Group around c. 1800 BC (Manzo 2018). The pottery, whose similarities with the Kerma, C-Group, and especially PanGrave materials have been widely discussed, is characterized by vessels with rounded rims, often separated from the body by a groove, vessels whose upper part is covered by crossing incisions forming a net pattern (Fig. 10a) or completely covered by horizontal or oblique parallel grooves (Fig. 10b), vessels with modelled lip (Fig. 10c), and occasionally mat impressed ware. The scraped ware and the rim bands (Fig. 10d) already occurring in the Gash Group, although less frequent, are always present.33 It should be pointed out that most of the ceramic types characterizing the Jebel Mokram Group assemblages date to the first half of the 2nd millennium BC in Upper Egypt and Nubia (Sadr 1987, 283). This chronology is also confirmed by new comparisons with the materials from the Fourth Cataract area recovered in recent years and seems coherent with the chronology suggested by the radiocarbon dates for the earliest Jebel Mokram Group assemblages.34 Interestingly,

31 Fattovich 1989b, 233; 1993a, 230–231; Marks/Fattovich 1989, 457; Manzo et al. 2011, 27–30; Manzo et al. 2012, 6–21; Manzo 2015, 232; Shiner et al. 1971, 396–412. 32 Shiner et al. 1971, 398 (TX 446: 3050 ± 90 bp); Manzo 2018 (Beta-401120: 3440 ± 30; Beta401121: 3270 ± 30; Beta-404209: 3530 ± 30; Beta-404212: 3450 ± 30). 33 Fattovich 1989a, 495; 1989b, 233, fig. 8; 1990, 19; 1991a, 109, fig. 9–10; Fattovich/Marks/ Mohamed Ali 1984, 182, fig. 6; Manzo et al. 2011, 28–29; 2012, 60–65; Marks/Fattovich 1989, 456; Sadr 1987, 272–276, fig. 5; 1990, 69–70, fig. 5, p–z; Shiner et al. 1971, 400–402, fig. 24, fig. 25a–b, 409–410. 34 Manzo 2012, 77–78; 2018; Manzo et al. 2011, 29–30; 2012, 64.

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Fig. 10: Jebel Mokram Group pottery from excavation unit K 1 VI at Mahal Teglinos (K 1): a) rim sherd of a vessel decorated with a band parallel to the rim consisting of crossing incisions; b) rim sherd of a vessel whose surface is covered by parallel grooves; c) rim sherd of a vessel with modeled lip and crossing incisions; d) rim sherd of a rim banded bowl (courtesy of the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” and ISMEO). Scale in centimeters.

these ceramic types may have survived in Eastern Sudan up to the late 2nd– early 1st millennium BC, as suggested by some fragments in presumably later Jebel Mokram Group assemblages reminiscent of the Ethiopian Pre-Aksumite ceramics (Manzo et al. 2012, 65; Manzo 2018). The Jebel Mokram Group, like the Gash Group, may not have been limited to the region between the Gash and the Atbara: Jebel Mokram Group materials were collected at Agordat, in the western Eritrean lowlands (Brandt et al. 2008, 44), and it has been suggested that materials from Erkowit in the Red Sea Hills may be related to the Jebel Mokram Group (Ghanim/Khabir 2003, 65). At site UA 53, Jebel Mokram Group assemblages yielded fragments of a C-Group II b vessel and of an Upper Egyptian Marl A4 vessel (Manzo et al. 2012, 64–65), and a still unpublished Egyptian sherd was also found in a Jebel Mokram Group assemblage at Mahal Teglinos. Interestingly, the shape of stone axes found in association with Jebel Mokram Group materials has been compared with the one of Kerma stone axes, and, in some specific cases more convincingly, to Egyptian early New Kingdom metal specimens (Manzo 2012, 78; 2018). All these finds not only seem to support the above proposed chronology, but also seem to suggest that, like the Gash Group, the Jebel Mokram Group continued to be somehow involved in a broad network of long-distance contacts (see also Sadr 1990, 79–80).

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Fig. 11: A Jebel Mokram Group hut or fence in the northern sector of site UA 53, excavation unit UA 53 IX (courtesy of the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” and ISMEO).

Some possible seals collected at Jebel Mokram Group sites may suggest that in this phase a kind of administration and control of commodities could have existed as well (Fattovich 1991c, 69). The Jebel Mokram Group lithics are characterized by opposite platform cores, flakes from single platform cores, notches and geometrics, with quartz being the preferred raw material (Usai 1997, 94). Excavations at UA 53 also gave interesting insights into the domestic architecture of the Jebel Mokram Group, considerably enriching what was known from previous investigations. Remains of a large circular hut or fence delimited by the holes where the posts were fixed, and of more elongated structures possibly with a rounded perimeter at the extremities, were discovered there (Manzo et al. 2012, 13–14, 21) (Fig. 11). No tombs of this culture were identified except perhaps for some badly eroded graves dated later than the Gash Group occupation at Mahal Teglinos, with bodies in contracted position and grave goods consisting only of personal ornaments, some of them in faïence imported from Egypt or Nubia (Manzo 2016, 193), and possibly for some heavily plundered tombs marked by tumuli in the north-eastern sector of UA 53 (Manzo et al. 2012, 9–12, 19–20). Turning to the economy of this culture, palaeobotanical collections suggest the exploitation of wild millet, Ziziphus spina-christi, cowpea, as well as wild and domesticated sorghum (Tab. 1).35 Freshwater fish from natural pools seasonally creat-

35 Alemseged Beldados 2015, 79–80, Tab. 8.2; Alemseged Beldados/Costantini 2011; Costantini et al. 1983, 18.

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Tab. 3: Frequency of livestock species in the phases going from the late 4th/early 3rd to the late 2nd/early 1st millennia BC (based on Gautier/Van Neer 2006).

ed by rains and streams continued to be exploited while, of course, herding continued to be crucial, as shown by remains of ovicaprines and especially of cattle (Gautier/Van Neer 2006, 229–230, Tab. 6) (Tab. 2). In terms of settlement pattern, the sites of this phase were scattered in the steppe between the Gash and the Atbara, mainly close to the streams crossing the Shurab el-Gash area, and in the Gash delta (Fig. 8b).36 Also in this case, as for the Gash Group – although less articulated than in the previous phase – the structured settlement pattern with different dimensional classes of settlements was regarded as evidence of social hierarchy (Sadr 1991, 67–68). It should be stressed that the larger sites of the Jebel Mokram Group were usually located alongside khors crossing the steppe and that the great dispersion of the minor sites in the steppe may suggest for this phase a greater emphasis on the pastoral economic component (Sadr 1991, 53, 61–63). This view is also supported by the zooarchaeological evidence, demonstrating that a constant increase of the frequency of cattle bones among the livestock had already begun in Gash Group times and continued in the Jebel Mokram Group (Tab. 3).

36 Fattovich 1989a, 495; 1990, 19; 1991a, 108–109; Manzo et al. 2012, 45; Marks/Fattovich 1989, 456; Marks/Sadr 1988, 79–80; Sadr 1988, 392, 395; 1991, 47.

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Final Remarks and Epilogue As evident from above, mobility related to seasonality may have characterized the region since its earliest times, as the distribution of resources differed seasonally throughout the territory and naturally led to these movements. It can be suggested that through those seasonal movements the inhabitants of Eastern Sudan not only interacted with the groups inhabiting the neighbouring regions in all phases of their history, but also established symbiotic relations with them. It is in the framework of these relations that domesticated species such as sheep, goat and cattle, which largely contributed to subsistence in later phases of the sequence, were introduced in Eastern Sudan from the Nile Valley at least in the 4th millennium BC. In the meantime, domestic barley and wheat imported into the region since the 4th millennium BC were cultivated in Eastern Sudan thanks to the wetter conditions prevailing there in those times, while the exploitation of local wild grasses, like sorghum, led to the emergence of its domesticated forms perhaps already in the 4th millennium BC. In the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC the domesticated species as well as the favourable ecological conditions of the region may have represented a base on which hierarchic societies could have developed in Eastern Sudan, and this represents a crucial aspect of the history of the region. The arising social hierarchy may possibly be traced to the Butana Group: it is supported in the Gash Group by the occurrence of administrative devices, by the funerary rituals, and perhaps even by a structured and articulated settlement pattern, and in the less investigated Jebel Mokram Group by some administrative devices and again by the settlement pattern. As mentioned above, the seasonal movements of human groups always characterized the region, and this pattern may also have continued after the adoption of an agropastoral economy, apparently increasingly relying on cattle breeding throughout the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC. In this network of seasonal movements, the long-distance trade in luxury commodities, largely occurring in Eastern Sudan and nearby regions and requested by the fledging states of the lower Nile Valley, started – as perhaps suggested by some finds in the Butana Group, and even more clearly shown for Gash Group and Jebel Mokram Group times. These interactions represent a further crucial aspect in the history of the region, very evident in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. The abundance of elements suggesting intense contacts with Nubia, the Eastern Desert, the Red Sea and especially Egypt led to the hypothesis that Eastern Sudan may have been a part of the land of Punt, a fabled region mentioned in the Egyptian texts since the 5th Dynasty, and whence the Egyptians were importing African raw materials such as aromatic resins, ebony, ivory, animal skins and precious metals.37 In turn, the Kerma elements from Eastern Sudan may suggest that since the end

37 Fattovich 1991d; 1996; see also Manzo 1999, 29, 55–61 and Espinel 2011, 175–177; Breyer 2016.

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of the 3rd millennium BC the inhabitants of the region could have entered into the extending network of economic and political relations of the Kingdom of Kush (Manzo 2014b, 1150). Interestingly, the same long-distance networks related to this kind of interactions and extending to the Red Sea may also explain the diffusion of African Sahelian crops and in particular of sorghum to Southern Arabia and up to India and, on the other hand, the discovery of Chinese Panicum miliaceum in a Kerma assemblage at Ukma (Fuller/Boivin 2009, 15–16; Alemseged Beldados et al. 2018). Of course, the many similarities between the Pan-Grave Culture of Lower Nubia and Upper Egypt and the Jebel Mokram Group of Eastern Sudan cannot be explained only by the continuation of the interactions already involving the Gash Group. If we assume, as some admittedly patchy evidence seems to suggest, that a Pan-Grave presence characterized part of the Eastern Desert (Manzo 2012, 80–81), the Jebel Mokram Group of Eastern Sudan may have resulted from a period of intense interaction with that region, starting, according to the above proposed new chronology, around c. 1800 BC. Interestingly, the new chronology not only makes the earliest phase of the Jebel Mokram Group roughly contemporaneous with the Pan-Grave sites in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia (see Bietak 1968, 150–157), but also with some Pan-Grave occurrences in the Kerma classique assemblages in the Fourth Cataract area (see Emberling/Williams 2010, 33–35, fig. 31–32; Paner 2014, 74, pl. 32). Thus, the widespread Pan-Grave traits in the Jebel Mokram Group may represent only part of a more complex process, perhaps originating in the Eastern Desert. This may have been related to a migration or to a change in the pattern of seasonal movements of the inhabitants of the Eastern Desert who were then interacting more regularly with some sectors of the Nile Valley, and with Eastern Sudan. The reason for this change may be explained by environmental deterioration, as suggested e.g. by the mention in the Semna Dispatches, dating to the end of the 12th Dynasty, of droughts and famines in the Eastern Desert (Smither 1945, 9, dispatch 5). Nevertheless, this may also be explained by a more active involvement of the inhabitants of the Eastern Desert in mutual economic relations with the surrounding regions, however, at present this remains just a guess. In Upper Egypt, Lower Nubia and in the Fourth Cataract area this phase of more intense contacts with the Eastern Desert, perhaps archaeologically represented by the occurrence of Pan-Grave elements in those regions, ended around 1500 BC (see Bietak 1968, 117, 155–157; Emberling/Williams 2010, 38), maybe as a consequence of the changed situation determined by the beginning of the New Kingdom. PanGrave traits apparently lasted longer in Eastern Sudan, which remained unaffected by the strengthening of the Egyptian state and its expansion. In this perspective, the aforementioned unexplained shift of the agropastoral economic system to a more and more mobile pastoral model in Eastern Sudan, already evident in the Jebel Mokram Group – and that cannot be explained on purely environmental bases – may indeed be connected to a specialized function played by the inhabitants of

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Eastern Sudan and perhaps also of the Eastern Desert in their interaction with the Nile Valley in the new situation determined by the Egyptian occupation of Upper Nubia and by the changes in trade patterns related to it. Although the recently collected evidence of continuity in the involvement of Eastern Sudan in long-distance exchange networks after the end of the Gash Group may somehow support this interpretative model, further investigations are required to understand fully the process. In Eastern Sudan, a true discontinuity may have been determined by the disappearance of the Pan-Grave and Nubian elements characterizing the Jebel Mokram Group at the end of the 2nd/early 1st millennium BC,38 and by an even bigger emphasis on the pastoral economic component; this has led to overlooking the most fertile parts of the region – with the only possible notable exception of the Gash delta – and to locate the settlements, apparently just seasonal camps, in the steppe, which suggested the adoption of a nomadic style of life.39 This conversion from an agropastoral system into an almost fully pastoral and nomadic one, based on cattle and later on camel breeding, largely remains unexplained (Sadr 1991, 71, 127–130). The above mentioned progressive increase in the frequency of cattle in the livestock through the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC may certainly suggest that this was only the end of a long established progressive process starting well before the 1st millennium BC. On the other hand, all this may also be related to the collapse of a system of relations with the northern regions determined by the end of the Egyptian occupation of Nubia, as well as to the rise of new states in the Middle Nile Valley and in the Ethiopian-Eritrean highlands (Sadr 1991, 109– 119). This was the completely different macro-regional setting that the pastoral and nomadic inhabitants of Eastern Sudan, archaeologically labelled Hagiz Group, had to face in the 1st millennium BC–1st millennium AD.

Bibliography Alemseged, Beldados Aleho (2015): Palaeoethnobotanical Study of Ancient Food Crops and the Environmental Context in North-East Africa, 6000 BC–AD 200/300. Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 88. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2706. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Alemseged, Beldados Aleho / Costantini, Lorenzo (2011): Sorghum Exploitation at Kassala and its Environs. North Eastern Sudan in the Second and First Millennia BC. In: Nyame Akuma. Newsletter on African Archaeology 75, p. 33–39. Alemseged, Beldados Aleho / Manzo, Andrea / Murphy, Charlene / Stevens, Chris J. / Fuller, Dorian Q. (2018): Evidence of Sorghum Cultivation and introduced West Africa Crops in the Second Millennium BCE at Kassala, Eastern Sudan. In: Mercuri, Anna Maria / D’Andrea, A.

38 Fattovich 1990, 22; Manzo et al. 2012, 65–66; Sadr 1991, 48. 39 Fattovich 1990, 21–22; Manzo et al. 2012, 65, 101, 105; Sadr 1991, 45–50.

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Christian Knoblauch

Middle Kingdom Fortresses Introduction During the Middle Kingdom, the pharaohs of the 12th Dynasty abandoned the Late Old Kingdom approach of pursuing their interests in Lower Nubia through intermediaries and expeditions of a limited duration,1 preferring instead occupation and direct control. Starting with the military campaigns that secured the Nubian territory lying between the First and Second Cataracts by early in the reign of Senusret I,2 Egyptians were ultimately to reach the Semna Cataract by the end of the first decade of the reign of Senusret III.3 This would initiate an unbroken colonial encounter which was to continue for the next 600 years under various political guises and which would significantly influence the long-term trajectory of both this region and Egypt itself. This annexation effectively added an area roughly half the size of the Egyptian Nile Valley (at that time) to its zone of direct influence, brought tens of thousands of Nubians within the borders of the Middle Kingdom state and conversely led to the permanent migration of Egyptians into Nubian lands. Importantly, the episode opened up a new southern frontier to Upper Nubia, resulting in a direct and long-term engagement between the Mediterranean World and the populations of the Middle Nile. The motivations for this expansion are debated, but it seems reasonable to propose that they were various and changed over time.4 Among the most important were an aggressive royal ideology, resource extraction, the need to establish formal routes by which resources and traded items from Upper Nubia could reach Egypt, and concerns about the threat posed by different Nubian groups (see below). From an Egyptological perspective, the most important evidence that attests to why and how this new approach towards Nubia was initially conceived, and subsequently functioned, are the archaeological remains of 13 permanent settlements of a clearly military character (mnnw/fortress) that have been excavated in

1 Old Kingdom expeditions to Nubia are discussed in Smith/Giddy 1985. The Old Kingdom settlement at Buhen was occupied in the 4th and 5th Dynasties (O’Connor 2014). 2 Buhen was reached by Year 5 of Senusret I, see Philadelphia E10995 and Buhen Stela 882 (Smith 1976, 13–14, pl. IV, 58–59, pl. LXXII,13). For the chronology of military activity in Nubia during the reigns of Amenemhat I/Senusret, I, see Wegner 1995. For activity of the late 11th Dynasty, see the discussion of the inscription of Tjehemau from Abisko, Darnell 2004. 3 This date is established through the erection of a stele (Berlin 14753, Meurer 1996), dated to year 8 of this king, found at Semna marking the establishment of the border. 4 Motivations are discussed in Adams 1984; Kemp et al. 1997; Flammini 2008; Smith 1991; 1995; Trigger 1982; Zibelius-Chen 1988; Williams 1999. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-016

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Lower Nubia and the Batn el-Hagar (Fig. 1).5 According to the archaeological record of these sites and associated inscriptional data, these 12th Dynasty settlements were newly founded military colonies bound in an overarching imperial structure6 characterised by shared military and administrative strategies. From this perspective it makes sense to study the fortresses as a group. Nonetheless, the varying geographic and environmental contexts of the fortresses, their different functions, and their undoubtedly highly heterogeneous relationships with local Nubian populations (see below) serve as a reminder of the potential pitfalls of considering these settlements only as a group rather than as individual sites with their own histories. Given the importance of the fortresses for our understanding of both Middle Kingdom Nubia as well as the long-term history of Nubia, it is a blow to science that most of these settlements, with the exception of those at Uronarti, Shalfak and small parts of the settlement of Semna-West, now lie permanently beneath Lake Nasser (Welsby 2004; Knoblauch/Bestock 2013). While nearly all were investigated, this occurred either early in the history of archaeology in Nubia during the first quarter of the 20th century or during rescue-excavations in the early 1960s before the completion of the dam at Aswan. As already pointed out by Vercoutter (1998), these excavations were deficient (from a modern perspective) and constrain our knowledge of the settlements considerably. Among other hindrances is our inability to reconstruct the archaeological sequence of a single fortress satisfactorily (discussion in Smith 1995; Knoblauch 2007), sampling strategies that favoured Egyptian over Nubian objects leading to a severe underrepresentation of the latter material in publications7 and a focus on the intra-mural components of the settlements. This means that our perception of the Egyptian presence is based almost solely on these

5 The primary literature is considerable from the North to the South (main publications only): Ikkur: Firth 1912a; 1912b. Kuban: Emery/Kirwan 1935, 26 ff. Aniba: Steindorff 1935. Faras: Griffith 1921, 81–83. Serra East: Knudstad 1966; Williams 1999. Buhen: Emery et al. 1979. Mirgissa: Vercoutter 1970; 1975b; Dunham 1967. Askut: Smith 1995. Shalfak: Dunham 1967. Uronarti: Dunham 1967. Semna-West and Kumma: Dunham/Janssen 1960. Semna-South: Žabkar/Žabkar 1982. According to inscriptional evidence, at least 13 such mnnw were ultimately built in Nubia during the Middle Kingdom, Pap. Berlin 10495, see Gardiner 1916, 185–186. The fortress of Ikkur is not on the list and it is has been suggested that this was because it was administered together with the fortress at Kuban, which was on the opposite bank of the Nile. In addition to the fortresses there is a fortified town at Kor, which for reasons of space will not be discussed here (Vercoutter 1955; Smith 1966), as well as a small settlement at Areika (Wegner 1995). 6 Empires exist where there is ‘some overarching political control over subject colonies’ (Gosden 2004, 5). Inscriptional evidence in the form of sealings and administrative papyri indicate that the fortresses communicated extensively with each other and were collectively administered by the vizierate in Thebes, i.e. Vogel 2004, 90–91; Kraemer/Liszka 2016, suggesting some level of oversight and control. 7 This seems particularly to have been the case with the excavations conducted by Noel F. Wheeler for the BMFA. Ongoing work at Uronarti has found plentiful Nubian pottery (about 1 %) in the BMFA excavation dumps, but only two Nubian sherds were recorded in the finds register for the older excavation (Bestock/Knoblauch 2014).

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Fig. 1: Sketch Plan of Nubia in the Reign of Senusret III.

homogeneous and tightly controlled spaces (see below; preliminary discussion in Bestock/Knoblauch 2015). The secondary scholarship on the fortresses is extensive and deals almost exclusively with colonisation, a term used here to describe the ‘processes of establishing and maintaining settlements in foreign territory’ (i.e. Lyons/Papadopoulos 2002, 11) as along with the motivations for doing so.8 Colonisation, however, is not always a good predictor of how things actually turned out, and new studies on Middle Kingdom Nubia focus on localised and comparative studies of fortress communities, their daily lives, and how the nature of communities and settlements changed through time.9 Studies that treat Egyptian and Nubian evidence equally are rare,10 and Middle Kingdom Nubia tends to be studied from either a Nubian or an Egyptian perspective, unintentionally reifying the typical colonialist perception of colonial situations as consisting of opposing groups of colonisers and colonised.

8 A comparable predicament for the study of Greek colonies in the Mediterranean has been commented upon in Van Dommelen 2012, 399–400. 9 I.e. Smith 2003. See now Näser 2013; Knoblauch 2017. 10 The most convincing account is that of Säve-Söderbergh 1941 which requires updating.

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The Founding of the Fortresses As may be gleaned from the spatial distribution of the fortresses (Fig. 1), they can be divided into three groups, which coincide with the natural landscapes of Lower Nubia. In the far north in the vicinity of Shellal there was the fortress of Sn mwt (unexcavated) that guarded the southern end of the First Cataract and the road along the eastern bank to Aswan (Vogel 2004, 62, table 62).11 Upstream of the First Cataract where the Nile river is broad and flood plains on the eastern and western banks were capable of supporting a subsistence economy, fortresses were in places of high indigenous C-Group population such as the Dakka plain/Ikkur (Firth 1910, 9; Bietak 1968, 57–60), Aniba,12 Serra and Faras (Nordström 1962; Griffith 1921), as well as close to routes that led to important natural resources in the Eastern and Western Deserts, for example Buhen (Allaqi/Gabgaba?),13 Aniba (Gebel el-Asr)14 and Kuban (Wadi Allaqi/Gabgaba/Abu Sayal).15 A further six fortresses are clustered along a barren 35 km stretch of the valley directly above the Second Nile Cataract where the exposed granite basal complex of the Batn el Hagar forces the river into a shallow and narrow course broken repeatedly by rapids. Although not devoid of local populations, indigenous communities in this region at the time of Egyptian colonisation were small and restricted to relatively isolated fertile pockets, such as the Saras plain (see the preliminary comments in Mills 1967–68, 202–204). The Egyptian fortresses here are located on the spines of islands or on high promontories on the western bank overlooking the river. They were well-placed to assist the transport routes, which skirted the river on the western bank, and to assist with shipping through the cataract region, which was probably only possible for a few months a year during the inundation (Vercoutter 1966, 154).16 The location of some fortresses in this region might have also been influenced by the location of natural resources, for example Askut, which was near gold-workings at Saras (Smith 1991; Mills 1967–68, 204–207), and perhaps Kumma (Semna-East), which was to the north of the ancient gold mines at Duweishat (see now Edwards/Mills

11 A fortification wall that ran between Aswan and Shellal has been investigated (von Pilgrim et al. 2011, 135–137 with literature). 12 Steindorff 1935; Langsdorff 1932; Abu Bakr 1963; Bietak 1968, 23–37. 13 To the west was a road that led into the desert (i.e. Emery 1971, 96). To the east was the road to the Wadi Gabgaba and the gold mines at Umm Nabari (i.e. Castiglioni et al. 1999; Davies 2014). It is unknown whether these sources were already being exploited in the Middle Kingdom by Egyptian expeditions. It is conceivable that locally mined gold was also being processed here. 14 Engelbach 1938; Simpson 1963, 53; Shaw/Bloxam 1999, 16; Shaw 2000. 15 Emery/Kirwan 1935, 26; Vercoutter 1959, map 2. The question of gold mining in the Wadi Allaqi during the Middle Kingdom still needs to be resolved, see Klemm/Klemm 1994, 202. For Abu Sayal, see Blanckenhorn 1921, 199; Lucas 1962, 206; El-Gayar/Jones 1989, 38. Copper was certainly being smelted at Kuban (during the Middle Kingdom?), see Lucas 1962, 208. 16 A vivid account of the difficulties of shipping through this region in the late 19th century is recounted in Royle 1900, 321–323.

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2013, 10) and the copper mines at Umm Fahm, should these have been in use during the Middle Kingdom (Klemm/Klemm 2013, 557–564; Edwards/Mills 2013, 9–10). The most southerly of the fortresses – Semna-South, Semna-West, Kumma and Uronarti – constituted an extensive fortified complex around the Semna gorge, which marked the southern boundary of the Egyptian colonial empire. They were joined on the western bank by a fortification wall that ran 4.5 km from Semna-South to Uronarti.17 South of here, the Batn el-Hagar might have been controlled by Nubians directly or indirectly under the influence of Kush – a toponym usually identified with the expansive urban site of Kerma above the Third Cataract (discussion in Adams 1977, 183).18 Kush was simultaneously a potentially dangerous enemy – it is named as a main enemy of Egypt for the first time in the reign of Senusret I on a stela set up at Buhen,19 and it also occurs in the Middle Kingdom execration texts (Posener 1958, 39, 50–55)20 – and an important source of luxury goods for the Egyptian elite (Bourriau 2004; Gratien 2004 for evidence of trade). The fortresses around Semna reflected this complicated relationship, and were clearly intended to set the terms of engagement, whether diplomatic, economic or military (see Meurer 1996 and now Kraemer/Liszka 2016).21 No boats coming from the south could pass the Semna Cataract unnoticed, and all were probably forced to land at the small harbour at Semna-South. For Nubians arriving from the south for trade or diplomacy, it was necessary to disembark here22 and to follow one of the land routes to the north, which ran close to the river from Semna-West to either Uronarti or Shalfak, or take the overland route directly through the desert to Mirgissa (Smith 1991),23 which appears to have been a designated point of engagement for Nubians and Egyptians. These roads were presumably the continuation of routes that connected the region of Semna with the southern Batn el-Hagar and Upper Nubia (Borchardt 1923, 22, 25). Although a combination of archaeological evidence and inscriptional evidence can rarely be drawn upon to date the foundation of any fortress to a specific reign,24

17 For the correct plotting of this wall, see Edwards/Mills 2013. Parts of this wall still survive today, see Knoblauch/Bestock 2013, 138–139. 18 Ukma and Akasha were the first major Nubian sites south of Semna, see Vila 1987; Maystre 1980. A larger site was further south at Sai, see Gratien 1986b. 19 Florence Stele 2540, see Smith 1976, pl. LXIX,1. 20 The inscriptional evidence for hostile relations with Kush is given in Zibelius-Chen 1988, 186–187. 21 As pointed out by Trigger 1982, 4 the fortresses may also have had the mission of eliminating potential disruptions to trade and transport through the cataract region by ‘tribal groups’ living in the vicinity of the Batn el-Hagar. 22 This assumes that the Heh mentioned in Berlin Stela 14743 as the most northern point that Nubian boats could reach was at Semna. 23 The land routes are discussed in Borchardt 1923, 23–25. 24 The only real exception is the fortress on the Island of Askut, which can convincingly be assigned to the reign of Senusret III (Smith 1991). The evidence for the founding of some fortresses is so ambiguous that the Old Kingdom was long considered possible for both Aniba, see Steindorff

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the spatial distribution of the fortresses just observed appears to have had clear chronological dimensions. At least six of the fortresses closest to Egypt were probably all founded in the early Middle Kingdom during the reigns of Amenemhat I/ Senusret I or Senusret II/Amenemhat II.25 Some of these areas, therefore, had already been settled by Egyptians for half a century (or more) and colonial encounters with local populations were well established by the time the southernmost fortresses were constructed in the Batn el-Hagar. These latter fortresses were probably all constructed – or at least completed – during the reign of Senusret III in the first two decades of his reign when he himself appears to have campaigned in Upper Nubia against Kush on at least three occasions passing the Dal Cataract in Years 10 and 19.26 That the southern fortresses were constructed in a period when there was frequent engagement with Kush is probably imperative for understanding the extent of building in this region at that time.27

Walls The differences in the topography just noted also help explain major differences in the architectural layout of the fortresses. In the north, where the landscape offered relatively flat and adequate building space, architects could follow their preference for rectangular-shaped complexes (Fig. 2). In the Batn el-Hagar, where the landscape is extremely uneven, the architects adapted their plans to fit the natural topography resulting in triangular or slightly trapezoidal-shaped structures (Figs. 3, 4).28 One of the most striking aspects of the design of these settlements are the imposing perimeter walls made of sun-dried mud-brick reinforced with timbers. The most intricate of these walls from Buhen (Fig. 2 and 5) consisted of a combination of carefully coordinated defensive elements. The inner fort had a heavy inner wall over 5 m in thickness and 11 m in height topped by parapets (Fig. 5). These inner

1937, 2 and Ikkur, see Firth 1912a, 22–25. This dating is now generally rejected, see Säve-Söderbergh 1941, 32 f.; Vogel 2004, 35–39. 25 Serra East was probably built in the reign of Senusret III (Williams 1999, 447). 26 The evidence is collated in Delia 1980, 24–107. For the Dal Cataract inscription, see now Edwards/Mills 2013, 15. 27 The chronology of activity in the Batn el-Hagar is as follows: Year 8: Campaigns of Senusret III against Kush (Sehel: Gasse/Rondot 2007, 79–80, 456–457), establishment of Southern Border (Semna: Meurer 1996); Year 10: Campaign against Kush passing Dal Cataract (Dal: Edwards/Mills 2013, 15; Aswan: Delia 1980, 40); Year 16: Erection of Boundary Stele at Semna and Uronarti (completion of fortresses?; Seidlmayer 1999; 2000); Year 19: Campaign against Kush passing Dal Cataract (Uronarti: Wheeler 1931, 66 f.; Abydos, Geneva Stela D50: Simpson 1974, pl. 4; discussion of both Vogel 1998). 28 The classic treatment of the architecture of the fortresses is Kemp 1989. Other recent discussions include Vogel 2004.

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Fig. 2: Buhen Fortress (after Emery/Smith/Millard 1979, pl. 3).

walls were then fronted by lower ramparts with triple loop holes that overlooked a deep fortification ditch. The inner fort, in turn, was enclosed by a massive outer enclosure wall that was over 5 m thick and 700 m in length (Fig. 2). This wall was also heavily defended with towers at intervals, as well as a lower rampart, ditch and glacis. Entrance to the whole enclosure was via a huge tower gateway 47 m long and 30 m wide.29 In the Batn el-Hagar, the fortresses were deliberately placed in highly defendable positions in the landscape to take advantage of uneven ground and bodies of water that made approaching the walls challenging (Fig. 4). High terrain adjacent to the fortresses was fortified with ‘spur walls’ to deny the enemy access to these strategically important positions (Fig. 3; Dunham 1967, plan III, X; Smith 1991, 118), and staircases leading to the river, some of which were buried, had the purpose of allowing the inhabitants to draw water from the river should they be besieged (Dunham/Janssen 1960, map IV, map XVI; Dunham 1967, 21, 120, map IV, V, X, XII). It is clear that the walls of the Middle Kingdom fortresses were designed to withstand a concerted and sustained attack and are indicative of the danger posed by Nubians to Egyptian interests. That fortified architecture has a practical function, however, does not preclude that it also had symbolic value (Adams 1977, 187–188 (symbolic); Trigger 1982, 2 (pragmatic)). In this vein it is possible to read the fortress walls as symbols of the uneven power-relations between Egyptians and Nubians foreseen in the aggressive, militaristic royal ideology that underpinned the

29 The literature regarding defensive capabilities is considerable. See Clarke 1916; Badawy 1966; 1977; Vogel 2004; 2010b; 2013.

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Fig. 3: Uronarti Fortress (AEGARON with additions by Author).

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Fig. 4: Uronarti Fortress from the South, looking across the “Outer Fort” to the Southern Gate (Photo: Laurel Bestock, Courtesy of Uronarti Regional Archaeological Project).

Egyptian Nubian empire as expressed in the boundary stelae of Senusret III erected at the Semna Cataract: A coward is he who is driven from his border. Since the Nubian listens to the word of mouth, To answer him is to make him retreat. Attack him, he will turn his back, Retreat, he will start attacking. They are not people one respects, They are wretches, craven-hearted – My majesty has seen it, it is not an untruth.30

The same ideology is tangible in the names given to the fortresses built during the reign of Senusret III, for example the fortress of Uronarti ‘Repelling the Iunu’ or Semna-West ‘Khakaura (Senusret III), justified, is powerful’ (Gardiner 1916, 186). This last example raises the possibility that fortresses were not only military monuments but physical manifestations of royal power – and thus, in a sense royal, monuments. This is also suggested by the presence of chapels in the exterior walls of Uronarti and Semna forts where the cult for the royal ka of Senusret III could be celebrated (Van Siclen 1982; Seidlmayer 2000). New research tries to understand

30 For Semna, see the Boundary Stela (Berlin 1157). An accessible translation is to be found in Lichtheim 1973, 118–120. See also Seidlmayer 1999. A companion piece was set up at Uronarti.

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Fig. 5: Reconstruction of the West Gate of Buhen by Walter Bryan Emery (Emery/Smith/Millard 1979, pl. 11).

how this ‘ideology of walls’ played out in daily practice in the colonies, and especially how it structured relations between Egyptians and Nubians (Bestock/ Knoblauch 2014).

Fortress Interiors The original layout of the interior of the fortresses – as far as this can be determined 31 – consisted of buildings and streets laid out on an orthogonal grid system common to all state-planned and built Middle Kingdom Egyptian settlements (Kemp 1989, 137–180). This, together with a recurring combination of building types and architectural features, hint at the meticulous, centralised planning that went into their conception and building. Although it is not always possible to determine the function of individual structures with certitude, some building types can be tentatively identified. These include administrative/residential buildings that may have been the headquarters of the military officials in charge of the fortresses (Fig. 3 Block II), as well as a much larger number of smaller more or less identical domi-

31 There is no detailed information for the fortresses at Ikkur, Kuban, Aniba, Faras, or SemnaSouth.

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ciles consisting of a transverse entrance room and two parallel chambers at the rear (Fig. 3 Block I). Such structures are usually thought to have been barracks for regular soldiers or lower rung officials (Vogel 2010a). A particularly recognisable feature that occurs in some of the southern fortresses are large granaries consisting of linked rectangular-trapezoidal silos (Fig. 3 Block VI), pointing to the intended central role of the Middle Kingdom state in providing daily staples to those employed in royal projects (Kemp 1986). These granaries were designed to hold significant quantities of grain. An estimate of the volume of the granaries in the region of the Second Cataract, for example, demonstrates that they had the capacity to feed approximately 11,700–20,000 people for an entire year (Kemp 1989, 177, pl. 172). Estimates of the fortress populations, however, are much lower and suggest that the size of the granaries reflected the idea of maintaining large surpluses for trading purposes, and of supplying expeditions from Egypt, which did not carry their own supplies. The granaries were often architecturally incorporated into a complex that also included a ‘treasury’ (Fig. 3 Block IV). Mud sealings found in such structures point to a system of oversight and an accountability in the fortresses identical to that used in institutions in the Egyptian Nile Valley.32 Despite these similarities, differences in the layout and combination of buildings at different sites indicate that some fortresses were much more important settlements than others. Buhen had building types on a scale that are not attested in any of the other fortresses, for example, a large building with axial entrance and tripartite sanctuary that has been tentatively identified as the Middle Kingdom temple of the local god Horus of Buhen (Fig. 2 Temple; Emery et al. 1979, 84–86, pl. XXXIV) and an elaborately built and decorated complex in the north-western corner with an area of 1092 m2 (Fig. 2 Commander’s Residence). It had a painted hypostyle hall with painted wooden columns resting on stone column bases and a water basin set in the centre (Emery et al. 1979, 8–9, 47–48, pl. XVI). South of this was a type of large room with four columns that also occurs in the apartments of elite households in state-planned settlements throughout Egypt (see especially Wegner 1998, 23–34). At Buhen, it would appear to be the domestic and working quarters of a high official, undoubtedly the fortress commander.33 The size of this house, along with Buhen’s placement at the northern end of the Second Cataract, suggest Buhen may have been considered the headquarters of the southern system. Other fortresses, for example Shalfak and Askut, were much smaller and less elaborate and were clearly subordinate to the other larger fortresses in the vicinity, for example Uronarti and Mirgissa.

32 See Foster 2001; Gratien 1986a; 1995; 1998; 2001; Reisner 1955; Smith 1990; 1998; 2004. 33 This is also suggested by the remains of mud papyrus sealings and actual papyrus fragments that were found here, see Emery et al. 1979, 9, 47.

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Outer Forts The fortress interiors were clearly insufficient for accommodating all the facilities that were required by the fortress communities and it seems likely that most, if not all, had buildings or activity areas in defended or defensible positions outside the fortress proper (Figs. 3, 4).34 It is particularly unfortunate that these areas are poorly documented in the archaeological record, as it might be expected that these retained traces of the activities of the fortress communities not reflected in the standardised, planned interiors. At Kuban, for example, large heaps of copper slag point unambiguously to its role in the smelting of copper ores presumably mined in the Eastern Desert,35 while at Askut there were ‘settling basins’, perhaps related to the washing of gold ores from the Saras plain (Smith 1991, 114). At Uronarti there was a large magazine (Fig. 3 South Wing Inner Enclosure), workshops and facilities for pottery manufacture. Further afield there was a small settlement consisting of roughly circular structures constructed of dry-stone architecture (Bestock/ Knoblauch 2013, 119–128; 2015). The great fortified enclosure at Mirgissa (over 80,000 m2), on the other hand, appears to have been densely packed with freestanding houses and buildings of different sizes, types and materials, as well as gardens and open spaces in which pottery was produced.36 This part of the settlement was four times the size of the actual fortress and raises serious questions about the size and character of the Egyptian presence at this site and, by extension, other sites,37 where no or minimal exploration of extra-mural portions of these sites took place. As suggested by Smith, it is possible that some of the outer forts originally housed military barracks for troops that, for reasons of space, do not appear to have been present in the fortress proper (Emery et al. 1979, 102), but it is difficult to test this hypothesis with the available data.

Population It is generally believed that during the 12th Dynasty, the fortresses were manned by a corps of soldiers, officers (e.g. shemsu, ahatyw) and officials from the Egyptian Nile Valley sent to Egypt on tours of a limited duration (Emery et al. 1979, 98; Smith 1976, 66–69). There is no direct evidence for the size of these garrisons, and estimates therefore rely on the size of caches of weaponry (Vila 1970), estimates of the manpower required to successfully man the walls (plus officers and support

34 35 36 37

For example Uronarti, Askut, Buhen, Aniba, Serra East. Firth 1912b, 24; Lucas 1962, 206; El-Gayar/Jones 1989, 38. See Vercoutter 1965a, 67; 1967–68, 278; Geus 2004, 17–18. For example at Buhen, see Emery et al. 1979, 102.

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troops) (Emery et al. 1979, 41–42), rough calculations based on how many men could sleep in the extant domiciles (Dunham 1967, 188) or by counting the number of rations stored in granaries (Kemp 1989, 177, table 172). The question of civil/nonmilitary populations is difficult to determine given the lack of excavation in the outer forts. As there was no standing army in the Middle Kingdom, it is argued that the great mass of men in the fortresses consisted of recruits raised in the Egyptian nomes who served in nome-based units (Wegner 1995, 147; Stefanović 2007, 123– 125). Another possibility, and one that perhaps should not be dismissed out of hand, is that many of the common soldiers manning the fortresses were Nubians (in this direction, Berlev 1987, 157). Nubians were regularly employed as soldiers by Egyptians during the Old – Middle Kingdoms38 and given the logistical and financial advantages of employing Nubians in Nubia, it would be strange if Nubians had not been employed as soldiers in the fortresses. In fact, the only text that comes close to describing a military unit in Nubia is Semna Despatch Number 3 from early in the reign of Amenemhat III where the composition of a patrol of 72 men is described as consisting of 70 Nubians (Medjayw) and two Guardsmen (Smither 1945, 7).39 Whether this reliance of Nubians was standard practice at all forts and at all times during the Middle Kingdom, however, is unknown. It has been argued by Berlev that Nubians also figured prominently in the large work forces required for mining in the Eastern and Western Deserts that, in part, were run through the fortresses (Berlev 1979, 148–149). The demand for manpower that these large-scale enterprises would have generated might in fact have influenced the decision to place Egyptian fortresses next to pre-existing Nubian settlements (see above) in the first place. Opportunities for employment may have made the Egyptian fortresses (relatively) attractive places to remain settled. The close interaction between Egyptians and Nubians as discussed above is, however, traditionally rejected in scholarship. Yet the evidence for interaction still needs to be reassessed,40 especially given the recent re-dating of critical phases of the Nubian C-Group,41 the now antiquated state of publication of all important Nubian sites from the original Archaeological Survey of Nubia42 and the (probable) artificial underrepresentation of Nubian pottery in Egyptian cultural contexts (see above).

38 Seidlmayer 2001, 96–103; Faulkner 1953, 32–35; Fischer 1961; Bietak 1985. 39 A new discussion of this papyrus is given in Kraemer/Liszka 2016. 40 This old interpretation is not borne out by a new analysis of the data, as demonstrated in HafsaasTsakos 2010, 391–392. 41 Bader 2006, 101; Glück 1999; Raue 2012, fig. 10; 2018; Rzeuska 2010, 397, note 391; 2011, 492– 501; Williams 1983, 51–54. 42 I.e. Reisner 1910; Firth 1912a; 1912b; 1927.

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Diet and Daily Life Evidence for the daily life and diet of the garrisons that can be dated to the period of colonisation in the 12th Dynasty is regrettably sparse. The dietary basis for Egyptians was bread and beer made from barley and emmer wheat, and this seems to have been the case in Nubia too.43 It is justifiably assumed that the large quantities of grain required to feed the garrisons were imported from Egypt where the creation of surpluses was normal, although there is little direct evidence for this. Certainly large storage/transport jars originating in both Lower Egypt 44 and Upper Egypt (Smith 2012, 390, fig. 10: i, j, k)45 found at some of the forts and their vicinities bear witness to the long-distance networks that kept the forts supplied, probably, with all manner of commodities and foodstuffs. Fresh vegetables and fruits, on the other hand, were grown in the vicinity of at least one fortress,46 and probably others. Nevertheless, exchange with local Nubian populations might have been routine (see above), especially in areas of higher population density. Meat and milk could also have been acquired from local Nubians practising pastoralist based subsistence economy (Hafsaas-Tsakos 2010, 389–390), or through trade with Nubians from south of Semna.47 Fish presumably played an important dietary role as well (Emery et al. 1979, 97). The material culture in this early phase of colonisation is overwhelmingly Egyptian, whereby at least some ‘local’ developments at individual sites are discernible (Knoblauch 2011). Studies of the use of material culture in the forts – which might answer for us whether this corresponds to practice in the Egyptian Nile Valley – are so far lacking, but are an obvious subject for future research.

After Colonisation How long the conditions of colonisation persisted is unclear. At the fortress of Askut in the Batn el-Hagar, alterations to architecture, patterns of occupation and changes in assemblages of material culture suggest that there were significant shifts in the way space was defined and deployed at the end of the 12th and beginning of the

43 For a brewery/bakery at Mirgissa, see Geus 2004, 18 and also the comments in Emery et al. 1979, 97. Bread moulds and ‘beer jars’ are very common at all the fortresses for which there is detailed ceramic analysis. Members of the garrison at Uronarti were issued with ‘ration tokens’ for bread, see Dunham 1967, pl. XXVII–XXVIII. 44 Shaw/Bloxam 1999, fig. 3; Smith 2012, 390–392; Knoblauch/Bestock 2013, 118–119, 126–128. 45 These vessel necks belong to Rzeuska’s Family II Type 1 Marl A3 Transport-Storage Jars, see Rzeuska 2011, 519, fig. 12. 46 Geus 2004, 18; Vercoutter 1965b, 12–13, fig. 13; 1967–68, 275–276, pl. LIVB. 47 As implied on Berlin Stela 14743 from Semna, see Meurer 1996.

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13th Dynasties (Smith 1995, 64–66), roughly two to three generations after the founding of the fortress. S. T. Smith interprets these changes as evidence for private ownership and family-based household groups, and thus a shift away from a garrison-based community profile towards that of permanent colonists and their families (Smith 1995, 64–66). This corroborates earlier work at Buhen where it was argued that there was increased evidence for ‘women and children’ (Emery et al. 1979, 98)48 as well as private mortuary stelae during the 13th Dynasty, implying permanent colonists roughly 150–200 years after the colony’s original foundation (Smith 1976, 68–69). Rebuilding of ‘barracks’ in the fortress of Uronarti has also now been documented in 13th Dynasty contexts.49 Whether such changes occurred at the same time in the fortresses closer to Egypt, however, is unknown. The change from rotating garrisons to permanent communities that might be reflected in these changes has been understood as the result of a deliberate policy to ‘cut costs by making the imperial superstructure more self-sufficient, in effect creating a system of local staple finance to help underwrite the costs of wealth extraction’ (Smith 1995, 80). Evidence for this monolithic model of the transition from non-permanent to permanent migration and its justification, however, is still rather thin on the ground. New analyses of Egyptian cemeteries in the vicinity of the fortresses suggest that communities consisted of different types of migrants from the Nile Valley (i.e. permanent migrants, return migrants and short-term migrants) at any one time.50 Moreover, the process of permanent colonisation was gradual and the development of communities at different sites followed local trajectories (Knoblauch 2017). Where the migrants originally came from and whether they also included Nubians is unclear, although some may have had cultural roots in Upper Egypt (according to Vercoutter 1957). The change in the nature of populations noted above occurred against the backdrop of the slow decline of the Middle Kingdom State in Nubia and the system of administration and support that it embodied during the course of the 13th Dynasty.51 In older studies (and some newer ones)52 it is imagined that the decline of state

48 The dating of the contexts in question and the identification of women and children in the archaeological record at Buhen require reevaluation. 49 In the 2015/2016 season, pers. obs. 50 Knoblauch 2008; meanwhile Knoblauch 2017; 2018. See also Säve-Söderbergh 1941; Smith 1995; Williams 1975; Bourriau 2001; Rigault-Déon 2012. 51 The date for this decline is based largely on the ‘last’ sealings in the Uronarti granary/treasury complex. The seals are those of the 13th Dynasty Kings Khabau, Djedkheperu and the 14th/15th Dynasty King Sheshi (praenomen), see Dunham 1967, 64: 63a, 64a, 77: 378. Whether the kings reigned in the period of the early or late 13th Dynasty is debated, i.e. Ben-Tor et al. 1999 (late); Ryholt 2010 (early). The last king to be represented in sealings at Mirgissa was either Djedkheperu or Neferhotep I, (Dunham 1967, 160, 163, 172), depending on where one places each of them within the 13th Dynasty. The final Nile records to be made in Nubia appear to be of the early 13th Dynasty, see Ryholt 1997, 320–321 and Vercoutter 1975a. 52 Ryholt 1997, 321–322; 2010, 113–120; Ben-Tor et al. 1999, 55–58.

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oversights and controls led to a complete withdrawal of Egyptians from Nubia and an abandonment of the forts, but it is clear that this was not the case. By this stage, permanent communities had been established at some sites for upwards of half a century and Nubia was probably the only home most had ever known. Many colonists, therefore, remained in place and some of them, for example at Buhen, Aniba and Kuban, thrived, presumably by continuing to act as intermediaries between the Egyptian Nile Valley and Kush and as bases for resource extraction, but now increasingly for their own benefit (Randall-MacIver/Woolley 1911, frontispiece).53 At Buhen, important positions in the hierarchy of this settlement were monopolised by a small circle of families over a number of generations, indicating a nominal military structure run via family and local connections rather than by redress to the Egyptian state.54 Some settlements, for example Uronarti and Shalfak, may have been abandoned or occupied on a much reduced scale, but this matter requires further study. The decline of the Egyptian state is roughly contemporary with an increase in the size and scale of building at the site of Kerma, which entered a period of dominance during the Second Intermediate Period (Lacovara 1997). The shift in power relations in Nubia no doubt engendered new strategies of cooperation between the fortress communities and Nubians in both Lower Nubia and Upper Nubia. The ensuing period is characterised by an increase in evidence for interaction. Both ‘Egyptian’ and Kerman objects and practices occur more frequently in C-Group cemeteries in Lower Nubia (see Cohen 1992), and there is an increase in the number of Nubian objects in some of the Egyptian fortresses (Smith 2003, 113–124) and cemeteries (Gratien 2007). The ideology of the Middle Kingdom Empire and the fortresses as a bulwark to Nubian expansion appears to have been fully replaced by a zone in which borders could be crossed 55 and all manner of interactions were possible. It is in this fluid context that Ka, the Commander of Buhen, could claim to be ‘loyal servant of the Ruler of Kush’56 and the Ruler of Kush could order the restoration of the Temple of Horus of Buhen.57 This unique political trajectory was abruptly discontinued by the beginning of the New Kingdom and the reincorporation of Nubia within the Egyptian state, but presumably many of the Nubians and colonial Egyptians survived the political transition. These will have contributed substantially to the cultural fabric of the new Egyptian Nubian Empire. In this way, it would be fruitful to conceive of New Kingdom imperialism at a local level as a blending of new impulses with processes forged through almost 400 years of colonial encoun-

53 Discussion in Bourriau 2001; Knoblauch 2008, 304–306. 54 Smith 1976, 72–76; Vercoutter 1957; Säve-Söderbergh 1949. 55 For a recent publication and discussion of an ‘authentication sealing’ of the Ruler of Kush found at Elephantine, see von Pilgrim 2015. For the evidence of Kerman raids in Egypt, see Davies 2003 and Valbelle 2004. 56 Khartoum Stela 18, see Säve-Söderbergh 1949 and Smith 1976, 41. 57 Philadelphia E10984, see Säve-Söderbergh 1949 and Smith 1976, 55–56.

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ters, rather than an entirely new system invented by the pharaohs of the New Kingdom.

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Sealings and Administration. Proceedings of the NEH-Dickson Conference of the Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory of the Department of Classics, University of Texas at Austin January 11–13, 1989. Aegaeum 5. Liège: Université de Liège, p. 197–219. Smith, Stuart Tyson (1991): Askut and the Role of the Second Cataract Forts. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 28, p. 107–138. Smith, Stuart Tyson (1995): Askut in Nubia. The Economics and Ideology of Egyptian Imperialism in the Second Millennium B. C. Studies in Egyptology. London/New York: Kegan Paul. Smith, Stuart Tyson (1998): The Transmission of an Administrative Sealing System from Lower Nubia to Kerma. In: Cahiers de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 17, p. 219–230. Smith, Stuart Tyson (2003): Wretched Kush: Ethnic Identities and Boundaries in Egypt’s Nubian Empire. London: Routledge. Smith, Stuart Tyson (2004): Sealing Practices at Askut and the Nubian Fortresses: Implications for Middle Kingdom Scarab Technology and Historical Synchronisms. In: Bietak, Manfred / Czerny, Ernst (eds.): Scarabs of the Second Millennium BC from Egypt, Nubia, Crete and the Levant: Chronological and Historical Implications. Papers of a Symposium, Vienna, 10th– 13th of January 2002. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie 35. Contributions to the Chronology of the Eastern Mediterranean 8. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, p. 203–219. Smith, Stuart Tyson (2012): Pottery from Askut and the Nubian Forts. In: Schiestl, Robert / Seiler, Anne (eds.): Handbook of the Pottery of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom. Vol. II: The Regional Volume. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie 72/2. Contributions to the Chronology of the Eastern Mediterranean 31. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, p. 377–405. Smither, Paul Cecil (1945): The Semnah Despatches. In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 31, p. 3–10. Stefanović, Danijela (2007): ʿḥᶾwtyw of the Middle Kingdom. In: Grallert, Silke / Grajetzki, Wolfram (eds.): Life and Afterlife in Ancient Egypt during the Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period. Golden House Publication Egyptology 7. London: CPI, Antony Rowe Ltd., p. 123–129. Steindorff, Georg (1935): Aniba I. Mission archéologique de Nubie 1929–1934. Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte. Glückstadt/Hamburg: J. J. Augustin. Steindorff, Georg (1937): Aniba II. Text. Mission archéologique de Nubie 1929–1934. Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte. Glückstadt/Hamburg: J. J. Augustin. Trigger, Bruce Graham (1982): The Reasons for the Construction of the Second Cataract Forts. In: The Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 12, p. 1–6. Valbelle, Dominique (2004): The Cultural Significance of Iconographic and Epigraphic Data Found in the Kingdom of Kerma. In: Kendall, Timothy (ed.): Nubian Studies 1998. Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the International Society of Nubian Studies, August 21–26, 1998, Boston, Mass. Boston: Department of African-American Studies. Northeastern University, p. 176–183. Van Dommelen, Peter (2012): Colonialism and Migration in the Ancient Mediterranean. In: Annual Review of Anthropology 41, p. 393–409. Van Siclen, Charles Cornell (1982): The Chapel of Sesostris III at Uronarti. San Antonio, Texas: van Siclen Books. Vercoutter, Jean (1955): Kor est-il Iken? In: Kush 3, p. 4–19. Vercoutter, Jean (1957): Upper Egyptian Settlers in Middle Kingdom Nubia. In: Kush 5, p. 61–69. Vercoutter, Jean (1959): The Gold of Kush. In: Kush 7, p. 120–153. Vercoutter, Jean (1965a): Excavations at Mirgissa-II. October 1963-March 1964. In: Kush 13, p. 62–73.

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Vercoutter, Jean (1965b): Fouilles de Mirgissa (1964–1965). In: Bulletin de la Société Française d’Égyptologie 43, p. 7–13. Vercoutter, Jean (1966): Semna South Fort and Records of High Nile Levels at Kumma. In: Kush 14, p. 126–164. Vercoutter, Jean (1967–68): Excavations at Mirgissa-III. In: Kush 15, p. 269–279. Vercoutter, Jean (1970): Mirgissa I. Mission archéologique francaise au Soudan. Paris: La Direction Générale des Relations Culturelles, Scientifiques et Techniques. Vercoutter, Jean (1975a): Le roi Ougaf et la XIIIe Dynastie sur la IIme cataracte. In: Revue d’Egyptologie 27, p. 222–234. Vercoutter, Jean (ed.) (1975b): Mirgissa II. Les nécropoles. Paris: Direction Générale des Relations Culturelles, Scientifiques et Techniques / Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Vercoutter, Jean (1998): Les forteresses égyptiennes du Batn-el-Haggar ou les failles d’une campagne. In: Cahiers de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 17, p. 25–35. Vila, André (1970): L’armement de la forteresse de Mirgissa. In: Revue d’Egyptologie 22, p. 171–199. Vila, André (1987): Le cimetière kermaique d’Ukma Ouest. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Vogel, Carola (1998): Archäologische und epigraphische Belege zur Nilschiffahrt im Bereich des Zweiten Katarakts. In: Studien zur altägyptischen Kultur 26, p. 261–272. Vogel, Carola (2004): Ägyptische Festungen und Garnisonen bis zum Ende des Mittleren Reiches. Hildesheimer Ägyptologische Beiträge 46. Hildesheim: Gerstenberg. Vogel, Carola (2010a): Master Architects of Ancient Nubia: Space-saving Solutions in Middle Kingdom Fortresses. In: Włodzimierz, Godlewski / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part 2: Session Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/2.2. Warsaw: University Press, p. 421–430. Vogel, Carola (2010b): Storming the Gates? Entrance Protection in the Military Architecture of Middle Kingdom Nubia. In: Bietak, Manfred / Czerny, Ernst / Forstner-Müller, Irene (eds.): Cities and Urbanism in Ancient Egypt. Papers from a Workshop in November 2006 at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie 60. Untersuchungen der Zweigstelle Kairo des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts 35. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, p. 299–320. Vogel, Carola (2013): Keeping the Enemy Out. Egyptian Fortifications of the Third and Second Millennium BC. In: Jesse, Friederike / Vogel, Carola (eds.): The Power of Walls − Fortifications in Ancient Northeastern Africa. Proceedings of the International Workshop held at the University of Cologne 4th–7th August 2011. Colloquium Africanum. Beiträge zur Interdisziplinären Afrikaforschung 5. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 73–100. von Pilgrim, Cornelius (2015): An Authentication Sealing of the “Ruler of Kush” from Elephantine. In: Jiménez-Serrano, Alejandro / von Pilgrim, Cornelius (eds.): From the Delta to the Cataract. Studies dedicated to Mohamed el-Bialy. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 76. Leiden/Boston: Brill, p. 218–226. von Pilgrim, Cornelius / Müller, Wolfgang / Werlen, Luise (2011): The Town of Syene. Report on the 8th Season in Aswan. In: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 67, p. 125–162. Wegner, Josef (1995): The Function and History of the Site of Areika. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 32, p. 127–160. Wegner, Josef (1998): Excavations at the Town of Enduring-are-the-Places-of Khahkaure-MaaKheru-in-Abydos. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 35, p. 1–44.

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Welsby, Derek Anthony (2004): Hidden Treasures of Lake Nubia. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 8, p. 103–104. Wheeler, Noel F. (1931): Harvard-Boston Expedition in the Sudan 1930–1931. In: Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts 29, p. 66–70. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1975): Archaeology and Historical Problems of the Second Intermediate Period. Vol. III. Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. PhD Thesis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1983): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 5: C-Group, Pan Grave, and Kerma Remains at Adindan Cemeteries T, K, U, and J. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 5. Chicago/Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1999): Serra East and the Mission of Middle Kingdom Fortresses in Nubia. In: Teeter, Emily / Larson, John A. (eds.): Gold of Praise. Studies on Ancient Egypt in Honour of Edward F. Wente. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 58. Chicago/Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, p. 435–453. Žabkar, Louis / Žabkar, Joan (1982): Semna South. A Preliminary Report on the 1966–68 Excavations of the University of Chicago Oriental Institute Expedition to Sudanese Nubia. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 19, p. 7–50. Zibelius-Chen, Karola (1988): Die ägyptische Expansion nach Nubien. Eine Darlegung der Grundfaktoren. Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients. Reihe B (Geisteswissenschaften) 78. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag.

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Pharaonic Rock Inscriptions in Nubia – The 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC 1 Definition and Meaning The use of natural rock surfaces as a medium for communication, visual or written, is a widespread phenomenon not only in Pharaonic Egypt and Nubia. Here, however, the historical depth of the Nile Valley culture enables the scholar to assess the various contexts and transformations of the text type ‘rock inscription’ in great detail. Strictly speaking, a rock inscription is defined by two aspects: the material dimension of a natural stationary rock and the communicative dimension of any kind of textual content written, i.e. inscribed, upon the rock surface. In the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC the texts take shape in Egyptian hieroglyphic, hieratic or semihieratic scripts and might be accompanied by figurative or decorative arrangements that are an integral part of the inscription. By means of rock inscriptions the Pharaonic state and its representatives – the king, state officials and other members of literate society – literally inscribed themselves upon the natural environment, creating an epigraphic landscape in the Nile Valley and adjacent desert regions. In order to understand their purpose and meaning, the role of rock inscriptions in the sphere of social and cultural communication in Egypt and Nubia needs to be considered. Three aspects are crucial here: topographical setting, the people who made or commissioned the texts, and the rationale and motivations behind their creation. The interrelations between these three factors elucidate the significance of single rock inscriptions or rock inscription clusters. Topographical parameters include location, viewing direction and size of inscription, all influencing the potential situations that allow it to be perceived by any given audience. Rock inscriptions fulfilled several functions depending on location and context. In theoretical perspective, they were a means of constructing inscribed landscapes by appropriating and territorialising space and place. The marking of space(s) in the context of human presence gives meaning to place(s) and, in return, accounts for the question of which places were deemed to be of special importance. Tagging the landscape, rock inscriptions are not random witnesses of human behaviour, but are each of particular importance for understanding the nexus between human activities and space. More practically, they were a specific Egyptian means of social display and communication in different local and ritual contexts. The following paper addresses some of the key issues, focussing on the Nubian Nile Valley in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. The term ‘Pharaonic’ used to describe the inscriptions is meant to illustrate the cultural background of the texts, not to suggest a royal monopoly over such texts. The First Cataract region is considered part of Nubia, notwithstanding – or because of – its special political and cultural https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-017

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role as frontier region or interface between Egypt and Nubia (Raue et al. 2013). According to Pharaonic sources, the administrative territories that were considered as belonging to Nubia extended even further north up to Elkab and Hierakonpolis. This stretch of the Nile Valley north of the First Cataract is, however, not considered here.

2 History of Research It was the visibility of rock inscriptions at the First Cataract that first attracted early travellers to include them in their accounts. The Danish officer Frederik Ludvig Norden, who visited Egypt and Nubia in 1737–1738, illustrates the Aswan area by showing a striking rock face with inscriptions (Norden 1795, pl. CXXX). He also indicates the presence of more inscriptions left of the tableaux and under the eastern quay of Elephantine overlooking the Nile (Fig. 1). Napoleon’s savants did not record rock inscriptions during their stay in Egypt (1798–1802). The publication of Franz Christian Gau’s research trip to Lower Nubia (1817) includes mainly picturesque landscapes. Some rock stelae, however, appear in his view of the façade of the Great Temple of Abu Simbel (Gau 1822, pl. 57). Once the Egyptian hieroglyphs had been deciphered, rock inscriptions, particularly with royal titulature or historic content, became of interest to scholars. JeanFrançois Champollion’s Franco-Tuscan expedition (1828–1830) and the Royal

Fig. 1: Rock inscriptions on prominent rock faces in Aswan (Norden 1795, pl. CXXX).

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Prussian Expedition under Carl Richard Lepsius (1842–1845) copied several such texts in Aswan and Nubia, yet with a general focus on the more impressive and formal ones.1 Shortly before the turn of the century, two large catalogues of First Cataract rock inscriptions were published by Jacques De Morgan (1984) and William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1888). In 1907–1908, Arthur E. P. Weigall undertook a reconnaissance of Nubia up to the Sudanese border, which included the documentation of rock inscriptions (Weigall 1907). A part of the area covered by Weigall was later inspected by Günther Roeder, working parallel to the First Archaeological Survey of Nubia (1907–1911), which was itself necessitated by a heightening of the Old Aswan Dam (Roeder 1911). During the Second Archaeological Survey (1929–1934), less emphasis was laid on recording epigraphical documents. The construction of the Aswan High Dam (1961–1970) required a third reconnaissance of the threatened areas. With regard to rock inscription epigraphy, especially the Czechoslovakian (1963–1964) and German (1961–1963) missions, led by Zbyněk Žába (1975) and Fritz Hintze respectively, achieved ground-breaking results (Hintze/Reineke 1989). At the First Cataract, it was in particular Labib Habachi’s work that lead to a better understanding of the local epigraphy (cf. the list of Labib Habachi’s publications in Anonymus 1981). His efforts are continued by Stephan J. Seidlmayer, whose current projects aim at a complete record of all rock inscriptions, including their archaeological and topographical settings (Seidlmayer 2013b). Whereas Lower Nubia is now submerged by the reservoir, Upper Nubia still holds an extensive record of rock inscriptions, including texts that were thought to be lost in the waters. Thanks to W. Vivian Davies’ epigraphic work, the documentation and understanding of rock inscriptions from this part of the Nile Valley is making significant progress.2 The Eastern Desert of Nubia, especially the Wadi Allaki region, was studied by Jaroslav Černy (1947) and Boris B. Piotrovsky (1983), while the recording of rock inscriptions along the so-called Korosko road, is, based on the discoveries of Alfredo and Angelo Castiglioni (2007), in the hands of W. V. Davies (2014b).

3 Forms and Texts Forms and texts of the rock inscriptions have a bearing on the potential audience and, in turn, give account of those who made or commissioned them and of the motives behind their creation. A strict social scaling is observable in form, text, workmanship and context of the inscriptions, following the traditions and conventions of Pharaonic visual and written culture. The social, formal and linguistic di-

1 E.g. Champollion 1835, pl. LXXV; 1844, 161–165; Lepsius 1849–1859, II, pl. 151; III, pl. 5; 1901, 116–122; 1913, 217–225. 2 Cf. Davies 2004; 2008; 2009; 2012; 2014b; 2017a.

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mensions are mutually influential. There is considerable disagreement with regard to terminology.3 If – per definitionem – the act of inscribing a text on a natural rock surface – outside of architectural contexts like, e.g., rock-cut shrines, tombs or temples – creates a rock inscription, everything from the informal graffito to the monumental royal rock stelae is to be considered as such here. On the social level, two main categories of rock inscriptions can be differentiated: royal vs. private. Royal texts are made upon request of the king and focus on his person only. Examples from Nubia are the individual names of the 2nd Dynasty king Ninetjer at Abu Handal (Žaba 1974, 30), the royal protocols of ephemeral kings of late Dynasty 11–early Dynasty 12 marking their territory in Lower Nubia (Williams 2013; cf. also the rock inscription of an indigenous Nubian ruler at KRP14: Davies 2014b, 35–36), the cartouches of Senusret III on Sehel (Gasse/Rondot 2007, 77–82), Ahmose’s name on Jebel Noh (Osman/Edwards 2011, 257–258; Davies 2014a, 9–10), the tableaux of Thutmose I at Tombos4 (Fig. 2) as well as the border texts of Thutmose I and III at Kurgus (Davies 2017a with extensive bibliography). This category also includes monumental rock-cut stelae, containing eulogies on the powerful pious king and recording campaigns in Nubia, at Aswan, Konosso, Tombos and, though very fragmentary, at Jebel Bilal.5 The Nauri rock inscription of Seti I providing legal provisions for his Abydene Temple far north in Egypt is, due to its content, a special case.6 The same applies to the Middle Kingdom Nile level records at Askut, Semna, Kumma and Tina Island (Dal Cataract) as well as at Tombos (Amenhotep III), all of which regularly name a king.7 Finally, there are texts that speak of works successfully executed for the king, like some rock inscriptions on Sehel, which record the excavation of river channels and directly overlook the Nile. They exemplify the close locational nexus between text and specified activity (Gasse/Rondot 2007, 77–80, 128–130, 137). Private rock inscriptions represent the other social level. On the ‘upper’ end of this category, there are the monumental rock-cut stelae of some high New Kingdom elite officials in Nubia at Qasr Ibrim, Abu Simbel, Jebel es-Shams and Jebel Doshe.8 These inscriptions follow the rules of royal decorum in imagery and text, depicting the king smiting enemies or in communication with the gods and commemorating historical or military events. However, they are means of elite social display, highly

3 Cf. Žaba 1975, 260–261; Peden 2001, xix–xxii; Navratilova 2010, esp. 306–312; Seidlmayer 2014a, 231–236. 4 Lepsius 1849–1859, III, pl. 5; Osman/Edwards 2011, 293–295; Davies 2014a, 15–17; 2018, 46–51. 5 Klug 2002; Lepsius 1849–1859, III, pl. 5; Osman/Edwards 2012, 293–295; Davies 2014a, 15–17; 2018, 46–49. 6 Griffith 1927; Osman/Edwards 2012, 83–84, 352. For the stele in the name of Senusret III; cf. Rondot 2008. 7 Hintze/Reineke 1989, 9, fig. 1, 98–102, 149–152; Vercoutter 1976, 154–155; Edwards/Mills 2013, 15; Davies 2012, 33–34; 2016, 14–17. 8 Caminos 1968, 83–90; Müller 2013, 426–429; Černy/Edel 1963, 7–8; Davies 2004; 2017b, 59–65.

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Fig. 2: Rock inscriptions of Thutmose I at Tombos in their topographical setting (Photo: J. Auenmüller).

restricted to a certain group of officials who were responsible for the production of the stelae and are shown and identified as well. The same social restriction applies to tableaux with New Kingdom elite officials adoring the king or his names, which are known from Aswan, Sehel, Wadi es-Sebua and Tomâs, to name but a few.9 The social scale continues down through the ranks of Pharaonic officialdom to those rock inscriptions who only give names, yet no titles as indicators of function and social standing of their makers. The formal dimension has implicitly been dealt with already. On the one hand, there are elaborate rock-cut stelae like the one at Ed-Derr embedded in a rock-cut architectural framework (Lepsius 1849–1859, III, pl. 184c; 1913, 109–110). The other end is constituted by simple name tags in hieratic, semi-hieratic or hieroglyphic script, depending on the social position of the individual as well as on his motives for inscribing his name. In between, there exists a huge variety of compositions and forms. Identity signatures, consisting of title, name and optional filiation, can be found enclosed by rectangular frames and accompanied by images of the individual in his official attire. Columns and lines of longer texts are frequently structured or framed by compositional lines, creating rectangular tableaux. More elaborate rock inscriptions, especially of the New Kingdom, show individuals in adoration in front of deities. Some texts, mainly dating to the Middle Kingdom, are organised in the form of long lists naming several members of a family or social group, with or without adjoining figures of the persons (Lehmann 2012).

9 Habachi 1957; Gasse/Rondot 2007; Müller 2013.

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Text types, formats and genres constitute the linguistic dimension. As Seidlmayer has shown for the Old, Middle and New Kingdom rock inscriptions at Aswan, there is a strong interdependency between the appropriate type of text and the location where it is placed, as well as the date of the inscription.10 Next to the identity signatures, which constitute the majority of the rock inscriptions, there is a certain set of text formats available for social display. The king is identified by using his protocol, royal epithets and the appropriate propagandistic text genres. Inscriptions of private individuals often employ formulaic text types. Such text formats are the so-called offering formula, especially in use during the Middle Kingdom, formulae of praise or adoration (New Kingdom), and the introduction of texts with a date, given as a means of providing the text a historical setting. Some Old Kingdom texts employ a sending formula, typical for expedition texts (Eichler 1993, 111, 125; cf. Žaba 1974, 39–43). Offering formulae, evoking a ritual matrix of communication, are often found in proximity to settlements and roads.11 Formulae of praise are more restricted to ritual contexts as well (cf. Gasse/Rondot 2007). All these text formats provide the proper textual frame for social display according to location and the appropriate cultural decorum. Integrated into these texts, so-called appeals to the living, threat formulae and references to historical events can be found. Here, the self-presentational function of the inscriptions as well as the activities of Egyptians in Nubia become particularly clear (as well as of Nubians, cf. Darnell 2003). An exemplary inscription of Middle Kingdom date from Kumma reads as follows: Regnal year 9 under the majesty of the king Amenemhet III, may he live forever and eternally. The king’s true acquaintance, his beloved, the dignitary and speaker of Nekhen Sa-month, possessor of veneration, (he says:) As for everyone who will pass by this stela, who wants to reach his house being safe and his wife in joy, who wants to embrace his kindred, he shall say: “Bread, beer, cattle and fowl and ‘An-offering-that-the-king-gives-and-Anubis’ for the person of the dignitary and speaker of Nekhen Sa-month, possessor of veneration, born by Sat-ipi, the justified.” I travelled northwards with the frontier patrol. There was no fatality in it while travelling south and no one was put into a labour camp. I annihilated and slew the enemies for him so that the sovereign truly praised me. (Hintze/Reineke 1989, 146–147)

Pivotal social information is also conveyed in another Middle Kingdom text from Semna (no. 524), that, as one of the rare examples, also names the locale of the rock inscription (Fig. 3): An offering that the king gives and Dedwen, foremost of Nubia, and Khnum, opponent of the bowfolk, while they give an invocation offering of bread, beer, cattle, fowl, incense and ointment for the person of the great administrator of the town Ameni, born by Nebet-it. His brothers Sehetep-ib-re, born by Nebet-it (and) Sen-usert, born by Nebet-it. He says: “I am a courtier,

10 Seidlmayer 2003; 2005a; 2006; 2013b. 11 Seidlmayer 2003; 2005a; Hintze/Reineke 1989, 93–162.

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Fig. 3: Epigraphic copy of rock inscription no. 524 from Semna (after Hintze/Reineke 1989, pl. 219). known by his city and known by his lord, who does not turn his back on any matter and who does not do any unworthy things, vigilant on every of his expeditions, being safe every time. O ye living ones, who will travel by this stone with this name while going north or south, may your city gods praise you when you say ‘A thousand bread, beer, cattle, fowl for the person of the great administrator of the town Ameni, born by Nebet-it, justified and possessor (of veneration).’” As for this stone, its name is ‘The heart may be content’. (Hintze/Reineke 1989, 157–158).

Threat formulae are particularly prominent within a Middle Kingdom rock inscription cluster at Jebel el-Girgawi (Hsieh 2012; Suková 2014). They warn readers not to interfere with the integrity of the inscription, clearly having an actual audience in mind. One of the inscriptions, naming important regions in Nubia and referring to the function of the locale, reads: Year 9. Sobek-hotep, son of Djeba-nefer, son of Dedu-bay: at the Twelfth (one) of (the regions) Irtjet, Satju and ?. The frontier patrol arrived right on time (on the) 1st month of winter, day 6. Furthermore, as for him who will destroy this (inscription), he will not sail downstream. (Žaba 1974, 84–86; cf. 52, 81–84)

Several other rock inscriptions are of prime importance for illustrating the history of Pharaonic policy towards Nubia in the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. At Khor el-Aqiba, two 4th Dynasty rock texts speak of an army of 20,000 Egyptian soldiers coming to Lower Nubia and capturing 17,000 Nubians.12 At Tomâs, we learn about an Egyptian 6th Dynasty high official being sent south ‘to open the southern foreign

12 Lopez 1966, 24–28; Helck 1974; Eichler 1993, 112–113.

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countries’ (Eichler 1993, 111). A text from year 29 of Amenemhat I at Abu Handal speaks about the reason for the military expedition: ‘We came to overthrow Lower Nubia’ (Žaba 1974, 31–35). The southward progression of the fleet during the Nubian campaign in year 2 of Thutmose I through the Batn el-Hajar is, inter alia, documented by rock inscriptions at Tanjur area (Sonki) and Akasha-West. The Tanjur text records a scribe counting the ships that were successfully hauled through the rapids there (Hintze/Reineke 1989, 171–172), while the Akasha text further south mentions the same scribe Ahmose – amongst others – with the same task at this second spot.13 However, texts like these, with concrete historical information are, in comparison to the standardised formulae, quite rare.

4 Technology and Making Rock inscriptions in Nubia come in different forms, from graffiti to rock-cut stelae. The forms are dependent on those who made or commissioned the inscriptions, as well as on the motives behind making the texts. Some rock inscriptions speak of their makers: the tableau of the early 12th Dynasty vizier Intef-iker at Jebel el-Girgawi was made by the scribe Ren-iker, who proudly uses this context to commemorate his own role and the historical setting: Ren-iker, he says: I have made this (inscription) while I was here together with the (…) vizier Intef-iker in the ship called ‘Great Oar’, which the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Amenemhet I, may he live eternally, from the city (Thebes), brought here. (Žaba 1974, 99–100)

Another example is found at Nagʽ Abidis: the viceroy of Nubia Hori II and his entourage left their titles and names at a perpendicular rock face next to the Nile, where they stopped on their way north to bring the dead body of Hori’s father back to Egypt for his burial in Bubastis (Žaba 1974, 136–142). Its city goddess Bastet is mentioned at the beginning of one of his rock inscriptions, which the viceroy claims to have inscribed with his own hands: (To) Bastet, lady of Bubastis. The viceroy of Nubia Hori (II), son of the viceroy of Nubia Hori (I) from Bubastis. (This is an inscription) that he made himself. (Žaba 1974, 141)

A certain investment of time and labour as well as linguistic and technological knowledge were required to execute rock inscriptions. Besides the social dimension, the form and quality of texts also depend on the stones upon which they were inscribed. In Nubia, granite, gneiss and sandstone rock provided a popular medium, based on appropriate location and suitability. For name graffiti, natural stone was

13 Edwards/Mills 2013, 14–15, pl. 13; Davies 2013; 2014b, 39–41; 2017a, 89.

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not especially prepared, while larger tableaux cover the undulating stone surface like a text foil. In order to produce royal or private rock stelae, the stone surface was worked and smoothed to accommodate the inscription. While most private inscriptions, especially simple name tags, were made by the individuals themselves, more formal elite and royal rock stelae and tableaux were executed by specialist scribes and stonemasons. Palaeographical studies of the hieroglyphic signs assist in identifying hands, understanding scribal practice and assessing the technology of the rock inscriptions. There are two general methods of producing such an inscription, their use being dependent on rock type, and, to a certain extent, on chronology and social context: pecking and incising. The first has been described as ‘[a]n up and down motion (...) [that] includes pecking, pocking, bruising, hammering and battering’ (Dunbar 1941, 19). The tools used were mainly hard striking implements like hammerstones. The final results were either dotted (out)lines or figures and signs whose interior surface was evenly hammered off the rock. The other technique was ‘a forwards and backwards motion as in sawing or filing, and in which the result is a line, scratched, grooved or rubbed according to the sharpness of the tool’ (Dunbar 1941, 19). Studying the rock inscriptions from Gerf Hussein, Helen Jacquet-Gordon (1981, 240) noted a tendency of Middle Kingdom texts to be made with ‘pecking’, while New Kingdom ones were mainly incised. For more elite or royal rock inscriptions and stelae, a third and more costly technique was employed: engraving or cutting with bronze chisels (Gasse/Rondot 2007, 12–13). This method required the skill of trained masons. It therefore resulted in precise grooves and depths and enabled the working out of longer texts and interior details where required. A number of more formal rock inscriptions were made after preliminary drawings with red ink (Gasse/Rondot 2007, 13). The royal tableau of Thutmose I at Kurgus upon the quartz rock of the Hagr el-Merwa was drafted in red and then hammered out. The equivalent of Thutmose III displays a mixture of both techniques (Davies 2017a). At Kurgus, some of the private identity signatures were also outlined in red and later partly carved. Colour was not only employed in the inscription’s preparation. Several inscriptions at Aswan and Sehel show remains of turquoise, green, red and yellow as fill of figures or signs.14 This colouring conforms to design conventions of Egyptian monumental art and clearly attests to the intended visibility and communicative function of the more formal rock inscriptions.

5 Distribution and Location Distribution and location are two of the main aspects of the significance of rock inscriptions (Fig. 4). Their embeddedness in specific topographical settings provides 14 Seidlmayer 2005b; 2013b, 208; Gasse/Rondot 2007, 79–80, 152.

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a clear account of meaning and motives. Before surveying the distribution of rock inscriptions in Nubia, another phenomenon should be highlighted: the superimposition or parallel inscription of numerous texts, both royal stelae and private identity signatures, on or next to earlier rock drawings. This practice attests to the local significance of several of the places re-appropriated by Pharaonic state agency and individuals. Especially in the Aswan area, some spots were continually used throughout the millennia due to their specific communicative relevance. As regards general distribution between Aswan and Kurgus, rock inscriptions are found in both Nilotic and desert landscapes, on rocks and boulders at the Nile, along the escarpment of the valley and along desert routes. Pre-Old Kingdom rock inscriptions are only known from Jebel Sheikh Suleiman and Abu Handal, naming kings and documenting military expeditions into Nubia (Arkell 1950; Žaba 1974, 30–31). Apart from the First Cataract area, Old Kingdom rock inscriptions – mainly dating to the 6th Dynasty – were found at Kalabsha, Mariya, Mediq, Sayala, Nagʽ Abidis (Wadi el-Arab), Nagʽ el-Sabakhaya (Abu Handal), Tonqala, Tomâs, Khor el-Aqiba (4th Dyn.), Toshka, Abu Simbel, Abd el-Qadir, Abu Sir and, farthest south, Dakke (Eichler 1993, 100–117), as well as at Hindaw, Soros Island and Sayala (Roeder 1911, 181–182, 213; Satzinger 2006). Qara, Bir Ungat, Umm Aschira and the Jebel el-Asr (4–5th Dynasty) are further sites containing inscriptions in the Eastern and Western Deserts.15 Based on location and prosopography, these rock inscriptions are the testimony of various Egyptian expeditions and their members, sent to Nubia to prospect and procure raw materials (gold, copper, amethyst, anorthosite gneiss), to engage in combat with local groups and to supervise riverine travel of expedition forces (Eichler 1993, 143–146). Middle Kingdom rock inscriptions are found at a number of important places in the Nubian Nile Valley up to the Second Cataract (Hintze/Reineke 1989, 15–17), with only two outliers farther south: the Nile level record of Senusret III on Tina Island and the name tag of a certain Henenu on Asrunia Island, both in the Dal Cataract area.16 For the main part, Middle Kingdom rock inscriptions are located on the West bank. However, there are also some larger inscription clusters around Korosko, Tonqale and Kumma situated on the East bank. Their location is based on the respective functions of these places, mainly used for housing military presence and trading installations in proximity to Nubian settlements and cemeteries. Recently discovered rock inscriptions next to a fortress at Dehmit-South corroborate this functional relationship (Harell/Mittelstaedt 2015, 36–37). In contrast to earlier times, Middle Kingdom rock inscriptions are exceptionally numerous. More than 530 were recorded in the Sudanese Nile Valley alone, out of which 90 % are to be found at Buhen, Abd el-Qadir, Abu Sir, Semna and Kumma. The highest concentrations are found at Abu Sir and Kumma (Hintze/Reineke 1989, 15–16). The sandstone

15 Eichler 1993, 100–102, 114–115; Andrassy 2002, 13–14; Roccati 2007, 54–55. 16 Edwards/Mills 2013, 15, pl. 14; Vila 1975, 52; Davies 2016, 14–17; 2017b, 66–67.

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Fig. 4: The distribution of Old, Middle and New Kingdom rock inscriptions in Nubia.

rock of Abu Sir acts as one of the major landmarks in Lower Nubia at the northern end of the Batn el-Hajar. Rock inscriptions at its top indicate the presence of watchposts overlooking the cataract region as at Buhen (Smith 1972). The remainder of the inscriptions spread around the Abu Sir rock, mostly overlooking the Nile, re-

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cording how various members of the expedition forces stopped and gathered here on their way to and from the Second Cataract fortresses. The high concentration of inscriptions at Kumma can be explained by its function as the southernmost border fortress of Middle Kingdom Egypt. The general location of Middle Kingdom rock inscriptions in Nubia corresponds well with a trend detected for the Elephantine– Aswan area. There, they cluster at places overlooking the Nile and along roads, the appropriate spaces for public display before the New Kingdom (Seidlmayer 2003; 2005). The spread of New Kingdom rock inscriptions in Nubia marks the extent of Pharaonic state agency in political and geographical terms. Their distribution, however, is quite different from the clusterings of the Middle Kingdom. In Lower Nubia, they are more or less scattered at spots already occupied with Old or Middle Kingdom texts.17 Larger inscription clusters and individual high elite tableaux are, in contrast, found at or around the hotspots of Pharaonic activities in Lower Nubia like Gerf Hussein, Wadi es-Sebua, Amada, Ed-Derr, Tonqale, Ellesiya, Qasr Ibrim, Toshka-East and Abu Simbel.18 A more detailed topographical assessment of particular spots is needed, however. This assessment would show that their distribution pattern generally corresponds to that of the New Kingdom rock inscriptions at Aswan, which only occur at well-defined places. These are determined by their ritual function as well as location ‘near local shrines and at places that played a role in the celebration of public religious festivals’ (Seidlmayer 2003, 444). The ritual sphere as an appropriate matrix for public display also seems to contextualize several inscription clusters at rock crevices or shrines like those at Toskha-East and Jebel Agg (Simpson 1963, 25–26, 36–43), or next to the Jebel el-Shams chapel of the viceroy Paser I (Černy/Edel 1963, 6–8). There are, however, also more mundane contexts. The inscription cluster recording the travel party of the viceroy Hori II at Nagʽ Abidis in the Wadi el-Arab region is such a case (Žaba 1974, 136–142). The same holds true for the New Kingdom rock inscriptions that spread over the Batn el-Hajar. The inscriptions here occur in smaller groups at natural land marks like the Abu Sir sandstone cliff or at military installations such as the fortresses of Shalfak, Uronarti, Semna and Kumma (Hintze/Reineke 1989, 15–17). In the case of the latter places, the owners of the inscriptions are high ranking members of the administration of New Kingdom Nubia, namely viceroys and their staff (Müller 2013, 444–449). The difficulties of riverine travel through the Batn el-Hajar are particularly reflected in large text clusters in the Tanjur area (Sonki), Akasha-West and the Dal Cataract (Sarkamatto/Debba).19

17 Weigall 1907; Roeder 1911; Arkell 1950; Porter/Moss 1962, 1–123; Lopez 1966; Caminos 1968; Säve-Söderbergh 1970; Smith 1972; Žaba 1974; Satzinger 2006; Müller 2013, 393–430. 18 Porter/Moss 1962, 1–123; Leclant 1965; Simpson 1963; Caminos 1968; Satzinger 2006; cf. Hein 1991. 19 Hintze/Reineke 1989, 170–177, 181–183; Vila 1975, 26–28; Edwards/Mills 2013, 14–16; Davies 2013; 2014b, 41–42; 2016, 14–17; 2017a, 23–29; 2017b, 65–66; 2018, 52–53.

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Due to partial falls, rapids and shoals, the Nile was difficult to pass through. Therefore the ships had to be hauled through the narrow passages using great physical force and considerable time. The high ranking members of the administration and their scribes took the opportunity to commemorate their presence and supervision at several points along this passage. South of the Batn el-Hajar, in Upper Nubia, the distribution of rock inscriptions is limited to a couple of places. Important clusters are found next to the rock-cut shrine of Thutmose III and the stelae of Seti I and his viceroy, Imenemipet, at Jebel Doshe (Davies 2004; 2017b, 59–65). Another concentration is found at Tombos, including the victory stela and tableaux of Thutmose I and other important royal and elite inscriptions from the time of Thutmose III, Amenhotep II and Amenhotep III.20 While the Jebel Doshe can be understood as a significant landmark and ritual place attracting people and inscriptions, the cluster at Tombos at the Third Cataract served different functions. It first demarcates early 18th Dynasty policy and strategy towards Nubian territories and, second, ‘commemorates victory and appropriation’ (Davies 2009, 23). The recent discovery of a New Kingdom fortified settlement substantiates the extent of Egyptian long-term presence at Tombos (Smith/Buzon 2018, 205–225). The largest group of Pharaonic rock inscriptions in Upper Nubia is, however, located at the southernmost end of Egyptian territory at Kurgus on a white quartz outcrop called Hagr el-Merwa (Davies 2017a) (Fig. 5). Here, two almost identical inscriptions of Thutmose I and Thutmose III warn any Nubian or any foreigner who violates this stela, which my father Amun has given to me, that his chiefs shall be slain, Ra-Atum shall endure, the sky shall not rain for him, his cattle shall not calve, there shall be no heirs of his upon earth. (Davies 2017a, 72)

Furthermore, the Thutmose III tableau is accompanied by a text that explicitly qualifies these stelae as boundary stones. Next to the royal tableaux, high ranking members of the kings’ entourages have their names inscribed onto the rock surface. Among them are not only the usual male members of expeditions such as princes, viceroys, priests, scribes and soldiers, but also the chief queen of Thutmose I, Ahmose, together with some of her service personnel. Later in the 19th Dynasty, the viceroy of Nubia Setau left his identity signature here, together with a historical text dating to year 44 and including the cartouches of king Ramesses II. In summary, the Hagr el-Merwa serves as the exceptional, as well as the prototypical, example of the use of rock inscriptions to mark important places and to appropriate alien space and territory in Nubia. The rest of New Kingdom rock inscriptions in Upper Nubia is scattered in small clusters, mostly at places previously furnished with rock drawings. Interestingly, it is scribes in particular who recorded themselves at Jebel Wahaba, Sabu and Haba-

20 Davies 2008; 2009; 2012; 2018, 46–51; cf. Osman/Edwards 2012, 83, 292–302; cf. Porter/Moss 1962, 165 for a rock inscription of Thutmose I on Sai.

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Fig. 5: The Hagr el-Merwa from the East. The main face with the royal boundary inscriptions is illuminated by the rising sun (Photo: Courtesy W. Vivian Davies).

rab.21 A single rock inscription of a temple scribe occurs further north at AmaraWest (Spencer/Stevens/Binder 2014, 22). These places seem to be related to small scale Egyptian settlements or watchposts (Habarab) or to passing through the Kajbar Cataract (Sabu, Jebel Wahaba) (Osman/Edwards 2012, 85–86). Otherwise, they can be understood as records of these individuals on official mission stopping at these places and commemorating their presence at these significant spots. Such expedition and travel-related rock inscriptions are also found in the Eastern Desert along tracks leading from the Nile Valley to the gold-mining regions. Besides tagging conspicuous natural rock outcrops, caves or rock faces in proximity to wells, water stations or mines (cf. Davies 2014b), the locations of the texts also help to map the geographical sphere of action of individual officials. A scribe and priest of Horus, Herunefer, from Buhen, is attested at three widely separated stations in the Eastern Desert (Andrassy 2002, 8–9; Davies 2014b, 37–39: KRP2, KRP22, KRP23). Another inscription of this man is known from Tomâs in the Nile Valley (Leclant 1965, 9, pl. 1). Two other attestations in the Nile Valley might be attributed to the same man (Žaba 1974, 138–139; Hintze/Reineke 1989, 34–35). The rock inscriptions from Tomâs and the desert sites, as well as the fact that Herunefer comes from Buhen, allow us to determine some significant reference points of his territoriality. Another exemplary individual is the scribe Nebnetjeru from Kubban, who is attested at Hindaw, Kalabsha, Mediq and Tonqala, several times in the Wadi Allaki,

21 Hintze/Reineke 1989, 184, 186; Fantusati 2006; Osman/Edwards 2012, 84–86, 319, 364.

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and at Umm Nabari and Kashm el-Bab.22 His inscriptions not only record his spatially distributed presence, they also document the routes of the expedition(s) sent to this challenging terrain on behalf of the king in order to procure gold from the Eastern Desert.

5 Final Remarks The tradition of Pharaonic rock inscriptions in Nubia continued after the New Kingdom. However, it did so on a much smaller scale and with narrower geographical distribution. Here again it is the region of the First Cataract that plays the most prominent role as inscribed landscape for royal and elite display (e.g. Gasse/ Rondot 2007, 300–301, 331–334; Blöbaum 2013). The 25th Dynasty king Taharqo left a group of rock inscriptions in Lower Nubia in order to commemorate the king’s passing to or from Egypt upon a desert road close to the Nile (Pope 2014, 181–191). Later, Greek, Meroitic and Latin inscriptions were inscribed upon the rocks of Nubia by members of different social groups, creating inscribed landscapes linguistically different from the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. However, their functions are similar. The Old, Middle and New Kingdom rock inscriptions in the Nubian Nile Valley and adjacent deserts are typical Egyptian responses to the landscape, signifying places and turning them into significant spaces. Besides documenting the sheer existence of people and their social position, they also help to understand larger political or social contexts, such as the composition of the expedition forces or of the personnel of Pharaonic administration in Nubia.23 While these inscriptions mirror the reality of individuals moving through the riverine and desert landscape, they generally do not refer back to the situations and contexts of their production. The texts speak about the situations and motives for their production only in exceptional cases, as ‘their sole focus is on prosopographical information and status representation of the referential subject’ (translated after Seidlmayer 2013a, 209). This applies to a lesser extent to the king, due to his special status in Pharaonic Egypt. Kings had a need to display their relationship to the gods and their military prowess as means of state propaganda. Like at Tombos or Kurgus, it is the king who demarcates contact or boundary zones through rock inscriptions. The panel of Mentuhotep II at Jebel Uweinat is the most distant known rock inscription c. 700 km away from the Nile in the Western Desert (Förster 2013, 314–321). It not only attests to the on-site presence of Egyptians in contact with nomadic groups; it also fully embodies the potential of Pharaonic rock inscriptions for marking presence and appropriating alien space.

22 Černy 1947; Piotrovski 1983; Andrassy 2002; Müller 2013, 265; Davies 2014b, 34, 36–37: KRP9, KRP18. 23 Gratien 1991; 2004; Müller 2013.

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Raue, Dietrich / Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes / Speiser, Philipp (eds.) (2013): The First Cataract of the Nile. One Region – Diverse Perspectives Sonderschriften des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 36. Berlin/Boston: Walter De Gruyter. Reineke, Walter Friedrich (2015): Vier Felsinschriften aus der Festung Askut in Nubien. In: Finneiser, Klaus-Karl / Helmbold-Doyé, Jana (eds.): Der andere Blick. Forscherlust und Wissensdrang. Museumsgabe zum 80. Geburtstag von Karl-Heinz Priese. Berlin: EB-Verlag, p. 239–246. Roccati, Alessandro (2007): Arpenter le désert autrefois et aujourd’hui. In: Bulletin de la Société Française d’Égyptologie 169–170, p. 51–58. Roeder, Günther (1911): Debod bis Bab Kalabsche. Denkmäler und Inschriften. Les temples immergés de la Nubie. 2 Vols. Cairo: Imprimerie de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale. Rondot, Vincent (2008): A Hitherto unknown Rock Stela in the Name of Sensuret III at Nauri (Mahas County). In: Kush 19, p. 179–184. Satzinger, Helmut (2006): Felsinschriften aus dem Gebiet von Sayâla (Ägyptisch-Nubien). In: Czerny, Ernst / Hein, Irmgard / Hunger, Herrman / Melman, Dagmar / Schwab, Angela (eds.): Timelines. Studies in Honour of Manfred Bietak. Vol. III. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 149/3. Leuven/Paris/Dudley, MA: Peeters, p. 139–147. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny (1970): Appendix: Inscriptions. In: Hellström, Pontus / Langballe, Hans (eds.): The Rock Drawings: including the Results of the Gordon Memorial College Expedition to Abka under the Direction of Oliver Myers. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 1. Fasc. 1: Text. Stockholm: Läromedelsförl, p. 234–235. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (2003): New Rock Inscriptions on Elephantine. In: Hawass, Zahi / Pinch-Brock, Lyla (eds.): Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century. Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists, Cairo 2000. Vol. 1: Archaeology. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, p. 440–447. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (2005): Bemerkungen zu den Felsinschriften des Alten Reiches auf Elephantine. In: Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (ed.): Texte und Denkmäler des ägyptischen Alten Reiches. Akten der Tagung “Texte und Denkmäler des ägyptischen Alten Reiches”, Schloss Blankensee bei Berlin 1.–4. Februar 2001. Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae 3. Berlin: Achet, p. 287–308. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (2006): Frohe – und andere – Botschaften: Kult und Kommunikation im Alten Ägypten. In: Peter, Ulrike / Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (eds.): Mediengesellschaft Antike? Information und Kommunikation vom Alten Ägypten bis Byzanz. Altertumswissenschaftliche Vortragsreihe an der Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Berichte und Abhandlungen der Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Sonderband 10. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 93–111. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (2013a): Die Felsinschrift des Vorstehers von Unterägypten, Dedusobek in Aswân. In: Fischer-Elfert, Hans-Werner / Parkinson, Richard Bruce (eds.): Studies of the Middle Kingdom in Memory of Detlef Franke. Philippika. Altertumswissenschaftliche Abhandlungen 41. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 201–209. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (2013b): Rock Inscriptions in the Area of Aswan. From Epigraphy to Landscape Archaeology. In: Raue, Dietrich / Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes / Speiser, Philipp (eds.): The First Cataract of the Nile. One Region – Diverse Perspectives. Sonderschriften des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 36. Berlin/Boston: Walter De Gruyter, p. 205–210. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (2014a): Die Inschriften auf der Nordseite der Tribüne vor dem Chnumtempel des Neuen Reiches auf Elephantine. In: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 68, p. 220–236. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (2014b): Fünftausend Jahre Inschriften: Die Region des Ersten Nilkatarakts. In: Eck, Werner / Funke, Peter (eds.): Öffentlichkeit – Monument – Text.

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XIV Congressus Internationalis Epigraphiae Graecae et Latinae, 27.–31. Augusti MMXII: Akten. Berlin: Walter De Gruyter, p. 197–230. Simpson, William Kelly (1963): Heka-Nefer and the Dynastic Material from Toskha and Arminna. Publications of the Pennsylvania-Yale Expedition to Egypt 1. New Haven: Peabody Museum of Natural History. Smith, Harry S. (1972): The Rock Inscriptions of Buhen. In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 58, p. 43–82. Smith, Stuart Tyson / Buzon, Michele R. (2018): The Fortified Settlement at Tombos and Egyptian Colonial Strategy in New Kingdom Nubia. In: Budka, Julia / Auenmüller, Johannes (eds.): From Microcosm to Macrocosm. Individual households and cities in Ancient Egypt and Nubia. Leiden: Sidestone Press, p. 205–225. Spencer, Neal / Stevens, Anna / Binder, Michaela (eds.) (2014): Amara West. Living in Egyptian Nubia. London: The Trustees of the British Museum. Suková, Lenka Varadzinová (2014): The Rock Inscriptions at Naga el-Girgawi. In: Onderka, Pavel / Vrtal, Vlastimil et al. (eds.): Núbie. Zemĕ na křižovatce kultur = Nubia. A Land on the Crossroads of Cultures. Wad Ben Naga 2014. Prague: Národní Muzeum, p. 46–51. Vercoutter, Jean (1976): Egyptologie et climatologie. Les crues du Nil à Semnah. In: Cahiers de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 4, p. 139–172. Vila, André (1975): La prospection archéologique de la Vallée du Nil, au sud de la cataracte de Dal (Nubie Soudanaise). Fasc. 2: Les districs de Dal (rive gauche) et de Sarkamatto (rive droite). Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Weigall, Arthur Edward Pearse Brome (1907): A Report on the Antiquities of Lower Nubia (the First Cataract to the Sudan Frontier) and their Condition in 1906–07. Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire 3. Oxford: Department of Antiquites. Williams, Bruce Beyer (2013): Three Rulers in Nubia and the Early Middle Kingdom in Egypt. In: Journal of Near Eastern Studies 72/1, p. 1–10. Žába, Zbynek (1979): The Rock Inscriptions of Lower Nubia (Czechoslovak Concession). Czechoslovak Institute of Egyptology in Prague and in Cairo Publications 1. Prague: Charles University.

Charles Bonnet

The Religious Architecture of Kerma and Dokki Gel from the 3rd to the 1st Millennium BC translated by Pierre Meyrat

The City of Kerma, a Nubian Capital In the 3rd millennium BC, a religious area developed in the centre of the ancient city of Kerma, to the east of a road that was very important for the urban organization of the settlement (Bonnet/Valbelle 2014, 215). It is on both sides of this axis that the main monuments of the Nubian capital were erected. Several buildings for worship and a ceremonial palace were built on the site of a former citadel with huge fortifications, whereas on the other side, to the west of the road, one recognizes buildings such as a residential palace and a large circular hut, which we interpret as an audience room for the king. In order to give a comprehensive idea of the urban topography, one should also mention a religious complex situated to the south-west, isolated by a deep ditch oriented at an angle. Here several chapels have been found, as well as workshops for the preparation of cult offerings. This might have been an institution that was similar to the Egyptian Hut-ka and used as a place of worship for the ancestor kings (Fig. 1). In order to understand the evolution of religious architecture in Kerma, one must consider the method of construction followed by the local population, which benefited from strong regional traditions, but where other influences from Egypt or Central Africa were also at work. There is evidence for a wide use of pitched poles, mostly made of acacia – a hard, termite-resistant wood – and dated to c. 2500– 2000 BC. Due to the lack of long beams, buildings show modest dimensions: They are usually narrow (3 to 4 m) and can be rather elongated (up to 10 m). The oldest buildings for worship can therefore be identified in the deep layers, under the form of aligned post-holes spaced at intervals of about 0.3 m. These holes enable us to reconstruct quadrangular buildings measuring 4 × 6 m. These wooden structures were probably either covered with hardened silt or with galoos, i.e. hand-made clumps of silty mud. These religious buildings, which usually consist of one room only, are seldom isolated: Surrounding them are true architectural complexes, with annexes used as storage rooms, workshops and defensive works such as fences and bastions for the troops. In these complexes seal impressions from the Kerma Ancien onwards were found, which multiplied by hundreds during subsequent periods. Associated with the temples and chapels, the religious areas were probably organized into several https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-018

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Fig. 1: Kerma, a Nubian capital (V. Francigny).

institutions reminiscent of the Egyptian temple. For the offerings, one had to prepare loaves of bread, meat or beer, and this activity was carried out within the temenos or in its direct vicinity. Already from a very early period on (around 2400 BC), the city of Kerma was protected by powerful fortifications bordered by moats. During the Nile inundation, these moats were probably filled with water, enabling people to cultivate the wet land during the corresponding season (Bonnet/Valbelle 2014, 215). Occasionally, the use of a swing-plough and cavities prepared for legumes can still be traced in the soil. Contemporary fortifications, erected with palisades and clumps of galoos, suggest defence structures around the houses and the core area. As to the gates, complex devices with pathways organized into staggered rows made the monitoring easier. From the beginning, the main axis was also protected by military works, notably bastions made of wood and soil. These protective measures were continuously developed within the city for about a millennium, as this north-south path was to remain independent from the overall urban layout. The central religious area seems to have been unified very early on (Fig. 2): In the early Kerma Moyen levels (2050–1750 BC), we could trace a fence certainly pertaining to an ancient temenos (Bonnet/Valbelle 2004, 16). Indeed, under the foundations of this well supported wall two foundation deposits, consisting of fine black-topped red ware vessels filled with red ochre, were discovered (Privati 2004, 145). Over time, mud-brick became pre-eminent, but galoos remained the material

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Fig. 2: Schematic plan of the ancient town of Kerma during the Kerma Moyen (2050–1750 BC) (M. Berti, Th. Kohler, A. Peillex).

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Fig. 3: Schematic plan of the north-east temple (M. Berti, Th. Kohler).

most frequently used for fortifications. Next to the central temple, more and more quadrangular chapels were built, replacing older, circular constructions probably used as houses, judging from the animal bones often marking the outer sides of the walls. Some of these huts, 3 to 4 m in diameter, may have been originally used for another purpose. On a low mound in the north-east corner of the city a cult complex was uncovered. The sanctuary has a rectangular plan measuring 3 × 2 m; in its first phase, it

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Fig. 4: The temple to the north-east of the religious centre (I. Matter-Horisberger).

was elevated by pitched poles with a diameter of 0.20 m. All around are annexes and traces of different activities linked to what could already be a temple, dated to c. 2300 or 2200 BC. Around these wooden buildings, remains of bastioned precincts and a huge gate made of poles mark a circle, about 30 m in diameter. The fortification lies outside the city walls, which are almost entirely razed in this sector. The sanctuary was rebuilt in brick several times on the very same spot, but with greater dimensions and the addition of an annex often attested for chapels. This religious complex, isolated on a road leading to the ceremonial city of Dokki Gel, enables the reconstruction of a processional way, about 1 km long, which must have continued to the west along the city’s main axis (Fig. 3). The following phases of this temple, topographically independent, are less well preserved. However, the cult monument was enlarged during the Kerma Moyen and a small outbuilding was separated from the centre to form a new complex. The whole was soon encircled by an almost circular temenos with a very large diameter (nearly 60 m), which opens to the south through a gate preceded by a long passage starting next to the main temple. Not until the Kerma Classique (1750–1500 BC) was the precinct of the temenos strengthened by bastions placed side by side, giving the hill an impressive look. Pits containing rolls of clay show that goods or messages were sealed within the precinct and that the temple was managed by an administration (Fig. 4). This transition from wood and soil architecture to mud-brick architecture is also found in the secondary city (Bonnet/Valbelle 2014, 185). After a phase distin-

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Fig. 5: The secondary city with chapel E XVI (D. Berti).

guished by circular huts with a diameter of 4.30 m, chapel I enables the study of several successive phases built with poles of various diameters. The first religious building looks simple, with a rectangular plan and two rows of large poles, which were later replaced by three rows of smaller poles. The building was modified six times, and its plan later included a square surface with an axial row of columns and a side annex. Although it is not clear when exactly a large courtyard was established in front of the sanctuary, one can assume that this space was related to one or the other of the wooden buildings. The mud-brick side walls of the courtyard are thick and lined with columns placed very close to the wall. Its layout was cleared on four sides and the southern gate was also identified, along with its buttresses. The column bases are large and sometimes strengthened with stones. Other chapels have a courtyard. The area of these chapels meant for the cult of the ancestor kings was developed during several centuries. About fifteen places of worship suggest a long architectural evolution, with a first foundation in the Kerma Ancien and extensions built in the following periods. The workshops of the secondary city extend over large areas, with many bread ovens organized in rows or circles. Some of the ovens may have been used by bronzesmiths, since fragments of crucibles and bronze scoria were preserved under later structures meant to be bakeries. In the direct vicinity, two large residential buildings were probably built for the king and modified many times during the different reigns. One must note that the agglomeration was first protected by palisades and bastions, which slowly reached huge dimensions. Along

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Fig. 6: The workshops of the secondary city (D. Berti).

the ditch separating the two built compounds, the defence system became extraordinary, with precincts and even riprap layers supporting the military structures (Figs. 5–6). The religious area was continuously modified, and chapels were built over former sacred areas and enlarged to become impressive buildings with colonnades along their axes, comprising white bases of dolomitic marble. The southern gates were shifted slightly to prevent people from bumping into the first column. Side staircases led to the roof, where a specific ritual was perhaps performed. At the end of the Kerma Moyen, a chapel with a colonnade along its axis was built in the southwestern part of the area defined by the 5 m high temenos, its gate preceded by two rooms used as entrance halls. Surprisingly, these buildings are made of fired bricks, their shaping and the regularity of firing displaying a systematic technique that is otherwise unattested in this period. This chapel was reached through a large lateral hall, giving access to the large temple to the east, and in this case, two entrances oriented towards the places of worship were located on its side. The main entrance of the religious area is found next to the south-western corner of the city’s great temple (Bonnet/Valbelle 2004, 28). A large square court was probably placed in front of it. The passage would have opened onto the long hall, leaving enough space for a huge first door dating to the Kerma Classique, but probably founded on more ancient structures. Although our understanding of all the enlarging phases of this temple and of its side entrance is incomplete, it seems that the first wooden chapel with side annexes became a larger and higher sanctuary

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Fig. 7: The defuffa, main temple of the town (M. Berti).

over time. Probably already in the Kerma Moyen, the structure was about 50 m long and ended in a plain apse to the north, which gave the building its orientation. One or several rooms have been identified inside, as successive facings suggest that one tried to protect the walls from wind erosion by enlarging the inner structures. In spite of lateral sondages and a central shaft in the brick layers, we still do not know how the temple was given its final layout. The few elements found in the low levels may suggest that at around one third of the length, a mound developed on the southern side of the gate. In stages, the two thirds remaining to the north apparently became a huge mound entirely made of bricks. The existence of a room for the cult could not be confirmed for the time just before the construction of the deffufa (a Nubian word for a high, man-made mound), which could be studied under good conditions thanks to its state of preservation. This monument, seen at Kerma by the first travellers of the 19th century, was interpreted in different ways: George A. Reisner (1923, 21, 40) considered it the palace of an Egyptian governor; William Y. Adams (1977, 202) suggested that this location could have been used as a watch tower, and other scholars regarded it as a church or a ruined fort. In fact, this huge structure of the Kerma Classique, well dated by the abundant pottery, was built in several phases, even if its latest state gives the impression that the whole temple was built in one go (Bonnet/Valbelle 2004, 45). The construction is divided into two mounds: The one to the south was originally more than 25 m high. Its general outline is reminiscent of a kind of pylon,

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Fig. 8: Axonometric reconstruction of the defuffa (M. Berti).

but no central gateway was found, so it could not have been inspired by an Egyptian design. However, the core of the structure resembles later pharaonic temples of the end of the New Kingdom. Approximately 20 m high, it has tapering side walls similar to those in Egyptian architecture. The structure of this extraordinary monument was built with huge bricks laid out according to a horizontal system of beams placed at regular intervals of approximately 4 m, forming a skeleton of wood. The clear negative imprints of these beams show that they were destroyed by fire, and that the flames had marked the masonry by reddening the bricks (Fig. 7). Inside the monument, a rather large staircase led from the massive lateral door, painted with a red ochre coating, up to an almost square room about 8 m higher. There, a narrow corridor led into the brick core a few metres north. This blind corridor in the middle of the structure must have been a kind of sanctuary, perhaps meant to contain a sacred bark or statues. The 4 m high space was secured, as strong, paired beams running over the entire length created a cover supporting the next 4 m of brick layers. In the square chamber, a large circular block of dolomitic marble was probably used as an altar. In a corner of the same chamber, bedding for sheep was identified. A door opening to a second staircase that led to a platform on top of the building was severely damaged by fire, and the many beams consolidating the inner walls are also charred (Fig. 8). The deffufa was struck at least twice by fire, the first of which must have been extremely fierce, as it destroyed the inner wooden structures. We could observe in the blind corridor a reuse of the floor and coatings where the new brick layers were mixed with chamois-coloured Egyptian pottery of the early New Kingdom. As to the door of the second staircase, it burned down shortly before the temple was abandoned. We should also note that during the Kerma Classique, the four corners of the deffufa were hollow and occupied by chapels, which were curiously topped inside

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by a shaft reaching the first platform. These chapels also fell into disuse in the same period. Shortly before the deffufa was completely abandoned, annexes were built against its eastern side. A square chapel with thick walls was apparently erected over an older place of worship. Its floor is coated with a thick layer of red ochre. Next to it is a large tripartite structure linked with the religious buildings and built after a series of clashes suggested by layers of rubble and accumulations of ash or charcoal; two huge mounds are located laterally to the east, against the deffufa. In these brick elevations, two places of worship preceded by a courtyard were developed. The western chapel reused the space of the sanctuary with the red floor by raising its level. The vault used as cover collapsed early on and was replaced by a colonnade along the axis, with light horizontal roofing, the stone bases of which are still in situ. Three rows of post-holes enabled the reconstruction of a makeshift system organized in haste later on. Next to it, a tiny square chamber lies on the central axis of the mounds, which could also have been a chapel. Hostile forays did not entirely stop the construction work inside the temenos, but the last steps were devoted to strengthening the fence wall, and these annexes hid and protected deep wells in which Reisner discovered sought-after materials ready for use. This evolution towards increasing fortification of religious complexes is even clearer in the secondary agglomeration where the defence system reached extraordinary dimensions. Huge bastions covered part of the chapels and their workshops. However, in spite of this military commitment, other chapels were still modified and transformed. The north-eastern chapel XVI was equipped with a hypostyle hall on the spot of the courtyard at the entrance. Rows of several dozen wooden pillars can be reconstructed through post-holes, bases of hardened silt as well as white marble blocks 0.20 m in diameter. A large side annexe was used for workshops of bronzesmiths and bakeries until the last occupation of the sector during the Kerma Classique. It might be useful to mention the foundation of a circular chapel different from all other identified examples: It is located behind the deffufa to the north and was apparently built in the Kerma Classique shortly before the city was abandoned. A base of dolomitic marble marks the centre of the building, the thick mud-brick wall of which comprises two inner buttresses that help support the main beam of a flat roof. The marble base and the circular plan suggest that this building had a religious function. Hundreds of round huts found in the city thanks to post-holes preserved in the ground almost always have a diameter of more than 4 m, and the brick examples are rare. This chapel is thus unique and was perhaps inspired by the layout of the huts that were occupied by some of the city’s population from the early phases. The last stages of the expansion of the city enable us to observe the strengthening of the fortified eastern front. The ground thus gained was protected by a thick stone wall enclosing a gigantic bakery entrusted with the production of bread used as offerings for the central temple or deffufa. The workshops were then moved outside the temenos. This bakery was equipped with dozens of rectangular ovens

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Fig. 9: The bakery producing the bread used as offerings (C. Bonnet).

placed side by side in one row (Fig. 9). Additional premises and shelters for craftsmen might lie next to a room with a strong foundation probably used for cult purposes. Next to the workshops, a large administrative building was used as a storage room; it comprises numerous magazines accessible through a door that can be identified as one of the main entrances of the city through which the goods, which were perhaps used as offerings, would pass. The traffic on the square in front of the building as well as the activities linked with this management are attested by an impressive amount of sealing fragments.

The Ceremonial City of Dokki Gel One can assume that the site of Dokki Gel was associated with the old city of Kerma. This ceremonial town was directly linked with the capital of the Kingdom, and we are trying to understand its main religious and political characteristics. Just a few hundred metres apart from each other, these two centres display two very different types of architecture. The monumental appearance of Kerma, as well as the houses for the elite, were apparently inspired by Egyptian design. Of course, one also finds a more typically African way of building, notably with the circular layout of fences and precincts, as well as round huts for the lower classes. In Dokki Gel, all mudbrick buildings display an oval or circular plan, giving the architecture a unique

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Fig. 10: Schematic plan of the indigenous town of Dokki Gel (M. Berti, S. Marchi).

character unknown in the Nile Valley in the period of the Kerma Classique and of the early New Kingdom (Bonnet 2013a, 55; 2013b, 809). The city was encircled by two fortification systems: Inside is a 6 m wide precinct punctuated by numerous doors and flanked by twin towers on both sides of a narrow passage. After a space of 40 to 50 m, the fronts were fortified by a series of bastions placed side by side corresponding to a second, even more impassable fence (Fig. 10). The urban centre was continuously reoccupied by many successive buildings. We could not reach the Nubian levels over a wide area as these levels were often destroyed by the foundations of the later structures, or are located at a great depth (Bonnet 2015, 1–14). However, the religious area preserved in the inner north-

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Fig. 11: A temple in Dokki Gel, first oval-shaped and later round (I. Matter-Horisberger).

eastern corner of the city enables us to record the architectural evolution of a few cult buildings. In this sector two temples and one or two chapels accompanied by a palace were identified. The main temple was oval-shaped, and during its foundation, its thick wall was strengthened by powerful buttresses; it probably had a vault (Fig. 11). On the eastern side, two small bastions framed a narrow door opening onto an oval room measuring approximately 3 to 4 m. A pedestal preceded by two steps or post-holes was probably connected to the base of a naos. The same layout was also found in the neighbouring sanctuaries. The entrance of the main temple was linked with a door through the inner precinct, with a passage flanked on both sides by a wooden fence. Beyond the door, this passage continued and reached another opening by means of an s-shaped path; the passage ended at a third door belonging to a huge building with hundreds of mud-brick columns and similar to other edifices, indicating that this must have been a ceremonial palace. The indigenous religious area witnessed many transformations, sometimes in the aftermath of destruction; but the buildings of worship were maintained for a long time, and the most important edifice was enlarged. Before the Napatan Period, it received a circular plan that remained the same during the Meroitic Period. Another indigenous temple was founded very early on the central north-south axis of Dokki Gel. It also lies inside the first precinct; however, the poor remains of the walls show numerous transformations and we believe that this sanctuary is very ancient. It was destroyed when the pharaoh’s armies took control of the region (Valbelle 2013, 447).

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These remarks on the religious constructions of Kerma and Dokki Gel between 2400 and 1480 BC give us an account of this large territory extending from the Egyptian border to that of Central Sudan. By the time of the early New Kingdom in Egypt, this southern country seems to have been perfectly structured, stabilized by a centralized power under the rule of a mighty and independent king. Its contacts with central Africa stimulated exchange, and the Kingdoms of Darfur, Kurdufan, Kassala and Punt seem to have enjoyed privileged relations with the Kingdom of Kerma, as the capital, its institutions and the ceremonial city demonstrate the existence of a complex state. Of course, the archaeological record does not answer all of our questions; for instance, one would like to know the names of the local gods. One would also like to assess the true status of the ruler of Kerma in relation to the neighbouring Kingdoms. However, the country certainly had a large population, even if the number of houses in the capital remained low; unfortunately, the traces of post-holes left by thousands of huts do not yield precise statistics, as not all of them were recorded (Emberling 2014, 129). In the farmlands of the nearby plains, one could also identify hundreds of dwellings, similar to those in Kawa or Gism el-Arba (Gratien et al. 2003, 29) and probably pertaining to a regional network, because the capital of Kerma did not have extensive food storage facilities (magazines, silos, etc.). However, several secondary agglomerations had large silos built on wooden beams that were used for cereals. But describing Kerma as an agricultural and pastoral centre seems too simplistic, as part of the large bovine herds might have come from neighbouring countries. However, the Nubian armies, along with powerful alliances, made the Egyptians fear the worst. By studying the Nubian and African defence systems found in Kerma, it becomes clear that this indigenous state held advantages that remain to be better understood. Hence, one must question the relevance of discussions that try to insert the early Nubian state into a typology of urban development already much discussed for the Middle East; this seems rather premature.

The menenu of Thutmose I and the Occupation of his Successors When the city of Kerma was abandoned, in Dokki Gel, an Egyptian fortress replaced the ceremonial city, which was almost completely razed. This complex comprised three new Egyptian temples, the classic plan of which was adapted to the mudbrick architecture. During the reign of Thutmose I, a local coalition destroyed the constructions of the menenu to enlarge and transform the whole defence system of the site (Somaglino, forthcoming). A local religious area that had been maintained by the Egyptians to the north-east was equipped with many bastioned walls to better defend these places of worship. After a short period, a new intervention under

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Fig. 12: General view of the temples of Dokki Gel (B.-N. Chagny).

Thutmose II (Gabolde 2003, 129) and Hatshepsut (Valbelle 2005, 33) permitted the reconstruction of the whole complex and to add stone pillars to the hypostyle halls of the Egyptian temples. In the Nubian area, the main circular temple was enlarged. Thutmose III then modified the fortifications (Valbelle 2008, 85), leaving the indigenous area outside the city. This situation remained the same during the entire Egyptian occupation, although this pharaoh only preserved two temples built according to Egyptian tradition (Fig. 12). In this way, the ceremonial city became an Egyptian city, the architecture of which was comparable to other examples in the Empire (Trigger et al. 1983). In spite of it, one must admit that the local influence and workforce played a significant role. Indeed, some of the structures do not totally follow their Egyptian models: This is notably the case for the fortifications, which for some time still had bastioned precincts and impressive walls. As for the two temples, they witnessed continuous transformations during the reigns of the pharaohs of the 18th and 19th Dynasties. These temples were devoted to several forms of Amun, who was replaced by the cult of Aten during the Amarna Period. The local religious area was not abandoned during the New Kingdom, and the main temple was given a perfectly circular plan. The other sanctuaries were abandoned, maybe in the aftermath of the destructions of the Amarna Period. An architectural change that is not precisely dated shows an evolution in the construction techniques used to build the soil columns: In this case the columns were made of

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galoos instead of mud-brick. The circular surface of the temple was then occupied by a large number of pillars placed at very close intervals. Outside the sanctuary, remains of Ramesside pottery must be linked with light constructions suggested by a rather dense network of post-holes (Ruffieux 2009, 121).

The Religious Architecture in the Napatan Period The presence of a temple of Shabaqo is only suggested by a few architectural blocks bearing his cartouche. One may assume that Taharqo and perhaps Tanutamani also intervened on the site, since their statues were discovered in a pit dug between the two temples that had been in use since the 18th and 19th Dynasties. The vast destruction of the city of Pnubs by the pharaoh Psamtek II bears witness to a war with the Napatan king Aspelta. The urban centre was razed, and the main monuments were destroyed. After the Egyptian army left, Aspelta reconquered Nubia. The city was then rebuilt with considerable architectural effort, and one must assume that all religious edifices were rehabilitated. Egyptianization marked the country significantly, and one can assume that the Egyptian temples and the Nubian religious sites were then restored (Bonnet/Valbelle 2005, 155, 164). In the urban core of Dokki Gel, it is hard to identify the location of the Napatan structures because the two temples were largely transformed in the Meroitic Period. The eastern building, entirely built with fired bricks in the 1st century, was extended and enlarged. In the basement of its peristyle court, remains of a former stone door were found, the threshold and uprights of which enable us to restore the entrance of a temple equipped with a mud-brick pylon (Fig. 13). The court only had four reused columns and opened onto a second monumental gate placed in front of a hypostyle hall with paving stones. The reused pavement in the axis of this chamber was made of talatat, probably originating from the middle temple of the Amarna Period. The sanctuary of this large Napatan building to the east was totally modified at the end of the Meroitic Period. One of the blocks of the pylon façade was inscribed with a cursive Meroitic inscription of the 2nd century BC; however, its construction must be older, perhaps dating to the 5th century BC, because several levels must date to this period based on the pottery. The central temple of the indigenous area was burned down by the troops of Psamtek II, as indicated by a thick layer of ash covering the bases of levelled columns. The remains post-dating the fire reveal a unique Nubian mud-brick plan, identified in the circular building by unusual structural developments. A row of columns must have isolated the holy of holies, which had a wooden frame for a kind of naos. Indeed, a circle of holes left by large logs marks an area of more than one metre in diameter. Inside, a floor made of silt mortar enabled users to deposit objects in this hut. A transverse corridor linked to the western door provided access

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Fig. 13: The entrance of the Napatan temple under a Meroitic courtyard (B.-N. Chagny).

to spaces meant for libations, because hundreds of jar stoppers were piled up in the edifice (Fig. 14). In front of the temple entrance two huts of large diameter were found, the postholes of which were partly superimposed. These light constructions were certainly associated with the place of worship, as suggested by the several hundred jar stoppers found inside, only a few of them bearing seal imprints. These stoppers and the sherds of many vessels were spread over the surface or gathered in piles in or around the large huts. This pottery mainly pertained to contexts of the early Napatan Period, which witnessed a renewal of the city as indicated by a number of official buildings and huge annexes of temples for the preparation of offerings or elite houses. In conclusion, one can assume that the discovery of a pit in Dokki Gel, with statues of five rulers of the late 25th Dynasty and of the early Napatan Kingdom, displays the greatness of the Nubian forces and of their kings (Bonnet/Valbelle 2005). As to the religious architecture here, its development can be compared to that of contemporary Egyptian urban centres, and it foreshadows the coming of

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Fig. 14: The indigenous temple after the destruction by Psamtek II (M. Berti, I. Matter-Horisberger).

Meroitic rule and the proliferation of religious constructions within the territory of the Nile Valley, reaching from the First Cataract to beyond the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile. The Napatans reorganized their kingdom by trying to reinforce it, as confirmed by their temples; however, much remains to be investigated in this respect.

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Bibliography Adams, William Yewdale (1977): Nubia. Corridor to Africa. Princeton, New Jersey: University Press. Bonnet, Charles (2013a): Les grands monuments égyptiens et nubiens du début de la XVIIIe dynastie sur le site de Doukki Gel (Kerma). In: Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 112, p. 57–75. Bonnet, Charles (2013b): Découverte d’une nouvelle ville cérémonielle nubienne et le menenou de Thoutmosis Ier (Doukki Gel, Soudan). In: Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 2 (avril-juin), p. 807–823. Bonnet, Charles (2015): Une ville cérémonielle africaine du début du Nouvel Empire égyptien. In: Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 115, p. 1–14. Bonnet, Charles / Valbelle, Dominique (2004): Le temple principal de la ville de Kerma et son quartier religieux. Mission archéologique du l’Université de Genève à Kerma (Soudan). Paris: Editions errance. Bonnet, Charles / Valbelle, Dominique (2005): Des pharaons venus d’Afrique. La cachette de Kerma. Paris: Citadelles et Mazenod. English Translation 2006: The Nubian Pharaohs. Black Kings on the Nile. Cairo/New York: American University in Cairo Press. Bonnet, Charles / Valbelle, Dominique (2014): La ville de Kerma. Une capitale nubienne au sud de l’Egypte. Mission archéologique du l’Université de Genève au Soudan. Lausanne: Favre. Emberling, Geoff (2014): Pastoral States: Toward a Comparative Archaeology of Early Kush. In: Origini. Journal of Prehistory and Protohistory of Ancient Civilizations 36, p. 125–256. Gabolde, Luc (2003): La stèle de Thoutmosis II à Assouan, témoin historique et archétype littéraire. In: Gasse, Annie / Rondot, Vincent (eds.): Séhel. Entre Égypte et Nubie. Inscriptions rupestres et graffiti de l’époque pharaonique. Actes du colloque international (31 mai–1er juin 2002), Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier. Orientalia Monspeliensia 14. Université Paul Valéry – Montepellier III, p. 129–148. Gratien, Brigitte / Marchi, Séverine / Thuriot, Olivier / Willot, Jean-Michel (2003): Gism el-Arba, habitat 2. Rapport préliminaire sur un centre de stockage Kerma au bord du Nil. In: Sociétés urbaines en Égypte et au Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 23. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle – Lille III, p. 29–43. Privati, Béatrice (2004): Kerma: classification des céramiques de la nécropole orientale. In: Kendall, Timothy (ed.): Nubian Studies 1998. Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the International Society of Nubian Studies, August 21–26, 1998, Boston, Mass. Boston: Department of African-American Studies. Northeastern University, p. 145–156. Ruffieux, Philippe (2009): Poteries découvertes dans un temple de la XVIIIe dynastie à Doukki Gel (Kerma). In: Genava, n.s. 57, p. 121–134. Reisner, George Andrew (1923): Excavations at Kerma I–IV. Harvard African Studies 5–6. Cambridge, Mass.: Peabody Museum of Harvard University. Somaglino, Claire (forthcoming): Étude lexicographique du terme mnnw. Trigger, Bruce Graham / Kemp, Barry John / O’Connor, David B. / Lloyd, Alan B. (1983): Ancient Egypt. A Social History. Cambridge: University Press. Valbelle, Dominique (2005): Hatchepsout en Nubie. In: Bulletin de la Société Française d’Égyptologie 167, p. 33–50. Valbelle, Dominique (2008): Les temples thoutmosides de Pnoubs (Doukki Gel). L’apport de l’épigraphie et de l’iconographie. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series Vol. 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 85–93.

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Valbelle, Dominique (2013): Comment les Egyptiens du début de la XVIIIe dynastie désignaient les Kouchites et leurs alliés. In: Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 112, p. 447–464.

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Settlements of the Second Intermediate Period and New Kingdom The reconquest of Lower Nubia in the 16th century BC prompted the reoccupation, and reformulation, of older towns which had been continuously occupied through a period of Kerma rule. As direct Egyptian control was extended further upstream, a series of new towns were founded to oversee the colony, facilitate extraction of its resources and ensure the security of Egyptian interests. Our understanding of these 2nd millennium BC settlements remains rather limited. Firstly, the character of several important towns is almost unknown: settlement areas at Soleb (Schiff-Giorgini 2002, 410) and Jebel Barkal have not been identified or systematically investigated; the layout of the 18th dynasty town at Tombos has only recently been identified (Smith, pers. comm.). Secondly, the nature of settlement beyond the major towns is only beginning to be explored: hinterland settlements or encampments – whether rural or desert – are likely to offer considerable insights into how much impact the Egyptian occupation had on long-standing patterns of human occupation. Without sustained investigation of rural hinterlands or the discovery of administrative documents, a reliable population estimate will never be possible for New Kingdom Nubia. Edwards (2004, 106–107) wonders if it was substantially less than the 15–20,000 once posited, in itself a very small figure for such a vast region, perhaps exceeded by the population of Tell el-Amarna (Kemp 2012, 272). Thirdly, the loss of Lower Nubia beneath the waters of the Aswan High Dam reservoir limits any further research on this region to re-analyses of previous excavations. The only surviving significant sites within which New Kingdom occupation areas have been identified are Qasr Ibrim (Rose 2011), Shalfak (Näser 2018) and Uronarti (Knoblauch/Bestock/Makovics 2013). Despite these limitations, the last decade of systematic survey and research excavations, notably at Sesebi, Sai and Amara West, has transformed our understanding of lived experience within these settlements, and revealed their dynamic and changing nature, balancing a prior focus on the towns as pharaonic outposts created by the state to help deliver its imperial ambitions. This paper draws upon this research to survey the layout and components that make up these towns, while also seeking to populate these spaces with people, their activities, and their beliefs.

Continuity in Nubian and Egyptian Settlements Earlier scholars sought direct correlations between dynastic history, political events and archaeological evidence such as fires and abandoned buildings (especially at https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-019

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Buhen: Smith 1976, 80–85, with a critique in Smith 1995, 107–109), and interpreted some Second Intermediate Period occupation horizons as those of ‘squatters’ and Nubians living ‘in the ruins’ (Emery et al. 1979, 90–93, 98–99). This interpretative framework is problematic: The hearths, silos, post-holes and vaulted buildings are consistent with these being self-sustaining communities, reformatting and reusing existing architecture. Nonetheless, no large-scale architecture, such as town walls or fortifications, seems to have been built during the Second Intermediate Period. While some Egyptians may have left Nubia when the pharaonic state lost control of the area in the late Middle Kingdom – a soldier named Ha-ankhef describes moving his family, possessions and gold back from Kush, a process that took 13 days (Smith 1995, 109) – continuity of occupation can be traced at most sites, which is unsurprising if these had remained viable environments to sustain communities. Inscriptional evidence from Buhen provides explicit evidence that the local elites at times acknowledged Nubian, not Egyptian, rulers: The commandant of Buhen Seped-hor claims to have built, presumably in pharaonic style, a temple to the god Horus ‘in the days of the King of Kush’ (Smith 1976, 55–56, pl. 72 [1]). This may not have been beneath the Thutmoside temple, as there is evidence for Second Intermediate Period domestic activity here above a putative Middle Kingdom temple (Kemp 2006, 233), a reminder that even with continuous occupation, parts of towns could witness significant changes in function. These rulers of Kush, or their descendants, may have been responsible for the punitive raids as far north as Elkab in Upper Egypt (Davies 2003; on assumed depictions of the Nubian king, see Knoblauch 2012). Aniba is another site where a continuity of occupation can be traced, in this case based on evidence from the cemeteries (Helmbold-Doyé/Seiler, forthcoming). In the Kushite heartland of the Dongola Reach, the sprawling metropolis of Kerma, repeatedly refashioned and extended, featured ceremonial buildings, an imposing temple complex, workshop areas and housing compounds, town walls and elaborate gateways, alongside satellite districts/sites (Figs. 1, 3; Bonnet/Valbelle 2014, 16–21, fig. 12). In its major final phase, the Kerma Classique, the majority of the buildings were of mud-brick, built to rectilinear plans, though enclosure and precinct walls often followed a curving or sinuous plan rare in contemporaneous Egypt (Bonnet/Valbelle 2014, 12–15). The urban layout of the city bears more in common with Tell el-Amarna, a city that grew organically from a core of royal and government buildings with island-like clusters of large houses in precincts, than with the dense, and often compact, pharaonic towns of the 18th and 19th Dynasty in Nubia. Gism el-Arba ‘habitat 1’ was a rural counterpart: a settlement with Kerma Classique occupation horizons, notable for the clustering of individual buildings and precincts but with architecture and building plans consistent with those at contemporaneous Kerma itself (Gratien 1997). Five kilometres to the west, ‘habitat 2’ was occupied throughout the Kerma Classique Period and into the reign of Thutmose III, with pottery and artefacts of New Kingdom style (Gratien 2003–2008, 21–35). A series of modest rectilinear mud-brick buildings cluster around each other, with

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Fig. 1: Summary plan of Kerma, the centre of the Kushite State in the Dongola Reach, during the Kerma Classique Era, with enclosures of period highlighted in green (after a plan by M. Berti, T. Kohler, A. Peillex; courtesy of C. Bonnet). Identical scale to Fig. 2.

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distinctive storage (?) buildings constructed upon stone foundations. Nearby, Tabo also seems to have been occupied from the Kerma Classique through the New Kingdom (Bonnet 2011, 283–287). Sai was an important Kerma centre, on the basis of its cemetery of monumental tumuli (Gratien 1986); the Pre-New Kingdom settlement area has yet to be identified and may not be in the same location as the pharaonic town. The C-Group Culture of Lower Nubia, along with the Pan-Grave/Medjay, seem to have flourished in Lower Nubia and the southern parts of Upper Egypt until the early part of the New Kingdom.1 Best known through cemetery remains, Wadi es-Sebua represents a well-preserved settlement associated with the group (Fig. 2; Sauneron 1965). An enclosure wall surrounds clusters of circular and rectilinear buildings, all built of dry stone. The settlement seems to have been occupied through the Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period (Gratien 1985), perhaps designed to control access to a wadi leading into the Eastern Desert, or to secure an area of the Nile Valley within which few other settlement scatters have been located (Edwards 2004, 98–99). The contemporaneous fortress at Areika has been interpreted as an Egyptian control post that became occupied by the C-Group from the late 12th Dynasty (Wegner 1995). With the reconquest of Lower Nubia instigated by Kamose and his successors (see Spencer et al. 2017, with further references), the old towns were subject to a re-investment in formal architecture, town walls and temples. The imposing town

1 Schneider 2010, 151–153; Gatto 2014; Liszka 2015.

Fig. 2: Summary plans of a selection of Second Intermediate Period and New Kingdom settlements in Nubia. Identical scale to Fig. 1. Sai – A pharaonic town upstream of the Dal Cataract. The enclosure wall, and most of the buildings within, date to the era of Thutmose III (after a plan by AcrossBorders, I. Adenstedt 2016; courtesy of J. Budka). Sesebi – A pharaonic town downstream of the Third Cataract, showing the late 18th Dynasty enclosure, temples and housing areas (after a plan by P. Collett, University of CambridgeAustrian Archaeogical Institute; courtesy of K. Spence). Askut – A Middle Kingdom pharaonic fortress downstream of the Second Cataract, showing areas of abandonment and expansion in the Second Intermediate Period and New Kingdom (drawing by S. T. Smith based upon plans of A. Badawy in the Fowler Museum of Cultural History at UCLA; courtesy of S. T. Smith). Wadi es-Sebua – The C-Group settlement occupied from the 12th Dynasty through the Second Intermediate Period. After sketch published by S. Sauneron (1965, 163). Scale based on statement that enclosure wall was 1 m thick (see Wegner 1995, 136, note 24). H25 – A rural settlement on the Alfreda Nile Channel in the Dongola Reach, showing buildings of New Kingdom date (after Thomas 2014, fig. 2; courtesy of D. A. Welsby). Amara West – A pharaonic town downstream of Sai, with enclosure wall from the reign of Sety I, and buildings – including western suburb – of the late 19th/20th Dynasty (Amara West Project, British Museum).

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Fig. 3: View over western part of Kerma town, with reconstruction of mud-brick architecture. The cultivation, with Nile beyond, lies in the background (Photograph: N. Spencer).

walls of the Middle Kingdom were in some cases repaired, and some have associated these works with major military campaigns or their aftermath (Serra East: Knudstad 1966, 173; Mirgissa: Vercoutter 1970, 188). Renovations at Buhen (Emery et al. 1979, 13–14) have been equated with an inscription dating to year 3 of Kamose, referring to ‘building the fortification [inb?]’ (Smith 1976, 8–9, pl. 2.1), though certain features of the Middle Kingdom fortifications were not refurbished in the 18th Dynasty: The filled-in defensive ditch was repurposed to form a road (Emery et al. 1979, 13–14). At some sites new walls were built to enclose a larger area, such as Aniba, where the New Kingdom walls lack the distinctive repetition of exterior buttresses favoured by the Middle Kingdom builders (Steindorff 1937, 17–20, map 8). The early 18th Dynasty saw the first stone temples constructed within these towns. Sizeable cult buildings were erected at Buhen (north temple: Smith 1976, 76–78, 209–210) and Aniba (Steindorff 1937, 20–29, fig. 16), away from the old Middle Kingdom core of these sites. Buhen was provided with another stone temple inserted within the Middle Kingdom walls upon a terrace of rubble that covered the remains of an earlier temple (Emery et al. 1979, 16–17, pl. 35). Not aligned to the Middle Kingdom layout, the temple prompted the cutting of a new river-facing gateway in the enclosure wall. Kubban, the closest substantial ‘fort’ to Aswan, was furnished with temples in the reigns of Thutmose III and Amenhotep III (Emery/ Kirwan 1935, 26–70, pls. 11–12). Elsewhere within the old forts, buildings were re-occupied and refurbished, often in a rather piecemeal fashion, with decayed and partly abandoned structures likely to have been an accepted part of lived experience. Little is known beyond the

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Fig. 4: Plan of block C at Buhen, showing New Kingdom modifications to Middle Kingdom buildings (Drawing: N. Spencer, after Emery et al. 1979, pls. 23).

temple and enclosure walls about the town at Aniba during the New Kingdom, though a sizeable villa was erected within the southerly part of the Middle Kingdom complex (Steindorff 1937, 19, fig. 16); at Buhen the area between inner and outer fortification was not investigated (Möller 2016, 300) and thus the extent of New Kingdom structures here is unknown. The 18th Dynasty dwellings and workshops (?) were identified in the north-eastern part of the fortress at Serra East (Williams 2017) with a more substantial building in the south-eastern corner featuring a columned hall and re-used doorway inscribed for Senusret III. Moving upstream, a set of carefully planned Middle Kingdom houses at Buhen (Block C) was reworked into an area of smaller dwellings, with the modifications made to each house presumably prompted partly by their respective conditions, and partly by the needs of their new inhabitants (Fig. 4; Emery et al. 1979, 15, 58–64, pls. 22–23). Askut preserves a record of continuous occupation from the 12th Dynasty through the New Kingdom, and while the town no longer lay within the political realm of the pharaonic state in the Second Intermediate Period, contact with Egypt was maintained, at least indirectly, as attested by the presence of marl pottery (Smith 1995, 90–102). Parts of the old fort were left abandoned, gradually filling with rubbish (Fig. 2), whereas elsewhere Middle Kingdom floors were maintained. An extramural housing area developed in the Second Intermediate Period (Smith 2003, 97–101, fig. 5.1), as the community sought more open ground beyond the con-

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fines of the walled town (Smith 2013, 272), an implicit reflection of an apparently secure and stable environment. South of Askut, the hilltop Second Cataract forts (Kemp 2006, 236–241) witnessed less radical reworking of the buildings, with the exception of new stone temples inserted into the urban fabric. At Semna, a small sandstone temple was erected in the reign of Thutmose III in the eastern part of the fort dedicated to Senusret III, the king who had founded this line of forts.2 In the Second Intermediate Period this area had been characterised by small buildings, perhaps workshops and houses, which themselves diverged from the 12th Dynasty layout. Semna was also provided with a temple in the mid-18th Dynasty (Dunham 1960, 113–122, map XVI). Downstream at Uronarti, we are again faced with limitations in the excavated record. In particular, we lack stratigraphic documentation that might have elucidated architectural phases or reoccupation. A mud-brick temple was built outside the fort proper, featuring painted plaster decoration and thereafter relief decoration from the reigns of Thutmose I, Thutmose III and Amenhotep II (Dunham 1967, 13– 16, map III; Knoblauch et al. 2013, 114–115, figs. 12–13; 117, fig. 16). The ‘outer fortress’ might provide the potential to investigate Second Intermediate Period and New Kingdom horizons (Knoblauch et al. 2013, 115); pottery of that date range was noted on ‘hill G’ south of the fort site (Knoblauch et al. 2013, 133–134). Shalfak is similar to Uronarti in featuring repeated alterations to areas of the town (Dunham 1967, 117–118), though no New Kingdom temple has been identified (Näser 2018, 160–163, 165–167). The cemeteries at these sites also evoke continuities of population (e.g. for Aniba, see Näser 2017), though whether the increased prevalence of Egyptian burial practises and object assemblages within the cemeteries represents the Egyptianisation and religious conversion of Lower Nubian communities (Williams 2017, with references) has been challenged (Van Pelt 2013).

New Foundations for Pharaonic Control The new towns founded following the 18th Dynasty reconquest have often been characterised as ‘temple towns’ (Kemp 1972, 666–667) and even ‘uniformly templecentred’ (Morris 2005, 5), but recent fieldwork is showing how approaches to urban planning – and the realities of how the towns subsequently developed – varied between different sites, regions and periods. The distribution of these new towns was dictated by a multitude of factors, including control of desert and riverine routes, well attested for the Middle Kingdom

2 Dunham 1960, 8–9, map VI; Caminos 1998a; for a possible earlier temple, see Dunham 1960, 13, map V.

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through the Semna Dispatches (Kraemer/Liszka 2016; for evidence of Medjay patrolmen in the late 18th Dynasty, see Darnell 2003), oversight of agriculture and natural resources (particularly precious metal, but perhaps also stone), the location of previous centres of Kerma power, and places of religious significance. Located on the east bank of a large island, Sai offered the ideal ‘bridgehead’ for campaigns further south (Davies 2005, 51), with good landing facilities, but its prior role as a major Kerma centre, on the basis of its extensive cemetery (Gratien 1986), must also have been a factor. Similarly, the Egyptian cult centre at Dukki Gel was constructed adjacent to, and over, the remains of the centre of the Kerma Period, itself set within the rich agricultural lands of the Dongola Reach, where further Egyptian towns would be founded at Tombos and Kawa. Between Kawa and Jebel Barkal, there is no evidence for substantial settlements or religious complexes created by the pharaonic state; further excavations are needed to ascertain the date of a posited New Kingdom temple at Usli, 40 km downstream of Jebel Barkal (Bárta et al. 2013, 66–67). A key cult centre from the 18th Dynasty onwards, Jebel Barkal (Kendall et al. 2017) was furnished with a mnn.w – a term often translated as ‘temple town’ – named ‘Slaughtering the foreign lands’ (Klug 2002, 193–208), though this has yet to be identified on the ground. At Kurgus, the furthest upstream reached by Egyptian armies (Davies 2017), no contemporaneous settlement – fortified or otherwise – has been found. Our understanding remains very limited in terms of the layout of the early 18th Dynasty towns such as Sai and Sesebi. Recent excavations at the former site revealed deposits and architecture pre-dating Thutmose III, with an area of small buildings set off narrow alleys north of the later temple (Azim 2011–2012). The presence of statues of Ahmose and Amenhotep I suggests a formal chapel dedicated to the royal cult (Gabolde 2012, 117–120, figs. 1–2), but an enclosure wall of this period has not been identified. At Sesebi, a sequence of the early- and mid-18th Dynasty buildings have been revealed beneath and outside the late 18th Dynasty walled town: foundations for sizeable stone monuments, presumably including temples, and a possible enclosure of around 75 × 75 m (Spence 2017). The newly discovered remains of the town enclosure at Tombos bear similarities with the arrangement at early/mid-18th dynasty Sesebi (Smith, pers. comm.). Inscriptional evidence indicates that at least two mnn.w were constructed in Nubia during the reign of Thutmose I (Gabolde 2004, 133). The early 18th Dynasty ritual centre at Dukki Gel featured mud-brick temple architecture tentatively dated to Thutmose I, and epigraphic evidence as early as the reign of Thutmose II (Valbelle 2017). Bonnet (2017) has sought to equate this complex of temples, ceremonial palaces, a storage facility, water supply features and basins for cattle with a mnn.w of the reign of Thutmose I. At Sai, it is only with the refurbishment around the time of Thutmose III, perhaps as part of one of the final major campaigns to subjugate Kush, that the components of a mnn.w can be securely identified in the archaeological record. This refurbishment was overseen by the viceroy Nehi, who

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Fig. 5: Mud-brick storage magazines in the southern part of Sai town, provided with a floor of schist-slabs and white plaster. View north (Photograph: N. Spencer).

describes his role in the foundation rituals and the replacement of an earlier brick temple with one of stone (Davies 2014a, 7–9). The town comprised a 4.2 m thick wall with exterior bastions, surrounding a rectangular area of 250 × 120 m, with a grid layout of streets and defined areas for elite housing and storage provision; a zone of workshops and small houses cluster inside the north wall (Fig. 2; Budka/ Doyen 2012/2013; Adenstedt 2016; Budka 2017a; 2017b). This last area might reflect a less proscriptive approach by the pharaonic state, with only certain parts of these walled towns planned carefully, and then residents left to organise houses and workshops; a similar phenomenon can be traced in the earliest levels at Amara West (see below; Spencer 2017). The storage facilities at Sai comprised large circular silos, up to 5.8 m in diameter (Azim 1975, 111–119, pls. 12–13), later replaced with rectangular magazines of the form found at Sesebi and Amara West (Fig. 5). Official buildings were constructed to house the most senior official at major towns, whether the mayor or Deputy of Wawat/Kush. The structure at Sai (Azim 1975, 100–103, pl. 4 [SAF2]), located south of the stone temple and created as part of the Thutmoside expansion of the walled town, is typical in featuring a central columned room for formal display and reception, but also a corner entrance, brick floors and thick walls; it may have had an upper storey (Morris 2005, 103; Adenstedt 2016, 57–63). To its north lay the temple, and further north of that another structure interpreted as an official building (‘A’; Budka 2017a).

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A different type of town is embodied by the late 18th Dynasty remodelling of Sesebi, with the creation of a new walled enclosure set on an alluvial platform that necessitated the deposition of almost 100,000 m³ of material (Fig. 2; Spence 2017). Alongside a pair of new temples in the north-western corner, the new layout comprised a large array of vaulted storage magazines and zones of both large- and small-scale housing. In contrast to Thutmoside Sai and Ramesside Amara West, towns in which limited, if any, planned housing has been revealed, the late 18th Dynasty town at Sesebi was similar to Tell Hebua on Egypt’s eastern border (el-Maksoud 1988). Marl storage jars and other pottery from Egypt become noticeably more common in the ceramic assemblage compared to Thutmoside occupation strata at Sesebi (Rose 2017), perhaps hinting at a change in function, and/or its relationship to the pharaonic state. Downstream at Soleb and Sedeinga, large temple complexes were erected in the reign of Amenhotep III – and at Kawa under Tutankhamun – but whether formal towns with large housing provision were planned at these sites is currently unknown. As elsewhere in Egypt’s empire and its borders (see Spencer 2014c, 27–33), a new form of town was constructed in the early Ramesside Period in Nubia. Amara West and Aksha featured square enclosures with stone gateways, corner towers and external buttresses, of a much smaller scale than their 18th Dynasty predecessors. The creation of these new towns might reflect a change in pharaonic policy, possibly as resource availability waned, or as a reaction to hostility from Nile- or desertdwelling groups, given a number of military campaigns known from the late 18th Dynasty (Klug 2002, 422–424, 425–430; Smith 1976, 124–129, pls. 29, 75) and the reigns of Sety I (Darnell 2011) and Ramesses II (Müller 2013, 291 [3]). Unfortunately, we know little about any settlements that might have been associated with the Ramesside temples built in Lower Nubia, at Beit el-Wali, Abu Simbel, Derr, Wadi es-Sebua and Gerf Hussein (Ullmann 2013). The remains of the first architectural phase at Amara West – levelled early in the site’s history – provide insight into what the pharaonic state thought necessary for a new administrative centre for the oversight of Upper Nubia (Spencer 2017). A stone cult temple dedicated to the Theban triad takes up much of the walled town, even if it is not afforded processional avenues or a pylon that would have dominated the cityscape (Fig. 2). The sandstone West Gate was, however, decorated with colourful scenes of Ramesses II triumphant over Nubians. A residence of the Deputy of Kush, identified on the basis of decorated stone architecture, was complemented by large-scale storage facilities that feature rows of contiguous rectangular magazines. A small number of houses are present in this earliest phase, but these are not constructed to a standard plan: Even in its earliest guise, the layout of the town was not conceived as an entirely state-formulated entity.

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Town, Periphery and Hinterland Circulation routes within and around the towns can be explored at several sites. In the great capital of Kerma, a network of routes, not strictly aligned, linked cult centres and official buildings, passing through gateways that punctuated the city walls (Bonnet/Valbelle 2014, 16–21, fig. 12). The provision of alleyways between town wall and the buildings within, a feature familiar from the Second Cataract forts of the Middle Kingdom, is found at Sai (Budka/Doyen 2012/2013, 172–173, fig. 1), whereas the Amara West town displays a more dense layout with structures built against the interior of the town wall and no substantial open spaces within the walled area. Unlike Sai (Budka 2017, fig. 1) and Sesebi (Blackman 1937, pl. 13), the buildings at Amara West were not strictly orientated to a grid, at least after the initial layout, with narrow alleys repeatedly blocked and colonised by extensions or new buildings (Spencer 2017). The peripheral areas of these towns remain underexplored. Middens have been noted west and south-east of the walled town at Amara West, the former area later being repurposed as an extramural suburb (Fig. 2; Spencer 2015, 191–193); that areas for disposing of rubbish could be mutually agreed upon is suggested by the concentration of material in a ravine downwind of the Uronarti fort (Knoblauch et al. 2013, 117–118, figs. 16–17). Beyond the suburb at Amara West, at the far western limit of the archaeological zone, excavations in 2016 revealed an area of garden plots within walls built from a combination of dry stone and mud-brick. Between the houses and garden plots lay a shallow depression that might have been seasonally inundated, providing further potential for small-scale agriculture, of a type common today in dried-up seasonal water channels in this part of Nubia. The ‘open town’ at Mirgissa, seemingly occupied from the Middle Kingdom through the Second Intermediate Period, comprised a cluster of houses with sinusoidal precinct walls and a dry-stone enclosure wall, quite distinct from the main town/fort (Vercoutter 1970, 11–13, pls. 9–10a). The large swathe of garden plots found here contrasts with the cluster of smaller plots on different alignments at Amara West, the latter perhaps reflecting individual/household initiative. Field patterns between towns can be partly reconstructed in the area around Aniba, on the basis of textual descriptions of fields of modest sizes set out on a strip between desert and river, some owned by the temple, others belonging to the pharaoh or other individuals (‘the herdsman Bahu’; KRI VI, 350.5–352.1; KRITA VI, 276–277). All the major towns are located on the Nile, yet port installations have not been preserved or excavated to date. At Kerma, an area south-west of the main town, featuring circular buildings of 8 m in diameter and a possible chapel, yielded a number of Hyksos seal-impressions. This site has been putatively interpreted as a port zone (Bonnet/Valbelle 2014, 9, fig. 5 (3), 19, 233). Budka (2017) notes that the eastern edge of Sai Island, where the New Kingdom town was located, offered an ideal natural harbour for the landing of boats.

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Cemeteries were integral parts of these New Kingdom towns, both in terms of their location, often in proximity to the urban zone (Soleb, Sesebi, Sai, Mirgissa), or across a river channel (Amara West, Askut). While these are considered in more detail elsewhere (see Ch. Spence), it is worth recalling that the cemeteries were places of lived experience, in terms of construction work, production of grave goods and burial rites, but also ongoing practise of the mortuary cult and indeed ancient looting. The layout of cemeteries, their architecture and grave goods can provide insights into ancient senses of community (Knoblauch 2016; Näser 2017). Did Egyptian control, and cultural influence, extend beyond these large riverside towns into the agricultural plains and desert hinterlands? Knoblauch (2012) has posited that a particular group of stelae might have acted as boundary markers, reminding us the Egyptian administration sought also to control the hinterlands, not only the defined borders and boundaries at various points along the Nile (Aswan, Tombos, Kurgus). Alongside Gism el-Arba, mentioned above, site H25 offers the potential to trace how a rural settlement in the Dongola Reach was transformed, or not, with the arrival of Egyptian rule to the area. The settlement is not laid out on a grid plan, and there does not seem to be a town wall (Fig. 2). Storage areas – perhaps to store produce deriving from this area of rich agricultural potential – as well as small houses have been revealed (Thomas 2014). Moving further north, the intensive survey of the Third Cataract region revealed little Egyptian presence outside the major centres of Tombos and Sesebi. As yet unexcavated, settlement HBB017 at Habaraab featured dry-stone circular buildings, no enclosure wall, but the presence of Egyptian marl and redware pottery (Osman/ Edwards 2012, 71–72, figs. 3.10–20; 319–320, figs. 8.20.12–14). Nubian sherds have yet to be identified here: was this a community of Egyptians, or Egyptian-affiliated, individuals? A similar picture emerges in the Batn el-Hagar, where long stretches of the river are devoid of clear evidence of Egyptian settlement (including burials), other than clusters of sites relating to gold extraction (Edwards 2013). The stretch between Faras and Gemai is characterised by dry-stone ‘sentinel huts’, sometimes 40 to 50 clustered together (Nordström 2014, 138–140), which may have been occupied intermittently, but did feature hearth emplacements. Contemporary with the creation of Sai in the early 18th Dynasty, the desert hinterland on the west bank – around the later site of Amara West – witnessed considerable activity at a series of small encampments that flanked a now-dry Nile channel (Stevens/Garnett 2017). Site 2-R-65 included an early phase of architecture that combined mud-mortar and mud-brick, often directly over schist bedrock, along with post-holes. A subsequent phase of fireplaces was later overbuilt by dry-stone architecture, including at least eight houses. The artefacts recovered included Egyptianstyle pottery and up to 30 % Nubian handmade pottery (Fig. 7 (right); principally cooking pots). Were these sites designed to secure desert routes, or to support early prospection for mineral and other resources, as the Egyptian state explored newly

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conquered territories? Perhaps these sites were associated with the ‘wadi-workings’ gold processing: More noticeable quantities of quartz chippings were found here than in the Ramesside settlement of Amara West. We cannot be certain if they were continuously occupied: The sites may have been seasonal, and Stevens wonders about workers ‘moving over the landscape, periodically re-occupying and re-shaping convenient base camps’, and imagines that similar prospections in the Sesebi region may have prompted the creation of the pharaonic town (Stevens/Garnett 2017). To date, no evidence for the later 18th Dynasty or Ramesside occupation has been found in the Amara West hinterland: Were these encampments rendered superfluous by climate change (see Woodward et al. 2017), or rather by the foundation of Amara West as a major centre of pharaonic control and trade? More remote still is the dry-stone fort of Gala Abu Ahmed, 110 km up the Wadi Howar from the Nile Valley. Radiocarbon dates suggest activity here from the 13th century BC (Jesse 2013). It is not clear if this fort was ever controlled by the pharaonic state; it was clearly integrated into trading networks, given the presence of Egyptian marl pottery. Was the distinctive stone architecture a function of its location far from alluvial clay deposits typically used to make bricks for Egyptian town walls, or does it reflect a Nubian architectural tradition and demographic?

Peopling the Towns of Nubia: Agency and Cultural Entanglement Seeking to bring to life these towns, we are faced with fundamental questions. Who lived in these settlements? Did they see themselves as Egyptian or Nubian? How did they experience the Empire? The highest resident officials in Nubia were, from the reign of Tutankhamun, the Deputies of Wawat (Lower Nubia) and Kush (Upper Nubia; Müller 2013, 197–206). These officials were based at administrative centres, within which formal Residence buildings were provided: Sesebi (?) followed by Soleb, Sai (?) and later Amara West for the Deputy of Kush, with his northern (Wawat) counterpart based at Aniba, and possibly Faras before. As in Egypt proper, inscriptions attest to elite officials inhabiting, or at least visiting, these towns (Auenmüller 2018). Buhen offers the most comprehensive evidence (Smith 1976, 198–205) for those present, from those with a regional remit (viceroy of Kush, commander of troops of Kush), to local officials (commanders, mayors), scribes and priests (first and second prophets, wab-priests and a songstress of Horus lord of Buhen). A range of titles related to the extraction and administration of resources, particularly gold (Müller 2013, 55–57). Of course, Nubians are not greatly represented in these datasets, other than those integrated into the Egyptian administrative sphere, where their Nubian origin would nearly always be masked by the adoption of an Egyptian name. Indeed, in much earlier scholarship an implicit assumption is that these towns were entirely inhabited by Egyptians posted from Egypt itself, to the extent that

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upon Egypt’s retreat, the populations would return to Egypt with their belongings (for Amara West, see Spencer 1997, 220). Such an interpretation is no longer tenable, and indeed the study of other colonial environments reveals that cultural entanglement and interaction was more likely the norm than clear-cut distinctions between conqueror and conquered (Stein 2005; Stockhammer 2013). The architectural and artefactual record from the major towns is largely consistent with that from contemporaneous sites in Egypt, and there were numerous ways in which the Egyptian world-view was promulgated: on seals and their impressions, on decorated gateways and temple walls (Spencer 2014b), and through the reading of Egyptian literary classics (Parkinson/Spencer 2017). Nonetheless, we need not suggest that the inhabitants all saw themselves as Egyptian, at least not all of the time. Firstly, at some towns, for example the Ramesside foundations at Amara West, the initial inhabitants may have been partly drawn from nearby towns founded nearly two centuries earlier (e.g. Sai). In such cases, we might expect descendants of mixed marriages, but also of Egyptian families resident in Nubia across several generations, to have developed a cultural and emotional affinity with the region itself, and thus not to have sought a return to Egypt. Secondly, the use of Egyptian architectural idioms – specifically rectilinear mud-brick architecture – was already prevalent at Kerma prior to the New Kingdom reconquest (Bonnet/Valbelle 2014, 12–15), and therefore may not have been perceived by those of Nubian descent as being Egyptian in character. Bioarchaeological analyses, specifically the investigation of strontium isotope signatures, has been used to suggest a significant Theban component to the population at Tombos in the 18th Dynasty (Buzon/Simonetti 2013), with a further influx in the Ramesside era (Buzon/Smith/Simonetti 2016). The interpretation of isotope data for a dynamic fluvial system like the Nile needs to be used with caution (Woodward et al. 2015, 102–104), though the presence of funerary cones at Tombos (and Aniba) does seem to project a specifically Theban tradition (Smith 2003, 140–143; see Tombos 2016 for a new reading of titles upon the Siamun cone). No consistent isotope signature emerges amongst the New Kingdom and Post-New Kingdom skeletons from Amara West (Binder, pers. comm.), and the ethnic profile of these towns may have been yet more diverse, given that inscriptional evidence attests to the deliberate settling of Near Eastern prisoners-of-war in the Nubian towns (Davies 2014b, 405). At Amara West, several factors point towards a considerable visibility of Nubian Culture within the Ramesside town, which becomes more prevalent in later periods of occupation. Firstly, there is the presence – in Ramesside levels – of an oval building that falls outside Egyptian architectural tradition and is more consistent with the buildings found at Kerma (Fig. 6; Spencer 2010). Whether this structure represents a dwelling, a ceremonial building, or fulfilled some other function, it is interesting that the nature of the alluvial floors is markedly different from the surfaces in other houses at the site, with a much higher proportion of vegetal temper (Dalton 2017). Are we seeing here a different cultural tradition in the preparation of

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Fig. 6: View west over oval building E12.11, constructed in the Nubian architectural tradition during the late 19th or 20th Dynasty. A large villa (E12.11) is partly visible behind (Photograph: Amara West Project, British Museum).

living/working surfaces, or is it rather a matter of function? Secondly, the occurrence of handmade, basket-impressed, Nubian cooking pots alongside Egyptianstyle cooking pots (Spencer/Millet 2013, 656–657; Spataro et al. 2014) indicates the integration of Nubian products and modes of production within the community: Might this reflect influences upon foodways and even the presence of Nubian inhabitants? Thirdly, the phenomenon of post-firing carving of depictions of wild animals upon storage jars imported from Egypt (Fig. 7; Spencer/Millet 2013, 658–659, fig. 15), not attested in New Kingdom Egypt, represents a local tradition being applied to widely circulating pottery vessels. Whilst these datasets might reflect the adoption of elements of Nubian Culture amongst Egyptian colonists, that indigenous cultural markers are also deployed in the sphere of cult and funerary practise suggests the presence of individuals who did see themselves, at least in certain contexts, as affiliated with a Nubian cultural tradition. The preference for anthropomorphic forms of clay female figurine formed from two joined vertical rows of clay diverges further from the forms encountered in Egypt (Stevens 2017). More strikingly still, a large communal tomb of the Ramesside Period in the lower cemetery at Amara West (G244) combines a tumulus superstruc-

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Fig. 7: Objects reflecting Nubian traditions of form and production, from Amara West: clay female figurines (left, drawings: Alice Salvador), post-firing depictions of wild animals incised on storage vessels (centre, drawings: Marie Millet) and a hand-made cooking pot with basket-impression on exterior (right, drawing: Alice Salvador) (Drawings: Amara West Project, British Museum).

ture with subterranean burial chambers furnished with painted wooden anthropoid coffins, headrests, faience vessels, scarabs and Egyptian-style pottery, the bodies wrapped in linen (Binder 2017). These individuals wished to project a Nubian cultural affiliation to those visiting the cemetery, while availing themselves of Egyptian grave goods to ensure an eternal life. The presence of a number of infant burials, and the inclusion of ostrich egg vessels, might further reflect the influence of Nubian funerary culture. The careful study of housing areas also serves to underline the role of individuals and households in shaping these communities. While the initial form of the town at Amara West was only partly dictated by the needs of the state – expressed in carefully planned architectural zones (Spencer 2017) – as time progressed, the inhabitants themselves seem to have become ever-more influential in transforming the appearance, function and feel of the ancient town. In a small neighbourhood (E13) directly north of the residence of the Deputy of Kush, storage magazines were partly dismantled, built into and overbuilt to create spaces more suitable for dwelling within (Spencer 2015). The houses were constructed of mud-brick, with stone architectural fittings: local sandstone for doorjambs, lintels and column bases, and schist slabs used as thresholds, lintels and exterior corner posts to protect house walls from excessive erosion. No two houses were identical, and without the luxury of space and open, uninhabited, ground – something prevalent at Tell el-Amarna, which dominates the discussion of New Kingdom urbanism and housing – each household sought to accommodate specific needs. The houses varied from small three-room structures of only 25 m2 in area, to medium size houses with up to six rooms on the ground floor and dedicated food preparation rooms (Fig. 8; Spencer 2014a). Staircases to an upper storey or roof, bread ovens and cereal grinding em-

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placements were common, but mastabas were omitted from the smallest houses. The reconstruction of roofing within these houses challenges some often-held assumptions: Many of the rooms with bread ovens and hearths were covered with substantial roofs, which would have created unpleasant, smoky, environments (Vandenbeusch 2017). Elsewhere, Sesebi provides an example of carefully laid out houses divided into zones of large villas and small ‘row houses’ (Blackman 1937, pl. 13), while the early 18th Dynasty town at Sai features five or six small houses within a narrow space between the official residence and a storage facility (Azim 1975, 118–120, pl. 4). These include three or four small houses with a similar layout of rooms, and a more substantial house to the north. Unlike at Amara West, much of the enclosure at Sai has yet to be explored, so there may exist further housing districts yet to be revealed. The ‘block C’ houses at Buhen (Fig. 4; Emery et al. 1979, 56–64) are rather different, constrained by the Middle Kingdom houses upon which they were built. Several (houses C, D, E, H) retained the square form of their predecessors, though in one case (F) a suite of rooms was created to provide a corridor-like access into the house. Some houses at Amara West feature small niches set into walls, in at least two cases decorated to evoke Egyptian cult architecture (Spencer 1997, 172; Spencer et al. 2014, 27–18) and thus likely to have housed a small stela, whereas the back room of another house was fitted with a pedestal upon which a sandstone anthropoid bust still stood, perhaps associated with a family ancestor (or ancestors) (Fig. 9; Spencer 2014a, 473–474, fig. 10 and pl. 16). Small stelae and mud ‘fertility’ figurines (for the latter, Stevens 2017) provide further evidence of house-based cult and ritual, while the dedication of stelae, and to a lesser extent statuary, within the town’s main temple mirrored contemporary practise in Egypt (Spencer, forthcoming). A modest mid-18th Dynasty shrine in an Askut extramural house re-used elements of a Second Intermediate Period emplacement (Smith 2003, 127–131), while even the great temple at Soleb took account of the wider population, with ‘a great gate of Amenhotep-ruler-of-Thebes, Nebmaatra, who hears prayers’ described in one inscription (Schiff-Giorgini et al. 1998, pl. 312 [Sb. 104]). In the rural settlement at Gism el-Arba, a local production of ceramic figurines of animals is attested (Gratien 2003–2008, 42 and pl. 8), but it is Mirgissa that provides the best insight into a community’s spiritual concerns. A small two-roomed chapel built against a Middle Kingdom wall in the north-east corner of the fortress preserved a wide array of objects left for Hathor Lady of Iken, mostly in the middle of the 18th Dynasty, including stelae, amulets, necklaces, faience figurines and pottery, and one vessel filled with small objects (Karlin 1970, 307–362; Pinch 1993, 41–48). At Faras, where the New Kingdom urban layout is poorly understood, a small mud-brick temple dedicated to Hathor Lady of Ibshek was erected against a rock face, and another array of modest offerings deposited here from the Middle Kingdom through the 18th Dynasty (Pinch 1993, 26–40).

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Fig. 8: Kite photograph of house D12.7 in the western suburb at Amara West (Photograph: Amara West Project, British Museum).

The sprawling extramural suburb west of the walled town at Amara West was built over a zone of rubbish deposits and garden plots, reflecting a community outgrowing the increasingly dense housing areas of the original walled town (Spencer 2015, 191–193). This suburb includes large villas of up to 400 m2 in ground floor area – thus at the upper end of the range of house areas at Tell el-Amarna – with at least one example (D11.1) featuring an outside court enclosed with a wall. While these house-builders availed themselves of more space, and could create more consistent house layouts (Fig. 8), the areas between houses gradually became colonised with further buildings, restricting and changing access routes and undoubtedly transforming the experience of the neighbourhood for its inhabitants. The West Gate, which provided access from the walled town to the suburb, was maintained through the history of the town: inhabitants would have had to ascend out of the old town, via staircases, into the extramural housing area set high upon the rubbish heaps of earlier generations. Askut also prompts us to imagine the experience of moving through these settlements, as the old core of the walled fort featured areas maintained at their Middle Kingdom floor levels, while adjacent structures were left to decay and fill with debris (Fig. 2; Smith 1995, 90–102). Caution is also needed in imagining these Egyptian towns as male-dominated environments, staffed by garrisons. The evidence rather points to communities of

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men, women and children, and perhaps with an increased proportion of family units rather than stationed officials and garrisons as the towns become more selforganising (see Smith 2013, 269). The plan of ‘habitat 2’ at Gism el-Arba reflects a similar development of a small community, with space increasingly colonised and buildings extended over time. The skeletal data from Amara West indicates a balanced male-female demographic (Binder 2014).

Activities in the Towns: Survival, Resource Extraction and Production The difficult life of these towns’ inhabitants is evident from recent bioarchaeological studies, with short life expectancies (46 % of adults deaths occurred between the ages of 21 and 35), considerable amounts of trauma (especially broken limbs, though often healed) and pathologies identified at Amara West, as one would expect in much of the pre-modern world (Binder/Spencer 2014). The challenging environment is further suggested by a sense that inhabitants were seeking to prolong the use-life of many objects, particularly through repairing pottery vessels, as seen at Sesebi (Rose 2017). The communities at Tombos (Smith 2003, 113–124; Smith/Buzon 2017), Sai (Budka 2017a), Sesebi (Rose 2017) and Amara West used Nubian-style handmade cooking pots alongside other Egyptian-style vessels, working with food resources consistent with those found at contemporaneous sites in Egypt. Caprids, cow, poultry and pig dominate the faunal record at Amara West (Weinstock/Williams 2015) and Sai (Saliari/Budka, in press); the presence of pig distinguishes these pharaonic towns from the foodways at Kerma sites (Chaix 1993). Hieratic dockets and jar sealings from Buhen indicate the resident elite had access to imported wine (from the oases, Levant and Lower Egypt), honey, preserved meat, fats and oils (Smith 1976, 162–189). New macrobotanical and phytolith studies are revealing detailed insights into the use of botanical resources in these New Kingdom towns. Thus at Amara West, emmer wheat and barley dominate the cereal record; a pilot study revealed that two smaller houses relied upon a much higher proportion of barley (45 %) than did an extramural villa of the same occupation horizon, prompting questions about whether food resources were distributed from large estates (10 %, Cartwright/Ryan 2017). Other foodstuffs identified at Amara West include lentil, watermelon, melon, colocynth, fig, doum-palm and Christ’s thorn. An ostracon recording fish deliveries at Sai has been interpreted as evidence for a supply from Egypt (Budka/Doyen 2011/2012, 198–199, figs. 29–30). In another possible example of how local agency came to play a more prominent role in the life of these towns, Smith (2014, 199, note 62) has proposed a shift from centralised control of fishing equipment in Middle Kingdom Askut to household oversight in the New Kingdom.

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What activities occupied the inhabitants of these towns, beyond the requirements of sustenance and day-to-day survival? The flow of tribute and resources back to Egypt is well attested through the inscriptional and representational record. This included gold, ivory and ebony, exotic animals (panthers) and livestock, slaves, timber and semi-precious stones (Zibelius-Chen 1988, 69–114; Müller 2013, 352–363); the decree of Sety I at Nauri describes in detail the agricultural produce destined for his memorial temple in Abydos (Brand 2000, 294–295). How did the towns support the logistics of this operation? Considerable storage facilities are the most obvious reflection at sites such as Sesebi (Blackman 1937, 149, pl. 13), Sai (Fig. 5) and Amara West (Spencer 2017); that some of these were for agricultural produce is suggested by the presence of individuals such as an ‘overseer of the double granary Horhotep’ at Amara West (Spencer et al. 2014, 19, 34). It is also at Sesebi that the best evidence exists for gold-processing on a considerable scale, with green schist and granodiorite grinding stones found across residential areas, dumps of crushed quartz across the site, and extensive pitting of quartz deposits at the edges of the nearby wadi.3 Sesebi may have been unique in being situated amongst gold-bearing deposits: Elsewhere, desert encampments provided smallscale accommodation and processing facilities (see Edwards 2013), and the towns – with their storage – are likely to have acted as depots ahead of onward transfer to Egypt. Nonetheless, that the same grinding stones – and even a closed pot full of gold-rich quartz (Spencer 1997, 106, pl. 81d) – are found in Amara West houses might suggest an industry partly devolved to household operations. The presence of officials with the title of ‘scribe of counting the gold (of Kush)’, at Tombos (Tombos 2016) and Amara West (Spencer 1997, 37–38 [69]; Spencer, forthcoming), betrays the pharaonic state’s concern with monitoring the extraction of this resource. The bureaucratic apparatus of the pharaonic state was very much in evidence in these towns, with seal-impressions recovered in considerable quantities from Sai (Budka 2017a) and Amara West (Spencer 2014b), and ostraca recording commodity deliveries (Spencer 2014b, 51–52, fig. 16) of items including fish (Budka/Doyen 2012/2013, 198–199, figs. 29–30) and pottery (Spencer 2017). While petrographic and chemical analyses of ceramics points towards a local production of both Nubian- and Egyptian-style vessels (and ‘crossover’ examples) at Sai (Budka 2014, 67–69; 2017), Sesebi (Rose 2017) and Amara West (Spataro et al. 2014), few production facilities have been identified within Nubian settlements. A small kiln at Amara West may form part of the ‘start-up’ operation needed when the town was being laid out and first occupied (Fig. 10), and an ostracon records the production or delivery of 300 Tb and an unknown number of ob-vessels, part of the repertoire familiar from contemporaneous Deir el-Medina (Spencer 2017). A metalworking ‘furnace’ excavated in a New Kingdom building at Buhen (Emery et al. 1979, 94–95, pl. 25) is rather similar to the Amara West kiln, and thus

3 Fairman 1939, 153; Spence et al. 2009; 2011.

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Fig. 9: Sandstone anthropoid bust (F4182) of the 20th Dynasty as found upon pedestal in the rear room of house E13.3-S at Amara West (Photograph: Amara West Project, British Museum).

may have been related to pottery production. The extramural area at Askut also featured small-scale kilns in use through the Middle and New Kingdoms. Smith (2014) proposes a model – for pottery and possibly other crafts – combining household production (for personal/household consumption and distribution), workshops and larger-scale production for wider regional markets. With handmade Nubian-style ceramics common in these New Kingdom settlements, we should perhaps seek evidence for peripheral zones being used for open pit/bonfire kilns, as has been posited for Kerma (Bonnet/Valbelle 2014, 14–15). The artefactual evidence from Askut has been interpreted as reflecting a shift from local and imported flint tools in the Middle Kingdom to copper alloy tools in the New Kingdom (Smith 2003, 101–106), and the concentration of moulds, hammerstones, copper waste, crucibles and tuyères in the extramural area suggests a location for metalworking, possibly on an intermittent basis given the lack of identifiable workshops (Smith 2013, 283–284). Kerma (Bonnet 2004, 33–38) and Amara West (area E13.17, 19th Dynasty) also provide evidence for metalworking. In contrast, faience production is difficult to prove at these towns, with few moulds and relatively few objects, though ‘Nun bowls’ were found at Sai (Budka/Doyen 2012/2013, 186–187). Textile working is suggested by finds of spinning bowls and spindle whorls at Sai (Budka 2017a), and bone tools at Askut (Smith 2003, 103–104, fig. 5.7) and Amara West. We must remember to introduce colour into the experience of these houses: At Amara West, most of the houses were plastered with plain mud plaster, but some rooms were whitewashed, in some cases to dado height and

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Fig. 10: Pottery kiln (5029) in area E13.15 at Amara West, early 19th Dynasty. View north-east (Photograph: Amara West Project, British Museum).

framed with a black line. Colourful rosette and other patterns decorated some vaulted ceilings (Spencer 1997, 172) and a stela (?)-niche in house E13.7 was painted several times (Spencer et al. 2014, 27–28). The analyses of raw pigment, sherds reused as palettes and grinding stones bearing traces of pigment reveal a community accessing easily available local resources (red and yellow ochre) but also judiciously using imported pigments such as Egyptian blue and bitumen (K. Fulcher, pers. comm.; see Fulcher 2014).

The Aftermath: Colonial Retreat, Climate Change and Survivors The historical texts and formal monuments indicate a gradual fall-off in royal/elite Egyptian investment in Nubia as the Ramesside Period drew to a close. An inscription in the peristyle hall at Amara West represents the latest known royal inscription in Upper Nubia, in year 6 of Ramesses IX (Spencer 1997, 36, pl. 27d), though

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elite officials such as Baken-wer, overseer of the treasury in the same reign, may have been present at Jebel Barkal, assuming the statue was not moved from elsewhere (see Kahn 2013, 373). In Lower Nubia, the viceroy Panehsy is associated with the cartouches of Ramesses XI at Buhen, and is later involved in conflict with the Theban High Priest and de facto ruler Amenhotep (Wente 1990, 171–204; Török 2009, 204–207). Against this backdrop, previously presented as an inevitable slide towards a ‘dark age’ of depopulation, archaeology is now revealing different biographies for the major towns. This is often clearer to discern in the cemeteries, where burials of the 10th through 8th centuries BC are known from Aniba (Näser 2017), Amara West (Binder 2017), Sai (Thill 2007) and Tombos (Smith 2007a; 2007b). In the Jebel Barkal area, burials of the late New Kingdom through early Napatan Period have been discovered at Sanam (Lohwasser 2010, 91–96) and Hillat el-Arab (Vicentelli 2006). What was happening in the living areas? Post-New Kingdom/Pre-Napatan architecture has yet to be identified at Amara West or Sai, but a scatter of 8th/7th century BC pottery across the southern part of the Amara West town mound speaks to continued trade and communication with Egypt. The later histories of sites are also informative: Jebel Barkal and Dukki Gel would flourish as important settlements through the Napatan and Meroitic eras, and there is evidence for continuous occupation at both Kawa (Welsby 2017) and the rural settlement H25 in the Dongola Reach. Why did Amara West not persist as a settlement? Recent research into riverine dynamics around the site suggests climate change may have been considerable drivers towards abandonment, as a river channel dried up towards the end of the 1st millennium BC, exposing the town to Saharan sand ingress and presumably a more difficult environment to practise agriculture (Woodward et al. 2017). Inhabitants attempted to address the challenge with architectural devices (door blockings and reorientation of houses), but suffered from increasingly poor health (notably respiratory diseases). One can posit the gradual abandonment of houses, and the eventual relocation of settlements to the east bank, which remains the focus of occupation today in this stretch of the Nile Valley. As Dietler (1998, 308) has noted, ‘we must find new, more subtle ways of exploring the relationship between local and ‘global’ processes: we must develop methods for coming to grips with local agency, culture and history in the material record of the past’. The waxing and waning of Egyptian control over Nubia was not the sole, or even always major, driver behind changes in the history, function or nature of individual settlements across Nubia in the late 2nd millennium BC. Rather, the archaeological evidence from Nubia outlined above illustrates how individuals, households and communities acted as agents of change within and beyond the towns of this region, and may thus have influenced the course of wider Nubian, and Egyptian, culture and political history.

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Tombos (2016) = Scribe-reckoner of the Gold of Kush (https://tombos.org/scribe-reckoner-ofthe-gold-of-kush/; last seen 09. 06. 2017). Török, László (2009): Between two Worlds. The Frontier Region between Ancient Nubia and Egypt 3700 BC – AD 500. Probleme der Ägyptologie 29. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Valbelle, Dominique (2017): The Use of Stone and Decorative Programmes in Egyptian Temples of Dynasty 18 at Pnubs (Dokki Gel/Kerma). In: Spencer, Neal / Stevens, Anna / Binder, Michaela (eds.): Nubia in the New Kingdom. Lived Experience, Pharaonic Control and Indigenous Traditions. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 3. Leuven, Paris, Bristol, CT: Peeters, p. 123–132. van Pelt, W. Paul (2013): Revising Egypto-Nubian Relations in New Kingdom Lower Nubia. From Egyptianization to Cultural Entanglement. In: Cambridge Archaeological Journal 23, p. 523–550. Vandenbeusch, Marie (2017): Roofing Houses at Amara West: A Case Study. In: Spencer, Neal / Stevens, Anna / Binder, Michaela (eds.): Nubia in the New Kingdom. Lived Experience, Pharaonic Control and Indigenous Traditions. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 3. Leuven, Paris, Bristol, CT: Peeters, p. 389–406. Vercoutter, Jean (1970): Mirgissa I. Mission archéologique francaise au Soudan. Paris: La Direction Générale des Relations Culturelles, Scientifiques et Techniques. Vincentelli, Irene (2006): Hillat el-Arab: The Joint Sudanese-Italian Expedition in the Napatan Region, Sudan. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 15. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1570. London: BAR Publishing. Wegner, Josef W. (1995): Regional Control in Middle Kingdom Lower Nubia: The Function and History of the Site of Areika. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 32, p. 127–160. Weinstock, Jaco / Williams, Ellie (2015): Faunal Remains from Amara West, Buildings E12.10 and E13.3. Unpublished Report. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2017): Gematon between the Reigns of Rameses VI and Taharqa. In: Spencer, Neal / Stevens, Anna / Binder, Michaela (eds.): Nubia in the New Kingdom. Lived Experience, Pharaonic Control and Indigenous Traditions. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 3. Leuven, Paris, Bristol, CT: Peeters, p. 475–490. Wente, Edward F. (1990): Letters from Ancient Egypt. Society for Biblical Literature. Writings from the Ancient World 1. Atlanta, Georgia: Scholars Press. Williams, Bruce Beyer (2017): The New Kingdom Town at Serra East and its Cemetery. In: Spencer, Neal / Stevens, Anna / Binder, Michaela (eds.): Nubia in the New Kingdom. Lived Experience, Pharaonic Control and Indigenous Traditions. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 3. Leuven, Paris, Bristol, CT: Peeters, p. 309–322. Woodward, Jamie C. / Macklin, Mark G. / Fielding, Laura / Millar, Ian / Spencer, Neal / Welsby, Derek Anthony / Williams, Martin (2015): Shifting Sediment Sources in the World’s Longest River: A Strontium Isotope Record for the Holocene Nile. In: Quaternary Science Reviews 130, p. 89–108 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.10.040). Woodward, Jamie C. / Macklin, Mark G. / Spencer, Neal / Binder, Michaela / Dalton, Matthew / Hay, Sophie / Hardy, Andrew (2017): Living with a Changing River and Desert Landscape at Amara West. In: Spencer, Neal / Stevens, Anna / Binder, Michaela (eds.): Nubia in the New Kingdom. Lived Experience, Pharaonic Control and Indigenous Traditions. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 3. Leuven, Paris, Bristol, CT: Peeters, p. 227–258. Zibelius-Chen, Karola (1988): Die ägyptische Expansion nach Nubien. Eine Darlegung der Grundfaktoren. Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients. Reihe B (Geisteswissenschaften) 78. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag.

Julia Budka

Pottery of the Middle and the New Kingdom from Lower and Upper Nubia Introduction Until recently the study of pottery of the Middle and the New Kingdoms from Lower and Upper Nubia was dominated by an approach which compares it with the material from Egypt. This approach has resulted in considerable shortcomings concerning the dating and production of ceramics in these eras. Recent years have witnessed an increased understanding for the need of site specific and regional studies.1 These revisions are still ongoing, and the following can only be an outline of the present state of research. Similar to the study of pottery in Egypt, the period in question cannot be presented homogeneously – the evidence is, in fact, heterogeneous and some periods are better understood than others. In general, four broad categories of pottery from sites in Nubia can be distinguished, considering technology and raw material as defining elements (imported wares from the Oases and Levant; Marl clays from Egypt; Nile clays and Nubian handmade vessels). Further sub-categories according to shape, function and ware can be established on a site-specific level (see Figs. 2‒ 5, 7‒10). Whereas Egyptian Marl clay wares and imports from the Oases and the Levant differ considerably from the local pottery productions in Nubia and are therefore easily identifiable, the Nile silts are more difficult to assess. Imported Nile clay vessels are as well known2 as locally produced vessels – the difference, however, is often not visible macroscopically, making current chemical and petrographic analyses all the more important.3 The corpus in general is complemented by Nubian pottery, always associated with the other wares, but in most cases in rather small numbers.4 In the following, the focus is on the main types of Nile and Marl clay vessels. Within a general overview, the rich potential of ceramics will be illustrated to understand the periods of the Middle and New Kingdoms in Nubia, stressing ongoing research and highlighting possible future studies.

1 Cf. Knoblauch 2007; 2011; Budka 2016b; 2017. 2 Cf. Arnold 1993, 76, figs. 90B–C and 78; Smith 2003, 117; Budka 2016b; 2017. 3 Currently conducted for several New Kingdom sites, see below and note 94. 4 Cf. Smith 2003, 116‒124; 2012; Rose 2012, 16. For the small amount of Nubian wares in New Kingdom tomb contexts in Lower Nubia, cf. Williams 1992, 23. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-020

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Middle Kingdom Pottery Selected Sites and Contexts Middle Kingdom pottery was found at both settlement and funerary sites (Fig. 1). The most prominent contexts are Egyptian fortresses (see Knoblauch, this volume), associated Middle Kingdom tombs as well as Kerma graves.5 All of these sites have essentially produced the same types of pottery, contrasting slightly in dating (Bourriau 1991, 130).6 The complex phases of the use of the Nubian fortresses erected in the 12th Dynasty, possibly in use until the late 13th Dynasty and also during the Second Intermediate Period, were the subject of several studies (see Smith 2012, 377 with references). Fine dating the ceramics to the 13th Dynasty or the Second Intermediate Period in Nubian contexts still carries certain challenges.

Fig. 1: Map with find contexts of Middle Kingdom pottery in Nubia.

5 For the difficulties to identify Egyptian pottery from Kerma contexts in publications, see Bourriau 2004, 3. 6 For the special case of Egyptian imports in Kerma, see Bourriau 2004, 11‒12.

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Stuart Tyson Smith’s recent summary of Middle Kingdom pottery from the Nubian fortresses offers a concise history of research, outlines the state-of-the-art, and includes several sites with little or no published material like Faras, Ikkur, Kor, Quban, Serra and Shalfak (Smith 2012, 378‒379). The list of important sites for Middle Kingdom pottery may begin with Aniba (Steindorff 1937; Smith 2012, 377). Excavations conducted by G. Steindorff in the settlement and especially the cemeteries yielded a considerable amount of Middle Kingdom ceramics. Because the tombs were reused during the New Kingdom, the exact character of the earlier material was not recognised until recently and still awaits complete publication.7 Major excavations were undertaken by D. Randall-MacIver and L. Woolley in the fortress, settlement and cemeteries of Buhen (see Smith 2012, 378 with references). As with Aniba, in publication the Middle Kingdom material is partly mixed with later ceramics from the New Kingdom (see Smith 2012, 378). Small-scale excavations by G. Reisner, published by Dunham (1967) are noteworthy at the fortress of Mirgissa. However, most ceramics from the Middle Kingdom came to light during the more substantial work by the French mission directed by J. Vercoutter (1970; 1975). The main fortress, settlement and associated cemeteries yielded material of mostly the (late) 12th Dynasty and 13th Dynasty (see Smith 2012, 378). Excavations directed by A. Badawy focused on the fortress of Askut.8 The publication of the entire ceramic assemblage is currently in preparation by S. T. Smith, who has already published preliminary analyses.9 The ceramics from Askut are of great importance for the study of Middle Kingdom material in Nubia and will be used to illustrate the most important types (Figs. 2‒5). According to Smith, the four ceramic phases at Askut cover the unbroken sequence from the late 12th Dynasty to the late 17th/early 18th Dynasty.10 The Askut material finds parallels not only in Lower Egypt (as stressed by Smith 2012) but corresponds well with Upper Egypt assemblages, especially from Elephantine (cf. Rzeuska 2012). Ceramics from the large fortresses of Semna-West (Semna) and Semna-East (Kumma), excavated by Reisner’s Nubian expedition, were presented in a catalogue-style publication by Dunham (Dunham/Janssen 1960; see also Smith 2012, 378‒379). The southernmost substantial Egyptian site of the Middle Kingdom is Uronarti. Its fortress, the so-called campaign palace, some huts and associated tombs were unearthed by Reisner’s Nubian expedition (Dunham 1967). In 2012, the Uronarti Regional Archaeological Project directed by C. Knoblauch and L. Bestock resumed work at the site. First results illustrate its rich potential, also for ques-

7 Cf. Wolf 1937, 126 for short comments. The recent analysis on material hosted by the University of Leipzig was conducted by Anne Seiler and Jana Helmbold-Doyé (publication forthcoming). 8 Smith 1995; 2012, 377 with further references; Knoblauch 2007. 9 Cf. Smith 1995; 2002; 2012, 377. 10 For problems related to this sequence, see Knoblauch 2007, 225.

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tions of Middle Kingdom pottery and chronological issues (Knoblauch/Bestock 2015). As mentioned above, Kerma cemeteries also yielded Middle Kingdom pottery. The two most important sites in this respect are Sai Island and Kerma.11 Sai was the northern stronghold of the Kerma Kingdom in a prominent location just south of the Batn el-Hagar. Substantial Kerma burial grounds from the Ancient to the Classical Kerma Period yielded Egyptian pottery, especially Marl C storage vessels and Marl A jars (Gratien 1986, 398‒402). Other than this, no clear Middle Kingdom contexts were identified on Sai. The site SAV2 was interpreted as a camp site of possibly Middle Kingdom date (see Hesse 1981; for the date, see Vercoutter 1986, 11–12), but more likely dates to the 18th Dynasty (Budka/Doyen 2013, 170). In the capital of the Kerma Kingdom, a substantial number of Middle Kingdom Marl clay vessels were excavated in Kerma tombs (Bourriau 2004). Both Sai and Kerma illustrate that one has to be careful in dating tomb contexts by means of Egyptian imports, which may have been quite old by the time of their final use as burial gift (see Bourriau 2004).

Fabrics: Nile and Marl Clays As Smith (2012, 380‒394) has demonstrated for the material from Askut, the Vienna System (Nordström/Bourriau 1993) works well for the classification of fabrics of Middle Kingdom pottery excavated in Nubia. The majority of the material from settlements and fortresses are Nile silts (c. 90–93 %), which show regional and also chronological alterations (cf. Seiler 2012, 429‒430). The variants Nile B1, B2 and C are most common; also attested are Nile D and Nile E. Nile B1 was specifically used for thin-walled bowls, dishes, stands and jars (Smith 2012, 380‒381). It appears only rarely after the Middle Kingdom. The medium fabric Nile B2 is well attested, but much less frequent than the finer version B1. Nile B1 and fine Nile B2 vessels were sometimes covered with a micaceous slip, representing the rare so-called ‘gilded ware’ produced in the Second Cataract forts (Figs. 3d, 4c–d).12 The most common fabric of the Middle Kingdom (also in Egypt) is Nile C, a coarse fabric dominated by straw (Smith 2012, 381‒385). Nile C was used for all different types of vessels, from small to large, but is specifically the material for large plates, bowls, stands and jars including beer bottles (Figs. 4f–g). Nile D, tempered with crushed limestone, is occasionally attested, especially for late Middle Kingdom to Second Intermediate Period contexts and for Egyptian Tell el-Yahudiya

11 Another substantial Kerma cemetery with Egyptian imports is Ukma-West, see Bourriau 1991, 129; Knoblauch 2011. 12 See the concise study by Knoblauch 2011. Smith 2012, 389 classified the ‘gilded ware’ as separate Nile clay version (which is unlikely, see Knoblauch 2011).

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vessels (Smith 2012, 387). Nile E is characterised by abundant sand particles and was very common in the Eastern Delta (well attested at Tell el-Daba). According to the published material, Nile E is rare in Middle Kingdom contexts in Nubia, but attested for cooking pots (Smith 2012, 387‒389). Differentiating between locally produced and imported Nile silt has proved difficult (except for specific cases like the ‘gilded ware’), but scientific analyses may offer new insights as first Neutron Activation Analysis results from Askut suggest (Bourriau 2004, 9; see also Knoblauch 2011, 173, note 53). In general, most scholars agree that local production in the Second Cataract fortresses has so far been underestimated. Imported Egyptian Marl clays are well attested in the Middle Kingdom corpus. Within settlements, the percentage is around 4–6 % of the material; in tombs the quantity can be slightly (or, in the case of tombs in Kerma, significantly) higher because of storage vessels produced in Marl clay (see Bourriau 2004). The two common Marl clay families belong to the Marl A Group (Fig. 10 top), which is Upper Egyptian (Nordström/Bourriau 1993, 176‒178), and to the Marl C Group (Fig. 10 bottom), a Lower Egyptian product (Bader 2001; cf. Bourriau 2004, 3). Bourriau (2004) has suggested that from the mid-12th Dynasty onwards, imports from the Northern part of Egypt were more common than the Upper Egyptian ones, possibly reflecting historical changes, represented by, for example, the new residence at Lisht. Also in Askut, the Marl A3 and A4 variants are outnumbered by Marl C vessels, especially zirs and jars (Smith 2012, 392).

Production and Technology Except for the Nubian pottery, the Middle Kingdom corpus from Nubia is mostly wheel-made.13 Some Egyptian types like Marl C zirs were handmade in sections with the coiling technique and the rim finished on the wheel. Bread-moulds were produced on conical forms. Bread plates were finished on the ground, being partly handmade with the upper part finished on the wheel. Surface treatments and styles of decoration mostly correspond to the contemporary tradition in Egypt, with some local innovations like the ‘gilded ware’. From the late Middle Kingdom onwards, incised lines are frequently used for vessel decoration, straight lines as well as wavy lines. Carinated bowls of various sizes often show wavy lines, sometimes in combination with applied ridges and “pinched ‘piecrust’ rims” (Smith 2012, 397). Important evidence for potter’s workshops and kilns comes from the Second Cataract fortresses. Two kilns were documented at Mirgissa (Holthoer 1977, 16 with

13 For a general summary of sources for pottery fabrication of the Middle Kingdom (pictorial, models, archaeological, literary material), see Holthoer 1977, 11‒18.

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references), three kilns and other structures of a potter’s workshop at Serra East (Reshetnikova/Williams 2016). Another workshop for the production of pottery was excavated at Nag Baba in the Ashkeit district (Holthoer 1977, 16 with references and plan (fig. 21); Bourriau et al. 2000, 139). Based on unfired sherds and sherds associated with the workshop and kilns, local Nile alluvium can be identified as raw material (cf. Reshetnikova/Williams 2016, 489). Reshetnikova and Williams (2016, 500‒501) have convincingly argued that within the pottery production in Nubia, episodic work of the potters as itinerant craftsmen travelling from site to site played an important role. In addition, new evidence from Askut complements this picture: based on a ceramic potter’s wheelhead, datable to the 13th Dynasty, Smith (2014) demonstrated that the production and distribution of pottery during the Middle Kingdom in Nubia was probably quite complex, including industrial workshops at major sites like Askut as well as local productions for demands on a much smaller scale at other sites.

Main Types The most significant ‘chronological markers’ of the Middle Kingdom in Nubia are comparable with contemporaneous material from Egypt and comprise hemispherical cups, bowls, cooking pots, beer bottles, beakers and zirs. Functional pottery (Fig. 2) includes different variants of stands, cooking pots and ceramic connected with bread making (bread cones of type C after Jacquet-Gordon 1981, 17, fig. 4 [9 Kuban, 10, 11 Semna and 12 Mirgissa] and bread plates). In addition, so-called fish dishes are attested both in Marl clay (cf. Bader 2001, 81–83) and Nile variants (see Smith 2012, 397). The most common open forms in Nile silts are hemispherical cups, small beakers and carinated bowls (sometimes with incised decoration, applied ridges and pinched rims), large plates and dishes (Fig. 3). The hemispherical cup proportion index was used to date these characteristic vessels by comparison with Lower Egyptian material (Smith 2012, 394, 398–401). This poses several problems, as highlighted by C. Knoblauch. Due to the regional diversity of the 13th Dynasty, some of the material from Askut is more likely to date to the early to mid-17th Dynasty rather than the mid-13th Dynasty (see Knoblauch 2007, 230–231 with references). Tall beakers with flat bases, various types of bottles, jars and storage vessels dominate the corpus of closed Nile silt types. Some of the large storage vessels in Nile C correspond to Marl C vessels from Egypt (cf. Knoblauch 2007, fig. 3). Jars with flaring mouth are representatives of the ‘gilded ware’ (Fig. 4c–d). Beer bottles (Fig. 4f–g) were used as chronological markers considering the Lower Egyptian classification (Smith 2012, 401–402). But, as demonstrated by evidence from Thebes, the sequence of beer bottles in Egypt is based on the region, raising doubts about some of the dates attributed by Smith to the vessels from the Second Cataract forts (see Knoblauch 2007, 230).

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Fig. 2: Middle Kingdom functional pottery types (from Askut after Smith 2012).

Fig. 3: Middle Kingdom Nile silt open forms (except d all from Askut after Smith 2012; d from Mirgissa, after Knoblauch 2011).

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Fig. 4: Middle Kingdom Nile silt closed forms (c and d from Mirgissa after Knoblauch 2011; all other from Askut after Smith 2012).

Marl clay vessels (Fig. 5) fall into the two large categories of Lower and Upper Egyptian variants. From tomb contexts, only jars and storage vessels are attested; in settlement contexts one also finds open forms, dishes and plates including carinated bowls.

Use and Function Most Egyptian vessels from tombs and cemeteries in Nubia are containers for various products and were used as burial gift and/or provision for the dead. The ceramics from Middle Kingdom fortresses and settlements attest a broader range of functions: primarily, of course, daily activities like serving, drinking, cooking and storage (cf. Smith 1995; 2002). Cooking pots are identifiable by soot, beer jars by mud stoppers and residues (Smith 2012, 397–398). Numerous bread moulds testify that the conical bread was ‘part of a ration system’ (Smith 2012, 398) in the Middle Kingdom. Incense burners with resin deposits appear quite frequently and are probably associated with domestic shrines and with household religion, as might also be the case for ceramic offering platters (see Smith 2012, 398).

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Fig. 5: Middle Kingdom marl clay pottery types (from Askut after Smith 2012; a–d Marl A; e–g Marl C).

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New Kingdom Pottery In general, New Kingdom pottery in Nubia is very similar to contemporary material in Egypt (see Williams 1992, 23; cf. also Holthoer 1977). Upper Nubian sites like Sai Island, Sesebi and Amara-West have therefore much potential to answer several unsolved matters regarding the pottery phases of the New Kingdom.14

Selected Sites and Contexts New Kingdom pottery was found at numerous places within Lower and Upper Nubia. Of these sites the most significant have been selected for the following overview (Fig. 6). These locations consist mainly of settlements (especially New Kingdom temple towns),15 temple sites (see Ullmann, this volume) and cemeteries (see Spence, this volume). The latter include Egyptian style pyramid tombs in the main centres but also Classical Kerma tumuli at more remote sites and at Kerma itself (see Bourriau 2004). From cemetery S at Aniba, important New Kingdom material from the early 18th Dynasty (Helmbold-Doyé/Seiler 2012) – the Thutmoside as well as the Ramesside era (Fischer-Elfert/Helmbold-Doyé 2016) – was published by Wolf (1937).16 The corpus is comparable to other sites like Buhen (Emery et al. 1979), Askut (Smith 2003, 153) and Sai and also finds parallels in the material assembled by Holthoer (1977). In general, most sites of the former Middle Kingdom fortresses (e.g. Buhen, Askut, Semna and Kumma) has yielded New Kingdom material (see Fig. 6). Sai Island is one of the major find spots for 18th Dynasty pottery in Upper Nubia, currently under investigation by the AcrossBorders Project (cf. Budka 2015a with references). Associated with the fortified town on the eastern bank of the island are several nearby cemeteries; the main burial ground of the New Kingdom (SAC5) has already been published (Minault-Gout/Thill 2012). The ceramic material from Sai finds ready parallels not only in other Egyptian foundations in Lower and Upper Nubia (cf. Holthoer 1977; see also Miellé 2011‒2012, 173‒187), but also at various New Kingdom sites in Egypt (cf. Budka 2011, 23‒33; 2016b), especially at Elephantine (Seiler 1999, 204‒224), Abydos (Budka 2006, 83‒120) and Deir el-Ballas (Bourriau 1990, 15‒22 and 54–65 (figs.)). However, a local component and site-specific features are present on Sai (cf. Budka 2011, 23‒33). In the earliest levels of the town, the pottery material can be attributed to the very early 18th Dynasty and the assemblages of these layers include a substantial

14 For these phases see Bourriau 1981, 72; 2010, 2‒3; Aston 2003, 135‒162; 2008, 375. 15 See Spencer, this volume. For New Kingdom pottery from Kerma settlements in the area of Gism el-Arba, see Miellé 2016. 16 For an updated publication of the complete material, see Helmbold-Doyé/Seiler forthcoming.

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Fig. 6: Map with find contexts of New Kingdom pottery in Nubia.

amount of material, which is apparently of 17th Dynasty character (Budka 2016b). Rather than being connected with the nearby Kerma cemetery, these sherds are always associated with vessel types like carinated bowls and jars datable to the early 18th Dynasty (see Figs. 8, 10). Thus, the formation of these earliest levels took place already in the New Kingdom, probably under Ahmose (or Amenhotep I) (cf. Budka 2015a). The fortified settlement of Sesebi (see Spence/Rose 2009; Spence et al. 2011 with references to earlier work), with foundation deposits of Amenhotep IV, was excavated by the Egypt Exploration Society from 1936‒1938; a joint venture of the University of Cambridge and the Austrian Archaeological Institute resumed work in 2008. The new Area 1 outside the town enclosure has yielded material of the early 18th Dynasty up to Thutmose III, complementing the well attested pottery corpus from the interior of the town of late 18th and early 19th Dynasty date (Spence et al. 2011, 37, fig. 5). In close proximity to the old capital of the Kerma Kingdom, a new ceremonial precinct with palaces and temples was established at Dukki Gel (see Bonnet, this volume). Much Egyptian and Nubian pottery from contexts datable to the early 18th Dynasty and the period of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III were unearthed by the

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Swiss Mission in recent years.17 This ceramic corpus, currently being studied by P. Ruffieux, is very significant for New Kingdom ceramics in Nubia – despite good parallels from Sai and Sesebi, a strong Nubian component and a local style is apparent (see Ruffieux 2016). Finally, the most important site of Ramesside Upper Nubia is Amara-West. Current excavations in the fortified town, the suburbs and adjacent cemeteries by a British Museum team directed by N. Spencer provide the prime ceramic material for this period (see Spencer 2002; Spencer et al. 2014).

Fabrics: Nile Clays and Marl Clays The Vienna System works well for New Kingdom fabrics from Nubia, especially if one includes local variations. It is well known that a certain development in the composition and nature of fabrics and wares is traceable within the pottery from New Kingdom Egypt, potentially providing dating criteria and more. This is also highly relevant for the Nubian sites (cf. Budka 2016b). Nile silt fabrics form by far the most common group of fabrics, especially from settlement corpora. From a macroscopic point of view, it is not always possible to distinguish imported Nile clays from Egypt and locally produced Nile variants.18 The following groups of the Vienna System are well attested at Sai: Nile B2 (with a chaffy variant), Nile C, Nile D and Nile E. The latter was used for cooking pots (fig. 7, SAV1E P 179) – its fabric can be classified as Upper Egyptian equivalent (cf. Budka 2006, 84 for a local variation at Abydos) of the typical Nile E (see Nordström/Bourriau 1993, 175), originating from the Nile delta. The bread moulds were made of a typical mixture of sandy mud, clay and organic temper, classified as ‘bread mould clay’ or Nile D4 (cf. Budka 2006, 84). Marl clays are less common than Nile clays. The following have been identified in the material deriving from Sai: Marl A2, A4 (variant 1 and 2) and A3; Marl B; Marl C (variant 1 and 2); Marl D (variant 1 and 2) and Marl E. Within the material of the early 18th Dynasty Marl A2, A4 and Marl B were used most often. During the late 18th Dynasty and the 19th Dynasty, Marl D appears in considerable quantities. Both Marl C and Marl E are rare and restricted to vessels dating to the early 18th Dynasty. Marl C was mainly used for large zir vessels (cf. Bader 2001), Marl E for large thickwalled bread trays (so-called ‘Schaelbecken’; see Bader 2001, 81–83). The first occurrence and origins of Marl D are still a matter for future research. The fabric is known from Egypt as early as the mid-18th Dynasty (as yet, the earliest evidence dates to the reign of Thutmose III; see Budka 2006, 84 with references),

17 Ruffieux 2009; 2011; 2014. 18 But for chemical and petrographic analyses, see Carrano et al. 2008; 2009; Spataro et al. 2015 and the unpublished results by the AcrossBorders Project for Sai Island (courtesy Julia Budka).

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and by the late 18th Dynasty it becomes common, also in Nubia. An intriguing sherd in Marl D was unearthed at Dukki Gel from a context probably datable to Hatshepsut.19

Production and Technology As in the Middle Kingdom, the locally produced Egyptian-style Nile clays are almost always wheel-thrown, whereas the indigenous Nubian tradition is handmade.20 Small open forms are usually thrown on the wheel in one piece, whereas large storage vessels frequently show traces of joints because they were produced in more than one piece.21 Egyptian handmade pottery is rare and examples of it are restricted to bread plates and so-called ‘Schaelbecken’. Sometimes locally produced Nile clay pottery vessels were modelled on Egyptian types, but with a ‘Nubian’ influence as far as the surface treatment, production technique or decoration is concerned. The appearance of such hybrid types is very significant, but not straightforward to explain. Such pots might be products of a temporary or local fashion, but could also refer to the cultural identity of their users or be the results of more complicated processes. All in all, they seem to attest a complex mixture of lifestyles in New Kingdom Nubia (see Budka 2017; cf. also Garnett 2014, 62). During the New Kingdom, there is less clear evidence for kilns22 and potter’s workshops than in Middle Kingdom Nubia, but important evidence for local pottery production comes from wasters and unfired sherds at various sites.23

Main Types An elaborate classification comprising a large amount of material, mostly from cemeteries and tomb contexts in Lower Nubia, was established by Holthoer (1977). His division into the main categories of non-containers, containers, unrestricted and restricted vessels allows a good overview of the most important types, but does not consider diachronic features and real associations reflected by the material (see the well-argued criticism by Williams 1992, 30).

19 Ruffieux 2016, 516, fig. 11.5. For other Marl D shapes in Nubia, cf. Miellé 2016, 430. 20 For a general summary of sources for pottery fabrication of the New Kingdom (pictorial, archaeological, literary material), see Holthoer 1977, 18‒21; cf. also Williams 1992, 24‒29. 21 For a concise summary of shaping techniques, see Holthoer 1977, 42–43. 22 For a recent find of a pottery kiln at Amara-West: Garnett 2014, 62; Spencer et al. 2014, 19‒ 20, 26. 23 Williams 1992, 24 (Serra); Smith 2003, 117 (Askut); Edwards 2012, 78, fig. 3.33 (Tombos); unpublished material from Sai (courtesy Julia Budka).

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Fig. 7: New Kingdom functional pottery types from Sai (Courtesy of Julia Budka).

The most common functional vessel types in 18th Dynasty Nubia are as follows (Fig. 7): Conical bread moulds, belonging to Jacquet’s Type D (Jacquet-Gordon 1981, 18, fig. 5; see also Rose 2007, HC 2, 288), are now more common in temple and ritual contexts, but are also attested in settlements (cf. Budka 2014; 2015a). Bread

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plates of different sizes are frequent and usually made in Nile C. Pot stands are very numerous in settlement contexts (e.g. Buhen and Sai), vary from short to tall, and were made primarily in Nile clays (Nile B2 and Nile C), but are also attested in Marl clay (especially Marl B and Marl E).24 Egyptian wheel-made cooking pots of the 18th Dynasty appear within the New Kingdom corpus as imported and locally produced variants. Especially remarkable are imported cooking pots in Sai (Fig. 7, SAV1E P179), with corresponding types appearing at Elephantine (see Seiler 1999, 223, Fig. 53). Another variant is reminiscent of Second Intermediate Period ceramic style and very close to Nubian cooking pots (Fig. 7, N/C 959.8) (see Seiler 1999, 221 with note 516). Similar to cooking pots, the so-called ‘Schaelbecken’ illustrate that utilitarian shapes were both directly imported from Egypt and were also locally produced. At Sai, these large thick walled trays with an oval-shape and incised geometric pattern on the interior occur both in Egyptian Marl E and in local Nile clay variants – the shapes and decoration patterns are in both cases the same (see Budka/Doyen 2013, 191). Other Egyptian functional types like spinning bowls (dishes with two handles attached to the interior of the base) (see Rose 2007, 60–61, SD 6, 202–203) were primarily produced on site with local fabrics, attested in Sai, Sesebi and Buhen.25 A pottery manufacture corresponding to local demand similar to, e.g., the workmen’s village at Amarna, is therefore likely (cf. Rose 2007, 60). Open forms of the 18th Dynasty in Nile silts (Fig. 8) are common in both domestic and funerary contexts. Simple dishes with flat bases or ring bases are very common, often with a red rim. Carinated dishes frequently show wavy incised or painted decoration.26 Black rim ware and the Thutmoside red splash decoration (cf. Aston 2006, 65‒73) appears regularly on dishes (cf. Fig. 8). Chronological markers for the 18th Dynasty are the so-called flower pots, conical deep bowls with perforated bases (Fig. 8, SAV1E P 147 and 148) (Holthoer 1977, pl. 18; Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, pl. 132). The most characteristic types among the closed Nile clay forms (Fig. 9) of the 18th Dynasty are round-based beakers, two types of beer jars, large zirs and other jars as well as squat jars and pitchers (see also Williams 1992, 80, fig. 2). The latter are often decorated 27 and imitate Marl clay vessels. Large zir vessels of a chaffy Nile C variant (N/C 642, N/C 962, Fig. 9) are characteristic of the early to mid-18th Dynasty and find close parallels at Elephantine (Budka 2011, 26 with references). The corpus of various jars is better illustrated by finds from tombs because of the complete state

24 For Buhen, see Emery et al. 1979, pls. 70–71. For the small number of stands from funerary contexts, see Williams 1992, 88, figs. 10m-p; cf. also Steindorff 1937, pl. 68 (cemetery S, Aniba). 25 Sai: unpublished material (courtesy Julia Budka); Sesebi: Pamela Rose, pers. comm.; Buhen: Emery et al. 1979, pl. 68, nos. 143–144 and 148. 26 See the parallels in Sesebi: Spence et al. 2011, 37, fig. 5. 27 Sai Island town: unpublished material (courtesy Julia Budka); SAC5: Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, pl. 141; see also Knoblauch/Lacovara 2012, 207.

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Fig. 8: New Kingdom Nile silt open forms from Sai (Courtesy of Julia Budka).

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Fig. 9: New Kingdom Nile silt closed forms from Sai (Courtesy of Julia Budka).

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Fig. 10: New Kingdom marl clay pottery types from Sai (Courtesy of Julia Budka).

of preservation (Minault-Gout/Thill 2012; see also Williams 1992, 81‒84). During the late 18th Dynasty and the Ramesside Period funnel necked jars are very common (cf. Williams 1992, 84, figs. 6f‒h). A large group of bichrome-decorated necked jars that contain linear and floral as well as figurative designs is of special interest. Good examples of mid-18th Dynasty date are known from Sai (Fig. 9) and Dukki Gel (Ruffieux 2009, 124‒126, figs. 3‒ 5; 2016, 512‒513, figs. 7‒8), but also from Askut, Buhen and Aniba (see Budka 2015b with references). The origin of these specific vessels is still an open question – on the basis of parallels, the area of Elephantine has seemed likely (Budka 2015b), but

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new finds from Dukki Gel may suggest a local workshop in Upper Nubia.28 Another category of painted closed forms is blue-painted pottery, something only rarely attested in Nubia (Fig. 9).29 The corpus of Marl clay vessels corresponds to finds from Egypt in the 18th Dynasty (Fig. 10). Simple dishes with inverted rim are attested, but more common are carinated dishes and bowls, sometimes with incised or painted decoration. Large Marl B bottles were sometimes decorated with comb incisions (Fig. 10, N/C 1182). Among the characteristic markers of Thutmoside pottery are decorated squat jars of various sizes and proportions.30 Large two-handeled storage vessels (amphorae) from Egypt are in the 18th Dynasty mostly Marl D vessels, which are used well into the Ramesside Period.31

Use and Function In general, ceramics can be used as indicators for site-specific preparation, storage and serving of food. Especially in settlement contexts, the functional aspects of ceramics are broad and cover various activities (see above, Middle Kingdom). Utilitarian forms like stands, cooking pots, bread plates and bread moulds as well as spinning bowls are characteristic of New Kingdom settlements. Especially within the class of cooking pots, the general co-existence of Egyptian (wheel-made) and Nubian (handmade) pottery traditions is evident as it was the case in the Middle Kingdom. Residue analysis conducted on Nubian and Egyptian cooking pots from Askut has shown that a distinction was made regarding which pot was used to prepare specific food (Smith 2003, 113–124). It is also likely that the choice of an Egyptian or Nubian cooking pot was dependent upon the cooking pot’s user and his or her identity (cf. Smith 2003, 119). As in the Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom sites in Nubia provide evidence for the use of ceramics within the framework of household religion. Pot stands and footed bowls with a gypsum-coating and resin deposits as well as female figurative vessels can be cited in this respect (cf. Budka 2016a).

Summary and Outlook Despite a general similarity with contemporary pottery in Egypt, for both the Middle and the New Kingdoms local pottery workshops and traditions are traceable in Nu28 Phillipe Ruffieux, pers. comm., May 2016. 29 E.g. at Aniba, Sai, Tombos, Dukki Gel and Amara-West, cf. Spencer 2002, pl. 4; Budka 2011, 30. See also Holthoer 1977, pl. 33, FU1. 30 Steindorff 1937, pl. 82; Holthoer 1977, pl. 30‒32; Williams 1992, 85, fig. 7. 31 Cf. Spencer et al. 2014, 79; Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, pl. 137. See also Fischer-Elfert/ Helmbold-Doyé 2016.

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bia. Regional style was mostly expressed by surface treatment and decoration. Case studies like Marl clay vessels with incised decoration and cooking pots illustrate that Nubian decoration patterns and shapes directly influenced the Egyptian pottery tradition.32 At present, it is still difficult to assess the possible impact of Nubian potters, whereas Egyptian potters were certainly present at the colonial sites.33 Recent work has illustrated that parallels between Upper Egypt and Nubia are greater than those between the northern part of Egypt and Nubia. Concise and detailed studies about regional differences between Lower and Upper Nubia – in both the Middle and the New Kingdom – still need to be undertaken and should be of prime priority. Chemical and petrographic analyses will help to further distinguish within the Nile silts between real imports from Egypt and locally produced wheelmade vessels.34 Current research is consequently engaged in establishing site specific corpora of fabrics and types, which are then embedded into regional and also supra-regional contexts (see Budka 2016b). Much progress has been made in close dating for both periods – for example for the 13th Dynasty (cf. Knoblauch 2007) and the early 18th Dynasty (cf. Budka 2011). A better understanding of ceramic industries, trade, contact and household inventories can be expected as a result of the ongoing work at Egyptian sites in Northern Sudan, which will be significant for the general study of Middle and New Kingdom pottery.

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Spencer, Patricia (2002): Amara West II: The Cemetery and the Pottery Corpus. Egypt Exploration Society Excavation Memoir 69. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Steindorff, Georg (1937): Aniba. Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte. Mission archéologique de Nubie 1929‒1934. 2 Vols. Glückstadt/Hamburg: J. J. Augustin. Vercoutter, Jean (1970): Mirgissa I. Mission archéologique francaise au Soudan. Paris: La Direction Générale des Relations Culturelles, Scientifiques et Techniques. Vercoutter, Jean (1975): Mirgissa. Tome II: Les nécropoles. Mission archéologique française au Soudan. Paris: La Direction Générale des Relations Culturelles, Scientifiques et Techniques. Vercoutter, Jean (1986): Préface: l’archéologie de l’Île de Saï. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Saï I. La nécropole Kerma. Paris: Éditions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, p. 7‒17. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1992): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 6: New Kingdom Remains from Cemeteries R, V, S and W at Qustul and Cemetery K at Adindan. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 6. Chicago/Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Wolf, Walther (1937): Tongefäße. In: Steindorff, Georg: Aniba II. Text. Mission archéologique de Nubie 1929–1934. Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte. Glückstadt/Hamburg: J. J. Augustin, p. 125‒138.

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Nubian Leatherwork Introduction It has been suggested that the early Nubian C-Group settlers in Egypt found a role in Egyptian society due to their knowledge and skill in leatherworking (Friedman 2007, 61; Veldmeijer 2007, 24). This might have been true for other groups of Nubian settlers in various parts of Egypt as well. Not only does the leatherwork from Hierakonpolis evince outstanding craftsmanship, but ‘the Nubian cemeteries [within Sudan] reveal a rich and highly skilled leather-working tradition [...] from the earliest times’ (Van Driel-Murray 2000, 300, see also 309 and Williams 1983, 65– 75). Indeed, some of this leatherwork is unequalled in Egypt (Van Driel-Murray 2000, 300), both in its complexity of skin processing as well as manufacturing technology, but the Egyptian and Nubian leatherwork traditions seem too different and unrelated to make such statements. The Nubian people always seem to have made much more use of skin and hide than their Egyptian contemporaries (Reisner 1923, 19). Even while the leather industry reached its peak in New Kingdom Egypt, Nubians were using skin and leather for purposes not seen in Egypt since Predynastic times. For instance, Nubian graves were commonly lined with hides, or the deceased wrapped in animal skins or dressed in leather garments (e.g. Wainwright 1920, 24–29; Williams 1996, 2–3 (A-Group), 27, 43–44 (C-Group)). Their leather clothing was often decorated with beads (e.g. Wainwright 1920, 24–29; Williams 1983, 22, 71). Accessories such as leather bracelets, pouches made of leather or hide still with hair attached (Skinner, pers. obs.)1 and rawhide sandals are often preserved in the graves (see below). In Egypt, the loincloth was the one piece of leather clothing known to be worn (see below).2 In later times Nubian (Meroitic) leather technology reached its peak, resulting in impressive objects, most famously quivers,3 wrist guards4 and shoes (Veldmeijer 2016).

Selecting a Hide There are a number of reasons why it is important to identify the animal from which a hide was taken, and to discover the range of species that were exploited by Nubian 1 Fragments of hairy hide found in the waist area of several female Nubian C-Group burials at Hierakonpolis suggest the existence of pouches (Skinner, pers. obs.). 2 Säve-Söderbergh 1946, 75–78; 1989; Schwarz 2000, 210–215; Vogelsang-Eastwood 1993, 16– 31. See also Veldmeijer 2017, 56–60, 155–158. 3 Veldmeijer, pers. obs. Gebel Adda collection in Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; Williams 1991a, 76–127. 4 Veldmeijer, pers. obs. Gebel Adda material. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-021

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leatherworkers during different time periods. In particular, this information links skin processing to economics, farming and animal husbandry. Williams (1983, 68) discusses the link between cattle and the Nubian C-Group Culture: cattle’s ‘heads and horns were found in C-Group cemeteries [and] evidence shows that they were frequently exported to Egypt […] and prized there’, indicating that cattle were an important element of economic life for the C-Group. Hides were traded and exported to Egypt, and undoubtedly comprised a major source of hides for the neighbouring country. Besides, cattle are often shown in visual art. Leather made from the skin of a cow tends to be thick, but could be pared down a great deal (although the technology of splitting leather to create two or more usable layers did not exist yet). However, since this is a time consuming and wasteful technology, it is unlikely that adult cow skins were used for purposes other than making sandal soles or other items requiring thick leather. It has been postulated that the finest and supplest leather excavated from Nubian cemeteries was produced from goat, and in the literature it is often suggested that loincloths were made of gazelle or antelope skin (e.g. Van Driel-Murray 2000, 302; Schwarz 2000, Cat. C, No. 3, 9), but so far these claims have not been backed up with archaeometric research. Leather loincloths have been identified as gazelle or antelope skin based on visual and physical comparison with known reference material.5 Gazelle skin is supple and soft. However, these characteristics can also be obtained by processing skin from other animal species, as will be explained below. The skin type for archaeological leather is difficult to establish because the grain surface and follicle pattern is absent on most of this leather. There are indications that Nubian leatherworkers may have preferred sheepskin to calf or goatskin when the desired final product was to be a soft and supple item such as a loincloth or a pierced leather cap. This suggestion is reinforced by new analytical techniques that have produced evidence pointing towards an overall preference for sheepskin.6

Skin Processing Modern leather tanning is a complex process. However, in antiquity, stages involved in the production of a durable product (cured skin or leather) from animal skin

5 Van Driel-Murray, pers. comm. 2018. 6 Conventional methods of species ID rely on extant grain surface on the leather with visible follicle pattern (follicles are the holes that remain after the hairs have been removed). The arrangement of these holes varies depending on species and is a means of identification. A technique known as protein mass-fingerprinting has been refined at the University of York to allow minute leather samples to be analysed in order to identify animal species. A pilot study of a few ancient Egyptian and Nubian leather samples (Skinner, pers. obs.) has had some success and confirms that sheepskin was a popular choice for creating soft leather. If one were to examine the cross section through a sheep hide using a microscope, the difference between this and a goatskin is clear. Sheepskin tends

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include skinning, defleshing, dehairing, bating (which softens and loosens the collagen protein fibres that make up the skin), before oil leathering, alum tawing or vegetable tanning. Tanning includes a chemical reaction, which permanently alters and preserves the collagen fibres that are the main component of leather, producing a strong, durable product. This process is irreversible. Tawing also produces a leather that remains permanently altered. Leathering produces a similar visual effect to tanning but the preservative qualities can be reversed if the leather gets wet. The final stage of vegetable tanning (currying) incorporates dressing (lubricating) the skin to soften it, and finally colouring, if desirable. The materials and exact mechanisms by which animal skin was processed in Nubia in antiquity are currently not well understood. The climate, the local environment, social context and the politics of the time will all have played a role in dictating what skin processing techniques were appropriate or favoured, and thus have also put a mark on the final properties, appearance and use of leather objects during a certain time period. It thus helps to provide a framework to understand diachronic change and influence. Nevertheless, it is possible to draw some conclusions from the limited number of investigations carried out thus far. Rapid putrefaction (decomposition) of raw skin is a problem now much as it was in antiquity, especially in the hot Nubian climate, meaning that skins needed to be processed rapidly after flaying the animal. Through discussion with local tanners in Omdurman (Sudan) and Sinai (Egypt) it was learned by Skinner that the leather workers prefer to do outdoor skin processing during the winter months in order to lessen the potential of (rapid) putrefaction. However, the largest supply of hides to the tannery is after Eid al Adha – the religious festival – when large numbers of animals are slaughtered for the feast. Each year, this festival is celebrated ten days earlier than the last, meaning that often, out of necessity, skin processing takes place all year round, including the hot summer months. Skins of animals flayed during the summer can be cured by salting or drying them, to halt biodeterioration so that the hides can be kept until it is most convenient for further processing. Salted hides tend to be easier to rehydrate than dried hides (Knew 1947, 4–5). Nevertheless, salt is a valuable commodity and so the costfree option of staking out a scraped skin on a frame or directly in the sand, in a shady, well-aerated spot was probably the preferred option for dehydrating the hides. Once rehydrated, one can continue the skin processing to make (more) durable leather – either by oil leathering/tanning or some other way. Besides being a useful temporary process to halt putrefaction and store skin until further process-

to be thinner and the collagen fibre bundles, looser with more space between them (while alive, the space is taken up by globular fats). Also, goatskin tends to retain a solid grain surface even after tanning whereas the grain surface of sheepskin is soft and more likely to be removed during the defleshing and depilating process.

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ing, dried unadulterated skin, also known as rawhide, was used for a variety of purposes as well, among which are the production of sandals7 and lashings.

Defleshing In modern, traditional-style skin processing in Sudan, hides are spread over a ‘beam’ (made of a smooth-cornered wooden plank) and ‘defleshed’ by scraping the flesh surface with a defleshing/scudding knife (a long slightly curved knife with a dull blade and two handles – one at either end) to remove fats, blood and globular proteins (Fig. 1). The technique has probably not changed a great deal since antiquity, but there is no way of telling what type of knife was used or if a beam was employed, because there are no depictions of the process and no skin processing sites have ever been excavated/identified (see below). It is possible that similar techniques were used as in Egypt, where skin processing and leatherworking are depicted in several tombs. From these images we believe that defleshing took place,

Fig. 1: Defleshing skin at the traditional tannery in Omdurman, Central Sudan (Photo: L.-A. Skinner).

7 Note that sandal soles could also be made of thick skin, which was cured – this became the default in later times, probably from Meroitic times onwards.

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not over a beam, but on a block on the floor; however, a comparable knife was used (Davies 1943, pl. LIV; Schwarz 2000, 22, 45, 46).

Dehairing In order to remove the hair from the outside (grain) surface of the skin, the hair follicles must be loosened. At the Omdurman tannery in Sudan, this is carried out by soaking raw skins in a lime-water bath. Lime (calcium hydroxide) is produced by heating limestone (calcium carbonate) in a furnace built in one corner of the tannery. The product of heating (calcium oxide) is ‘slaked’ by adding water, which gets it ready to use. It is not known how far back this practice goes in Sudan, and thus we cannot say whether or not ancient Nubian leatherworkers were using lime to depilate skins. However, it is thought that skin processing occurring at a similar time in Egypt had not adopted the use of lime. Rather it is thought that depilation in pharaonic Egypt was facilitated using wood ash leached into water, creating an alkaline substance, known as lye (Van Driel-Murray 2000, 302).

Leathering Williams (1983) observed that the garment leather from the C-Group, Kerma and Pan-Grave burials in the cemeteries at Adindan, is generally all thin. This is reaffirmed by Wills (2002) and Skinner/Veldmeijer (2015) from other sites. With the exception of the excellent preservation at Hierakonpolis, this thin leather is only really preserved in small and solidified lumps, and is very brittle.8 In order for it to be possible to fold and compress the leather sheet to such a high degree, it must originally have been soft and very supple. The leatherworkers, therefore, would have needed to take time and immense care in refining the skins. In Egypt, there are depictions of leatherworkers dipping hides into or removing them from large ceramic vessels thought to contain some kind of oil,9 suggesting that the skins were made durable with oil. This oil leathering technique involves applying lipids or oil to the prepared skin, either by dipping it into a vat containing the substance and/ or rubbing it in manually.10 If this process is combined with vigorous manipulation of the oil soaked skin while it dries (in order to encourage oxidation of the oils and

8 For examples see Skinner/Veldmeijer 2015, 19, 20; Wainwright 1920, pl. IX, XI; Wills 2001, fig. 10.1–10.4; 2002, 46. 9 Sesame oil according to Van Driel-Murray 2000, 303; but see Veldmeijer et al. 2015, 263. Moreno García (2017) makes a good case for castor oil. 10 Leatherworking on the wall of the tomb of Rekhmire depicts dipping hides into vats: Davies 1943, pl. LII, LII, LIV.

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softening of the leather), the result is an extremely supple leather, which is cream or beige in colour, exactly what we see especially with many of the garment leather from Nubian sites. So, even in the absence of empirical data for a skin processing site (see below), the necessary tools or large scale archaeometric analyses, the physical remains of leather from Hierakonpolis and Kerma Period sites in Sudan, point towards oil tanning11 being the likely skin preparation technique in ancient Nubia for producing soft garment leather.

Vegetable Tanning and Alum Tawing It is assumed that vegetable tanning was introduced in Egypt in Greco-Roman times (Van Driel-Murray 2000, 299), but the lack of research concerning Nubian vegetable tanning from sites pre-dating the Roman occupation prohibits any further discussion.12 Comparably problematic is the identification of alum tawing. Lucas (1962, 257) concluded, to his surprise, that even though Egyptian leather is often soft and pale in colour and looks a lot like alum tawed skin, there is no physical evidence that alum was utilised for any purpose in Egypt until the Roman era. To this day, it has not been attested that alum tawing occurred during the pharaonic era. The story could be entirely different in Nubia, but until further research is carried out, it is not possible to say.

Colour Whereas Egyptian leather was often brightly coloured in green and red, Nubian leather tends to be more muted in colour, as evidenced by pieces from Gabarti (Wills 2001, 48) and Hierakonpolis.13 However, colours have faded during burial and may originally have been a bit brighter, although not the bright, strong hues

11 Native American brain tanning produces a similar final result. This effect is achieved by vigorous scraping of the grain surface after the skin is depilated, and a lot of hard work to ‘stake’ the leather, working the brain into the leather. There is, however, no evidence that brains were used in ancient Egypt, and were probably not used in Sudan either. 12 Van Driel-Murray (2000, 316) clearly points out that the lack of scientific analyses hampers sound discussion. Moreover ‘chemical analysis of ancient skins may not always pick up sufficient characteristic substances for the exact method to be established. Interpretation of results is therefore highly complex [...]. The combination of processes may lead to unexpected results [...].’ The results of the recently published paper where positive identification of vegetable tanning was found in two leather objects in the ancient Egyptian collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (elNaggar et al. 2016) should be seen in that light until further research is carried out. 13 Veldmeijer/Skinner, pers. obs.; for an example see Skinner/Veldmeijer 2015.

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found in ancient Egypt. The results of portable X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy analysis of Nubian leather suggests that red was a popular colour, which was obtained with red ochre (Skinner/Rogge 2016, 22).14 Other colours noted on Nubian leather include brown (which we assume is natural cured or tanned leather) and cream/beige. How the cream colour was achieved currently remains a mystery, but it could have been achieved by controlling the choice of lipid utilised when oil leathering a skin (see above).15 Future archeometric analysis is needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Locating the Nubian Skin Processing Areas and Leather Workshops Identifying areas where hides were processed is not an easy task. Well established, large-scale, outdoor vegetable tanneries, such as the tanneries of Marrakesh in Morocco or near Omdurman, Sudan (Fig. 2) (Skinner 2007), leave clear traces such as

Fig. 2: Tanning pits dug into the ground in present-day Omdurman, Sudan (Photo: L.-A. Skinner).

14 Higher levels of iron in red areas indicating iron oxide (red ochre) is present. 15 Native American brain tanning results in a white coloured skin (until it is smoked, which makes it brown).

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tanning pits dug into the ground, but tanning practices, particularly oil-leathering, can also be relatively mobile and small-scale, as is depicted several times in tombs, as mentioned previously (Davies 1943, pl. LII, LII, LIV).16 One would need large containers with the oil and furniture like blocks or beams for cleaning and depilating the skin, frames big enough to span stretched hides and the like. In other words, leatherwork involved relatively portable objects, which are not often preserved and/ or not always recognised as associated with leather making. Note that a concentration of hair, hooves and horns found on an excavation are usually interpreted by archaeologists as denoting meat processing areas, but it is actually quite likely that in many instances these materials indicate the presence of an ancient skin processing area. On the other hand, ‘It is a common misconception that dumps of wornout leather goods are indicative of tanneries and workshop remains’ (Van DrielMurray 2008, 488).17 An example of such leather-rich deposit comes from the Ottoman layers in Qasr Ibrim (Alexander/Rose, forthcoming; see Veldmeijer 2012, 166 for a discussion on this particular find). Often these are simply leather-rich rubbish dumps. A skin processing area or tannery would probably be situated in close proximity to water and thus is unlikely to be located too far from the river Nile. Unfortunately, in Nubia these areas were likely to be built over by modern settlements, and now many are immersed beneath the waters of Lake Nasser. A leather workshop,18 i.e. the place where leather is made into an object, is equally difficult to identify because no specific tools, furniture or room is necessary. Moreover, many tools that were used by leatherworkers were used by other craftsmen as well, such as needles, creasers and knives. Only few tools are typical specifically for the leatherworker (such as the half-moon knife). Thus far, no workspace or dedicated leatherworking tools have been identified with certainty in Nubia.

Technology A striking feature of Nubian leatherwork is that sewing is predominantly done with leather thong rather than sinew (which is not actually skin, but rather the tissue that connects the muscle to the bone) or flax, which was the preferred method in pharaonic Egypt. The variety of seams and sewing techniques is limited, and in general simple. Whip stitch and running stitch were the most commonly used types. Seams might include beads, indicating the importance of aesthetics. This is also indicated by the use of colour, although in earlier times, the variety of decorative

16 Hausa leather tanners, Northern Nigeria, carry out vegetable tanning inside ceramic containers. The local belief is that Hausa tanning was introduced to Nigeria from the Nile Valley: Lamb 1981. 17 The situation on the study of Nubian leather is comparable. 18 If not the same area as where the skin is processed. It is not at all unlikely that these were close together: In modern day Fustat (Cairo) this is the case as well.

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techniques is limited to incision and the inclusion of beads in stitching. In later times, techniques for decorating leather were much more varied and included openwork, appliqué and impressing/stamping.19

Products: Some Examples Discussed are the most often occurring objects. It is therefore only a small selection of the large variety of objects made of leather.

Footwear The piece of footwear favoured by Nubian people was the leather sandal: sandals made of vegetal material do not seem to have been worn (much?) until Christian times. Although sandals were worn with a single front strap especially in the earlier times, in later times sandals with a double front strap20 were most commonly worn (Fig. 3), a custom that was never adapted by Egyptians.21 By far the most common construction for sandal straps (regardless of a single or double front strap) are the so-called ‘ears’ in the Classic Nubian Sandals. These are extensions, called prestraps, at either side of the heel area (in later times), which are cut from the same leather as the sole, and have a hole to which the back straps, and sometimes heel straps, are attached 22 (Fig. 4). Sandals with pre-straps at the waist (Nubian Eared Sandals) (Williams 1983, 71–75) look much more like the Egyptian Eared Sandals (cf. Van Driel-Murray 2000, 312–314; Veldmeijer 2011b), but Nubian sandals might have a double front strap (Fig. 5). These seem especially popular in earlier times, but differences between various sites have been noted.23 Often these sandals are decorated on the dorsal surface with parallel incised lines along the edge, as well as transversely or even in more elaborate designs,24 whereas the sole in Classic

19 Perhaps best shown by the quivers discussed below: Williams 1991a, 78–84; Veldmeijer, pers. obs. Gebel Adda and Qasr Ibrim. The publications are in preparation. 20 E.g. Veldmeijer 2011b; 2012, 33–38; Adams 2013, 152, pl. 125. 21 This way of wearing sandals might have a more southern African origin, as these are still worn in, e.g. Ethiopia: Epple 2008. 22 See Veldmeijer, 2016, 20–22 for the reappraisal of the typology presented by Veldmeijer 2011b; 2012, 33–38. This includes the typology developed by Williams 1983, 71–75. Note that other types of Egyptian sandals might also have integrally cut pre-straps, but these differ from eared sandals in number of sole layers, shape and decoration (e.g. Veldmeijer 2009; 2014, 54–57; Veldmeijer/ Ikram 2014, 31–34). 23 Dunham 1985, 197; Wainwright 1920, 10, 12; Williams 1983, 75. 24 Junker 1920, 82–83; 1925, 20–23, 67–68; Williams 1983, 73–75. For a short survey of decoration see Wills 1998, 184.

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b

Fig. 3: Wearing sandals with a double front strap became very popular from Meroitic Times onwards; this was often combined with large side extensions at the heel as attachment area for the back (and heel) straps. a: E20176, Courtesy of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (Photo: A. J. Veldmeijer/E. Endenburg). b: Artist’s Impression (M. H. Kriek).

Nubian Sandals are less often decorated. However, often the straps have decoratively cut ends and openwork elements to hide the attachment area of the back strap to the front strap (Veldmeijer 2010b, no page numbers). Decoration in Egyptian Eared Sandals is rare and, if present, save a few exceptions, simple. In Roman times, sandals with independent pre-straps emerged, possibly introduced by the Romans themselves,25 but sandals with integrally cut pre-straps continued to be the most popular type. Shoes (neither open nor closed), were apparently not worn in the Pre-Meroitic Periods, and from Gebel Adda there are only few examples known that are dated to Meroitic times. Depictions sometimes show open shoes (Pyke, in: Rose 2007, 49 f.), which seem to have been quite like the Egyptian open shoes we have, for example, from the tomb of Tutankhamun (Veldmeijer 2011c, esp. 143).26 The few archaeologi-

25 Note the difference between Roman sandals with independent pre-straps and Egyptian/Nubian sandals, see Veldmeijer 2011a, 39. 26 Contrary to Nubia, shoes have never been depicted in ancient Egypt.

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Fig. 4: We distinguish three different types of classic Nubian sandals, which is a sub-category of leather sandals with integrally cut pre-straps (together with Nubian eared sandals and Egyptian eared sandals); Diagram: A. J. Veldmeijer/E. Endenburg.

Fig. 5: Nubian eared sandal from Qasr Ibrim (27067/A5) with small pre-straps at the waist (which is comparable to Egyptian eared sandals), but with a double front strap (Photo: P. J. Rose, Courtesy of the Egypt Exploration Society).

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Fig. 6: A rare example of Meroitic shoe from Gebel Adda (973.24.673) (Photo: A. J. Veldmeijer/ E. Endenburg, Courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto).

cal finds (Fig. 6) and the low frequency of depictions suggest that shoes were by no means a common commodity and were never as popular in ancient Nubia as they were in ancient Egypt. From late Christian/early Islamic times onwards, shoes became more common.27

Clothing In contrast to the ancient Egyptian people, clothing made of leather was very common (e.g. Dunham 1982, 28; Williams 1983, 65) in Nubia but disappeared in later times.28 Unfortunately, the preservation of such relatively fragile objects is inferior in Nubia, as explained previously, and usually only small fragments have been recovered. Larger fragments are known from Hierakonpolis where some females in graves appear to be buried in panelled or patchwork leather skirts. Most of these ‘skirts’ are brown, while a few preserve evidence of different colouration (beige and red). Wills (2001, 450–451) discussed small scraps of fine leather, gathered to-

27 Based on the leather finds from Qasr Ibrim. The fibre open shoes from Qasr Ibrim (Veldmeijer 2010a), the earliest dating from about 400 AD, seems to support the suggestion of the mixed Egyptian/Nubian population of Qasr Ibrim (Veldmeijer 2012, 165–168): Comparable footwear is not known from other sites south of Qasr Ibrim. 28 Due to lack of research, it is not clear yet when popularity diminished, but possibly the influence of Egyptian Culture, which favoured textile clothing, is among the reasons for the change. If so, the change might have started in the New Kingdom.

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gether by leather thongs threaded through pierced holes running along a straight cut side. These were interpreted as being part of a container – like a bag, alongside fine but heavily folded pieces of leather thought to be shrouds. The similarity is striking between this fine leather and the gathering of parts of the ‘skirts’ mentioned above, uncovered at Hierakonpolis. It seems likely, therefore, that female Nubians from C-Culture and Kerma Culture were buried in leather ‘skirt-like’ garments, which were gathered around the waist. Nubian people introduced the leather loincloth into Egypt, which became a prestige item in New Kingdom times,29 and finds are known from many Nubian sites, such as Balabish, Kerma and Dongola.30 Generally, this item evidences a high degree of skill, despite the simple technique: numerous slits (or, far less common cut outs) are inserted in the leather, which, upon stretching, reveals an intricate net pattern. Famous examples come from the tomb of Maiherperi (about 1425 BC),31 who was of Nubian descent (Veldmeijer 2017, 59–60).32

Weaponry and Related Implements Despite the reputation Nubians have for their leatherworking skills in terms of technology and refinement, little surpassed the quivers from Meroitic and Post-Meroritic times.33 These have been found in fair numbers from, for example, Gebel Adda (Veldmeijer 2016) and Qustul,34 and include some spectacular complete and very well-preserved examples (Fig. 7). These quivers – though differences in manufacturing are clear – are made of complete skins. They are always elaborately decorated with impressed motifs and appliqué of the tubes and its flaps, openwork streamers and streamers that show motifs, created by scraping off the surface of the leather.35 According to Williams, ‘the amount and variety of weapons and other actual or potential military equipment that occurs in C-Group tombs is greater than any other phase in Lower Nubia’ (Williams 1991, 76). Objects include, often nicely tooled,

29 Vogelsang-Eastwood 1993, 18, 20, 29–31; Friedman 2004, 24–25; 2007, 60; Veldmeijer 2007, 24. 30 For an overview and update based on recently discovered and (re-)studied material, see Veldmeijer 2017 (56–60). See also Veldmeijer 2011d, 28. 31 Carter 1903, 46–47. See Schwarz 2000, Cat. C, no. 1–10 for the description of other loincloths from Egyptian provenance. 32 The loincloths are well preserved and housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. 33 Williams 1991a, 78–84; Veldmeijer, pers. obs.: Gebel Adda and Qasr Ibrim. The publications are in preparation. 34 Williams 1991a, 87–119; 1991b, 37, 84, 136, 216, 245, 258, 282, 284. 35 Williams 1991a, 78–84; Veldmeijer, pers. obs.: Gebel Adda and Qasr Ibrim material. The publications are in preparation.

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Fig. 7: A spectacularly preserved, complete quiver from Gebel Adda (973. 24. 3383) (Photo: A. J. Veldmeijer/E. Endenburg, Courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto).

wrist guards (Fig. 8),36 scabbards,37 saddles (Williams 1991a, 119–127) and saddlebags.38 Little is known of leather objects from Nubia’s Christian and Islamic Periods, but the few pieces that have been studied (Veldmeijer 2012) or are currently under study39 seem to compare with material that is known from the same period in Egypt, including the increased emphasis on decoration. Some types of Ottoman shoes40 have parallels from Gebel Adda (Veldmeijer 2016, 54, 229–239) and Dra Abu elNaga (Veldmeijer 2012, 153–156). It is probable that these were introduced by the Ottomans from Turkey, as such footwear has no parallels to indigenous footwear in Egypt or Sudan.

36 Veldmeijer, pers. obs.: Gebel Adda material; Williams 1991a, 87; 1991b, 276. 37 Veldmeijer, pers. obs.: Gebel Adda material; Williams 1991a, 87, 95, 256. 38 Veldmeijer, pers. obs.: Gebel Adda material. 39 Especially the Pre-Ottoman material from Qasr Ibrim. 40 Montembault’s Type B, Variant 3 (Veldmeijer 2012, 90–94), Category XII (Veldmeijer 2012, 95–124, esp. XII, Type C, Variant 2.

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Fig. 8: Wrist guard from Gebel Adda (973. 24. 2729). As with other leatherwork, the aesthetics was important, too; hence the decorative design of the openwork (Photo: A. J. Veldmeijer/ E. Endenburg, Courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto).

Discussion Despite the enormous efforts made by the archaeological community to excavate and study ancient Nubia in advance of its submergence due to the building of the dams in Egypt, our knowledge of Nubian leather is scanty. This is partially due to a simple lack of research, but unfortunately Nubian leather (and Egyptian leather from non-elite burials) in particular is frequently poorly preserved, although there are notable exceptions, such as Hierakonpolis, Gebel Adda and Qasr Ibrim. This poor preservation has made interpretation of the leather finds difficult in the past and has perhaps led to the false belief that Nubian leather was inferior to seemingly better preserved Egyptian leather, which we see a lot more frequently in museums.41 Despite the limited research done thus far, we do still know that for Nubians, leather was an important commodity throughout most of its history and was fa-

41 But much Egyptian leather comes from high social class tombs and thus from favourable circumstances of preservation. Leather from settlements or burial grounds are also far less well preserved.

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voured more than in Egypt.42 There was a close similarity between the Kerma and C-Group leather, betraying extremely finely made leathers (most noteworthy the clothing) that were manufactured with great expertise. Aesthetics has always been an important character of Nubian leather, which is illustrated by the use of decorative seams including beads, colour (albeit less brightly and contrasting than the Egyptian leather), covering of less pleasing elements in objects by flaps and streamers as well as decorative openwork and other decoration techniques. In later times (possibly after the Egyptian occupation?) leather was no longer used to make garments,43 but leather continued to be an important material nonetheless and featured heavily in domestic life. Objects of leather, such as clothing, footwear and quivers, were prestigious enough throughout history to bury with the deceased. The importance of leather in Christian times seems to have diminished and been largely limited to footwear. Moreover, the differences between the leather in Egypt and Nubia became less and less obvious. Since their products were so much in demand, it seems likely that Nubian leatherworkers were high-status individuals in Nubian society. Interest in the study of the leather industry in Nubia is on the rise, and in depth analytical studies of leather from Nubian sites will be carried out in coming years. The expectation is that this will allow us to define more accurately what skin processing methods and materials were utilised in Nubia during antiquity, which, in turn, allows us to reconstruct the organisation behind the trade and the economic importance to society at large. If the trend of the last two decades of increased interest in ancient Egyptian and Nubian leatherwork continues, it may be expected that a detailed comparison of the two differing leatherworking traditions will be possible in the coming years.

Bibliography Adams, William Yewdale (2013): Qasr Ibrim. Ballana Phase. Egypt Exploration Society Excavation Memoir 104. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Alexander, John / Rose, Pamela J. (forthcoming): [working title: Ottoman Qasr Ibrim]. Carter, Howard (1903): Report on General Work done in the Southern Inspectorate. In: Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte 4, p. 43–50. Davies, Norman de Garis (1943): The Tomb of Rekh-mi-Re at Thebes. New York: Plantin Press. Dunham, Dows (1982): Excavations at Kerma. Part VI: Subsidiary Nubian Graves, excavated by the Late George A. Reisner in 1915–1916. Boston: Department of Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art, Museum of Fine Arts.

42 Although there were distinct fluctuations in the popularity of leather use in Egypt, which might have been true for Nubia as well, but if so, it would be less extreme. 43 Possibly influenced by the Egyptian occupation in New Kingdom times.

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el-Naggar, Abd el-Razek / Leona, Marco / Nevin, Austin / Heywood, Ann (2016): The Characterization of Vegetable Tannins and Colouring Agents in Ancient Egyptian Leather from the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In: Archaeometry 28 (April), p. 1–15. Epple, Susanne (2008): Weiche Füße oder harte Sohlen? Fußbekleidung, Fußschmuck und barfuß laufen in Äthiopien. In: Roder, Hartmut (eds.): Schuhtick. Von kalten Füßen und heißen Sohlen. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern, p. 139–146. Friedman, Renée Frances (2004): Seeking the C-Group. Excavations in the Nubian Cemetery, 2005. In: Nekhen News Fall 2004, p. 24–26. Friedman, Renée Frances (2007): The Nubian Cemetery at Hierakonpolis, Egypt. Results of the 2007 Season. The C-Group Cemetery at Locality HK27C. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 11, p. 57–72. Junker, Hermann (1920): Bericht über die Grabungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien auf den Friedhöfen von El-Kubanieh-Nord. Winter 1910–1911. Denkschriften der Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse 64/3. Vienna: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky. Junker, Hermann (1925): Ermenne. Bericht über die Grabungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien auf den Friedhöfen von Ermenne (Nubien) im Winter 1911/12. Denkschriften der Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.-Hist. Klasse 67/1. Vienna: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky. Knew, E. (1947): Note on the Native Tanner of the Sudan and Some Proposed Production Developments. In: Sudan Government Pamphlet 10/47, p. 1–11. Lamb, Malcolm J. (1981): The Hausa Tanners of Northern Nigeria. In: The New Bookbinder 1, p. 58–62. Lucas, Alfred (1962): Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries. 4th rev. Edition. London: J. R. Harris. Moreno García, Juan Carlos (2017): Leather Processing, Castor Oil and Desert/Nubian Trade at the Turn of the 3rd/2nd Millennium BC: Some Speculative Thoughts on Egyptian Craftsmanship. In: Miniaci, Gianluca / Moreno García, Juan Carlos / Quirke, Stephen / Stauder, Andreas (eds.): The Arts of Making in Ancient Egypt. Voices, Images, and Objects of Material Producers 2000–1550 BC. Leiden: Sidestone Press, p. 159–174. Reisner, George Andrew (1923): Excavations at Kerma. Harvard African Studies Volume IV–V. Cambridge, Mass.: Peabody Museum of Harvard University. Rose, Pamela J. (2007): The Meroitic Temple Complex at Qasr Ibrim. Egypt Exploration Society Excavation Memoir 84. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny (1946): The Navy of the Eighteenth Egyptian Dynasty. Uppsala: Lundequistska Bokhandeln. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny (1989): Middle Nubian Sites, Partille. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia Publications 4. Denmark: Paul Astrom. Schwarz, Stephanie (2000): Altägyptisches Lederhandwerk. Europäische Hochschulschriften. Reihe 28: Kunstgeschichte. Band 365. Frankfurt on Main: Lang. Skinner, Lucy-Anne (2007): A Visit to a Traditional Leather Tannery in Central Sudan. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 11, p. 125–126. Skinner, Lucy-Anne / Veldmeijer, André J. (2015): Skin Deep. The Beautiful Leather of the Nubians at Hierakonpolis. In: Nekhen News 27, p. 19–21. Skinner, Lucy-Anne / Rogge, Corina (2016): Matriarchs, red leather and polka-dots: More leather from HK27C. In: Nekhen News 28, p. 22–24. Van Driel-Murray, Carol (2000): Leatherwork and Skin Products. In: Nicholson, Paul / Shaw, Ian (eds.): Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology. Cambridge: University Press, p. 299–319. Van Driel-Murray, Carol (2008): Tanning and Leather. In: Oleson, John Peter (ed.): Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Oxford: University Press, p. 483–495.

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Veldmeijer, André J. (2007): The World of Leather. In: Nekhen News 19, p. 24. Veldmeijer, André J. (2009): Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear. Technological Aspects. Part X: Leather Composite Sandals. In: PalArch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology 6/9, p. 1–27. Veldmeijer, André J. (2010a): Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear. Technological Aspects. Part V: Fibre Shoes from Qasr Ibrim. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part Two: Session Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/2.1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 299–308. Veldmeijer, André J. (2010b): Gebel Adda’s Leatherwork in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. In: Friends of Ancient Egypt Newsletter (Winter 2010), no page numbers. Veldmeijer, André J. (2011a): Sandals, Shoes and other Leatherwork from the Coptic Monastery Deir el-Bachit. Analysis and Catalogue. Leiden: Sidestone Press. Veldmeijer, André J. (2011b): Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear. Technological Aspects. Part XIV: Leather Eared Sandals. In: PalArch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/ Egyptology 8/5, p. 1–31. Veldmeijer, André J. (2011c): Tutankhamun’s Footwear. Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear. Leiden: Sidestone Press. Veldmeijer, André J. (2011d): Amarna’s Leatherwork. Part I: Preliminary Analysis and Catalogue. Leiden: Sidestone Press. Veldmeijer, André J. (2012): Leatherwork from Qasr Ibrim (Egypt). Part I: Footwear from the Ottoman Period. Leiden: Sidestone Press. Veldmeijer, André J. (2014): Footwear in Ancient Egypt: The Medelhavsmuseet Collection. Stockholm: VarldskulturmuseernaVärldskulturmuseerna (http:// www.varldskulturmuseerna.se/files/medelhavet/Forskning/ Update%20Jan%202015 %20Footwear%20in%20Ancient%20Egypt_Low.pdf; last seen 13. 03. 2017). Veldmeijer, André J. (2016): Excavations of Gebel Adda (Lower Nubia). Ancient Nubian Leatherwork. Part I: Sandals and Shoes. Leiden: Sidestone Press. Veldmeijer, André J. (2017): Sailors, Musicians and Monks: The Leatherwork from Dra Abu el-Naga (Luxor, Egypt). Leiden: Sidestone Press. Veldmeijer, André J. / Ikram, Salima (2014): Catalogue of the Footwear in the Coptic Museum (Cairo). Leiden: Sidestone Press. Veldmeijer, André J. / Ikram, Salima / Skinner, Lucy-Anne (2012): Charging Chariot: Progress Report on the Tano Chariot in the Egyptian Museum Cairo. In: Veldmeijer, André J. / Ikram, Salima (eds.): Chasing Chariots. Proceedings of the First International Chariot Conference (Cairo 2012). Leiden: Sidestone Press, p. 257–271. Vogelsang-Eastwood, Gillian (1993): Pharaonic Egyptian Clothing. Leiden/Cologne: Brill. Wainwright, Gerald Avery (1920): Balabish. London: George Allen & Unwin. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1983): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 5: C-Group, Pan Grave, and Kerma Remains at Adindan Cemeteries T, K, U, and J. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 5. Chicago/Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1991a): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 9: Noubadian X-Group Remains from Royal Complexes in Cemeteries Q and 219 and Private Cemeteries Q, R, V, W, B, J, and M at Qustul and Ballana. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 9. Chicago, Illinois: The Oriental Institute. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1991b): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 8: Meroitic Remains from Qustul Cemetery Q, Ballana Cemetery B, and a Ballana Settlement. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 8. 2 Vols. Chicago, Illinois: The Oriental Institute.

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Williams, Bruce Beyer (1996): Excavations at Serra East. Parts 1–5: A-Group, C-Group, Pan Grave, New Kingdom, and X-Group Remains from Cemeteries A-G and Rock Shelters. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 10. Chicago, Illinois: The Oriental Institute. Wills, Barbara (1998): The Leather Sandals and Shoes. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Soba II. Renewed Excavations within the Metropolis of the Kingdom of Alwa in Central Sudan. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 15. London: British Museum Press. Wills, Barbara (2002): Windows into Ancient Nubian Leatherwork. In: Audoin-Rouzeau, Frédérique / Beyries, Sylvie (eds.): Le travail du cuir de la préhistoire à nos jours. Actes des XXIIe rencontres internationales d’archéologie et d’histoire d’Antibes, 18–20 octobre 2001. Antibes: Éditions APDCA, p. 41–64.

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Egyptian Temples in Nubia during the Middle and the New Kingdom Middle Kingdom Temples Our knowledge about the cult buildings erected for the worship of Egyptian deities south of the First Cataract before the 18th Dynasty is extremely limited. We have to presume that small temples existed in most, if not all, of the fortresses that were built in Lower Nubia and in the area of the Second Cataract. This will have begun in the reign of Senusret I and continued to be practiced, especially under the reign of Senusret III (Vogel 2004; Hirsch 2004). As in Egypt, these Middle Kingdom temples were most probably of modest size and built mainly out of mud-brick, which explains why most of them were not identified with any certainty during earlier excavations. At Buhen, a medium sized mud-brick temple of the 12th Dynasty (probably already erected by Senusret I) is well attested archaeologically in the north-western part of the fortress (Emery et al. 1979, 11, 84–87, pl. 34; Smith 1976, 76–78). It consisted mainly of a forecourt, a hypostyle hall with wooden columns on stone foundations, two small transverse rooms and a main sanctuary flanked by two smaller side-rooms in the rear part. No wall decoration or sculpture has been found within the building, but the inscriptional evidence from Buhen clearly shows that the god Horus as ‘Horus, Lord of Buhen’, had been the main deity there since Senusret I (Smith 1976). It is therefore highly probable that the Middle Kingdom temple was dedicated to him, as was the case with the so-called south temple of Buhen, built in the 18th Dynasty, which partly covered the older structure. The god Horus undoubtedly played a major role when the Egyptians began to undertake the religious appropriation of the region south of the First Cataract, along with its military occupation in the 12th Dynasty. The origins of the falcon deity Horus lay at Hierakonpolis in Upper Egypt, one of the first centres of the emerging Egyptian state and its sacred kingship in the later 4th millennium BC. Since Horus was intrinsically tied to the Egyptian concepts of sovereignty, royal power and its legitimization, he was especially suitable to substantiate Egyptian demands on a foreign land like Nubia. The Egyptians expressed their claims by denoting Horus as ‘Lord of Nubia’ (nb t3-sti) and by installing him as the main local deity at their major sites in Nubia: ‘Horus, Lord of Quban’ at the fortress of Quban in northern Lower Nubia, ‘Horus, Lord of Aniba’ at the fortress of Aniba in southern Lower Nubia, and ‘Horus, Lord of Buhen’ at the Second Cataract.1 1 For Egyptian cults in Nubia in general – but mainly focusing on the New Kingdom – see SäveSöderbergh 1941, 200–205; Kormysheva 1996; Török 2009, 209–262. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-022

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Apart from Horus, the deities of Elephantine and the area of the First Cataract, namely Khnum, Satet and Anuket, were of importance in the newly established Egyptian cult topography of Lower Nubia. As the divine triad of the frontier region between Egypt and Nubia, where Egyptians and Nubians had met and had lived together since earliest times, their cults were undoubtedly regarded as appropriate for Nubia itself. Especially at Kumma, a fortress at the Second Cataract south of Buhen, we have evidence for the institutional worship of Khnum, Satet and Anuket in the Middle Kingdom in the form of rock inscriptions of various priests (Vogel 2004, 113). Another deity who was worshipped by the Egyptians in the region of the Second Cataract already during the Middle Kingdom was Dedwen.2 He was regarded as ‘Foremost of Nubia’ and a Nubian origin has long been suspected, but more recently it has been proposed that Dedwen was a genuine Egyptian god assigned to Nubian territory as its divine sovereign (Morenz 2011, 72, note 92; Thissen 2013, 499–501). As in Egypt itself, there is also evidence for a royal statue cult in some of the Egyptian fortresses at the Second Cataract: statues of Senusret III have been found at Semna and at Uronarti, and the text of the so-called Semna-Stelae of the same pharaoh, in combination with the archaeological report, implies that in both cases a statue representing the king in heb-sed garb and a stela had been set up in a small cult building, which should probably be interpreted within the Egyptian concept of a royal Hut-ka (Seidlmayer 2000). The cult for Senusret III was not restricted to his lifetime, but is attested at Buhen for the 13th Dynasty and the Second Intermediate Period, where at the same time Senusret I is also known as cult recipient.3 In both cases this posthumous worship might be connected with the historical achievements of both kings in subjugating Lower Nubia. The cult of Senusret III was restored and further developed by the pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty in Nubia.

New Kingdom Temples: Historical Overview and Location Immediately following the (re-)conquering of Nubia in the early 18th Dynasty, the Egyptians started to set up a new religious topography for the land south of the First Cataract.4 Along with the military conquest of Nubia, cults for Egyptian deities were now installed from the First Cataract in the north to as far south as the Gebel

2 See Leitz 2002, 578–579, references 20–21, 30, 40. 3 Smith 1976, 91–92; el-Enany 2003; 2004. 4 For the following, see Hein 1991; Kormysheva 1996; Ullmann 2007; 2009; Török 2009, 209– 262.

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Barkal at the Fourth Cataract. In Lower Nubia cults that had already been established in the Middle Kingdom were revived and augmented by new ones, and in Upper Nubia Egyptian cults were implanted likewise. Compared to the situation in the Middle Kingdom, this was a much more profound religious appropriation of Nubia, on a geographical scale as well as on a conceptual level. As a result, Nubia was firmly tied to the Egyptian mainland not just militarily, administratively and economically, but also through religion and state-ideology. The most visible remains of this religious take-over of Nubia undoubtedly were the temples for Egyptian deities, erected and run by the Egyptian authorities on Nubian territory. As far as our present knowledge is able to ascertain, the architecture, decoration programs, and ritual performances at these temples were predominantly Egyptian in character. As in Egypt, ritual landscapes emerged in New Kingdom Nubia with cult buildings that were interrelated to each other and to cults in Egypt proper in manifold ways (topographically, architecturally, theologically, ritually) and at various territorial levels (locational, regional, national). There is archaeological evidence for about 50 cult buildings for Egyptian deities dating to the New Kingdom at 30 different sites from Debod in the north to the Jebel Barkal in the south (see the table at the end of the article). Of course, the number of temples in New Kingdom Nubia must have originally been considerably higher. Notably, cult buildings within the settlement areas of Lower Nubia might not have shown up in the early archaeological records before the flooding of the area due to the dams that were built at Aswan in the last century. In the very early 18th Dynasty when the Middle Kingdom fortresses in Lower Nubia and the area of the Second Cataract were reoccupied by the Egyptians, the temples there were rebuilt or erected anew (see e.g. Buhen and Uronarti). Slightly later cult buildings were most probably embedded within the first fortified towns in Upper Nubia founded by the Egyptians (like at Sai and Kerma/Dukki Gel). During the reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, when Egyptian control over all of Nubia had become consolidated, there was very extensive building activity at numerous sites. In some cases, old mud-brick structures were replaced or supplemented by stone temples (see e.g. Aniba, Buhen, Semna, Kumma (?), Sai, Kerma Dukki Gel), but we also see temples at locations where no earlier cult buildings are known, like at Amada (Fig. 1), Ellesiya, Jebel Dosha and maybe also at Jebel Barkal, although the archaeological evidence there is still dubious. Some of the new cult buildings are not located within a town or a fortress anymore, but are to be found at some distance from the nearest settlement (e.g. Ellesiya, Ibrim and Jebel Dosha). These installations – in all cases rock-cut temples (see below) – did not serve the basic religious/cultic needs of a community of settlers, but they added further theological and ritual layers to the Nubian territory and local ritual landscapes began to emerge at certain places with numerous interrelated cult buildings (e.g. around Aniba with the town temple and Ellesiya to the north and Ibrim to the south).

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Fig. 1: The pillared hall in the temple of Amada (Photo: M. Ullmann).

Various criteria for the location of temples have to be taken into account that fall into two categories: natural factors, e.g. geological formations suitable for rock-cut temples, the chance to quarry stones nearby, and easy accessibility; and factors that might be summarized as human, e.g. the presence of a settlement, the desire to establish a religious-ideological layer of Egyptian dominance at especially important places (like e.g. Dukki Gel, close to the former capital of Kerma and at the place of a Nubian ceremonial centre), or the notion of sacredness at certain spots, often connected with specific geographical characteristics (like at the Jebel Barkal, where the Egyptians recognized the southern place of the origin of their supreme deity Amun-Ra). In the time of Amenhotep III we observe the installation of a new temple site at Wadi es-Sebua in Lower Nubia, probably because of the importance of the place as a starting point for desert trade routes, but the hub of his building activity lay in Upper Nubia north of the Third Cataract. The region there had been of strategic and economic importance since the early 18th Dynasty and under Amenhotep III this led to the foundation of a temple site early in his reign at a place nowadays called Soleb (Fig. 2). After several construction stages, the temple there was the largest Egyptian cult building in Nubia up to that time. It marks a significant date in the development of the Egyptian cults in Nubia because of the prime importance of the cult of the

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Fig. 2: The temple of Soleb (Photo: M. Ullmann).

divine king as ‘Nebmaatra, Lord of Nubia’ within the temple’s theology (Fig. 3). About 20 km northward at Sedeinga, another smaller temple was erected, which was theologically closely connected to the temple at Soleb. About 150 years later Ramesses II would refer back to this concept in his own temple building activity in Nubia. During the reign of Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten more temple construction took place in Nubia than previously known. Apart from making modifications to the decorative programmes of older temples (e.g. at Wadi es-Sebua), more recent archaeological investigations have shown that he must have ordered the erection of a whole series of new temples for the god Aten in Upper Nubia, at places like Sesibi, Kerma/ Dukki Gel, Kawa (?) and at the Jebel Barkal. In the aftermath of the Amarna Period Tutankhamun started restoration work at various sites in Nubia. At Faras, not far north of the Second Cataract, he added a new temple to much older cult installations, and at Kawa in Upper Nubia another temple was built or, at least decorated, by him. Under Haremhab we mainly have evidence from a new rock-cut temple at Abu Oda, very close to Abu Simbel on the other side of the Nile, where later Ramesses II would found a new cult site by integrating his predecessor’s temple into its ritual landscape.

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Fig. 3: The god Neb-maat-ra in the temple of Soleb (Photo: M. Ullmann).

The building activity of Sety I in the early 19th Dynasty consisted mainly of further restoration work at various Nubian sites in order to eliminate the modifications of the Amarna Period, which also included the addition of new elements in some cases (e.g. at Jebel Barkal). At Amara, between the Second and the Third Cataract, he founded a new temple whose construction was continued under his son Ramesses II. The temple at Beit el-Wali in Lower Nubia might also date back to Sety I, but was decorated solely by Ramesses II. The reign of Ramesses II saw unprecedented building activity, especially in Lower Nubia where a series of rock-cut temples partly augmented older ritual landscapes, as at Wadi es-Sebua and Derr, but also implemented new ones, as at Gerf Hussein and Abu Simbel (for details see below under ‘Theology and Cult’). Because of their exceptionally good state of preservation in the 19th century, these Lower Nubian rock-cut temples have sometimes overshadowed the huge amount of work done during the 67 years of Ramesses II’s rule over Egypt and Nubia at various sites from Beit el-Wali in the north to the Jebel Barkal in the south (see the table). After Ramesses II only very little building activity is archaeologically attested at temples in Nubia (Sety II, Ramesses III). But there is evidence for regular cult activity at most sites at least until the end of the 20th Dynasty. During most of the New Kingdom the numerous temples erected for Egyptian deities and for the royal cult in Lower and Upper Nubia were not only centres of religious worship and ritual activity for the Egyptian settlers and for gradually more

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and more Egyptianized Nubians , but also in many cases hubs of administrative and economic activity, very similar to the situation in Egypt itself.5

Architecture of New Kingdom Temples in Nubia Two different types of temples, each with two similar subtypes, can be distinguished based on form and layout (see the table). The actual number of rooms and their size varies considerably within types 1.1 and 2.1:6 1. Free standing temple 1.1 Multi-chambered temple with axial alignment (Fig. 4) 1.2 Temple with only one or few rooms of mostly small size (Fig. 5) 2. Rock temple (speos and hemispeos) (Hein 1991, 113–114) 2.1 Multi-chambered temple with axial alignment (Fig. 6) 2.2 Temple with only one or few rooms of mostly small size (Fig. 7) The free standing temples (type 1) are mostly to be found within settlements and fortresses; their main purpose was to serve the religious needs of their communities. Furthermore especially the town temples, as state institutions and their personnel had an important function within the administration of Nubia and its economy. The subtype 1.2 is to be found in particular within fortresses in the first half of the 18th Dynasty, where the cramped confines often led to individualized and ad hoc solutions in the layout of the cult buildings. At Quban and Amada small peripteral temples were found some distance from the settlements. In analogy to the situation in Egypt, they have to be seen not as self-contained institutions with a daily cult, but as being closely linked in function to another temple nearby. According to location and layout, they served as so-called way stations during processions with the cult image/s of the main temple. Multi-chambered temples with axial alignment became increasingly widespread in the second half of the 18th Dynasty and in the 19th Dynasty, particularly in towns in Upper Nubia. The first small-sized rock temples (type 2.2) were created under Hatshepsut and Thutmose III around Aniba in Lower Nubia (Ellesiya and Ibrim) and at Jebel Dosha between the Second and the Third Cataract, i.e. at the same time as in Egypt itself. As already stated above, the small cult installations of the type 2.2, which often only comprised one or two rooms of modest size, were functionally different from the free standing town temples, since they did not serve as primary religious institutions for

5 For the administration and the economy of Nubia during the New Kingdom and the role of the temples therein, see Müller 2013 and Morkot 2013. 6 For a typology especially for Amun temples in Nubia, see Rocheleau 2008.

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Fig. 4: The temple of Thutmose III, Amenhotep II and Thutmose IV at Amada (based on Hein 1991, pl. 8).

Fig. 5: The temple of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III at Semna (Caminos 1998, pl. 3).

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Fig. 6: The hemispeos of Ramesses II at Wadi es-Sebua (based on Hein 1991, pl. 7).

a specific community. They were self-contained temples with permanently installed cult statues in the rear part, but in most cases it is doubtful whether a daily cult took place within them. They functioned on a more abstract theological level by adding religious meaning to their location, and were visited most probably on a regular basis on certain festival occasions, which were important for the ritual landscape in which they were embedded. The one-room rock temples (often designated as rock shrines) at Ibrim (Ibrim I–IV) and at Faras (Faras III) are often regarded as private monuments of the viceroys who were responsible for their installation and who also show up in the wall decoration (e.g. Hein 1991, 113). But in my opinion this interpretation is somewhat misleading. The viceroys acted on behalf of their king, and they were responsible for all of the state initiated building activity in Nubia and sometimes also left inscriptions and images of themselves in the larger temples. The wall decoration and the cult statues at the rear of the so-called rock shrines predominantly attest various gods and goddesses (with reference to the local main deities) together with the royal cult, and they document the fulfilment of the duties of the viceroys and other officials

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Fig. 7: The hemispeos of Thutmose III at Ellesiya (based on El-Achirie et al. 1968, pl. II).

on behalf of the king. First and foremost, these shrines are therefore monuments of the official state cult, and only secondarily might have served also as memorial for the viceroys. Under Amenhotep III, a first multi-chambered hemispeos with axial alignment (type 2.1.) was built at Wadi es-Sebua in Lower Egypt. Apart from the courts at the front, the rooms are quite small, but on a functional level the concept of a freestanding town temple was undoubtedly adopted. Also the speos of Haremhab at Abu Oda is, albeit modest in size, in regard to layout and function closer to type 2.1. The first hemispeos of Ramesses II at Beit el-Wali, which might have been founded already under Sety I, is of medium size too, but its rooms correspond functionally those of free standing multi-chambered temples. With the chronologically subsequent great speos of Abu Simbel, the concept of a large freestanding, multi-chambered temple with axial alignment was for the first time transposed to a speos which mainly functioned as a so-called barque procession temple. The small temple at Abu Simbel was built at the same time and follows the same layout, albeit on a much smaller scale. The hemispeoi of Derr, Wadi es-Sebua and Gerf Hussein all correspond to this same concept in layout and function. Altogether the rock temples clearly show an evolution towards a more complex layout, connected with a functional broadening, especially in the time of Ramesses II.

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Theology and Cult The complex topic of the theological concepts which underlay the Egyptian temples in Nubia, the cults performed there and the rituals enacted in them, cannot be discussed here in-depth. One also has to bear in mind that each of the temples has to be treated individually in order to understand all its various aspects. The following remarks shall therefore first trace some major trends as to the main cult recipients in the Egyptian temples of the New Kingdom in Nubia, and secondly will deal with the grand-scale development of the ritual landscape of Lower Nubia during the reign of Ramesses II. In the first half of the 18th Dynasty the main cult recipient within the temples in Lower Nubia and in the area of the Second Cataract was the god Horus with his three locally differentiated forms as Horus of Quban, Aniba and Buhen, who had already been installed as lords over their respective territories in the 12th Dynasty (see above in the chapter about the Middle Kingdom temples).7 In addition, the cult of Hathor at Faras and at Mirgissa might already date back to the Middle Kingdom. Likewise Khnum, Satet and Anuket, the divine triad of the frontier region between Egypt and Nubia, were integrated into the cult topography of Lower Nubia and the Second Cataract. Khnum was again the main deity in the temple at Kumma; Anuket and Satet were worshipped at Buhen; and Satet played a major role as female companion of Horus of Aniba in that region. At Semna the cult of Dedwen (see above) was revived together with that of Senusret III as ‘Lord of Semna’, whose veneration was equally important at Uronarti and at Mirgissa, in both cases together with a cult for the god Montu. Very much as in Egypt itself, the royal cult directed toward divine aspects of the living king formed an important part of the concept of several temples in Lower and Upper Nubia. This is especially well proven since the time of Thutmose III (Schade-Busch 1997) who seems to have formed together with Horus of Aniba and Satet the divine triad of the region of Aniba. This concept of a combined cult of the king and the locally most important deities was probably transferred to the speos at Jebel Dosha in Upper Nubia, albeit presumably with another local variant of the god Horus, who might be identical with ‘Horus, bull, lord of Nubia’ (variant: ‘Horus, bull, lord of Nubia, who is in the midst of Thebes’ [1rw kA nb 6A-4tj Hr.j-jb WAs.t]).8 This form of the god Horus is attested within the wall deco-

7 For the following, see the references in footnotes 1 and 4. 8 The group of three seated statues at the rear wall of the speos at Jebel Dosha was utterly destroyed. The identity of the main cult recipients at that place depends therefore mainly on the only fragmentarily preserved wall decoration and on several stelae nearby and on comparison with the more or less contemporaneous speoi at Ellesiya and Ibrim. The most likely hypothesis in my opinion is a triad consisting of Thutmose III in the center, flanked by Satet to the right and by a form of Horus (probably Horus kA nb 6A-4tj Hr.j-jb WAs.t ) to the left. But recently Davies has stated that based upon the outline of the headdress the left figure should be identified as Amun-Ra (Davies

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ration of the speos at Jebel Dosha, and in several inscriptions at Sai, which is only about 35 km to the north, as well as in Lower Nubia in the temples at Ellesiya and Amada (in the later one with reference to Thutmose IV). The unusual name form of this Horus deity resembles the Horus name of Thutmose III and might therefore hint at a special link between this form of Horus and Thutmose III.9 The strong connection between the king and the god Horus, which reaches back to the formation of the Egyptian state in the late 4th millennium BC (see above), in which the pharaoh was the living Horus upon earth, was the ideological basis upon which the royal cult in Nubia rested at that time. The incorporation of the king into the main cult recipients of a temple was visually illustrated by statue groups, which displayed the king enthroned together with the main deity/ies of the cult place. This was especially common within rock temples where statue groups with the king usually are to be found at the rear part of the innermost sanctuary. First attested under Hatshepsut and Thutmose III at Ibrim, Ellesiya and Jebel Dosha, this feature became particularly important during the reign of Ramesses II in all of his rock temples in Lower Nubia. In Upper Nubia Amun-Ra, throughout Egypt the most important deity during the New Kingdom, was the main cult recipient at most of the newly founded temples since the early 18th Dynasty, and this cult policy was continued in the latter half of the 18th Dynasty. This is particularly visible with the huge temple of Amenhotep III at Soleb, dedicated to Amun-Ra and the divine king, and likewise in the 19th Dynasty. Theologically speaking, the most important cult place of Amun-Ra in Nubia was at the Jebel Barkal, where Thutmose III had founded a fortress. The Egyptian settlement there was called Napata, and the local form of the god Amun-Ra was therefore designated as Amun(-Ra) of Napata. The cult site at the Jebel Barkal was closely linked to the main temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak in Upper Egypt. The Jebel Barkal was seen as the mythical place of origin of the great god Amun-Ra.10 In Napatan and Meroitic times the importance of this place for the state cult of the Kushite rulers rested upon this New Kingdom legacy. In Lower Nubia the cult of Amun-Ra gradually became more significant during the 18th Dynasty: in the region of Aniba there was a local variant of Amun venerated as ‘Lord of the Island’, and it is notable that at newly founded cult sites Amun-Ra was installed as the main deity, as he was under Amenhotep III at Wadi es-Sebua as ‘Lord of the Ways’. At Amada an important development took place in the later reign of Thutmose III: in the newly founded temple there Ra-Horakhty and Amun-Ra were installed together as the main cult recipients (Fig. 8). This was the first step towards an exten-

2016, 25–26). In comparison with Ellesiya one might also consider the possibility that originally a form of Horus was represented, which was only later, probably under Sety I, transformed to Amun-Ra. 9 See now also Thill 2016, 294–297, who suggests to recognize in Horus kA nb 6A-4tj the deified Thutmose III. 10 Kendall 2002; 2008; 2013.

Egyptian Temples in Nubia during the Middle and the New Kingdom

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Fig. 8: Thutmose III officiating before Ra and Amenhotep II before Amun-Ra in the temple of Amada (Photo: M. Ullmann).

sive dominance of the gods of the so-called state-triad (Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty and Ptah), who played a major role in the Egyptian theology of the later 18th Dynasty and in the 19th Dynasty, within the cult topography of Lower Nubia during the reign of Ramesses II (see below). The royal cult experienced a significant change during the reign of Amenhotep III with the creation of a divine manifestation of the king called ‘Nebmaatra, Lord of Nubia’ who was, besides Amun-Ra, the main deity at Soleb (Pamminger 1993; Bickel 2013). The designation ‘Lord of Nubia’ (nb 6A-4tj) had been known since the Middle Kingdom for the god Horus (see above), and was now used to denote the religious supremacy of the divine king over Nubia. A specific iconography was developed for ‘Nebmaatra, Lord of Nubia’ (anthropomorphic, with crescent and disc upon a base; Fig. 3), and his cult was installed also at Sedeinga, together with the cult of the queen Tiye; he was also present at the temple in Sesibi and in rock stelae at Jebel Dosha. The religious changes of the Amarna Period in the reign of Akhenaten influenced the Egyptian cults in Nubia the same way as they did in Egypt: inscriptions and presentations of deities – in particular of the god Amun-Ra – within the temples were erased/modified, their cults – probably at least in some cases – changed to

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that of the now sole god Aten. But it is largely unknown to what extent this was done. The extensive building activity of Akhenaten, especially in Upper Nubia (see above), points to a systematic reshaping of the cult topography of the southern Nubian territory in favour of the god Aten. In the aftermath of the Amarna Period, the cult of Aten was not continued, but the old cult recipients were reinstalled and most of the temples in Upper Nubia built especially for Aten seem to have been rededicated to Amun-Ra. Tutankhamun renewed the royal cult policy of Amenhotep III by dedicating a new temple at Faras not only to Amun-Ra (and maybe Mut), but at the same time also to a divine manifestation of himself called ‘Nebkheperura in the midst of 4Htp-nTr.w’ of whom also priests are attested. During Ramesses II’s rule the religious and cultic appropriation of Nubia by the Egyptians reached its climax. Due to his exceptionally long reign of 67 years, temple building activity in Egypt and Nubia alike was more long-lasting than it was under almost all other pharaohs. The cult policy that he pursued in Nubia was in many respects a continuation of that of his predecessors, in particular of Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, as well in terms of the deities worshipped as the royal cult. He enlarged many already existing cult sites by restoring old temples or adding new parts to them, but also by augmenting them with completely new buildings, as he did, e.g., at Wadi es-Sebua. The main focus of his building activity was in Lower Nubia, where several new temples were erected, sometimes at places where no earlier Egyptian cult buildings are known. The temple at Aksha, which might have already been founded by his father Sety I, was dedicated to Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty and the divine Ramesses as ‘living image in front of Nubia’ (xntj anx.w tp 6A-4tj). Of special importance was the restructuring of the ritual landscape of Lower Nubia by the series of rock temples installed by Ramesses II from Beit el-Wali in the north to Abu Simbel in the south, with Gerf Hussein, Wadi es-Sebua and Derr in between (Ullmann 2013a). These newly established and mostly large rock-cut temples (type 2.1) show a clear preference of the gods Ra-Horakhty and Amun-Ra, supplemented by Ptah. These three gods together with the cult of the divine king were the determining factors in the reshaping of the ritual landscape of Lower Nubia, which did not replace the ancient religious structure of the region built up mainly in the 18th Dynasty, but rather augmented it by a new systematically planned layer. Since the middle of the 18th Dynasty the gods Ra-Horakhty, Amun-Ra and Ptah had become the most important gods in Egypt and were venerated all over the country.11 The Egyptian theologians of this time had linked the gods together – reflected in their modern designation as the state-triad. According to then contemporary theology, these three gods had created the world with its present order and thus ultimately everything in existence. The linking up of the new temples of Ramesses II in

11 For the so-called state-triad and the theological conception behind it, see Assmann 1983, 222– 226; Hornung 2011, 233–234 and Lundström 1999, 322–351.

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Lower Nubia with the gods of the state-triad was therefore especially well-suited to integrate the Nubian territory into the Egyptian religious cosmos. Moreover, these three gods in particular were of outstanding importance for the Egyptian royal ideology. Their theology and cult therefore formed an ideal background for the cult of the divine Ramesses. Ramesses II started his building program in the northernmost part of Lower Nubia with a small scale rock temple at Beit el-Wali, which was very much in the earlier tradition of the 18th Dynasty and of that of his father Sety I, and then he set out for a more comprehensive plan. In this new scheme the ritual ensemble at Abu Simbel, which was planned already very early in the reign of Ramesses II, plays a major role. In my opinion the great speos at Abu Simbel was modelled after the example of the contemporary royal temples at Western Thebes, which is to say that the ritual landscape of Western Thebes functioned as a kind of prototype for the cult complex at Abu Simbel (Ullmann 2013b). At Abu Simbel two basic elements of the West-Theban ritual landscape – a royal temple for the cult of the divine king and a cult place for the goddess Hathor – were established together as the so-called great and small speos. A similar notion might have already been implemented by Amenhotep III with the ritual landscape of Soleb – Sedeinga in Upper Nubia (see also Bickel 2013). The transfer of the West-Theban ritual complex, which was sanctified by a long tradition and which played a very important role within the ideology of kingship in the New Kingdom, to Abu Simbel was probably seen as an excellent means of integrating Nubia still more effectively into the Egyptian religious system and especially into the royal cult. At Abu Simbel, with the inclusion of Abu Oda, shortly before the Second Cataract, which marks the passage to Upper Nubia, a new ritual landscape was thus created by Ramesses II that on the one hand referred to Thebes, the most important cult place of that time in Egypt with its huge temple complex for Amun-Ra, king of the gods, and on the other hand combined the three most important gods of Egypt: Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty and Ptah including the divine Ramesses II (Ullmann 2011). Thus, shortly before the southern border of Lower Nubia a ritual ensemble was established which united in itself the most important aspects of Egyptian theology at that time and of Egyptian ritual performance in order to create in Nubia a ritually and architecturally impressive setting for Egyptian state rituals. Following Abu Simbel, a temple was erected at Derr, about 84 km to the north of Abu Simbel. The decoration and designation of this temple – it is called m pr r’ ‘belonging to the temple of Ra’ – both show that it was connected with the main cult place of Ra-Horakhty at Heliopolis. Then, about 56 km to the north at Wadi esSebua, a temple was built which was connected to the main temple precinct of Amun-Ra at Thebes (it is called m pr Jmn ‘belonging to the temple of Amun’). And finally, about 51 km further to the north at Gerf Hussein, a temple was erected which was connected to the main temple precinct of Ptah at Memphis (it is called m pr Ptḥ ‘belonging to the temple of Ptah’).

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Fig. 9: The barque of the divine Ramesses II in the south chapel of the great speos at Abu Simbel (Photo: M. Ullmann).

Thus the three Nubian regions at Derr, Wadi es-Sebua and Gerf Hussein, which are located between the two final points Beit el-Wali in the north and Abu Simbel in the south, were each connected with one of the three gods of the state-triad, which means that they were linked up with Egypt systematically on a theological and ritual level. The many similarities between these new rock temples and in particular between the ones at Derr, Wadi es-Sebua and Gerf Hussein, show from my point of view that this reshaping of the ritual landscape of Lower Nubia was done according to a comprehensive schema, at the latest since the planning of the temple at Derr: all the temples are rock-cut sanctuaries, which means that they share a common religious significance as regards ideas of creation and regeneration; the three later temples at Derr, Wadi es-Sebua and Gerf Hussein are very close in their architectural layout; in each temple the cult of the divine king plays an important role; the royal barque in the temples at Derr, Wadi es-Sebua and Gerf Hussein refers to the one invented for the great temple at Abu Simbel, which draws an analogy between the divine king and Ra-Horakhty; moreover, references to the other previously built sanctuaries of Ramesses II in Lower Nubia can be found in the decoration of the temples. Whether this wide-ranging ritual landscape of northern Nubia was only a notional construct of some Egyptian priests of the time of Ramesses II, or was also

Egyptian Temples in Nubia during the Middle and the New Kingdom

527

reflected in some ritual reality, as for example a procession with the barque of the divine Ramesses II between his temples at Abu Simbel (Fig. 9), Derr, Wadi es-Sebua, Gerf Hussein and maybe even Beit el-Wali, cannot be answered anymore.

type 1.2 (so-called way station)

hemispeos, type 2.1

Wadi es-Sebua / I

largely relocated 4 km to the west in 1964

Ramesses II, 1st half of the fifth decade of his reign

Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty, Ramesses II

submerged

submerged

submerged

submerged

submerged, some parts relocated to New-Kalabsha and the Nubian Museum/Aswan

1961–63 relocated to New-Kalabsha

unknown

Actual Whereabouts

Amenhotep III (front part of Wepwawet and/or Horus of the temple; whether he was Quban? also responsible for the rear part is not certain)

Horus of Quban

Quban / IV: at the mouth of the Wadi Allaqi, around 1 km south of the fortress

Thutmose III (as well as the 19th Dynasty?)

type 1.1

Quban / III: within the settlement area south of the fortress14

unknown, probably Horus of Quban

Ptah, Ptah-Tatenen, Hathor, Ramesses II

Ramesses II (unclear whether unknown Ramesses II founded the temple or enlarged/restored it)

Ramesses II, probably after year 44

Amun-Ra, Ptah (?), Ramesses II

layout uncertain, type 1

hemispeos, type 2.1

Gerf Hussein

Ramesses II, years 1–2

unknown

Quban / II: in front of the south-east corner of the fortress

hemispeos, type 2.1

Beit el-Wali

Sety II

Main Cult Recipient/s

unknown13

only two blocks in secondary use found; probably type 1

Debod

Date

Quban12 / I: cult building(s) only few remains within the fortress? of columns and other stone blocks; probably type 1

Layout of Temple

Site: Location

Tab. 1: Table of New Kingdom temples in Nubia arranged topographically from north to south (based on archaeological evidence).

528 Martina Ullmann

type 1.1

type 1.2 (so-called way station)

hemispeos, type 2.1

hemispeos, type 2.2

Amada / I

Amada / II: between temple I and the Nile

Derr17

Ellesiya Thutmose III, year 51

largely relocated to the west bank at New-Amada in 1964

submerged

relocated 2.8 km to the west in 1964/65

submerged, paintings in the sanctuary removed in 1964 and brought to the Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Horus of Aniba, Satet largely removed in 1965 and later (probably substituted by installed within the Museo Egizio Amun-Ra under Ramesses II), in Torino Thutmose III

Ra-Horakhty, Amun-Ra, Ramesses II, Ptah

probably Ra-Horakhty and Amun-Ra

Sety I16

Ramesses II, late in the second decade of his reign until at the latest year 34

Ra-Horakhty, Amun-Ra

first phase: Amun; second phase: divine Amenhotep III?; third phase: Amun15

Thutmose III, Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV

Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, Ramesses II

12 The assumption of a late Middle Kingdom temple (Amenemhat III) for Amun and/or Wepwawet at Quban cannot be verified. 13 There is inscriptional evidence for a priest at Quban in the time of Ahmose, but no archaeological evidence for a temple of this date. 14 The blocks found at Dakke, c. 2.5 km to the north of Quban on the west bank with the names of Thutmose III, Sety I and Merenptah most probably originate from this cult building, but on the other hand a New Kingdom temple for Horus of Quban at Dakke itself cannot be excluded completely. These blocks (or at least some of them) are nowadays kept at New Wadi es-Sebua. 15 For the different decoration phases of this temple and a possible interpretation, see Ullmann 2013c. 16 An earlier dating of this cult building to the reigns of Amenhotep III or Akhenaten has been discussed in the literature, but the arguments are not conclusive. The available evidence points to Sety I as the founder of the way station. 17 Inscriptional evidence indicates another temple for Ra north of the temple of Ramesses II.

hemispeos, type 2.1

Wadi es-Sebua / II: about 150–200 m south of temple I

Egyptian Temples in Nubia during the Middle and the New Kingdom

529

Layout of Temple

type 1.1

speos, type 2.2

speos, type 2.2

speos, type 2.2

speos, type 2.2

speos, type 2.1

speos, type 2.1

speos, type 2.1

Site: Location

Aniba

Ibrim / I

Ibrim / II: directly south of speos I

Ibrim / III: directly south of speos II

Ibrim / IV: directly south of speos III

Abu Simbel / I: so-called small speos

Abu Simbel / I: so-called great speos, about 150 m south of speos I

Abu Oda20

Tab. 1 (continued)

Horus of Aniba

Main Cult Recipient/s

Horus of Aniba, Satet, Thutmose III

Horus of Aniba, Hathor of Faras, Ramesses II

Horus of Aniba, Thutmose III, Satet, Hatshepsut

Horemhab

Thoth, Amun-Ra

Ramesses II, early years until Ra-Horakhty, Amun-Ra, about the middle of Ramesses II, Ptah the third decade

Ramesses II, early years until Hathor of Faras, Nefertari, about the mid third decade Ramesses II

Thutmose III, by the viceroy Nehi

Ramesses II, by the viceroy Setau (between year 38 and c. year 60)

Hatshepsut/ Thutmose III18

Amenhotep II, by the viceroy Horus of Aniba, Satet, Usersatet Amenhotep II

several kings of the 18th Dynasty, esp. Thutmose III and in the 19th Dynasty Ramesses II

Date

removed (in parts?)21 in 1964/65; two blocks are nowadays kept in the Nubian Museum at Aswan

1964–68 relocated c. 180 m to the west

1964–68 relocated c. 180 m to the west

removed?

removed?

removed?19

largely removed in 1964/65 and later installed within the Nubian Museum in Aswan

submerged, several blocks are now kept in the Egyptian Museum, Leipzig

Actual Whereabouts

530 Martina Ullmann

layout uncertain, type 1

speos, type 2.2

type 1.1

Faras / II: at the so-called Hathor rock

Faras / III: at the so-called Hathor rock

Aksha (Serra-West)

Ramesses II, Hathor of Faras

Ramesses II, Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty

Ramesses II24

Hathor of Faras, probably Isis and Senusret III

mostly early 18th Dynasty, from Amenhotep I (?) to Thutmose III; Tutankhamun Ramesses II, by the viceroy Setau

Tutankhamun, Amun-Ra, Mut (?)

Tutankhamun

submerged, partly preserved in the Sudan National Museum at Khartoum; some blocks in the Museum at La Plata, Argentina

submerged, one block in the Sudan National Museum at Khartoum

submerged, blocks in the Sudan National Museum at Khartoum

submerged, several blocks in the Sudan National Museum at Khartoum

18 Decoration unfinished; probably made by one of the viceroys, like the other speoi at Ibrim. 19 I do not know how many of the four speoi of Ibrim were removed in 1964/65. Apart from the one which is now kept at Aswan, the others or at least one or two of them shall be installed at New Wadi es-Sebua. 20 For a more recent publication about the temple at Abu Oda, see Sidro 2006; for the question of the barque depicted at Abu Oda and for the cult recipients, see also Ullmann 2013b, 509–510, note 29. 21 It is unclear to what extent the temple was removed. Apart from the two blocks at Aswan, several others shall be kept at New Wadi es-Sebua. 22 365 inscribed blocks from the Thutmoside Period discovered in late secondary use at Faras belong to the so-called south temple in Buhen, about 150 inscribed blocks of Ramesses II came from the temple at Aksha (Karkowski 1981). 23 A small series of blocks consisting of architraves which display the viceroy Huy in veneration of the cartouches of Tutankhamun and door-jambs may well belong to magazines within the area of this temple and not, as sometimes speculated, to a chapel of Huy (compare a similar situation nearby at Aksha with blocks from doorways of temple magazines showing the viceroy Heqanakht). 24 In the magazines south-west of the temple building there were five brick rooms with stone doorways displaying the cartouches of Sety I and mentioning various gods. The foundation of the temple might therefore well date back to Sety I. The before mentioned blocks showing the viceroy Heqanakht were found nearby.

type 1.123

Faras22 / I: about 1 km north-east of the so-called Hathor rock, within the settlement

Egyptian Temples in Nubia during the Middle and the New Kingdom

531

Thutmose I, Thutmose II

Dedwen, Senusret III (?)

south of temple I

type 1

Dedwen, Senusret III,

Semna / II:32 some metres

Hatshepsut, Thutmose III

Senusret III, Montu

Amun-Ra

type 1.2

Amenhotep I, Thutmose III, Amenhotep II

unknown

of Mirgissa, Senusret III

Hathor of Mirgissa, Montu

Hathor of Mirgissa

Satet

Horus of Buhen, Anuket,

Hathor, Min-Amun, Isis

within the fortress

Semna / I:31

fortress

and outside of the main

Uronarti:30 directly north

type 1.2

Thutmose III?

Amenhotep III (?),

Askut: east of the Middle

Kingdom Fortress29

type 1

Hatshepsut / Thutmose III, Amenhotep III

Ramesses I (?)

type 1.2

type 1.2

Hatshepsut, Thutmose III (forecourt)

temple I28

Mirgissa / II: very close to

western part of the fortress

Hathor temple in the north-

Mirgissa27 / I: so-called

tress26

temple within the inner for-

Buhen / II: so-called south

type 1.2

first: Horus of Buhen; Amenhotep II): probably

Amenhotep II

Main Cult Recipient/s

of the outer fortress

Ahmose,

25

later (starting with

type 1.1

Buhen / I: so-called north

Date

temple in the northern part

Layout of Temple

Site: Location

Tab. 1 (continued)

submerged

Museum at Khartoum

relocated to the Sudan National

in situ

submerged

submerged

submerged

Museum at Khartoum

relocated to the Sudan National

at Khartoum

in the Sudan National Museum

submerged, three blocks

Actual Whereabouts

532 Martina Ullmann

probably type 1.1

Thutmose III, Amenhotep II,

Amenhotep III

Amenhotep III

Nebmaatra

Tiye, Hathor (?), Amun-Re,

Amun-Ra

largely relocated to the Sudan

in situ

in situ

in situ

National Museum at Khartoum

25 It is not clear whether during the reign of Ahmose an already existing cult building of the very late Second Intermediate Period was renewed or whether a completely new one was erected. 26 Under the north-western part of this temple, remains of the temple of Horus of Buhen from the Middle Kingdom were found. 27 Temples I and II might very well belong to one and the same cult complex, with temple II as the main cult building and temple I as a more informal area for private worship of Hathor (see the numerous votive offerings found there) (Kemp 1995, 27–29). 28 The foundation of this temple had originally been linked with Senusret III, but Vercoutter (1970, 189–192) explicitly stated that no cult building for the 12th and 13th Dynasty was found at Mirgissa. 29 A predecessor of this temple probably did exist in the Middle Kingdom, maybe for a deity in crocodile form (Badawy 1964, 52–53; Vogel 2004, 142). 30 The small temple of the 18th Dynasty replaced a cult building of Senusret III, built under his reign for his own statue cult (Seidlmayer 2000). 31 As at Uronarti Senusret III most probably had a chapel built for his own statue cult at Semna. The statue, depicting Senusret III in heb-sed garb like at Uronarti, was reinstalled in temple I in the 18th Dynasty (Seidlmayer 2000). 32 Only some inscribed blocks and traces of brick walls give evidence to this temple, which was substituted by temple I. 33 Work in the temple is proven for several kings of the late 19th and 20th Dynasty, until Ramesses IX. 34 Two statues of Ahmose and Amenhotep I in heb-sed garb found at Sai make the existence of a cult building there at the latest starting with Amenhotep I probable, but no direct archaeological evidence for it has come up yet (Budka 2015, 67–69). For the two statues see also Gabolde 2012, 118–120. For temple A and its different construction phases see Azim / Carlotti 2012. 35 For the latest archaeological work at the temple there, see Rilly 2015.

Sedeinga35

Kingdom town

within the area of the New

Sai:34 so-called temple A

type 1.2

Amun-Ra

eastern part of the town

Sety I, Ramesses II33

type 1.1

Amara-West: in the north-

Khnum / Khnum-Ra, Senusret III

Thutmose II (?), Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep II

type 1.2

ern part of the fortress

Kumma: in the north-west-

Egyptian Temples in Nubia during the Middle and the New Kingdom

533

Layout of Temple

speos, type 2.2

type 1.1

type 1.2

type 1.1

type 1.1

type 1.1

type 1.1

type 1.1

type 1.1

type 1

Site: Location

Jebel Dosha

Soleb

Sesibi / I

Sesibi / II:37 a few metres south of temple I

Kerma / Dukki Gel / I:38 main temple

Kerma / Dukki Gel / II: west of temple I

Kerma / Dukki Gel / III: east of temple I

Kerma / Dukki Gel / IV: replacing temple I

Kerma / Dukki Gel / V: replacing temple III

Tabo (Argo Island)40

Tab. 1 (continued)

Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III, Ramesses II

Akhenaten; ?

Akhenaten; Sety I, Ramesses II, Ramesses III

Thutmose I, Hatshepsut Thutmose III, Thutmose IV

Thutmose I, Hatshepsut

Thutmose I,39 Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Thutmose IV

Amenhotep IV, Sety I, Ramesses II

Akhenaten, Sety I

Amenhotep III, Akhenaten

Thutmose III

Date

Amun-Ra

first: Aten; later: probably Amun-Ra?

first: Aten; later: Amun-Ra (?)

unknown

Amun-Ra

Amun-Ra

first: Aten, (also Nebmaatra); later: Amun-Ra

first: Aten, later: ?

Amun-Ra, Nebmaatra

Horus? (later replaced by Amun-Ra?), Thutmose III, Satet?36

Main Cult Recipient/s

in situ

in situ

in situ

in situ

in situ

in situ

in situ

in situ

in situ

in situ

Actual Whereabouts

534 Martina Ullmann

type 1.1

type 1.2

type 1.2

Jebel Barkal / I:42 temple B 300 (sub or first)

Jebel Barkal / II: temple B 1100

Jebel Barkal / III: temple B 600 (first) Thutmose IV

Horemhab (?)

Ramesses II

Tutankhamun, Taharqo

royal cult

female deity/ies (‘Eye of Horus’ esp. Weret-Hekau)?

female deity/ies (‘Eye of Ra’ esp. Hathor)?

Amun-Ra

in situ

in situ

in situ

in situ

36 The identity of the three completely damaged statues at the rear part of the chapel, which undoubtedly indicate the main cult recipients, is very much uncertain (see text above). The suggestion brought forth here is based on comparison with the speoi at Ellesiya and Ibrim II and IV and on the presence of Horus within the relief decoration at Jebel Dosha, as well as on evidence for Satet in several of the rock stelae nearby, which date to the reigns of Amenhotep III and Sety I (Davies 2004; 2015; 2017). Davies 2016, 25 suggests the presence of Amun-Ra already under the reign of Thutmose III. 37 The platform on which this temple was built in the early years of Amenhotep IV (before he changed his name to Akhenaten) contains unfinished drums of columns from an earlier building, which might have been an immediate predecessor of temple II (Spence et al. 2009; 2011; Spence/Rose 2014). 38 The Egyptian temples of the New Kingdom at Dukki Gel were built at the site of a ceremonial centre of the Kingdom of Kerma with numerous large buildings displaying a distinctly African architecture. The information given here about the Egyptian temples and their complex building history is largely based on Valbelle 2008; 2014; Bonnet 2008; 2012, and Bonnet/Valbelle 2005. The building history of the main temple in the centre and the one of the east temple extends into Napatan and Meroitic times. 39 The building history of the temples before Thutmose IV, who replaced the mud-brick constructions with sandstone, is still difficult to reconstruct. 40 About 160 blocks from a New Kingdom temple were found in secondary use in the temple of Taharqo at Tabo. The New Kingdom temple was probably at the same spot as this later building (Bonnet 2011). 41 The Egyptian toponym for Kawa points to the existence of a settlement that was already extant in the time of Akhenaten; this makes the temple slightly earlier than the one of Tutankhamun which was probably dedicated to Aten. 42 The building history of the New Kingdom temples at Jebel Barkal is still insufficiently understood. A first temple might have already been built by Thutmose III or Thutmose IV, but the evidence is scarce and the exact spot of such an earlier cult building has not been identified yet. The information given here is largely based on Kendall 2002; 2008; 2009; Kendall/Wolf 2011 (see also http://www.jebelbarkal.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article& id=52&Itemid=41 [last seen 08. 08. 2016]). Most of the New Kingdom temples at Gebel Barkal were reused/rebuilt/enlarged in Napatan and Meroitic times.

type 1.1

Kawa:41 so-called temple A

Egyptian Temples in Nubia during the Middle and the New Kingdom

535

type 1.1

Jebel Barkal / IV: temple B 500 (sub, nucleus, first) Akhenaten, Horemhab (?), Sety I, Ramesses II

Date first: Aten; later Amun-Ra

Main Cult Recipient/s in situ

Actual Whereabouts

The information given here for the Egyptian temples of northern Nubia relies mainly on the habilitation thesis of the author (2007), entitled: Architecture and Iconographical Program of the Egyptian Temples of the New Kingdom in Nubia – A Research into Morphology and Evolution of the Sacred Landscape of Ancient Nubia. Part I: Northern Nubia, from Beit el-Wali to Abu Oda, which is currently being prepared for publication. The material for the Egyptian temples from Faras in the north to Jebel Barkal in the south has been collected for a second part of the project, but has not been analysed and interpreted in depth yet. The results of recent fieldwork in Sudan at various sites with New Kingdom temples (esp. Sai, Sedeinga, Sesibi, Kerma/Dukki Gel, Jebel Barkal) have been taken into account as far as possible, i.e. as published until 2016. A still very valuable, but in parts outdated, overview of the New Kingdom temples in Nubia is presented by Hein 1991 where most of the references for the temples listed above can be found. The references mentioned in the footnotes here have been kept to a minimum.

Layout of Temple

Site: Location

Tab. 1 (continued)

536 Martina Ullmann

Egyptian Temples in Nubia during the Middle and the New Kingdom

537

Bibliography el-Achirie, Hassan / Aly, Mohammed Ibrahim / Dewachter, Michel (1968): Le Speos d’El-Lessiya. Cahier II: Plans d’architecture, dessins-index. Collection scientifique. Cairo: Centre de documentation et d’études sur l’ancienne Égypte. Assmann, Jan (1983): Re und Amun. Die Krise des polytheistischen Weltbilds im Ägypten der 18.–20. Dynastie. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 51. Freiburg (Schweiz)/Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Azim, Michel / Carlotti, Jean-Francois (2012): Le temple A de l’île de Saï et ses abords. In: Cahiers de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 29, p. 11–65. Badawy, Alexander Mikhail (1964): Preliminary Report on the Excavations by the University of California at Askut (First Season, October 1962–January 1963. In: Kush 12, p. 47–53. Bickel, Susanne (2013): Le dieu Nebmaâtrê de Soleb. In: Beaux, Nathalie / Grimal, Nicolas (eds.): Soleb VI. Hommages à Michela Schiff Giorgini. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale, p. 59–82. Bonnet, Charles / Valbelle, Dominique (2005): Des pharaons venus d’Afrique. La cachette de Kerma. Paris: Citadelles et Mazenod. English Translation 2006: The Nubian Pharaohs. Black Kings on the Nile. Cairo/New York: American University in Cairo Press. Bonnet, Charles (2008): L’occupation égyptienne au Nouvel Empire à Doukki Gel. L’apport de l’archéologie. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August– 2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series Vol. 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 75–84. Bonnet, Charles (2011): Le site archéologique de Tabo: une nouvelle réflexion. In: Rondot, Vincent / Alpi, Frédéric / Villeneuve, François (eds.): La pioche et la plume autour du Soudan, du Liban et de la Jordanie. Hommages archéologiques à Patrice Lenoble. Paris: Presses de l’Université Paris-Sorbonne, p. 283–293. Bonnet, Charles (2012): Les grands monuments égyptiens et nubiens du début de la XVIIIe dynastie sur le site de Doukki Gel (Kerma). In: Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 112, p. 57–75. Budka, Julia (2015): The Egyptian “Re-conquest of Nubia” in the New Kingdom – Some Thoughts on the Legitimization of Pharaonic Power in the South. In: Coppens, Filip / Janák, Jiří / Vymazalová, Hana (eds.): Royal versus Divine Authority. Acquisition, Legitimization and Renewal of Power. 7th Symposium on Egyptian Royal Ideology, Prague, June 26–28, 2013. Königtum, Staat und Gesellschaft früher Hochkulturen 4/4. Beiträge zur altägyptischen Königsideologie. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 63–81. Caminos, Ricardo Augusto (1998): Semna-Kumma I. The Temple of Semna. Archaeological Survey of Egypt 37. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Davies, William Vivian (2004): The Egyptian Inscriptions at Jebel Dosha, Sudan. In: British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan 4, p. 1–20 (http:// www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/bmsaes/issue4/davies.html; last seen: 26. 06. 2017). Davies, William Vivian (2015): The God Nebmaatre at Jebel Dosha. In: Jasnow, Richard / Cooney, Kathlyn M. (eds.): Joyful in Thebes. Egyptological Studies in Honor of Betsy M. Bryan. Material and Visual Culture of Ancient Egypt 1. Atlanta, GA: Lockwood Press, p. 91–96. Davies, William Vivian (2016): Recording Jebel Dosha: the chapel of Thutmose III. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 20, p. 18–27. Davies, William Vivian (2017): Recording Egyptian rock-inscriptions at Jebel Dosha and in the Batn el-Hajar, the 2016 season. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 21, p. 59–70.

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Emery, Walter Bryan / Smith, Henry S. / Millard, Andrew (1979): The Fortress of Buhen. The Archaeological Report. Egypt Exploration Society Excavation Memoir 49. London: Egypt Exploration Society. el-Enany, Khaled (2003): La vénération post mortem de Sésostris Ier. In: Memnonia 14, p. 129–137. el-Enany, Khaled (2004): Le “dieu” nubien Sésostris III. In: Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 104, p. 207–213. Gabolde, Luc (2012): Réexamen des jalons de la présence de la XVIIIe dynastie à Sai. In: Cahiers de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 29, p. 115–137. Hein, Irmgard (1991): Die ramessidische Bautätigkeit in Nubien. Göttinger Orientforschungen. IV. Reihe: Ägypten. Band 22. Wiesbaden: Harrossowitz. Hirsch, Eileen N. (2004): Kultpolitik und Tempelbauprogramme der 12. Dynastie: Untersuchungen zu den Göttertempeln im Alten Ägypten. Berlin: Achet. Hornung, Erik (2011): Der Eine und die Vielen. Altägyptische Götterwelt. 7. unveränderte Auflage. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. Karkowski, Janusz (1981): Faras V. The Pharaonic Inscriptions from Faras. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Kemp, Barry John (1995): How Religious were the Ancient Egyptians? In: Cambridge Archaeological Journal 5/1, p. 25–54. Kendall, Timothy (2002): Napatan Temples: A Case Study from Gebel Barkal. The Mythological Origin of Egyptian Kingship, and the Formation of the Napatan State. Presented at the Tenth International Conference of Nubian Studies, University of Rome, Italy, Sept. 9–14, 2002 (text online at http://rmcisadu.let.uniroma1.it/nubiaconference/kendall.doc; last seen 26. 06. 2017). Kendall, Timothy (2008): Why did Taharqa build his Tomb at Nuri? In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series Vol. 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 117–147. Kendall, Timothy (2009): Talatat Architecture at Jebel Barkal: Report of the NCAM Mission 2008– 2009. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 13, p. 2–16. Kendall, Timothy (2013): Gebel Barkal und das antike Napata. In: Wenig, Steffen / ZibeliusChen, Karola (eds.): Die Kulturen Nubiens. Ein afrikanisches Vermächtnis. Dettelbach: Röll, p. 213–226. Kendall, Timothy / Wolf, Pawel (2011): B 600: A Temple of Thutmose IV at Jebel Barkal. In: Rondot, Vincent / Alpi, Frédéric / Villeneuve, François (eds.): La pioche et la plume autour du Soudan, du Liban et de la Jordanie. Hommages archéologiques à Patrice Lenoble. Paris: Presses de l’Université Paris-Sorbonne, p. 237–259. Kormysheva, Eleonora (1996): Kulte der ägyptischen Götter des Neuen Reiches in Kusch. In: Schade-Busch, Mechthild (ed.): Wege öffnen. Festschrift für Rolf Gundlach zum 65. Geburtstag. Ägypten und Altes Testament. Studien zu Geschichte, Kultur und Religion Ägyptens und des Alten Testaments 35. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 133–148. Leitz, Christian (2002): Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen. Band VII: S-D. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 116. Leuven/Paris/Dudley, MA: Peeters. Lundström, Steven (1999): Überlegungen zur ägyptischen Reichstriade ausgehend von MitanniBrief I 74–80, 98–103 (EA 24). In: Altorientalische Forschungen 26/2, p. 322–351. Morenz, Ludwig D. (2011): Die Genese der Alphabetschrift. Ein Markstein ägyptischkanaanäischer Kulturkontakte. Wahrnehmungen und Spuren Altägyptens 3. Würzburg: Ergon. Morkot, Robert G. (2013): From Conquered to Conqueror: The Organization of Nubia in the New Kingdom and the Kushite Administration of Egypt, in: Moreno Garcia, Juan Carlos (ed.):

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Ancient Egyptian Administration. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section I: The Near and Middle East. Vol. 104. Leiden/Boston: Brill, p. 911–963. Müller, Ingeborg (2013): Die Verwaltung Nubiens im Neuen Reich. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 18. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Pamminger, Peter (1993): Zur Göttlichkeit Amenophis’ III. In: Bulletin de la Société d’Égyptologie de Genève 17, p. 83–92. Rilly, Claude (2015): Le miroir brisé de la reine Tiyi: première saison de projet QSAP sur le temple de Sedeinga (Soudan). In: Bulletin de la Société Française d’Égyptologie 191–192, p. 39–59. Rocheleau, Caroline M. (2008): Amun Temples in Nubia. A Typological Study of New Kingdom, Napatan and Meroitic Temples. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1850. Oxford: Archaeopress. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny (1941): Ägypten und Nubien. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte altägyptischer Aussenpolitik. Lund: Ohlsson. Schade-Busch, Mechthild (1997): Bemerkungen zum Königsbild Thutmosis’ III. in Nubien. In: Gundlach, Rolf / Raedler, Christine (eds.): Selbstverständnis und Realität. Akten des Symposiums zur ägyptischen Königsideologie in Mainz 15.–17.6. 1995. Ägypten und Altes Testament. Studien zu Geschichte, Kultur und Religion Ägyptens und des Alten Testaments 36/1. Beiträge zur altägyptischen Königsideologie 1. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 211–223. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (2000): Zu Fundort und Aufstellungskontext der großen SemnaStele Sesostris’ III. In: Studien zur altägyptischen Kultur 28, p. 233–242. Sidro, Mirella (2006): Der Felstempel von Abu ’Oda. Eine architektonische und ikonographische Untersuchung. Antiquitates. Archäologische Forschungsergebnisse 38. Hamburg: Kovač. Smith, Harry Sydney (1976): The Fortress of Buhen: The Inscriptions. Egypt Exploration Society Excavation Memoir 48. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Spence, Kate et al. (2009): Fieldwork at Sesebi, 2009. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 13, p. 38–46. Spence, Kate et al. (2011): Sesebi 2011. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 34–38. Spence, Kate / Rose, Pamela J. (2014): Fieldwork at Sesebi 2010. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 409–415. Thill, Florence (2016) : Saï et Aniba: deux centres administratifs du vice-roi Nehy sous Thoutmosis III. In : CRIPEL 30 (2013–2015), p. 263–301. Thissen, Heinz-Josef (2013): Von Nubien nach Oxyrhynchos: Dedun, ein kleiner Gott. In: Flossmann-Schütze, Mélanie C. / Goecke-Bauer, Maren / Hoffmann, Friedhelm / Hutterer, Andreas / Schlüter, Katrin / Schütze, Alexander / Ullmann, Martina (eds.): Kleine Götter – Grosse Götter. Festschrift für Dieter Kessler zum 65. Geburtstag. Tuna el-Gebel 4. Vaterstetten: Patrick Brose, p. 495–501. Török, László (2009): Between two Worlds. The Frontier Region between Ancient Nubia and Egypt 3700 BC–AD 500. Probleme der Ägyptologie 29. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Ullmann, Martina (2007): Architektur und Dekorationsprogramm der ägyptischen Tempel des Neuen Reiches in Nubien – Eine Untersuchung zu Morphologie und Genese der Kultlandschaft Nubien. Band I: Nördliches Nubien, von Beit el-Wali bis Abu Oda. Habilitation Thesis, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (currently prepared for printing in Yale Egyptological Studies). Ullmann, Martina (2009): Überlegungen zur kultischen Strukturierung Nubiens im Neuen Reich. In: Preys, René (ed.): 7. Ägyptologische Tempeltagung: Structuring Religion. Leuven, 28. September–1. Oktober 2005. Königtum, Staat und Gesellschaft früher Hochkulturen 3/2. Akten der ägyptologischen Tempeltagungen. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 245–266.

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Ullmann, Martina (2011): Der göttliche Ramses II. im Großen Tempel von Abu Simbel. In Bechtold, Eszter / Gulyás, András / Hasznos, Andrea (eds.): From Illahun to Djeme. Papers Presented in Honour of Ulrich Luft. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 2311. Oxford: Archaeopress, p. 301–315. Ullmann, Martina (2013a): Von Beit el-Wali nach Abu Simbel: Zur Neugestaltung der sakralen Landschaft Unternubiens in der Regierungszeit Ramsesʼ II. In: Der antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 42, p. 23–37. Ullmann, Martina (2013b): Von Theben nach Nubien – Überlegungen zum Kultkomplex Ramsesʼ II. in Abu Simbel. In: Flossmann-Schütze, Mélanie C. / Goecke-Bauer, Maren / Hoffmann, Friedhelm / Hutterer, Andreas / Schlüter, Katrin / Schütze, Alexander / Ullmann, Martina (eds.): Kleine Götter – Grosse Götter. Festschrift für Dieter Kessler zum 65. Geburtstag. Tuna el-Gebel 4. Vaterstetten: Patrick Brose, p. 503–524. Ullmann, Martina (2013c): Wadi es-Sebua. The Temple of Amenhotep III. In: Egyptian Archaeology 42, p. 25–27. Valbelle, Dominique (2008): Les temples thoutmosides de Pnoubs (Doukki Gel). L’apport de l’épigraphie et de l’iconographie. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series Vol. 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 85–93. Valbelle, Dominique (2014): The Part of Hatshepsut in Some Architectural Programs of the Early Eighteenth Dynasty. In: Galán, José M. / Bryan, Betsy M. / Dorman, Peter F. (eds.): Creativity and Innovation in the Reign of Hatshepsut. Occasional Proceedings of the Theban Workshop 2010. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 69. Chicago, Ill.: The Oriental Institute, p. 437–441. Vercoutter, Jean (1970): Mirgissa I. Mission archéologique francaise au Soudan. Paris: La Direction Générale des Relations Culturelles, Scientifiques et Techniques. Vogel, Carola (2004): Ägyptische Festungen und Garnisonen bis zum Ende des Mittleren Reiches. Hildesheimer ägyptologische Beiträge 46. Hildesheim: Gerstenberg.

Kate Spence

New Kingdom Tombs in Lower and Upper Nubia The early New Kingdom saw rapid expansion of the Egyptian presence in Nubia with the reoccupation of Middle Kingdom fortresses in Lower Nubia (between the First Cataract and Semna) and the construction of new towns in Upper Nubia (upstream from Semna) after the defeat of Kerma by Thutmose I around 1500 BC (Smith 1995, 137). Burial sites are found in the vicinity of some of these settlements as well as in locations where ancient settlements have not survived. These tombs provide rich source material for studying mortuary customs, material culture, and the interactions of Egyptians and Nubians. Strong parallels with Egyptian burial practice north of Aswan can be identified, but there are regional differences within Nubia as well as temporal variations across the New Kingdom. Lower Nubia was extensively surveyed in the context of building and heightening projects for the Aswan Dam in 1908–10, 1929–34 and during the UNESCO campaign of the 1960s to 1970s (Adams 1977, 71–90). Much of this work has been published, making significant data sets available for study. In the last 20–30 years there has been a resurgence of interest in working on New Kingdom Egyptian sites in Upper Nubia. The low density of modern settlement in the region and the fairly recent expansion of agriculture has meant that many of these sites have survived relatively well. Preservation is varied and looting is widespread, although a number of intact burials have been found. Reuse of New Kingdom tombs was common, with some tombs containing tens of bodies; this often renders individual assemblages of burial goods and their original depositions indistinct. In some cases, tombs were reopened and additional individuals were added with care shown for the original interments; such instances are likely to reflect familial groups. In other cases, original burials are shown little respect and the later interments may date to well after the New Kingdom; these examples may represent pragmatic reuse of tombs where ties to the original inhabitants were not recognised. The practice of cutting burials into flat plains (desert or alluvium) and building superstructures in mud brick, combined with local environmental conditions (particularly wind and summer rain) has led to the deflation of many burial sites and superstructures are often absent. Organic preservation tends to be limited because conditions can be damp, the soil is fairly acidic, and there is a voracious termite population. Very early New Kingdom cemeteries and individual burials showing Egyptian architecture, material culture and burial practices emerged alongside those conforming to Nubian cultural traditions: the Kerma, C-Group and ‘Pan-Grave-’/MedjayCultures.1 It is widely accepted that those buried in New Kingdom cemeteries includ1 Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991; Smith 2003, 83–96; Edwards 2004, 94–102; Helmbold-Doyé/ Seiler 2012. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-023

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ed both Egyptians and Nubians living in multicultural and heterogenous communities (Buzon et al. 2007; 2016). However, debates on identities, biological affinities and ethnicities often risk treating Egypt, Nubia and their peoples and cultures as separate and bounded entities. Egyptian and Nubian Cultures emerged from similar and interconnected Neolithic backgrounds and maintained contact of various kinds throughout their histories; the populations and cultures of both regions were heterogenous throughout the Dynastic Period with distinct local and temporal variation. Broadly speaking, cemeteries and burials are identified as culturally Egyptian or Nubian on the basis of key differences in body position, tomb type, and burial goods. Egyptian burials were usually extended for all strata of society from the Middle Kingdom, whilst the body was traditionally buried in a contracted or flexed position in Nubian burials. Nubian tombs were usually topped with tumuli or circular monuments, while Egyptian tombs had orthogonal burial markers (in each case there is variation in the precise form of superstructure). New Kingdom Egyptian burials contained primarily Egyptian material culture, including ceramics, jewellery, cosmetic equipment and, in richer tombs, sometimes coffins, funerary masks, shabtis and heart scarabs. Nubian burials included Nubian ceramics and jewellery and, in richer tombs, beds and sometimes animal hides or animals. Burials may conform to one or other tradition in their entirety, or may betray aspects of both traditions. A process of acculturation or entanglement is visible in elite Nubian tombs of the early 18th Dynasty and can perhaps also be tracked in smaller tombs in the Debeira/Fadrus region just before the New Kingdom.2 At many sites the contiguity of Nubian and Egyptian cemeteries and the presence of occasional Nubian artefacts in culturally Egyptian burials strongly points toward a degree of population continuity (e.g. Helmbold-Doyé/Seiler 2012, 36). Similarly, the continued use of New Kingdom chamber tombs at sites such as Amara West and Tombos for additional burials after the abandonment of the Egyptian settlements with which these tombs are associated, points towards similar population continuity after the end of the New Kingdom (Buzon et al. 2016).

Regional and Temporal Variation Nubia has its northern boundary at Aswan at the First Cataract and is usually divided into two regions, Lower and Upper Nubia, with the boundary between the two lying at the Second Cataract (Adams 1977, 21). The limit of Egyptian royal authority was at Kurgus, where inscriptions of Thutmose I and III mark the Egyptian southern boundary (Fig. 1). In terms of Egyptian involvement in the region in the New Kingdom, a tripartite division can be seen. Between Aswan and Semna there is much

2 Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 7–10, pl. 61; Williams 1992, 3–5; Smith 2003, 85–86.

New Kingdom Tombs in Lower and Upper Nubia

Key: Elephantine

Cemetery Temple and/or settlement/fort Other site Cataract

First cataract Dehmit Beit el-Wali Gerf Hussain Ikkur Kuban

Aniba

Ellesiya Amada

Abu Simbel Faras Aksha

Derr Qasr Ibrim Toshka

Qustul Adindan Serra Debeira/Fadrus

Buhen

Wadi el-Sebua

Lower Nubia

Mirgissa Second cataract Askut

Semna

Kumma

Amara West Sai Sedeinga Soleb

Upper Nubia

Sesebi

Third cataract

Nauri Tombos Kerma/Dokki Gel Argo

Kurgus

Kawa

Gebel Barkal Hillat el-Arab

N

Fourth cataract Fifth cataract

(El-Kurru)

0

50

100

150

200km

Fig. 1: Map of New Kingdom Nubian sites including major cemeteries and smaller cemeteries mentioned in the text (author’s drawing).

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evidence for the reuse of many of the Middle Kingdom forts with Aniba, Buhen and Mirgissa having large cemeteries of New Kingdom date.3 Smaller cemeteries are found near other forts such as Serra East (Williams 1993, 149–228). Between Semna and the Third Cataract substantial cemeteries survive in the vicinity of the New Kingdom towns of Sesebi, Soleb (Schiff Giorgini 1971), Sai (Minault-Gout/Thill 2012) and Amara West (Binder 2011; 2014, 70–72); at the Third Cataract there is a New Kingdom cemetery and settlement at Tombos (Smith 2003, 138). Below the Third Cataract, although substantial Egyptian temples were constructed, there is currently little evidence for Egyptian cemeteries (but note Tabo; Jacquet-Gordon 1999). Interpretation of Egyptian involvement in the region south of Tombos varies. Morkot (2001, 232–244; 2013, 914–919) argues that the region was in the control of indigenous elites and had a substantively different political and social structure from the intensively exploited region downstream from the Third Cataract; tombs at Hillat el-Arab show significant Egyptian influence and contain imported Egyptian material culture, but are interpreted as tombs of indigenous elites (see below; Vincentelli 2006). Others suspect a higher level of Egyptian involvement in the region and caution against interpretion based upon absence of evidence (Welsby/ Welsby Sjöström 2007, 382); it would certainly be surprising if major sites such as Kawa and Gebel Barkal were not associated with New Kingdom cemeteries. Egyptian expansion into Nubia was marked by the state through the construction of temples and towns, alongside the reoccupation and expansion of the earlier Middle Kingdom forts. This period of state investment in the region’s infrastructure starts early in the 18th Dynasty and escalates through that dynasty to the reign of Ramesses II. Thereafter, there is little evidence of major construction projects on a similar scale to those seen in the first half of the New Kingdom. Tomb building was usually driven by households and should not necessarily be expected to follow the same trajectory, but there do seem to be parallels. Despite difficulties in dating later burials, it seems that a very significant proportion of burials of the later Ramesside Period found in the region were interred alongside others in existing tombs. This practice represents deliberate choice of group burial by families and is paralleled in Egypt, but it may also mark a significant reduction in the number of new tombs being constructed in the later New Kingdom. Aniba is unusual in showing significant evidence of tomb construction of the later Ramesside Period (Steindorff 1937, 43), suggesting that wealth may have been more limited and concentrated than at earlier periods, although note that tomb construction of this date has also been postulated at Qasr Ibrim (Rose 2008).

3 Steindorff 1937, 36–254; Randall-MacIver/Woolley 1911, 129–184; Vercoutter 1975, 335– 478.

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The Location and Organization of Cemeteries New Kingdom cemeteries are, unsurprisingly, usually situated near coeval settlements, often in the hinterland behind a town; the distance of cemeteries from settlements varies with local topography, and in some cases is affected by the presence of earlier burial places. Cemeteries are not regularly spaced along the Nile, as settlements are primarily located in areas with relatively broad floodplains and thus agricultural potential, or in areas where gold deposits are found, or at access points between Eastern Desert goldfields and the Nile Valley. Relatively barren areas of the Nile Valley at times provide scant evidence for burials, whereas other areas have multiple cemeteries: for example, the 8 km stretch of the Nile between Fadrus and Serra investigated by the Joint Scandinavian Expedition had at least 12 distinct burial sites with New Kingdom cemeteries ranging in size from one to over 600 burials (Fig. 2; Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, pl. 61). Some settlements have more than one cemetery or group of burials, as can be seen at Amara West (Binder 2011), Sesebi, Tombos and in the Fadrus region. In

Fig. 2: Cemeteries in the Debeira and Serra region in the early to mid-18th Dynasty. The tombs of Amenemhat and Djehutyhotep have rock-cut chapels and shafts (author’s drawing, adapted from Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, pl. 61; courtesy of L. Troy on behalf of the Scandinavian Joint Expedition).

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some cases cemeteries may have moved over time, in others separate cemeteries represent different communities, such as the C-Group and Pan-Grave cemeteries found in the region between Serra and Fadrus just before the beginning of the New Kingdom (Fig. 2); sometimes the reasons for the existence of multiple burial places are no longer apparent. The presence of multiple cemeteries is also seen in New Kingdom Egypt at sites such as Amarna (Stevens et al. 2015) and Thebes (Dodson/ Ikram 2008, 330–335). Cemeteries are usually cut into desert plains or earlier alluvial deposits; some tombs are found on desert ridges (e.g. at Amara West). Deeper tombs are often partly excavated into rock layers: there are examples of shaft and chamber tombs cut almost entirely into rock, for example Sites 37 and 64 south of Serra (Fig. 2; SäveSöderbergh/Troy 1991, 294–299) or at Hillat el-Arab (Vincentelli 2006). There are a small number of elite tombs with decorated rock-cut chapels (e.g. at Aniba, Debeira and Toshka-East),4 most of these were created for officials who had strong ties with indigenous communities, such as Hekanefer and Djehutyhotep. In comparison with Egypt, rock-cut chapels are few, probably because many of the highest officials in Nubia were buried in tombs prepared in Egypt. The majority of the King’s Sons of Kush (Viceroys) were buried in Egypt at Thebes, but not all: for example, two named Hori were buried at Tell Basta (Habachi 1980). Two Viceroys, Messuy and Sety, were buried at Aniba (Steindorff 1937, 21, 58, 84, pls. 7, 23, 32, 34); it has been tentatively suggested that they may have belonged to elite Nubian families (Morkot 2013, 934). The majority of major cemeteries are situated on the west bank of the Nile, but there are notable exceptions at sites such as Tombos and in the Debeira/Fadrus region. The Fadrus burials are particularly interesting since, rather than being oriented towards the west as one might expect with Egyptian burials, tombs that have clear orientation (such as shaft and single-chamber tombs) seem to be oriented toward the east, perhaps suggesting a relationship with the cliffs there, or with the C-Group, Pan-Grave and transitional cemeteries found to the east (Fig. 2; contra Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 247). Fadrus is also interesting in that the careful dating of the tombs highlights the development of the cemetery from an initial cluster during the early 18th Dynasty outwards towards the south, east and west.

Tomb Design Egyptian tombs are typically composed of a substructure and superstructure in the form of a burial marker or cult place, or both. Considerable confusion can be caused by conflation of these elements and inappropriate comparisons between different parts of the tomb. For this reason substructures and superstructures will be dealt with separately here. 4 Steindorff 1937, 242–247; Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 182–211; Simpson 1963, 1–34.

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Tomb Design: The Substructures Fadrus shows a good cross section of the different types of smaller tomb substructures of the 18th Dynasty, with the majority of burials there dating to the reign of Amenhotep III and earlier. It is the largest New Kingdom cemetery excavated in Nubia with nearly 700 tombs excavated out of an estimated total of around 900. It should be noted that the site was prone to flooding and was covered with a layer of gravel that hid graves from looters but had washed away almost all traces of any original superstructures (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 212). Eight different types of burial were identified by the excavators, but these can be broadly grouped into four types (Fig. 3):

Fig. 3: Types of burial at Fadrus: a) Tomb 185/141 (simple shaft tomb); b) Tomb 185/84 (shaft with side niche); c) Tomb 185/524 (mud-brick chamber in shaft); d) Tomb 185/356 (shaft with end chamber); e) Tomb 185/383 (shaft with double end chambers (variant of d)). All tombs are shown at the same scale (author’s drawing, adapted from Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, pls. 73, 85, 113, 146, 167; courtesy of L. Troy on behalf of the Scandinavian Joint Expedition).

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The most common form of burial (n = 274) was a simple, roughly rectangular shaft, usually between one and two metres in depth, although a few are deeper or shallower (Fig. 3a). Most are closely cut to the size of a body or coffin, but others are larger, measuring up to around 3 m in length. 18 of these burials had mud bricks laid in the shaft as a covering for the body. Most of those with preserved skeletal remains contained a single body, but at least four contain the bodies of an adult and child and one shaft contained three bodies. The majority of bodies were placed with their heads to the west in extended positions, although there are examples of contracted or flexed body positions. Correspondence analysis suggested to the excavators that most of the shaft burials with finds came relatively early in the Fadrus sequence, although stratigraphic evidence suggested that some shafts without finds may have been later intrusive burials (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 214– 215). Ten additional shaft tombs had the body placed against the side of the shaft and covered with bricks in an apparent attempt to imitate a side niche (see below). Also relatively early in the sequence are shafts with side niches, of which there are 127 examples (Fig. 3b). The shafts were roughly oriented east–west and the niche could be cut on either long side of the rectangular shaft. The body was placed within the niche on its back or side in an extended or slightly flexed position, almost always with the head to the west. Most were single burials but at least four examples contained two bodies: in two cases, both bodies were in the niche, perhaps suggesting a single burial event; in the other cases one body was in the shaft, perhaps suggesting a later addition to the tomb. Burial goods were placed with the body in the niche, which was bricked or walled up before the shaft was filled or covered. In a variant on this type (four examples), the niche extends around the end of the shaft (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 215–217). The third group of tombs have chambers built from mud brick within a shaft or pit (Fig. 3c). Thirteen examples have sole access from above; 44 examples feature a chamber with a ramp or additional shaft as an access point on the west side. Most are single chambers, but three have two chambers and one has three parallel chambers. Where the roof is preserved, the larger chambers are vaulted, but some smaller ones have bricks propped up to make a pented cover over the body, or have bricks laid over a coffin or fill (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 217–220). Most contain a single burial with goods, although a few contain two or three bodies. The final category, and the second most common tomb type is the shaft with end chamber or niche (n = 238; Fig. 3d). In these tombs, a relatively small shaft, usually between one and two metres deep, leads into a chamber cut into one of the narrow ends of the shaft, almost always to the east. Many of the roofs have collapsed, but originally this type of construction would have left a small open chamber for the body and burial goods, which was walled up before the shaft was backfilled. The body was placed in the chamber with the head usually towards the doorway at the west (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 216). In ten further examples, a second niche was cut at the other end of the shaft base (Fig. 3e; Säve-Söderbergh/

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Troy 1991, 216–217); the burial in the west chamber usually also had its head to the west. Most chambers in both single and double end chamber tombs contain a single burial, although sometimes there is more than one. Where there is a second burial within a chamber it is not uncommon for the second body to be placed with the head at the end opposite that of the primary body (Fig. 3e, west niche); in some cases it is clear from the position in the fill that a second body was added some time after the primary burial. Correspondence analysis shows that the single- and double-end niche tombs were not found at the beginning of the sequence, but became increasingly popular over time, and dominated the data set towards the end of the period of the cemetery’s use (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 216). Good evidence for tombs of the later 18th Dynasty and early Ramesside Period is found in Upper Nubia at the sites of Sai, Sesebi, Soleb, Tombos and Amara West. Sesebi cemetery was excavated in 1936–37 by the Egypt Exploration Society (Blackman 1937, 151), although study of the records is only recently underway.5 Most tombs seem to date from the mid-Thutmoside Period until the reign of Ramesses II. There are over 60 graves, many containing multiple interments. Many were reused during later periods and it can be difficult to attribute tomb contents to specific individuals. The Sesebi tombs form four clusters, all on the west side of the town, with the northern cluster by far the largest. The majority of the tombs are shaft tombs with either one small chamber to the west, or two chambers to east and west, although a small number of tombs were simple shaft burials or had sloping entrances. Some of the tombs at Sesebi must be coeval with the cemeteries at the contemporary Egyptian royal centre at Amarna. Unsurprisingly, Sesebi does not have the elite rock-cut tombs found at the royal centre of Amarna; however, interestingly, it has very few of the shallow pit tombs, usually containing a single burial, that characterise the large north and south cemeteries excavated at Amarna over the last decade (Stevens et al. 2015). Excavated chamber tombs are also the most common type of New Kingdom tomb substructure at Soleb, Sai, Amara West, Buhen and Aniba.6 Although some shafts have a single chamber, many have two, usually opening from opposite sides of the bottom of the shaft; a few tombs have multiple chambers. In two-chambered shaft tombs it is conspicuous that the chambers are often of slightly different sizes and shapes, and may have differences in floor level or quality of workmanship (Fig. 4b and d). It is therefore likely that the second chamber was often a later expansion of an existing single-chambered tomb. From single-chamber tombs and the relative quality of work in multiple-chambered tombs, it is clear that the first

5 Records from Sesebi are held in the Lucy Gura Archive of the Egypt Exploration Society and are being studied by the Sesebi team from the University of Cambridge. I am grateful to the EES for permission to discuss the tombs here. 6 Schiff Giorgini 1971; Minault-Gout/Thill 2012; Binder 2014, 76; Randall-MacIver/Woolley 1911, 129; Steindorff 1937.

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Fig. 4: Tomb 3 at Soleb: double-chambered tomb with superstructure. a) Ground plan of the shaft entrance and remains of the superstructure (note that the shaft mouth is lined with mud bricks and covered with blocking stones, the dry stone edge of a low mound is seen to the west and a mud-brick enclosure to the east). b) Plan of substructure (note that the primary chamber is to the west). c) Reconstruction of superstructure (although no traces are preserved; a pyramid was reconstructed by the excavators in parallel with other examples at the site). d) Section through the remains (note the footholds cut in the sides of the shaft and the remains of the mound to the west; author’s drawing, adapted from Schiff Giorgini 1971, figs. 142, 145, 141, 144); courtesy of the Michaela Schiff Giorgini Foundation.

chamber constructed was usually that to the west. Some tombs contain a number of chambers: for example, tombs at Buhen have up to seven chambers (RandallMacIver/Woolley 1911, 129), and those at Aniba up to twelve (Steindorff 1937, Bl. 13). Many shaft and chamber tombs were reopened multiple times for the insertion of further burials in the chambers and sometimes also the shaft, often over significant periods of time. Shafts excavated into rock often contain footholds in the shaft designed for ease of access (e.g. Fig. 4d; Schiff Giorgini 1971, figs. 202, 248), and were often closed with stone slabs (Fig. 4a). Where tombs were cut into softer ground, shafts were sometimes brick-lined and vaulted. Entrances to the chambers were blocked with bricks or stones; in Tomb 12 at Soleb the doorway featured a portcullis (Schiff Giorgini 1971, 169–170). Sometimes, chambers were also constructed entirely in mud brick within large pits. This is seen in some of the tombs

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at Fadrus (Fig. 3c; Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 217–220), but also at other sites such as Tombos (Smith 2003, fig. 6.9). At Buhen, some less wealthy tombs in Cemetery J were tunnelled into a small rock knoll (Randall-MacIver/Woolley 1911, 130). It should be noted that from the mid-19th Dynasty, tombs become increasingly difficult to date. Inscribed objects seem to be rarer and ceramic chronologies do not exactly match established Egyptian ceramic chronologies for the late New Kingdom (Rose 2008, 204–205): ceramics show a ‘design lag’ in Nubia, meaning that they encourage early dating of Nubian Ramesside sites, sometimes suggesting a hiatus between Ramesside and Napatan uses of sites that may not actually exist (Vincentelli 2006, 2). Evidence from sites such as Amara West, Aniba and Tombos suggests that shaft and chamber tombs continued to be used through the late New Kingdom and into the Third Intermediate Period, being reopened and used repeatedly over time. One burial chamber at Amara West contained 37 bodies (Binder 2014, 76). Tomb structures at Hillat el-Arab (Vincentelli 2006) are particularly interesting. They are entirely cut into rock: some are accessed through shafts, some by sloping stairways, and some are cut horizontally into vertical rock faces. Seventeen tombs have been excavated and published and more tombs are thought to exist below houses built over the site. The largest tombs show some complexity: tomb ARA1 has seven chambers in addition to the shaft and has areas of painted and incised decoration, while ARA7 has three columns in a main chamber measuring 6 × 4.5 m (Vincentelli 2006, 7–18, 33–43). These are therefore some of the largest elite burial structures found in Nubia between the New Kingdom and the Napatan Period, although none has a preserved superstructure. They have features not found in Egyptian tombs in Nubia (such as a bench and a drainage system in ARA7). Other features are closer to Nubian practice: the presence of beds (ARA 1 and 14), horse (ARA7 and 12) and dog (ARA 10) remains, and perhaps even human sacrifice (Vincentelli 2006, 4) attest to the Nubian character of many aspects of the burial practice seen at the site. The excavation of these tombs would have required considerable investment of resources. They appear to be modelled on large Egyptian tomb substructures known from sites such as Aniba (Vincentelli 2006, 3) and contain primarily Egyptian imported or imitation pottery, although there were no coffins, funerary masks or shabtis found. Evidence seems to point to those buried in the larger tombs being indigenous elites using elements of Egyptian material culture whilst maintaining local burial practices (Vincentelli 2006, 183). It is worth noting that the scale of the biggest substructures at the site is matched only at Aniba (Steindorff 1937) and perhaps in the tomb of Amenemhat at Debeira (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, pl. 55). This indicates the very significant power and resources available to those buried at Hillat el-Arab, and suggests access to Egyptian-trained workmen. Interestingly, the decoration in ARA1 also suggests parallels with that in tomb SA35 at Aniba (Steindorff 1937, pl. 31).

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Tomb Design: The Superstructures As has already been mentioned, many sites in Nubia such as Fadrus, Sesebi, Buhen and Hillat el-Arab have provided little evidence of tomb superstructures. These may sometimes have existed but not survived, but sites such as Soleb – which has reasonable preservation of superstructures for larger tombs but not over all burials (Fig. 5; Schiff Giorgini 1971, 81) – suggest that tomb markers and superstructures may not always have been present. Only three surface constructions were found in association with the Fadrus tombs, of which only one can plausibly be interpreted as a potential tomb superstructure (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, pl. 67). There are examples of tall, roughly pyramid-shaped stones that may initially have functioned as burial markers but were not found in situ (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, pl. 4). In the non-elite cemeteries at Amarna in Middle Egypt, graves seem to have been marked with stone cairns that have not always survived, but small pyramidia, stelae and other markers are also found (Kemp et al. 2013, 67, fig. 4); similar objects are found at Soleb (e.g. Schiff Giorgini 1971, 277). Where preserved, the superstructures of larger New Kingdom Nubian tombs usually take the form of pyramids, often with small offering places or chapels attached, and sometimes with enclosure walls. These tomb superstructures reflect contemporary tombs in Egypt. Pyramidal superstructures are found at many sites such as Aniba, Tombos, Sesebi and Soleb (Schiff Giorgini 1971, 81). Nubian pyramid tombs in Upper Nubia were sometimes constructed on a low mound of debris from substructure excavation. Instead of being flattened, this debris was sometimes deliberately retained, resulting in a monument that combines the Egyptian pyramid with the vestiges of Nubian tumulus construction (Fig. 4–5); mounds with pyramids are also to be found at Sesebi. The pyramids were constructed of mud brick. Smaller pyramids were usually solid with a vaulted chapel abutting, while larger tombs might contain a small chamber (Fig. 5). At Aniba the chapel was usually entirely embedded within the pyramid (Fig. 6c; Steindorff 1937, Bl. 10). The burial shaft was usually accessed through the floor of the chapel or court on the east side of the pyramid: at Aniba the shaft was usually accessed from the court, whereas at Buhen and Soleb the shaft opened directly from the chapel (Fig. 5; Randall-MacIver/ Woolley 1911, 129). In some cases, mud brick chapels have more than one chamber as well as a courtyard and look similar to small temples (e.g. at Tombos; Smith 2003, 137–430). Aniba also provides evidence for large tombs of the early New Kingdom which do not have pyramids but which do feature mud-brick vaulted chambers (Fig. 6a–b). These structures are closely comparable with Egyptian tombs of the late 18th and 19th Dynasties at sites such as Thebes and Memphis. Funerary cones, which were common at Thebes but unusual elsewhere, are found at Aniba and Tombos (Steindorff 1937, 61, pl. 35.1; Smith 2003, 140–43, figs. 6.5–6). These were set into the facades of tombs and carried imprints of stamps bearing the name and titles of

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Fig. 5: Ground plan of the cemetery at Soleb showing evidence for superstructures. The remains of low mounds of spoil can be seen around all shaft entrances but in some cases these have been emphasized with low walls (e.g. T3, T10, T18 and T7). Some tombs have no preserved superstructures, but in many cases the remains of small pyramids, chapels and courtyards can be seen (Schiff Giorgini 1971, pl. VII). Reproduced courtesy of the Michaela Schiff Giorgini Foundation.

tomb owners. Tombs in Cemetery J at Buhen had facades and forecourts, again recalling Theban tombs (Randall-MacIver/Woolley 1911, 130). At Thebes, tomb chapels were often entirely or partially rock-cut, but such tombs required nearby cliffs of reasonable-quality rock and the resources to employ a workforce of rock-cutters, as well as access to such trained workmen. Rock-cut chapels are rare in Nubia: examples include the 18th Dynasty tombs of Amenemhat (Fig. 7; the chapel is part excavated and part stone-built; the tomb also has a mudbrick pyramid from inside of which the burial shaft is accessed) and Djehutyhotep at Debeira (Thabit 1957); three tombs at Toshka-East, including the tomb of Hekanefer (Simpson 1963); the tomb of Nakhtmin at Dehmit (Raue 1999, 221–223), and

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Fig. 6: Tombs at Aniba: reconstructions of superstructures. a) Tomb S66 (vaulted chapel and antechamber of the early New Kingdom). b) Tomb SA27 (vaulted chapel and columned antechamber of early New Kingdom). c) Tomb S34 (pyramid with embedded chapel, 19th Dynasty; this is the form of most of the pyramidal superstructures at Aniba). d) Tomb S56 (chapel partially embedded in pyramidal superstructure, Ramesside Period; this design is unique at Aniba; adapted from Steindorff 1937, Bl. 44/5).

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Pyramid Burial shaft

N

Statue niche

Chapel

Fig. 7: The Tomb of Amenemhat at Debeira-West. The burial shaft is accessed from the centre of a mud brick pyramid surrounded by two enclosure walls. Below and on a different orientation is a rock cut chapel containing four statues cut from the rock and a stela; there is a courtyard in front of the chapel. Composite image adapted from Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, pls. 46, 54 by the author. The image is not rectified so no scale is provided; the pyramid base is just over 6.5 m2 and the statue chapel roughly 11 × 3 m. Reproduced courtesy of L. Troy on behalf of the Scandinavian Joint Expedition.

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Fig. 8: Wall paintings from the tomb of Djehutyhotep at Debeira. Top: banqueting scene with Djehutyhotep and his wife seated on chairs. Below left: overseeing agricultural activities. Below right: hunting scene (adapted from Säve-Söderbergh 1960, figs. 9, 6, 10, 5).

the 20th Dynasty tomb of Penniut, Deputy of Wawat, near Aniba (Steindorff 1937, 242–247). Because there are few surviving stone tomb chapels in Nubia there is also little preserved tomb decoration; evidence of painting onto mud plaster suggests that decoration was originally more common but has not survived. Paintings from the tomb of Djehutyhotep at Debeira show close parallels with Egyptian tomb paintings of the same time period, including scenes of feasting and agriculture, but include details specific to the Nubian context, such as the species of trees shown (Fig. 8; Säve-Söderberg 1991). Amenemhat’s tomb contained statues cut from the rock and an impressive stela (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, pl. 47–50); statues were also found at Aniba (Steindorff 1937, pl. 36–37). Inscribed pyramidia, stelae, offering tables and elements of door frames have also been found (e.g. Steindorff 1937, 57– 68, pl. 34–36, 38; Schiff Giorgini 1971, 182–183, 227). At Aniba, a painted mudbrick tomb chapel of the late New Kingdom was partially preserved (Steindorff 1937, pl. 27), while Penniut’s tomb features carved decoration with images and texts, strongly reminiscent of contemporary Theban tomb decoration; it also includes documentation of a land donation to the cult of Ramesses VI (Steindorff 1937, 242–247, pl. 101–104; Frood 2007, 213–218).

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Burial Goods The burial goods of New Kingdom tombs in Nubia present a number of challenges for study, as they do in Egypt. The majority of tombs were robbed in antiquity, meaning that surviving assemblages are unlikely to be fully representative. The practice of communal burial, particularly from the mid-18th Dynasty, and the repeated opening of tombs for the addition of bodies, sometime over several centuries, often results in mixing of the various sets of grave goods. Although modern recording techniques pay careful attention to the relative locations of objects (Fig. 9; Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, pls. 51–83), this was often not the case with earlier publications. Fadrus is particularly useful for investigating burial goods because of the number of burials, the high proportion of single burials, and very limited looting: an estimated 91 % of the burials were considered by the excavators to be intact (SäveSöderbergh/Troy 1991, 212). The burial goods in the cemetery were almost exclusively Egyptian and seem to date entirely to the 18th Dynasty. The wealth of the burials varies, but excludes the presence of obviously elite tombs. The excavators divided the burials according to the number and range of artefacts found in each grave. The groupings reached were equated by the authors with status; a more recent reading would perhaps be more cautious in making a direct link between wealth of a burial and status in life. The five ‘status’ groupings are as follows, with the proportion of graves corresponding to each grouping (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 224–225): 1. 23 % No finds. 2. 48.8 % One to four ceramic vessels. May also have limited other goods including seals, beads and earrings. 3. 20 % Four or more ceramic vessels. May have beads, seals, necklaces, bracelets, figurative pendants. 4. 1.8 % Four or more ceramic vessels. Metal objects. May have a funerary mask. 5. 6.2 % Numerous ceramic vessels, usually funerary masks; may have seals, beads, metal items. The breakdown is useful in emphasizing the high proportion of burials that are poorly equipped: over 70 % of the people buried here had either no burial goods at all, or were buried with only up to 4 ceramic vessels and minimal other artefacts. The excavators also analysed the proportion of status groupings 2–5 across the phasing of the cemetery: this suggested that the tombs became increasingly poor over time, with the highest proportion of wealthy burials found in the earlier phases of the cemetery’s use (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 249–251). Contemporary Egyptian evidence suggests changes to burial practice in the Ramesside Period, with a move away from objects used in life towards items produced

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Fig. 9: Sai tomb 14. The earliest burials in the tomb date to the early to mid-18th Dynasty. The tomb was later reused but the Napatan levels are not shown in this plan (Minault-Gout/ Thill 2012, pl. 71; image by F. Thill incorporating plan by D. Laisney; reproduced courtesy of the authors).

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specifically for burial such as decorated coffins, burial masks, funerary texts, heartscarabs and shabtis (Grajetzki 2003, 84–85). Coffins, masks, heart-scarabs and shabtis are found in contemporary tombs in Nubia, but are often poorly preserved and they are not common at all sites. Smith rightly points out that only the wealthy in both Egypt and Nubia could afford specialised goods such as shabtis and heart scarabs; their rarity at some sites in Nubia may therefore be associated with limited means rather than failure to conform with Egyptian practices (Smith 2003, 156; 1992, 219–220). Later Ramesside tombs in particular can be difficult to date: multiple burials lead to mixing of burial goods, often spanning many generations, there are fewer decorated objects, and ceramic chronologies are problematical. These issues are well illustrated by recent excavations at Amara West, where it is clear that the cemeteries continue in use until around the 8th century BC, but the later burials remain hard to date; only one shabti has been found (Binder 2011; 2014, 78). Publication of these cemeteries should greatly improve our understanding of later New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period burials. From the later Ramesside Period wealth seems to have been concentrated at a smaller number of Nubian sites than it was in the 18th Dynasty, with the richest burials appearing at Aniba, followed by Sai and Soleb, although differential levels of robbery could have distorted this picture. Burial goods from Lower Nubian tombs of the 19th and 20th Dynasties at Aniba are richer than those found in Upper Nubia and the difference appears to be significant, even when better preservation further north is taken into account. Many coffins and mummy masks have been found, along with heart scarabs, shabtis and jewellery. Limited evidence for canopic vessels suggests that full mummification is likely to have been very rare in Nubia. Throughout the New Kingdom the most important categories of burial goods seem to have been body containers, covers or wrappings; vessels; jewellery and seals, including scarabs; and funerary items such as shabtis. Both rectangular and anthropoid coffins are found in Nubia, although the latter are very much more common. Wooden anthropoid coffins and mummy covers were usually plastered and brightly painted, sometimes with additional gilding, but they rarely survive intact; exceptions include the coffins from the tomb of Djehutyhotep (Thabit 1957). More usually, fragments, or staining to the matrix around the body, suggest the original presence of a coffin (e.g. Binder 2014, 76–78; Minault-Gout/ Thill 2012, 164). Two stone coffins are known from Soleb (Schiff Giorgini 1971, 125–135). Roughly made ceramic coffins are also found at many sites (e.g. Steindorff 1937, 72–73, pl. 39–40). Coffins were such an important part of burial equipment that, as in Egypt, multiple bodies were sometimes placed within a single coffin (Smith 2003, 158). Funerary masks are common in wealthier burials in Nubia and evidence for their existence has been found at many sites including Fadrus (Säve-Söderbergh/ Troy 1991 64–76), Sai (Fig. 9, Ca57, Cb19; Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, 166–170, pl. 88), Buhen (Randall-MacIver/Woolley 1911, pls. 60–61), and Aniba (Steindorff 1937,

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73–74, pl. 41). Like anthropoid coffins, these were usually plastered, brightly painted, and sometimes gilded; some had inlaid eyes, which are often the only element to survive. Evidence for linen wrappings is sparse because of poor preservation, but enough survives to suggest that these were fairly widespread in wealthier burials (Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, 164). Evidence for containers or wrappings made from Dom-palm fibres was found at Amara West (Binder 2014, 77–78); mat wrappings would be expected in less wealthy burials in parallel with Egyptian practice seen, for example, at Amarna (Kemp et al. 2013, 67). The excavators at Fadrus astutely interpreted the surprisingly high number of bodies placed face down in graves as evidence that bodies were wrapped, disguising the body to the extent that it was no longer possible for those arranging the burial to tell whether or not the corpse was lying face up (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 213). Despite widespread evidence for coffins, masks and wrappings, there is very little evidence for mummification. A set of canopic jars was found in the tomb of Amenemhat (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 76–77, pl. 59) and two sets at Aniba (Steindorff 1937, 74, pl. 41), along with one jar-head from Soleb (Schiff Giorgini 1971, 162–163) and model canopic jars at Sai (Fig. 9, Ca61–4; Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, 170–173, pls. 94, 137). Wrappings, masks and coffins all attest to the wellknown importance of body preservation in ancient Egyptian funerary practice, although the apparent rarity of full mummification and the damper conditions in Nubia (particularly further south) mean that preservation of soft tissues in Nubian burials is, in practice, very rare. Items made specifically for burial are also found. Shabtis are relatively rare in Upper Nubia, with the exceptions of Sai, where examples in stone, faience and ceramic are found (Fig. 9, Ca4; Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, 173–197), and Soleb (Schiff Giorgini 1971, 93); a few have been found at Tombos (Smith 2003, 146– 149). A much larger number were found in Lower Nubia at Aniba and are likely to date to the Ramesside Period (Steindorff 1937, 74–85, pls. 42–45); none were found at Fadrus (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 143). Heart scarabs were found at the more important sites, but not in great numbers: around 30 at Aniba (Steindorff 1937, 86–89, pl. 47–50) and 17 at Sai (Fig. 9, Ca69, Cb47; Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, 197– 227); only four were found at Soleb (Schiff Giorgini 1971, 92). Both Nubian and Egyptian funerary practice traditionally involved the burial of the dead with ceramic vessels and attest to the importance of equipping the deceased with food (Fig. 9; Smith 2003, 152–155). Ceramic vessels are consequently very common at all Egyptian cemeteries, although note that at Fadrus nearly a quarter of the tombs contained no burial goods at all (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 224–225); ceramics cannot therefore be considered absolutely essential. The vessels found comprise predominantly wheel-made Egyptian wares. Occasionally, handmade Nubian vessels are found, for example at Tombos (Smith 2003, 153–155); these seem to be more commonly associated with female and child burials (Smith 2003,

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165–6). Most burials seem to contain both closed and open vessel forms (Fig. 9), reflecting ideas of storage and consumption of foodstuffs respectively. Imported pottery was also deposited; for example, Mycenaean stirrup jars (as well as imitations) have been found in wealthier burials from a number of sites (e.g. Minault-Gout/ Thill 2012, 369–370, pl. 161). Faience, stone and metal vessels are also found, most often as perfume, kohl or other cosmetic vessels (e.g. Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, 381–382, pl. 170–173). Jewellery is very common in burials of the New Kingdom and includes strings of decorative beads, usually of faience or semi-precious or hard stones such as carnelian, as well as figurative pendants. Floral motifs are found frequently, as well as pendants in the form of deities such as Taweret, Hathor and Bes; wedjat eyes, flies, fishes, shells and hearts are also common at sites such as Fadrus (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 77–143) and Aniba (Steindorff 1937, 90–114). Scarabs, cowroids and small plaque seals are widespread, sometimes bearing the names of kings but often with figurative designs (e.g. Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, pls. 115–118). These are sometimes set into rings, but they are also often found in the left hand of the deceased, between the thighs, at the feet, or strung (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 89). Some ivory/bone and hard stone bangles have been found. Earrings are common at all sites: the most frequently encountered are penannular earrings, often of carnelian, but ivory/bone, faience and hard stone examples are also found (e.g. Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, pls. 121–122). Spiral metal examples are found occasionally, for example at Fadrus (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, pl. 29). Other items from daily life such as mirrors, cosmetic equipment and toiletry sets, weapons and tools are also found. Patterning can be sometimes be established in the positioning of vessels and other objects around the body, with groups of vessels at the head, feet and near the left arm (Fig. 3b and d); heart scarabs are usually found on the chest (Fig. 9), combs and mirrors are often found near the head, and shabtis, where they are found, sometimes placed between the thighs (Emery 1965, 179).

Interpreting Burials as Evidence for Ethnicity and Egyptian–Nubian Relations Burials are central to debates about the construction of identity in Nubia and to discussion of Egyptian–Nubian interactions over the course of the New Kingdom. Bioanthropological studies of human remains from the tombs can provide information about affinities of individuals with particular populations (e.g. Buzon et al. 2007), while material culture provides clues to ethnicity, a social construct often expressed materially. Through treatment of the body, construction of the tomb, choice of burial goods, and the performance of rituals a funerary identity was constructed for the deceased, and community identities were constantly renegotiated.

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Identity construction is complex, and just because tombs and burial goods in New Kingdom Nubia were modelled on Egyptian examples does not necessarily mean that the identities and beliefs negotiated through such material culture were the same as those expressed by Egyptians in Egypt, although strong parallels in funerary practice suggest considerable convergence. Contradictions between official Egyptian ascription of ethnicity and self- or community-constructed identity within the colonial setting can be clearly seen in the case of Hekanefer, Prince of Miam (Aniba), who was depicted in the Theban tomb of Huy (King’s Son of Kush/Viceroy of Nubia under Tutankhamun) wearing the clothing and regalia of a Nubian chief, but who chose to be represented as Egyptian in his own tomb at Toshka-East (Smith 2015). Differences can be seen between individual burials and between sites. Evidence of Nubian material culture and burial practices are also found in tombs that appear, superficially, to be very Egyptian. This is most clearly seen at Hillat el-Arab (Vincentelli 2006; see also above), but evidence for flexed burials, Nubian pottery, clothing and/or jewellery is also found in small numbers of ‘Egyptian’ tombs at all sites. The evidence seems to suggest that Nubian material culture and practice are found more commonly with female and child burials than associated with adult male bodies (Smith 2003, 165–166, 197–199). Questions of identity and ethnicity are likely to remain central to theoretical debate in the field for some time.7

After the New Kingdom As discussed above, the period between the late New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period in Nubia is poorly understood and is a significant focus of current archaeological work in the region. Although the Egyptian state lost control of Nubia at the end of the 20th Dynasty, Egyptian traditions of building and equipping tombs survived in Nubia, where they had become firmly incorporated into local constructions of identity and funerary practice (Buzon et al. 2016; Smith 2007). Over time, these traditions were further adapted, evolving on a separate trajectory to coeval Egyptian sites: the cemetery at el-Kurru shows the re-emergence of the pyramid structure as a focus for royal burials, with distinctive Nubian features (Dunham 1950). The dynamism of these Nubian practices ensured that in Nubia pyramid building continued for centuries after the practice was abandoned in Egypt.

Bibliography Adams, William Yewdale (1977): Nubia. Corridor to Africa. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

7 Buzon et al. 2016; Smith 2003; 2015; van Pelt 2013.

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Binder, Michaela (2011): The 10th–9th Century BC – New Evidence from Cemetery C of Amara West. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 39–53. Binder, Michaela (2014): Preparing for Eternity. In: Spencer, Neal / Stevens, Anna / Binder, Michaela (eds.): Amara West. Living in Egyptian Nubia. London: British Museum, p. 68–85. Blackman, Aylward Manley (1937): Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Sesebi, Northern Province, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, 1936–37. In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 23, p. 145–151. Buzon, Michele R. / Simonetti, Antonio / Creaser, Robert A. (2007): Migration in the Nile Valley during the New Kingdom Period: A Preliminary Strontium Isotope Study. In: Journal of Archaeological Science 9, p. 1391–1401. Buzon, Michele R. / Smith, Stuart Tyson / Simonetti, Antonio (2016): Entanglement and the Formation of the Ancient Nubian Napatan State. In: American Anthropologist 118, p. 284–300. Dodson, Aidan Mark / Ikram, Salima (2008): The Tomb in Ancient Egypt. London: Thames & Hudson. Dunham, Dows (1950): The Royal Cemeteries of Kush. Vol. I: El Kurru. Cambridge/Mass.: Harvard University Press. Edwards, David N. (2004): The Nubian Past. An Archaeology of the Sudan. London/New York: Routledge. Emery, Walter Bryan (1965): Egypt in Nubia. London: Hutchinson. Frood, Elizabeth (2007): Biographical Texts from Ramessid Egypt. Society of Biblical Literature Writings from the Ancient World 26. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. Grajetzki, Wolfram (2003): Burial Customs in Ancient Egypt: Life in Death for Rich and Poor. London: Duckworth. Habachi, Labib (1980): Königssohn von Kusch. In: Helck, Wolfgang / Westendorf, Wolfhart (eds.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie III. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, col. 630–640. Helmbold-Doyé, Jana / Seiler, Anne (2012): Kerma-Ware Vessels found in an Intact Burial Chamber at Aniba. In: Forstner–Müller, Irene / Rose, Pamela J. (eds.): Nubian Pottery from Egyptian Cultural Contexts of the Middle and Early New Kingdom. Proceedings of a Workshop held at the Austrian Archaeological Institute at Cairo, 1–12 December 2010. Ergänzungshefte zu den Jahresheften des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes 13. Vienna: Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut, p. 31–48. Jacquet-Gordon, Helen (1999): Excavations at Tabo, Northern Province, Sudan. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Recent Research in Kushite History and Archaeology. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. British Museum Occasional Paper 131. London: British Museum Press, p. 257–264. Kemp, Barry John / Stevens, Anna / Dabbs, Gretchen R. / Zabecki, Melissa / Rose, Jerome C. (2013): Life, Death and beyond in Akhenaten’s Egypt: Excavating the South Tombs Cemetery at Amarna. In: Antiquity 87, p. 64–78. Minault-Gout, Anne / Thill, Florence (2012): Saï II. Le cimetière des tombes hypogées du Nouvel Empire (SAC5). 2 Vols. Fouilles de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 69. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale. Morkot, Robert G. (2001): Egypt and Nubia. In: Alcock, Susan E. / D’Altroy, Terence N. / Morrison, Kathleen D. / Sinopoli, Carla M. (eds.): Empires. Perspectives from Archaeology and History. Cambridge: University Press, p. 227–251. Morkot, Robert G. (2013): From Conquered to Conqueror: The Organization of Nubia in the New Kingdom and the Kushite Administration of Egypt. In: Moreno García, Juan Carlos (ed.): Ancient Egyptian Administration. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1: The Near and Middle East 104. Leiden/Boston: Brill, p. 911–963. Randall-MacIver, David / Woolley, Charles, Leonard (1911): Buhen. Eckley B. Coxe Junior Expedition to Nubia VIII. 2 Vols. Philadephia: University Museum.

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Raue, Dietrich (1999): Heliopolis und das Haus des Re: Eine Prosopographie und ein Toponym im Neuen Reich. Abhandlungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Kairo. Ägyptologische Reihe 16. Berlin: Achet. Rose, Pamela J. (2008): Early Settlement at Qasr Ibrim. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 195–209. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny (1960): The Paintings in the Tomb of Djehuty-hetep at Debeira. Kush VIII. Khartoum: Sudan Antiquities Service, p. 25–44. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny (1991): Teh-khet. The Cultural and Sociopolitical Structure of a Nubian Princedom in Thutmoside Times. In: Davies, William Vivian (ed.): Egypt and Africa: Nubia from Prehistory to Islam. London: British Museum Press, p. 186–194. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny / Troy, Lana (1991): New Kingdom Pharaonic Sites. The Finds and the Sites. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 5/2. Uppsala: Paul Astrom. Schiff Giorgini, Michela (1971): Soleb II. Les nécropoles. Florence: Sansoni. Simpson, William Kelly (1963): Heka-Nefer and the Dynastic Material from Toshka and Arminna. Publications of the Pennsylvania-Yale Expedition to Egypt 1. New Haven/Philadelphia: The Peabody Museum of Natural History of Yale University. Smith, Stewart Tyson (1992): Intact Theban Tombs and the New Kingdom Burial Assemblage. In: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 48, p. 193–231. Smith, Stewart Tyson (1995): Askut in Nubia: The Economics and Ideology of Egyptian Imperialism in the Second Millennium BC. London/New York: Keagan Paul International. Smith, Stewart Tyson (2003): Wretched Kush. Ethnic Identities and Boundaries in Egypt’s Nubian Empire. London: Routledge. Smith, Stewart Tyson (2007): Death at Tombos. Pyramids, Iron and the Rise of the Napatan Dynasty. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 11, p. 2–14. Smith, Stewart Tyson (2015): Hekanefer and the Lower Nubian Princes. Entanglement, Double Identity or Topos and Mimesis? In: Amstutz, Hans / Dorn, Andreas / Müller, Matthias / Ronsdorf, Miriam V. / Uljas, Sami (eds.): Fuzzy Boundaries. Festschrift für Antonio Loprieno. Vol. II. Hamburg: Widmaier, p. 767–779. Steindorff, Georg (1937): Aniba II. Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte. Mission archéologique de Nubie 1929‒1934. Glückstadt/Hamburg: J. J. Augustin. Stevens, Anna / Dabbs, Gretchen R. / Shepperson, Mary / Wetzel, Melinda King (2015): The Cemeteries of Amarna. In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 101, p. 17–27. Thabit, Hassan Thabit (1957): Tomb of Djehuty-hetep (Tehuti Hetep), Prince of Serra. In: Kush 5, p. 81–86. van Pelt, W. Paul (2013): Revising Egypto-Nubian Relations in New Kingdom Lower Nubia: From Egyptianization to Cultural Entanglement. In: Cambridge Archaeological Journal 23, p. 523–550. Vercoutter, Jean (1975): Mirgissa. Tome II: Les nécropoles. Mission archéologique française au Soudan. Paris: La Direction Générale des Relations Culturelles, Scientifiques et Techniques. Vincentelli, Irene (2006): Hillat el-Arab: The Joint Sudanese-Italian Expedition in the Napatan Region, Sudan. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 15. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1570. London: BAR Publishing. Welsby, Derek Anthony / Welsby Sjöström, Isabella Y. (2007): The Dongola Reach and the Fourth Cataract: Continuity and Change during the 2nd and 1st Millennia BC. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Mélanges offerts à Francis Geus: Égypte – Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III, p. 379–398.

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Williams, Bruce Beyer (1992): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 6: New Kingdom Remains from Cemeteries R, V, S and W at Qustul and Cemetery K at Adindan. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 6. Chicago/Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1993): Excavations at Serra East. Parts 1–5: A-Group, C-Group, Pan Grave, New Kingdom, and X-Group Remains from Cemeteries A–G and Rock Shelters. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition X. Chicago: The Oriental Institute.

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Nubians in Egypt in the 3rd and 2nd Millennium BC For a long time, the presence of ‘foreigners’ in Egypt was considered accidental, caused by the weakness of the state and without any influence on the development of the Egyptian Culture; however, the understanding of the role of Nubians in Egypt has changed (e.g. Schneider 2003, 321–327; Seidlmayer 2002, 89–113). Although only little inscriptional evidence has been added up to the present day, the number of sites with evidence for Nubian pottery has multiplied. In Egypt, Nubian presence is mainly evidenced by two sets of data: the inscriptional and pictorial evidence from Egyptian sources and the genuine Nubian heritage on Egyptian territory – a few settlement remains, cemeteries of the later 3rd and earlier 2nd millennium BC, as well as pottery finds and a limited number of small finds from Egyptian settlements (see map). The archaeological evidence is often connected to the periphery of Egyptian urban centres like Shashotep, Hierakonpolis and others, while single and rather solitary settlements like Qubaniya seem to be restricted to the extreme south of Egypt. The Egyptian evidence is biased by discriminating tendencies towards mobile lifestyles as it is drastically depicted in royal and private reliefs of the Old and Middle Kingdom. Underfed and ‘wild’ characters accompany the cattle for the Egyptian economy (Zibelius-Chen 2007, 391–392) and illustrate life without the ‘blessings’ of the distributive economy of Egyptian central authority. It was also the mobile lifestyle that led to threats even in times of political stability as attested, e.g., by the wall from the 2nd millennium BC that ran from Philae to Syene/Aswan (Vogel 2004, 268–269). This potential danger was probably felt even more because of several other cultural differences. In particular, the magical practices of Nubian magicians were respected or even feared as the admonition of Amenhotep II to his viceroy of Nubia, Usersatet, indicates.1 Their mobile lifestyle may also be held responsible for blaming Nubians for a number of diseases, ‘arriving’ demonic powers (e.g. Fischer-Elfert 2005, 42–43, 134–135), or for their being occasionally understood as saved and supported by them (Zibelius-Chen 2005, 181–183). The description of Nubians in Egypt is primarily based on Egyptian texts. This crux cannot be eliminated by a small number of medico-magical texts (e.g. Wüthrich 2006, 368) or some Egyptian-styled Nubian monuments, like the stelae from Gebel-

1 Urk. IV, 1344.11–12. A late source for this constellation is the competition of the Egyptian and the Nubian magician in the ‘Tale of Setne’, on which see Raue 2018, 52–53 and Hoffmann/Quack 2007, 118–137, 340–343; for alternative views on the case of Usersatet, see Morschhauser 1997, 203–222. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-024

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ein dating to the late 3rd millennium BC (Kubisch 2008, 243–245). The Nubian language was never subject to scribal practice, just as Nubian words only appear in hieroglyphic writing as toponyms or prosopographical data (El-Sayed 2011; Zibelius-Chen 2011).

Appropriation of Cultures The history of the investigation of Nubian presence in Egypt is also a history of Egyptology. A hierarchical view on ancient cultures has historically been the common denominator of most scholars. For philologists of the earlier 20th century, a list of Nubians could only point to slaves in the service of an Egyptian institution (Erman 1911, 55). Nowadays, more scholars apply models of symbiotic strategies that take account of sedentary lifestyles in permanent coexistence with mobile populations, even while the range of mobility may differ considerably: regional desert fringe, lower desert pastoralism, long-distance connection via land (Darb el-Ahmar etc.) or coastal connections (wadis through the Eastern Desert to the Red Sea). Some scientific studies still draw on earlier approaches, casting Nubian cooks and house guards as background to the presence of Nubian pottery in settlements during the 2nd millennium BC.2 In the same way, the presence of foreigners in Egypt was considered a sign of Egyptian Culture’s weakness. However, sites like Gebelein were always regions with mobile parts of the population. Documents like the Gebelein Papyri of the early 4th Dynasty (Posener-Kriéger 2004, 50, 56) attest to ‘those living on sand’. Egyptian documents never left a doubt that Nubians were a part of daily life; for example, in the 6th Dynasty even a royal decree mentions ‘settled Nubians’ and the execration rituals performed against people with Nubian names directed against neighbours (Seidlmayer 2002, 96–102). On the other hand, some texts gained disproportionate significance: texts like the famous account of the Hyksos king, who fought Kamose in the Eastern Delta and called for the help of the Upper Nubian king of Kerma, were implausibly connected to the presence of Nubian finds in the Hyksos capital of Avaris (Aston 2012, 169; see below).

2 So far, no evidence for an Egyptian settlement with a ‘Nubian quarter’ has been published; the stereotype of Nubian cooks was developed in times when this was indeed the case, e.g., as a result of the construction of the Aswan Dam that led to a migration of Nubian males to Egyptian cities, see Kennedy 1978, 2–8.

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Nubians in Egypt in the Era of the ‘Lower Nubian Hiatus’ There was probably always a lateral nomadism on the fringe of the cultivated land and on the tracks parallel to the Nile Valley (Darnell/Darnell 2013, 36, fig. 1). The most explicit proof of this presence are the Gebelein Papyri of the early Old Kingdom, mentioning Hrj.w-Saj – ‘those who stay (dwelling) on the sand’ (PosenerKriéger 2004, 50, 56). The best source for an early presence of Nubians in the court society of the Early Dynastic Period is the tableau of a courtier called (…)-sisi from the cemetery of Helwan (Köhler/Jones 2009, 79 and 95). The iconography of his hairstyle demonstrates his ethnic affiliation, but the documentation of such tableaus from the 2nd and 3rd Dynasty leaves no doubt that such evidence is a very rare exception to the rule of a homogeneous corpus without indications of ethnic, social or regional variability. Also, the second attestation for Nubians at court should not be taken as indicator of the ‘tip of the iceberg’, but of an interesting attestation of ranks that could be attained by Nubians (Fig. 1): it is in the tomb of Nesutnefer at Giza where

Fig. 1: Nubian in the tomb of Seshathotep, late 4th/early 5th Dynasty (after Junker 1934, pl. II).

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Nubians can be distinguished by their specific iconography from the personnel of this late-4th Dynasty household (Junker 1934, 194; Seidlmayer 2002, 99). Few sites allow for observations on the distribution and character of Nubian Cultures in the Early Dynastic Period and during the Old Kingdom prior to the 6th Dynasty. The only site with a complete sequence is the settlement of Elephantine at the northern entrance to the First Cataract. The material culture, mainly pottery, is proof of the local continuity of the cultural formation of the A-Group already attested in the region of the First Cataract. Contexts of the 2nd Dynasty include up to 25 % of ceramic assemblages (Raue 2018, 106–107). The portion of Nubian pottery decreases to less than 1 % in the 4th Dynasty. On the other hand, it is interesting to observe mutual interdependencies, e.g., the series of basketry imitations that are similar to the Nubian pottery production but differ in all of the details (Kansa et al. 2002, 205–207). It was argued in the past that the raids to the south were meant to supply Egyptian building projects with manpower and workforce (e.g. Gundlach 1994, 10–11). One of the main sources for such a hypothesis were the rock inscriptions from Khor Aqiba that report the capture of around 17,000 people, as well as the annals of Sneferu from the Palermo stone (see Ch. Raue).

Supraregional Relations and Mercenaries in Egypt Nubian material culture reappears north of the First Cataract around 2450/2400 BC at two nodal points for the connection of the Nile Valley to the Western Desert: Elephantine and Sinki/Abydos.3 The first site demonstrates the connection of this material culture to a former Nubian presence in the south of Egypt (Raue 2018, 142– 173). The latter site with its fragile, ephemeral and small-sized features gives an idea about the archaeological remains of such mobile groups, living on the fringe of the cultivated land as pastoralists (Raue 2014/2015). However, both corpora are proof of the long-distance connection to the regions further south: the Elephantine pottery Phases 4B and 5A were also found in the settlement of the Old Kingdom in Buhen at the Second Cataract as well as in Abudiya south of the Island of Sai and were almost identical (see Ch. Raue). Comparable finds were discovered at the Pre-Kerma sites of the Kerma Basin (see Ch. Honegger). The expeditions connected Egypt with areas like Ibehat in the Medjay-lands east of the Nile (El-Sayed 2011, 40, 141–143) and west of the Nile on the oasis paths. Nubians from such expeditions occasionally escorted the Egyptian caravans though potentially hostile regions and might have stayed in Egypt (Bietak 1987, 117). Such personnel or other migrants may be identified with the ‘settled Nubians’ that are

3 For less well dated finds, compare a campsite at Armant in Mond/Myers 1937, pl. LXXIV. For the resettlement of Nubia in the 3rd millennium BC, see Ch. Raue.

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mentioned in the decree of Pepy I for the pyramid town of Sneferu in Dahshur (Urk. I, 209.16). The autobiographical texts, e.g. of Weni, describe how Nubians from Jam where involved in military actions on the Sinai Peninsula (Urk. I, 101.13–16, 102.8; Moreno García 2010, 18). There seems to be little doubt that Nubian presence in the Nile Valley did not entirely rely on the weakness of its central state authorities. After all, several examples of assimilation and acculturation can be identified; one is the existence of the offspring of Nubian elites that lived in the Nile Valley near the residence and had basilophorous names (Osing 1976, 142; Abu Bakr/Osing 1973, 131–132). But this might have also led to tensions, as execration figurines with Nubian names suggest (Seidlmayer 2002, 96–98). Other Nubian people will have arrived as war-captives or/and as hostages taken from elite families (Urk. I, 133.14–15). So far there is no evidence for the promotion of Nubians to high ranking positions at the court of the 6th Dynasty; however, this may also be the result of a tendency not to display any ethnicity, as again is the case in the 12th Dynasty. As in earlier and later periods, there may be times when ethnicity is a less important marker of social identity. When the central state imploded towards the end of the 3rd millennium, all intraregional networks were sustained and the regional authorities of the Nile Valley, like Ankhtifi of Mo’alla in the decades after the death of Pepy II (Vandier 1950, 97–98, pl. XXXV), Setka of Aswan (Seyfried/Vieler/Edel 2008/3, 1800, fig. 7) and Mesehti in Assiut (Bietak 1985, 88–89, pls. I–IV) in the name of the Herakleopolitan Dynasty, continued to employ such groups (Trigger 1976, 60–63, fig. 16). The Nubian units in the militias of the First Intermediate Period contained Nile Valley Nubians from Lower Nubia-Wawat as well as soldiers from the Medjay-lands until the early Middle Kingdom (Demidchik 2013, 104–105). The story of the mercenaries reflects an important aspect of the NubianEgyptian relationship. There is no kind of Nubian nationalism (see Ch. Raue). Wherever the Nubian mercenaries of Assiut were recruited, they probably met other Nubians in battle: the inscription of Tjehmau from Abisko is a striking example of such a mercenary who was hired in his village when Mentuhotep II passed by (Darnell 2003b, 31–48; Seidlmayer 2002, 101–102). Some of the stelae from Gebelein are generally believed to have belonged to such mercenaries (Kubisch 2008, 243–245). Here, a small number of individuals adopted the custom of the Egyptian funerary cult with its codes through script and iconography. Intentional markers of ethnicity, like certain weapons, kilts or hairstyles, and explicit ethnonyms (nHsj ) identify them as Nubians. In addition, the case of one individual depicted with curly hair (Fischer 1961, 56–58, fig. 3, pl. XI) adds to a heterogeneous picture of the Nubian groups in the Nile Valley, as does the language of some of their names (El-Sayed 2011, 156–157) and the Nubian pottery in the Nile Valley (Raue 2018, see below). The Nubian presence was reduced by some scholars to armed services while the context from Sinki shows that also symbiotic social groups, like that of herdsmen, existed (Raue 2014/2015). Funerary texts expected Nubians to be either a part of the

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mobile segments or citizens (Fischer 1968, 138). Later texts like the inscription of Heqaib-Son-of-Pen-idebi-and-of-Ipet demonstrate that being a mercenary was just an option, and that Nubians acted also as, e.g., hunters for the society of the Nile Valley and were buried in rock-cut tombs (Seyfried/Vieler/Edel 2008/1, 281–294). Whether these services are to be connected with the few indications of food delivery during the First Intermediate Period (Näser 2013, 138) is far from certain. A debated source for ethnic identification are tattoos or depictions of tattoos. A variety of rhombs on female mummies from Deir el-Bahari are evidence of such embodiment (Lohwasser 2012, 535–536, 540–542) and recent excavations and new methods at Hierakonpolis (Friedman 2016, 26–27) prove that these were widespread among (female!) Nubians in the late 3rd and earlier 2nd millennium BC. The same distinct rhomb motif appears (in contrast to the Egyptian units!) on the kilts of the Nubian archers from Assiut in the 11th Dynasty (Bietak 1985, pls. II–III). The pottery finds in Egypt reflect a heterogeneous evolution of the corpus. There are two differing motifs: on the one hand, there is the decoration of the rim zone with friezes of triangles in various shapes. On the other hand, the full body of the vessel is decorated with various kinds of hatchings. The earliest of these have straight rim profiles. Parallel to this, imitations of basketry are achieved by row impressions made with different tools (see also de Morgan 1903, 10–11, 24, pl. XXVII). These vessels, like the series of black-topped and black-mouthed fine wares, can have pointed bases, reminiscent of the production of the late 4th millennium BC (see Ch. Gatto). During the 11th Dynasty, another invention can be observed: for the first time, the typical rough restricted vessels betray, a vast variety of incised depictions of geometric motifs and animals (ostriches, cattle, men/women; see Ch. Raue). The material culture of the so-called ‘Classic C-Group’ seems to be an emulation of a number of contributing factors from various Nubian regions.

Dominance and Communication The scope of Nubian presence seems to widen in the early Middle Kingdom. The evidence for Nubian court ladies from Deir el-Bahari is proof of their presence, as it is of the practice of displaying ethnicity in close proximity to the king. Among the queens of Mentuhotep II, at least Aschayt and Kemsit had Nubian ancestors, and three subordinates were related to the Medjay-regions (Liszka 2012, 210–211, 253– 256, fig. 19). While some scholars question this (Liszka 2012, 211), this and other depictions of ethnicity should be taken as indicators of a regular presence of Nubian persons and personnel at court. This may point to some kind of diplomatic marriage custom long before the more famous counterparts of the New Kingdom supported alliances with the Mitanni or Hethite Realm. Another allegedly Nubian impact, the rhomb tattoos on faience figurines from Middle Kingdom cemeteries, is a matter of debate (Lohwasser 2012, 540–542, see above) even though the present writer is

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Fig. 2: Elephantine, imported vessel, probably from NE-Sudan (Photo: Andi Paasch).

convinced that such a distinct motif, which is a central pattern in genuine Nubian contexts, may indicate another Nubian presence in the society of the 12th Dynasty Nile Valley. With such evidence at hand, it is improbable that we will find a homogeneous corpus of material culture and, indeed, different ways of preparing pottery are attested also during the Middle Kingdom. The triangle-friezes (see Ch. Raue), known since the Early Dynastic Period, run parallel to the fully decorated vessels of the 11th Dynasty with specific surface treatment; others show the hatching motif (see Ch. Raue). Examples of early Kerma Moyen (Raue 2018, 203) and alien fabrics are extremely rare exceptions that probably point to a connection with the Gash Region (Fig. 2; see Ch. Manzo). The phase of successful domination of Lower Nubia under Senusret I (see Ch. Raue) was challenged in the first decades of Senusret III when a series of military campaigns ‘to strike down Kush’ led to the initiative to build fortresses at the Batn el-Haggar (Tallet 2005, 31–68; Meurer 1996, 80–81, see Ch. Knoblauch). As in the Old Kingdom, explicit expressions of ethnicity were the exception in the Middle Kingdom. Few funerary monuments and some documentary texts address Nubian segments of the Nile Valley population. Cult personnel (Zibelius-Chen 2007, 398) and hunters like the owner of a rock-cut tomb in Aswan (Seyfried/Vieler/Edel 2008/1, 292–293), as well as guards (Liszka 2012, 257–268), are attested. There is evidence that the second generation of inhabitants with varying ethnic backgrounds demonstrated their loyalty by taking basilophorous names (Collier/Quirke 2006, 92–93). A monument from Dahshur accounts for a lady who was employed as a Nehsy-Nubian (Schneider 2003, 85, 186–187, 287). Again, this cannot be described

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as the ‘tip of the iceberg’, since the majority of funerary objects and documentary texts does not mention Nehsy- or Medjay-Nubians at all. The process of acculturation and entanglement is clearly visible in the Nubian cemeteries of the 12th Dynasty at Qubaniya (Seidlmayer 2002, 104–105) and Hierakonpolis (Schröder 2018, 243– 250; Friedman 2007, 22). This process came to an end when the the Pan-GraveCulture (see below) revived the tumuli in the 13th Dynasty. Among the Nubian populations, Medjay-people are mentioned in the biography of Sarenput I (Urk. VII, 1.20–2.1; Liszka 2012, 481–482), and in his lifetime, Medjayregions are mentioned in the tribute-lists of Amenemhat II (Altenmüller 2015, 34). Cases like that of the wife of Hekata from the earlier 12th Dynasty, who was named after the Medjay-region Ibehat (Willems 1996, 20, 22, 25), may also point to such components of the Nubian presence. As in the years before, Medjay-people populated and frequented the Nile Valley, long before the arrival of the ‘Pan-Gravepeople’. The Nubian pottery of the 12th Dynasty from Egypt is best known from the cemeteries of Qubaniya and Hierakonpolis and from the settlement of Elephantine. The latter site shows a slight extension of motifs from all categories known from the 11th Dynasty. The richly decorated bowls (see Ch. Raue) become more densely decorated with rhomb based motifs. Some of them are punctuated and resemble contemporary tattoos on mummified female bodies and female clay figurines. Hatchings on the entire vessel continue to be arranged in triangles or as horizontal grooves only. Rare exceptions are ceramics that seem to represent earlier stages of the Pan-Grave pottery which appears in the Nile Valley from the 13th Dynasty onwards (Raue 2018, 200–201). Another exception on Elephantine shows imprints made by basketry while shaping the vessels. Daily interaction might have resulted in the preference for decorating Egyptian pottery, especially marl vessels (Rzeuska 2010; 2011, 469–501). Royal initiative was responsible for the reactivation of trade along the Red Sea coast. Sites like Mersa Gawasis give evidence for organized maritime contact with the lands of ‘Punt’, also during the Middle Kingdom (Breyer 2016, 357–403); it has been argued that such expeditions might have left traces in the corpus of motifs on jewellery of the Middle Kingdom in Egypt (Manzo 2011, 72–75).

The Late Middle Nubian Horizon in Egypt It was something of a surprise when W. M. F. Petrie described for the first time tomb types with shallow burial pits and incised pottery of a previously unknown type (Petrie 1901, 48). By a few years later, a larger number of sites with such features had been discovered – but the name remained the same: Pan-GraveCulture. Among the prominent features were painted bukrania, grave goods made of shells from the Red Sea (Bietak 1968, 122–123) and weapons like daggers and axes. More than a century of research later, it is obvious that this new material

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culture turned up somewhat abruptly, bore regional variations and continued for about 250 years alongside the material culture of the Egyptian production (Liszka 2015). The Late Middle Nubian horizon seems once again to be an excellent example of overlapping expressions of ethnicity that change and develop over time. It is generally agreed that a population that is best known from their specific funerary culture entered the Lower Nubian and Egyptian Nile Valley during the 13th Dynasty. Quantitatively limited evidence from Elephantine leaves little doubt that this phenomenon is preceded by stylistically closely related pottery finds from the 12th Dynasty (Raue 2018, 200–201). A large corpus of letters sent between the fully functioning fortresses, known as the ‘Semna Despatches’ and dating to Year 3 of Amenemhat III but found in a Theben tomb from the reign of Neferhotep I and Sobekhotep IV, describes the routine in the border region: the movement of small groups of migrants between the Batn el-Haggar and the First Cataract, where, e.g., four Nehsy-women approached the fortress to conduct trade and, after payment had been made in various foodstuffs, headed back to the south from where they had come. The routine character of this business is expressively noted: it was done ‘according to the regulations’ (Kraemer/Liszka 2016a, 23–24, 45–48). The same group of texts mentions a Medjay-group from the Ibehat-area, arriving at Elephantine and being forced back to the desert, as well as another Medjay at the river Nile close to the fortress of Mirgissa (Kraemer/Liszka 2016a, 32, 35). A generation earlier, Medjaypeople in Aswan under Senusret I are mentioned (see above). It is possible, but not self-evident, that the evidence for new material from 12th Dynasty Elephantine might be a reflex of such movements. Nevertheless, the main change in the inventory takes place later in the 13th Dynasty. More recent studies have examined the fortresses’ function as nodes of regional networks. As such, the retreat of the Egyptian side may have been caused by inner Egyptian political and economic factors, while the Nubian populations followed these institutions because a form of dependency had developed (Näser 2013, 130). In addition, it is possible that the migration was intensified by years of difficult climatic seasons (Bietak 1966, 73–74) even though this cannot be ruled out for the preceding century. The rapid change can best be seen in southern Upper Egypt: there is no evidence for a site dating to the 13th Dynasty and bearing the features of, e.g., Bietak’s C-Group IIb. In settlements like Elephantine, there is only a handful of sherds that indicate continuity with earlier phases. The decisive difference to previous migrations is the archaeological visibility in the Nile Valley all over Egypt and Lower Nubia. During the 13th Dynasty, a number of sites like the necropolis of Qubaniya and the settlement of Elephantine verify the earliest occupation phase (Gallorini/Giuliani 2012, 321–328; Raue 2018, 238–242). A remarkable number of sites have small necropoleis with 20–50 tumuli. Few sites, like Mostagedda, comprise more than 100 burials (Brunton 1937, 114–133, pl. LXIX.A). They contain pottery of a certain style that shows just a limited number of similarities to the decoration of the Nubian style vessels of the 3rd and early 2nd millennium BC.

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In addition, special features like shallow circular grave pits and a number of specific ornaments like rectangular mother-of-pearl-bracelets testify to the arrival of people in rather small groups with common traits. On the other hand, there is only one single object that illustrates some connection with the text culture of the Nile Valley: a bucranium from the cemetery of Mostagedda depicts a man with an axe and a hieroglyphic caption with his name, Oaksnt (Brunton 1937, 120–121, pl. LXXVI.66). This object is one of the main sources attesting the connection of the language of these late Middle Nubian groups with the bedja-language of the Eastern Desert (El-Sayed 2011, 39, 264–265, see Ch. Rilly). The tumuli were often adorned with a variety of bucrania positioned at various locations, combining various livestock and cattle (Gatto/Gallorini/Roma 2012, 85–86). Just a very limited number of settlement sites have been documented. It has been observed in Qau and Mostagedda that agricultural tools are absent while crop processing tools are present (Bourriau 1981, 30). Whether this is really a representative pattern is difficult to say in view of such little evidence. The discussion about the textual evidence focusses on the term ‘Medjay’. For many decades most scholars agreed that the archaeological evidence for the PanGrave-Culture matched the textual evidence for Medjay-People. Both are supposed to have originated in the Eastern Desert (see above). The equation with the PanGrave-Culture was recently criticized by Liszka (2012), and indeed, there is no evidence for such an assumption in the Semna Despatches. The Elephantine series also provided hypothetical indicators that the presence of Medjay-groups, known since the 6th Dynasty in the Nile Valley, might be reflected in the corpus of Nubian pottery (see above). The simple equation of ‘Pan-Grave-Culture = Medjay-people’ is not exclusive, as has already been proposed before (Bietak 1966, 72–78). On the other hand, it is difficult to prove that the Pan-Grave-Culture – the only distinctive archaeological unit during the 13th Dynasty, the Second Intermediate Period and the early New Kingdom – was not called ‘Medjay’ by the contemporary Egyptians as in official documents from the time of Sobekhotep II that describe the rather inconspicuous visit of a delegation from the Medjay-region of Ausheq (Liszka 2012, 278–285). Such ‘diplomatic contacts’ are not attested for the elites of the Kerma Moyen Culture from the riverine Kerma Basin. The ethnonym Medjay, which will later turn into a profession with the basic meaning of ‘police’, rarely appears among owners of funerary stelae and their relatives (Liszka 2012, 192–193); but this, as before with the explicit use of ‘Nehsy’, is the exception. Other markers of their omnipresence are graffiti of supposedly pastoralist groups that can even be found in the temple of Karnak (van Siclen 2005, 33). All in all, it can be summarized that the Late Middle Nubian material culture is present all over Egypt, in the Nile Valley but also in the Fayum and in the Western Oases (Bietak 1966, 64–70; Näser 2013, 139–140, note 34; 2012, 82, fig. 6.1). Only the tumuli, a genuine Nubian tomb type, cannot be traced north of Deir Rifeh yet

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(Zibelius-Chen 1988, 119), even though this might constitute an accidental gap. The study of these segments of the Nile Valley population around 1700–1500 BC has intensified in the past decade. A number of sites evince a remarkable change in the funerary customs. While earlier phases are distinguished by the classic Nubian tumulus, the later phases of a number of cemeteries exhibit the use of mud-brick in the superstructure and in the construction of the tomb-chamber. It is generally accepted that such changes are somehow connected with the process of ‘Egyptianisation’. One must differentiate between a sphere of influence that was exerted by the realm of Kerma further to the north and the dispersion of certain items from the material culture of the Kerma Classique. Regarding the former, there cannot be any doubt that raids extended far into Middle Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period. The best and still most precise text suggesting this is the inscription of the mayor Sobeknakht who fought against a coalition of various Nubian groups, headed by Kush, at Elkab in the 3rd nome of Upper Egypt (Davies 2003, 52–54). The transport of the statues from, e.g., the tomb of Djefaihapi to the Eastern Necropolis in Kerma might have happened under similar conditions (see Ch. Raue). An exceptional sealed object from Elephantine can be interpreted as an organized claim on the land up to the First Cataract (Fitzenreiter 2014; von Pilgrim 2015). The southern border might have suffered more during these decades than was assumed before. The end of the cult of Heqaib was hypothetically connected with some kind of desacralisation (Davies 2005, 50, 55, note 19), destruction, and the construction of new walls (Franke 1994, 82–84); a hiatus in royal activity, e.g. on Elephantine (Polz 2007, 90–91, 113), may have also been caused by such circumstances. As mentioned in the Kamose-Texts, the intervention against the Hyksos was preceded by attacks on the sphere of interests of the Kerma kingdom (Krauss 1993, 17–29; van Siclen 2010, 355–358). It can be assumed that the First Cataract was out of the ruler of Kush’s Reach, at least during his reign. New discoveries of cemeteries and discoveries in settlements leave no doubt that this phase of military conflict with Upper Nubia provides the best quantitative proof of Nubian ethnicity all over Egypt, even though the process of acculturation or ‘Egyptianisation’ is observably simultaneous. The display of Nubian ethnicity does not seem to have been a problem, either in material culture (see below) or in depictions (Davies 2013, 53, note 11). The term ‘Medjay’ shifts during the 18th Dynasty from an ethnonym to a designation of a profession in the context of security forces, although this varies from case to case (Liszka 2012, 195–200, 226–229, 318–326, 331–338 etc). Another reason for a Nubian presence was that members of high-ranking Nubian families were taken hostage and raised at court (Zibelius-Chen 1988, 133; Säve-Söderbergh 1991, 210– 211). A first generation of prisoners of war became part of social life, too (ZibeliusChen 1988, 92–111, 133–134). The present author still values the texts from the tomb of Paheri in Elkab (Tyler/Griffith 1894, 8–9) as an example of Egyptian-Nubian family relations on the one hand, and as an illustration of accessing the Egyptian

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social stratigraphy on the other, even though this has been challenged by Liszka (2012, 195–196, 318–320). Thanks to the activities of archaeological missions in the Sudan, our knowledge of the material culture of the Kerma Culture has increased rapidly. As a side effect, the evaluation of the evidence in Egypt started to affect a number of sites. What was previously called ‘Pan-Grave-Culture’ (Bourriau 1981, 25–31) came subsequently to be called ‘Kerma people’, and the ‘disappearance of Pan-Grave-people’ became an issue in related studies. In spite of sufficient evidence for contacts, trade and conflict, no cemetery of the Kerma Classique has been found on Egyptian territory, and it is doubtful that one will ever be uncovered. Depictions in Theban tombs of the 18th Dynasty offer numerous examples of Nubians as, for example, tribute bearers of various regions (Hohlbein 2009, 146– 175; Breyer 2016, 174, fig. 11, 217–231). A prominent example for identifying Nubians in archaeology is the cemetery of hypothetical Nubian soldiers of the earlier 18th Dynasty who were buried in the former capital of the Hyksos. Recent evaluation has raised well-founded doubts (Matić 2014, 697–712). After all, the later Middle Nubian pottery from the former capital of the Hyksos attests to the presence or vicinity of Nubian groups in the 1st century after the conquest of Avaris. A lot of attention was attracted by the fine tulip beakers of the Kerma Classique Period found in Egypt at sites of regional or even superregional importance like Thebes, Memphis and Avaris. Again, many of these finds can be dated to the decades of the earlier 18th Dynasty (Bourriau 1981, 31–37) when the realm of Kerma no longer had punitive power over Egypt. Such vessels were repeatedly used to construct a presence of Kerma representatives, people (Bourriau 1991, 132) and soldiers in Egypt. As is common with other high quality import vessels, such vessels may have also been popular because of their elegance (e.g. Seyfried/Vieler/Edel 2008/3, 1902, fig. 101 QH 207/161) and made their way through other facets of Nubian Culture in Egypt, like the Pan-Grave-Culture (Brunton 1930, 4), into Lower Nubian tombs (of former Egyptian settler families?; Helmbold-Doyé/Seiler 2012, 36), as well as into Nubian and Egyptian households in Egypt. It should also be stressed that a distinct feature of the Kerma Classique, the burial on a wooden bed, did not reach Egypt (Bietak 1987, 121). Diffusionist/migration models and interpretations concerning the presence of Kerma elites (Bietak 1968, 157) do not correspond to such observations. The material culture of Late Middle Nubian presence in the Nile Valley is rather homogeneous. In Elephantine (Raue 2018, 260–262) and Edfu (Ayers/Möller 2012) there is a clear change in the inventory in the late Middle Kingdom from the 13th Dynasty on, with details changing until the earlier 18th Dynasty. There seems to be a rather limited overlap of the styles previously present, from 2350–1750 BC.4 The

4 The Pan-Grave-Culture has been described as a ‘splinter group’ of the C-Group (Liszka 2012, 551), a view that is not shared by the present author.

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development can be summarized as follows: during the 13th Dynasty the new items in the assortment occasionally use fine clays for cooking pots and, from time to time, rough clays appear as material for black-topped vessels. Some fine wares display steep, almost vertical walls (see Ch. Raue), but vessels can also have wide, basin-like shapes. Various forms of burnish-technique can be observed and are applied in almost ornamental ways (Raue 2018, 233). A wide variety of hatchings, sometimes arranged in a horizontal zone, is attested (von Pilgrim 1996, 249, fig. 105 below). The only conspicuous similarity to earlier styles is the arrangement of hatchings in friezes of triangles – but these are constantly executed in differing ways. Fine wares show a straight linear border-line of the black-topped fabrics. The rim zone is kept undecorated or is the only decorated zone (see Ch. Raue). In the course of the Second Intermediate Period, this corpus changes only gradually. New characteristics are the fine tulip beakers of the Kerma Classique and a new variety of cooking vessels with basketry impressions (see Ch. Raue). Large storage vessels with impressed rims appear in the 17th Dynasty and are still attested in the early decades on Elephantine as well as at sites like Deir el-Ballas on the Egyptian side (Lacovara 1990, 54–55, fig. 4.1.1). The fabrics attest to anorganic fine clay and surface treatments for fine tableware as well as for cooking vessels. The final phase omits fine Kerma wares, keeps the basketry impressed cooking pots and displays the continuity of the large variety of hatchings in the middle and later 18th Dynasty (Raue 2017). Rare examples attest to restricted Nubian vessels. It is noteworthy that a surprisingly small number of finds, e.g. from Elephantine, display continuity with the Nubian pottery of the 12th Dynasty far into the Second Intermediate Period. A wide-spread product on Elephantine (and meanwhile attested in Edfu and Thebes) combines Egyptian technology and colour schemes with contemporary Nubian incised decoration, without attempting to reproduce features of the Kerma Culture that still made use of impressed comb-decorations. Similar phenomena of hybridization can be observed at a couple of other sites (Raue 2018, 250–253; e.g. Peet 1914, pl. XXIX.B13). Fine wares and simple wares are present in settlements and cemeteries. Just a small group of vessels are attested either only in the cemeteries (four-horn-bowls, Gatto/Gallorini/Roma 2012, 99, fig. 9.2, 100, fig. 11) or just in the settlements (vat-like large containers, see above). The material from Egyptian settlements is not suited to distinguish horizons of ‘Pan-Grave’ or Kerma Culture and therefore may be a mirror of a society that is in conflict with the ‘wretched Kush’, installing a new system in Lower Nubia and supported by Medjay-units of various provenances. It matters much that the Medjayregions of Ibehat, Ausheq and Webatsepet have not been successfully identified with certainty, and therefore the tertium comparationis for Nubian sites from Egypt and from Nubia is missing. Of special interest are Nubian fabrics from Egypt, for example from Tell el-Daba (Forstner-Müller/Rose 2012, 189, fig. 21, 193, fig. 26), that do not have any proper correlation with the Nubian sites of Lower and Upper Nubia, and that may be considered as local independent developments.

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On the other hand, it may not be appropriate to connect technical inventions, like cooking pots that were shaped in basketry, with certain political units. Nubian pottery is found in Egypt most often from periods of serious conflicts with the realm of Kerma, including the time of Thutmose III (e.g. Aston 2012, 169–170). Since such fabrics are again attested in Avaris, the Ahmoside/Thutmoside Memphis (Bourriau 2012, 149–158), from all of the oases and also from the material culture of Nubian units in Egyptian service, e.g. in Deir el-Ballas (Lacovara 1990, 54–55, fig. 4.1.4– 5), a cultural affiliation to the capital of Kerma and its culture (Bourriau 1991, 136, 181, 32) is certainly doubtful. For this reason, the present author prefers the term ‘Late Middle Nubian Horizon’, since the parallels of the 13th Dynasty reach down to the realm of Kerma, but without their distinctive fine wares, and since the end of this development still bears most characteristics of the early stages of the Late Middle Nubian Horizon of the later 13th Dynasty, but without the fine wares of the Kerma Cultures. This allows the retention of regional variations, the rough wares of this style as they have been found, e.g., in the Eastern Delta of Egypt (see above), in the oases (Manassa 2012, 134–137) and the Fayum (e.g. Sliwa 1992, 179, 183), and makes it possible to retain the identity of certain distinct features as they are preserved in Upper Egyptian necropoleis of the 17th and earlier 18th Dynasty. Especially the Second Intermediate Period and the first half of the 18th Dynasty are periods in which the display of Nubian ethnicity was omnipresent. We may add to these observations that in settlements like Elephantine and others no ‘Nubian quarters’ can be isolated and that, as was previously the case, always complete sets of vessels (fine wares, cooking vessels etc.) are attested. In this time, contrary to the Middle Kingdom, the era of conflict with Nubian neighbours is accompanied by a strong Nubian presence in the material culture. In Upper Egypt, Nubian pottery is used in the same way as the figurines with a ‘Nubian’ appearance or certain red sea shells: from Aniba to Kahun, Egyptians and Nubians take advantage of this segment of the contemporaneous material culture (e.g. Steindorff 1937, 85–86; Szpakowska 2008, 88–89). The same holds true on Elephantine for the urban sanctuary, where Egyptians and Nubians probably both attended the cult of Satet. On the other hand, typical objects of Nubian ethnicity, like mother-of-pearl bracelets (Bietak 1968, pl. 8 P16), have not been discovered in Egyptian urban contexts. The mobile component of this development leads to centres like Kerma (see Ch. Bonnet) and to distant regions further upstream, e.g., to the Fourth Cataract (see Ch. Cedro/Drzewieczki) and neighbouring regions like the Mokram-Group in the Atbai (see Ch. Manzo). The seasonal movements of mobile groups were described some time ago by Karim Sadr (1991, 95–108). Among various facets, the ‘Pan-GraveCulture’ seems to represent a variant with stronger nomadic cultural traits, as the rare examples of settlements especially illustrate (Brunton 1927, pl. VII; 1930, 3–7 pls. X, XI), while the majority of Nubian populations based in the Egyptian Nile Valley seem to have adapted to a sedentary lifestyle in the cities.

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The End of Nubian Pottery in Egypt The decades during which Nubian pottery as an indicator of Nubian presence fades out of the archaeological dataset can be fixed at around 1400 BC. As of yet, there have been no reports on Nubian pottery from excavations in Malqatta, Tell el-Amarna or Piramesse. Only in the far south do contexts with Nubian pottery predate the middle of the 19th Dynasty around 1250 BC (see below). Pottery as a factor for recognizing ethnic groups is obviously outruled. Also, other object categories, for example Nubian leatherwork (see Ch. Skinner/Veldmeijer), are replaced by Egyptian industrial products like textiles. It has to be added that, likewise, constituents of the Nile Valley population, like the Libyans of the late 2nd millennium BC, cannot be identified by pottery finds in Egypt. On the other hand, these are the decades with strong evidence for inhabitants of the Nile Valley with Nubian ancestry who rose through the ranks of Egyptian society. The most famous case is, of course, Maiherperi, a member of Nubian nobility who was raised at the court of Thutmose III together with the crown prince Amenhotep; he was favoured by king Amenhotep II and thus buried in the Valley of the Kings. (Lakomy 2016). It seems to have been possible to attain high prestige at court and to use the Egyptian technique of commemorating this achievement in inscriptions, decorated tombs and votive objects (Liszka 2012, 218–220). As in the earlier part of the New Kingdom, it remains difficult to determine whether a Nubian/Medjay-ethnicity is paired with the security-personnel of the Medjay-corps (Darnell 2003, 79–89). Persons with Nubian ancestry belonged undoubtedly to the scenario of the late 2nd millennium in the Egyptian Nile Valley, as documents of the 20th Dynasty prove (e.g. Gardiner 1941, pl. 21/21A A45.24) and depictions of festivities underline (Vercoutter 1976a, 81, fig. 54). At that time, personal names like Panehsi no longer indicated a different ethnicity, and very rarely did black colour in wall decoration remind the viewer of Nubian ancestry (e.g. Zivie 1990, 77–78, fig. 36). Recent studies stressed that burial places may point to hometowns (Auenmüller 2014, 182–186) and therefore Nakhtmin, who had a tomb in Lower Nubian Dehmit and was an administrator of the queen, can be addressed as Nubian (Raue 1999, 221–223; see Ch. Spence). The loss of the easiest ‘Leitfossil’ can therefore not be taken as proof of adjusting the ethnic variations within the Egyptian part of the Nile Valley: in the Theban tomb of the viceroy Huy in the reign of Tutankhamun, around 1330 BC, the Nubian Hekanefer is depicted as an ‘African’ person, wearing colourful, striking costume (while the same Major of Aniba depicts himself in his rock-cut tomb in Nubia in a classic-Egyptian mode5). The use of such public stages by deputies of the southern neighbours is also attested in the Amarna Period, with deputies of ‘Punt’ represent-

5 Fitzenreiter 2004, 169–193; Gnirs 2013, 681–682; Vercoutter 1976a, 61, fig. 25.

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ing distant regions at court (Davies 1905, 41, pl. XXXVII, XL). Parallel to this, the interest in other Upper Nubian peculiarities, like scarifications, evoked the interest of artists and their employers around 1300 BC (Lohwasser 2012, 545; Vercoutter 1976a, 66, fig. 33, 85–87, fig. 62–63). In the end, even the royals of the New Kingdom were attracted to Nubian costumes (Fischer 1961, 74–75). Again, the ecological settings seem to have left their mark on the administration of Upper Egypt: as the name of the 1st Nome (tA-stj ) alludes to Nubians in the early 3rd millennium BC, it is also in the New Kingdom that the authority of the viceroy of Nubia covers not only Lower and Upper Nubia but also the Egyptian Nile Valley south of the Thebais, as well as the adjacent deserts (Morkot 2013, 928–929). These last testimonies of administering Nubian affairs on Egyptian soil intriguingly confirm the border of Nubian finds from earlier periods – the majority of the Nubian pottery from the 3rd millennium is found south of Elkab. The last phase of Late Middle Nubian presence in the Egyptian Nile Valley can be traced on Elephantine Island (Raue 2017). After 1450 BC there is no evidence for tulip beakers. Simple black-topped wares continue for a while, as do the simple cooking vessels with basketry impressions. Impressed decoration cannot be found any more, but the simple wares with incised hatching variations continue for about one more century. Without the variations of rim shapes, this very last series of hatching decorations are combined with fabrics that use organically tempered clays and partially careful burnish techniques. No innovations can be observed, and all motifs are known from the beginning of the 18th Dynasty and earlier.

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III 1st Millennium BC–2nd Millennium AD

Derek Anthony Welsby

Settlements of the Early Kushite Period The Survival of New Kingdom Settlements The rise of the Kushite state, which by the 720s BC dominated the Nile Valley at least from the region a little to the north of Khartoum to the Mediterranean, is imperfectly understood.1 We neither know precisely how the state formed nor when this happened. In the early 11th century BC Egypt still appears to have been in control of the Nile Valley as far upstream as the Fourth Cataract. Between then and the mid8th century BC the Kushites established themselves as the ruling group in the Middle Nile. The details of the development of the Kushite state are not the subject of this article, but a lack of knowledge about the formation of the state does impact on an assessment of the nature of settlements that existed at this time. A number of Egyptian towns survived into the 11th century BC, but what happened to them after the withdrawal of the colonial administration is uncertain. Many of them were important urban centres in the early Kushite Period,2 but whether these were survivors from the Egyptian Period, or new foundations on the sites of abandoned urban complexes, is unclear. Amara West is unusual as it is one of the very few pharaonic towns that appear to have failed. It was a late insertion into an already highly urbanised landscape and was presumably founded for political reasons. It was thus a more ‘artificial’ town than most in the region and, when the political raison d’être was removed, it ceased to be viable. People were living there in the early Kushite Period, but the level of activity appears to have been greatly reduced and the town was totally abandoned by the later Kushite Period (see below). Many sites provide no evidence one way or the other. The settlements of any period at Sedeinga and Soleb have not been located apart from the temples at these locations, and the same may be said of the settlement at Dokki Gel, where the religious complex stands in isolation. At Sanam Abu Dom there is very little evidence for any pharaonic settlement. At Sai there is a cemetery of the Napatan Period, but in the part of the pharaonic town he excavated, Vercoutter found evidence indicating a long period of disuse after the New Kingdom structures were abandoned and before the construction of Meroitic buildings (Vercoutter 1958, 158). The absence of an earlier Kushite cemetery at Soleb may suggest that the temple, perhaps already in ruins by this time, ceased to be a focus of settlement. The location of the later Kushite occupation associated with the cemetery of that date is unknown. In the Napatan Period the Soleb temple was stripped of much of its statuary, which

1 For a detailed discussion of the relevant data see Török 2009, 285 ff. 2 Throughout this article the term Napatan is used to refer to the period from the first appearance of the Kushite state until the removal of the royal burial ground to Meroe in the 3rd century BC. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-025

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was carted off to embellish the main Kushite religious complex at Jebel Barkal, a process perhaps begun by Piye. At Sesebi it may have been the large-scale excavation of the pharaonic town, with the stripping of its upper levels, which resulted in the obliteration of more ephemeral traces left by later occupation. Napatan Period pottery was found in some quantity on the 1930s spoil heaps (Edwards 2012, 91), and more recent work on the site has added significantly to the corpus, with material found throughout the intra-mural area and in the New Kingdom cemeteries. Much of the pottery appears to be contemporary with the Kushite control of Egypt, although some predates that time: there is very little later Napatan material (Spence et al. 2011, 37–38; 2009, 42 and pl. 6). Among the pottery is a bread cone (Spence et al. 2009, 42) suggesting the presence of a temple. At Kawa there were important New Kingdom and early Kushite towns. Nevertheless, in the current state of research it remains unclear whether one followed on from the other without any interruption. Certainly the Kushite occupation well precedes the period of Taharqo’s building programme between 690 and 664 BC (Welsby 2017). If there was any abandonment of the town, it must have been short lived, and the nature and function of the town in the intervening period may have been very different than what it had been before, and that it was to become again afterwards. It has been suggested that Kawa was one of the capitals of independent states whose unification contributed to the rapid expansion of the Kushite realm (Török 2004, 159). Qasr Ibrim stands out as a new foundation in the very late New Kingdom or soon thereafter, perhaps reflecting a shift by a pre-existing population to a more readily defensible position at this time of increased insecurity. It was not a Kushite foundation, but was incorporated into the Kushite state as it expanded northwards.

Settlement Patterns By around 720 BC the southernmost substantial Kushite settlement known lay at Meroe, and the northernmost ‘Kushite’ settlements were in the Egyptian Delta. At that time the Nile Valley, perhaps augmented by cross-desert routes such as the Maheila and Korosko Roads, will have been of vital strategic importance, and its control throughout its length was imperative, apart perhaps from the reach between Meroe and Jebel Barkal. In this context, the settlement pattern observable on the ground must be far from complete (Fig. 1).3 The main route from Meroe to Jebel Barkal was through the Bayuda Desert. It is recorded in the epigraphic sources and a waypoint along the route is known – the fort at Fura Wells – although the exact date of this installation is uncertain. From Jebel Barkal the riverine route is the most

3 In this article, only those areas controlled by the Kushites south of the First Cataract are considered.

Settlements of the Early Kushite Period

Fig. 1: Location of the sites mentioned in the text.

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likely to have been used, although there is the possibility of a desert crossing from Barkal to Kawa along the Maheila Road. Evidence for its use at this time is wanting; the earliest indication of use dates from the later Kushite Period (Reinold 2008, 39, pl. II). Possibly downstream from Barkal is the site of Tare, with its temple of Bastet recorded in inscriptions, but not located on the ground (Török 1997a, 230–231). Another settlement visited during the kings’ coronation journey was Krtn – IrikeAmanote stayed in his palace there – perhaps to be identified with Korti at the mouth of the Wadi Muqaddam. To these may be added Soniyat, where there is a temple of Napatan date, although no associated settlement has been discovered (Żurawski 2005).4 These are the only major settlements for which we have any evidence before Kawa. A number of small occupation sites have been located, including a few on the largely defunct eastern channels of the Nile, but the character of their occupation is still unknown (Welsby 2001b, 591–2, fig. 14.8). From Kawa northwards there may potentially have been major settlements at Tabo, Kerma/Dokki Gel, Tombos, Sesebi, Soleb, Sedeinga and Sai. Between Sai and Aswan there is a dearth of settlement evidence from this period. Taharqo built a temple within the Egyptian fortress at Buhen, and another on the hilltop at Qasr Ibrim, apparently forming part of a settlement within the pre-Kushite fortifications (Rose 2011, 6–7). At Gezira Dabarossa, substantial mud-brick walls were found beneath the church, and two stone blocks bearing the cartouche of Taharqo were reused in the church (Vewers 1962, 33); also, at Faras blocks were reused in Christian buildings (Karkowski 1981, 64 f., 341 ff.). These may constitute evidence of a Napatan temple at each of these sites, but may also be the result of the transport of blocks for building purposes from Buhen or elsewhere. Taharqo may also have restored the temple of Dedwen at Semna, and then built a new temple of mud-brick with stone columns and other architectural elements there, originally roofed over with stout timber beams, later replaced by a Nubian vaulted roof (Dunham/Janssen 1960, 12). While evidence for the settlements themselves is sparse, the settlement pattern is greatly augmented by the known locations of cemeteries. If it is correct to assume that cemeteries were closely associated with settlements, their respective locations are a priori evidence for the presence of settlements close by. Furthermore, the importance of the unknown settlement can to some extent be gauged by the richness of burials in its associated cemetery. Such data has been usefully gathered together by Williams, who lists all sites along the Nile where Napatan graves have been recorded (Williams 1990, Tab. 12). Most of the cemeteries are small, but graves are distributed along the Nile Valley, with concentrations north of the Third Cataract of over 30 graves being noted at Faras, Argin, Matuga, Mirgissa, Kaganarti, Amara

4 The date of the temples at Hugeir and Usli within the Kushite Period remains uncertain (Bárta et al. 2013; Żurawski 2003, 358–9).

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West, Missiminia and Sai, to which might now be added Aniba.5 Of these the most extensive cemeteries are at Kaganarti (250 graves) and Missiminia (140 graves) (Vila 1980). However, it should be noted that the excavators included the cemetery at Kaganarti among their pharaonic sites (Mills/Nordström 1966, 11). The absence of substantial settlements in Lower Nubia has led to a general acceptance that the region was largely depopulated, acting, after the reign of Tanutamani, as a buffer zone (e.g. Adams 1977, 345). Török, however, has noted continuity in toponyms from the New Kingdom onwards, which implies some continuity of settlement. His suggestion that the settlements were of a special character – military posts or caravan stations – may be correct, but the idea that the inhabitants of these sites were not buried locally (Török 1997a, 356) makes no sense. A rarity of early Kushite sites may be in part a reflection of the changing political orientation of the region – firmly Kushite up to the mid-7th century BC and oscillating between Kushite, Saite, Persian and Ptolemaic control for much of the rest of the 1st millennium BC. The absence of evidence for extensive occupation at Faras is noteworthy, given that this locality had a sizeable population during most other periods over the last several thousand years. The unstable nature of this region is reflected in the presence of new fortifications at Dorginarti, possibly of Saite origin (Heidorn 1991), and Jebel Sahaba, perhaps a Napatan military installation (Säve-Söderbergh/Troy 1991, 319 ff.; Welsby 2005). The Nile Valley between Meroe and Jebel Barkal may not have been of strategic importance. However, if the Kushites utilised the Korosko Road, which leaves the Nile in the vicinity of present-day Abu Hamed, re-joining the Nile far downstream at Korosko, control would have been important. Although many New Kingdom inscriptions are known along this route, no Kushite Period inscriptions have been noted. Until recently there was virtually no indication of a Kushite presence in the entire reach. However, new excavations have offered a tantalising glimpse of what may have been there in the past. Recent discoveries hint at the presence of high status individuals and installations that cannot have existed in a vacuum. The first of these discoveries was of a granite pyramid near et-Tereif about 70 km upstream of Jebel Barkal. This is a prestigious tomb monument with an offering chapel, and it clearly covered a rich burial, as is partly suggested by the interest shown in it by the robbers. However, notwithstanding their activities, they missed a number of udjat eyes, three covered in gold leaf, a large oval gold bead and four gold rings; the closest parallels to these come from the tomb of the king of Kush and pharaoh of Egypt, Shabaqo, at el-Kurru (Welsby Sjöström 2010). Several other parallels to the rings come from royal burials at Nuri. The individual buried in this grave cannot have been expected to live in a

5 Recent work on material excavated last century in Cemetery S/SA at Aniba, kindly provided in advance of publication by Dr. Jana Helmbold-Doyé, suggests a sizeable occupation in the vicinity in the Napatan Period (see Helmbold-Doyé/Seiler 2019).

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rude grass hut in an insignificant hamlet, but must have resided in an important urban complex with religious and probably administrative buildings, though no trace of such has been found. Other Napatan graves have been found in the Fourth Cataract on both sides of the river (e.g. Paner/Pudło 2010, 140; Welsby 2003 − site NE-36-F/ 3-O-12, 30 − site NE-36-F/4-F-74) and a little upstream on the Island of Mograt (Weschenfelder 2015). The presence of an important settlement may also be suggested by the discovery of an early Kushite grave in what became a very rich later Kushite cemetery at Berber (Mahmoud Suliman, pers. comm.). A little downstream at Dangeil, the discovery of what must be a small part of a cache of royal statues directly comparable to those found at Jebel Barkal and Dokki Gel (Anderson/Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 2009) makes the presence here of a (as yet undiscovered) temple certain. All these discoveries were totally unexpected and there is no reason to suppose that the remaining large gaps in our knowledge of early Kushite settlement patterns in this region will not be filled by further discoveries.

The Island of Meroe The earliest evidence for occupation at Meroe comes from the excavations of Peter Shinnie who found, at the lowest level of his over 12 m deep trench on the north mound, remains of a timber structure radiocarbon dated to around 1000 BC (Shinnie/Bradley 1980, 313 – 1030 bc ± 140). Whether these remains can be described as early Kushite or Pre-Kushite is uncertain; mud-brick buildings post-dated, or were contemporary with, the timber structure. Based on the evidence from the west and south cemeteries a few kilometres to the east it is clear that Meroe was within the Kushite cultural sphere by the mid-8th century BC, and under Kushite political control (see Török 1997b, 15 ff.; 2009, 313–314). Much more substantial buildings on the site are attested from the reign of Anlamani onwards, in the form of stone blocks bearing royal names – a temple must already have existed by the second half of the 7th century BC (Török 1997b, 28, fig. 124). Much of the centre of the Napatan town may have been swept away in the early Meroitic Period, with the construction of the royal enclosure and new Amun temple. Evidence for earlier Kushite occupation elsewhere is sparse. A Napatan settlement with occupation extending into the early Meroitic Period has been found recently, close to Meroe (Wolf et al. 2009), and Napatan graves were found at elKadada, but no associated settlement was noted (Geus 1983, 20). There is the possibility that the religious complex at Musawwarat es-Sufra was founded towards the end of this period, but the evidence is far from clear (Näser 2011). It has been suggested that the exploitation and control of the Keraba through the construction of hafirs may date to the later Napatan Period (Scheibner 2004), but none of the Kushite settlements in the region can be dated back so early (for Naqa see Wildung/

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Kroeper 2016, 42) although very little archaeological work on many of these sites has been undertaken.

South of the Nile Confluence Upstream of the confluence of the White and Blue Niles early Kushite occupation is largely unknown. A sphinx of Aspelta was found at Defeia a few kilometres to the south-east of Khartoum (Vercoutter 1961), and part of the granite base of a statue of the same king was found close by at Umm Dom (el-Sadig 2002), while the uninscribed granite base (length 655 mm, width 350 mm, height 180 mm) of another striding statue, similar in form to that of Anlamani from Dokki Gel, has been noted within the village of Eilafun (Welsby 1999, 669). These all lay between 10 km and 26 km upstream from Khartoum on the east bank of the Blue Nile. Also, possibly of a similar date is part of a white sandstone Hathor-head capital found reused as the base of the pulpit in Church B at Soba-East, and a sphinx made of ferruginous sandstone (Welsby/Daniels 1991, 296–298, pl. 22). These substantial objects may come from a Kushite monumental complex in the vicinity, but this is far from certain. The case of the Soba ram is salutary: this object had certainly been brought from the later Kushite temple at el-Hassa 170 km to the north (Rondot 2006). The other objects may likewise have been moved, in the later Kushite or medieval periods. A gold object very similar to those found in the granite pyramid at the Fourth Cataract was found at el-Geteina on the White Nile, 80 km upstream of Khartoum. Other broadly contemporary finds have been made in that area (Eisa 1999, 75, pl. 37). Individual objects of early Kushite date have come from Sennar and Jebel Moya. None of these artefacts are sufficient evidence to suggest a Kushite presence in the Gezira and adjacent regions.

Minor Settlements along the Nile If the major centres often remain invisible to us, smaller settlements are virtually unknown: very few villages were found in the Fourth Cataract. On the right bank of the river on the north side of the Wadi Umm Rahau, about 2 km from the Nile, was an extensive settlement (HP736) with a number of structures, some isolated, others forming tight concentrations (Fig. 2)6 (Kołosowska/Mahmoud el-Tayeb 2012). The individual units were generally small; oval at 3.2 × 2.3 m, 2.4 × 1.8 m and 1.6 × 1.4 m for example, or circular 2.7 m, 2.5 m, 2.4 m, 1.9 m etc. in diameter. Floors were of silt and lime, compacted silt and occasionally stone slabs. Much occupa-

6 This photograph was kindly provided by Dr. Henryk Paner.

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Fig. 2: Settlement features at Wadi Umm Rahau (HP736) (Kite photo: Adam Kamrowski and Marcin Szmit).

tion debris was found in and around these structures – one had a build-up within of 400 mm. There was abundant pottery and many grinding stones and rubbers, and hearths were also found within some of the structures. The highest surviving section of wall stood to nine courses, over 600 mm high. All walls were of a single row of slabs bonded in mud mortar. The site has been radiocarbon dated to between 1300–810 BC, and much of the pottery has parallels in earlier Napatan contexts. Across the river at Site NE-36-F/4-L-69, 28 small circular or slightly oval structures of very similar construction style have been noted, some freestanding but many abutting, forming linear arrangements (Fig. 3). The largest is 2.57 × 2.47 m, the smallest 1 × 0.97 m, and they attain a maximum height of 460 mm. Although the structural similarities are clear, this site was not a settlement. Little occupation material was recovered – a few grinding bases, a little pottery and bone – many of the structures were too small to have been used as dwellings: They had no entrances, and a few were infilled with rubble to form solid platforms (Welsby 2006, 9–10). These structures are presumably storage facilities, here grouped together and separate from the settlement or perhaps forming a communal storage facility serving a number of households scattered across the landscape. At Wadi Umm Rahau, it is clear that the same construction techniques and similar ground plans were being used, but the structures were scaled up to make them usable as dwellings. Agglom-

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Fig. 3: Storage facility at site NE-36-F/4-L-69 (Photo: SARS AKS Archive).

erations of large circular structures were noted close by at sites NE-36-F/4-L-340 and NE-36-F/4-L-343. The users of these structures appeared to have been aceramic, and their date is uncertain (Welsby 2006, 8–9). Site NE-36-F/3-Q-27, also on the left bank, was of a very different character. It consisted of a central bowl-like depression 5–6 m across and up to 1 m deep surrounded by about 50 large post-holes 250–300 mm in diameter (Fig. 4, Fig. 5). Almost all the associated pottery was wheel-made with a preponderance of amphora rims. The excavators suggested, on account of the pottery assemblage, that the site had a special function (Wolf/Nowotnick 2005, 25, fig. 1). Detailed surveys between Tombos and Sesebi found very little evidence for Napatan occupation: Only a small amount of pottery was observed in a few areas, of which that from Hannek on the west bank is the most interesting. Here, at site HNK003, amongst the sherds may have been some bread moulds (Edwards 2012, 91), a type of vessel associated with temple complexes. In the region of the Second Cataract, apart from within the Egyptian fortresses, Napatan sites were not noted at all on the west bank as is reflected in the titles of two of the three volumes recently published on this work (Adams 2004; Nordström 2014). Likewise, no volume on this period is to be found amongst the reports of the Scandinavian Joint Expedition on the east bank.

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Fig. 4: A hut at site NE-36-F/3-Q-27 near the Fourth Cataract.

Fig. 5: Hut and associated post-holes at site NE-36-F/3-Q-27 (Photo: SARS AKS Archive).

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Outside the Nile Valley Evidence for a Kushite presence outside the Nile Valley, except in the Keraba, is almost non-existent. In the Wadi Howar, 108 km from the Nile, lies the fort at Gala Abu Ahmed. Certainly occupied in the early Kushite Period, radiocarbon dates suggest that it may actually have been constructed during the New Kingdom (Jesse 2013, 344) although the rather similar installation at Fura Wells cannot have any Egyptian connections. If Gala Abu Ahmed was built in the late New Kingdom and occupied intensively between 1100 and 900 BC, then, according to the present state of our knowledge, there appears to have been a major military installation presumably reflecting the power and resources of a powerful political entity for which there is no clear evidence in the adjacent Nile Valley. Whatever its date, the site is not a settlement, nor is it likely to be guarding a route to an area of Kushite settlement further to the west. The remains at el-Meragh are rather different (Kendall 2007). Here there is a settlement 60 km from the Nile in the Wadi Muqaddam. While some of the buildings suggest an official function, it is not a fort, and no defensive installations were noted. It is either an administrative centre for this part of the Kushite state in the wadi, or it is set on a cross-desert route, but where to is uncertain. Today it lies alongside the pre-tarmac road route from Kareima via Korti to Khartoum, the latter of which was not a major centre in the Kushite Period as far as we know. If permanent settlements of whatever size are difficult to find in the archaeological record, the presence of the more mobile component of the Kushite population can hardly be documented at all. We know that in the early Kushite Period there was contact with non-riverine tribes – some of whom may have been under Kushite control on occasion – but archaeologically they are invisible.

The Nature of Early Kushite Settlements Major centres: Any detailed discussion of early Kushite settlements is problematic. Few sites are known in the first place, and within those that are, in almost every case, the early Kushite levels and structures lie deeply buried by later Kushite remains and in some cases by those of much later periods. Qasr Ibrim:7 The earliest structural evidence for occupation on the hilltop comes from the defensive wall and gateway dated either to the very end of the New Kingdom occupation of the region, c. 1070 BC, or soon thereafter. These installations underwent a long series of modifications, among them the replacement of the gateway with a substantial circular stone tower about 20 m in diameter. This tower predated the construction of Taharqo’s temple, which itself overlay three phases of

7 All the evidence is usefully summarised by Rose 2008.

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buildings, two with rectilinear mud-brick structures and stone thresholds. Elsewhere the earliest features were post-holes. After a deposit of dust formed there was then a sequence of rather insubstantial rectilinear mud-brick, and mud-brick and stone, structures that show the marks of numerous repairs and modifications. Associated with these was a storage and processing area with large ceramic jars and grinding equipment: one of the pottery vessels was dated to the late Third Intermediate Period or earlier 25th Dynasty. An adjacent open area may have been associated with butchery, while the presence of bread cones is suggestive of a temple nearby. Painted wall plaster in this area may be from a funerary context rather than being associated with buildings. The latest structure in this area was a shrine inserted amongst the domestic structures which remained in use. Amara West: During the 1930s excavations some Post-New Kingdom features on the site were categorised as ‘squatter occupation’ and dated to the ‘25th Dynasty’, which consisted in particular of large numbers of storage bins (see Spencer 1997, 219). Elsewhere some structures that may be of similar date (Spencer 2009, 57) have been noted, but as Napatan pottery remains extremely rare, secure evidence for a Napatan settlement here is wanting. Domestic wares from the site of the temple have been advanced as evidence that their use dates to after the abandonment of the temple as a place of worship (Spencer 2002, 14). The presence of Napatan Period graves close by (Spencer 2009, 59; Spencer 2002, 4 ff.) does not necessarily indicate the presence of a settlement on the site of the Pharaonic town. The status of the town and its cemeteries may have made it a focus for burials of individuals residing elsewhere long after its abandonment. Post-New Kingdom burials continued in Cemeteries C and D at least until the 8th century BC (Binder 2017). Sai: Settlement remains have not been found so far but the extensive cemetery (Geus 2006, 102) indicates occupation of the site, which was of considerable importance from the Kerma to Ottoman Periods; this importance it presumably also attained in the Napatan Period. Graves of the period between the end of the New Kingdom and the early Kushite Period have also been noted (Thill 2007). Sedeinga: Architectural stone elements of Taharqo, found reused in the tomb of Pyramid W T 1 and elsewhere on the site presumably come from some monumental building or from repairs/modification to the Temple of Tiye (Francigny et al. 2014, 43). The Napatan cemetery has been located, but the town like its New Kingdom predecessor has not. Sesebi: The only ‘structural’ remains of the Napatan settlement may be the deep pits found across the site. In the south-east corner of the Egyptian town were elements of three periods of building, the latest of which, a substantial building of mud-brick, utilised an inscribed block bearing the name of Sety I as a threshold (Fairman 1938, 152–3, pl. IX.2). It has been suggested that it could be of Napatan date, but was cleared by the 1930s excavators and not recorded in any detail. Bread cone fragments possibly of this date may indicate that the Pharaonic temple remained in use, or was brought back into use, at this time (Spence et al. 2011, 38).

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Tombos: Occupation here is confirmed by the presence of two cemeteries.8 The nature of the associated settlement is totally unknown, but one of its functions may have been to house the workers and administrators tasked with overseeing the quarries, which were certainly used at this time (for the use of the quarries see Edwards 2012, 90, 292–293, 300). Kerma/Dokki Gel: The New Kingdom religious complex at Dokki Gel, itself perhaps occupying an earlier Kerma Period complex, retained its importance in the Napatan Period. There is very limited evidence for early Napatan buildings, apart from a few blocks bearing the names of Shabaqo and bark stands reminiscent of those set up by Pi(ankh)y and Taharqo at Jebel Barkal. It was perhaps Irike-Amanote in the later 5th century BC who built a substantial temple, which may have remained in use into the 1st century BC; others were rebuilt at the same time (Bonnet 1999b, 71, vi; Bonnet/Valbelle 2005, 64). The highly unusual circular shrine, related to a complex founded in the early New Kingdom or perhaps towards the end of the Kerma Classique, along with two shrines of oval shape, were constructed before the early 6th century and restored by Aspelta (Bonnet 2009, 15; 2015, 195). It appears that the New Kingdom defensive wall to the west of the temples was progressively abandoned between 1000 BC and the later 8th century BC. It was considered by the excavators to have been completely erased in the reign of Aspelta, being subsequently overlain by an extensive production complex developed to provide offerings for the temples (Bonnet 2008, 80; 2011b, 23). No domestic activity has been noted in the vicinity, but it is known that a very extensive settlement existed stretching several hundred metres to the north of the temples. The date and nature of this occupation are largely unknown. The Napatan settlement may well have been in this area. Napatan occupation is also known over 600 m to the west of the Kerma Period town, where two Napatan buildings and a pottery workshop, spaced over a distance of about 200 m, were excavated among the houses of the modern town (Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 1992). Very little was found of Building 2, which had 1 m thick mud-brick walls. Building 1, which itself overlay an earlier substantial structure, was of two periods (Etat I and II–III), the later structure substantially modified (Etat III). Period I was a roughly square building, 13.9 × 12.5 m, of ten rooms, many with pottery vessels set into the floor, and a large adjoining room or courtyard containing bread ovens. It was built throughout of mud-bricks 400 × 180 × 95 mm in size. A circular mud-brick building and rectilinear walls lay a little to the east, and bits of walling of adjacent buildings survived. In Period II the core of the building was shifted to the east, but the walls of the space containing the bread ovens were retained and new ovens built. The building now had nine main rooms, one of which contained a staircase, and another staircase was also provided. A new circular structure was built immediately to the east. The second phase in this structure saw a strengthening of most walls by in-

8 Edwards 2012, 91; Smith 2007a; 2007b; 2008.

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creasing their width, in some cases substantially, and the extension of the building a little to the north with a new wall cutting across the bread oven area. One bread oven was provided. These buildings were considered to be residences of administrators (Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 1992, 103). The pottery workshop consists of a circular kiln, large pits for the extraction of earth, and dwellings. The earliest is a mud-brick structure of at least three rooms with walls one header thick – 300 mm in thickness. It was succeeded by three phases of huts of post-hole construction, each 4.2 m in diameter. The site is dated from the second half of the 6th century until the end of the 5th century BC (Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 1992, 85, fig. 6). Cemeteries to the south of, and over, the Kerma Period town9 indicate a substantial population in the area during the Napatan Period, perhaps living in a number of dispersed settlements rather than in a single massive urban complex. Tabo: The large temple on the site, reusing many architectural elements from earlier New Kingdom temples that must have existed here, was presumably built by Taharqo – it is almost identical to that certainly built by him at Kawa and that at Sanam Abu Dom. A large palatial building appears to have been associated with it (Bonnet 2011a, 288). Both remained in use into the later Kushite Period, indicating the longevity of the Kushite town, which, if the Meroitic buildings are a guide, must have prospered. To the west of the temple and after its construction, many tombs with pyramids were constructed. These were demolished in the Meroitic Period and were replaced by bakeries (Bonnet 1999a, 3). Kawa: Only at Kawa are extensive areas of an earlier Kushite town available for study. There is no reason to suspect that Kawa was unusual in a Kushite context, but there is no way to prove that the nature of the town is typical. The earlier Kushite town covers an area in excess of 35ha and extended to the north and south of the temple built by Tutankhamun in the 14th century BC. By the end of the 8th century BC there may have been at least two temples in the town, one associated with the cult of Amun under Alara, perhaps based in the extant New Kingdom temple, and the other from which the columns inscribed with the names of Shabaqo came. Another temple, built of sandstone, lay 2 m below the level of Taharqo’s temple. This was believed by one of the excavators to have still been standing during Taharqo’s reign (Kirwan 1955, 226), but the evidence for its date of construction, use and abandonment or demolition are uncertain. It is not known which of these may have been the temple observed by Taharqo as ‘built of brick, but that its sandhill had reached to its roof, it having been covered over with earth at a time of year when one feared the occurrence of rainfall’ (MacAdam 1949, 15). Recent excavations elsewhere at the site also offer a glimpse of the earliest Kushite town. The eastern wall of the temenos is pierced by a gateway. In its earliest monumental phase the gate passage was lined with well-dressed white sandstone

9 Bonnet 1978; 1999a, 4; Bonnet/Valbelle 2005, 40.

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Fig. 6: Early Kushite mud-brick building A2 at Kawa probably dating to the reign of Taharqo who built the adjacent shrine.

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blocks and the roadway paved in large blocks of the same material. The material and quality of construction suggest that this was a component of the construction programme associated with Taharqo’s temple. This gateway was immediately preceded by one built using stout timber uprights. Beneath this level, 1.5 m of stratigraphy was investigated containing innumerable deposits. Excavations were halted on a solid earth surface pierced by small post-holes. Throughout all these deposits the pottery was of Kushite type. At the edge of the town, 740 m to the south, the shrine built by Taharqo and the associated building (A2 – Fig. 6) overlay a large structure built of mud-brick of two distinct phases. The architecture and constructional techniques used in the first phase building (Fig. 7) owe little to New Kingdom architectural practices but are clearly closely related to those used during the Kerma Period, well known from Kerma itself.10 The walls of the building are thin, strengthened by small buttresses at intervals, and delimit both rectilinear and curvilinear spaces. Beneath this building were multiple stratigraphic layers, and at the bottom of the sequence was a ceramic cylindrical oven. As on the temenos gateway site, all the associated ceramic material is of ‘Kushite’ type. It is clear that well before the time of Taharqo, in the 8th if not in the 9th and perhaps 10th centuries BC, Kawa was a large urban centre, but details of the urban landscape at that time are unknown. Between 684 and 680 BC, Taharqo constructed a large temple a little to the east of the New Kingdom temple, and this area appears to have remained the religious centre of the town for centuries. Both temples probably lay within a large temenos, the mud-brick wall of which, along with the stone-lined gateway noted above (Welsby 2011, 55 ff.), are visible on the east side and at the north-east angle. Taharqo was also active on the southern margins of the town, where a mud-brick threeroomed shrine was constructed. In between, the whole site may have been densely covered in buildings, where well-preserved substantial mud-brick dwellings are set close together, separated by narrow streets and alleyways (Fig. 8). At least two buildings (Buildings A2 and B2) several hundred metres apart have very similar dimensions (15.1 × 9.6 m and 15.5 × 9.2 m respectively) and plans, and may represent a standard house type (Fig. 6) (Welsby 2001a, 37–38, fig. 5). Building A2 probably dates to the reign of Taharqo and reflects the Kushite adoption of Egyptian architectural styles for domestic mud-brick buildings – it directly overlies the earlier Kushite Kerma-style building A3. Another building (C3) of similar proportions was 12– 12.45 × 8.3 m in size with four rooms and a staircase in the south-west corner; building C2 has a more square plan, 12.3 × 10.7 m, again with a staircase in the southwest corner. Close by are yet more buildings with much thinner walls with one or two rooms apiece (see Building C17 − Welsby 2001a, fig. 7). Interspersed with these are much more substantial buildings, only one of which has been studied in detail: 10 The survival of Kerma Period architectural traditions into the early Kushite Period strongly suggests that the construction of such buildings carried on uninterrupted from the Kerma into the early Kushite Period. This implies the survival of substantial local architectural styles throughout the New Kingdom and in its immediate aftermath.

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Fig. 7: Early Kushite mud-brick building A3 at Kawa built in a style very reminiscent of that seen at Kerma several centuries earlier.

Building F1. It has a ground-floor plan typical of store buildings with long narrow rooms, which contain much basketry, pottery, and in one case a section of a substantial elephant’s tusk. Two large stairways provide access to an upper floor, the fallen rubble from which is covered with painted wall plaster (Welsby 2011, 54–55; 2015, 71–74). The building complex F4/F5/F10 contains a large courtyard (39.6 × 36.8 m) within which were rectangular piers, and extends over an area 92 × 84 m in size. Even at Kawa where the most is known of any earlier Kushite settlement, the buildings revealed do not provide a full picture of the town’s function. We have buildings associated with the state-sponsored religious cults, we have one palatial

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Fig. 8: Early Kushite buildings at Kawa in areas B and C.

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building with ground floor store rooms, perhaps for the use of the owner of that building rather than for a section of the community, and good quality housing. No obvious administrative buildings, commercial premises or industrial complexes are yet known. As one moves towards the edges of the town much more ephemeral structures may have been prevalent, in the form of timber huts and rakuba. Defences are entirely lacking here as at other Kushite settlements (see Welsby 2005). Clearly, towns did not function as defensible strongholds even though we have epigraphic evidence to show that they were vulnerable to attack – Kawa itself was raided in the reign of Nastasen when the Medjay ransacked the temple (Eide et al. 1996, 471 ff.; MacAdam 1955, 18). The absence of defences rather suggests that the Kushite state was confident in its abilities – diplomatic and military, and most likely a combination of the two – to maintain its territorial integrity, although this was clearly misplaced in the case of Kawa, as noted above, and during the invasions of the Saite Psamtek II and the Roman Petronius. The absence of defences also indicates that towns were not functioning as centres of state control against a hostile population – they were not garrison towns – and can have had little role in any civil wars. El-Kurru: Recent excavations at the site have shown that the settlement features noted by Reisner in his excavation notebooks, a defensive wall and gateway, are of medieval date (Emberling 2013, 43–44). That leaves no evidence whatsoever for the presence of a settlement in the vicinity contemporary with the royal and elite burials. Sanam Abu Dom: The extensive town site around the temple, stretching from the river bank for a kilometre, and close to the cemetery, was not investigated by Griffith. He did excavate the temple, and the largest of the royal magazines (Griffith 1922), and additional work in that and adjacent buildings has been undertaken more recently (Vincentelli 2001; 2011). The temple, which faces towards the Nile, is of almost identical plan to those at Kawa and Tabo and presumably dates to the reign of Taharqo. As at Kawa, Aspelta created a small shrine within the building. Later modifications throughout much of the temple appear to be connected with the manufacture of faience royal shabtis, figurines and other objects (Griffith 1922, 75, pl. V; now also see Howley 2018). To the east of the temple is a very extensive area of occupation, of which only a small part has been investigated.11 Erosion in this area has had a devastating impact on the buildings even though many were constructed partly of stone. Even stone buildings, but certainly those constructed of less durable materials, may have been removed entirely; mud-bricks are visible on the surface in places. Of the four buildings excavated all are store buildings, among them the so-called Treasury, which is the largest Kushite building known at 267 m long and 68 m wide (18,156 m2). What Griffith considered to be the 25th Dynas-

11 Recently geophysical survey has provided additional data on the structures in this area which include alignment of circular features which may be columns or tree pits (Tucker / Emberling 2016, 53–55).

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ty and early Napatan palace at Sanam, standing close to the treasury, may be another of the store buildings like those revealed by recent excavations. Jebel Barkal: Although there is extensive evidence for Napatan activity on the site, at least from the reign of Alara, no trace has ever been found either of a settlement or of the cemetery which would have accompanied it. Temples abound, as do palaces and some large wells, but no domestic structures,12 although many people must have been permanently resident on the site, even if these were only priests and others charged with caring for the monumental buildings. Sizeable communities of workmen must also have lived on the site for extended periods. The earliest Napatan palace known is B1200, which may have been built by Pi(ankh)y or one of his predecessors. It was rebuilt by Anlamani and Aspelta before its destruction by fire. Reconstructed on a totally different plan thereafter, this may well have been the building described in Harsiyotef’s inscription where he refers to his palace at Napata, which was uninhabitable on one of his visits (Kendall 1991, 307–308), although this may not necessarily reflect neglect of this the main cult centre of the Kushite state. A Napatan settlement and non-royal cemetery must have existed at Barkal but, beyond that, nothing meaningful can be said of it. Dangeil: During excavations of the Meroitic temple, the disturbed cache of statues of Kushite rulers – among them Taharqo, Senkamanisken and probably Aspelta (Anderson/Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 2009) – indicate that there had been a major religious complex here in the Napatan Period, ranking alongside Kerma/ Dokki Gel and Jebel Barkal. This is particularly significant as this reach of the river in which Dangeil lies has not hitherto been considered important to the Kushite state. The only trace of structures that may have been uncovered from that period were several sections of substantial mud-brick walls up to 1.25 m thick under the later temple associated with early Kushite pottery and artefacts. The thickness of these walls, and the fact that their orientation was followed by the later Kushite temple, suggests that they are the remains of a Napatan temple with which the royal statues were associated (Anderson/Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 2009, 84; 2010, 96–97). Meroe: The earliest structural evidence from the site are the remains of a horseshoe shaped structure with timber uprights set in post-holes along with an ash- and charcoal-filled pit. These were sealed by what was considered by the excavator to be a natural deposit of sand 150–500 mm thick. Occupation material at this approximate level, though, was reminiscent of that from the early graves in the West Cemetery, i.e. of Kushite type. Sealing these deposits was the first of a sequence of mudbrick buildings, with regularly laid out walls constructed of bricks, on average

12 Recent geophysical surveys has found evidence for settlement features over a wide area a few hundred metres to the south east of Temple B500. Whether this area contains domestic structures, or is an extension of the monumental zone, remains to be investigated (see Tucker / Emberling 2016, 52–54).

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300 × 150 × 90 mm in size. The excavation area was small, and the remains revealed cannot shed any light on the layout of individual buildings, let alone this area of the town (Shinnie/Bradley 1980, 29 ff.). Approximately 300 m to the south, domestic mud-brick buildings were radiocarbon dated to the 6th century BC and covered earlier structures thought to date back to the 7th century (Shinnie/Bradley 1980, 14–16) or earlier – Bradley considers the earliest mud-brick buildings here to be contemporary with the timber hut noted above (Bradley 1984, 197). The earliest structures, made of bricks 260 × 120 × 80 mm and then 300 × 150 × 90 mm and finally 340 × 170 × 85 mm in size, were overlain by fluvial deposits indicating extensive flooding of this part of the town, possibly to be related to the record of a very high flood in Taharqo’s 6th year. Evidence for iron working here was also dated to the 6th century BC. Walls were substantial, the thicker ones had courses of two headers and of one header flanked by a stretcher on each side. Thinner walls had one header and one stretcher to the course (Shinnie/Bradley 1980, fig. 7). Still further to the south, on the South Mound, a Napatan temple has been partly excavated (Grzymski 2005, 48–49). During the excavations by John Garstang traces of a number of Napatan buildings were uncovered in several parts of the city, some of them substantial structures built of sandstone. Architectural fragments bearing inscriptions were found recording the names of several Napatan rulers. At least some of these are thought to come from a temple dedicated to Amun, which may have been abandoned in the mid-3rd century BC when it was replaced by a new temple built outside the almost contemporary enclosure wall (Török 1992, 117). Török suggests the presence of a Napatan palace close to the temple – certainly one or more buildings of this type must have been present at Meroe. Only one area examined by Garstang with Napatan remains in situ has been re-excavated, Temple M292 (Shinnie/Anderson 2004, 79 ff.). The earliest structural features were walls built of mud-bricks 250 × 170 × 90 mm in size. Radiocarbon dates from associated levels suggest a date between the 10th and 8th centuries BC. The next phase building was constructed with much larger bricks. Török is of the opinion that the Napatan Amun Temple was aligned north-south, but the layout of the town at that time is unknown (Török 1997b, 30). He considers that an Amun temple had existed in the centre of the town from around the reign of Pi(ankh)y (Török 1997a, 354).

Minor Centres So few of these are known that little can be said about them in general terms. With its basically agricultural economy, one would expect the bulk of the population to have been widely dispersed along the banks of the Nile. The few sites known from the Fourth Cataract include one with substantial structures of a type that should be visible in the archaeological record elsewhere, along with another site with ephem-

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eral structural elements, which might easily be missed. The transhuming and nomadic component probably did not occupy permanent settlements and can only be evidenced by their funerary remains. The Napatan Period, like most others in Sudan’s long history, is represented much more by cemeteries than by settlements.

Town Planning Aspects of monumental town planning can be seen at a number of sites focussed on the temples, at Kawa, for example, where a processional way leading up to the Taharqo temple from the river flanked by the pre-existing temple built by Tutankhamun. Another aspect of this is the provision of tree-lined boulevards. At Meroe, but perhaps not pre-dating the Meroitic Period, the roadway is 15 m in width (Török 1997b, 193, pl. 162 and 171). Gradiometer survey at Kawa in the lower town revealed what appeared to be similar streets, one about 5.5–6.5 m wide, of Napatan date.13 Excavations of these in 2017–18 revealed that the features lining the street were rectangular and oval built of mud brick, with a central void (Welsby 2018, 91–92). What these contained is unclear but if vegetation then certainly not substantial trees. Tree pits were found associated with the Napatan buildings at Kerma (Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 1992, 38, 39) and in the temple garden at Kawa (MacAdam 1955, pl. 19, CVIII b, c, f, CXIIc).

History of Early Kushite Settlements With such little information on earlier Kushite towns, it is difficult to discuss their history during this period of several hundred years. Their fate after the withdrawal of Egyptian control is uncertain, but evidence is beginning to accrue to indicate that at least some survived as vibrant communities into the early Kushite Period.14 Kawa was a centre of royal patronage by the mid-8th century BC. Alara dedicated his sister as a priestess of Amun there (MacAdam 1949, 16), indicating the presence of a functioning temple, while later in that century Shabaqo built a temple with stone columns and then, between 684 and 680 BC, Taharqo built the large temple to Amun, undertook repairs in the Egyptian temple constructed in the reign of Tutankhamun, and built at least one shrine. As one of the destinations of the royal coronation procession, considered to be a regular event (Török 1990), it was visited by a number of kings, at least on one occasion stimulating an urban renewal – in the later

13 Welsby 2009, pl. 11; for similar features at Sanam Abu Dom see below. 14 For the very early Kushite occupation at Kawa see below; for continuity at Tombos see Smith 2008, 112–113 and at Sai see Thill 2007.

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5th century BC Irike-Amanote set his entourage and troops to clean the windblown sand from the processional way of the god (MacAdam 1949, 62). That we know so much about early Kushite Kawa is due in part to a worsening situation. The later Kushite town appears to be much smaller, indicating a considerable fall in population, although the imposing stone pyramids of the later Kushite Period in the cemetery to the east indicate that it was still an important centre of the Kushite state. Sanam Abu Dom did not fare so well. The largest of the royal store buildings, the so-called Treasury, appears to have been damaged at least in part by fire, although one of its excavators did not consider that it had been suddenly and violently destroyed. Rather, it appears to have been gradually abandoned and stripped of its furnishings (Vincentelli 2011, 271), and the site thereafter largely abandoned. The latest dated seal impressions are of Anlamani. In the temple the latest major work dates to the reign of Aspelta. The cemetery, considered to be that of the inhabitants of a ‘privileged town’, appears to have fallen out of use not later than the reign of Aspelta (Lohwasser 2010, 91, 142). Evidence for later Kushite occupation is limited (Griffith 1922, 76, 85–6). Meroe was the real success story. Its origins remain a mystery, as there is so little information available for the preceding two millennia in the region (see Azhari Mustafa Sadig 2015). There is nothing from that period to suggest that there could have been an independent development of an urban centre, which offers the possibility that Meroe was actually a Kushite foundation as the state expanded from its core in the Dongola Reach. By the later 8th century it was a thriving Kushite community, as indicated by the rich burials in the south and west cemeteries. Substantial buildings bearing the names of a number of rulers were constructed on the site and it appears that, at least by the period of Kushite rule over Egypt, it was probably a royal residence; it was certainly so by the second half of the 5th century BC as recorded on an inscription of Irike-Amanote whose predecessor died in ‘the palace of His Majesty’ at Meroe’ (Török 1992, 115; 1997a, 232). Widespread destruction and rebuilding within towns may not have been an uncommon occurrence. The Nile posed an ever-present threat and the impact of Nile floods has been only too well demonstrated over the last 30 years. Evidence for flooding has been noted at Meroe, and floods were probably responsible for the extensive destruction of the New Kingdom temples at Soleb and Sedeinga, where they may also have removed all traces of settlements. At Kawa there is abundant evidence, both epigraphic and archaeological, for the impact of windblown sand forcing the inhabitants either to expend great effort to clear sand away or to watch buildings become deeply buried. Fire must also have been a significant threat, the most likely cause being accidental. Another potential cause of widespread destruction may have been enemy action, whether from external forces invading Kush or as the result of internal conflicts. Undoubtedly one of the most devastating attacks on Kush was that mounted by Psamtek II, who invaded in 593 BC and penetrated far upstream. His army has been credited with destroying Napatan Sai (Vercoutter 1958, 158) and for wreaking havoc at Dokki Gel (Bonnet/Honegger 2007, 187, 199;

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Bonnet/Valbelle 2005, 170), Jebel Barkal (Kendall 1991, 308) and Sanam Abu Dom.15 However, the greatest caution should be exercised in bringing disparate evidence from several sites into conjunction. Recent work at Sanam Abu Dom suggests that the royal magazines were not destroyed in a single devastating fire.16 The association of the very careful breaking of the royal statues at Dokki Gel and Jebel Barkal, and their careful burial – at Dokki Gel with much gold leaf (Bonnet/Valbelle 2005, 69, 70) – with the rampaging soldiery of Psamtek is highly dubious. The discovery of a similar cache of statuary at Dangeil far upstream, protected from an invading army pushing upstream by both the Fourth and the Fifth Cataracts, indicates that these activities were not related to the progress of an enemy. It must be borne in mind that there is no definite evidence that the invaders actually reached the region around Jebel Barkal (Żurawski 1999, 157), nor even that Aspelta was Psamtek’ opponent. How much enemy action, accidental fires and natural disasters were engines of urban renewal remains unknown. At least as far upstream as Jebel Barkal, the location of the major urban centres of the earlier Kushite Period was very similar to that during the New Kingdom, and the raison d’être of the towns may have been the same, their location being a combination of the carrying capacity of the locality – the presence of, or ready access to, sufficient food resources to supply the population – mitigated by administrative, economic or strategic considerations. All were close to the Nile, removing any problems of access to sufficient drinking water. Further upstream the Kushites may have imposed a new urban landscape, but the known sites are too few to allow discussion. There does not appear to have been anything comparable to the flourishing of urbanism in the Shendi Reach in the later 1st millennium BC.

Looking forward to the Later Kushite Period The move of the royal burial ground from the Barkal region to Meroe confirmed the dominance of Meroe and its region in the Kushite state. However, the northern part of the realm was still important, and there may indeed have been a resurgence in the fortunes of such towns as Soleb, Sedeinga and Sai if the rich cemeteries associated with these towns are anything to go by. As noted above, Kawa remained an important centre, although perhaps much reduced in size, as did the religious complex at Jebel Barkal. Settlement in the later Kushite Period is discussed in detail elsewhere in this volume.

15 The fire damage in the temple post-dates the irregular brick walls inserted into the building, some of which abutted the walls of Aspelta’s shrine, suggesting that the fire/s occurred possibly much later than his reign, see Griffith 1922, 85. He considered that the temple was destroyed by the Roman army. 16 For the evidence for fire found by F. Ll. Griffith, see Griffith 1922, 117–118.

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Fortifications in Ancient Northeastern Africa. Proceedings of the International Workshop held at the University of Cologne 4th−7th August 2011. Colloquium Africanum. Beiträge zur Interdisziplinären Afrikaforschung 5. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 321–352. Karkowski, Janusz (1981): Faras V. The Pharaonic Inscriptions from Faras. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Kendall, Timothy (1991): The Napatan Palace at Gebel Barkal − A First Look at B1200. In: Davies, William Vivian (ed.): Egypt and Africa. Nubia from Prehistory to Islam. London: British Museum Press, p. 302–313. Kendall, Timothy (2007): Evidence for a Napatan Occupation of the Wadi Muqaddam: Excavations at Al-Meragh in the Bayuda Desert (1999–2000). In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Mélanges offerts à Francis Geus: Égypte – Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III, p. 197–204. Kołosowska, Elzbieta / el-Tayeb, Mahmoud (2012): A Napatan Settlement in the Wadi UmmRahau. In: Wotzka, Hans-Peter (ed.): Proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract. University of Cologne, 13–14 July 2006. Africa Praehistorica 22. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 63–76. Lohwasser, Angelika (2010): The Kushite Cemetery of Sanam. A Non-royal Burial Ground of the Nubian Capital, c. 800–600 BC. London: Golden House Publication. MacAdam, Miles / Laming, Frederick (1949): The Temples of Kawa. Vol. I: The Inscriptions. Oxford: Griffith Institute. MacAdam, Miles / Laming, Frederick (1955): Temples of Kawa. Vol. II: History and Archaeology of the Site. Oxford: Griffith Institute. Mills, Anthony J. / Nordström, Hans-Åke (1966): The Archaeological Survey from Gemai to Dal. Preliminary Report on the Season 1964–65. In: Kush 14, p. 1–15. Näser, Claudia (2011): Early Musawwarat. In: Rondot, Vincent / Alpi, Frédéric / Villeneuve, François (eds.): La pioche et la plume autour du Soudan, du Liban et de la Jordanie. Hommages archéologiques à Patrice Lenoble. Paris: Presses de l’Université Paris-Sorbonne, p. 317–338. Nordström, Hans-Åke (2014): The West Bank Survey from Faras to Gemai 1. Sites of Early Nubian, Middle Nubian and Pharaonic Age. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publications 21. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 2650. London: BAR Publishing. Paner, Henryk / Pudło, Aleksandra (2010): Settlements in the Fourth Cataract GAME Concession in the Light of Radiocarbon Analysis. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum and Heritage Protection Fund African Reports 7, p. 131–146. Reinold, Jacques (2008): SFDAS – Un quart de siècle de coopération archéologique (suite). In: Kush 19, p. 37–57. Rondot, Vincent (2006): Le qore Amanakhareqerem et son temple à Amon d’el-Hassa. In: Bonnet, Charles / Honegger, Matthieu / Lenoble, Patrice / Rilly, Claude / Rondot, Vincent (eds.): Kerma et Méroé. Cinq conférences d’archéologie soudanaise. Khartoum: Sudan Currency Printing Press, p. 41–47. Rose, Pamela J. (2008): Early Settlement at Qasr Ibrim. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 195–209. Rose, Pamela J. (2011): Qasr Ibrim: The Last 3000 Years. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 3–12. el-Sadig, Salah Omar (2002): Some Fragments from a Statue of King Aspelta at Umm Dom (Khartoum Province). In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 9, p. 89–93.

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Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed (1992): L’agglomération napatéenne de Kerma. Enquête archéologique et ethnographique en milieu urbain. Paris: Ed. Recherche sur les Civilisations. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny / Troy, Lana (1991): New Kingdom Pharaonic Sites: The Finds and the Sites. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 5/2–3. Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksell. Scheibner, Thomas (2004): Neue Erkenntnisse zur Wasserversorgung von Musawwarat es Sufra. Band I: Das übergeordnete Wasserversorgungssystem. Teil 1: Wassergewinnung und -speicherung. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 15, p. 39–64. Shinnie, Peter Lewis / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.) (2004): The Capital of Kush 2: Meroë Excavations 1973–1984. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 20. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Shinnie, Peter Lewis / Bradley, Rebecca J. (1980): The Capital of Kush 1: Meroë Excavations 1965–1972. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 4/1. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. Smith, Stuart Tyson (2007a): Death at Tombos: Pyramids, Iron and the Rise of the Napatan Dynasty. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 11, p. 2–14. Smith, Stuart Tyson (2007b): A New Napatan Cemetery at Tombos. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Mélanges offerts à Francis Geus: Égypte – Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III, p. 347–352. Smith, Stuart Tyson (2008): Tombos and the Transition from the New Kingdom to the Napatan Period in Upper Nubia. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 95–115. Spence, Kate E. / Rose, Pamela J. / Bradshaw, Rebecca J. / Collet, Pieter / Hassan, Amal / MacGinnis, John / Masson, Aurélia / van Pelt, W. Paul (2011): Sesebi 2011. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 34–38. Spence, Kate E. / Rose, Pamela J. / Bunbury, Judith / Clapham, Alan J. / Collet, Pieter / Smith, Graham / Soderberg, Nicholas (2009): Fieldwork at Sesebi, 2009. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 13, p. 38–46. Spencer, Neal (2009): Cemeteries and a Late Ramesside Suburb at Amara West. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 13, p. 47–61. Spencer, Patricia (1997): Amara West I. The Architectural Report. Egypt Exploration Society Memoir 63. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Spencer, Patricia (2002): Amara West II. The Ceramics and Pottery Corpus. Egypt Exploration Society Memoir 69. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Thill, Florence (2007): Les réoccupations “(pré)napatéennes” dans le cimetière égyptien 8B5/ SAC5 de Saï. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Mélanges offerts à Francis Geus: Égypte – Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III, p. 353–369. Török, László (1990): Ambulatory Kingship and Settlement History. In: Bonnet, Charles (ed.): Études nubiennes. Conférence de Genève: actes du VIIe Congrès international d’études nubiennes, 3–8 septembre 1990, Abstracts. Török, László (1992): Ambulatory Kingship and Settlement History. A Study on the Contribution of Archaeology to Meroitic History. In: Bonnet, Charles (ed.): Études Nubiennes – Conférence de Genève. Actes du VIIe congrès international d’études nubiennes, 3–8 septembre 1990. Vol. I: Communications principales. Geneva: Société d’études nubiennes, p. 111–126.

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Török, László (1997a): The Kingdom of Kush. Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. Handbook of Oriental Studies. I: The Near and Middle East. Vol. 31. Leiden/New York/ Cologne: Brill. Török, László (1997b): Meroe City. An Ancient African Capital. John Garstang’s Excavations in the Sudan. Part One: Text. Part Two: Figures and Plates. Egypt Exploration Society Occasional Publications 12. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Török, László (2004): Sacred Landscape, Historical Identity and Memory: Aspects of Napatan and Meroitic Urban Architecture. In: Kendall, Timothy (ed.): Nubian Studies 1998. Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the International Society of Nubian Studies, August 21–26, 1998, Boston, Mass. Boston: Department of African-American Studies. Northeastern University, p. 157–175. Török, László (2009): Between two Worlds. The Frontier Region between Ancient Nubia and Egypt 3700 BC–AD 500. Probleme der Ägyptologie 29. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Tucker, Gregory / Emberling, Geoff (2016): Settlement in the Heartland of Napatan Kush: Preliminary Results of Magnetic Gradiometry at El-Kurru, Jebel Barkal and Sanam. In: Sudan & Nubia 20, p. 50–56. Vercoutter, Jean (1958): Excavations at Sai 1955–57. In: Kush 6, p. 144–169. Vercoutter, Jean (1961): Le Sphinx d’Aspelta de Defeia. In: Sainte Fare Garnot, Jean (ed.): Mélanges Mariette. Bibliothèque d’Étude 32. Cairo: Institut français d‛archéologie orientale, p. 97–104. Verwers, Gerrit Jan (1962): Archaeological Survey on the West Bank of the Nile. The Survey from Faras to Gezira Dabarosa. In: Kush 10, p. 19–33. Vila, André (1980): La prospection archéologique de la Vallée du Nil, au sud de la cataracte de Dal (Nubie Soudanaise). Fasc. 12: La nécropole de Missiminia. Tome I: Les sepultures napatéennes. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Vincentelli, Irene (2001): Il tesoro di Sanam (Sudan). In: ISIMU. Revista sobre oriente próximo y Egipto en la antigüedad 4, p. 75–91. Vincentelli, Irene (2011): The Treasury and other Buildings at Sanam. In: Rondot, Vincent / Alpi, Frédéric / Villeneuve, François (eds.): La pioche et la plume autour du Soudan, du Liban et de la Jordanie. Hommages archéologiques à Patrice Lenoble. Paris: Presses de l’Université Paris-Sorbonne, p. 269–282. Welsby, Derek Anthony (1999): Meroitic Soba. In: Wenig, Steffen / Andrássy, Petra (ed.): Studien zum antiken Sudan. Akten der 7. Internationalen Tagung für meroitistische Forschungen vom 14. bis 19. September 1992 in Gosen (Berlin). Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 15. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 663–677. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2001a): Kushite Buildings at Kawa. British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan 1. London: British Museum Press, p. 32–45, (http://www.britishmuseum.org/ pdf/1d%20Kushite%20buildings.pdf; last seen: 20. 03. 2017). Welsby, Derek Anthony (2001b): Life on the Desert Edge. Seven Thousand Years of Settlement in the Northern Dongola Reach, Sudan. 2 Vols. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 7. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 980. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2003): The Amri to Kirbekan Survey: The 2002–2003 Season. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 7, p. 26–32. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2005): The Kingdom of Kush. Urban Defences and Military Installations. In: Crummy, Nina (ed.): Image, Craft and the Classical World. Essays in Honour of Donald Bailey and Catherine Johns. Monographies instrumentum 29. Montagnac: Editions Monique Mergoil, p. 39–54. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2006): Excavations in the Vicinity of ed-Doma (AKSE), 2005–2006. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 10, p. 8–12.

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Welsby, Derek Anthony (2009): Houses and Pyramids at Kawa. Excavations 2008–09. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 13, p. 72–77. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2011): Excavations in the Kushite Town and Cemetery at Kawa, 2010–11. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 54–63. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2015): The Qatar-Sudan Archaeological Project − Excavations and other Activities at Kawa in the 2014–15 Season. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 19, p. 71–79. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2017): Gematon between the Reigns of Rameses VI and Taharqa. In: Spencer, Neal / Stevens, Anna / Binder, Michaela (eds.): Nubia in the New Kingdom. Lived Experience, Pharaonic Control and Indigenous Traditions. Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Egyptological Colloquium held at the British Museum in 2013. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 3. London: Peeters, p. 475–490. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2018): Qatar-Sudan Archaeological Project. Excavations and other activities at Kawa – the 2017–18 season. In: Sudan & Nubia 22, p. 89–95. Welsby, Derek Anthony / Daniels, Charles M. (1991): Soba. Archaeological Research at a Medieval Capital on the Blue Nile. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 12. Royal Geographical Society. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. Welsby Sjöström, Isabella Y. (2010): Golden Accessories: A Link to the Outside World from the Pyramid at Site 4-F-71 (Fourth Cataract, SARS Concession). In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 14, p. 45–47. Weschenfelder, Jens (2015): Preliminary Report of the Second and Third Field Seasons at the Bronze Age Cemetery MOG034 on Mograt Island, Sudan. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 26, p. 153–168. Wildung, Dietrich / Kroeper, Karla (2016): A Short Guide to the Ancient Site at Naga (Sudan): The Naga Project of the State Museum of Egyptian Art Munich (Germany). Munich: NagaProjekt. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1990): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 7: Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and Napatan Remains at Qustul Cemeteries W and V. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition VII. Chicago, Illinois: The Oriental Institute. Wolf, Pawel / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2005): The Second Season of the SARS Anglo-German Expedition to the Fourth Cataract. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 9, p. 23–31. Wolf, Simone / Wolf, Pawel / Onasch, Hans-Ulrich / Hof, Catharine / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2009): Meroë und Hamadab. Stadtstrukturen und Lebensformen im afrikanischen Reich von Kusch. Die Arbeiten der Kampagnen 2008 und 2009. In: Archäologischer Anzeiger 2009/2, p. 215–262. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (1999): Dongola Reach. The Southern Dongola Reach Survey, 1998. In: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 10, p. 149–160. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2003): Nubia II. Survey and Excavations between Old Dongola and EzZuma. Southern Dongola Reach Survey 1. Warsaw: Centre d’Archéologie Mediterraneenne de l’Academie Polonaise des Sciences, Editions Neriton. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2005): The Temple of Soniyat, 1991–2002. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 3, p. 289–302.

Angelika Lohwasser and Timothy Kendall

Napatan Necropoleis and Burial Customs Introduction – History of Research In the early 20th century, all of the royal necropoleis of Kush were excavated by George A. Reisner and then posthumously published by Dows Dunham. It turned out that, in the Napatan Period, kings and queens were buried at el-Kurru and Nuri and, in the transitional phase to the Meroitic Period, at Jebel Barkal.1 Most of our knowledge about the royal burial customs and funerary practices of this era derives from these cemeteries. As for non-royal cemeteries, only those at Begrawiya-West and -South, Sanam and Missiminia have been excavated and published.2 Some cemeteries are quite small or have been only partly excavated (see list of cemeteries). Therefore, statements concerning non-royal burial customs are based only on a limited number of sources. Besides excavation reports of cemeteries, there are several studies dealing with burial customs of the Napatan Period. Most focus on a specific cemetery, but these nevertheless open the discussion to a broader perspective.3

1 The Royal Cemeteries: el-Kurru, Nuri and Jebel Barkal El-Kurru (lat. N. 18° 24′ 24″, long. W. 31° 46′ 25″) lies on the right bank of the Nile, 13 km downstream from Jebel Barkal (modern Karima, Sudan) and hosts the tombs of the kings and queens of the 25th Dynasty as well as their shadowy predecessors (Fig. 1). The earliest tombs on the site were made as rock-cut pits or pits with sidechambers, surmounted by stone superstructures, which have now been almost entirely quarried away. These tombs occupied the highest and best points in the original cemetery area, which was bounded on either side by a wadi. The earliest tombs (numbered ‘Ku. Tum. 1, 5, 4, 2’, in chronological order) had round ground plans and were similar in form to typical Nubian C-Group graves. From rough stone to cut stone masonry, they rapidly advanced in form. Kurru Tumulus (Ku. Tum.) 6 was given an offering chapel on its east side, and together with its near duplicate Ku. 19, they were given horseshoe-shaped enclosure walls. The remaining ten tombs in

1 Reisner 1918; Dunham 1950; 1955; 1957. 2 Dunham 1963; Vila 1980a; Griffith 1923; Lohwasser 2012. 3 Vila 1980b; Bonnet 1999; Eisa 1999; Lohwasser 2012. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-026

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Fig. 1: Aerial view of el-Kurru (Photo: Enrico Ferorelli 1989).

the series, now square in plan, were all built lower downslope in a single line from north-east to south-west (Ku. 14, 13, 11, 10, 9, 23, 21, 8, 20, 7, in that order). Of these, Ku. 21 and 20, the only ones built without chapels, were smaller tombs that had apparently belonged to minor queens or family members of the king buried in Ku. 8, whom Reisner identified with Kashta (c. 760–747 BC). Reisner envisioned these square pit tombs as ‘mastabas’, which he believed had metamorphosed into small pyramids with the tomb of Pi(ankh)y (Ku. 17). Recent evaluation of the evidence, however, has tended to suggest that even the earliest ‘mastaba’ tombs had probably been topped by small pyramids or step-pyramids, which were removed when a given tomb was looted. Reisner recognized six different tomb-types among the ancestral tombs and equated these with as many human ‘generations’. He thus envisioned six probable rulers prior to Pi(ankh)y, the first king with whom a tomb (Ku. 17) could be identified by inscriptional evidence. Some years ago this traditional theory of the ancestral generations came under critical review both by Kendall and Török in separate papers. Kendall (1999a; 1999b), essentially agreeing with Reisner and Dunham, proposed on the basis of tomb evolution, material and skeletal analysis that the ancestral tombs had probably belonged to seven individual rulers and their chief wives prior to Pi(ankh)y. Since during the earliest historical period at Napata rulers were succeeded by brothers or first cousins, he proposed that the seven rulers may have belonged to no more than four human generations. He thus proposed a mid-

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9th century BC date for the founding of the cemetery. Török (1999), on the other hand, disregarding Kendall’s arguments and skeletal evidence, proposed to view the ancestral tomb sequence as a succession of exclusively kings’ tombs (the queens being buried elsewhere), by which he could propose that the founding of the cemetery had occurred shortly after the end of the New Kingdom. Recent archaeological evidence from Jebel Barkal, however, suggests that the site may still have been administered from Karnak as late as the early or mid-10th century BC, which may coincide with the rise of the Kurru chiefdom and thus may suggest the actual founding date of the cemetery (Kendall/Mohamed 2017). Within the tomb sequence there is a dramatic evolution from Nubian to Egyptian burial customs. In the earliest tombs the dead were contracted, laid on beds, and oriented north-west to south-east. Gradually, however, the bodies were extended, oriented east-west, and laid in coffins. By the reign of Pi(ankh)y, it is assumed that mummification was practised, since the royal corpses of the 25th Dynasty were shrouded with bead nets, placed in nested coffins and laid on raised benches that supported funerary beds. The bodies were accompanied by canopic jars and shabtis. With Pi(ankh)y the royal tombs ceased to be simple pit chambers capped by masonry superstructures. His tomb was of a new type, consisting of a partly rockcut, partly masonry-built vaulted chamber surmounted by a pyramid but accessible by stairway. The stairway allowed the pyramid to be built over the open vaulted chamber while its owner was still alive. After the burial the tomb entrance was blocked up; the stairway was sealed with fill; and a funerary chapel built over it. Shabaqo’s tomb (Ku. 15) was constructed in the same manner, but now with two connected vaulted chambers at the bottom of the stairway rather than one, a custom which continued with Shebitqo’s tomb (Ku. 18) and Tanutamani’s (Ku. 16). The tombs of the chief queens (Ku. 3, 4, 5, 6) were built in the same way, but their pyramids were slightly smaller in size. The kings’ pyramids ranged from 8 to 11 m2, while the great queens’ tombs ranged from 6.5 to 7 m2. With Pi(ankh)y, the tombs of the chief queens were placed on a new ridge immediately to the south-west of the ancestral field. The kings, however, continued to be buried in the original field. Minor queens for the first time were provided smaller tombs in separate cemeteries far to the north-east but still precisely in line with the original cemetery. The minor queens of Pi(ankh)y, Shabaqo and Shabitqo were buried in separate cemeteries numbered Ku. 50, Ku. 60, Ku. 70. All but one tomb (Ku. 53) were single chamber tombs preserving no superstructures. Two tombs – Ku. 16 (Tanutamani) and Ku. 5 (his mother Qalhata) – are exceptional because of the preservation of painted decoration on their subterranean walls. In the burial chambers of each there are select chapters of the Book of the Dead, focusing on the return of the heart of the deceased (Fig. 2). In the burial chamber of Qalhata, which is in a better preserved condition than that of Tanutamani, the deceased queen is shown in her Osirian rebirth. In the antechambers of each tombs, the deceased royal subject is shown being led by the Sons of Horus. All these

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Fig. 2: Burial chamber of Tanutamani (Ku. 16), west wall (Photo: Angelika Lohwasser 1994).

motives are borrowed from the corpus of contemporary Egyptian funerary texts and vignettes.4 Reisner also found at el-Kurru a cemetery of twenty-four horse graves (Ku. 201– 224), in which individual horses were buried standing up, facing south-east. The use of horses is restricted to the king only. These had belonged to the four kings of the 25th Dynasty who were buried here, and who had interred the animals in groups of four or eight. Nuri (lat. N. 18, 33′, 45″; long. W. 31, 55′, 03″), ancient name unknown, is a modern Sudanese village, 9.6 km upstream from Jebel Barkal on the opposite (left) bank of the Nile. It is the site of the royal necropolis of Kush used during the three centuries following the end of the 25th Dynasty and the abandonment of the ancestral cemetery of el-Kurru. The cemetery was founded by Taharqo (c. 690–664 BC) and was used by all but two of his twenty-one known successors to the time of Nastasen (c. 335–315 BC), and fifty-three of their queens (Fig. 3). The Nuri pyramids were erected on a pair of parallel ridges running north-eastsouth-west about 1.5 km from the Nile. Taharqo was the first king to use the site, but his tomb (Nu. 1) is unlike any of those built before or after it (Kendall 2008). The pyramid itself, at 51.75 m2 (100 cubits), is four times larger than those of his two immediate successors and twice as large as any built later at the site. Degradation

4 These two tombs are about to be restored and documented in the coming years under the direction of Rachael Dann (Therkildsen 2015).

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Fig. 3: Aerial view of Nuri (Photo: Enrico Ferorelli 1989).

of the outer surface of this pyramid, however, revealed that an earlier, smaller pyramid of 28.5 m2 (50 cubits) had originally marked the tomb, a size identical to those built by most of his successors. No trace of a chapel has ever been found, leading to speculation that the original chapel might have been encased in the masonry of later additions. The great pyramid itself, with an angle of 69°, seems to have had a height of about 63 m. The subterranean rock-cut tomb, 13 m deep and accessed by a stair of 51 steps, is unique among all Kushite royal mausolea in that it is closely related in plan to the Osireion of Sety I at Abydos, the cenotaph of Osiris. It obviously emphasized the king’s belief that in death he would be united with Osiris, believed to come back to life each year during the inundation season. The burial chamber was a room with six massive square pillars and vaulted aisles, at one time all plastered and brightly painted. This was encircled by a rock-cut corridor, which joined the room at its front and rear. The king’s massive gilded wooden anthropoid coffin was laid in a sunken rectangular pit in the centre of the chamber, which, being below the level of the water table, was immersed in water. Taharqo, at first, was followed at Nuri by only two of his queens, whose tombs were sited just north of his own. Although his successor Tanutamani chose to be buried at el-Kurru, four queens of his generation also preferred burial at Nuri. Subsequently all kings’ tombs were built at Nuri, all in a row to the south-east of Taharqo’s tomb, while all the royal women were buried north or north-east of Taharqo’s

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pyramid (Lohwasser 2001, 67–77). According to Dunham, each tomb was built on the most favourable spot remaining vacant on the site at the time it was constructed. Following Nu. 20, (attributed by Reisner to Atlanersa) a tomb similar in scale to Tanutamani at el-Kurru (8–12 m2), the later kings established a new, more grandiose tomb and pyramid type with an average base measurement of 28 m2 (50 cubits). This remained the standard for three centuries. Against the south-east facades of the pyramids were built chapels with pylons. The subterranean tombs, 8–9 m below ground, now consisted of three interconnecting rock-cut chambers accessed by a deep stairway. When well-finished, the walls of each of these rooms were completely carved or painted with Egyptian funerary texts and scenes. Although the tombs were all badly plundered, evidence suggests that the kings were buried with chests of valuable jewellery, vessels, toilet articles and other personal possessions. The first chamber probably contained large numbers of jars containing food and drink. The royal corpses were encased within wooden anthropoid coffins covered with gold foil and adorned with inlaid eyes of bronze, calcite and obsidian. These coffins were then placed within larger coffins, covered with gold leaf and inlays of coloured stones set in designs of falcons or vultures with outstretched wings. In two cases (Nu. 6 and 8), the kings’ outer coffins were placed within huge fully decorated granite sarcophagi. Around the walls of the burial chambers shabti figures of stone or faience, numbering between several hundred to over a thousand, were arranged in standing position. The queens’ tombs and burials shared much in common with the kings’, but they were less elaborate and the materials used were less costly. The most developed queens’ tombs contained two interconnecting rock-cut chambers, between 4 and 8 m deep, surmounted by pyramids about half the size of the kings’. A lesser type contained only a single rock-cut chamber with an even smaller pyramid. Still another contained only a single chamber without any evident superstructure. These were the same types of queens’ tombs that had been manifested at el-Kurru. The walls, as they were preserved, exhibited little decoration, but one tomb (Nu. 24) was extensively carved with texts from the Book of the Dead, and others (Nu. 53) bore traces of plastered and painted decoration. Some tombs contained niches in their walls, either for lamps or for statues. In the centre of the floor, or slightly off-axis to the south, a low bench, either rock-cut or of masonry, appeared on which the queens’ coffins were laid. Each tomb was marked on the surface by a pyramid ranging in area between 6.3 and 7.5 m2 for the earliest, to 10 and 11 m for those in midsequence, to 12 and 13 m toward the end of the sequence. This increase in size would seem to correspond to the increasing political importance of the great queens in the Meroitic Period. None of the queens’ pyramids preserved a chapel with pylon. While most royals during the Napatan Period built their pyramids at Nuri, there were isolated exceptions. Two small ruined Napatan pyramids, no larger than those of the 25th Dynasty kings at el-Kurru, were built at Jebel Barkal, and these have only

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recently been found (Berenguer 2004). These were perhaps built for a king and queen. One of them (P 26) contains a painted astronomical ceiling which contains interesting parallels to contemporary Egyptian scenes (Berenguer 2004). Another king, probably at the end of the Nuri sequence, also chose to build his pyramid at Jebel Barkal (Bar. 11), together with those of at least five of his wives (Bar. 12, 13, 14, 15, 24). Still another Napatan king chose to build his pyramid (Ku. 1) and that of his chief wife (Ku. 2) at the ancestral burial ground at el-Kurru. Strangely, the king’s tomb, which consisted of three empty chambers in a line, with an unfinished coffin bench in the centre of the third, appears never to have been used (Emberling 2015a). The queen’s tomb, still unexcavated, was probably also unused. The date, estimated by Dunham to the 5th–4th century BC, has been confirmed and, as at Nuri, these tombs were accompanied by an elaborate, partly rock-cut funerary temple where the deceased were to have been prepared for burial. By the mid-3rd century BC most royal tombs were built at Meroe while, for unknown reasons, some members of the royal family preferred burial on the desert plateau just west of Jebel Barkal.

2 Non-royal Cemeteries Non-royal Napatan cemeteries are, of course, spread all over the Nile Valley and usually not far from settlement sites, although these have not been investigated systematically so far. Several have been discovered by chance, like that recently found at Eltameer (Murtada Bushara Mohammed 2014), where no superstructures or other above-ground traces indicated its presence. The appearance of non-royal tombs differs according to their topographical position in the cemeteries and with regard to the complexity of their layout. In some regions it was possible to cut cave-like substructures, but in other regions where only soft soil was present, shafts, often brick-lined, are common. Within the cemeteries themselves, different types of graves suggest a stratified society, which is also recognizable in the choice, quality, and quantity of grave goods. Even if some burials look quite similar to each other, each one is distinguished by its own subtle distinctions. As examples, some of the better investigated cemeteries are described briefly here, and a complete list of Napatan non-royal cemeteries is presented in Tab. 1. The largest agglomeration of Napatan burials in Lower Nubia is identified within the small cemeteries at Qustul, where 32 tombs are datable to the Napatan Period (Williams 1990). All superstructures are eroded, and the burials were only poorly equipped. Therefore no comprehensive interpretations can be given, although the presence of at least three bed-burials is remarkable.

Napatan Evidence

5 graves in 2 cemeteries

7 cemeteries?

4 graves

3 graves

14 graves within 5 cemeteries

? graves

4 graves

5 graves

1 grave

1 grave

32 graves within 8 cemeteries

? graves within 7 cemeteries

3+x graves within 3 cemeteries

7 graves

2 graves

105 graves

3+x graves

? graves within 4+x cemeteries

2 graves

Name

Shellal

Wadi Allaqi Area

Maharraqa

Kuban

Qurta

Afya

Qatta

Aniba

Toshka

Masmas

Qustul

Faras

Serra-West

Serra East

Debeira

Debeira 176

Sahaba

Argin

Buhen

Napatan?

Very early Napatan

Napatan?

Napatan?

Few indications of Napatan burials

Comment

Table 1: List of Cemeteries presented in the Most Recent Literature (effective date July 2017).

Williams 1990, 35

Williams 1990, 35

Williams 1990, 36

Säve-Söderbergh et al. 1989, 200–205, pl. 35–38

Williams 1990, 36

Williams 1993, 133–142

Williams 1990, 34

Williams 1990, 34

Williams 1990

Williams 1990, 33

Williams 1990, 34

Williams 1990, 34

Williams 1990, 33

Williams 1990, 33

Williams 1990, 38

Williams 1990, 33

Williams 1990, 32–33

Williams 1990, 31–32

Williams 1990, 31

Bibliography (with earlier literature)

628 Angelika Lohwasser and Timothy Kendall

8 graves within 2 cemeteries

1 grave with 38 burials

27 graves

250 graves

6 graves

1 grave

19 graves within 3 cemeteries

6 graves within 2 cemeteries

3 graves

10+x graves

39 graves within 3 cemeteries

30+ graves

140 graves

10+x graves

ca. 105 graves within 3 cemeteries

cemetery?

Ca. 50 graves

reused graves?

Gammai

Matuga

Mirgissa

Kagarnarti

Semna

Firka

Ginis-East

Ginis-West

Attab-East

Attab-West

Amara-East

Amara-West

Missiminia

Sai

Hamid

Hannak

Sedeinga

Soleb

Multi-phase cemetery (Napatan to Meroitic)

Napatan surface finds

10 excavated

Multi-phase cemetery (NK to Post-Meroitic)

Multi-phase cemetery (Napatan to Medieval)

A few excavated

2 excavated

4 excavated

Napatan?

4 adults, 13 children

Napatan?

Schiff Giorgini/Robichon/Leclant 1971, 378–383

Janot/Berger/Cartier/Martin/Labrousse 1997; Berger-el-Naggar/Leclant 2006– 2007; Rilly/Francigny 2013

Smith 2003, 89

Vila 1978, 86–87, 93–96

Geus/Lecointe/Maureille 1995; Thill 2007; Minault-Gout/Thill 2012, 403–418

Vila 1980a

Spencer 2002; Binder 2011

Vila 1977c, 68–69, 77–78, 126–127

Vila 1977b, 47–8, 63–5, 93–96

Vila 1977b, 25

Vila 1977a, 119–21, 145–49

Vila 1977a, 48, 53, 98

Vila 1976, 96–97

Williams 1990, 36

Williams 1990, 36

Geus 1975

Williams 1990, 35

Williams 1990, 36–37

Napatan Necropoleis and Burial Customs

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cemetery

cemetery

cemetery

cemetery

19 graves

ca. 1700 graves

Several graves

cemetery?

Kushite pyramid

Tombos

Kerma

Tabo

Kawa

Hillat El-Arab

Sanam

Eltameer Merowe

Jebel Barkal

Et-Tereif, Site 4-F-71

single graves

131? graves

96? graves

34 graves within 2 cemeteries

graves

graves

191+ graves

Cemetery (not excavated)

Cemetery (not excavated)

4 Cataract

Meroe-West (Beg. W)

Meroe-South (Beg. S)

Kadada

Sarurab

Bauda

Gebel Moya

Getaina (White Nile)

Kawa (White Nile)

th

Napatan Evidence

Name

Table 1 (continued)

Napatan surface finds

Napatan surface finds

Recently re-evaluated with different dating

Napatan?

Napatan?

Few excavated

Small graves near recently found pyramids

Including at least one pyramid (royal?)

Decorated rock tombs

Napatan, including pyramid

Substantial NK-cemetery, Napatan section in the south

Comment

Eisa 1999, 75

Eisa 1999, 75

Gerharz 1994; Brass 2014

Eisa 1999, 27

Eisa 1999, 27

Geus 1984, 35, 75

Dunham 1963

Dunham 1963

Näser 2006, 91; Budka 2007

Welsby 2004

Berenguer 2004

Bushara 2014

Griffith 1923; Lohwasser 2012

Vincentelli 2006

Welsby 2014, 50–56

Bonnet 1999, 3

Bonnet 1999, 3–7

Smith 2003, 138, 2006–2007

Bibliography (with earlier literature)

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The enigmatic cemetery of Debeira 176 is dated to the late New Kingdom by the excavators, but according to the squat bottles with incised decoration and other items they resemble close connections to the earliest tumuli of el-Kurru and can therefore be dated later (Säve-Söderbergh et al. 1989, 200–205, pl. 35–38; Heidorn 1994, 120). The 105 shafts were robbed extensively, but the rare skeletons seem to be interred in a contracted position. Outside the enclosure wall of the fort of Mirgissa, a cemetery with 27 graves of the Napatan Period was excavated (Geus 1975). Most of the individuals were nonadults, and some of the burials were equipped with large quantities of beads and amulets (including a plaque with the name of Shabaqo). All finds hint to an occupancy during the 25th Dynasty. The cemetery of Missimina near the Dal Cataract was used for a long time from the Napatan to the Meroitic, Post-Meroitic and Christian Periods (Vila 1980a). The 140 graves of the Napatan Period are scattered in clusters over the whole cemetery with plenty of space between these agglomerations. Maybe some of the graves in these areas were very flat and therefore eroded. The excavator André Vila identified five types of graves of different complexity from simple shaft to vaulted tombs. Most of the burials are in extended position, and several of them seem to be buried within a coffin. The burial equipment suggests two groups of people, some quite Egyptianized and some utilizing more indigenous grave goods (Vila 1980b). The cemetery of Hillat el-Arab, situated between el-Kurru and Jebel Barkal, can be dated to the transitional phase from the late New Kingdom to the early 25th Dynasty (Vincentelli 2006). Although there are no superstructures visible, the rockcut substructures reveal a quite complex arrangement of rooms. Some of them bear figural paintings depicting, among other things, humans on boats. Apart from some few finds like scarabs, all the tombs had been extensively looted of their goods. The huge cemetery of Sanam, opposite Jebel Barkal, was excavated by Francis Ll. Griffith in 1912/13 (Griffith 1923; Lohwasser 2012). 1619 graves were documented, ranging from the early 25th Dynasty to about the time of Aspelta. Although their superstructures are completely eroded, the variable types of substructures – as well as the different burial customs and distinct grave goods – suggest a rather complex society. It seems that the whole population of the town consisted of dependent specialists engaged in trade and the production of royal grave goods (for Nuri?), but the cemetery also included their subordinates and even the very poor. Two cemeteries near the later royal burial ground in Meroe, Begrawiya-West and Begrawiya-South, were excavated by G. A. Reisner and published by D. Dunham (1963). Both were founded at the time of the reign of Pi(ankh)y. While BegrawiyaWest lasted as a non-royal cemetery until the end of the Meroitic Period of the Kingdom of Kush, Begrawiya-South emerged as a royal burial ground at the beginning of the Meroitic Period for a short time. With two contemporary cemeteries near to each other, Dunham (1947, 5) suggested that these may have been used for members of the royal family from the North (Begrawiya-South) and indigenous officials from

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the region of Meroe (Begrawiya-West). In both cemeteries the early tombs represent two different types of burial customs: bed burials with contracted skeletons and shafts with bodies in extended position. Dunham (1947, 4–5) suggests the inhumations of both a traditional and an Egyptianized group. The burial goods range from small amulets and pottery to precious items of gold, silver and bronze, as well as alabaster.

3 General Observations Concerning Napatan Tombs As is typical in other ancient cultures, the common grave in Kush consists of the burial itself placed in an underground chamber or pit. This is marked by an aboveground marker (superstructure) with a surface offering place (or built chapel) for funerary rites. Each of these components – even if sometimes not archaeologically traceable – can vary in elaboration and complexity. Usually the burial itself was subterranean.5 The burial chamber can be very small and irregular, but royal tombs house a chamber system consisting of one or two antechambers in front of the burial chamber. To reach the substructure, royal tombs at el-Kurru and Nuri are provided with stairs or ramps that are filled after the burial. The access to non-royal burials was provided by short stairs or shafts. Within the burial chamber, there was often a bed or a coffin-bench hewn from stone, simulating a bed. In a few tombs at el-Kurru and Nuri, there are small post-holes around the place where the coffin was laid, indicating that it had been covered by a canopy. In a few cases we find evidence for bed-burial, which is a Nubian tradition most common in the Kerma phase. That the corpse lay on a bed is proven either by the survival of bed legs (Ku. 13, Ku. 72) or – more often – by holes indicating cavities for the insertion of bed legs. In some cases, traces of the bed itself survive. Bed burial is clearly an ancient Nubian tradition that continued into Napatan times. It is documented not only at el-Kurru and (once) in Nuri, but also in non-royal cemeteries at Qustul, Missiminia, Sai, Tombos, Begrawiya-South and Begrawiya-West. Tomb superstructures differ substantially between royal and non-royal tombs. Royal tombs are covered by pyramids, which are smaller and more acutely angled than the royal pyramids of Egypt. The Kushite pyramids are more akin to the small New Kingdom-pyramids in Nubia, such as those of the Egyptian colonial administration at Tombos (Smith 2007, 4). Starting with Pi(ankh)y’s tomb at el-Kurru, the pyramid became the customary type of superstructure of the royal tombs. However, some or all of the preceding ‘mastaba’ tombs at el-Kurru may also have had pyramid superstructures over their pit graves.

5 In rocky areas like in the cataract zones the burials are not interred but are placed on the ground. The cover is built in form of domes (Budka 2007).

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Non-royal tombs, in which size can vary substantially, are surmounted by tumuli or mud-brick mastabas. In several cemeteries, where the superstructures have completely disappeared, it is clear that the graves had been marked in a specific way since they were not penetrated by later graves (Lohwasser 2012, 33–34). The vaults of vaulted shafts can also be visible as superstructure – which has been proposed for Tombos (Smith 2007, 7–8), but is also possible for specific types of graves in Sanam. Apart from the function of marking a grave site, a grave superstructure was also a monument to the deceased. Generally, the east side of the superstructure was conceived as the site for funerary rituals – in chapels attached to the royal pyramids, or, in non-royal tombs, within small enclosures with offering tables and/ or incense burners (see below).

4 General Lines of Napatan Burial Customs Based on evidence from the tombs, we can assume that the rituals for burying the dead had been fixed in the minds of the people by the Napatan Period. But as in Egypt, we lack many tombs and their occupants. Even if both sexes, all ages and all social classes are represented in the cemeteries, there are still too few children documented for an average ancient funerary society. We will never know if there was an internal decision regarding which children were to be buried there or if the lack of evidence is caused by erosion or destruction. Only in Mirgissa does there seem to be a burial place for children: of the total of 17 interred, 13 were children, all but one younger than 12 years (Geus 1975). The burial itself is one of the rites de passage, when the person was excluded from the society of the living and included in the society of the dead (for an overview on ‘burials’ see Parker-Pearson 1999). When the dead left the community of the living, they were isolated in space. The graves thus are situated in the cemetery and are separated from the town. There, the dead were buried – the separation being not only horizontal, but also a vertical distance. It is likely that several people were involved in the funeral. The deceased was transported to the cemetery, and the grave was built. Moreover, there were the bereaved – family and friends and perhaps professional mourners.

Single and Multiple Burials, Burial Poses In nearly all cemeteries, there are both single burials and family crypts. The single inhumations are either persons at the top of society (kings, queens and elite) or the very poor, the latter buried often in shallow graves or simple shafts. Multiple burials (whether they consist of families or other communities) are usually interred in spacious tombs, sometimes with side chambers, as at Hillat el-Arab (Vincentelli 2006).

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In all Napatan cemeteries, both extended and contracted burials exist side by side, sometimes within the same tomb (as in Sanam 0221). Usually the extended burial pose is explained as ‘Egyptianized’ and the contracted as ‘indigenous’, but if we accept that the extended pose was introduced into Nubian funerary customs in the mid-2nd millennium BC and passed on through the Napatan Period, it was already part of the indigenous tradition (Lohwasser 2012, 344–345). Therefore, both poses are integral to the Napatan funerary tradition. In combination with the grave goods – again some items of which are usually interpreted as ‘Egyptianized’ and some others as ‘Nubian’ – the specific feature of the Napatan funerary archaeological culture seems to be varied, with different customs manifesting themselves.

Burial Equipment The objects put into the grave are usually described as ‘burial equipment’ or ‘grave goods’. Some of them form the decoration of the body and are laid on or beside the corpse (Fig. 4). We can assume that some of these things were already worn during the lifetime of the deceased, since traces of usage are often detected. Jewellery is of different material: various stones (including semi-precious stones), faience in different colours, metal (bronze and gold), ivory, etc. The categories of ornament include rings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets, but also frontlets and hair-rings. Rarer are lip-plugs and earrings. The jewellery of the royal persons is sometimes of a very high artisanal standard. Apart from the personal adornment of the deceased, other objects were intended to help provide for the afterlife, such as pottery jars, stone or bronze tools or toilet articles. Such objects not only equipped a person for a carefree afterlife, but also indicated his or her status. A person’s rank was indicated by the material value or exoticism of his or her burial objects. The better part of the grave goods constist of beads, amulets and pottery, but there are exceptional items, too. Within the tombs of the royal family, several objects of precious material were found, like the golden vase and cylinder sheaths of Aspelta or the silver or electrum mirrors in the tombs of Shabaqo, Amaninatakilebte, Malewiebamani and Nastasen (Markowitz/Doxey 2014). Objects of foreign provenance, like a Phoenician bronze-bowl or a Syrian seal from Sanam, hint at an extended trade network.

Afterlife In contrast to Egypt, Nubia largely lacks representations of beliefs in the afterlife. At present we have no explicit proof for mummification in Nubia, and in the non-royal cemeteries we entirely lack objects implying mummification. In the royal tombs, however, we have canopic equipment, heart-scarabs and gold caps for fingers and toes,

Napatan Necropoleis and Burial Customs

Fig. 4: Sanam, tomb 1516 – selection of body decoration: 1 Burial; 2 Earrings; 3 Frontlet; 4 Bronze buttons; 5 Bronze cuff; 6 Ivory bracelet; 7 Fingerrings; 8/9 Bronze bracelets; 10 Pectorals; 11/12 Fayence bracelets (compiled after Griffith 1923, pl. XXIV, XXV, XXVI).

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all of which appear to be a direct adoption of Egyptian cultural traits. If this cultural adoption included the practise of mummification, this is yet to be confirmed. Nevertheless, the belief in life after death does seem to be demonstrated by grave goods, which stand for the deceased owner’s continued sustenance. We cannot estimate whether or not this afterlife was understood in terms similar to that construed by Egyptian belief, which is documented in New Kingdom tombs, especially at Thebes. In the tombs of el-Kurru and Nuri there are some traits of decoration (see above), but too little is left to speculate about theological ideas. Only the two sarcophagi of Anlamani and Aspelta, inscribed with funerary texts, can give us a hint. The inscriptions are a compilation of Egyptian funerary texts: Pyramid and Coffin Texts as well as chapters of the Book of the Dead. The composition is developed in contemporary Thebes – here we have a proof of contacts between Egypt and Kush after the 25th Dynasty (Doll 1978). Nevertheless, for research into Kushite funerary beliefs these documents are only of little value, since they represent Egyptian copies. Quite peculiar is the record of the shabtis. These small figurines, which functioned in Egypt as substitutes of the deceased and were responsible for his duties in the afterworld, are found in masses in some royal pyramids – more than 1000 shabtis each in the tombs of Taharqo and Senkamanisken, as well as dozens or hundreds in other royal graves. In Nubia, the shabtis were put in long rows directly inside the burial chamber, whereas in Egypt they were interred within a shabti-box. This might signal a three-dimensional transposition of guardian demons depicted on the walls in the tomb of Qalhata (Ku. 5) (Balanda 2014, 658–659). These guardians protect the dead especially during the burial.

Funerary Rituals After the closing of the tomb, burial rites were conducted at the tomb entrance or on the surface above the tomb, although we have only limited evidence for these rituals. At the blocked entrance of some of the tombs in el-Kurru and Nuri large bronze trays were found that may have had a function in these rites. Offering tables of stone or pottery were also found associated with royal and non-royal graves. These hint at an ongoing communication with the dead after the burial. Offering tables were more common at royal or elite graves, but a kind of offering ritual may be assumed also for the poor, even if no archaeological traces are left. Interestingly, only royal offering tables carry inscriptions with offering formulae. The pictorial decoration of these tables is restricted to bread and water and sometimes plants, which presages Meroitic practice (Fig. 5). Ongoing funerary rites are most visible in the chapels of the royal tombs, where a funerary stela is set up. The lunette is decorated with the Egyptian gods Osiris, Isis and Anubis, but the text testifies to a specific Kushite ritual for the royal forefathers (Doll 2014). A recently found possible funerary temple in el-Kurru (Emberling 2015b) may have been used for funerary rites, although its layout is extremely unusual. The

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Fig. 5: Various offering tables from Sanam (after Griffith 1923, pl. XV.3, 4, 7).

layer of reoccupation can be dated to the middle Meroitic Period, but the date of construction remains unclear because of a lack of any finds. Emberling (2015b, 66) suggests a connection to the pyramid Ku. 1, proposing therefore that it is an installation from the late Napatan Period. Another mortuary temple was found by Reisner in Nuri (Nu. 400; Dunham 1955, 271) with a building phase parallel to the enlargement of the pyramid of Taharqo. Whether these two mortuary temples, the only ones known, served for the cult of only one king or are to be interpreted as collective mortuary temples remains unclear. To sum up, although the royal cemeteries have long been excavated and several non-royal cemeteries are known, we can claim to know only few substantial facts about Napatan funerary beliefs and rites, given the fact that so many graves have been plundered and so many tombs disturbed. Since the major markers are adapted from the Egyptian pattern, the ideas behind them are explained as Egyptian as well. But in fact we are not sure what is really Egyptian, what is adapted Egyptian and what is Nubian, cloaked in an Egyptian appearance (like the function of the shabtis and the rituals described on funerary stelae).

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Emberling, Geoff (2015a): Excavation of Pyramid Ku. 1. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 19, p. 60–62. Emberling, Geoff (2015b): A Mortuary Temple at El Kurru. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 19, p. 65–66. Gerharz, Rudolph (1994): Jebel Moya. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 14. Dissertation Frankfurt on Main 1990. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. Geus, Francis (1975): Le cimetière de la XXVe dynastie (MF-NE). In: Vercoutter, Jean (ed.): Mirgissa. Tome II: Les nécropoles. Mission archéologique française au Soudan. Paris: La Direction Générale des Relations Culturelles, Scientifiques et Techniques, p. 479–501. Geus, Francis (1984): Rescuing Sudan Ancient Cultures. Khartoum: French Unit of the Directorate General of Antiquities and National Museums of the Sudan. Geus, Francis / Lecointe, Yves / Maureille, Bruno (1995): Tombes napateennes, méroitiques et médievales de la nécropole nord de l’île de Sai. Rapport préliminaire de la campagne 1994–1995. Archéologie et anthropologie. In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 7, p. 99–141. Griffith, Francis Llewellyn (1923): Oxford Excavations in Nubia. Vol. XVIII–XXV: The Cemetery of Sanam. In: Liverpool Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology 10, p. 73–171. Heidorn, Lisa A. (1994): Historical Implications of the Pottery from the Earliest Tombs at El Kurru. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 31, p. 115–131. Janot, Francis / Berger, Catherine / Cartier, Frédéric / Martin, Jean / Labrousse, Audran (1997): Observations sur la phase d’activité napatéenne de la nécropole de Sedeinga. In: Actes de la VIIIe Conférence Internationale des Études Nubiennes, Lille 11–17 septembre 1994. II: Découvertes archéologiques. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 17/2. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle − Lille III, p. 129–135. Kendall, Timothy (1999a): The Origin of the Napatan State: el-Kurru and the Evidence for the Royal Ancestors. In: Wenig, Steffen/ Andrássy, Petra (eds.): Studien zum antiken Sudan. Akten der 7. Internationalen Tagung für meroitistische Forschungen vom 14. bis 19. September 1992 in Gosen (Berlin). Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 15. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 3–117. Kendall, Timothy (1999b): A Response to László Török’s ‘Long Chronology’ of El Kurru. In: Wenig, Steffen/ Andrassy, Petra (eds.): Studien zum antiken Sudan. Akten der 7. Internationalen Tagung für meroitistische Forschungen vom 14. bis 19. September 1992 in Gosen (Berlin). Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 15. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 164–176. Kendall, Timothy (2008): Why Did Taharqa Build his Tomb at Nuri? In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 117–147. Kendall, Timothy / Mohamed, El-Hassan Ahmed (with Wilson, Heather / Haynes, Joyce / Klotz, David) (2017): Jebel Barkal in the New Kingdom: An Emerging Picture. In: Spencer, Neal / Stevens, Anna / Binder, Michaela (eds.): Nubia in the New Kingdom. Lived Experience, Pharaonic Control and Indigenous Traditions. Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Egyptological Colloquium held at the British Museum in 2013. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 3. London: Peeters, p. 159–192. Lohwasser, Angelika (2001): Die königlichen Frauen im antiken Reich von Kusch. 25. Dynastie bis zur Zeit des Nastasen, Meriotica, Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 19. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Lohwasser, Angelika (2012): Aspekte der napatanischen Gesellschaft. Archäologisches Inventar und funeräre Praxis im Friedhof von Sanam – Perspektiven einer kulturhistorischen Interpretation. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der Gesamt-

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akademie 67. Contributions to the Archaeology of Egypt, Nubia and the Levant 1. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Minault-Gout, Anne / Thill, Florence (2012): Saï II. Le cimetière des tombes hypogées du Nouvel Empire. Fouilles de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale 69/1. Cairo: Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale. Näser, Claudia (2006): Die Humboldt University Nubian Expedition 2006. Arbeiten auf Us und Mograt. In: Der antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 17, p. 89–116. Parker-Pearson, Mike (1999): The Archaeology of Death and Burial. Texas A&M University Anthropology Series. London: Sutton Publishing Ltd. Rilly, Claude / Francigny, Vincent (2013): Sedeinga 2012. A Season of unexpected Discoveries. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 17, p. 61–65. Reisner, George Andrew (1918): Preliminary Report on the Harvard-Boston Excavations at Nûri: The Kings of Ethiopia after Tirhaqa. Harvard African Studies 2: Varia Africana 2. Cambridge, Mass.: The African Department of the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, p. 1–64. Säve-Söderbergh, Torgny (1989): Middle Nubian Sites. Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 4. 2 Vols. Copenhagen: Munksgaard. Schiff-Giorgini, Michela / Robichon, Clément / Leclant, Jean (1971): Soleb II. Les nécropoles. Florence: Sansoni. Smith, Stuart Tyson (2003): Wretched Kush. Ethnic Identities and Boundaries in Egypt’s Nubian Empire. London/New York: Routledge. Smith, Stuart Tyson (2007): Death at Tombos: Pyramids, Iron and the Rise of the Napatan Dynasty. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 11, p. 2–14. Spencer, Patricia (2002): Amara West. Vol. II: The Cemetery and the Pottery Corpus. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Therkildsen, Rikke H. (2015): Documentation and Conservation of the Painted Tombs: Progress Report. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 19, p. 57. Thill, Florence (2007): Les réoccupations “(pré)napatéennes” dans le cimetière égyptien 8B5/ SAC5 de Saï. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Mélanges offerts à Francis Geus: Égypte – Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III, p. 353–369. Török, László (1999): The Origin of the Napatan State: The Long Chronology of the El-Kurru Cemetery. A Contribution to T. Kendall’s Main Paper. In: Wenig, Steffen / Andrássy, Petra (ed.) (1999): Studien zum antiken Sudan. Akten der 7. Internationalen Tagung für meroitistische Forschungen vom 14. bis 19. September 1992 in Gosen (Berlin). Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 15. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 149–159. Vila, André (1977a): La prospection archéologique de la Vallée du Nil, au sud de la cataracte de Dal (Nubie Soudanaise). Fasc. 5: Le district de Ginis, Est et Ouest. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Vila, André (1977b): La prospection archéologique de la Vallée du Nil, au sud de la cataracte de Dal (Nubie Soudanaise). Fasc. 6: Le district d’Attab, Est et Ouest. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Vila, André (1977c): La prospection archéologique de la Vallée du Nil, au sud de la cataracte de Dal (Nubie Soudanaise). Fasc. 8: Le district d’Amara Est. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Vila, André (1978): La prospection archéologique de la Vallée du Nil, au sud de la cataracte de Dal (Nubie Soudanaise). Fasc. 10: Le district de Koyekka (rive droite). Les districts de Morka et de Hamid (rive gauche). L’île de Nilwatti. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique.

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Vila, André (1980a): La prospection archéologique de la Vallée du Nil, au sud de la cataracte de Dal (Nubie Soudanaise). Fasc. 12: La nécropole de Missiminia. Tome I: Les sepultures napatéennes. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Vila, André (1980b): Les tombes napateennes “sans mobilier”. In: Meroitic Newsletters. Bulletin d’Informations Méroitiques 20, p. 29–41. Vincentelli, Irene (2006): Hillat el-Arab. The Joint Sudanese-Italian Expedition in the Napatan Region, Sudan. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 15. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1570. Oxford: Archaeopress. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1990): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 7: Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and Napatan Remains at Qustul Cemeteries W and V. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition VII. Chicago, Illinois: The Oriental Institute. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2004): The SARS Amri to Kirbekan Survey: Excavations at the Pyramid, Site 4-F-71. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 8, p. 2–3. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2014): Excavations within the Kushite Town and Cemetery at Kawa 2013–14. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 18, p. 48–58.

Alexandra Riedel

The Sacred Architecture of the Napatan Period Sacred or religious architecture includes all types of constructions associated with cults or religious practices, from small shrines to major sanctuaries. However, our knowledge of sacred architecture of the Napatan Period is still limited mainly to large sanctuaries and royal tombs. Since the 19th/20th century the holy site Jebel Barkal has been known and described just like the large Amun-temples of Taharqo and the funerary architecture at the royal necropolises of El-Kurru and Nuri. More recent surveys and excavations revealed evidence for further temples and shrines within known sites as well as at new places. Nevertheless, especially information on smaller temples or on remoter regions is still rare. Furthermore, architecture of the Napatan Period is in general poorly preserved due to the harsh climate, the weak construction materials and the reuse of the structures by following periods. Therefore, we may assume that a large number of sites and buildings are still unknown – which results in our very incomplete picture of the Napatan sacred architecture.

1 Archaeological Evidence 1.1 The Kushite Religious Centre at the Jebel Barkal Immediately downstream of the Fourth Cataract on the right bank of the Nile, the sacred centre of the Kushite Kingdom was situated at the foot of the distinctive, lone sandstone hill Jebel Barkal (Fig. 1). A vast city-like religious site developed to the south of the mountain with a temple district in the east and a cemetery in the west. Most of the structures are arranged in loose groups around the mountain slope, oriented roughly to the river in the south-east. Little is known about the former organization of the site – though remains of a Napatan settlement are expected in the area towards the Nile. There are more than eight temples and three palaces within the temple district, with new structures being excavated almost every year. The site and most of its buildings developed in several construction and rebuilding phases up to the Meroitic Period. B500, the central sanctuary for Amun of Napata, for instance, dates back to the 18th Dynasty with several significant modifications during the Napatan Period: Pi(ankh)y finished the hypostyle hall and added a peristyle court. From the time of Taharqo, a bark stand is preserved, and remains of a kiosk in the centre of the hypostyle hall date to the reign of Tanutamani. Only some loose blocks survived of other buildings like the so-called B1100, attesting the former existence of further Napatan structures. We know of five temples, which were probably newly designed and erected during the Napatan Period: B200, B300, https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-027

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Fig. 1: The sacred city at the foot of Jebel Barkal (Foto: Pawel Wolf, 2011).

B700, B800 and B900 (see below, Fig. 3). All these temples consisted of several rooms, symmetrically arranged along a main axis. All constructions were made of sandstone masonry and decorated with reliefs, except the early phases of B800, which were erected in mud-brick. The rear parts of the temples B200 and B300 were cut into the mountain. These hemispeoi are the westernmost temples situated below the so-called pinnacle. Both have a similar layout and were erected during the reign of Taharqo. They are dated by their relief decoration. The smaller B200, once about 25 m in length, was described by early travellers and researchers of the 19th and 20th century as a multi-chambered temple, consisting of a pylon, a first hall with six columns, a second room with four columns, a third room with two Bes-statue pillars and three parallel sanctuary chambers. Today just parts of the sanctuaries and foundations are preserved. The reliefs testify to a dedication of the temple to Hathor-Tefnut (www.jebelbarkal.org. VII; Wolf 1990, 81–84, 141–147). The second hemispeos, B300, was originally about 35 m long. Sketches and drawings of early travellers feature a four-columned portico in front of a pylon, a first room with eight Bes-statue pillars and eight columns with Hathor capitals (Fig. 2). as well as a partly rock-cut second room with eight Hathor-columns, of which just few columns remain. Still preserved are the completely rock-cut rear rooms of the temple: a third small chamber with two Bes-statue pillars and a threepartite sanctuary with an additional small chamber is in the north-east. The temple was dedicated to Mut as evidenced by inscriptions (www.jebelbarkal.org. VII; Wolf 1990, 84–91, 147–150).

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Fig. 2: Jebel Barkal, Temple B 300 with remaining Hathor columns (Foto: Pawel Wolf, 2011).

Fig. 3: Jebel Barkal, temples erected during the Napatan period (Illustration by Alexandra Riedel, based on Lepsius 1849–1859,Reisner 1918, Reisner 1920 and www.jebelbarkal.org).

Temple B700 is situated further east of the mountain cliff. It is about 24 m long and consists of a pylon and two rooms with four columns each (Reisner 1918; www. jebelbarkal.org. VII). The floor was paved with sandstone slabs rising slightly along the main axis. Egyptian palm capitals decorated the columns of the first room, while

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the second had papyrus bundle columns with open flower capitals. A large bark stand was placed in the second room; the pylon was decorated with corner mouldings. A dedication of the temple to Amun or to Osiris is proposed.1 B700 was constructed during the time of Atlanersa, of whom a foundation deposit and inscriptions have been found. It was not finished, however, before Senkamanisken, whose name appears in the inscriptions, and was remodelled during the Meroitic Period. Temple B800 was built west of the Amun-temple B500. The date of its erection is not clear, construction phases from the time of Alara until sometime after the end of the 25th Dynasty have been suggested (Kendall 2014). Its first phase was a small mud-brick building consisting of a three-partite sanctuary, a vestibule and a room with four columns. After several modifications and additions, B800 was rebuilt in sandstone. The last phase of the temple – up to 55 m in length – was constructed with a pylon, two courts or halls with columns flanking the main axis, presumably a second pylon, a room with four columns and finally a single sanctuary with a central bark stand. It was argued that the temple was dedicated to Amun. B900 was added immediately east of B800. Being c. 27 m long, it consisted of one main room with a central row of probably five columns with open papyrus flower capitals and a small vestibule in front of it (Reisner 1920). As in the neighbouring temple B800, the paved floor slightly rose along the temple axis. Relief blocks of Pi(ankh)y were found reused in a second Meroitic construction phase2 suggesting that he had dedicated the temple B900 to Amun (Kendall 2014). Besides these temples, certain parts of two further Napatan monuments need to be considered religious. The first is the so called ‘pinnacle’, the second is palace B1200. The ‘pinnacle’ is a single, natural rock peak about 75 m high, separated by a gorge from the main plateau. It can evoke the impression of a colossal statue of an ureaus or of the White Crown when looking at it from different angles. Already ancient depictions interpret it as a rearing serpent (www.jebelbarkal.org. I, fig. 3–4 and III, fig. 25–27), suggesting this natural rock formation had been regarded as a sacred natural place since at least the New Kingdom. The pinnacle itself was subject to man-made changes. An inscribed panel, overlain with gold sheets, was cut into the summit by Taharqo and extended by Nastasen. Furthermore, a small alcove probably for a statue, cut post-holes and some alterations to the rock surface made with masonry are attested (Kendall 2004). The second monument, palace B1200 situated south-west of the entrance to temple B800, is a mud-brick building with sandstone elements, which was rebuilt several times with different floor plans. A lavishly and elaborately decorated room of an early phase with inscriptions naming the kings Senkamanisken, Anlamani and Aspelta has been excavated. Its walls were plastered and painted; columns with coloured reliefs supported a decorated ceiling.

1 For a discussion on the dedication of B700, see Kendall 2014. 2 It is assumed that these relief blocks originally belonged to the first phase of B900 due to similar workmanship.

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Four sandstone sockets suggest the existence of a wooden baldachin or canopy. Decoration and inscriptions indicate a ritual use of the room supposedly in connection with New Year ceremonies (www.jebelbarkal.org. VII; Kendall/Wolf 2007).

1.2 Napatan Sanctuaries between the Third and Fourth Cataract Apart from the Jebel Barkal, the best-known Napatan sanctuaries are the three large temples at Kawa, Sanam and Tabo, all designed and constructed probably during the time of Taharqo: Sanam, situated 6 km downstream of the Jebel Barkal on the opposite Nile bank, Kawa and Tabo located in the Kerma basin, on the east bank around 53 km and 25 km south of Kerma. The three temples are dedicated to Amun, share comparable floor plans and architectural features and are constructed in quite regular masonry of local sandstone with relief decoration. All three temples seem to replace older – probably New Kingdom – constructions and were used far into the Meroitic Period. The best preserved structure is temple T at Kawa, which was an extensive settlement during the Napatan Period. Temple T represents the town’s main sanctuary and is situated about 150 m from the Nile and oriented west-north-west towards the river. In front of the temple along its axis several other constructions are arranged, of which an alley of rams (see below, Fig. 7), an early phase of an altar and remains of a temple garden are dated to the time of Taharqo (MacAdam 1955, 15). Closer to the river, two smaller temples are situated to the south of and perpendicular to the main axis of temple T: Temple A, constructed under Tutankhamun and refurbished under Taharqo, and temple B, a Meroitic temple, which probably had a predecessor built by Shabaqo. The whole sanctuary was apparently also surrounded by a massive mud-brick enclosure wall with gates dating to the time of Taharqo (Welsby 2011, 55–58). Temple T is about 69 × 39 m in size (MacAdam 1955, 61–113). Its general layout is almost symmetrical (see below, Fig. 6). The front part consists of a pylon, a peristyle court with four by six palm columns and a hypostyle hall with four by four palm columns, both spanning the whole width of the building. The rear part is occupied by a vestibule and a sanctuary in the temple axis, a group of smaller rooms to the north, an L-shaped room with a row of four columns to the south and a narrow corridor-like room behind the sanctuary. The main axis is emphasized by the central doorways and by wider intercolumnia. While the size and the height of rooms, doors and columns decreases along the axis, the level of the floors with sandstone pavement gradually rises. At the outside the temple rests on a low plinth. The pylon has four mast-grooves and its corners are decorated with torus mouldings. There are ascending stairs built into the pylon and into the wall between peristyle and hypostyle hall. This wall features the depth of a second pylon, but does not protrude the exterior of the temple. The peristyle court and the hypostyle hall have small lateral entrances to the north and to the south. Two small shrines were

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Fig. 4: Kawa, shrine after excavation (Foto: Kawa excavation project; Welsby 2002, Plate 1).

built between the columns in the hypostyle hall, one by Taharqo and one by Aspelta. The L-shaped room next to the sanctuary features an unroofed part in the east and houses a platform with ascending stairs on its western side. Inscriptions and Taharqo’s stelae in front of the doorways provide evidence of the dedication of the temple to Amun; some of them describe his efforts and investments for the formation of his new temple. Outside of the precinct are two further Napatan religious buildings: a kiosk in the very east of the town and what could be a small shrine of a town district in the southern part of the site. Only two courses of the kiosk superstructure survived. It has a long rectangular and symmetrical floor plan, measures about 14 × 6.5 m and is oriented north-south (MacAdam 1955, 17, 53–54). Its east and west walls consist of four columns with screen walls in-between. Its front and rear walls enhance a central wide opening like a door frame. Originally, reliefs and inscriptions decorated the walls in-and outside. Certain features of its construction are similar to temple T and the well-executed Egyptian hieroglyphs indicate that the kiosk was erected during the early Napatan Period. The shrine in the south of Kawa consisted of a row of three rooms (Fig. 4). The structure measured about 11 × 4.50 m and was made of mud-brick. The rear room was paved with sandstone slabs.3 It was entered along the main axis from the west through central doorways. All rooms were mud-plastered,

3 Welsby 2000; 2001; 2002.

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Fig. 5: Kawa shrine, the east wall of the central room with the doorway into the sanctuary, Illustration: Kawa excavation project; Derek Welsby).

whitewashed on the outside and decorated on the inside with painted inscriptions and scenes with kings and gods (Fig. 5). A mud-brick altar was preserved in front of the building. In the rear room, a sandstone altar/bark stand with painted decoration bore cartouches of Taharqo. The shrine was probably dedicated to Amun, who was mentioned in an inscription and pictured in the paintings. Two further rooms were added in a later construction phase. Furthermore, a decorated lintel and two stone window-grilles were found. At Sanam, Taharqo erected another large Amun-temple, 500 m from the Nile, in the south-eastern corner of the assumed town (Fig. 6). The temple is oriented north-west towards the river and measures about 68 × 29 m; the width of the pylon is about 41 m (Griffith 1922, 75–114). The layout of the temple is almost identical to the temple at Kawa, with just small differences: six by six columns are arranged in the peristyle court at Sanam instead of four by six columns at Kawa. There is a second pylon instead of just a strong rear wall of the court. The width of the temple decreases behind the second pylon. The gate is articulated with central recesses and wall segments with corner torus mouldings protrude from the outer temple wall. The positions of the side entrances into the peristyle are mirrored compared to Kawa, the ascending stairs are in different locations. In Sanam, fragments of a cavetto cornice and two lion-headed water spouts (Fig. 7), which were part of the upper wall construction, have been found outside the temple. As at Kawa, two small shrines were built into the hypostyle hall by Taharqo and Aspelta. The temple reliefs of the Sanam-temple attest to a dedication to Amun and inscribed plaques of a foundation deposit bear the name of Taharqo. The analogue design of both temples, with what seems to be small design revisions or improvements, suggest their almost contemporary erection maybe even by the same group of builders (Wolf 1990, 136–140). The temple of Tabo is oriented towards the east – not towards the present main branch of the Nile, yet maybe in direction of a former branch of the river (Fig. 6). It is slightly larger than the temples of Kawa and Sanam with dimensions of about 76 × 31 m and a pylon width of 40 m (Jacquet-Gordon et al. 1969; Bonnet 2011).

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Fig. 6: Amun-temples at Kawa, Sanam and Tabo from the time of Taharqo (Illutrations by Alexandra Riedel, based on Macadam 1955, Griffith 1922 and Jacquet-Gordon 1969).

Fig. 7: Ram statue from Kawa and lion water spout from Sanam (Illustration by Alexandra Riedel, water spout based on Griffith 1922).

At Tabo, only small parts of the walls and some foundation trenches survived. The general layout of the first two rooms and pylons of the temple is similar to the construction at Sanam. Different are the number of columns in the hypostyle hall, the shifted location of the side doors and the similar width of the temple in front of and behind the second pylon. Features such as flag masts or stairs have not been documented. The design of the rear part of the temple is unclear. A small number of relief blocks and fragments of probably palmiform column capitals from the hypostyle hall have been found (Jacquet-Gordon 1999). Some other construction details survived as well: the main parts of the floor are paved with stone; remains of

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Fig. 8: Smaller and less known Napatan temples between the First and Fourth Cataract (Illustration by Alexandra Riedel, based on Bonnet and Valbelle 2006, Rose 2007, Budge 1907, Dunham and Janssen 1960, Welsby 2002, Zurawski 2005, Emberling 2015, Dunham 1955).

burnt palm trunks and thatch prove that a wooden mud-roof was used at a certain time. Fragments of silver plating and bronze plaques recovered at the entrance of the second pylon suggest that its double doors were made of wood with bronze fittings and silver decorations. Finds suggest that the temple at Tabo was dedicated to Amun. The similarity to the temples at Sanam and Kawa as well as relief fragments indicate a construction during the time of Taharqo or one of his immediate successors. Besides the three well know sites and their temples, there were other sanctuaries during the Napatan Period – known from few remains only or investigated just recently (Fig. 8). In Dukki Gel, a town situated about 1 km north of Kerma, the Kushites used and extended a former Egyptian temple complex. Remains of several time periods indicate that the sanctuary was used from the 18th Egyptian Dynasty to the Meroitic Kingdom. From the Napatan Period, decorated blocks of Shabaqo and Arikeamanote as well as a cache containing Napatan royal statues have been found (see Ch. Bonnet/Valbelle; Bonnet/Valbelle 2006,4 64–69, 38–40, 70–83). Investigations indicate that the early Kushite precinct comprised an east and a west

4 For Dokki Gel, the cache and further literature.

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temple connected by a central part in-between. Furthermore, two wells, administrative buildings and workshops have been excavated to the west of the temples as well as a circular building and other edifices further east. The temples are oriented north-south, stretching over an area of about 50 × 40 m. The floor plans of both temples are presumably organized symmetrically along a central axis and consist of a pylon, a first hall with four columns and a series of rear rooms. A small chamber in front of a tripartite sanctuary is preserved in the western temple. Both temples are connected by a hall introducing a second perpendicular axis. There is a side chapel attached to the western temple, at the western end of this axis. During the New Kingdom, the western and the central temple were probably dedicated to Amun (Bonnet 2009). The circular building east of the temples was constructed in mud-brick masonry and had an inner diameter of 10.5 m. It is dated to the New Kingdom, but was rebuilt during the Napatan Period (Bonnet 2007). It is assumed that this building is a temple referring to Kerma traditions. Upstream of Kerma, three temples have been investigated just recently (Fig. 8). The temple of Soniyat is situated about 100 km downstream of the Jebel Barkal on the east bank of the Nile. It measures about 18 × 28 m and is oriented south-west towards the river. The temple was erected in sandstone and plastered mud-brick walls. Two main building phases have been recognized; ceramic deposits indicate its use since at least the Napatan Period and its reconstruction in the Meroitic Period. The Napatan temple consisted of a pylon, a hypostyle hall and a five-aisled rear part with vestibule and a tripartite sanctuary flanked by two narrow rooms. One of the sanctuary rooms was subdivided. The temple corners were decorated with torus mouldings. Its construction was never finished (Żurawski 2003, 243–249; 2005). The temples of Hugair and Usli are situated on the right and left bank of the Nile, 40 km west of Jebel Barkal, roughly opposite each other.5 At Hugair, a large sanctuary was constructed into a former sand stone quarry, yet only small parts of the original temple walls are documented. Some blocks bearing the name of the late Napatan King Aktisanes have been recovered (Murtada Bushara Mohammed et al. 2014). At Usli, several ancient structures have been identified, amongst them the remains of a sandstone temple called Usli 1. Excavations revealed parts of walls together with small fragments of relief and hieroglyphic texts, column drums and bases as well as a floor pavement. The temple might have been 15 to 20 m wide, between 30 to 50 m long and probably had a colonnaded courtyard, a hypostyle hall and a sanctuary. It was oriented north-west to south-east – towards the Nile. A date in the New Kingdom or the Early Kushite Period has been suggested (Barta 2013).

5 Żurawski 2003; Murtada Bushara Mohammed et al. 2014; Barta 2013.

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1.3 Napatan Sanctuaries between the Third and the First Cataract A small mud-brick temple was built during the reign of Taharqo on the east bank of the Nile at Qasr Ibrim (Fig. 8). Its remains measure about 17 × 10 m and are oriented towards the south-west. The first half of the building is occupied by a room with four columns. The second half consists of a smaller sanctuary in the middle surrounded by narrow rooms, a long staircase on the left and a corridor-like room on the right and in the back. The latter was accessible from the sanctuary only. Fragments of stone door jambs and lintels with the name of Taharqo were reused, after the small temple was incorporated as a side chapel into a later Meroitic temple complex. According to Rose (2011, 4–5; 2007, 33–34), earlier Kushite religious buildings are expected at Qasr Ibrim. Another mud-brick temple was briefly documented at Semna on the west bank of the Nile (Fig. 8). It measured 23 × 13 m and was roughly oriented to the south, hence parallel to the river (Budge 1907, 476–488; Dunham/Janssen 1960, 12–13). The temple was erected on an artificial platform south of the temple of Thutmose III, creating an extended restructured temple area high above the settlement. It consisted of a room with six papyrus-columns and a smaller central sanctuary surrounded on all sides by narrow corridors. An altar found in the sanctuary as well as stone fragments of door jambs, a lintel and columns bear the name of Taharqo. Additionally, the altar had a dedication to Senusret III. The temple was repaired and changed several times. Finally, single blocks and smaller structures suggest further building activities during the time of Taharqo at Philae, Faras, Buhen, Gezira Dabarosa and Sedeinga (Wolf 1990).

1.4 Early Kushite Sacred Architecture South of the Fourth Cataract South of the Jebel Barkal region, in the area of the Island of Meroe, there are several references to the former existence of Napatan temples such as at Meroe, where early Kushite temples are suggested from the 7th/6th century BC onwards,6 or in Dangeil, where the discovery of fragments of Napatan royal statues in the Meroitic Amuntemple indicate the existence of a Napatan temple (Anderson/Ahmed 2009). Furthermore, radiocarbon dates relating to the Great Enclosure and the large hafir at Musawwarat es-Sufra suggest late Napatan structures (Näser 2011; Scheibner 2011). For the area in the south, occupation remains, burials and artefacts attest to early Kushite settlements, which hint at the existence of religious architecture as

6 Török 1997, 25–32; 2002, 213–214; Pope 2014, 5–33.

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well. Yet the evidence is still under discussion and too fragmented to reconstruct any architecture up to this state.

1.5 Napatan Funerary Architecture Our knowledge of funerary architecture mostly derives from the royal necropolises at El-Kurru, Nuri, Jebel Barkal and Begrawiya.7 These cemeteries are situated close to the first elevated rocky plateaus beyond the Nile, allowing the construction of subterranean burial chambers and the quarrying of building material. The only associated settlement is Meroe situated near the necropolises of Begrawiya. Processional roads are unknown. The royal burials populate ridges and plateaus and are oriented east to south-east. The most ancient tombs usually occupy the most prominent spots; the later burials filled the spaces left. At El-Kurru and Nuri, the burials of kings and queens are located in distinct areas; in the cemeteries of Begrawiya there is no separation. At Nuri and at El-Kurru, there are indications for a late Napatan funerary temple situated at the outer limits of the cemeteries towards the Nile.8 Both are partly rockcut, partly sandstone constructions, oriented roughly to the north and both have a similar layout. Their floor plans show a room sequence typical for temples: a peristyle court followed by a chamber with four columns and what could be a small sanctuary. However, the rear part of the two buildings is doubled. Two axes start at the back colonnade of the peristyle court in El-Kurru (Fig. 9), in Nuri one starts from the back and one from the right hand side colonnade. The two rear axes are connected by a joint side chamber or corridor, which can be entered from the columned room. Each time another side chamber was placed opposite of the connecting corridor. The entrance situation of both buildings is unclear, except for a room situated in front of both peristyle courts with a flight of stairs leading up to the surrounding surface. At Nuri, only traces of crudely incised relief scenes and parts of a sandstone lintel are preserved. At El-Kurru, the walls are undecorated. Remarkable are, however, architectural details such as stone ashlar architraves under the rock-cut ceilings in the columned rooms and the use of various types of capitals. One of the columned rooms featured lotus capitals, the other had two palm capitals and two bell-shaped capitals with five volutes, of which the latter two provide parallels to Ptolemaic Alexandria (Cheng 2013, 54–56). There are no finds or inscriptions allowing to interpret or to date both structures, except evidence of reuse in the Meroitic Period at El-Kurru. Their room disposition sets them apart from the usual temple typologies. Similarities can be found, however, in Egyptian tomb architecture in Alexandria or to the private tombs of the 25th/26th Dynasty at Thebes.

7 For detailed information on Napatan necropolises and burial customs, see Ch. Lohwasser/ Kendall in this volume. Furthermore, see Francigny 2016. 8 Dunham 1955, 217; Emberling 2013, 45–47; 2015, 65–66; as well for the following descriptions.

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Fig. 9: El-Kurru, a possible funerary temple (Foto: International Kurru Archaeological Project; Emberling 2015, Plate 23).

Another feature of funerary temple architecture are the offering chapels, attached to the east side of the burial’s superstructures. They display similar design features like temples and were, together with the grave, often enclosed by a kind of temenos wall. The single-roomed chapels were usually built in sandstone masonry,9 but sometimes, usually for private tombs, brick or mud brick was used as well. The elaborate chapels of most of the Napatan kings’ graves featured entrance pylons with or sometimes without moulded corners, and doorways with recesses or posts. However, most of the queens’ chapels lacked a pylon.10 The chapels often had a niche with moulding, cornice and a stela in their western wall. Some walls showed reliefs of the tomb owner. Traces of white plaster, gilded and colourfully painted, have been found (Dunham 1955, 145, 176) as well as evidence for roofing made of sandstone slabs − in some cases single slabs, in other cases with two slabs leaning against each other (Dunham 1955, 109, 140, 180).

9 Dunham 1950, 121–132; 1955; 1957; as well for the following. 10 A pylon-like one-tower front without protruding wall segments on each side was built during the 25th Dynasty at Egypt: the mortuary chapel of Amenirdis I at Medinet Habu (Arnold 1999, 49). A similar reconstruction would be possible at offering chapels with a stronger front wall such as Nu. 32 or Nu. 17, yet the remains and their documentation are very fragmented.

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2 Napatan Sacred Architecture 2.1 Typology The archaeological remains of the Napatan Period reveal a big variety of sacred architecture spanning from temple towns, via major sanctuaries inside of or attached to settlements, to shrines, kiosks and funerary architecture. Furthermore, we know sacred natural places.11 Major sanctuaries contained a variety of features. Apart from the temple itself, there are attached temples situated in front of the main building along its main axis, as well as palaces, kiosks, altars, gardens, wells, ram statues, administrative buildings, workshops and a temenos wall. Small temples, single shrines and kiosks intra muros were probably used as settlement temples, minor cult or offering places or as way-stations for processions. Especially at Kawa, where a kiosk in the east and a small shrine in the south are attested, one could imagine a bark procession around the town passing by these way stations as is described in an inscription in the hypostyle hall of temple T.12 The Napatan sacred buildings are usually grouped into: 1. Temples and shrines representing free-standing buildings and partially rock-cut hemispeoi, 2. Sacred buildings in a funerary context such as funerary chapels and the assumed funerary temples, 3. Kiosks and porches.

2.1.1 Temples and shrines In general, Napatan temples and shrines usually have a symmetrical design and a room sequence arranged along a central axis through the main doorways and widened intercolumnia. Their design follows Egyptian New Kingdom traditions. Typical elements are a more public front part with a pylon, a columned festival court and a hypostyle hall. The non-public rear part with vestibule and a single or tripartite sanctuary in the back was flanked by several minor rooms. The rooms leading to the sanctuary become smaller in size and height along the way as the temple floor rises. Free standing Napatan temples and shrines vary in size. Their room programme reflects their various functions and purposes (e.g. rituals associated with their dedication, political functions, community temple or supra-regional sanctuary, adminis-

11 For discussions on the typology of Napatan sacred architecture and further literature, see e.g. Wenig 1984 and Rocheleau 2008. 12 See Kawa inscription IX in MacAdam 1949, 62. For cults and procession in Napatan temples, see Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, 71–76.

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trative or economical functions to be served). Major temples usually developed over a long period from small core temples to complex arrangements by the addition of elements or by changes to the original structures. The three temples at Kawa, Sanam and Tabo are the only Kushite examples of major sanctuaries, which were built as fully developed temple complexes (see above, Fig. 6). They represent an ideal design for an Amun-temple at the time of Taharqo. Their room disposition follows Egyptian models, some changes such as side doors in court and hypostyle hall and the chapel for Ra-Horakhty (see furnishing below) appear to be Napatan introductions. Inscriptions attest that Taharqo employed craftsmen from Egypt to build his temple at Kawa.13 In Egypt, Taharqo built amongst others a temple of the same type: the temple for Khons-pa-khered in the complex of Mut at Karnak (Arnold 1999, 61).14 Smaller free standing temples have a reduced room programme, with less furnishings and decoration (see above, Fig. 8). Their layout differs, the design is less predetermined. Soniyat, for instance, does not have a festival court. The temples of Semna and Qasr Ibrim seem to concentrate on one sanctuary and a vestibule, which could serve as a hypostyle hall as well. In both cases, the sanctuary is smaller than the vestibule and surrounded by minor rooms creating ‘an early form of freestanding sanctuary’ (Arnold 1999, 59), which can be often seen in the later Ptolemaic temples in Egypt. Temple B700 and the shrine at Kawa just consist of two/three similar rooms in a row. Smaller temples often lack a pylon as do early funerary chapels. Furthermore, a circular temple type is suggested, yet few related archaeological remains have been investigated up to now. From the Napatan Period only one example at Dokki Gel is known (Bonnet 2007); one later Meroitic example is described at Wad ban Naga (Onderka/Vrtal et al. 2013, 67–74). They are discussed as an original Kushite temple type that developed on local traditions (see Ch. Kuckertz). We know only two examples of Napatan rock-cut temples, B200 and B300 at Jebel Barkal. Both temples are hemispeoi, both are dedicated to female goddesses: Hathor-Tefnut and Mut. Unique features are the colossal Bes-statue pillars and Hathor capitals (capitals see below). The design of both temples is very similar and follows Egyptian examples of Nubian rock-cut temples of the New Kingdom and especially of the 20th Dynasty. Both temples were built during the reign of Taharqo. Up to now they are an isolated phenomenon of Napatan religious architecture and seem to be a specific part of the sacred landscape of Jebel Barkal.

2.1.2 Funerary Chapels and the suggested Funerary Temples Funerary chapels are single-room structures used for funerary rites and offerings for the tomb owner. Early examples were plain rooms. After the 25th Dynasty pylons 13 See as well the inscription Kawa IV 20–2 in MacAdam 1949, 16 which says that Taharqo sent good craftsmen and an architect to construct his temple. 14 For a comprehensive discussion on building activities of the 25th Dynasty at Thebes, see Leclant 1965.

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Fig. 10: Napatan kiosks (Illustration by Alexandra Riedel, based on Hinkel 1984).

became common features of the king’s chapels; until the late Napatan Period they became standard for burials in general. The two suggested funerary temples at Nuri and El-Kurru are most probably religious buildings, yet their function is still unclear.

2.1.3 Kiosks and Porches From the Napatan Period we know four examples of kiosks: two from Nubia at Kawa and Jebel Barkal, one from Karnak constructed under Taharqo and another one at the small temple of Medinet Habu, for which a date in the time of Shabaqo has been suggested (Fig. 10).15 The kiosks are usually situated outside of sanctuaries, in front of or attached to the front of temples or in the temple courtyard. They are called entrance kiosk or portico if attached to the temple entrance. Kiosks consist of columns with screen walls and door frames inserted into the intercolumnia. At the kiosk of Taharqo at Karnak, the screen walls were added during the later Ptolemaic Period (Arnold 1999, 51). The Napatan structures are usually constructed at ground level, have a rectangular floor plan and the screen walls are smaller in depth than the

15 Hinkel 1989; Wenig 1984, 404–408; Arnold 1999, 46–61. The Egyptian kiosks shall be compared to allow for some general remarks.

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columns. During the later Meroitic Period, the single architectural elements are more integrated into one complete work. The screen walls gradually absorb the columns, until some kiosks have plain walls on the inside (e.g. Naga, Meroe). The former construction principle developed into a standard decoration type during the Meroitic Period. The so-called entrance porches consisting of two or four rows of columns parallel to the temple axis are colonnaded structures similar to kiosks. Several such porches were erected at temples in Thebes under the reign of Taharqo (see Arnold 1999, 57–58). Their architectural features are similar to Napatan kiosks. In Nubia the four-columned portico of B300 at Jebel Barkal could have been erected during the reign of Taharqo, however, the remains were documented by early travellers only.

2.2 Decoration and Furnishings Napatan religious constructions feature typical Egyptian decorations. The buildings and their pylons usually rested on a small plinth and were crowned by mouldings and cavetto cornices; corners often had a round or square moulding as decoration. Water spouts were made in the shape of a lion as documented in Sanam. The walls of temples and speoi were smoothed and often decorated with reliefs or colourful paintings.16 The scenes follow Egyptian traditions as is documented in Kawa, where the reliefs of temple T recall examples from the temples of Sahura and Nyuserra at Abusir and Pepy II at Saqqara. Here the Old Kingdom models were imitated closely with changes to the depicted gods and Kushite rulers as well as to local clothes and accessories (MacAdam 1955, 63; Arnold 1999, 59). Usually palmiform columns and lotus or papyrus flower columns with open, bell-shaped capitals were used. Like in Egypt, early Napatan builders seemed to prefer the palm column thereby referring to an Old Kingdom column type (Arnold 1999, 44–45, 57–59). There is no evidence of raised central naves in Napatan Nubian buildings. The above-mentioned two kiosks in Egypt have papyrus bundle columns with closed capitals as well as papyrus columns with open bell-shaped capital and smooth column shaft. In Egypt, Napatan columns tend to be more slender than the New Kingdom examples. In the two hemispeoi at the Jebel Barkal, which were dedicated to female goddesses, Hathor-capitals and Bes-statue pillars were used.17 The two capitals in the ‘funerary temple’ at El-Kurru are of a very special type: bellshaped capitals with five volutes each (Fig. 11). Furthermore, those two capitals are

16 For discussions on relief scenes in Napatan temples, see the summary with further literature in Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, 69–70; for more details, see Török 2002. 17 For the association of Hathor capitals and Bes-figures with female goddesses, see Kuckertz/ Lohwasser 2016, 70, 109–112. Unusual are the pillars with Bes-statues as high as the pillars themselves. They are comparable to royal statue pillars of the Middle and New Kingdom (Arnold 1999, 301).

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Fig. 11: El-Kurru, a possible funerary temple, upside down capital with five volutes in fill (Foto: International Kurru Archaeological Project; Cheng 2013, Plate 3).

used in one room together with two palm capitals. Capitals with volutes as well as the use of different capital types beside each other are untypical for New Kingdom and early Napatan constructions and would rather be expected during the late Napatan or Meroitic Period.18 In the Meroitic Period, Greco-Roman capital types and a mixture of capital types within one colonnade are used (e.g. Hathor chapel at Naga), comparable to the Ptolemaic and Roman Period in Egypt. During the time of Taharqo, depicted columns and colonnades were used to decorate facades in Egypt. At the temple of the divine consorts at Karnak, for instance, half columns with Hathor capitals are attached to the wall such as to represent a depiction of a kiosk (Arnold 1999, 54). Other furnishings of temples are bark stands (Aldenhoven 2014), wooden baldachins/canopies and wooden boxes as well as certain objects used in rituals such as altars, small statues and figures, situlae, rings, sistra and sceptres.19 Especially

18 The earliest Egyptian-composite capital survived at the entrance kiosk of Nectanebo I (380– 362 BC) at the Amun-temple of Hibis in el-Kharga Oasis. Palm columns and composite capitals are arranged beside each other at this building, which means that composite capitals as well as the flexibility to mix different capital types occurs already prior to the Ptolemaic Period (McKenzie 2007, 85). 19 For a summary on temple furniture and cult objects and further literature, see Kuckertz/ Lohwasser 2016, 75–76.

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attested in Amun-temples are ram statues resting on pedestals and grouped in pairs flanking the temple axis, flag poles at the pylons, small shrines inserted into the hypostyle hall, and a room with a small platform beside or close to the sanctuary.20 The latter room is called dais room, throne room or chapel for Ra-Horakhty21 and only appears in major Amun sanctuaries. It is characterised as a space partly open like a court and partly closed by a roof. A small platform with stairs leading up is placed in front of the western/north-western wall. The platform is arranged to meet the morning light regardless of the temple orientation, showing that chapel and platform are clearly involved in rituals related to the rising sun. As the rising sun played an important role in the coronation of the king, the chapel could have been involved in the rituals of the king’s coronation journey as well (Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, 65–66). This Ra-Horakhty chapel is a feature newly introduced in Amuntemples of the Napatan Period, which is continuously used in the Meroitic Period. Predecessors can probably be found in the solar courts of New Kingdom royal cult temples (Arnold 1999, 277).

2.3 Construction The majority of temples, chapels, kiosks and sacred buildings were constructed of local sandstone extracted from quarries at nearby mountains. At places like the Jebel Barkal or in the context of funerary architecture, the existing mountains were used. In these cases, parts of the buildings were cut into the bedrock and additional rooms were added in the front. In general, Kushite masonry is characterized by the use of small to medium, sometimes larger sized ashlars.22 Only few large-scale blocks for wide spanning architraves, lintels or roof slabs were made of the rather soft Nubian sandstone. Other temples or parts of buildings were constructed in mud-brick, plastered and decorated with paintings. The typical colours were white, black, red, yellow and blue. The floor was often paved with sandstone slabs. Single and double doors made of wood with bronze fittings and, for instance, silver plated decorations can be found (Tabo and Kawa, see MacAdam 1955, 57–58, 171–172). Inscriptions tell about columns overlain with gold (MacAdam 1955, 15; 1949, 16), similar to the inscribed panel overlain with gold sheets at the pinnacle of Jebel Barkal. Little evidence exists on roof constructions. Smaller rooms were roofed with sand-

20 See the descriptions of Amun-temples at Kawa, Sanam and Tabo above. 21 Concerning rams and the so-called dais room in Amun-temples, see Rocheleau 2008, 77–78. For a discussion on the so-called dais room as chapel for Ra-Horakhty, see Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, 65–66. 22 In Egypt, the ashlars of the Kushite Dynasty are rather smaller than the blocks used during the New Kingdom or the Third Intermediate Period. The traditional New Kingdom methods of stone cutting and dressing continued and a few were added due to the increasing use of iron tools; see Arnold 1999, 45–46.

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stone slabs or vaults made of stone or mud-brick, for instance at royal burials. However, remains of burnt palm trunks and thatch (e.g. at Tabo) in combination with the low quality of the local sandstone suggest flat roofs – made of wooden beams, matting and a mud cover – for most of the constructions.

3 Summary The majority of Napatan sacred architecture is located between the First Cataract and the Jebel Barkal. In Egypt mainly at Thebes, further buildings were constructed during the 25th Dynasty.23 Most of these religious constructions are Amun-temples erected in early Napatan times during the reign of Taharqo. They usually enlarge or replace New Kingdom predecessors. The general layout of the Napatan temples follows Egyptian New Kingdom models. New developments, additions and changes such as the introduction of kiosks or porches, the chapel for Ra-Horakhty and doors in the hypostyle hall adapt the design to what could be ‘specific Kushite cult requirements of local origin’ (Arnold 1999, 60). For his enormous construction works in Nubia, Taharqo employed well-trained builders from Egypt, which indicates that the Napatan kingdom was still establishing its own construction industry. In that way the Egyptian influence on the Kushite architecture was renewed. On the other hand, during that period one can speak of a certain interrelated influence, as the 25th Dynasty initiated major construction activities in Thebes and Egypt introducing new innovative architectural features such as kiosks, porches or an early form of free-standing sanctuary to Egyptian architecture, which ‘finally redefined the appearance of Late Egyptian temples’ (Arnold 1999, 44). At the same time, building activity in Nubia focused on traditionalstyle Amun-temples with a renewal of particularly Old Kingdom decorations. Only little sacred architecture survived from the centuries after Taharqo’s reign. Archaeological evidence indicates the beginning of monumental building and new sanctuaries south of Jebel Barkal. The continuous construction work at the royal cemeteries and in the south certainly sustained a group of Napatan builders. They were probably still trained with a traditional Egyptian architectural background. However, when the close ties with Egypt ended the development of a more and more autonomous approach to architecture seems to have taken place. Furthermore, the increasing importance of the Meroe region certainly added new ideas to the architectural programme. Original architectural features of the local communities of Meroe and the

23 On building activities in Egypt, see Arnold 1999 or in detail Leclant 1965.

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neighbouring areas probably influenced the later Napatan architecture as well – finally leading to the distinctive Meroitic architecture with its eclectic style.24

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Hommages archéologiques à Patrice Lenoble. Paris: Presses de l’Université Paris-Sorbonne, p. 317–338. Onderka, Pavel / Vrtal, Vlastimil / Daskova, Jirina / Dufkova, Marie / Gatzsche, Alexander / John, Ramona / Spindler, Eric / Vacek, Frantisek (2013): Wad ben Naqa 1821–2013. Prague: Národní Muzeum. Pope, Jeremy W. (2014): The Double Kingdom under Taharqo. Studies in the History of Kush and Egypt, c. 690–664 BC. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 69. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Reisner, George Andrew (1918): The Barkal Temples in 1916 (continued). In: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 5/2, p. 99–112. Reisner, George Andrew (1920): The Barkal Temples in 1916. Part V: The Buildings B 800 and B 900 (continued). In: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 6/4, p. 247–264. Rocheleau, Caroline M. (2008): Amun Temples in Nubia. A typological study of New Kingdom, Napatan and Meroitic Temples. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1850. Oxford: Archaeopress. Rose, Pamela J. (ed.) (2007): The Meroitic Temple Complex at Qasr Ibrim. Egypt Exploration Society Excavation Memoir 84. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Rose, Pamela J. (2011): Qasr Ibrim: The Last 3000 Years. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 1–9. Scheibner, Thomas (2011): Neue und alte 14C-Daten aus Musawwarat es-Sufra und ihre Aussagemöglichkeiten zur absoluten und relativen Chronologie des Fundplatzes. In: Der antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 22, p. 7–40. Török, László (1997): Meroe City. An Ancient African Capital. John Garstang’s Excavations in the Sudan. Part One: Text. Part Two: Figures and Plates. Egypt Exploration Society Occasional Publications 12. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Török, László (2002): The Image of the Ordered World in Ancient Nubian Art. The Construction of the Kushite Mind (800 BC–300 AD). Probleme der Ägyptologie 18. Leiden/Boston/Cologne: Brill. Wenig, Steffen (1984): Gedanken zu einigen Aspekten der kuschitischen Tempelarchitektur. In: Hintze, Fritz (ed.): Meroitistische Forschungen 1980. Akten der 4. Internationalen Tagung für meroitistische Forschungen vom 24. bis 29. November 1980 in Berlin. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 7. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 381–408. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2000): The Kawa Excavation Project. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 4, p. 5–10. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2001): Excavations within the Pharaonic and Kushite Site at Kawa and in its Hinterland, 2000–2001. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 5, p. 64–70. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2002): The Kushite Town and Cemetery at Kawa, the 2001–2002 Season. Survey and Excavations. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 6, p. 2–37. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2011): Excavations at Kawa, 2009–10. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 54–63. Wolf, Pawel (1990): Die archäologischen Quellen der Taharqozeit im nubischen Niltal. PhD Thesis: Humboldt-Universität Berlin. Wolf, Pawel (2014): Essay über den meroitischen Eklektizismus in Musawwarat es Sufra, oder: woher stammt der meroitische Einraumtempel? In: Lohwasser, Angelika / Wolf, Pawel (eds.): Ein Forscherleben zwischen den Welten. Zum 80. Geburtstag von Steffen Wenig. Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. Sonderheft 2014. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 351–394. www.jebelbarkal.org (last visited December 2016).

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Żurawski, Bogdan T. (ed.) (2003): Nubia II. Survey and Excavations between Old Dongola and Ez-Zuma. Southern Dongola Reach Survey 1. Warsaw: Centre d’Archéologie Mediterraneenne de l’Academie Polonaise des Sciences, Editions Neriton. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2005): The Temple of Soniyat, 1991–2002. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 3, p. 298–302.

Dominique Valbelle and Charles Bonnet

The Cache of Dukki Gel (Pa-nebes) In 2003, a large amount of gold leaf led to the discovery of an intact cache of seven monumental statues in Dukki Gel (Fig. 1). These statues, broken into 40 pieces, were deposited in a round pit 3 m in diameter, along with many fragments of plaster and of gold leaf coming from the decoration that had been applied to different parts of the statues. The heads had been placed at the bottom of the pit, the torsos and the legs in the middle, while the feet and bases were on top. Only a few fragments were missing. Since the discovery, other fragments have been collected outside the cache. Even though the statues had been dismantled with a chisel, their state of preservation was excellent, which means that they must have been buried shortly after their destruction. The caches of Dukki Gel (Bonnet/Valbelle 2005), Gebel Barkal 1 and Dangeil (Anderson/Ahmed 2009) represent a rare and particularly interesting archaeological coincidence. The geographical situation of the three sites is in itself meaningful: Panebes, south of the Third Cataract, Napata/The Pure Mountain/The Pure Land/ The Throne of the Two Lands, downstream of the Fourth Cataract, and Mes[…], south of the Fifth Cataract. Nevertheless the context of the caches differs at each of the three sites. In Dukki Gel, there was only one untouched cache dug in an L-shaped room between the Central and Eastern temples. In Gebel Barkal, the fragments of statues were distributed among two caches, which had been placed inside temples B 500A and B 904. In Dangeil, the pieces of sculpture were lying on the sandstone floor of the South Hall of the Meroitic temple of Amun. These differences are due to the respective histories of the temples where the series of broken statues where found. Three blocks and a mould discovered in the temples of Dukki Gel bear parts of the cartouche of Shabaqo (Valbelle 1999, 85, fig. 4). Thus at least one temple built under his reign existed under Taharqo and Tanuetamani, where their statues were erected, whether they contributed to its development or not. Although few remains of the central Napatan temple can be traced and only a cartouche of Amanote-erike has been recognized on two blocks (Valbelle 2000), many other blocks can be roughly attributed to that period. Three rooms of the eastern temple, later included in a Meroitic building, are preserved as well as two granite altars lying near the location of the sanctuary that is today completely destroyed (Bonnet 1999, 71–74; Bonnet/Valbelle 2000, 1099–1106). In the eastern part of the site, a circular temple reconstructed in the Napatan Period was apparently destroyed at the same time as the other temples and the seven statues were (Fig. 2). Remains of a naos were discovered there in another cache (Bonnet 2007, 189–192; 2011). In addition, a Napatan stela to Amun, whose 1 Reisner 1917; 1918; 1919; Dunham 1970. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-028

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Fig. 1: The cache of Dukki Gel.

precise date cannot be specified, has been found, as well as a stela carved in the 3rd year of Aspelta. The size of the contemporaneous outbuildings for the preparation of the offerings, situated west of the temples, gives an idea of the vitality of the cult during that period (Bonnet/Valbelle 2006). In Gebel Barkal, the two caches were created in temples built under the reign of Pi(ankh)y. Reisner thought that the statues had been initially erected in B 500 where the monumental stelae of Tanutamani and Aspelta stood (Grimal 1981, 1–39). But it is difficult to define the time of the arrangement of the caches as, when he discovered them, the fragments of the statues were separated and scattered, which suggests some transformation following their destruction and even after their first recovery. In Dangeil, although the excavators suppose earlier levels than the uncovered Meroitic temple of Amun exist, there seems to be little evidence for a 25th Dynasty building so far. Nevertheless, J. Anderson and S. el-Din M. Ahmed consider it unlikely that the statue fragments had been brought from elsewhere. It implies that a temple of Rē-Horakhty2 stood there in the time of Taharqo and that the toponym

2 On the back pillar of Taharqo’s statue, the king’s titulary was followed by [mry] rʿ-ḥr-ȝḫty ḥry-jb ms[t(?)…], while the king is described as mry jmn-rʿ on the belt of the same statue. It is unusual that two different gods, who are generally local gods, are mentioned on two parts of a royal statue. One wonders whether the last one could have been added on the belt when the statue was transferred to a temple of Amun. Unfortunately, the lower part of the back pillar of Senkamanisken’s statue is missing and it has no belt inscription.

The Cache of Dukki Gel (Pa-nebes)

Fig. 2: The map of Dukki Gel in the Napatan Period.

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partly preserved on the back pillar – Mes[…] – should have been the ancient name of the site. The presence of statues of Senkamanisken and of Aspelta suggests a continuity of occupation of the religious site and a situation similar to that at Dukki Gel and Gebel Barkal before the construction of the Meroitic temple, where some fragments of the statues were transferred. However, it is striking to consider the group of kings included at the three sites:

Kings

Dukki Gel

Gebel Barkal

Dangeil

Taharqo

1

1

1

Tanutamani

2

2

Senkamanisken

2

3

Amanimalel (?)

1

1

Anlamani

1

2

Aspelta

1

1

1

The chronological range is the same at each of the three places: the last two kings of the 25th Dynasty along with the third, fourth (with his wife in Gebel Barkal) and fifth kings of the early Napatan Dynasty. This means that, in these three towns, there was at least a 25th Dynasty temple where the statues of Taharqo and of Tanwtamani stood in Dukki Gel and Gebel Barkal. It also implies that the destruction that occurred at these three places all occurred during the reign of Aspelta, since the king is represented young on all of his effigies. The absence of any fragments from statues of Tanutamani or Anlamani in Dangeil may be due to many events, which occurred between the time of Aspelta – when the statues were damaged and gathered – and the construction of the Meroitic temple in the 1st century AD.3 One must keep in mind that the statues of the five kings found in the caches of Dukki Gel, Gebel Barkal and, for three of them, in Dangeil are the only ones discovered in Sudan to date. Such caches should have existed at other sites, such as Kawa. Inscription IX, col. 56–63 of Amanote-erike on the eastern wall of the Taharqo temple in Kawa (MacAdam 1949, 60–61, pl. 19 and 24) and Harsiotef stela in Napata (Grimal 1981, 45,4–7 and pl. XII–XIII) underlines the importance of Amun temples in Napata, Gematon and Panebes for the coronation rituals of the Napatan kings.

3 In addition to these statues, we must note that a statue of Akhratan was also found at the site of Gebel Barkal, but in a different place (B 503); it didn’t suffer the same fate and should be considered outside the frame of the caches, and thus off topic for the present discussion. In Dangeil, several fragments of a Meroitic queen – maybe Amanitore, according to the date of the temple – was buried in the same room as the other statues. They should not be taken into account in our reflection on the caches.

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The Sanam and Dukki Gel stelae of year 3, written respectively on the 22nd day of the 4th month of akhet and the 12th day of the 1rst month of peret, add precious information on the reorganization of the cult, the clergy and the offerings in the corresponding temples (Valbelle 2012, 45–51). They did not suffer any hammering, but the Dukki Gel stela was broken into pieces at an unknown date. Similarly, in Kawa, 13 fragments of a stela of Aspelta may belong to the same series of stelae as those which had been discovered in Dukki Gel and Sanam (MacAdam 1949, 89, pl. 40; Valbelle 2012, 6, note 13). Even if the coincidence of the destruction of those statues under the reign of Aspelta and the military campaign of Psamtik II in Upper Nubia in the third year of his reign seemed already significant, Sauneron and Yoyotte (1952, 203) hesitated to associate the two events. In 1952, only the Gebel Barkal caches were known and it was tempting to assume a relationship between the destruction of the statues and the hammering visible on the stelae of year 1 – ‘Enthronement-stela’ – and year 2 – ‘Excommunication-stela’ – of Aspelta (Grimal 1981, 21–39). This interpretation was endorsed by Török, who thought that the destruction of the statues in the Gebel Barkal caches may have been connected to succession turmoil in the reign of Aspelta, if they were not the result ‘of a catastrophe such as, e.g. the collapse of the roof of the hypaethral in B 501 or some other building disaster’ (Török 2002, 305–306). Naturally the discovery of two more caches containing statues of the same kings in Dukki Gel and Dangeil respectively has considerably enriched the file, providing new information. Concerning the first hypothesis, it has been disproven by the systematic presence of the same sequence of kings in the caches, and not only Aspelta. Moreover, nowhere was the name of the kings erased or usurped, as one can observe in Egypt for the monuments of the 25th Dynasty (Yoyotte 1951). As for the second hypothesis, the examination of the way the statues were dismantled at the three sites clearly shows that it was done rather carefully by chisel-bearers or sculptors, without severe deterioration of the discovered heads, except on one of the Senkamanisken statues, as if they had been embarrassed to destroy such statues. Turning back to the campaign of Psamtik II, this enterprise is known through a large corpus of documentation providing precious information on the geographical objective of the military operation and on the route followed by the army. The graffiti left by soldiers in Abu Simbel mark their passage in Lower Nubia. But the three royal stelae erected in Tanis, Karnak and Shellal respectively to celebrate the victory of the king were more precise concerning the Nubian sites targeted and reached. Unfortunately, the first two, which were the only ones known in 1952, are in poor condition. The Karnak and Shellal stelae are perfect twins. They designate the country of Pa-nebes4 as the place reached by the victorious army. 4 Written ‘Per-nebes’ under the influence of Hut-nebes – Saft el-Henneh – where general Amasis, who was leading the Egyptian troops during the Nubian campaign, came from (Valbelle 2003, 205–206; 2014, 112–113 and 121).

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Fig. 3: The head of Anlamani with the pschent and the ram horns.

The Tanis stela was more informative about many other places, but the toponyms quoted either have not been located or are incomplete. Here the objective of the army is the land of Shas. Then they reached the residency of the kwr – the king of Kush – in places named [T]rg(?)b, dmj t3-dhnt and jrw3(?). Even if the location of these places could not be determined precisely, they have been situated between the region of Gebel Barkal, Old Dongola and the Fifth Cataract.5 Although Anderson and S. el-Din M. Ahmed still seem sceptical about the possibility that the Egyptian army reached Dangeil, they agree that a transportation of the statues from another site to Dangeil is unlikely. The argument of ‘an internal dynastic squabble’ is disproven by the presence of Taharqo and Tanutamani among the damaged statues and, regarding the possibility that another event was responsible for the destruction of the statues at the three sites during the reign of Aspelta, that would be a rather strange coincidence. In Dukki Gel, after the departure of the Egyptian troops of Psamtik II, the fragments of the destroyed statues of the five kings were collected where they had been dismantled and were buried by the Napatan priests in a pit dug inside the sacred area, in an L-shaped room and its workshops built between the two Napatan temples, which we have proposed to interpret as a House of Gold, an institution devoted in Egypt to the manufacture and consecration of sacred artefacts and monuments (Bonnet/Valbelle 2005, 190–194).

5 Sauneron/Yoyotte 1952, 174–191; Der Manuelian 1994, 367–371, pl. 18; Jansen-Wilkeln 2016, 276–278.

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This process can be followed rather clearly here because the cache remained untouched until its discovery. The state of preservation of the fragments (Fig. 3), as well as the amount of plaster and gold leaf inside the cache, shows that the recovery happened shortly after the dismantling. The missing pieces may have been broken into too many small fragments and thus have been overlooked at the time of collection or forgotten and scattered on the site, like the rear part of the right-hand side mekes of the statue of Taharqo or two fragments of the face of Senkamanisken, which were discovered recently during the clearing of a round structure to the north-west of the temples. On the contrary, a few fragmentary artefacts without any link to the statues were picked up at the same time and buried along with the statue fragments.

Bibliography Anderson, Julie Renee / Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed (2009): What are these doing here above the Fifth Cataract?!! Napatan Royal Statues at Dangeil. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 13, p. 78–86. Bonnet, Charles (2007): Les fouilles archéologiques de Kerma (Soudan). Rapport préliminaire sur les campagnes de 2005–2006 et 2006–2007. In: Genava n.s. 55, p. 183–200. Bonnet, Charles (2011): Les destructions perpétrées durant la campagne de Psammétique II en Nubie et les dépôts consécutifs. In: Valbelle, Dominique / Yoyotte, Jean-Michel (eds.): Statues égyptiennes et kouchites démembrées et reconstituées. Hommage à Charles Bonnet. Paris: Presses Universitaires de Paris-Sorbonne, p. 21–31. Bonnet, Charles / Valbelle, Dominique (2000): Les sanctuaires de Kerma du Nouvel Empire à l’époque méroïtique. In: Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 144/3, p. 1099–1120. Bonnet, Charles / Valbelle, Dominique (2005): Des pharaons venus d’Afrique. La cachette de Kerma. Paris: Citadelles et Mazenod. English Translation 2006: The Nubian Pharaohs. Black Kings on the Nile. Cairo/New York: American University in Cairo Press. Bonnet, Charles / Valbelle, Dominique (2006): Les annexes de temples. In: Čzerný, Ernst et al. (eds.): Timelines. Studies in Honor of Manfred Bietak. Vol. III. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 149/3. Leuven/Paris/Dudley, MA: Peeters, p. 103–108. Der Manuelian, Peter (1994): Living in the Past. Studies in Archaism of the Egyptian Twenty-sixth Dynasty. Studies in Egyptology. London: Kegan Paul International. Dunham, Dows (1970): The Barkal Temples. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts. Grimal, Nicholas (1981): Quatre stèle napatéennes au Musée du Caire JE 48863–48866. Mémoires publiés par les Membres de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire 106. Cairo: Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (2016): Der Nubienfeldzug Psametiks II. und die Stele von Schellal. In: Lippert, Sandra Luisa / Schentuleit, Maren / Stadler, Martin Andreas (eds.): Sapientia Felicitas. Festschrift für Günter Vittmann zum 29. Februar 2016. Cahiers «Égypte Nilotique et Méditerranéenne» 14. Montpellier: Université Paul Valéry 3, p. 271–284. MacAdam, Miles Frederick Laming (1949): The Temples of Kawa. Vol. I: The Inscriptions. Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for Griffith Institute. Reisner, George Andrew (1917): The Barkal Temples in 1916 (Part I). In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 4, p. 213–227.

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Reisner, George Andrew (1918): The Barkal Temples in 1916 (Part II). In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 5, p. 99–112. Reisner, George Andrew (1920): The Barkal Temples in 1916 (Part III). In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 6, p. 247–264. Sauneron, Serge / Yoyotte, Jean (1952): La campagne nubienne de Psammétique II et sa signification historique. In: Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale 50, p. 157–207. Török, László (2002): The Image of the ordered World in Ancient Nubian Art. The Construction of the Kushite Mind (800 BC-300 AD). Probleme der Ägyptologie 18. Leiden/Boston/Cologne: Brill. Valbelle, Dominique (1999): Kerma: Les inscriptions. In: Genava n.s. 47, p. 83–86. Valbelle, Dominique (2003): L’Amon de Pnoubs. In: Revue d’Égyptologie 54, p. 191–211. Valbelle, Dominique (2012): Les stèles de l’an 3 d’Aspelta. Bibliothèque d’Étude 154. Cairo: Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale. Valbelle, Dominique (2014): Le jujubier dans la toponymie nilotique. In: Ciampini, Emanuele Marcello / Contardi, Federico / Rosati, Gloria (eds.): Egyptological Studies offered to Alessandro Roccati by some of his Colleagues. Orientalia ns. 83/1. Rome: Gregorian & Biblical Press, p. 106–122. Yoyotte, Jean (1951): Le martelage des noms royaux éthiopiens par Psammétique II. In: Revue d’Égyptologie 8, p. 215–239.

Pamela J. Rose

Early Kushite Ceramics of the Earlier 1st Millennium BC in Lower and Upper Nubia Introduction Perhaps one of the most neglected components of the Nubian ceramic repertoire, the study of the pottery of the earlier 1st millennium BC, has undergone something of a renaissance in recent years. This mainly results from the dramatic expansion of archaeological research in Sudan, which has greatly increased our knowledge of the ceramics of the period. In addition, a growing number of studies of contemporary ceramics in Egypt, which have a direct bearing on pottery in Nubia through both the presence of imports and the influence exerted by Egyptian types, have added to our ability to date the material (the most extensive and most relevant to Nubia of such studies is Aston 1999). The ceramics of the earlier 1st millennium are often described as ‘Napatan’, although this is a somewhat imprecise usage since in Nubia it includes both an unspecified time prior to the establishment of the 25th Dynasty in Egypt – with resulting difficulties of terminology for the period prior to the (uncertain) date of the rise of the Napatan state in Nubia – and the time/period after the last king of the 25th Dynasty abandoned Egypt. In an effort to remove the focus from Egyptian dynastic chronology toward internal Nubian developments, the term ‘early Kushite’ has recently gained currency to describe the period and its material culture. This term will be used here to cover the entire span from the end of the New Kingdom in the 11th century BC to about the 5th century BC, where begins the transition to the Meroitic ceramic repertoire. Despite the corpus of early Kushite pottery from Sanam published in 1923, the small quantity of early Kushite pottery found in Lower Nubia during the rescue campaigns associated with dam construction at Aswan was commonly interpreted as dating to the New Kingdom (Griffiths 1923, pl. XVII, XVIII). Two factors contributed to this. One was the frequent reuse of New Kingdom tombs, the resulting mixed material culture being assumed to be homogeneous; the second was the continuation of New Kingdom ceramic traditions after the end of the New Kingdom (see Ch. Budka in this volume), which added to uncertainty as to dating.1 Now, however, sites, and with them ceramics, of the earlier 1st millennium have been identified throughout Nubia (see Ch. Welsby in this volume). In the north, in Lower Nubia, they are rare and derive almost entirely from cemeteries, exceptions being the settlement and religious centre of Qasr Ibrim, and the Island Fort of Dorginarti.2 There is far greater evidence

1 Recent discussions of the problems arising from reuse of graves can be found in Minault-Gout/ Thill 2012, 413; Vincentelli 2006, 2–3. 2 Williams 1990, 37–41; Rose 2008; Heidorn 1992; 2013. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-029

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of occupation south of the Dal Cataract, and ceramics come from a wide range of cemeteries, settlements of various sizes, official buildings and temples. Significant quantities of published pottery, currently most commonly of grave groups, come from sites including Amara West, Missiminia, Sai Island, Sesebi, Tombos, Kerma/ Dokki Gel, Kawa and the Sanam/Napata area itself.3 Further upstream, early Kushite pottery is again less common, but is present in the west cemetery at Meroe (Salah ed-Din Mohammed Ahmed 2014; Dunham 1963, 337–338). Outside the Nile Valley, the fortification of Gala Abu Ahmed in the Wadi Howar, which was in use from the late New Kingdom into the early Kushite Period, has also produced ceramics of the period (Jesse 2013, 332–335; Eger et al. 2010, 77–84). An early Kushite building has been identified in the Wadi Muqaddam, in the Bayuda Desert, but no ceramics are yet published (Kendall 2007). Surprisingly, survey work in the Wadi Abu Dom, a desert route connecting Napata with Meroe, has not yet identified early Kushite pottery (Lohwasser/Karberg 2013, 47). In what follows I will outline some of the main features of the ceramics of the period, discuss some of the issues that arise from its study, and put forward pointers towards future research.

Pottery Production As with earlier pottery, that of the earlier 1st millennium can be separated using attributes of technology and fabric. Nubian potters predominantly used the most easily available potting material, Nile silt, to produce both wheel-made and handmade wares; the question of whether potting clays other than (or mixed with) Nile silts were used at this time has yet to be explicitly addressed. Egyptian transport vessels of marl clay are the most common imports. Whether wheel-made Nile silt vessels made in Egypt were also imported into Nubia is a more complicated issue due to similarities in the basic clay used and in shape (see Carrano et al. 2009 for early Kushite material, and Spataro et al. 2014 for the New Kingdom). Vessels from the Western Desert oases in Egypt are found in small numbers. Rare imports from the eastern Mediterranean and Levant have been identified, but will not be discussed here.

3 For Amara West see: Binder et al. 2010; Binder 2011; 2014; Spencer 2002; for Missiminia see: Vila 1980; for Sai Island see: Thill 2006–2007; Minault-Gout/Thill 2012; for Sesebi see: Spence et al. 2011; for Tombos see: Smith 2006–2007; 2007; 2008; 2014; for Kerma see: Salah ed-Din Mohammed Ahmed 1992; for Dokki Gel see: Ruffieux 2007; for Kawa: Welsby Sjöström/Thomas 2011; and for the Sanam/Napata area: Griffith 1923; Vincentelli 2006; 2001; 2015; Dunham 1950; 1955. For a recent list of early Kushite cemeteries, see also Lohwasser 2010, 101–104. In addition, many regional surveys have published surface collections including early Kushite ceramics, for which see Ch. Welsby in this volume.

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Hand-made Production Hand-made manufacture is generally associated with domestic production for household or local needs, although there may be exceptions to this. Published descriptions of the nature of the Nile silt fabrics used for such wares are scarce, but it appears that they show some overlap with those used for wheel-made wares. 4 They are characterized by the addition of organic material to the clay, and in hand-made wares this additional material is often found in greater quantities and is coarser than in wheel-made fabrics. The majority of fabrics appear to be approximate equivalents for the Vienna system’s Nile B2 and Nile C (Nordström/Bourriau 1993, 171– 174).5 Pottery showing influence from Kerma Period conventions in vessel form and finish can be distinguished from other hand-made wares by differences in paste, although these are not consistent throughout Nubia (Williams 1990, 5–6). Thus at Qasr Ibrim such vessels contain very fine chaff and abundant fine sand; in the area of the Fourth Cataract they are characterized by a conspicuous quantity of mineral temper (see Budka 2007, 84–85). A distinctive and rare micaceous fabric found at Qasr Ibrim and by description also occurring at Sanam is of unknown origin and raises the possibility that specialist production of hand-made transport wares existed alongside domestic production (see below).6 The methods used for building hand-made vessels are often not easily detectable from surface traces, especially from sherds, but in the case of larger vessels coiling was certainly used (see Fig. 24, on which the diagonal marks on the exterior suggest coil construction) (Salah ed-Din Mohammed Ahmed 1992, fig. 17 forms IA1a-c). Both Griffith and Williams suggested the use of bowl moulding to produce open forms, whereby clay was pressed into an external form, perhaps of metal (Griffith 1923, 102; Williams 1990, 7). The occasional presence of impressions on the outside of hand-made vessels indicates that they were shaped against mattingor basketry-covered surfaces. The use of paddle and anvil technique may account for the very thin walls seen on the closed-form vessels of micaceous ware. Hand-made manufacture is probably to be correlated with simple firing practices such as the use of pit kilns and bonfires that leave little archaeological trace (for modern examples of hand-made manufacturing and firing in Sudan, see Garcea 2004).

4 E.g. Williams 1990, 6; Vincentelli 2006, 47. Currently the most detailed series of fabric descriptions is from the North Dongola Reach Survey: see Welsby Sjöström 2001, particularly 237–238, Tab. 1. 5 The ‘Vienna System’ itself was not developed for use in the post-New Kingdom Period, nor for areas outside Egypt (Nordström/Bourriau 1993, 168). 6 Griffith 1923, pl. XVII types III l, III m. A similarly micaceous fabric used for hand-made vessels is found at Sesebi, occurring in surface contexts where early Kushite pottery is also present.

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Wheel-made Production The presence of wheel-made pottery suggests specialist production, although the scale and organization of such an ‘industry’ remain unknown. Results from the compositional analysis of the fabrics of wheel-made and hand-made early Kushite and New Kingdom sherds from Askut and Tombos also suggest specialist manufacture, assessed on the basis of consistency of paste preparation (Carrano et al. 2008). In addition, the study indicates that there was no break in methods of clay preparation from the New Kingdom. Indeed, the only known installations associated with production, found at Kerma and dating to the very end of the period under discussion here, included a two-chamber kiln that appears similar to New Kingdom representations and examples of kilns (Salah ed-Din Mohammed Ahmed 1992, 76– 77, 85). The Kerma production area also contained clay preparation pits, but no other manufacturing equipment – and significantly no wheel head – was found, although the few kiln wasters from the site hinted that wheel-made forms were manufactured there. The Nile silt pastes used for the wheel-made wares are mainly tempered with organic materials and again are the equivalent of the Vienna system’s Nile B2 and C. In Upper Nubia, a hard dense silt paste was found used for closed-form vessels closely similar in shape to Egyptian marl clay jars. This has been suggested to have originated in the Napata area (Budka 2007, 81).

Principal Types It is impossible to do justice to the wide range of vessels known from the period in a limited number of illustrations. The figures used here show examples of the more common types, but they are by no means comprehensive. Drawings are taken mainly from the currently unpublished corpus of early Kushite pottery from Qasr Ibrim. Types can be grouped together based on likely vessel function, although it is rarely possible to say how a type was used specifically. Those for which this is possible include hand-made conical bread moulds (Figs. 1, 2) and bread trays (Fig. 3); the former are often associated with temple sites, where the bread played a part in the rituals taking place therein.7 Both conical bread moulds and trays are continuations of forms well known in the New Kingdom, and are made throughout the period considered here. For cooking, at Qasr Ibrim, hand-made restricted deep bowls and wide-mouthed pots are the most consistently fire-blackened, suggesting that the preference for using such pots for cooking also continued from the New Kingdom

7 Jacquet-Gordon 1981; Phillips 2003, 399; see Binder 2011, 48 for examples from a grave.

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(Figs. 4–7). These vessels have smoothed rims, below which, where it is possible to see through the sooting, the surfaces are left rough. Basketry impressions deriving from the manufacture of the vessel are occasionally present, and an additional layer of clay applied over the lower body is sometimes preserved, as seen in Fig. 6. A number of the imported marl clay bowls were also blackened, suggesting that they were used for the same purpose, although this usage appears unique to that site, and it is unlikely that this was the primary purpose of such vessels. More generally, open forms were probably for the preparation, serving and consumption of food and beverages. One of the most common types encountered, and one which has its origin in New Kingdom traditions, is the conical bowl with a simple rim and rounded base, and a broad red rim band. This type occurs in both wheel- and hand-made wares (wheel-made: Fig. 8; hand-made: Fig. 9). In fact, there is a range of hand-made bowl forms with red rim bands, including examples with vertical and in-turned walls (Figs. 10, 11). The use of the red rim band was maintained in Nubia after its disappearance in Egypt, remaining part of the earlier 1st millennium repertoire (and indeed, continues it shades into the early Meroitic corpus at Qasr Ibrim) (Rose 1996, 121 and figs. 4.9 and 4.10). Over time, bowls become smaller and more conical, and in Lower Nubia at least there are many examples of such cups with red slip and distinctive pattern burnishing, again in both wheel-made and hand-made wares, although this is harder to distinguish as the manufacturing traces are obscured by the slip and burnish (wheel-made: Figs. 12, 13; hand-made: Figs. 14, 15). Such slipped and decoratively burnished surface treatment is not found in Egypt, and appears to be a Nubian development. However, it seems that it is not found throughout Nubia: Phillips remarks on the absence of burnishing from the early Kushite Period in ceramics from the south Dongola Reach (Phillips 2003, 397). Finally, the conical cups elongate to form tall narrow beakers, again with red slipped and burnished surfaces, and sometimes with black tops (wheel-made: Fig. 16; hand-made: Fig. 17) (Smith 2008, 110, fig. 12). As far as it is possible to tell, wheel-made examples of this type occur more commonly than hand-made ones. Throughout the period there is also a wide range of other open forms, including wheel-made basins (Fig. 18), and a wide range of large hand-made dishes and bowls. Open forms also make up the majority of types that show ongoing influence from the Kerma Period. They are identifiable by fabric, as already noted, and by their form and surface finish. Both black-burnished and black-topped red-burnished wares have been found (Fig. 19). The rim tops are sometimes decorated with small incisions (Fig. 20). The incisions form one of the very few types of decoration on the pottery of the early Kushite Period discussed here; otherwise only rare examples of incised and punctate decoration on hand-made vessels are known (Fig. 21, see further below), but these are very much exceptions; the application of rim bands, red slip and decorative burnishing are otherwise the major types of surface embellishment.

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Fig. 1–6: bread moulds (1–2), bread tray (3) and cooking pots (4–6).

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Fig. 7–15: cooking pot (7), bowls: conical (8–9, 12–15), with vertical rim (10), with in-turned rim (11).

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Fig. 16–21: beakers (16–17), basin (18), bowls: black-burnished and black-topped red-burnished wares (19), bowls with incised and punctate decoration (20–21).

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Fig. 22: large wheel-made jar with handles.

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Fig. 23: large wheel-made jar with handles.

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Fig. 24–31: large hand-made jar with handles (24), smaller bag-shaped vessels with short neck (25–27), cups (28–29), dish on tall stand (30), conical bowl made of Upper Egyptian marl clay (31).

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Fig. 32–34: wide-mouthed bowl made of Upper Egyptian marl clay (32), bag-shaped marl clay amphorae (33–34).

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Fig. 35–36: jars with ribbed surface and complex folded rims (35) and handles (36), made of Upper Egyptian marl clay.

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Fig. 37–39: jars with ribbed surface and complex folded rims made of Upper Egyptian marl clay (37–38), bottle form with tightly restricted neck and short flaring neck (Fig. 39).

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Closed forms tend to be used for storage and were sufficiently robust for the transport of goods. Large jars with handles occur in both wheel- and hand-made wares (wheel-made: Figs. 22, 23; hand-made: Fig. 24). The large vessels are usually not coated, but smaller examples sometimes have a red slip or wide red rim bands. Many of these large wheel-made vessels appear to be rather poorly formed, and the wheel marks are uneven and irregular. Smaller vessels occur in a range of sizes and shapes (such as wheel-made: Fig. 25; hand-made: Fig. 26), but the beer jars common in the New Kingdom are not present. Silt wheel-made vessels imitating marl jars have already been noted, and appear to be rather better shaped than the large jars, with thinner walls and better control of the manufacturing process, suggesting a separate and perhaps more skilled manufacturing source. These vessels seem to represent a later chronological development (see below), as do more elongated silt jars with less well-defined necks and shoulders, and jars with short necks and bagshaped bodies, the latter also perhaps deriving from marl jar types (e.g. Welsby Sjöström 2015, 301; Welsby Sjöström/Thomas 2011). Hand-made jars are less common than wheel-made examples, and generally have wide mouths, making them suitable for local use but not for transport. An exception is the micaceous ware already noted, which may be for transport (Fig. 27). In addition, there are vessels for which less mundane functions can be suggested. Hand-made cups used as incense burners are derived from contemporary Egyptian wheel-made types, and are very common at Qasr Ibrim (Figs. 28, 29). Other types (in addition to the conical bread moulds) may be specific to sacred sites, such as the oval basins embellished with animals on the rim from Kawa, and oval basins decorated with snakes at Qasr Ibrim.8 Fragments of dishes on tall stands, perhaps also for ritual use, are also known (Fig. 30). Imported ceramics from Egypt are almost entirely of Upper Egyptian marl clay (Marl A4 variant 2) (Aston 1999, 4). The common New Kingdom fabrics Marl D and the marl-slipped dense sandy silt known from Memphis are almost entirely absent, and presumably ceased production in Egypt at or soon after the end of the New Kingdom.9 Both open and closed forms in Marl A4 var. 2 are found in Lower Nubia, with a diminution in occurrence of the former further to the south, where closed forms predominate. This presumably reflects their use as containers for transport of commodities. Sadly, we have no indication of what these commodities were. The open bowls include rare conical types reminiscent of the silt vessels described above (Fig. 31), but far more common are wide-mouthed with complex rim shapes (Fig. 32). Closed forms are more varied. In the immediate aftermath of the New Kingdom, and

8 Phillips 2003, 399; Rose/Pyke 2011, 810–816; Welsby Sjöström/Thomas 2011, 65–66. 9 For Marl D, see Nordström/Bourriau 1993, 181–182; for the marl-slipped silt ‘G6a Fabric’, see Bourriau et al. 2000, 17–18. The latter fabric is found in small quantities in the earliest layers of the early Kushite deposits at Qasr Ibrim but may be residual.

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continuing New Kingdom traditions, bag-shaped marl clay amphorae are found, and have short, slightly modelled necks (Figs. 33, 34). These rapidly disappear and are replaced by a range of jars of various sizes, often with handles, heavily ribbed surfaces and complex folded rims, examples of which are well known throughout Nubia (Figs. 35–38). The marks on the shoulders of several of these vessels are painted, and in one case incised after firing, in black or very dark blue paint: they are not uncommon in the Qasr Ibrim assemblage and are seen elsewhere in Nubia. Their meaning is unclear. Alongside these jars are found rarer types, such as marl clay pilgrim flasks, which occur early chronologically, mainly in graves, and again constitute a continuation of New Kingdom practices (e.g. the many flasks in Vincentelli 2006). Examples may include types from outside Egypt (Vincentelli 2006, 60). Perhaps replacing them in the burial assemblage is a bottle form with a tightly restricted neck from which springs a short flaring neck and thickened rim (Fig. 39).10 Small marl flasks with narrow funnel necks are sometimes found with them (for the funnel-neck flask, see e.g. Smith/Buzon 2014, 437, pl. 14). Neither type appears to occur in significant quantities in settlements. Finally, rare imports from Egypt are gourd-shaped vessels from the western oases. Unfortunately, these are hard to identify from drawings and descriptions in publication, where often they cannot be distinguished from possible products of the Egyptian Nile Valley. However, such vessels certainly occur at el-Kurru, and are known from Qasr Ibrim.11

Discussion Although the above overview can only give an impression of the ceramics under discussion, there are differences present amongst the various corpora of early Kushite pottery. There are many possible reasons behind this: chronological differences, the location or nature of the site and the resulting potential difficulties of access to certain types of ceramics, the status of the community or individual consumer and matters of personal choice, and other possible factors. It will require a widespread comparison and synthesis of the material over a wide area to draw this out; however, in what follows some of the issues are outlined. As already indicated above, the ceramics undoubtedly change over the halfmillennium considered here. However, close phasing and dating remain fairly loosely defined, especially for the earlier part of the period. Assemblages from the often badly-disturbed royal cemeteries provide useful fixed points, but the earliest

10 The illustration Fig. 40 is redrawn from Williams 1990, 77, fig. 27b. 11 For el-Kurru, see http://www.mfa.org/ accession no. 20.3994.

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of them, at el-Kurru, was especially badly damaged, and the ceramics and other items found have caused some debate as to their dating.12 At the other end of the timescale, a further ‘historical’ correlation, a suggested link between site abandonment and the presumed devastating effects of the campaign of the Egyptian pharaoh Psamtek II in 593 BC, may be plausible, but remains hypothetical (e.g. Vila 1980, 169–170). Radiocarbon dates for deposits linked to ceramics are scarce, and for this period tend to have a wide spread.13 As a result, most ceramic dating remains reliant upon comparative analysis. This has focused particularly on imports, amongst which Egyptian marl vessels are especially important since they have been subject to detailed study in Egypt, and their date of occurrence in Egypt is taken as an accurate reflection of that in Nubia. Nubian imitations of such vessels are less chronologically secure and the prototype provides only a terminus post quem. Site-based sequences and chronological markers have been published, although not every constituent trait identified is applicable throughout the whole of Nubia, such as the presence or absence of burnishing in the early Kushite Period noted above. A developmental sequence of ceramics at Kawa shows that there in the earliest early Kushite layers (perhaps 9th–8th century BC) hand-made bowls and dishes with red rim bands predominate. In the Napatan Period proper a greater diversity of forms is present, including more wheel-made wares; marl jars are present in the 8th century and over time are replaced by silt imitations (Welsby Sjöström/Thomas 2011). A similar developmental sequence is seen at Qasr Ibrim, with the exception that there the earliest part of the sequence is composed of late New Kingdom deposits that include wheel-made dishes and bowls with red rim bands, which give rise to the early Kushite types; at the later end of the timescale there is little evidence for the displacement of marl jars by ones made of silt. This likely reflects the cessation of occupation at Qasr Ibrim prior to this development (Rose 2008, 205). Other sites can be conveniently grouped as belonging to the earlier and later ends of the chronological range; for the former, important examples, which also show continuity from the New Kingdom, are cemeteries C and D at Amara West, cemetery SAC5 at Sai, burials at Tombos, and the cemetery at Hillat el-Arab. For the later assemblages a larger number of sites are known and references can be found in footnote 5. Turning from chronology to other features arising from the comparison of ceramic evidence from different sites, it is clear that the abundance and range of early Kushite ceramics found at urban centres contrasts with the rural situation, in which the range of forms, and percentage of wheel-made wares, decrease markedly (Welsby Sjöström 2001, 251; Wolf 2004, 21–22). In the less urbanized areas, there is a contin-

12 Dunham 1950; 1955; Heidorn 1994. 13 Radiocarbon dates associated with pottery include examples from Tombos (Smith 2006); Kerma (Salah ed-Din Mohammed Ahmed 1992); and the Fourth Cataract area (Paner et al. 2010, 70–71). The contents of Fig. 6 have a radiocarbon date of the 10th–9th century BC (for details see Rose 2008, 200, Tab. 1, nos. 11, 12).

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ued or resurgent influence of pre-New Kingdom Kerma-Period traditions of manufacture, particularly in Upper Nubia, whereas such vessels are seen in Lower Nubia only in small quantities (Budka 2007, 83; Welsby/Welsby Sjöström 2006–2007, 396). Egyptian marl clay vessels are found in quantity mainly in the urban centres, and give some indication of the scale of contact with Egypt. In Lower Nubia, proximity had a marked effect, so that at Qasr Ibrim imported marl clay pottery forms about 25 % of the total number of sherds, and sometimes considerably more. There, vessels include open as well as closed forms, and the presence of bowls may indicate a trade in, or supply of, pottery in its own right, whereas the closed forms are likely to have served principally as containers. Further south, most of the Egyptian pottery consisted of jars of various forms. At Sanam such vessels were found with Levantine amphorae in a group of storehouses, the doors to which originally bore royal seals (Vincentelli 2011, 273 and 279, fig. 8; 2015, 323, 326, pl. 1/1, 328, pl. 3/7). The presence of the seals suggested that they were part of the stock held in warehouses dedicated to ‘storage and processing of goods arriving in the town [Sanam] through trade’ (Vincentelli 2015, 324). In this context, a settlement or campsite in the Fourth Cataract area that yielded ‘almost exclusively Napatan wheel-made pottery’ (later described as amphorae, but whether Egyptian or Nubian copies is not clear), is of interest in that it contrasts with the scenario set out above; perhaps this was a redistribution point for jars and/or their contents (Salah ed-Din Mohammed Ahmed 2014, 111; Wolf 2004, 22). That such vessels did indeed make their way into more remote areas is known from a silt copy of marl jar found in a tomb at Kirbekan in the Fourth Cataract area (Budka 2007, 81). As well as trade with Egypt, there are indications of ceramic contacts within Nubia itself, although these are inevitably harder to trace, and can usually only be identified in single or very limited instances. The distinctive micaceous hand-made ware occurring at Qasr Ibrim and Sanam may be an example of this. Another connection between Qasr Ibrim and the cemetery of el-Kurru in the Napata area is seen in closely similar hand-made cups with triangular incised and dot-impressed decoration, coloured in red and, on the Qasr Ibrim vessel, yellow (Dunham 1950, 105, fig. 35C, 19–3-1532). A hand-made incense burner from Sanam is of a different shape but has decoration very similar to the Qasr Ibrim cup, including the use of yellow (Lohwasser 2010, col.-pl. 18 and 59, fig. 32). The nature of these contacts remains to be defined. Whether the silt imitations of marl jars were manufactured at a single centre and distributed from there remains to be investigated. It remains to consider the widespread phenomenon of the copying of vessels, which is one of the most distinctive characteristics of the period. Early Kushite pottery includes a wide range of forms that show interplay between wheel-made, handmade and imported vessels, although so far there is no clear evidence for handmade wares being imitated secondarily by wheel-made examples. If wheel-made pottery was concentrated mainly in urban centres, the copying may reflect a desire to access such wares in turn, perhaps implying that they had a greater value –

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whether as status objects, or for more practical reasons – than hand-made products. Indeed, Lohwasser in her investigation of the Sanam cemetery concluded that two Nubian types (not otherwise described but assumed to mean hand-made vessels) had a non-elite association, but she also concluded that there at least Egyptian pottery was not a status marker (Lohwasser 2010, 113). That hand-made wares may, however, have had a social significance and meaning beyond the domestic milieu is suggested by results from Dukki Gel, where increased quantities of hand-made pottery were related to the presence of a ‘Nubian’ temple, a building architecturally quite distinct from an Egyptian-style structure (Ruffieux 2007). Deliberate choice of types of vessels for inclusion in burials is also seen at Missiminia, although presently without interpretation, and it is clear that there is a chronological element to this (Vila 1980, 162). In conclusion, it is clear that there remains much work to do both on the pottery of the early Kushite Period and on its role and significance in early Kushite life. The overall homogeneity of the repertoire throughout Nubia is striking, and there appear to be few if any site-specific types, but detailed studies examining regionalism, chronology, status, food preparation and consumption practices, and other social factors, will greatly enhance our understanding of both the pottery industry in terms of its products and organization, and also its place in early Kushite society.

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Spence, Kate E. / Rose, Pamela J. / Bradshaw, Rebecca E. / Collet, Pieter / Hassan, Amal / MacGinnis, John / Masson, Aurélia / van Pelt, W. Paul (2011): Sesebi 2011. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 34–38. Spencer, Patricia (2002): Amara West II. The Cemetery and the Pottery Corpus. Egypt Exploration Society Excavation Memoir 69. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Thill, Florence (2006–2007): Les reoccupations ‘(pré)napatéenes’ dans le cimetière égyptien 8B5/SAC5 de Sai. In: Cahiers de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26, p. 353–369. Vila, André (1980): La prospection archéologique de la Vallée du Nil, au sud de la cataracte de Dal (Nubie Soudanaise). Fasc. 12: La nécropole de Missiminia. Tome I: Les sepultures napatéennes. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Vincentelli, Irene (2006): Hillat el-Arab. The Joint Sudanese-Italian Expedition in the Napatan Region, Sudan. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 15. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1570. Oxford: Archaeopress. Vincentelli, Irene (2011): The Treasury and other Buildings at Sanam. In: Rondot, Vincent / Alpi, Frédéric / Villeneuve, François (eds.): La pioche et la plume autour du Soudan, du Liban et de la Jordanie. Hommages archéologiques à Patrice Lenoble. Paris: Presses de l’Université Paris-Sorbonne, p. 269–282. Vincentelli, Irene (2015): An Administrative and Trading District in the Napata Region. In: Zach, Michael H. (ed.): The Kushite World. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. Vienna, 1–4 September 2008. Beiträge zur Sudanforschung. Beiheft 9. Vienna: Citypress, p. 319–328. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2003): The Amri to Kirbekan Survey: The 2002–2003 Season. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 7, p. 26–32. Welsby, Derek Anthony / Welsby Sjöström, Isabella Y. (2006–2007): The Dongola Reach and the Fourth Cataract: Continuity and Change during the 2nd and 1st Millennia BC. In: Cahiers de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26, p. 379–398. Welsby Sjöström, Isabella Y. (2001): The Pottery from the Survey. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Life on the Desert Edge. Seven Thousand Years of Settlement in the Northern Dongola Reach, Sudan. 2 Vols. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 7. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 980. Oxford: BAR Publishing, p. 237–348. Welsby Sjöström, Isabella Y. (2015): Holes in the Study of Napatan Pottery. In: Zach, Michel H. (ed.): The Kushite World. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. Vienna, 1–4 September 2008. Beiträge zur Sudanforschung. Beiheft 9. Vienna: Citypress, p. 299–306. Welsby Sjöström, Isabella Y. / Thomas, Ross (2011): The Kushite Pottery Sequence at Kawa: Parallels at Home and abroad. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 64–71. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1990): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 7: Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and Napatan Remains at Qustul Cemeteries W and V. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition VII. Chicago, Illinois: The Oriental Institute. Wolf, Pawel (2004): The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Anglo-German Expedition at the Fourth Cataract of the Nile: The 2003/04 Season. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 8, p. 17–26.

Julia Budka

Nubians in the 1st Millennium BC in Egypt Introduction It goes without saying that the Kushite kings ruling Egypt during the 25th Dynasty came to Egypt together with their royal households. High ranking Kushites and members of the royal court are traceable by several sources, especially statues, stelae and tomb monuments. But apart from these highest elite officials and family members, Nubians in the 1st millennium BC Egypt are difficult to trace. The main reason for this is not the missing evidence, but rather the problem of identifying Kushites as Kushites in Egyptian contexts.1 The exact number of people who migrated from Nubia into Egypt – accompanying the king, working for the court, acting as soldiers or trading products – remains therefore very tentative. A good percentage probably settled in Egypt, together with their families, or founded new families by marriage with Egyptian women (cf. Morkot 2000, 289). One can assume that a large number of ‘second generation Kushites born in Egypt’ (Morkot 2000, 289) existed and stayed in their new homeland after the retreat of the Kushite rulers. Again, these people are difficult to trace in the material evidence. In the following, I will first present possible sources with associated problems and then outline the significance of Nubians during 25th and 26th Dynasties Egypt.2

Foreigners, Ethnicity and Acculturation Nubians are not the only non-Egyptians who settled in Egypt during the 1st millennium BC, a period when Egypt faced several foreign rulers and considerable influence from outside.3 Concepts of ethnicity and acculturation have been much discussed in archaeology during the last few decades.4 In connection with Kushites, several scholars have challenged earlier acculturation models and their significance for the rise of the Napatan state, and have provided alternative views in recent years (see, most recently, Smith 2013, 96–97 with references). Seminal studies by Günter Vittmann and others have stressed characteristics that enable us to identify foreigners

1 Cf. Wenig 1990, 346; Vittmann 2006; Budka 2010b. 2 For an outline of Nubians in Egypt until Ptolemaic times, see Winnicki 2009, 465–488. 3 See Morkot 2000; Myśliwiec 2000; Vittmann 2003; Winnicki 2009. 4 See Vittmann 2006; Smith 2007; Ritner 2008; Schneider 2010, 143–146; Budka 2012b, 47–48 with references; Lohwasser 2012, 330–332; Smith 2014; Jurman 2015. For general archaeological approaches to ethnicity, see e.g. Jones 1997. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-030

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in Egypt, within Egyptian contexts and on Egyptian objects.5 Means to identify Kushites seem to be partly specific (in direct comparison to other foreigners) (Lohwasser 2006; Budka 2010b), but other non-Egyptians of various ethnicities are – despite a high degree of ‘Egyptianisation’ – often recognisable by name6 and personal representation (cf. Lohwasser 1999; Hallmann 2007). As will be demonstrated in the following, generalised terms like ‘the Nubians in Egypt’ are not suitable for the actual situation as we know it. Nubians were an integral part of Late Egyptian society and – with the exception of the royal family – did not represent themselves as a group (see Budka 2012b for more details and references). Similar to Claus Jurman’s recent argument for the case of Libyans in Egypt (Jurman 2015), we should also highlight the individuality of these people and the fact that locating a complex cultural identity is much more important than considering the category of ethnicity alone (cf. Smith 2014, 208–209).

Key Sites of Nubians in the 1st Millennium BC Kushite royal building activity is traceable in the various religious and administrative centres of Egypt – especially at Memphis (Jurman 2009), Esna (Myśliwiec 1988, 30, pl. XXXII, a, b; see also Morkot 2000, 206, fig. 85), Abydos (Leahy 1994; Budka 2012a) and Thebes.7 But only two sites, Thebes and Abydos, provide evidence for burials8 as well as a large number of sources for Nubians of both the royal family and various social strata.9 I will therefore concentrate on these two locations as key sites for tracking Kushites in Egypt during the 1st millennium BC.

Thebes Both the west and the east banks of Thebes provide rich information about the Kushite administrative system in Egypt.10 In the early 25th Dynasty certain key offices, like the post of Mayor of Thebes, were held by Kushites who were selected and appointed by the king (cf. Strudwick 1995, 93; Budka 2012b, 48). Kings’ sons were installed as High Priests and to other offices as well, and marriage alliances with leading Theban families are well attested (e.g. Mentuemhat) (Morkot 2000, 237).

5 Smith 2003; Vittmann 2003; Schneider 2010. 6 Budka/Kammerzell 2007; Vittmann 2007; Breyer 2009; Zibelius-Chen 2009; 2011. 7 Leclant 1965; Redford 2004, 117–138; Pischikova 2014; Pischikova/Budka/Griffin 2014. 8 A possible Kushite tomb group from Illahun remains uncertain, see Budka 2010a, 336 with references. 9 See Budka 2010b; 2012a; most recently Leahy 2014. 10 See Morkot 2013; Naunton 2014; cf. also Pope 2014, 192–232.

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Female Kushite family members acted as God’s Wives of Amun, and as such had a considerable political and cultic impact on building activities and the ritual landscape in Thebes (Ayad 2009; Koch 2012, 22–50). It seems likely that the military officials during the 25th Dynasty were also of Kushite origin, even if evidence for holders of military titles is scarce. Christopher Naunton has convincingly proposed that this lack of titles could be explained by the replacement of the Egyptian system with a Kushite administrative system in which titles played a different role (Naunton 2014, 105–106 with references). Monumental tombs erected by Kushite officials in South Asasif are currently being excavated, providing new and thought-provoking material, including ceramics (cf. Pischikova/Budka/Griffin 2014). Another focus of Theban archaeology in the last decade has concentrated upon royal building activities in Karnak during the 25th Dynasty – these works complement architectural, epigraphical and sculptural evidence with ceramics and small finds (Licitra et al. 2014). Last but not least, Theban tomb groups of different quality allow for addressing the burial customs of Nubians from various social strata who were interred in Egypt (Budka 2010b with further literature).

Abydos The important role of Abydos during the 25th Dynasty is well illustrated by the burials in Cemetery D of royal women and their courtiers, including male members of the royal family.11 Especially significant is the burial of prince Ptahmaakheru, the only known burial in Egypt for a son of a Kushite ruler.12 These Kushite interments at Abydos need to be seen in light of the importance of rituals and votive offerings for the god Osiris at Umm el-Qaab.13 The prominence of ceremonies at the presumed burial place of Osiris at Umm el-Qaab during the 25th Dynasty might explain various references to the site which are attested in Kush and which imply an extensive knowledge of Abydene monuments (cf. Effland/Effland 2013, 78–79). In my opinion, the much-debated form of the underground rooms in the pyramid of Taharqo in Nuri (cf. Kendall 2008; Eigner 1984, 183) can only be explained by first-hand familiarity with the Osireion in the Seti I. complex at Abydos.14

11 Priese 1968, 178–179; Wenig 1990; Leahy 1994; Lohwasser 2001, 79–80; Budka 2010a, 338– 339; 2012a, 33–35 for seven Kushites attested by name at Abydos. 12 Leahy 2014, 70. For a possible Theban burial of the princes Horemakhet and Horkheb, see Budka 2010b, 514. 13 Budka 2012a, 30–31; 2014b; Leahy 2014, 86–87. 14 Budka 2012a, 32. For the complex ideology of Taharqo’s kingship and associated references to Osiris, see Fitzenreiter 2014; Török 2015, 36–37.

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Sources for Nubians in Late Period Egypt As mentioned above, the evidence for Kushites in Egypt is scarce, especially outside the royal family. in particular, officials of Kushite descent with high positions adopted Egyptian names15 and were represented in Egyptian style;16 consequently, their official display does not reflect their ethnicity (cf. Schneider 2010, 156). Nevertheless, there are several ways to clarify the Kushite origin of a person buried in Late Period Egypt: especially helpful are his/her name or the names of the parents and the style of representation (body proportions, coiffure and costume) on coffins, stelae, statues and other objects.17 Therefore, identifying Kushites in Egypt is a question of names, titles, costume and other markers.18 One has to stress that not just one aspect indicates a person came from Kush – these markers have to be viewed within their context and case by case in order to prove their significance.19

Tomb Architecture The tomb architecture associated with Nubians during the 25th and 26th Dynasties in Egypt comprises several different types used by various social strata. In Thebes, these include shaft tombs (secondary shafts in earlier structures, attested in Qurna by high officials like Fourth Priests of Amun),20 small mud-brick chapels in the Asasif (of lower ranking persons)21 and large monumental temple tombs in the South Asasif.22 The latter in particular are of major significance as they represent a novel type of tomb that became the standard funerary architecture for the highest officials of both Egyptian and Nubian descent during the 25th and 26th Dynasties (Eigner 1984, 40–42; Budka 2010a, 63). Here, TT 391 was built for the mayor of Thebes and Fourth Prophet of Amun Karabesken and TT 223 for the aq-priest Karakhamun (Eigner 1984, 34, fig. 8; Pischikova 2014). Both officials kept their Kushite names (Vittmann 2007, 145 for Karabasken; Naunton 2014, 105 for Karakhamun) and were probably interred during the reigns of Shabaqo or Shabitqo (cf. Pischikova 2009, 12; Budka 2010b, 503, note 4). At Abydos, the Kushite burials in Cemetery D are not well-preserved, but shaft tombs, tomb types with chapels, vaulted brick tombs and pyramids are traceable (Budka 2012a, 37–44). There are certain parallels between the tomb architecture 15 E.g. the royal sons Horemakhet and Horakhbit, see Vittmann 2007, 155–156. 16 E.g. Wedjahor, 4th Prophet of Amun, and his block statue from Karnak (Cairo, JE 37153; cf. Bothmer 1994, 61–62, fig. 3, 67). For his connections to the Kushite court, see Budka 2010a, 333. 17 See Budka 2010a, 330–353; 2010b; 2012b, 50. 18 Budka/Kammerzell 2007; Vittmann 2007; Budka 2010b. 19 Vittmann 2007; Budka 2010b; Leahy 2014. 20 Strudwick 2000, 252; Budka 2010a, 341–342; 2010b, 504–505. 21 Budka 2007; 2010a, 342; 2010b, 505–510. 22 Eigner 1984, 33–34; Pischikova 2014; Pischikova/Budka/Griffin 2014.

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used by Kushites at Abydos and in Thebes. In this context it is noteworthy that the Kushite kings were buried in Kurru and Nuri in pyramid tombs (cf. Morkot 2000, 138–144, 281–292). The pyramid was firmly integrated into Nubian funerary culture since the New Kingdom (cf. Smith 2013, 102), but it is still interesting that the pyramid theme was also of importance at the only Egyptian sites with Kushite funerary architecture, Abydos and Thebes (cf. Budka 2012a, 41–42).

Tomb Groups Some years ago, the more than 50 records possibly attesting to Kushites in Egypt also included 23 Theban tomb groups associated with Nubians (Budka 2010a, 330– 341; 2010b). Since 2009, new finds have been published, especially from museums and collections (e.g. Musso/Petacchi 2011; Böhm/Herrmann 2016), and in general the total number of burials should be considerably higher. Tomb equipment from the elite tombs in the South Asasif still needs to be excavated (for pottery see below). Therefore, the following discussion is based on remains from lower ranking Kushite burials of two types: (A) intrusive shaft burials comprising tomb groups of high ranking families with marriage alliances to Kushites like Wedjahor and Niu (cf. Vittmann 2007, 148; Budka 2010a, 333) as well as simple priests of Kushite descent like Ididi and his family and (B) small buildings with mud-brick superstructure like Tomb VII in the Asasif, which yielded the remains of a Kushite family of rather low social ranking. Shaft burials of Type (A) contain persons of various social strata, mostly connected with priestly offices and the cult of Amun, as shown by the example of the family of Wedjahor. Most of the owners of tomb groups from Type (B) either also held a priestly office and title or carried no title at all. Vittmann has shown that the lack of titles is a phenomenon well attested for foreigners in Egypt during the 1st millennium BC (cf. Vittmann 2007, 147). It does not necessarily mean that people did not hold an official position – they just did not mention their title and office on their monuments (see Vittmann 2007; cf. here also the new model proposed by Naunton 2014, 105–106). The possibilities of reconstructing the social status of these people are therefore limited. Some of the most intact tomb groups were discovered in Tomb VII in the Asasif for the Kushite male Irw and the Nubian lady Kherirw (Budka 2007; 2010a, 111–134). It is important to point out that these burials match the standards of Egyptian tomb groups of the mid to late 25th Dynasty as established by David Aston (2009, 395–396, phases V and VI). However, despite their initially Egyptian character and appearance, the Kushite origin of the owner is not neglected within the equipment. Small details like the spelling of personal names, the representations of individuals23 and special23 For the female costume attested on coffins, see Lohwasser 1999, 593; Budka 2010a; 2010b; see now also the coffin of Shepenhor: Böhm/Herrmann 2016, 204, fig. 10.

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Fig. 1: Representation of Kherirw in Kushite costume on her qrsw-coffin from Tomb VII, Asasif.

ised objects are evidence of the cultural identity of the people buried with them (Budka 2010b). Very helpful are the personal representations: Irw’s inner coffin contains a face with very dark skin, while Kherirw is wearing a non-Egyptian coiffure (short wig or natural, very curly hair) and a Kushite dress with fringes on the sleeves and a small tail-like appendage on her coffins (Fig. 1). Similar details are traceable in other Nubian tomb groups such as the openwork coffin case of Niu, daughter of Padiamun, Priest of Amun in Gempaaton (Kawa), where she is depicted in a ‘hybrid’ version wearing an Egyptian dress but with a Kushite coiffure (Strudwick 2000, 254). Perhaps also belonging to Niu are mud shabtis of a special type found in TT 99. In contrast to standard Egyptian examples, the figure is carrying a basket on its head. This detail is well known from tomb groups of royal women in Kurru (cf. Strudwick 2000, 254; Budka/Kammerzell 2007, 172) and finds parallels in other Kushite burials in Thebes (Fig. 2).24 Therefore it is tempting to attribute the shabtis from TT 99 to Niu, who is known to have been of Nubian origin. However, specialised Kushite shabtis did not always accompany Nubians buried in Egypt. The Kushite lady Kherirw, for example, had two Egyptian-

24 Budka 2010a, 272, fig. 120 (K02/17); 2012b, 51; Musso/Pettachi 2011.

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Fig. 2: Kushite shabtis with baskets and kalathos (lower row from Musso/Pettachi 2011).

style shabti boxes found in situ in Tomb VII in the Asasif, containing simple clay shabtis of the standard Egyptian type. Interestingly, the same tomb also yielded a peculiar clay shabti, found in the shaft filling. A small, beardless shabti (K02/17.1) appears to have a kalathos headdress as are well known for statues of the God’s Wives of Amun (Budka 2010a, fig. 120, 344–345). It is possible that this shabti is associated with one of the Kushite burials in Tomb VII. All in all, within Kushite tomb groups, six major characteristics point to specific aspects of Nubian identity for these people buried in Egypt (Budka 2010b, 510–514). Not all of these aspects are present in all burials and their significance needs to be interpreted case by case. 1. Personal names and their spelling in hieroglyphs (several variants, ‘syllabic’ writing, atypical orthography); 2. Representations of persons (body proportions, coiffure, costume – both for males and females); 3. The use/misuse or lack of hieroglyphic inscriptions on objects (e.g. uninscribed Ptah-Sokar-Osiris-figures, ‘pseudo-script’ on coffins, a general frequency of misspellings on coffins etc.); 4. Objects of daily use imported from the old homeland (cf. drinking vessels, see below, pottery); 5. The individualised design of objects of Egyptian origin (e.g. shabtis with baskets, bronze mirrors etc., cf. Lohwasser 2001, 98; Budka 2010a, 344).

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The specialised type of shabtis further illustrate that the Kushites adopted Egyptian burial customs and used their equipment, but sometimes modified the function or invented an individual interpretation. The ideological concept of Kushite shabtis is totally different from the Egyptian one (Lohwasser 2001, 99–103; Balanda 2014). In this respect, the Late Period bead net can also be named as a possible Nubian innovation (cf. Budka 2010a, 255, 343 with references). Archaising aspects are frequently present in Kushite burials, reflecting similar motives as the ‘archaism’ in Kushite sculpture and relief. The most prominent examples are real canopic jars and stone vessels, which both reflect earlier periods (Budka 2010b, 514).

Reliefs and Stelae Tomb and temple reliefs in Thebes and Abydos also contain representations of Kushites, especially the royal family members who acted as the God’s Wife of Amun and were buried at Medinet Habu.25 From the monumental tombs in the South Asasif and the Asasif several reliefs are noteworthy. In TT 223, the representations of Karakhamun display him with typical Kushite features that are very similar to those of King Shabitqo in Karnak (Pischikova 2009, 16). It should also be noted that TT 223 nicely illustrates the innovative aspects of Kushite art, with the new canon of proportions here attested for the first time (Pischikova 2009, 18, fig. 15). Intriguing reliefs depicting Wedjarenes, granddaughter of Pi(ankh)y and one of the Kushite wives of Mentuemhat, have survived from TT 34 (Russmann 1997). Like Kushite females on coffins, she is represented with the Kushite dress in the context of Egyptian ritual scenes (Lohwasser 1999; cf. Morkot 2000, 291, fig. 112). However, there are also reliefs that show her fully in Egyptian style and costume. Edna Russmann has argued for chronological differences of these scenes (Kushite = 25th Dynasty, Egyptian = 26th Dynasty) (Russmann 1997, 35) – even if this is correct, the case of Wedjarenes nicely illustrates the selection of cultural models Kushites were using in Egyptian contexts (Budka 2012b, 52). Here it is especially noteworthy that her husband Mentuemhat is also sometimes represented with Kushite features, possibly emphasising his close connection to the Kushite court (cf. Russmann 2010, 954–957). Several stelae, predominantly from Abydos, attest to female and male Kushites through the use of un-Egyptian names, representations in Kushite costume or sometimes a dark skin tone (Budka 2010a, 337–341 with references; Leahy 2014). Most significant for Nubians in Egypt are stelae associated with the burials of female royal family members, like one depicting Meritamun wearing the typical Kushite robe and short hair (Morkot 2000, 159, fig. 72). Kushite costume is also attested for male persons at Abydos; the Generalissimo Pekator wears on his stela

25 Ayad 2009; see also Budka 2010a, 77–78. The practice of burials for the God’s Wives of Amun at Medinet Habu might have changed in the 26th Dynasty, see here Wagner 2016, 11–14.

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the Kushite cloak (Hallmann 2007; cf. Morkot 2000, 160–161, fig. 73), which is also well known from Kushite sculpture (see below). All in all, stelae and relief fragments,26 associated with the funerary sphere and representing Kushites in various ways – sometimes identical to Egyptians, sometimes with indigenous features like a name or costume/coiffure – illustrate the importance of the context in addressing questions of ethnicity for donors/tomb owners. Different identities and roles can be displayed in the same monument and result in the above-mentioned diversity of representations (Budka 2012b; cf. Jurman 2015 for Libyans).

Statues Several statues are attested from the elite stratum of Kushite officials in Egypt, especially from the Karnak cachette (cf. Dallibor 2005, 131 with references). A wellknown and also disputed statue is that of an official with the Kushite name Aritekana (JE 38018) (Leclant 1965, 123; Dallibor 2005, 137–138). Perhaps displaying realistic features, he is depicted with un-Egyptian body shape and a foreign costume, the so-called ‘Kushite cloak’ (Hallmann 2007). A splendid standing statue has survived of Prince Horemakhet illustrating both aspects of ‘archaism’ (cf. Tiradritti 2008; Morkot 2014) and the influence of royal Kushite art (cf. Dallibor 2005, 137; Russmann 2010, 954). Wedjarenes, the Kushite wife of Mentuemhat, is probably the spouse depicted in a completely Egyptian style in a seated group-statue in the first court of TT 34.27 By contrast, her stone shabtis (a practice adopted by stewards and the royal family in the 25th and 26th Dynasties) (cf. Musso/Petacchi 2011, 137) discovered in the same tomb, but used within the burial compartment, display typical Kushite facial features.28 A statue of Wedjarenes’ son by Mentuemhat, Pasherenmut, is attested by a striding statue (CG 42243) from the Karnak cachette (Bothmer 1960, 66). It reflects Old Kingdom models, but the facial expressions are clearly Kushite, possibly implying his Nubian descent from his mother’s side, or maybe following the example of his father, emphasising a close connection to the Kushite court. To conclude, statues of indigenous Kushites produced and erected in Egypt may display Nubian features, but may also appear completely Egyptian in style. Kushite features like the costume, hair or skin colour are not always attested together, but sometimes merely as singular features in otherwise Egyptian style statuary, relief or wall paintings (Budka 2012b, 50–51). 26 Reliefs from Kushite tombs in Abydos have been studied by Anthony Leahy; see, most recently Leahy 2014. 27 The name of his wife is not preserved, see PM I.1, 56. 28 Cf. Lohwasser 2001, 190–191; Budka 2010a, 331. Note, however, that stone shabtis of prominent Egyptian officials like Harwa, Mentuemhat and Padimenope likewise exhibit ‘Kushite’ facial features, possibly relating to artistic trends and/or references to the royal Kushite portrait rather than the ethnicity of the owner.

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Pottery Nubian pottery in Egypt from several eras like the Second Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom has been studied, but pottery from the 1st millennium BC is still a neglected source. This is of course connected with the limited state of research – despite new excavations, little is known about settlement areas in Egypt used by Nubians. Houses and towns would certainly provide ample ceramic material (Sullivan 2013; cf. Budka 2012b, 50, note 43). At present, the study of Kushite pottery is therefore mostly restricted to cultic and funerary contexts. Here, recent fieldwork at Thebes and Abydos has produced significant material from the 25th Dynasty, including indigenous pottery from Kush (Budka 2014b; 2014c, 504, with references in note 4). Kushite drinking vessels, both hand-made and wheel-made, were documented in the highest elite contexts at Thebes (e.g. TT 223 of Karakhamun) (Budka 2014c), and also in contexts connoting lower social strata (e.g. Tomb VII in the Asasif) (Fig. 3) (Budka 2010a, 197, 345, fig. 141, 583–585; 2010b, 507, fig. 3).

Fig. 3: Kushite pottery from Theban tombs (Tomb VII Asasif, TT 223 South Asasif) and one comparable example from Nuri.

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Especially remarkable are Nubian cooking pots deposited as burial gifts in Egyptian monumental tomb architecture as attested in TT 223 – they correspond to a long lasting Nubian tradition and differ from the contemporaneous Egyptian burial customs (Budka 2014c, 510–511).29 In general, even with the limited evidence available at present, ceramics associated with Nubians in Egypt, especially from funerary contexts, display the same complex Kushite identity comprising both indigenous aspects and Egyptian traditions that is traceable in other sources (Budka 2014c, 512).

Current Challenges Apart from the bias towards elite monuments and corresponding display, the problem of identifying Nubians in Egypt during the 1st millennium BC is connected with the dynamic cultural identities of individuals, which may change according to context (cf. Budka 2012b). Mentuemhat and his Kushite wife Wedjarenes illustrate nicely that it was possible to display more than one cultural identity within a single tomb monument. Despite certain caveats necessary because of the limited state of preservation and restricted sources, it seems reasonable to assume that a linear evolution of Egyptianisation of Nubians (from completely Kushite to completely Egyptian) never happened. Thus, whether Kushites appeared as 100 % Egyptian, as 100 % Nubian, or as a hybrid version combining indigenous and Egyptian features depends on various aspects of their portrayal. Most important is the social and cultural context, which is therefore of the highest priority to reconstruct.

Summary and Outlook Much has already been written about the phenomenon of Kushite identity, which seems to contrast markedly with that of other foreigners in Egypt (cf. Lohwasser 2006). Only in recent years have certain parallels to Libyans in Third Intermediate Egypt been noted (Ritner 2008; Jurman 2015). As outlined above, no linear acculturation of Kushites is traceable,30 and in general there are alternative and less Egyptocentric views concerning the complex Kushite ethnogenesis. Consequently, there exists no uniform type of ‘first generation Kushite’ and ‘second generation Kushite’ – people alternated their display of Egyptian, Kushite or hybrid identities according to the needs of the time. Sometimes royal family members are only recognizable as being of Kushite origin because it is known that their father was a king of the 25th Dynasty – otherwise they appear completely Egyptian. In less high rank-

29 For parallels between ritual pottery from Abydos and Kurru, see Budka 2014a. 30 Cf. Jurman 2015 for Libyans in the Third Intermediate Egypt.

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ing social spheres, it sometimes remains unclear whether the father’s Kushite name makes the son a Nubian. It is therefore probably safe to assume that a large number of Kushites from both the first and second generation remains invisible archaeologically. Those who are visible often show ‘the voluntarily exhibited heterogeneity of foreigners’ (Vittmann 2007, 141), which is difficult to interpret without context. Personal dynamics and the fragmented state of evidence draw a complex, but still incomplete picture of Nubians in Egypt during the 1st millennium BC. Cultural markers like names and costume are identifiable, but it is difficult to provide standard rules for the use of such markers. Ongoing archaeological fieldwork in both Egypt and Sudan carries much potential in addressing the Kushite cultural identity, particularly through additional findings in settlements and more ceramic material. Here, the study of Nubians in Egypt is of great value, and is also helpful for achieving a better understanding of the structures of Kushite culture. Finally, because Kushites in the 1st millennium BC were an integral part of Egyptian society, assessment is likewise important for Late Period Egypt on various levels, especially for reconstructing funerary and artistic traditions, but also for the study of social stratification.

Bibliography Aston, David A. (2009): Burial Assemblages of Dynasty 21–25: Chronology, Typology, Developments. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie 56. Contributions to the Chronology of the Eastern Mediterranean 21. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Ayad, Mariam F. (2009): God’s Wife, God’s Servant: The God’s Wife of Amun (c. 740–525 BC). London/New York: Routledge. Balanda, Brigitte (2014): Protecting the Mummy – A Reinterpretation of shabtis in Napatan Funerary Customs. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 655‒662. Böhm, Billy / Herrmann, Sabrina (2016): Der Spätzeitsarg der Schep-en-Hor im Naturalienkabinett und Stadtmuseum Waldenburg. Schriften zur Ägyptologie 3. Hamburg: Dr. Kovač. Bothmer, Bernhard von (1960): Egyptian Sculpture of the Late Period 700 B.C. to A.D. 100. An Exhibition held at the Brooklyn Museum, 18th October 1960 to 9th January 1961. Brooklyn/ New York: The Brooklyn Museum. Bothmer, Bernhard von (1994): Block Statues of Dynasty XXV. In: Berger, Catherine / Clerc, Gisèle / Grimal, Nicolas (eds.): Hommages à Jean Leclant. Vol. II: Nubie, Soudan, Éthiopie. Bibliothèque d’Étude 106/2. Cairo: Institut français d‛archéologie orientale, p. 61–68. Breyer, Francis Amadeus Karl (2009): Zu einigen kuschitischen Namen, Titeln und Epitheta. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 20, p. 169–171. Budka, Julia (2007): Tomb VII in the Asasif, Thebes: Its Owners, Date and Implications. In: Goyon, Jean-Claude / Cardin, Christine (eds.): Proceedings of the IXth International

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Congress of Egyptologists, Grenoble, 6–12 September 2004. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 150/1. Leuven/Paris/Dudley: Peeters, p. 241–250. Budka, Julia (2010a): Bestattungsbrauchtum und Friedhofsstruktur im Asasif. Eine Untersuchung der spätzeitlichen Befunde anhand der Ergebnisse der österreichischen Ausgrabungen in den Jahren 1969–1977. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie 59. Untersuchungen der Zweigstelle Kairo des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts 34. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Budka, Julia (2010b): Kushite Tomb Groups in Late Period Thebes. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part Two: Session Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/2.2. Warsaw: University Press p. 503–518. Budka, Julia (2012a): Kuschiten in Abydos: Einige Überlegungen zur Nutzung von Cemetery D (Mace) während der 25. Dynastie. In: Göttinger Miszellen 232, p. 29–51. Budka, Julia (2012b): Individuen, indigene Gruppen oder integrierter Teil der ägyptischen Gesellschaft? Zur soziologischen Aussagekraft materieller Hinterlassenschaften von Kuschiten im spätzeitlichen Ägypten. In: Neunert, Gregor / Gabler, Kathrin / Verbovsek, Alexandra (eds.): Sozialisationen: Individuum – Gruppe – Gesellschaft. Beiträge des ersten Münchner Arbeitskreises Junge Aegyptologie (MAJA 1), 3. bis 5. 12. 2010. Göttinger Orientforschungen. IV. Reihe: Ägypten. Band 51. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 46‒60. Budka, Julia (2014a): Egyptian Impact on Pot-breaking Ceremonies at Kurru? A Re-examination. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 641–654. Budka, Julia (2014b): Votivgaben für Osiris. In: Sokar 29, p. 56‒65. Budka, Julia (2014c): Kushite Pottery from the Tomb of Karakhamun: Towards a Reconstruction of the Use of Pottery in Twenty-fifth Dynasty Temple Tombs. In: Pischikova, Elena / Budka, Julia / Griffin, Kenneth (eds.): Thebes in the First Millennium BC. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 503–520. Budka, Julia / Kammerzell, Frank (2007): Kuschiten in Theben: Eine archäologische Spurensuche. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 18, p. 163–177. Dallibor, Klaus (2005): Taharqo – Pharao aus Kusch: ein Beitrag zur Geschichte und Kultur der 25. Dynastie. ACHET. Schriften zur Ägyptologie A 6. Berlin: Achet. Eigner, Diethelm (1984): Die monumentalen Grabbauten der Spätzeit in der Thebanischen Nekropole. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie 7. Untersuchungen der Zweigstelle Kairo des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts 5. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Fitzenreiter, Martin (2014): Taharqo und Osiris. Fragmente einer Kapelle im Ägyptischen Museum der Universität Bonn. In: Lohwasser, Angelika / Wolf, Pawel (eds.): Ein Forscherleben zwischen den Welten. Zum 80. Geburtstag von Steffen Wenig. Der antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. Sonderheft. Berlin: Sudanarchäologische Gesellschaft, p. 111–128. Hallmann, Aleksandra (2007): The “Kushite Cloak” of Pekartror and Iriketakana: Novelty or Tradition? In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 43, p. 15–27. Jones, Siân (1997): The Archaeology of Ethnicity. Constructing Identities in the Past and Present. London/New York: Routledge. Jurman, Claus (2009): From the Libyan Dynasties to the Kushites in Memphis: Historical Problems and Cultural Issues. In: Broekman, Gerard P. F. / Demarée, Robert Johannes / Kaper, Olaf Ernst (eds.): The Libyan Period in Egypt: Historical and Cultural Studies into

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the 21th–24th Dynasties. Proceedings of a Conference at Leiden University, 25–27 October 2007. Egyptologische Uitgaven 23. Leiden/Leuven: Peeters, p. 113–138. Jurman, Claus (2015): “Wenn das Fremde zum Eigenen wird”: Identitätsbilder und Repräsentationsstrategien im multiethnischen Milieu Ägyptens während der Dritten Zwischenzeit. In: Pülz, Andreas / Trinkl, Elisabeth (eds.): Das Eigene und das Fremde: Akten der 4. Tagung des Zentrums Archäologie und Altertumswissenschaften an der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 26.−27. März 2012. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der philosophisch-historischen Klasse 482. Origines – Schriften des Zentrums Archäologie und Altertumswissenschaften 4. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, p. 33–49. Kendall, Timothy (2008): Why did Taharqa build his Tomb at Nuri? In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 117‒147. Koch, Carola (2012): “Die den Amun mit ihrer Stimme zufriedenstellen”. Gottesgemahlinnen und Musikerinnen im thebanischen Amunstaat von der 22. bis zur 26. Dynastie. Studien zu den Ritualszenen altägypischer Tempel 27. Dettelbach: Röll. Leahy, Anthony (1994): Kushite Monuments at Abydos. In: Eyre, Christopher J. / Leahy, Anthony / Leahy, Lisa Montagno (eds.): The unbroken Reed. Studies in the Culture and Heritage of Ancient Egypt in Honour of A. F. Shore. Egypt Exploration Society Occasional Publications 11. London: Egypt Exploration Society, p. 171–192. Leahy, Anthony (2007): Tomb Relief carving at Abydos in the Seventh Century BC. In: Hawass, Zahi A. / Richards, Janet (eds.): The Archaeology and Art of Ancient Egypt. Essays in Honor of David B. O’Connor. Vol. II. Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte 36/2. Cairo: Conseil Suprême des Antiquités de l’Égypte, p. 53–72. Leahy, Anthony (2014): Kushites at Abydos: The Royal Family and Beyond. In: Pischikova, Elena / Budka, Julia / Griffin, Kenneth (eds.): Thebes in the First Millennium BC. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 61‒95. Leclant, Jean (1965): Recherches sur les monuments thébains de la XXVe Dynastie dite éthiopienne. Bibliothèque d’Étude 36. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale. Licitra, Nadia / Thiers, Christophe / Zignani, Pierre (2014): A Major Development Project of the Northern Area of the Amun-Re Precinct at Karnak during the Reign of Shabaqo. In: Pischikova, Elena / Budka, Julia / Griffin, Kenneth (eds.): Thebes in the First Millennium BC. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 549–563. Lohwasser, Angelika (1999): Die Darstellung der Tracht der Kuschitinnen der 25. Dynastie. In: Wenig, Steffen / Andrássy, Petra (ed.) (1999): Studien zum antiken Sudan. Akten der 7. Internationalen Tagung für meroitistische Forschungen vom 14. bis 19. September 1992 in Gosen (Berlin). Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 15. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 586–603. Lohwasser, Angelika (2001): Die königlichen Frauen im antiken Reich von Kusch: 25. Dynastie bis zur Zeit Nastasen. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 19. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Lohwasser, Angelika (2006): Fremde Heimat. Selektive Akkulturation in Kusch. In: Czerny, Ernst / Hein, Irmgard / Hunger, Hermann / Melman, Dagmar / Schwab, Angela (eds.): Timelines. Studies in Honour of Manfred Bietak. Vol. III. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 149/ 3. Leuven/Paris/Dudley, MA: Peeters, p. 133–138. Lohwasser, Angelika (2012): Aspekte der napatanischen Gesellschaft. Archäologisches Inventar und funeräre Praxis im Friedhof von Sanam – Perspektiven einer kulturhistorischen Interpretation. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Denkschriften der Gesamt-

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akademie 63. Contributions to the Archaeology of Egypt, Nubia and the Levant 1. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Morkot, Robert G. (2000): The Black Pharaos. Egypt’s Nubian Rulers. London: Rubicon Press. Morkot, Robert G. (2013): From conquered to Conqueror: The Organization of Nubia in the New Kingdom and the Kushite Administration of Egypt. In: Moreno Garcia, Juan Carlos (ed.): Ancient Egyptian Administration. Handbuch der Orientalistik. Abteilung 1: Der Nahe und der Mittlere Osten. Vol. 104. Leiden: Brill, p. 911–963. Morkot, Robert G. (2014): All in the Detail: Some further Observations on “Archaism” and Style in Libyan-Kushite-Saite Egypt. In: Pischikova, Elena / Budka, Julia / Griffin, Kenneth (eds.): Thebes in the First Millennium BC. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 379‒395. Musso, Simone / Petacchi, Simone (2011): Kushite Shabtis with Basket on the Head: An Innovation from the Royal Burials of Kush. New Evidence from some Egyptian Collections in Italy. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 22, p. 137–142. Myśliwiec, Karol (1988): Royal Portraiture of the Dynasties XXI–XXX. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern. Myśliwiec, Karol (2000): The Twilight of Ancient Egypt, First Millennium B. C. E. New York: Cornell University Press. Naunton, Christopher (2014): Titles of Karakhamun and the Kushite Administration of Thebes. In: Pischikova, Elena (ed.): Tombs of the South Asasif Necropolis: Thebes, Karakhamun (TT 223), and Karabasken (TT 391) in the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. Cairo/New York: American University in Cairo Press, p. 103–107. Pischikova, Elena (2009): Early Kushite Tombs of South Asasif. In: British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan 12, p. 11–30. Pischikova, Elena (ed.) (2014): Tombs of the South Asasif Necropolis: Thebes, Karakhamun (TT 223), and Karabasken (TT 391) in the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. Cairo/New York: American University in Cairo Press. PM I.1 = Porter, Bertha / Moss, Rosalind Louisa Beaufort (1960): Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings. Vol. I: The Theban Necropolis. Part 1: Private Tombs. Oxford: University Press. Pope, Jeremy W. (2014): The Double Kingdom under Taharqo. Studies in the History of Kush and Egypt, c. 690–664 BC. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 69. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Priese, Karl-Heinz (1968): Nichtägyptische Namen und Wörter in den ägyptischen Inschriften der Könige von Kusch. In: Mitteilungen des Instituts für Orientforschung 14, p. 165–191. Redford, Donald Bruce (2004): From Slave to Pharaoh. The Black Experience of Ancient Egypt. Baltimore/London: Johns Hopkins University Press. Ritner, Robert (2008): Libyan vs. Nubian as the Ideal Egyptian. In: Thompson, Stephen Evan / Der Manuelian, Peter (eds.): Egypt and beyond. Essays presented to Leonard H. Lesko upon his Retirement from the Wilbour Chair of Egyptology at Brown University, June 2005. Providence, Rl.: Brown University, Dep. of Egyptology and Ancient Western Asian Studies, p. 304–315. Russmann, Edna R. (1997): Mentuemhat’s Kushite Wife (Further Remarks on the Decoration of the Tomb of Mentuemhat, 2). In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 34, p. 21–39. Russmann, Edna R. (2010): Late Period Sculpture. In: Lloyd, Alan B. (ed.): A Companion to Ancient Egypt. Vol. II. Part VI: The Visual Arts. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World. Malden, MA/Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, p. 944‒969. Schneider, Thomas (2010): Foreigners in Egypt: Archaeological Evidence and Cultural Context. In: Wendrich, Willeke (ed.): Egyptian Archaeology. Blackwell Studies in Global Archaeology. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, p. 143‒163.

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Pawel Wolf with contributions by Ulrike Nowotnick and David N. Edwards

Settlement in the Meroitic Kingdom Introduction In its heyday, the Meroitic Kingdom stretched across nearly 1000 km along the Middle Nile Valley from its Sudanic heartland between the Atbara and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles to Lower Nubia and the border with Egypt. In addition, it extended dozens of kilometres into the rain-fed savannahs of the Western Butana and maintained economic and cultural relations along the Blue and White Niles as far as Sennar and Kosti, 250 km south of present-day Khartoum. The ecological and cultural variety of this vast territory suggests considerable diversity in the nature and pattern of settlement throughout the seven centuries of the Kushite Kingdom’s Meroitic Period between the 3rd century BC and the 4th century AD. Direct control of population and economy, which exerted considerable influence on the character of settlement, was, however, limited to the kingdom’s riverine core regions, in particular Upper Nubia and the Kingdom’s Sudanic heartland. The kingdom was not a territorial state in the present sense (cf. Lohwasser 2014) and the population in the periphery such as in Lower Nubia, the Fourth and Fifth Cataracts, the Bayuda, the Butana, the Gezira and along the Blue and White Niles was certainly more dynamic in regard to political, economic and ritual dependencies. Being less influenced by state-controlled developments, it perpetuated traditional settlement structures and construction techniques using perishable materials like wood, straw, mud-bricks and jalous – in contrast to the Meroitic sites with monumental architecture in the core territories, which often are correlated to the availability of sandstone as building material. Although the last decades added much to our understanding of Meroitic settlement compared to what was known about 20 years ago,1 the ongoing bias of settlement archaeology in Sudan towards monumental sites as well as formation processes, preservation and post-depositional destruction result in a perception of Meroitic settlement that may be far from past reality – in particular regarding more ephemeral occupation and rural sites, which are likely to have been widely distributed. While modern archaeological reconnaissance benefits from remote sensing, GIS, geophysical methods and efficient computer-aided recording techniques, extensive and intricate stratigraphic excavations necessary to comprehend the nature of ‘ordinary’ non-monumental occupation sites are carried out as seldom as in the early days of Sudan archaeology. In addition, only very limited archaeological work has

1 E.g. Edwards 1989; 1996; 1999a, 65–69; 2004, 145–154; Török 1988, 211–220; 1997a, 410–416, 516–523; 2002, 19–34; Welsby 1996, 148–152; Choimet 2018. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-031

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been conducted beyond monumental sites with representative stone and/or brick structures, often known already since the early expeditions in the 19th century. As a result, archaeological reconnaissance revealed surprisingly few domestic sites of any period and domestic components of the presently known Meroitic sites remain virtually unknown. Modern towns like Gedarif in the Butana illustrate that traditional African architecture does not exclude sedentary or large-scale settlement. Post-hole settings from timber-built round huts and circular structures made from perishable materials recovered at various sites2 show that ‘post-hole archaeology’ may be a yet undervalued component of settlement archaeology in Sudan (cf. Edwards 1999a, 66; Anderson/Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 2010). Further indicators useful for better understanding the general settlement pattern are the locations of Meroitic sacral and funerary sites as well as infrastructural installations such as artificial water basins (hafir) (cf. Hinkel 2015). Our understanding of Meroitic settlement can additionally be augmented by the study of the profane architecture,3 Hellenistic-Roman itineraries and other textual sources,4 by technological investigations,5 landscape archaeological and environmental approaches6 as well as the study of present-day settlement development.

Lower and Middle Nubia The Nile Valley between the First and the Third Cataracts is a 600 km long narrow stretch of stony ravines such as the Batn el-Hagar, the Dal Cataract and the Second Cataract (Fig. 1). Meroitic occupation in this remote, barren and arid reach7 is irregularly distributed, with only few longer-living administrative centres like Faras and Karanog, which are surrounded by smaller sites at more productive river stretches with alluvial soils able to sustain a larger population.8

2 E.g. at Kerma (Bonnet/Valbelle 2014, 25–27, 170–173, 178–180), in the Fourth Cataract region (Wolf/Nowotnick 2005, 25–30; 2006, 24–27), at Musawwarat (Wolf 2004c, 24–25) and at Soba at the Blue Nile (Welsby 1998a, 22–27, 34–35, 269). 3 Adams 1984; Bradley 1984; Hinkel 1984; Hintze 1984b; Ali Hakem 1988, 79–96; Fitzenreiter 1999, 120–137; Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 65–77; Sievertsen 2003; 2013. 4 Török 1988, 205–211; 1997a, 347–352, 417; Eide et al. 1996, esp. 552–557; 1998, esp. 804–809. 5 E.g. Humphris 2014; Humphris/Rehren 2014; Humphris et al. 2018; Cech, forthcoming. 6 Khidir Ahmed 1984, 9–20, 83–117; Welsby 2003b; Grzymski 2006; Wolf 2015, 124–131. 7 The available data on pattern, chronology and history of Meroitic settlement retrieved by largescale surveys and excavations in Lower Nubia (cf. e.g. Török 1997a, 13–23, 73–81) and around the Third Cataract (Osman/Edwards 2012) has been summarized and discussed, e.g. by Williams 1985; 1991, 175–188; Edwards 1996, 48–87, 94–105; 1999; 2004, 156–163; 2012 and Török 2009, 377–513. 8 Due to the destruction of the smaller occupation sites by higher Nile floods after the Meroitic Period (Adams 2005, 87), cemeteries in this region reveal a better picture of Meroitic occupation.

Settlement in the Meroitic Kingdom

Fig. 1: Meroitic settlement in Lower and Middle Nubia (Courtesy of the Qatar Mission for the Pyramids of Sudan – Qatar Sudan Archaeological Project. Cartography and design by Nicole Spiske-Salamanek).

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While the large temples at Kalabsha, Dakka and Debod as well as Meroitic cemeteries within the region around Maharraqa (Williams 1991, 177–178) testify to a mixed Egyptian-Meroitic population in the Dodekashoinos (Török 2009, 400–473), the settlement of Wadi el-Arab is the northernmost known substantial Meroitic occupation site featuring several partially standardised homesteads with courtyards and brick-built houses.9 Karanog was a provincial administrative centre with major public buildings distributed over up to 7 ha and a rich cemetery.10 Many of its brickbuilt houses, including the ‘castle’, which survived up to three storeys high until the flooding of Lake Nasser, date to Post-Meroitic and Medieval times (Adams 2005, 87–88), but represent examples of the continuity of Meroitic-type settlement structures into the later periods.11 Meroitic royal interest in Qasr Ibrim (Rose 2011) is illustrated by the revitalisation of this age-old cult and pilgrimage centre with the construction of a temple complex soon after the withdrawal of the Roman garrison in the late 1st century BC (Rose 2007, 5). Adjacent to these temples on top of the defensible hilltop, Meroitic settlement structures with streets and multi-storeyed rubble-stone houses were continuously used into the Post-Meroitic Period (Plumley/Adams 1974, 215–227; Fitzenreiter 1999, 124–125). They comprise domestic features like kitchen installations, crypts and underground storage rooms accessible by trapdoor entrances. Finds like spindle whorls and loom weights illustrate local textile production (Rose 2011, 6–7). Numerous Meroitic texts recovered at the site testify to its significance (Hallof 2011–2016). Rough dry-stone buildings, shelters and extensive occupation scatters in the eastern hinterland have been interpreted as illustrating the site’s role as a pilgrimage centre, while some of them may have controlled the access routes to the site.12 Excavations at Arminna-West (Trigger 1967) revealed ‘urban’ house types as well as houses with functional units in open courtyards typical for the late Meroitic to Medieval Periods in Lower Nubia (Fitzenreiter 1999, 123–124). The full extent of the Meroitic settlement remains is, however, unknown. At Ash-Shaukan, 20–30 late Meroitic three- to four-roomed brick-built core structures with barrel-vaults as well as courtyards and often with a freestanding granary were irregularly distributed over an area of c. 1.5 ha (Fig. 2). These apparently standardised ‘de Iuxe’ (Adams 1977, 357; 1984, 272) or ‘corridor’ houses (Fitzenreiter 1999, 123, 132 and fig. 32) were extended by further rooms and courtyards probably in Post-Meroitic times.13 The administrative centre of Lower Nubia, the Meroitic Akin, was Faras, ancient Pahoras, assumed to have been a nucleated town of about 3 ha surrounded by more

9 Emery/Kirwan 1935, 108–122; Edwards 1996, 75; Fitzenreiter 1999, 125 and fig. 14. 10 Woolley/Randall-MacIver 2010; Woolley 1911; Edwards 1996, 62–63. 11 Fitzenreiter 1999, 130–132 and fig. 18; Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 72–73 and figs. IX.59–62; Sievertsen 2013, 274–275 and fig. 12. 12 Rose 1996; 2011, 6; Edwards 2004, 159–160. 13 Edwards 1996, 63–64, 83–84 and fig. 13; Fitzenreiter 1999, 123; Sievertsen 2013, 277 and fig. 14.

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dispersed settlement structures covering 4–5 ha. The nature of Faras’ Meroitic town remains unknown. In the Medieval Period, the town’s never fully excavated core, containing several temples and extensive public buildings, was overbuilt and enclosed by a massive town wall (Edwards 1996, 65–66). Beyond this enclosure, besides a number of smaller brick-built structures including a wine press (Verwers 1962), the most impressive Meroitic building was the so-called ‘Western Palace’,14 a representative mud-brick structure measuring 36 × 38 m with a range of magazinelike rooms surrounding a courtyard with a central unit measuring 11 × 11 m. It was erected, probably in the 1st centuries BC/AD, close to the palaeo-river terraces 1.5 km to the west of the former town core. Imported glass, faience and metal objects suggest a ‘trading station’ and a ‘warehouse for state trade’ associated with routes from the hinterland (Edwards 1999a, 89; cf. also Grzymski 1982, 171–173). In the cemeteries of Faras, over 2000 early to late Meroitic burials display the wealth of the town’s inhabitants (Griffith 1924; 1925). Meroitic settlements with domestic structures of various scale and functionality occupied a number of islands in the Second Cataract area. An example of a late Meroitic community centre was documented on Meinarti (Adams 1999; 2000, 33– 67). A marked compound of several elongated shops with vaulted storage cellars as well as a wine press were situated next to a larger administrative building interpreted as a local variant of the palaces known from the southern Meroitic centres (Adams 2000, 36, 64; Sievertsen 2003, 116 and note 49), while remains of possibly domestic structures were recorded further south. On Gaminarti (Adams 2005, 32–36 and figs. 11–12), two-room units with storage functions and ‘stacked-pot’ cooking facilities had grown to relatively large residential structures around cores of brickbuilt ‘loggia plan houses’ (Edwards 1996, 68, cf. 82–83; Sievertsen 2013, 276–277 and fig. 13). On Kasanarti smaller stone-built occupations of late Meroitic date existed (Adams 2005, 37–39 and fig. 13), while mud-brick structures on Meili developed from a core of two houses into a relatively irregular group of larger magazines and courtyards (Adams 2005, 39–42 and fig. 14). Meroitic occupations and a contemporaneous cemetery were documented in close vicinity to the fortress of Buhen15 on the west bank. An ‘anomalous’ site dating to the early Meroitic Period was excavated at nearby Gezira Dabarosa (Adams 2004; 2005, 27–31 and fig. 10). Its thickly stone-walled storage rooms contained mostly non-Meroitic pottery with parallels in 3rd century BC contexts at Elephantine. This may testify either to an early Meroitic site or to a Ptolemaic trading outpost during a period when Meroitic political control did not extend as far north as this site (Edwards 2004, 156–157). Local ceramics production is documented by pottery kilns at Argin and Abd el-Qadir (Adams 2005, 46–47). 14 Griffith 1926, 21–24 and pl. XIII; Fitzenreiter 1999, 130; Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 75 and fig. IX.63; Sievertsen 2013, 269 and fig. 10. 15 Randall-MacIver/Woolley 1911, 125–128; Williams 1991, 183; Edwards 1996, 66; apart from evidence of Meroitic reoccupation inside the fortress (Adams 2005, 69).

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Fig. 2: General plan of the settlement at Ash-Shaukan (after Edwards 1996, fig. 13).

Fig. 3: Plan of the northern structures of the Meroitic settlement at Kedurma (after Edwards 1995, fig. 3).

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Upstream of Semna, where a cemetery with almost 500 graves attests to a more substantial Meroitic occupation in the vicinity of a 25th Dynasty temple (Žabkar/ Žabkar 1982), a number of smaller graveyards indicate only a sparse Meroitic population in the barren and inhospitable, difficult to navigate Nile reach along the Batn el-Hagar (Edwards 1999a, 84, cf. 72–73). Some kilometres upstream of the Semna rapids, a well-preserved domestic site was investigated on Tila Island (Edwards 1996, 106–114 and figs. 29–36). On an area of more than 2ha, the partially enclosed settlement of ten dispersed mud-brick house complexes, containing altogether over 100 rooms, developed here around the 1st century AD. The regular design of several of these houses, including some with a central court and a ‘loggia’, indicates a certain degree of planning and standardisation. Many ostraca, seals and tags indicate an administrative ‘trade-related’ function, while abundant loom weights, spindle whorls and bone weaving tools testify to significant textile production. Meroitic occupation between the Dal Cataract and Sedeinga is illustrated by cemeteries rather than by settlements. The graveyards of Amir Abdallah (Fernández Martínez 1984a; 1984b), Missiminia (Vila 1982), Sai Island (Francigny 2009; 2010), Sedeinga (Rilly/Francigny 2010; 2012; 2018), the Meroitic Atiye, and Soleb (Williams 1991, 186) attest to the continuity of settlement in this region from Napatan to Meroitic times.16 The regional administrative centre was located on Sai Island, where a temple was built by Natakamani and Amanitore (Francigny 2015) and substantial Meroitic occupation levels, including a brick structure analogous to other palatial buildings of the 1st century AD, overlay the Egyptian town (Vercoutter 1958, 152–154, 158 and fig. 7; Azim 1975). Another 1st century AD temple may mark another local centre at Amara East (Edwards 1996, 78; 2012, 93). That no Meroitic settlements are known between Soleb and the region around Sesebi may be due to the lack of large-scale reconnaissance in this region, but the absence of Meroitic occupation at and around the latter may indeed mark a break in its occupation after the Napatan Period (Spence et al. 2009, 39; Edwards 2012, 93, 97–98). The only known substantial Meroitic settlement in the Third Cataract zone is Kedurma, with its extensive cemetery with mastaba or pyramid superstructures. The c. 2.5 ha large site (Fig. 3), which may have been a deliberate state-foundation related to river transport similar to sites like Tila further north, revealed brick-built domestic and administrative structures including a palatial building of 18 m2 with vaulted storage (?) rooms. There have also been found here (possibly) a small temple, remains of pottery kilns and evidence for textile production.17 Another Meroitic site in the upper Third Cataract zone is marked by the cemetery of Arduan (Edwards 2012, 93–97).

16 Fernández Martínez 1984a; Williams 1991, 171–189; Edwards 1996, 56–58, 69; Török 2009, 396–400. 17 Edwards 1995; 1996, 115–117; Osman/Edwards 2012, 98–110.

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During the last millennium BC, increasing aridity in Lower and Middle Nubia must have resulted in the decrease of arable land and accordingly changing patterns of settlement, although the region was not entirely depopulated in the Napatan Period (cf. Ch. Welsby; Török 2009, 342–345, 380–384). In early Meroitic times, settlement seems to have been limited to the few more fertile and continuously occupied Nile reaches and their centres like Sai to Sedeinga and Karanog to Faras (cf. Török 2009, 398–400, Table N). Roman travellers of the 1st century AD reported that places recorded in earlier itineraries were deserted by that date (Eide et al. 1996, 554). Notwithstanding assumptions that Lower and Middle Nubia were resettled during the last centuries BC/AD (Adams 1976, 21–24; Török 2009, 397), the general population density seems to have remained rather low, and smaller sites show limited and discontinuous occupation, apparently due to a generally weak basis for subsistence.18 Some settlements, particularly in the stony cataracts, such as Tila, Semna, Gemai, Buhen, Meinarti and Kedurma, seem to have been related to the management of riverine transport, possibly intended to facilitate exchange and communication with Egypt along the ‘Nubian corridor’ (Edwards 1999, 92). In this respect, official buildings, storage facilities and the residential ‘deluxe’ houses at several of the Lower Nubian sites illustrate standardised construction techniques realised by ‘professional builders’ (Adams 1977, 357; 1984, 272). A substantial population increase can be perceived at the end of the Meroitic Period and later. This increase was supported by the introduction of the saqia irrigation technology from Roman Egypt, which made possible the development of a new type of agricultural system able to sustain the early Medieval Kingdom of Nobadia.19

Upper Nubia (Dongola Reach) Before the introduction of the saqia, sedentary occupation in the Dongola Reach, which stretches over 350 km between the Third and Fourth Cataracts, was apparently sparse as well – at least beyond its major fertile regions with alluvial soils, the Kerma and Letti Basins and the Napata Reach (Fig. 4). Considering the major significance of the region in the early Kushite as well as in the Medieval Periods, even systematic survey work identified remarkably few Meroitic occupation sites.20 In contrast to the Meroitic heartland in the south, no substantial early to classic Meroitic sites are as of yet attested.

18 Edwards 1996; 1999a; 2004, 159. 19 Edwards 1996, 80–81; 1999a, 88–89; Fuller 2014. 20 Grzymski 1987; Welsby 2001; Żurawski 2003; Sidebotham et al. 2010; Mahmoud Suliman 2014; Fawzi Hassan Bakhiet 2015.

Fig. 4: Meroitic settlement from Upper Nubia to the Fifth Cataract and in the Bayuda (Courtesy of the Qatar Mission for the Pyramids of Sudan – Qatar Sudan Archaeological Project. Cartography and design by Nicole Spiske-Salamanek).

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Royal investment focused throughout the Meroitic Period on the site of Dukki Gel in the Kerma Basin. Apart from the renovation and extension of the temple complex and its attached wells, bakeries, breweries and butcheries,21 the residential resp. administrative part of the site was reorganised in the classic Meroitic Period by the construction of a more than 40 × 40 m large, brick-built and multi-storeyed palatial building (Bonnet/Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 1999, 252–253 with fig. 2 and pls. 2, 4). Extensive Meroitic cemeteries in the former Nubian town of Kerma and its vicinity testify to a large Meroitic population in the region.22 On the island of Argo, residential palace buildings and temples were added to the Kushite Amun temple complex of Tabo,23 while the town of Kawa, one of the most important sacral and administrative centres during the New Kingdom and the early Kushite to Napatan Periods at the south-end of the Kerma Basin, had apparently been reduced to smaller areas around its major Amun temple complex. Probably multi-storeyed domestic structures with elongated open courts, kitchens and storerooms as well as a wine press were built next to the temple,24 while portions of the settlement further south included a production centre with two large rectangular kilns (Welsby 2008a, 36– 37; 2010, 50–51). Palatial buildings have not been identified, but two brick-built temples and royal inscriptions illustrate that Kawa remained an important centre at least until the 1st–2nd centuries AD. Meroitic occupation is attested by large cemeteries with probably many thousands of graves of all social levels, dating from the classic to late Meroitic Periods until the 3rd century AD (Welsby 2014a, 50–56). At the northern end of the Kerma Basin, the granite quarries at Tombos were still in use in Meroitic times.25 In contrast to the Northern Dongola Reach, which seems virtually void of Meroitic occupation (Welsby 2001, 591–597; Yahia 2012), Meroitic settlement activity is attested in the Letti Basin by occupation mounds, artefact scatters and cemeteries at Kasse, Amentego East, Sheikh Arab Haj and El-Ghaddar, while sandstone relief blocks reused in several villages hint at the presence of a large Meroitic temple or a palatial structure at Urukutti.26 Apparently no Meroitic settlement had existed on the spot of the Medieval capital Old Dongola at the southern tip of the basin (Godlewski 2014, 162).27 The only substantial Meroitic settlement in the Southern Dongola Reach was discovered at Selib (Żurawski 2014, 897–900; 2016, 103–106). Exca-

21 Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 1999, 44; 2004; Bonnet 2005, 231–235; Bonnet/Valbelle 2006, 40–45. 22 Reisner 1923, 41–57; Bonnet 1978, 120–127; 2014, passim. 23 Jacquet-Gordon 1999; Edwards 2004, 155; Bonnet 2011. 24 MacAdam 1955, 208–237; Fitzenreiter 1999, 121–122; Welsby 2011, 55–58. 25 Harrell 1999; Sidebotham et al. 2010, 85–87; Edwards 2012, 93. 26 Grzymski 1987; 1989; Edwards 1989, 123; Mahmoud el-Tayeb 2013, 24–25. 27 No evidence of Kushite/Meroitic occupation has as yet been recovered at Old Dongola apart from a relief block from Kawa and further reused Kushite granite objects, apparently also from another Kushite site (Godlewski, pers. comm. 2016).

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vated remains feature a storehouse covering c. 500 m2 surrounded by a cluster of domestic structures, some with quite spacious rooms and/or courtyards. The general rectangular layout is reminiscent of the settlements of Kedurma, Tila and Meinarti in Lower Nubia. The population lived in simple three to four-roomed dwellings constructed of relatively thin mud-brick walls, partially without foundations, and was occupied with local ceramic and textile production (Żurawski 2016, 103). Numerous storage vessels, imported transport amphorae and jar sealings suggest a trade centre or an intermediate warehouse station operating in the 1st–4th centuries AD (Baginska 2015). Meroitic cemeteries are located in the vicinity and reused column drums and spolia in Medieval structures suggest the presence of a Meroitic temple (Żurawski 2016, 99, 108 and pl. 13). Apart from Selib, the Nile stretch between the Letti Basin and the Napata Reach features sparse occupation only. A Napatan temple at Soniyat, the Tergedum mentioned in the itinerary of the Neronian expedition, was rebuilt in late Meroitic times (Żurawski 2005). A late to Post-Meroitic tumulus cemetery associated with the Egyptian/Kushite temple at Usli (Barta et al. 2013) and another one at Mansourkuti (Mahmoud Suliman 2014, 157–158; Fawzi Hassan Bakhiet 2015, 152–154) have been located near the mouth of the Wadi Muqaddam. Pottery and reused form bricks recovered in the Post-Meroitic cemeteries of Tanqasi and El-Zuma testify to late Meroitic occupation and a Meroitic monumental building in the vicinity (Shinnie 1954; Juszczyk 2011, 122). Secondary Meroitic inhumations were found in the Hillat el-Arab and El-Kurru cemeteries (Vincentelli 2006, 2–3, 183; Dunham 1950, 78–79, 83, 109). At El-Kurru, the walled settlement covered by the present village is Medieval in date (Skuldbøl et al. 2016, 46), but Meroitic occupation is attested by the reuse and assumed extension of a large rock-cut substructure, possibly a mortuary temple (Emberling 2015; Anstis 2015), and a late Meroitic cemetery partially excavated by Reisner at nearby El-Sheikheil.28 The kingdom’s major centre had developed since the New Kingdom in front of the Jebel Barkal at the crossroad of the Maheila Road – Wadi Abu Dom overland axis with the Nile Valley and maintained its status as a supreme cult place until the disintegration of the kingdom in the 3rd–4th centuries AD.29 A cult and palatial district with representative buildings analogous to the ‘Royal City’ of Meroe developed alongside the temple complex below the mountain’s southern cliff (Fig. 5) (Kendall 1994, fig. 1). It may have covered 60 ha, spreading towards present-day Karima as illustrated by ritual buildings in Karima’s Abasseya quarter about 650 m distant from the sacred mountain (Diaz-de-Cerio 2007). A regular street system has not yet been identified,30 but the structures of the palatial district were generally related to the axis of the main Amun temple B 500. Apart from the Napatan residential palace

28 Kendall in: http:/jebelbarkal.org/index.php?view=article&id=67:neighboring (seen 02. 02. 2017). 29 Or slightly earlier in the late Meroitic Period, see Lohwasser 2013b. 30 A ‘paved road’ directed towards the front of temple B 500 has been found running parallel to the present road (Roccati 2015).

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Fig. 5: General plan of the temples and palaces at Jebel Barkal (Courtesy of The NCAM Jebel Barkal Mission. Designed by Robert C. Rosa and Nadja Reshetnikova).

B 120031 and the probably late Meroitic palace B 100 (Kendall 2014; Sievertsen 2015, 210–212) – both situated at the starboard side of the B 500 – most of the wellfurnished palatial structures dating to the 1st centuries BC/AD and later were concentrated at the mountain’s eastern side,32 separated from the extensively restored and extended temple complex (Kendall/El-Hassan 2016, 52–121; Barocas 1982, 302–312) by a thin temenos wall only (Kendall, pers. comm. 2016). Although with different ground plans and accordingly different functions, these buildings share common features such as square plans with strong, red brick-faced and lime-plastered mud-brick walls intended to support upper storeys, columned halls and lavish architectural decorations of traditional Egyptian style and incorporating contemporaneous Hellenistic features (Sist 2006; Roccati 2010). The largest palatial building was B 1500, constructed under Natakamani and Amanitore and similar in plan to the palaces at Wad ben Naga, Muweis and Meroe City.33 Besides its representative features, more than 800 clay sealings recovered during its excavation testify to an administrative function (Vincentelli 1993). Other buildings were interpreted as res-

31 Kendall 1991; 1997; Kendall/Wolf 2007; Kendall/El-Hassan 2016, 122–126; see also Sievertsen 2015, 205–212. 32 Kendall 1994; Roccati 2008; 2013; 2015. 33 Roccati 2004; 2008, 252–258; 2013, 251–256; see also Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 67–69; Maillot 2015; 2016b; 2018.

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idences of high officials (B 2100, 2400 and 3200) (Sordi 2010, 181; Roccati 2014), priest’s houses (B 1700) (Kendall/El-Hassan 2016, 127–128) or as relating to ritual function (B 2200) (Sordi 2010; Ciampini 2015). Apart from later squatter occupation and a number of earlier walls below these palatial buildings (Dunham 1970; Roccati 2008, 251), the site still lacks evidence for domestic structures relating to a common local population as well as for a larger non-royal cemetery:34 The ‘urban’ town of Napata, habitation quarters, workshops and production areas have not yet been localised. They may lie to the east of the presently known temples and palatial buildings, in the areas near the modern palm tree plantations and closer to the riverbank (Kendall/El-Hassan 2016, 8; cf. Tucker/ Emberling 2016, 52–53). Sanam, Griffith’s ‘Contra-Napata’ (1922, 77–79), covering an area of at least 50 ha at the mouth of the Wadi Abu Dom, 7 km downstream on the opposite riverbank, similarly produced only few Meroitic remains. Surface pottery, some wall remains and inscriptions35 as well as a number of Meroitic secondary burials in former Napatan graves36 show that it was still occupied, albeit without regaining its former significance. Likewise, only scarce Meroitic evidence has been identified upstream of Sanam and in the quarries of Daygah near the Fourth Cataract as well as at Nuri (Sidebotham et al. 2010, 79–110; Dunham 1955, 22, 196).

Fourth to Fifth Cataracts, Abu Hamed Reach, Bayuda Desert and the Wadis Abu Dom, Muqaddam and el-Milk Intense rescue surveys within the context of the construction of the Hamdab power dam at the Fourth Cataract (cf. Fig. 4)37 has revealed a relatively small number of Meroitic sites, mostly cemeteries (e.g. Mahmoud el-Tayeb/Kolosowska 2005a, 62– 66), and no evidence for monumental sites (cf. Welsby 2008b, 38–39; Salah edDin Mohamed Ahmed 2014). This paucity may be explained by the fact that, apart from the region’s limited agricultural potential, the rural population of this remote

34 A non-royal cemetery may have existed in the open area south-west of the sacred mountain (Nowotnick, pers. comm. 2016). 35 Griffith 1922, 75; Lohwasser 2012, 298, 300; Vincentelli 2015, 319. 36 Griffith 1922, 75–76, 85; 1923, 77; Lohwasser 2012, 295–297 and fig. 97. 37 For publications and interim reports, see Welsby 2003a; Paner/Jakobielski 2005; Näser/Lange 2007; Gratien 2008; Wotzka 2012; various issues of the periodicals Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin, Gdansk Archaeological Museum African Reports, Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V., Archéologie du Nil Moyen and Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie; for preliminary published draft reports, see http://www.sudarchrs.org.uk/fieldwork/fieldwork-merowe-dam-salvage/ (seen 01. 02. 2017).

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area had restricted access to prestige items and luxury goods of the Meroitic upper class. Less influenced by their symbolism, traditional features like handmade ceramics and beer jars prevailed, rendering it difficult to distinguish between Meroitic and Post-Meroitic sites (Wolf 2004a, 22).38 The only larger settlement site, covering an area of 2–3 ha, was excavated on Umm Muri Island (Payne 2005; Thomas 2008, 65–66 and fig. 1). The multi-phased settlement may have represented a regional administrative centre in the 1st to 4th centuries AD. It comprised partially complex mud-brick buildings, occasionally with red brick-faced walls. Artefacts, imported amphorae and Meroitic fine ware recovered from the settlement and from a more richly equipped grave in a nearby cemetery on Mis Island 39 suggest a certain exchange with the centres of the kingdom, while loom weights testify to local textile production (Payne 2005, 9 and pl. 3). Circular huts apparently represent typical habitation structures of the Meroitic to Post-Meroitic occupation sites in the region. Such occupations were often located on flat terraces along the wadi banks, for example, in the area of Dar el-Arab and Wadi Thannori (Fig. 6) (Wolf/Nowotnick 2005, 25–30; 2006, 24–27). The largest of these rural sites comprised 17 round huts on an area of 1 ha, but most of them were rather small and may have housed an extended family. The remains of the dwellings consisted of several sometimes interconnected post-hole circles 2–3.5 m in diameter, in some cases associated with narrow trenches, possibly for jalous walls. The huts were probably constructed of wooden posts supporting wickerwork walls rendered with a layer of mud and covered by light roofs. Sometimes they were combined with rectilinear building structures or palisade-like walls and associated with smaller stone circles assumed to represent the remains of shelters for livestock or raised storage bins. These structures were also connected with storage pits, fireplaces and artefacts such as spindle whorls, grinding tools and hammer stones. On the opposite eastern riverbank, Meroitic settlements located on elevated terraces consisted of stone rings 4–5 m in diameter and were occasionally combined with rectangular features as well (Paner/Pudło 2010a, 140–141). The simple types of these dwellings, still being constructed today, reflect that the common population lived on small-scale agriculture and animal husbandry. Botanical samples from the Umm Muri settlement illustrate that besides emmer and barley, limited cultivation of summer cereals such as sorghum was part of the agricultural subsistence (Fuller 2015, 39), while qadus fragments indicate the use of the saqia since the 4th century AD (Thomas 2014, 1093). Limekilns have been identified in the Wadi Umm Rahau (Pluskota 2005, 130–132).

38 In particular, Meroitic and Post-Meroitic sites often occupied similar locations (Paner/Pudło 2010a, 140) and graves of assumed Post-Meroitic date often yielded Meroitic finds (Wolf/Nowotnick 2005, 30; 2006, 21–24; Thomas 2014, 1095). 39 Thomas 2008; 2014, 1094–1095; Ginns 2006, 18, pl. 8 and colour pls. xii–xiii.

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Fig. 6: Plan of the post-holes of a round hut settlement at the Fourth Cataract (Courtesy of the Sudan Archaeological Research Society, London. Designed by Pawel Wolf).

Similar to the Fourth Cataract, marginal ecological conditions such as minimum rainfall, steep riverbanks and rocky islands resulted in a relatively low agricultural potential and may have prevented the development of larger Meroitic centres in the remote and inhospitable Abu Hamed Reach and the Fifth Cataract. Meroitic occupation in this region seems to be of ephemeral nature and most of the occupation sites and cemeteries seem to be of Post-Meroitic to Medieval date.40 On Mograt Island, recent excavations unearthed early Meroitic burials in the multi-period cemetery MOG 034 (Weschenfelder 2015). Late to Post-Meroitic surface finds were recovered in the fortress of Mikaisir (Rees et al. 2015, 180; Drzewiecki 2016, 138–139) and a Meroitic inscription was reported from the village of Kelesaikal Gubli (Kleppe 1982, 147). At the Fifth Cataract, a fortress of late Meroitic date was identified at Abu Mereigh as being associated with a larger cemetery (Drzewiecki/Stępnik 2014, 102– 103, 105–108). On Gandeisi Island, pottery and reused blocks of possibly Meroitic

40 Yousif Mukhtar El-Amin/Edwards 2000; Welsby 2013, 131–132; Jesse/Fiedler/Gabriel 2013; Gabriel 2014; Drzewiecki/Stępnik 2014.

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date may indicate a yet unknown settlement (Crawford 1953a, 26–30; Drzewiecki 2016, 148–149). Meroitic pottery was also recovered in a tumulus cemetery at Gereif and many of the thousands of tumuli scattered along the Nile’s west bank may date to this period as well (Crawford 1953b, 11, 13–15; cf. Edwards 1989, 134). The Bayuda is an inhospitable and sparsely populated region characterised by deserts, semi-deserts and grasslands with relatively poor soils between Upper Cretaceous sediment formations, late Precambrian basement bedrock and Tertiary volcanic outcrops. Only the Wadis el-Milk, Muqaddam and Abu Dom have potential for grazing in their upper, and for horticulture in their lower, reaches (Lohwasser 2014, 128). They are known for many wells dating to at least the Medieval Period (see Ch. Lohwasser/Karberg), while hafa’ir were reported further west between the Wadis Muqaddam and el-Milk (Hinkel 2015, 87 and figs. T. 11 and 16). Archaeological fieldwork along the Wadis Abu Dom and Muqaddam detected only very sparse evidence of predominantly late Meroitic occupation,41 while Meroitic material culture is, similar to the Fourth to Fifth Cataracts, virtually absent (Lohwasser 2013a, 427). The paucity of Meroitic settlement at Sanam, the entry to the Wadi Abu Dom, is remarkable since the overland route through Kerma – Karima/Sanam (Merawe) – Meroe along the Maheila Road and the Wadi Abu Dom represents, at c. 470 km, the shortest line of communication between Kerma, Napata and Meroe, the three major centres of the kingdom. Upstream of the wadi, human presence of the late Meroitic and later periods is attested by cemeteries as well as shelters and smaller habitation sites belonging to a pastoralist population.42 A number of fortified buildings, some of them radiocarbon dated to the late Meroitic Period, are the most prominent sites along the wadi. While the bastioned stone fortification at El-Fura (Crawford 1953a, 36–38), located at the Meroe-Napata road about 110 km north-west of Meroe, had quite clearly a defensive function, the purpose of the other fortified sites at Umm Ruweim, Umm Kuweib, Umm Khafur and El-Tuweina is less clear.43 The rectangular stone masonry complexes at Umm Ruweim and Umm Kuweib feature double enclosures comprising elongated room-partitions, while Umm Khafur and El-Tuweina have simple enclosure walls associated with various building structures and storage-like rooms. The complex at Umm Ruweim I enclosed a central building with a massive stone platform interpreted as a throne base or an altar. Rather than a military purpose, domestic, ritual or economic functions related to the storage and redistribution of goods are more likely to have been the uses for these structures (see Ch. Lohwasser/Karberg). This is particularly true of Umm Ruweim I, which bears some resemblance with the ‘Western Palace’ at Faras and a similar brick-building at Awlib (Mahmoud El-Tayeb/Kolosowska 2005b, 149–151; Baldi 2014a, 61). It 41 Paner/Pudło 2010b; see Ch. Lohwasser/Karberg; Mallinson et al. 1998; Kendall 2018. 42 Paner/Pudło 2010b, 123–124; Lohwasser 2013a, 430–431; see Ch. Lohwasser/Karberg; Lohwasser/Eger/Karberg 2016, 75–83. 43 Eigner/Karberg 2011; 2012; 2013; see also Drzewiecki 2016, 116–117; 120–123.

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has also been argued that these sites may represent architectural manifestations of human groups belonging to non-Meroitic cultural traditions (Lohwasser 2014, 128). The Wadis Muqaddam, el-Milk and Howar represent communication lines reaching far into the yet unexplored Libyan Desert, Darfur and Kordofan. Earlier Kushite settlement possibly relating to the control of the regional population and/ or of long-distance exchange along the Wadi Muqaddam is attested by an apparently short-lived site with large mud-brick buildings, including luxurious dwellings and possibly a temple at El-Meragh (Kendall 2001; 2018). However, clear evidence of Meroitic material culture and links between the population of these wadis and the Nile Valley are sparse, comprising only a few tumuli and potsherds.44 In the Wadi Howar, major Napatan fortifications like Gala Abu Ahmed likewise lack Meroitic evidence (Jesse 2013, 344; Lohwasser 2014, 128–129), while other comparable sites still have to be investigated, such as the fortress of El-Kueibi (Hinkel 1979, 125) north of Gala Abu Ahmed or Kufriyat el-Atash in the Wadi el-Milk (Edmonds 1940; Lohwasser 2014, 128–129). Further west, in Kordofan and Darfur, evidence for Meroitic occupation is not clearly attested,45 although an occupation with pottery reminiscent of that at Abu Geili and Jebel Moya has been reported from the Sodari district in northern Kordofan at the upper reaches of the Wadi el-Milk (Howeida/ Abd el-rahim 2011).

The Meroitic Heartland (Fifth to Sixth Cataracts) No substantial Meroitic settlements have been identified yet in the Abidiya-Berber Reach between the Fifth Cataract and the Atbara (Fig. 4) (Anderson/Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 1998–2002), although Ezana reports on 4th century AD campaigns against Noba and Kushite settlements downstream of the Atbara-Nile junction (Eide et al. 1998, 1097–1100; Hatke 2013). However, that the Kushite Kingdom had gained control over the Nile upstream of the Fifth Cataract already in the 25th Dynasty (Pope 2014, 31–34) is well illustrated by the Amun temple complex of Dangeil. The enclosed temple, which is similar in size and shape to the Amun temple at Meroe (Anderson et al. 2015, 93), was built in the 1st century AD on the spot of a Kushite predecessor, which is testified by broken royal statuary of Taharqo, Senkamanisken and Aspelta (Anderson/Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 2009; 2014). An attached bakery with cooking installations, storage jars and grinding stones produced numerous offering cones for its service (Anderson et al. 2014, 70–71; Maillot, S. 2015). Although residential quarters and administrative buildings have not

44 Mallinson 1998, 44; Smith 1998, 47–49; Kendall 2018. 45 Khiddir 1999, 293; Edwards 2004, 163; Gratien 2010; Gratien et al. 2015; Lohwasser 2014, 129.

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yet been localised, a large settlement must have been associated with the temple. According to the size of the archaeological site, it may have covered 12ha or more. Cemeteries with richly equipped Meroitic tombs and some pyramid superstructures were excavated between Dangeil and El-Fereikha (Anderson et al. 2014, 74–75; 2015, 89–91). Also excavated were a large multi-period cemetery with Meroitic to Medieval and probably even Kerma graves (Anderson et al. 2015, 89–91) and cemeteries comprising Napatan tombs, early Meroitic pyramids and late Meroitic burials located 13 km upstream at Berber, which testify to the prosperity of a local population that benefited from the strategic location of the region for state-controlled, long-distance exchange toward southern, north-western and eastern areas (Mahmoud Suliman/David 2015; Mahmoud Suliman 2016). The 170 km long Nile Valley between the Atbara and the Wadi Awatib, as well as its eastern savannah-hinterland in the Western Butana, are traditionally regarded as the heartland of the kingdom (Fig. 7). In the last millennium BC, these territories in the north-western part of the so-called ‘Island of Meroe’ provided most favourable ecological conditions for the development of a dense settlement network. The Nile inundation and monsoonal summer rains, productive alluvial soils and abundant grasslands along the Nile and in the large wadis of the Western Butana represented invaluable agro-pastoral resources to sustain a large population. The region provided natural resources such as fuel and charcoal from the acacia forests along the wadis, iron ore, kaolin and gum Arabic as well as abundant sandstone for monumental temples, palaces and pyramids. The Wadis el-Hawad and Awatib linked the Nile Valley to the Central Butana and to southern territories of the ‘Island of Meroe’ with ‘African’ goods important for the kingdom’s long-distance exchange with Egypt and the Mediterranean. The formation of a chain of monumental ‘urban’ settlements along the Nile’s east bank was additionally favoured by the Nile Valley’s geomorphology. Due to its westward bend in this region, it had developed relatively steep river terraces along the east bank. In contrast to the flat (but fertile) sidebars on the west bank, which were endangered by flooding, these terraces and natural levees represented preferable places for large riverine settlements (Wolf 2015, 124–127).46 The northernmost part of this ‘heartland’, the region between the Atbara and Meroe, has seen only limited systematic reconnaissance survey.47 Meroitic habitation sites have been identified at El-Frai (Mohamed Faroug 2006a) and at Hasaya (Edwards 1989, 70, no. 40) in the vicinity of Wadi Mukabrab.48 Twentytwo kilo-

46 In contrast to the abundance of Meroitic sites on the east bank, the number of Kushite settlements and monumental sites on the opposite west bank in this Nile reach is apparently minimal (cf. Lenoble 2008, 64). Besides an assumed settlement at Fikheikhira (Khidir Ahmed 1984, 26–28) near Qoz Burra opposite the mouth of the Wadi el-Hawad, there are some late to Post-Meroitic fortifications (Hosh el-Kafir; Jebel Umm Marrihi) and, upstream of the Sixth Cataract, the cemeteries at Shaheinab (Edwards 1989, 75, no. 80) and Bauda (Edwards 1989, 67, no. 15). 47 Hintze 1959; Mallinson et al. 1996; Lenoble 2008; Osman 2015. 48 Zeidab, the Meroitic site reported to be in this region, was not relocated by Hintze (1959, 172).

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Fig. 7: Meroitic settlement south of the Fifth Cataract (Courtesy of the Qatar Mission for the Pyramids of Sudan – Qatar Sudan Archaeological Project. Cartography and design by Nicole Spiske-Salamanek).

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metres downstream of Meroe City, a rectangular enclosure of 118 × 90 m with three gates, featuring at least two Meroitic temples and many orthogonal building structures, at Hosh Alkafir in Alkitwab south of Mutmir (Mohammed Ahmed Abdelmageed Ahmed, forthcoming) may represent evidence for a regional centre, possibly associated with smaller settlements like Jebel Dayiqa. Gadu, a site with remains of brick and stone architecture, reliefs, statuary and Meroitic pottery situated only 3 km to the north of Meroe, may have been a satellite town of the royal residence.49 Apart from numerous, still unexcavated tumulus cemeteries on jebels and gravel ridges between the Wadi Mukabrab and Jebel Umm Ali, late Meroitic to Medieval graves at Akad (Mohamed Faroug/Tsakos 2005) and particularly the multi-period cemetery of Gabati (Edwards 1998) are further indicators for a dense occupation in Meroitic times. In the central part of the ‘heartland’, the greater region around Meroe and the Shendi Reach, fieldwork in the last decades has generated substantial data on Meroitic settlement.50 The main site of the region, Meroe,51 is situated within the river valley next to the present-day limits of the Nile flood, enclosed in the south and north by the local Wadis Hadjala and Tarabil. It existed already in the beginning of the last millennium BC,52 having developed on a natural levee of the regional palaeo river terraces rather than on an alluvial Nile island.53 With a size of 50–60 ha,54 the sacral, administrative, economic and residential structures of the settlement were organised into functional districts (Fig. 8).55 In the mid-1st millennium BC, if not earlier, the settle-

49 For the three sites, see also Hintze 1959, 114, 174–175. 50 Hintze 1959, 174–177; Khidir Ahmed 1984, 21–26; Geus/Hinkel/Lenoble 1986; Edwards 1989, 60–78; Paner 1997; Lenoble 1992b; 2008; Wolf/Nowotnick/Wöß 2014, 110–115; Wolf 2015, 121– 124; Cech et al., forthcoming; Humphris et al. 2018. 51 See Török 1997b for the British excavations 1909–1914; for the Sudanese-Canadian fieldwork 1965–1984, see Shinnie/Bradley 1980 and Shinnie/Anderson 2004; for the Meroe Joint Excavations in 1992, see Wenig 1994; Wolf 1996; Eigner 2000; Rehren 2001; for the more recent excavations since 1999, see Grzymski 2003; 2005; 2008; Grzymski/Grzymska 2008; 2015. For the excavations at the ‘Royal Baths’, see Wolf et al. 2008; 2009; 2011; for recent archaeometallurgical investigations, see Humphris/Carey 2016; Humphris/Scheibner 2017. 52 Grzymski 2005, 57; Grzymski/Grzymska 2008, 49; cf. Pope 2014, 10–11. 53 The alluvial river islands in this region are too unstable for permanent occupation (Wolf et al. 2015, 262–273; Wolf 2015, 124–127). What were assumed to be ‘river channels’ that turned parts of Meroe into river islands (Bradley 1982, 163–169; Török 1997b, 23–25; Khidir Ahmed 1999b) constituted rather a ‘downstream displacement’ of the Wadi Hadjala’s discharge into the Nile, forced by natural levees into ‘channels’ parallel to the river, in combination with the Nile flood and backwaters pressing into the wadi mouths. This phenomenon may have resulted in a number of seasonal islands, including Meroe or parts of it (Wolf/Nowotnick/Hof 2015, 270–272 and fig. 18; Wolf 2015, 127; see also Wolf 1996, 39–42; Grzymski 2005, 55–56). 54 Including the southern and northern parts of the site that are covered by the villages Kejek and Daragab (cf. Grzymski 2005, 47). 55 For outlines of the development of the settlement and its parts, see Török 1997b, 25–40; Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 33–52; Sievertsen 2002; 2003.

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Fig. 8: General plan of Meroe City with the known structures existing during the first centuries BC/ AD (Courtesy of The Meroe Royal Bath Project – German Archaeological Institute, Berlin. Redrawn with additions by Pawel Wolf).

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ment had become an important iron production centre,56 and since the reign of Aspelta it grew to a widely recognised central town with countrywide economic, administrative and political significance, described in the 5th century BC as a ‘great city’ and the ‘capital of all the other Aithiopians’.57 The construction of a massive town wall 58 defining a nucleated core to the settlement by separating the royal residential district from domestic and workshop quarters was probably still one of the major late Napatan building episodes. In the 3rd century BC, this 6 ha large ‘Royal City’ 59 was fundamentally restructured according to a planned design with an orthogonal network of main avenues and streets and extensive multi-storeyed complexes with central courtyards and storage facilities as well as smaller residential palaces. The centrally situated royal palaces M 294–295,60 repeatedly renovated and extended since the late Napatan Period, were replaced in the 1st centuries BC/AD by large palatial complexes. The so-called ‘Royal Baths’ M 95, 194 and 195 best illustrate the contemporary Hellenistic influence on architecture, which provided a paradigm for ornamentation and the technological sophistication required in the construction works at Meroe.61 In the late Meroitic Period, the city gradually lost its monumental character. Modest dwellings replaced former large constructions and the ‘urban’ layout disappeared, the enclosure wall was overbuilt, and the road system was finally lost in the shuffle of small-scale domestic structures. The town’s major Amun temple complex M 260–280, which was oriented to the winter solstice, had a processional avenue that was lined with a number of smaller temples62 as well as the monumental palatial structures with magazines M 740 and 750.63 All these were situated to the south-east of the Royal City. The processional avenue divided the settlement parts to the east of the ‘Royal City’ into two large occupation areas, the North and the South Mound. Lacking large-scale investigations, the general character of these habitation quarters remains unclear. The North Mound represents a settlement quarter of c. 10 ha with up to 10 m deep stratified deposits. Several trenches give a first impression of its domestic houses as having small rooms and thin mud-brick walls (Shinnie/Bradley 1980, 11–90; Shinnie/ Anderson 2004, 5–9). Excavations at the 3–4 ha large South Mound (Grzymski 2003, 33–50; 2005, 47–50) recovered mud-brick structures of classic to late Meroitic

56 Humphris/Scheibner 2017. 57 Herodotus 2.29.6, see Eide et al. 1994, no. 56. 58 Török 1997b, 41–46; Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 15–16, 37, 54; Hof 2009. 59 Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002; Sievertsen 2002; 2003. 60 Török 1997b, 153–165; Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 110–118; Grzymski 2003, 51–53. 61 Török 1997b, 63–91; 2011, 139–188; Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 79–90; Wolf et al. 2008; 2009; 2011. 62 Török 1997b, 116–128; Shinnie/Anderson 2004, 5–66; Bradley 1982; Wolf 1996; 2006, 244– 247, 255–256; Grzymski 2003, 5–31; 2005, 50–52; 2008, 227–231. 63 Török 1997b, 179–187; Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 121–124; Grzymski 2005, 52–55; 2008, 231–234; Grzymski/Grzymska 2008.

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date, representing a labyrinth of walls and small rooms, probably part of contiguous housing structures/blocks, as well as remains of sacral structures dating back to the Napatan Period. These findings reveal that the common population lived in dense mud-brick houses,64 very much like those uncovered at nearby Hamadab. An area characterised by iron slag heaps to the east of the settlement testifies to a significant iron production already around the mid-last millennium BC and probably even earlier (Humphris/Scheibner 2017), while iron production workshops with evidence of smelting and forging recovered at the Northern and Southern Mounds illustrate that these production activities lasted into the late and Post-Meroitic Periods.65 Pottery kilns on the northern outskirts of the settlement attest a specialised ceramic production (Török 1997b, 173–174), while textile manufacture is illustrated by spindle whorls recovered at various excavation spots (Yvanez 2016, 157, note 18). The major restructuring of the Kushite state during the 3rd century BC became most obviously manifest not only in the shift of the royal cemeteries to the Meroe region, but also in the emergence of a territorial core and a state-generated ‘urban’ landscape with an apparent hierarchical settlement pattern around the residence. The environs of Meroe developed into a densely occupied hinterland comprising mostly cemeteries but also sacral sites and other representative structures as well as large-scale water management installations. Iron slag heaps of former iron production areas to the east of the settlement were reshaped to terraces for sacral buildings.66 Some hundred metres farther east, in between the branches of the local Wadi Hadjala, the complex of the so-called ‘Sun Temple’ M 250 and two palatial buildings with square plan were erected in the 1st centuries BC/AD, replacing earlier structures.67 House M 251–253 is attached to the temple, while the larger building M 255 is situated immediately south of the large hafir M 256, which was originally 130 m in diameter. These buildings display typical features of Meroitic representative architecture such as ramps and/or stairs leading to vestibules and further to a central light well or courts surrounded by several smaller rooms. According to recent investigations (Wolf 2015, 128), the hafir M 256 was dug and renovated coeval with these buildings. Its capacity was rather low, permitting to store not more than 7500 m3 of water. It may originally have been established as a water tank for the construction works at these monuments as well as those at the nearby cemetery of Begrawiya-West. Such construction works, certainly carried out after the inundation periods, must have needed immense amounts of reliably available water. Later, the hafir may have served other purposes, but its capacity was certainly not sufficient

64 Population estimations are problematic (cf. Grzymski 1984). A number of 8.800–13.800 inhabitants estimated for Meroe City (Grzymski 2003, 85–90) is confronted with a much smaller number of a few hundred households (Edwards 2004, 147). 65 Tylecote 1982; Shinnie/Anderson 2004, 73–79; Eigner 2000; Rehren 2001; Humphris/Carey 2016; Humphris/Scheibner 2017. 66 Temples M 6 and M 70 (Török 1997b, 46–50); Humphris, pers. comm. 2016. 67 Hinkel 2001; cf. Török 1997b, 102–116; Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 99–101.

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for agricultural large-scale irrigation. The pyramid and mastaba cemeteries of Begrawiya South and West, which testify to a hierarchically stratified population since the early Kushite Period, were extended by the royal pyramid cemetery of Begrawiya North, whereas abundant tumulus graveyards populated the semi-desert gravel ridges east of the Nile Valley.68 The sandstone plateaus of the Nadschd Aswad, Jebel Umm Ali and Jebel Tarabil provided stone quarries, mining sites for iron ore, kaolin and other resources (Humphris et al. 2018; Cech et al., forthcoming). Huge amounts of broken Meroitic pottery on their mountain slopes may testify to ritual activities in this harsh landscape (Lenoble 1992a). Besides existing settlements,69 satellite towns such as Hamadab, 3 km south of Meroe, emerged together with cult and administrative centres such as Awlib and Abu Erteila. Hamadab70 is the only site where large-scale excavations revealed the complete plan of a Meroitic town and the spatial organisation of its ‘urban’ space into distinctive domestic, sacral, administrative and workshop areas (Fig. 9). Covering c. 4 ha, it featured a walled Upper Town measuring 104 × 104 m and an adjacent unfortified suburb. A Meroitic cemetery of similar size is situated half a kilometre to the south where surface pottery and geophysical prospection indicate the continuation of settlement activities into the Medieval Period.71 The earliest mud-brick structures at the North Mound of Hamadab were founded in the 3rd century BC on top of a natural levee (Wolf 2015, 124–127). In the 1st century BC, the square Upper Town was erected according to a projected plan featuring certain core elements: The town wall, a temple and a main street dividing the settlement into two equal halves. More than 75 % of this part of the enclosed settlement was occupied by domestic quarters structured by the main street and narrow alleys. The habitations,72 in use until at least the 3rd/4th century AD and probably representative of many domestic structures at other Meroitic settlements of ‘urban’ nature, consisted of large house blocks divided into five or more separate units representing individual households with three to five rooms and courtyards of 3 to 17 m². These presumably single-storey dwellings with rather thin mud-brick walls comprised living rooms, kitchens with oven installations, and working areas, and were subject to steady repairs and

68 See Dunham 1957 and 1963 for the royal cemeteries as well as Török 1997b, 263–273 for the socalled ‘commoners’ graveyards. Many more tumulus graveyards have recently been identified in the region, some of them seem to date back to Napatan times (Wolf/Nowotnick/Hof 2015, 121– 123). 69 A smaller settlement with late Napatan/early Meroitic potsherds has been found about 1 km south of Meroe (Wolf/Nowotnick/Wöß 2014, 114). 70 Wolf/Nowotnick 2013; Wolf/Nowotnick/Wöß 2014a; Wolf/Nowotnick/Hof 2014; Nowotnick et al. 2014; Wolf 2015. 71 Wolf et al. 2008, 213–215; 2009, 252–253; 2011, 15; Wolf/Nowotnick/Hof 2014, 723; Wolf 2015, 121. 72 Hof/Nowotnick 2011; Wolf/Nowotnick 2013, 437–439; Wolf/Nowotnick/Hof 2014, 723–728; Wolf/Nowotnick/Hof 2015, 128–130.

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Fig. 9: General plan of the Meroitic settlement of Hamadab (Courtesy of The Hamadab Archaeological Project – German Archaeological Institute, Berlin. Designed by Pawel Wolf, Catharine Hof, Michael Schmitz and Nicole Spiske-Salamanek).

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changes such as the shifting of walls or the blocking of doors. Associated artefacts such as spindle whorls, iron tools, grinders, figurines, lamps, seals and jewellery testify to the presence of various family members and provide clear indications for craft activities like stone working, cloth production as well as food preparation. Charred plant remains and animal bones indicate that sorghum, millet and cattle dominated the diet and were complemented by wheat and barley as well as sheep/ goat, gazelle, catfish and Nile oyster (Fuller/Benecke, pers. comm.). A wide partially stone-paved forecourt in front of the town’s temple (Baldi 2014b), the major cult place until its abandonment in the 2nd–3rd centuries AD, represented the largest public place, comprising an open altar and a well for water (Wolf 2015, 115–119). The town’s administration was probably concentrated in a massive multi-storeyed ‘tower/citadel building’ measuring 20 × 20 m in the south-eastern quarter of the town.73 Only these official buildings had substantial walls with white-plastered red brick facing while the temple and the town gates in the east and west originally had also thresholds and jambs made of sandstone. The apparently unfortified suburbs had more widely spaced mud-brick structures, interspersed by larger open areas, housed among others space-demanding and energy-intensive workshops for pottery production (Nowotnick/Wolf 2011; Wolf/Nowotnick/Hof 2014, 728–730) and probably also faience and glass processing. Iron working developed not before the very late and Post-Meroitic Periods.74 The specific function of the town is still difficult to determine. It may have been an economic and/or commercial community that played an active role in the production of utilitarian goods or even objects of prestige both for local demand and as a contribution to the wider state economy. The Wadi el-Hawad joins the Nile about 6.5 km south of Meroe. It represents the largest transregional wadi in the Keraba and links the Meroe region with fertile basins in its middle reach where places like Basa testify to large-scale cultivation of sorghum since Meroitic times, as well as to the grazing lands of the Central Butana. Situated 3.5 km inland, the settlements of Awlib on the northern bank of the wadi and Abu Erteila on the wadi’s opposite southern bank may constitute a single unit. Both settlements shared a large hafir 220 m in diameter (3.5 ha effective area), which caught not only wadi floods but also higher Nile floods. Awlib,75 a sacral and administrative complex of at least 7 ha, comprised a major Amun and/or Apedemak temple of the early 1st century AD and a large brick-built building measuring 31 × 31 m (Kom B), which resembles in size and layout the ‘Western Palace’ of Faras. A central, 10 × 10 m large court/hall is surrounded by a passageway and rooms with evidence of storage and cooking activities, suggesting a profane function as a storage, administrative and market place, which ties in very well with the site’s location at

73 Wolf/Nowotnick/Wöß 2014, 107–109; Wolf 2015, 119; Hof, forthcoming. 74 Humphris/Rehren 2014, 185–188; Humphris 2014, 124–127; Humphris/Scheibner 2017. 75 Borcowski/Paner 2005; Mahmoud El-Tayeb/Kolosowska 2005b; Baldi 2014a; Sander 2010; 2015a; 2015b.

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the wadi as a route towards the savannah hinterland. An associated habitation quarter has been assumed to the east of the complex (Sander 2010, 160). Abu Erteila76 existed at least from the 3rd century BC to the end of the kingdom. Two mounds cover a residential and administrative complex with a temple erected or refurbished by Natakamani, Amanitore and Shorakaror in the 1st century AD. The residential character of the site is illustrated by the later phases of a mud-brick building measuring at least 18 × 24 m with c. 20 rooms originally 10–15 m² in size, comprising kitchens with storage jars and cooking vessels, grinders and stacked-pot fireplaces; living rooms with censers and fine ware; as well as small entrance halls. It has been interpreted as the residential and administrative part of a governor’s or a local chief’s palace, and even as a temporary residence for the king (Fantusati/Kormysheva/Malykh 2014a, 92). While Meroe and its immediate surroundings represented the utmost hierarchical level in a wider network of regional centres, Dangeil and possibly Mutmir to the north as well as El-Hassa, Muweis and Wad ben Naga to the south of the Meroe region, may represent a second hierarchical level. Taking into account yet unstudied settlements and larger cemeteries like Kadada (Geus/Lenoble 1985), these centres, each covering 10–20 ha and comprising large temples and representative palatial structures, habitation quarters and workshop areas, may have been distributed at distances of 10–20 km (Baud 2008, 61–62; 2010; Maillot 2015, 85–87). Linked to more productive agricultural areas and key watering points like wadi mouths, each of them could represent a ‘Zentralort’77 node within its own hinterland network of satellite settlements, rural villages, farmsteads and smaller cemeteries of a third hierarchical level, distributed at distances of 2 km.78 El-Hassa,79 the ancient Tabakha, was located on a natural levee immediately north of Wadi Doshein, 20 km upstream of Meroe. It comprises an area of about 21ha, covered with potsherds, bricks and some iron slag. Excavations uncovered an Amun temple and an adjacent ceremonial palace – erected and substantially modified during the reign of king Amanakhareqerema at the end of the 1st century AD (Rondot/Nogara, forthcoming). The ceremonial palace is reminiscent of the southern part of palace M 750 in Meroe City as well as the building M 251–253 next to the ‘Sun Temple’ M 250. Recent geophysical prospection and test excavations indicate spacious habitation quarters and possibly workshop areas to the north of the temple complex (Nogara, pers. comm. 2017). About 1.2 km to the south-east, at Damboya, lies a yet unexcavated mound, probably covering the ruins of a palatial structure dated to the end of the 1st century AD, with red bricks, lime plaster and coloured

76 77 78 79

Fantusati/Kormysheva/Malykh 2014a; 2014b; Fantusati/Baldi 2016. https:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_place_theory (seen 28. 12. 2016). Lenoble 1992b, 92; 2008, 64; Baud 2008, 62. Lenoble /Rondot 2003; Rondot 2012; Rondot/Nogara, forthcoming.

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elements scattered around (Lenoble/Rondot 2003, 106–111). Cemeteries clearly associated with the two sites have not yet been located. The topography of Muweis,80 which covers about 16–20 ha and is situated about 50 km upstream of Meroe, resembles the layout of Meroe City: A flat central area of 5 ha with sacral and representative buildings, lined in the east and west by two large, up to 3 m high occupation mounds with clear indication of production activities. Most of the excavated building remains date to the 1st–3rd centuries AD. Geophysical examination and excavations hint at a complex measuring 60 × 63 m in the settlement centre, which probably represents an Amun temple complex with shrines and possibly other representative buildings situated along its assumed processional avenue that is oriented to the winter solstice.81 The avenue linked this sacral town centre to a brick-built multi-storey palace of about 60 × 60 m with large elongated store-rooms and casemates on the ground floor and what may be assumed to be residential and official rooms on the upper floor(s), resembling the palatial buildings at Wad ben Naga, Meroe and Jebel Barkal.82 Tested domestic buildings beyond the settlement centre probably date back to the beginnings of the site in the early Meroitic Period. Excavations at the mound on the town’s north-eastern fringes revealed three kilns associated with widely distributed ashy layers, numerous potsherds and iron slag, indicating that the town had a workshop area for pottery and iron manufacturing (Baud 2008, 53–55). Large amounts of iron slag were additionally recovered in this area in 2013 (Millet 2015, 117). Excavations at the eastern mound revealed small-scale, thin-walled mud-brick structures and dump areas, related to craft activities rather than to habitation. They were continuously occupied from the 1st to the 4th/5th centuries AD and are associated with another pottery workshop.83 A yet unexcavated Meroitic cemetery about 1 km away at Hosh ben Naga is associated with another settlement mound with early to late Meroitic pottery (Lenoble/Ahmed Sokari 2005, 60–61; Maillot, pers. comm. 2017). Wad ben Naga,84 the southernmost known Meroitic ‘urban’ centre, lies at the southern end of the westward Nile bend and the margin of the Nubian sandstone region c. 80 km upstream of Meroe. Like Meroe, it was located near the mouth of a large transregional wadi, the Wadi Awatib, instrumental for exchange with places of arable land such as at Naga in the Keraba and with more southern regions of the Meroitic realm (Vercoutter 1962, 263–266). Its location at the interface of the flat grazing grounds around the Sixth Cataract may have also promoted the settlement’s early development to an important exchange centre: The identification of the toponyms Araba in Pliny’s Naturalis historia and ‘lrbiklb/Arabikeleb on the Musaw-

80 81 82 83 84

Baud 2008; 2014; 2015; Millet 2013; 2014; 2015. Baud 2014, 765–776, 781; Millet 2013, 94–95; 2015, 116–117. Maillot 2014; 2015; 2016a; 2016b; 2018. Baud 2008, 53; 2015, 100–101; Millet 2014, 176. Vercoutter 1962; Onderka et al. 2013; 2015; 2017; Onderka 2014.

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warat Apedemak temple with Wad ben Naga suggests its significance already in the late Napatan and early Meroitic Periods (Onderka et al. 2013, 19). Apart from early Meroitic structures at the western perimeter of the site, the known temples and profane buildings were erected during the 1st centuries BC/AD, when the site underwent a large rehabilitation, and were in use until the 3rd century AD, while occupation continued into the Post-Meroitic Period and later (Onderka et al. 2013, 98– 100). The known part of the site constitutes a district of c. 7.5 ha, consisting of the sacral and administrative nucleus of a presumably much larger settlement 85 founded on a slightly elevated palaeo-plateau enclosed by two branches of the Wadi Kirbekan. The domestic quarters of the town are assumed to have been situated below the present-day agricultural fields to the west of the railway line (Hinkel 1996, 395; Onderka 2014, 89). Apart from a number of temples and shrines located along the two main axes of the site, the central feature of the excavated settlement (so far) is a multi-storeyed, largely brick-built palace erected under the reign of queen Amanishakheto.86 Its ground floor measuring 61 × 61 m with 60 rooms contained large elongated magazines, doorways, ramps and entrance halls. Abundant storage vessels, trade goods including elephant tusks and larger quantities of stone, and terracotta objects hint at its major function as an administrative-economic centre, while decorated and gilded stucco fragments testify to lavishly decorated residential rooms in the upper storey(s). About 70 m south of the palace, a large circular brick building with an inner diameter of 10.8 m and with 3.7 m thick red brick-faced and partially lime-plastered walls is associated with rectangular magazine structures and estate buildings possibly erected already in the early Meroitic Period.87 Its traditionally assumed function as a silo or granary corresponds well with the administrative and distributive functions of the nearby palace, but several of its features rather suggest that it was a circular cult shrine.88 Whether the town centre was connected to port installations at the Nile remains speculative (Adams 1977, 107; Onderka 2014, 86). Large cemeteries are situated north and south of the core site and on both banks of the Wadi Kirbekan (Onderka 2014, 83; Onderka et al. 2015, 101–102; 2017, 100). The landscape further upstream, within the 130 km long stretch between Wad ben Naga and the confluence of the two Niles, is dominated by the flat basement peneplain, interspersed by occasional granite outcrops around Sabaloka, the Sixth Cataract. The absence of monumental sites and larger settlements in this region may be attributed to the pastoral lifestyle of the regional population rather than to

85 The very large size of the site indicated as 400 ha (Onderka 2014, 83) represents the entire archaeological concession area rather than the ancient settlement proper. 86 Vrtal 2013; see also Vercoutter 1962; Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 69–70; Maillot 2016b; 2018. 87 Vercoutter 1962, 273–277; Hinkel 2001, 75–76; Sievertsen 2013, 269–270; Onderka/Vrtal, in: Onderka et al. 2013, 67–74; Onderka/Vrtal 2014, 74–80. 88 Onderka/Vrtal, in: Onderka et al. 2013, 70–74; cf. Bonnet 2015 and Wolf 2006, 248–249 for circular Kushite temples.

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difficulties in obtaining building materials like sandstone. At Sabaloka, campsites with simple stone structures and tumuli including Meroitic burials, were found (Suková/Cílek 2012), while farther south a cemetery with a high percentage of early to late Meroitic burials was excavated at Geili (Caneva 1988, 189–208). In addition, late Meroitic burials of a pastoralist population between Geili and Kabbashi (Caneva/ Vincentelli 1999) as well as Meroitic graves at Gereif-East (Sakamoto 2016a) and Omdurman Bridge (Edwards 1989, 74, no. 71) testify to occupation in Meroitic times.

Western Butana Most of the known Meroitic sites in the savannah hinterland of the riverine settlements are situated within a 25,000 km2 area of sandstone mountains, wadis, steppes and grasslands in the Western Butana (Fig. 7) (Khidir Ahmed 1984, 14–15 and fig. 2.4; Hinkel 2015, 86 and fig. T.10). They are distributed up to a distance of 40 km from the Nile along the two large seasonal river systems of the Wadi el-Hawad and the Wadi Awatib.89 At places like Basa and Naga, their middle and lower reaches provided alluvial soil cover and arable land for seasonal cultivation of summer crops based on soil moisture – probably crucial for the subsistence of the ‘urban’ settlements in the Nile Valley. In addition, they linked the Meroitic heartland with sites like Umm Usuda in the abundant grazing lands of the Eastern Butana. Furthermore, their acacia woods and grasslands provided fuel as well as additional grazing capacities.90 Finally, they played an important role in the state controlled long-distance exchange. They directly linked the Meroitic heartland with the region of the Sharq el-Atiek and the Wadis Soba, Rabob and el-Hasib to the south of the watershed between the Sixth Cataract and Jebel Qeili – the interface with the Blue Nile, the Southern Butana and the Gezira and their abundant ‘African’ resources and commodities – as well as with the overland routes towards the Red Sea and the Ethiopian highlands.91 Control of these state activities was most likely conducted by local tribes. Therefore, the rich diversity of sites centred along these wadis – ranging from complex monumental centres like Musawwarat and Naga to smaller sites like Basa, ‘Alim, Duanib, Jebel Hardan, Nasb es-Sami and Murabba and single monuments such as at Jebel Matruqa and Jebel Khereiq – probably reflects the economic and political power of the local communities in relation to the royal house. Several sites are associated with artificial water basins (hafir) of various size, which facilitated construction activities, pastoral

89 For larger-scale reconnaissance surveys in this region, which also centred along these streams, see Crowfoot 1911; Hintze 1959; Khidir Ahmed 1984 (with further references). 90 Crowfoot 1911, 13–14, 24; Khidir Ahmed 1984, 92–97; Akhtar-Schuster 1995. Agro-pastoralism with seasonal patterns of movement between the Nile and its hinterland is still practised today. 91 Vercoutter 1962, 263–266 and fig. 1; Edwards 1989, 53; Török 1997a, 396; cf. e.g. Eide et al. 1996, 572–575, no. 120.

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and possibly smaller-scale agricultural water management.92 The distribution of these hafir in the southern part of the Western Butana illustrates a more regular occupation pattern beyond the large wadis. However, questions regarding the domestic components of the Keraba in general can only be answered when fieldwork has gone beyond major monumental sites like Musawwarat and Naga. Meroitic habitation within the region is likely to have been ephemeral and mobile, appropriate to seasonal cultivation and grazing. Domestic settlement may be envisioned as having consisted in perishable dwellings of mud-brick, jalous or wooden structures. Musawwarat,93 the Meroitic Aborepe, is situated 28 km east of the Nile in a valley surrounded by sandstone mountains. Besides the well-known Apedemak temple erected at the end of the 3rd century BC (Hintze et al. 1971; 1993) and a series of further single-roomed temples and yet unexplored settlement areas situated within a nucleus zone of c. 70 ha, the most prominent structure is the so-called ‘Great Enclosure’. It covers an area of 4.25 ha to the west of the Wadi es-Sufra. While its earliest structures date back to the Napatan Period, it was fundamentally restructured under king Arnekhamani in the late 3rd century BC,94 when it was transformed into a monumental stone-built complex with ‘temple-palace’ buildings elevated on podia and terraces and accessible by ramps and high corridors, being surrounded by stone-walled courtyards with gardens (Wolf 1997, 23–27; 2011) and possibly artificial lakes or water basins (Wolf 2004d; Näser 2013, 7–13). The fusion of traditional Egyptian design principles with contemporary Hellenistic architectural and sculptural practices95 resulted in a complex of outstanding character that has prompted many hypotheses regarding its function.96 Immediately south of it, the so-called ‘Small Enclosure’ (Fitzenreiter et al. 1999; Fitzenreiter 2013), a largely stone-built compound of c. 41 × 37 m, comprised a spacious open courtyard and several functional units with cooking places, storage facilities and living areas. Its function shifted over time from ceremonial to profane and residential use, without, however, losing its representative ceremonial character. Several of its features, e.g., the division into symmetrical parts of identical func-

92 Hinkel 1991; 1994; 2015; Scheibner 2014a; 2017. 93 For preliminary reports, see Hintze/Hintze 1970; Wenig 2004; 2008; 2013; Wolf 2004b; interim reports since 2004 can be found in various issues of the periodical Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 94 For the chronology of the ‘Great Enclosure’, see Hintze/Hintze 1970; Eigner 2010, 11–14; Näser 2011; Scheibner 2011, 2014b; Näser 2016. 95 Hintze/Hintze 1970, 63–64; Hintze 1979; Priese 2003; Eigner 2010; Török 2011, 214–238; for the possible introduction of South Arabian architectural features such as terrace buildings and the ‘hollow wall’ masonry, see Wolf 2014, 360–373. 96 More recent interpretations classify it as a ‘temple-palace’ complex, emphasise its close association with the Meroitic ruler, and accentuate its kingdom-wide significance as a pilgrims’ centre and ‘national shrine’; see Hintze/Hintze 1970, 50; Wenig 2001 (a relation to the administration of rural and ‘African’ commodities has been assumed by Dornisch, in: Wenig 2001, 86); Wolf 2001; 2006, 249–250; Eigner 2010, 14–21; Török 2011, 193–214.

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tion for distinct user groups, are reminiscent of Meroitic residential structures at other sites.97 A hafir 70–80 m in diameter is located to the north-east of the ‘Great Enclosure’, and a hafir with a diameter of 250 m and a depth of more than 13 m, the establishment of which dates back to the Napatan Period, is situated at the eastern side of the wadi 98 – both being connected to the ‘Great Enclosure’ by partially underground water channels. A pottery workshop produced utility and fine ware ceramics in the north-western courtyards of the ‘Great Enclosure’ (Edwards 1999b; Näser/Wetendorf 2015) and scatters of iron slag to the north of it hint at yet undated small-scale iron production (Scheibner, pers. comm. 2015). A large workshop area for plaster preparation has been identified next to the large hafir to the east of the wadi (Hintze 1962, 197–199). The monumental ‘temple-palace’ complex of Musawwarat should not be envisioned as isolated, but was possibly surrounded by habitations of a local population as well as the staff it employed. Apart from thousands of Meroitic and later pictorial graffiti on the walls of the ‘Great Enclosure’ (Kleinitz 2013), large areas with abundant potsherd scatters identified about 100 m north-west of the ‘Great Enclosure’ hint at larger settlements made of perishable materials. One metre thick occupation layers with potsherds dating to the classic to late Meroitic Periods have been noted during the excavation of a Post-Meroitic cemetery to the east of these areas (Joachim 2014). Further Meroitic pottery found at the foot of the hill to the west of the Great Enclosure suggests even larger settlement areas (Wolf 2001, 494). The unexcavated cemetery of Qos Barmilo with more than 250 possibly Meroitic graves immediately south of the valley of Musawwarat and many smaller graveyards within the valley may testify to a larger population in Meroitic times as well (Gabriel 2001, 34–52; cf. Jeuthe 2004). By the 1st centuries BC/AD, the focus of royal investment in the Keraba had apparently shifted to Naga, a site 35 km upstream of the Wadi Awatib and covering at least 32 ha with several temples and shrines as well as a residential quarter with representative profane buildings (Fig. 10).99 The identification of Naga’s Meroitic name Tolkte on the 3rd century BC Apedemak temple of Musawwarat testifies to Naga’s significance already in the early Meroitic Period. In the 1st century AD, it witnessed considerable royal investment by the erection of an Amun and an Apedemak temple complex, but already in the mid-2nd century AD, the major Amun temple was abandoned and never rebuilt (Wildung, in: Kroeper et al. 2011, 51). The Apedemak temple and a Hathor chapel 100 were situated about 350 m to the west of 97 Fitzenreiter et al. 1999, 120–133; 2013, 296–298; cf. Wolf/Nowotnick 2013, 439. 98 Scheibner 2004; 2011; 2014a; 2017; Näser/Scheibner 2013; Hinkel 2015, 178–206. 99 Kroeper 2011; Kroeper et al. 2011; Wildung 2013; Wildung/Kroeper 2016; Perzelmeier/ Schlüter 2016; Schoske 2016; Schlüter 2017. For a complete list of publications and reports of the Naga Project, see http://naga-project.com/en/online-resources/list-of-publications/ (seen 24. 11. 2018). 100 Wildung/Riedel 2011; Kroeper 2011, 99–101; Török 2011, 301–308; Wildung/Kroeper 2016, 5–13.

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Fig. 10: General plan of the site of Naga (Courtesy of The Naga Project – State Museum of Egyptian Art, Munich. Cartography and design by Ulrich Weferling).

the Amun temple in the midst of a residential quarter, which covers not less than 20 ha and comprises several representative and perhaps administrative buildings made of mud-brick, red brick and sandstone as well as some smaller shrines.101

101 Knudstad/Frey 1998; Wildung 1999, 74–79; Schlüter 2017.

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Many of these buildings with quite unusual floorplans were enclosed by large courtyards; some were raised on podia, others had columns or were embellished with white lime plaster (Schlüter 2017), signaling the high social status of their residents. These buildings and late Meroitic private statuary testify to a powerful local community (Wildung/Riedel 2011, 140–144; cf. Török 2015, 88). Two hafa’ir are located south of the settlement (Hinkel 2015, 208–212). Traces of ‘ordinary’ domestic structures and production sites have not yet been found. Cemeteries with numerous tumuli in the vicinity of the town are of late to Post-Meroitic date (cf. Hintze 1959, 186–187; Gabriel 2001, 52–58). Still lacking larger storage and administrative facilities, the characterisation of Naga as a ‘royal city’ and a trading centre in the steppe located along a caravan route (Wildung/Kroeper 2016, 42) can be assumed on the basis of Naga’s monumental and representative architecture and its location at the Wadi Awatib. Basa,102 located c. 30 km upstream of the Wadi el-Hawad, is another typical example of the Meroitic Keraba sites and illustrates the immense agricultural potential of the wadis. It features a hafir 250 m in diameter associated with a small temple and not yet excavated scattered occupational remains. The natural basin (playa) to the south-east of the site comprises today an area of 930ha of naturally watered sorghum plantations. ‘Alim,103 located c. 15 km north-east of the royal pyramids of Meroe and at the head of the Wadi Eish, which drains towards the riverine settlement of Gadu, is an as of yet unexcavated settlement site with smaller shrines, a hafir 115 m in diameter, tumulus cemeteries and other structural remains, situated on the plateau of the Nadschd Aswad not far from areas with abundant iron ore (Humphris et al. 2018). Umm Usuda (Crowfoot 1911, 22–24; Hinkel 2015, 214–221) is the easternmost site with distinctive Meroitic remains roughly 95 km south-east of the Nile at Meroe and 30 km east of the Wadi el-Hawad. It features a large hafir with a stela bearing a Meroitic cursive inscription as well as lion and ram statues. Like Basa, it is located several kilometres away from (present-day) agricultural fields. The well-known rock picture of Shorakaror at Jebel Qeili in the upper catchment area of the Wadi el-Hawad and at the south-eastern limits of the Keraba towards the Eastern Butana may have represented a boundary marker of the kingdom.104 Large mounds with fragments of sandstone, red bricks and potsherds, occupation places, as well as tumuli, were recorded around the jebel. No distinct evidence of Meroitic settlement is known in the pastoralism-dominated grasslands of the Eastern Butana as well as along the Atbara.105 Material evidence of the Hagiz and Khatmiya Groups, which populated the region between the Atbara and the Gash

102 Hintze 1959, 178; Khidir Ahmed 1984, 29–32; Hinkel 2015, 172–178. 103 Addison/Dunham 1922; Hintze 1959, 178; Hinkel 1985, 163–171; Hinkel 2015, 166–167. 104 Hintze 1959, 189–192; Khidir Ahmed 1984, 40; cf. Sakamoto 2016b. 105 Hintze 1959, 196; Edwards 1989, 35–37; Fernández Martínez et al. 2003, 264; Murtada et al. 2013.

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Delta in the Eritrean-Sudanese lowlands during the early-mid-1st millennium AD, is culturally more related to the Eritrean-Ethiopian highlands, with only very few features comparable to the Middle Nile Valley (Fattovich 1989, 800; Manzo 2004; 2017, 55–58).

Blue Nile, White Nile and the Gezira Notwithstanding the recovery of a number of Kushite architectural blocks and a ram statue of king Amanakhareqerema, the assumption of a more substantial Meroitic occupation at Soba-East near Khartoum could not stand up to scrutiny,106 and besides accidental finds,107 the still limited survey work along the Blue Nile and its hinterland has not revealed unambiguous Meroitic settlements comparable to those in the Meroitic heartland and further north (Fig. 7).108 Indications of Meroitic Period occupation are, however, cemeteries with late and Post-Meroitic-type pottery reported from several sites along the Blue Nile.109 The only sites with clear cultural links to the Meroitic Kingdom have been identified near Sennar, c. 280 km upstream of the confluence of the two Niles: A large mud-brick settlement with several construction periods at Abu Geili on the east bank of the Blue Nile (Crawford/Addison 1951, 1–107) and a number of graves a little distance upstream at Sennar-East (Makwar).110 The roughly 0.2 ha excavated area of the Abu Geili settlement (Fig. 11) appears similar to the structures known from the Meroitic heartland, for example at Hamadab near Meroe. It consists of interconnected mud-brick walls forming a conglomerate of roughly rectangular rooms and courtyards 7–25 m2 in size. However, there are almost no streets or pathways dividing the settlement into single house or settlement units, nor is there any evidence of hierarchy inherent in the excavated structures. Meroitic fine ware datable to the 2nd–4th centuries AD and Mediterranean imports as well as other markers of Meroitic Culture such as oven pots, archers’ rings, amulets and spindle whorls, are partially exact equivalents to those in the ‘heartland’, in places like Hamadab and Meroe (Yvanez 2016). The burials in the cemetery of Sennar-East were equipped with characteristic Meroitic-type pottery,

106 Welsby 1999; 2014b, 191; see also the summarised discussion in Sakamoto 2016b. 107 Such as stone column drums at Kasembar, 70 km upstream of Soba-East (Edwards 1989, 47, no. 21, 131). 108 Addison 1950; Balfour-Paul 1952; Fernández Martínez et al. 2003, 264–265; Ahmed Nassr 2016, 147–151; Fawzi Hassan Bakhiet/Abdelhai Abdelsawi 2016. 109 E.g. Sheikh Mustafa 8 km south-east of Soba (Fernández Martínez et al. 2003, 214–215), ElSabeil (Mahmoud el-Tayeb 1999) and Botri (Mahmoud Suliman 2007) on the opposite west bank; Qoz Nasra (Edwards 1991, 47–49) as well as in the Sennar region Amara el-Nasri (Abd el-Rahman Ali 2003) and Gheresli, where red bricks have been assumed to originate from earlier buildings (Mohamed Faroug 2006b). 110 Addison 1935; Dixon 1963; cf. Ahmed Nassr 2016, 147–149.

Fig. 11: Plan of the settlement remains at Abu Geili (redrawn from Crawford/Addison 1951).

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jewellery and copper-alloy vessels similar to specimens known from the cemeteries of Begrawiya North and West, Kadada, the Jebel Barkal, and even Lower Nubia (Karanog, Faras, Buhen and Gemai). Another cemetery with hand- and wheel-made pottery datable to the late Meroitic Period, including numerous parallels to examples from the Shendi Region, has been found on the opposite riverbank at a site called Karim’s Garden (Edwards 1991, 43–47). Sites with Meroitic influence have been indicated at El-Dinder, c. 40 km south-east of Sennar (Khidir Ahmed/Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 2004). A Meroitic settlement and Meroitic influence on pottery, spindle whorls and beads have been assumed to have existed in the Roseires region, but recent survey work did not report any Meroitic features (Addison, in: Chattaway 1930, 265–267; Mahmoud Suliman/Murtada Bushara/Mohammed Saad Abdallah 2012). Archaeological surveys along the White Nile111 identified a number of sites with pottery and artefacts dating to the Meroitic and earlier Kushite Periods as far south as Kosti, suggesting that the White Nile represented a route along which Meroitic Culture penetrated into the south. Excavations at a multi-period cemetery at ElKhiday, on the west bank of the river some kilometres south of Omdurman, revealed more than 40 graves radiocarbon dated to the classic and late Meroitic Periods (Usai et al. 2014; Salvatori et al. 2014). Grave shapes, personal ornaments such as copper-alloy anklets, and some of the pottery are reminiscent of Meroitic finds further north (e.g. Meroe, Gabati), while in the area of El-Treis, some 2 km further south, scattered red bricks and potsherds, amongst them one sherd with a possibly Meroitic sign (Usai et al. 2016, 195 and pl. 12), may hint at a settlement of that period. On the White Nile’s east bank, partially extensive settlements and cemeteries with continuous occupation ranging from the Neolithic to the Meroitic and PostMeroitic Periods have been noted at El-Masra, El-Diwaihia (Eisa 2002, 65) and ElDirwa (Eisa 2006, 419), where surface observation indicated mixed stone and mud walls, red brick fragments as well as potsherds with Meroitic-type painted and stamped decoration. Apart from limited rescue excavations, however, none of these sites clustering around Jebel Aulia has yet seen larger excavations. About 20 km upstream, settlement and cemetery sites assumed to be Meroitic in date have been identified at Qoz Nuri and Qoz el-Khazna (Eisa 2006, 419–420). At El-Geteina, 25 km further south, a settlement has been identified at the edge of the east bank of the river. Apart from red brick fragments and surface pottery with Meroitic and PostMeroitic decoration, several gold objects have been recovered at this site, including amulets representing Ptah, Bes and a ram’s head dated by parallels to the early Kushite and Meroitic Periods (Eisa 1999a, 75–76; 2004, 247–248). In the region around El-Kawa, 220 km south of the confluence of the White and the Blue Niles, a number of settlements and cemeteries have been recorded based on scatters of

111 Adamson et al. 1974; Clark 1989; Eisa 1999a, 367; 2004; 2011; Eisa/Khabir 2006; Ahmed Hussein 2013; see also Salavatori et al. 2014; Usai et al. 2014.

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potsherds, fragments of copper-alloy objects, glass beads, grinders, etc.112 Rescue excavations at one of these sites, Hillat Saeed, produced burials dating from the Meroitic to Medieval Periods, while a chance find revealed funerary objects of gold, silver and electrum dated to the Napatan and Meroitic Periods, including beads, bracelets, rings, a lotus flower necklace and parts of a double cartouche. Further occupation sites and cemeteries dated to the Napatan-Meroitic Periods have been identified at Wad el-Magzoub, Esh-Shefekhanh, El-Meshgal and at El-Gumaizat (Eisa 2014; 2015). The flat northern Gezira is similar to the Central Butana in terms of surface morphology, soil cover and natural vegetation. Granite outcrops and sandstone hills are present north-west of Sennar, at Jebel Moya, Jebel Saqadi and Jebel Tomat only. Seasonally shifting agro-pastoralism based on summer rains was traditionally supported by terus-embankments and numerous hafir concentrating in the central Gezira (Hinkel 2015, 86), where cotton growing and textile production are attested in Meroitic times (Yvanez 2016). Only very limited survey work has been carried out in the vast region of the Gezira, covering more than 25,000 km2 (Fawzi Hassan Bakhiet/Abdelhai Abdelsawi 2016; Mohammed Alfatih Hayati Abdellah Altayib 2018). At Jebel Moya, a large cemetery and occupation debris produced many Meroitic and Napatan artefacts.113 Some 20 km to the north-west, at Saqadi, pottery associated with structures below the ruins of a Christian church may date to the late Meroitic Period (Crawford/Addison 1951). At Jebel Tomat, midden deposits of late Meroitic date suggest a flood time settlement of mat or grass dwellings of a population that cultivated sorghum, herded cattle and caprovines, went fishing and hunting and produced fibre and probably also textiles (Clark 1973, 57–59). The Meroitic luxury objects recovered at Sennar-East and Hillat Saeed indicate centres of influential local communities with links to the Meroitic royal house and access to its distribution system of prestige-goods. These objects, as well as occasional finds of iron and faience artefacts, may represent goods for exchange with inner African products. However, the sites do not appear to have been the scene of Meroitic state investments, as temples and palatial buildings are missing. The general population in the Gezira and along the Blue and White Niles apparently belonged to a distinct cultural horizon with a characteristic local pottery production and an economy and life-style mainly based on pastoralism. A part of this population was probably influenced by Meroitic culture by its involvement into the kingdom’s long-distance exchange network, which may have rapidly developed the regional political and socio-economic structure. It has been suggested on the basis of the findings around and south of Khartoum/Omdurman that the regions along the White and the Blue Niles until roughly Jebel Aulia were inside the political control of the Meroitic Kingdom, but their relation to the Meroitic heartland still needs to

112 Eisa 1999a, 76–78; 2002, 65; 2004, 248–249. 113 Addison 1949; 1956; Gerharz 1994; Brass 2014; 2016; Brass et al. 2018; Sakamoto 2016c.

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be defined.114 A 25th Dynasty scarab found at Kosti (Arkell 1961, 136–137) is the southernmost Kushite evidence, and the border of Meroe’s cultural influence is assumed along the latitude of Kosti – Jebel Moya – Sennar – El-Dinder,115 about 250 km south of the confluence of the Niles, i.e. as far as 450 km south of Meroe. Further south, agriculture as well as settlement become difficult because of the increasingly swampy Nile banks (Edwards 1989, 42) and thus the archaeological culture distinctly differs (Eisa 1999a, 367; 1999b, 77).

State controlled ‘Urban’ Landscapes in the Heartland of the Kingdom Notwithstanding the principal question of defining the ‘urban’ character of ancient settlements in general,116 it has become usual to designate the monumental ‘templepalace’ sites located in the Middle Nile Valley as well as along the large wadi streams in the Sudanic heartland of the kingdom, in particular Meroe, El-Hassa, Muweis, Wad ben Naga, Awlib, Abu Erteila and Naga, as ‘towns’. This identification is often supplemented with the connotation that these towns are ‘royal’, suggesting their use as royal residences concomitant with their sacral and presumable administrative and economic functions. However, urban structures and the presence of the domestic quarters of a larger population, as well as an association with substantial cemeteries, still remains to be proven for most of these sites. Their original functions as temple and/or administrative centres, specialised workmen’s communities, garrisons, and probable combinations thereof, as well as the development of their character over the centuries, can likewise only be assumed at the present state of research. Apart from commonalities like monumental settlement cores with temples, shrines and ‘official’ buildings in mud-brick architecture, there is considerable variety in these sites’ size and nature. For example, town walls and road systems like those at Hamadab and the Royal City of Meroe are not documented at any other of these sites, although the processional avenues of the major temples probably acted as central ‘town-planning’ elements at, for example, Muweis and Wad ben Naga. On the other hand, the palaces at Jebel Barkal, the extensive Meroitic cemeteries, for example at Faras, Sai and Kerma, and the immense number of pyramids at Sedeinga remind us that equally populous towns continued to be occupied in the north of the kingdom, being simply less well preserved than the settlements in the southern heartland.

114 Edwards 1999a, 69, 90–91; Lohwasser 2014, 127; Khidir Ahmed 2015, 2; Brass 2014, 13; Usai et al. 2014, 192–196. 115 Adams 1977, 341–342; Eisa 1999a, 367; Mahmoud el-Tayeb 2013, 32; Brass 2014, 13. 116 Trigger 1985, 343–344; Kemp 2006, 194; Baud 2008, 61.

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A common feature of the centres in the south are the representative mud-brick buildings known also from Lower and Upper Nubia, which are usually interpreted as ‘palatial structures’.117 They were built with uniform construction methods according to planned and broadly standardised designs: usually square in shape and centrally organised around a representative courtyard, and generally elevated on terraces and/or multi-storeyed with thick walls and red brick enforcements. The high quality of their masonry, with apparently standardised brick sizes, suggests the work of professional builders (cf. Adams 1977, 357; 1984, 272), and the style of the stonework at doorways, columns and sculptures suggests the involvement of centrally organised stonemasons skilled in ‘international’ conventions. Lavish decorations as well as occasionally found royal cartouches illustrate that they were erected with considerable royal investment. Large storage rooms on their ground floors and associated find material such as sealings, storage vessels, imported transport amphorae, commodities like elephant tusks etc. suggest that – apart from their assumed residential function for local or royal administrators – they, and not the temples, represented the major nodal points in the network of economic administration, accumulation and redistribution of goods.118 Downsized versions like the ‘tower house’ at Hamadab (Hof, forthcoming) may have served similar functions in smaller settlements. The common population lived, for example at Meroe and Hamadab, in predominantly single-storeyed rectangular house blocks divided into remarkably small rooms and courtyards. They were constructed in mud-brick masonry, using burned bricks for specific purposes such as thresholds, foundation reinforcements, water channels and outlets only. If one can generalize the structures at Hamadab and Meroe, the towns were densely crowded, the house blocks divided by narrow alleyways with few public spaces. Houses were continuously rebuilt on the same spot, creating meter-thick occupational sequences. The public well in the main street of Hamadab hints at a settlement-specific provision for drinking water. Sanitary installations are as of yet unknown. Water outlets show that waste water and rain water run-off was directed through these gutters towards the streets and to open courts, channelled along the main street and led out through a water outlet in the western town gate (Wolf/Nowotnick/Wöß 2014, 106; cf. Wolf 2015, 119). At Meroe, in contrast, underground water channels predating the ‘Royal Baths’ (Wolf et al. 2009, 229–231) may hint at a subterranean sewer system. There is no evidence for an agro-pastoral population or for official activities relating to military, administration, trade or cult in the domestic structures at Hamadab and Meroe. Their apparently fully Meroitised residents led an urban lifestyle

117 Maillot 2014; 2015; 2016a; 2016b; 2018; cf. Edwards 1996, 81–84; Fitzenreiter 1999, 126– 133, 138–141; Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 65–74; Sievertsen 2013, 263–268. 118 Vincentelli 1993; Edwards 1996, 26–27, 81–84; 2004, 168–169; Baud 2010, 244–245; Maillot 2014, 793; Onderka 2014, 83.

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and were primarily non-subsistence specialists like labourers, servants, guards, soldiers and craftsmen, all with their families. Apart from domestic tasks like food preparation and childcare, the living quarters may have accommodated familybased craft-production such as basketry, simple jewellery making and stone tool preparation. Spindle whorls and loom weights recovered at Meroe, Hamadab, ElHassa, Muweis and Abu Geili (Wolf/Nowotnick/Hof 2015, 129–130; Yvanez 2016) and in the north at Qasr Ibrim, Tila, Kedurma, Selib and Umm Muri119 indicate spinning and weaving, while cotton seeds found at Hamadab and Muweis illustrate that cotton cultivation and processing requiring some significant level of management was established in the later Meroitic Periods, and not only in Lower Nubia (Fuller 2014; Bouchaud 2017; Bouchaud et al. 2018). More specialised workshops with standardised facilities like furnaces and kilns were concentrated in production quarters on the outer fringes of the ‘urban’ centres.120 They attest large-scale production of distinctive and apparently quite standardised goods like utilitarian ceramics and fine Meroitic ‘eggshell ware’. The wide distribution of faience fragments as well as their local Meroitic iconography and style (cf. Sackho-Autissier 2016) illustrate that faience production was a common local craft, while raw-glass pieces recovered from Hamadab’s waste dumps hint at local glass processing as well (Wolf et al. 2008, fig. 74c). Besides the fabrication of copper-alloy (Edwards 1996, 28), iron working is attested in the region since the mid-last millennium BC, if not earlier, by the immense production waste recovered at Meroe as well as by the later workshops at Meroe, iron slag heaps at Hamadab and slag finds at El-Hassa, Muweis and Musawwarat.121 At Hamadab, iron working continued throughout the Post-Meroitic until the early Medieval Period (Humphris 2014, 124 and fig. 2; Humphris/Scheibner 2017). That many of the distinctive forms of Meroitic material culture were created in these settlements seems increasingly likely, which emphasizes their importance in the creation of both, the material world of the Meroitic state as well as new forms of social identities. To what extent these crafts and technologies were commissioned and directly organised by the royal house or organised and supervised by a hierarchy of local officials is a matter of debate. What currently are characterised as ‘urban’ centres seem likely to have performed crucial roles in the exercise of royal control of the core productive territories of Meroe. The nature of these centres with their strong royal associations suggests that they may be perceived in terms of a state-generated landscape, as recognised elsewhere in Sudanic Africa in more re-

119 Rose 2011, 6–7; Edwards 1996, 114; Osman/Edwards 2012, 102; Żurawski 2016, 103; Payne 2005, 9. 120 Török 1997b, 173–174; Baud 2008, 53–54; Nowotnick/Wolf 2011; Wolf/Nowotnick/Hof 2014, 728–730; Humphris/Rehren 2014, 185–188; Humphris 2014, 124–127. 121 Humphris 2014, 124–127; Humphris/Rehren 2014, 185–188; Humphris/Scheibner 2017; Baud 2008, 53–55; Millet 2015, 117; Lenoble/Rondot 2003, 106.

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cent centuries (e.g. MacDonald/Camara 2012, 187). Such comparisons also suggest that we should consider how such sites were populated and that the creation of these ‘urban spaces’ may have required coercion of varying forms. The creation and support of royal households and retinues, likely to include a military component, will have been central elements in maintaining royal power. Bearing in mind the very long traditions of slave troops in the region (Johnson 1989), as elsewhere in Sudanic Africa, that this may already have been an institutionalised practice in the Meroitic Period merits consideration. In more recent times, such royal troops were settled in self-supporting garrison communities. A more general pattern of settlement in which the proportion of unfree subjects increased as the capital was approached (Spaulding 1985, 208–209) might well reflect the realities of the Meroitic Period. There is as yet only little evidence regarding the subsistence of the population of these riverine centres. Analyses of palaeobotanic samples from Hamadab and Muweis illustrate that the main diet was dominated by summer crops like sorghum and millet, supplemented by wheat and barley, which mirrors the general picture in the Meroitic Period (Fuller 2014; Bouchaud et al. 2018). Cattle clearly dominates the faunal remains at sites like Hamadab, Meroe, El-Hassa, Muweis, Musawwarat as well as at Dukki Gel in Upper Nubia, followed by sheep/goat and a low proportion of pig, camel and donkey,122 and supplemented by wild animals such as gazelle, ostrich, rabbit and goose as well as Nile products like catfish and oyster. The significance of summer crops and cattle is illustrated by the frequent representation of sorghum ears and cattle (Fuller 2014, 167–172). How the residents were provided with staples and livestock remains, however, unsolved. The presence of animals, granaries and stock-keeping or other agrarian capacities are not attested inside the confines of these ‘urban’ settlements – apart from large magazines in the palatial buildings and still poorly understood structures like the round building at Wad ben Naga, the interpretation of which has recently been questioned (see above). At Hamadab, the only indication for stock keeping in the domestic structures are circular mud bins 60 cm in diameter recovered side-by-side in the floor of some houses near the northern town wall (Wolf et al. 2009, 237). Assuming a distance of c. 10–20 km between the larger ‘urban’ centres, each of these must have relied on the agricultural surplus of several rural villages and their farming areas (Baud 2008, 61–62). Even without artificial irrigation, the Nile Valley in the Shendi Reach certainly permitted high agricultural productivity, taking advantage of the fertile side bars on the west bank, large alluvial river islands, seasonal rainfall, inundation backwater in the wadi mouths, and displaced wadi-water run-off generated by natural levees.123 Moreover, the large Wadis Awatib and el-

122 Chaix 2016; see also Näser 2016, 11 and Nolde 2016 for Musawwarat. 123 Edwards 1989, 60–62; Wolf/Nowotnick/Wöß 2014, 115; Wolf 2015, 126–128; cf. Geus/ Lenoble 1985, 68.

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Hawad connected these settlements to the savannah hinterland, where, in addition to the riverine cultivation of winter-grown cereals like wheat and barley, cultivation of sorghum and other summer crops was at least exploited if not directly controlled by the state. In addition, the production activities in the riverine settlements required a range of essential raw materials, in turn requiring significant labour inputs. While the rich environments of the Nile Basin and its hinterland provided fuel and necessary raw materials (Humphris et al. 2018; Cech, forthcoming),124 a centrally organised promotion of the hinterland population and their pastoral activities via the maintenance of a network of artificial water reservoirs may have facilitated an agro-pastoral symbiosis of both forms of subsistence and made more efficient the supply of the population of non-subsistence specialists in the riverside towns.125 Therefore, a consideration of urban-rural linkages and inter-dependence must surely be an essential element in how we understand the Meroitic ‘urban’ centres. Based on current evidence, a regional system of royal ‘palace towns’ may have been sustained for at least a few centuries, but it may also have changed significantly within the Meroitic Period. Evidence from later Meroitic centuries show that some of the palaces were being quarried for building materials (Vrtal 2013, 62) and suggest that the original systems of control around these ‘urban’ centres was already unravelling. This naturally raises the question of fortification and defence. There seems to be no development of fortified settlement in Meroitic times (cf. Welsby 2005; 1998b). All the ‘towns’ seem to be open settlements with only certain districts delimited by walls. The larger town walls at Meroe and Hamadab delimited their core areas, whereas other quarters remained open to the surrounding landscape. Proper Meroitic fortifications such as El-Fura in the Bayuda are uncommon, although towards the end of the Meroitic Period a chain of fortifications with a quite regular layout was apparently established between the Fourth Cataract and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles. We find such layouts at sites such as El-Ar (Żurawski 2010, 202–203; Drzewiecki 2016, 134–135), Mikaisir (Rees et al. 2015, 180; Drzewiecki 2016, 138–139), Gandeisi (Crawford 1953a, 29–30; Drzewiecki 2016, 148– 149), Abu Mereigh (Drzewiecki/Stępnik 2014, 102–103, 105–108), Jebel Nakharu (Crawford 1953a, 17–19; Drzewiecki 2016, 150–151), Hosh el-Kafir (Lenoble 2004; Drzewiecki 2016, 152–153), Wad Mukhtar (Drzewiecki/Stępnik 2014, 102–103 and note 29, 105–108; Drzewiecki 2016, 154–155), Hosh el-Kab (Drzewiecki 2016, 156– 157) and Umm Marrahi (Hakem 1979, 155; Drzewiecki 2016, 158–159). The later history and ‘afterlife’ of ‘urban’ communities also merits some attention. While some sites may well have been abandoned in the 3rd–4th centuries with

124 That the particular demand for wood and charcoal may have had significant environmental impact has been assumed, although recent work suggests that the scale of production may have been more modest than once supposed (Humphris/Rehren 2014, 128). 125 Edwards 1996, 25–26; 1999, 67; Scheibner 2014a, 308–320; Weschenfelder 2014; Hinkel 2015, 124–127.

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the political collapse of Meroitic kingship (cf. Lohwasser 2013b), others were more resilient and adapted to new purposes. Notwithstanding an apparent decline in materials, infrastructure and central supervision, the community of Hamadab persisted well into the Post-Meroitic Period, and occupation activities in its domestic quarters even densified during the 3rd–4th centuries AD, which raises a number of interesting questions, not least concerning the changing nature of the community originally established in the settlement of Hamadab. The wider population and its settlements usually evince delayed reaction to political upheavals, but investments seem to cease at all sites in this period and communities seem finally to have lived in squatter occupation among the former Meroitic ruins. By the early Medieval Period, these settlement landscapes had been radically transformed. While now decentralised subsistence strategies may have fed smaller human groups, an ‘urban landscape’ could not be sustained any more. A period of pastoral resurgence may have followed, untying the structures that supported more intensive agriculture in the Meroitic heartland. More specifically, however, we see an abandonment of the ‘urban’ forms, which had been such distinctive material manifestation of the Meroitic state.

Acknowledgements Special thanks go to the Sudan archaeological community, in particular to Ahmed Hamid Nassr, Julie Anderson, Brigitte Cech, Dieter Eigner, Vincent Francigny, Włodzimierz Godlewski, Krzysztof Grzymski, Catharine Hof, Jane Humphris, Tim Karberg, Timothy Kendall, Cornelia Kleinitz, Karla Kroeper, Angelika Lohwasser, Mahmoud Suliman Bashir, Marc Maillot, Marie Millet, Giorgio Nogara, Hans-Ulrich Onasch, Pavel Onderka, Henryk Paner, Alexandra Riedel, Claude Rilly, Vincent Rondot, Pamela Rose, Thomas Scheibner, Lenka Varadzinova Suková, Derek Anthony Welsby, Steffen Wenig, Manja Wetendorf, Simone Wolf, Janice Yellin and Bogdan T. Żurawski for their advice, feedback and comments on the manuscript of this paper. Furthermore, we thank The Meroe Royal Bath Project, The NCAM Jebel Barkal Mission and the The Naga Project for the permission to reproduce the plans of the sites of Meroe City, Jebel Barkal and Naga. Not least, we are grateful to the Qatar Mission for the Pyramids of Sudan (QMPS) for the permission to reproduce the maps in Figures 1, 4 and 7.

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Weschenfelder, Petra (2014): Who gets the Lion’s Share? Thoughts on Meroitic Water Management and its Role in Royal Legitimization. In: Lohwasser, Angelika / Wolf, Pawel (eds.): Ein Forscherleben zwischen den Welten. Zum 80. Geburtstag von Steffen Wenig. Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. Sonderheft 2014. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 335–350. Wildung, Dietrich (1999): Die Stadt in der Steppe. Grabungen des Ägyptischen Museums Berlin in Naga – Sudan. Berlin: Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Wildung, Dietrich (2013): Naga. Königsstadt in der Steppe. In: Wenig, Steffen / Zibelius-Chen, Karola (eds.): Die Kulturen Nubiens. Ein afrikanisches Vermächtnis. Dettelbach: Röll, p. 415–428. Wildung, Dietrich / Kroeper, Karla (2016): A Short Guide to the Ancient Site of Naga (Sudan). The Naga Project of the State Museum of Egyptian Art Munich (Germany). Munich: NagaProjekt. Wildung, Dietrich / Riedel, Alexandra (2011): Die Kunst von Naga – The Arts of Naga. In: Kroeper, Karla / Schoske, Silvia / Wildung, Dietrich (eds.): Königsstadt Naga – Naga Royal City. Grabungen in der Wüste des Sudan. Excavations in the Desert of the Sudan. Munich/ Berlin: Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst München, p. 108–151. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1985): Chronology of Meroitic Occupation below the Fourth Cataract. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 22, p. 149–195. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1991): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 8: Meroitic Remains from Qustul Cemetery Q, Ballana Cemetery B, and a Ballana Settlement. Part 1: Text and Figures. Part 2: Registers and Plates. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition Vol. VIII. Chicago, Ill.: The Oriental Institute. Wolf, Pawel (1996): Vorbericht über die Ausgrabungen am Tempel MJE 105. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 4, p. 28–43. Wolf, Pawel (1997): Recent Fieldwork at Musawwarat es Sufra. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 1, p. 20–29. Wolf, Pawel (2003): Die Bronzestatuette des kuschitischen Gottes Sebiumeker aus dem Tempel von Hamadab. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 14, p. 97–107. Wolf, Pawel (2004a): The SARS Anglo-German Expedition at the Fourth Cataract of the Nile: the 2003/04 Season. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 8, p. 17–26. Wolf, Pawel (2004b): Fieldwork of the Humboldt-University of Berlin at Musawwarat es Sufra 1993–2000: A Summary. In: Wenig, Steffen (ed.): Neueste Feldforschungen im Sudan und in Eritrea. Akten des Symposiums vom 13. bis 14. Oktober 1999 in Berlin. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 21. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 47–62. Wolf, Pawel (2004c): Ausgrabungen im Hof des Tempels 300 der Großen Anlage von Musawwarat es Sufra, Kampagne 2004. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 15, p. 21–26. Wolf, Pawel (2004d): Ein See in der Großen Anlage von Musawwarat es Sufra? Testgrabungen im Hof 122, Kampagne 2004. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 15, p. 17–20. Wolf, Pawel (2011): Der Garten der Großen Anlage von Musawwarat es Sufra, Sudan. In: Loeben, Christian E. / Kappel, Sven (eds.): Gärten im alten Ägypten und in Nubien 2000 v. Chr.– 250 n. Chr. Archäologie, Inschriften und Denkmäler Altägyptens 1. Rahden: Verlag Marie Leidorf, p. 29–37. Wolf, Pawel (2015): The Qatar-Sudan Archaeological Project. The Meroitic Town of Hamadab and the Palaeo-Environment of the Meroe Region. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 19, p. 115–131.

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Wolf, Pawel / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2005): The Second Season of the SARS Anglo-German Expedition to the Fourth Cataract. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 9, p. 23–31. Wolf, Pawel / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2006): The Third Season of the SARS Anglo-German Expedition to the Fourth Cataract of the Nile. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 10, p. 20–32. Wolf, Pawel / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2013): Hamadab – eine urbane Siedlung im Mittleren Niltal. In: Wenig, Steffen / Zibelius-Chen, Karola (eds.): Die Kulturen Nubiens. Ein afrikanisches Vermächtnis. Dettelbach: Röll, p. 429–451. Wolf, Pawel / Nowotnick, Ulrike / Wöß, Florian (2014): Meroitic Hamadab. A Century after its Discovery. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 18, p. 104–120. Wolf, Pawel / Nowotnick, Ulrike / Hof, Catharine (2014): The Meroitic Urban Town of Hamadab in 2010. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 719–737. Wolf, Pawel / Nowotnick, Ulrike / Hof, Catharine (2015): Hamadab. Insights into Development and Lifestyle of a Meroitic Urban Settlement. In: Zach, Michael H. (ed.): The Kushite World. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. Vienna, 1–4 September 2008. Beiträge zur Sudanforschung. Beiheft 9. Vienna: Citypress, p. 123–139. Wolf, Pawel / Schomacker, Ronny / Nowotnick, Ulrike / Eichmann, Vincent / Scheibner, Thomas / Salamanek, Nicole (2015): The “Island of Meroe” and the Palaeo-environment of the Greater Meroe Region. In: Finneiser, Klaus-Karl / Helmbold-Doyé, Jana (eds.): Der andere Blick. Forscherlust und Wissensdrang. Museumsgabe zum 80. Geburtstag von KarlHeinz Priese. Berlin: EB-Verlag, p. 247–291. Wolf, Simone / Wolf, Pawel / Onasch, Hans-Ulrich / Hof, Catharine / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2008): Meroë und Hamadab. Zwei Städte im Mittleren Niltal in den Jahrhunderten um die Zeitenwende. Bericht über die Arbeiten zwischen 1999 und 2007. In: Archäologischer Anzeiger 2008/2, p. 157–230. Wolf, Simone / Wolf, Pawel / Onasch, Hans-Ulrich / Hof, Catharine / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2009): Meroë und Hamadab. Stadtstrukturen und Lebensformen im afrikanischen Reich von Kusch. Die Arbeiten der Kampagnen 2008 und 2009. In: Archäologischer Anzeiger 2009/2, p. 215–262. Wolf, Simone / Wolf, Pawel / Onasch, Hans-Ulrich / Hof, Catharine / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2011): Meroë und Hamadab. Stadtstrukturen und Lebensformen im afrikanischen Reich von Kusch. Die Arbeiten der Kampagne 2010. In: Archäologischer Anzeiger 2011/2, p. 213–245. Woolley, Charles Leonard (1911): Karanòg – the Town. Eckley B. Coxe Junior Expedition to Nubia V. Philadelphia: University Museum. Woolley, Charles Leonard / Randall–MacIver, David (1910): Karanog. The Romano–Nubian Cemetery. Eckley B. Coxe Junior Expedition to Nubia III–IV. Philadelphia: University Museum. Wotzka, Hans-Peter (ed.) (2012): Proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract. University of Cologne, 13–14 July 2006. Africa Praehistorica 22. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut. Yahia Fadl Tahir (2012): The Archaeological, Ethnographical and Ecological Project of El-Ga’ab Basin in Western Dongola Reach: A Report on the First Season 2009. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 16, p. 100–108. Yousif Mukhtar El-Amin / Edwards, David N. (2000): Archaeological Survey in the Fifth Cataract Region. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 4, p. 44–50. Yvanez, Elsa (2016): Spinning in Meroitic Sudan: Textile Production Implements from Abu Geili. In: Dotawo. A Journal of Nubian Studies 3, p. 153–178.

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Žabkar, Louis V. / Žabkar, Joan J. (1982): Semna South. A Preliminary Report on the 1966–68 Excavations of the University of Chicago Oriental Institute Expedition to Sudanese Nubia. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 19, p. 7–50. Zach, Michael H. (ed.) (2015): The Kushite World. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. Vienna, 1–4 September 2008. Beiträge zur Sudanforschung. Beiheft 9. Vienna: Citypress. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2003): Nubia II. Survey and Excavations between Old Dongola and EzZuma. Southern Dongola Reach Survey 1. Warsaw: Centre d’Archéologie Mediterraneenne de l’Academie Polonaise des Sciences, Editions Neriton Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2005): The Temple of Soniyat, 1991–2002. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 3, p. 298–302. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2010): Facing the Deluge. A Preliminary Report on the Salvage Operations Conducted in the Manatiq of Umm Saffaya, El-Ar, Ashkot and Shemkhiya in 2007—2009. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 7, p. 189–215. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2014): Meroitic to Medieval Occupation Upriver from Dongola. Excavations at Banganarti and Selib in 2010. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 887–900. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2016): Filling in the Gaps. Excavations on the site of Selib. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 20, p. 91–109.

Jana Helmbold-Doyé

Tomb Architecture and Burial Custom of the Elite during the Meroitic Phase in the Kingdom of Kush Based on excavations of 141 cemeteries in Lower Nubia, there exist 10,148 Meroitic tombs with 17,115 burials currently known by scholars (Edwards 1996, 94–105).1 These numbers are augmented by large Meroitic cemeteries containing hundreds of burials in the heartland of the empire, which stretched between the First and the Sixth Cataract. The results of decades-long research have been published in numerous books and articles. However, there are no cross-regional studies covering all aspects of Meroitic burial customs, and so far potential social and regional differences have been disregarded.2 For the northern region these might consist of, for example, marks of a stronger Egyptian influence. In the following only a limited portion of these social and regional idiosyncrasies can be discussed. Since, despite many open questions, the cemeteries of Meroë containing pyramids are among the most thoroughly explored, this contribution focusses on the heartland. In June 2011 the Archaeological Sites of Meroë were listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites (Fig. 1). However, the re-evaluation of the material excavated by George A. Reisner at these sites still constitutes a desideratum. The pyramids of Meroë are outstanding examples of Kushite funerary monuments, which illustrate an association with the well preserved urban centre of the Kushite capital city.3 The architectural remains at the three site components illustrate the combination of structural and decorative elements from pharaonic Egypt, Greece, and Rome as well as from Kush itself, and thereby bear testimony to early reciprocal influence.

1 On the multiplicity of Meroitic buildings, constructions and materials, see e.g. Hinkel 1984a, 290–309. 2 See the essay Geus 2004, 274–282 (281–282 mer.). Form, burial and furnishing: Geus 1989, 163– 185; Eisa 1999. For Saï and Sedeïnga, see the dissertation of Francigny 2008, published as Francigny 2016. Just an essence of his results is: Francigny in: Baud 2010, 249–257; Francigny 2012, 52–59. Francigny/Geus 2004, 281–282 and Török 1988, 224–225 e.g. main positions of the bodies and difference between the north (supine) and central Sudan (crouched). Types of tombs in the north: Sakamoto 2014, 809–826. Situation in Lower Nubia: Török 2009, 411–415, 425–426 (social changes on the basis of tombs), 473–505 (structure of the elite in Lower Nubia). The site 214 at Abu Simbel-North: Näser 1995; 1999, 19–28. To sum up Meroitic burials: Török 1988, 220–225. 3 In addition, Tumuli-tombs existed in Meroitic time. On the difficulties of dating the Tumuli, see e.g. Francigny 2012. There might have been Tumuli in Meroë: Welsby 1996, 92. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-032

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Fig. 1: The Northern Cemetery of Meroë (© Jana Helmbold-Doyé, 2015).

Research History The cemeteries of Meroë are first mentioned by travellers at the end of the 18th century.4 Particularly important are the detailed descriptions and lithographs produced by Frédéric Cailliaud within his five-volume publication.5 The Royal Prussian Expedition (1842–45) under Richard Lepsius certainly constitutes another groundbreaking achievement with regard to documentation of the archaeological sites of Meroë. The cemetery was systematically examined: The results were recorded on a plan and the depictions of the pyramid chapels were copied.6 Sir Ernest A. Wallis

4 A compilation of the ancient sources, and a critical discussion, is found in Francigny 2008, 52; Hofmann/Vorbichler 1979; Török 1986. An overview of the re-discovery of the Meroitic monuments and the subsequent discovery can be found in Breyer 2014, 37–51. Above all, see Crowfoot 1911, 3–5; Shinnie 1967, 13–28; Török 1988, 338 (bibliogr.). For the travelers who visited the cemeteries between the 18th and 19th century, see Hinkel 2000, 14–15. 5 Cailliaud 1823–1827. 6 LD I.2, Blatt 133–138; LD V.10, Blatt 25–54; LD Text V, 293–331; LD VI.11, Blatt 8–10; Ergänzungsband, Blatt 60–62. For the works of Lepsius in Meroë, but also other places in Nubia, see Kuckertz 2010, 66–81.

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Budge conducted several surveys and excavations in the years 1899, 1903 and 1905.7 The first large-scale excavations of the cemeteries were carried out between 1921 and 1922 by George A. Reisner (Harvard-Boston-Expedition). The results were published by Dows Dunham posthumously between 1952 and 1963.8 Reisner’s reconstruction of the sequence of royal pyramids, of kings and reigning queens who are named in the inscriptions in the pyramid chapels, is questioned by contemporary scholarship. In the 1980s, Friedrich Hinkel undertook documentary and restoration work at the pyramid field; the work continued for decades and provided considerable further insight.9

Chronology The chronology of the empire of Meroë, covering a time-span from c. 300 BC to AD 350, is a matter of ongoing debate.10 Neither the number of rulers nor their sequence has yet been securely established. The reason for this is the absence of king-lists, further aggravated by the still limited understanding of Meroitic texts. Therefore, chronology is often mainly based on archaeological evidence. The abovementioned chronology proposed by Reisner is based on two assumptions: (1) That the size of the pyramids is indicative of the length of the reign of a ruler, and (2) that the relative position of the burials can be related to the life-span of the dignitaries.11 However, these suppositions could not be confirmed by actual archaeological evidence. Therefore, Sudanese archaeology has established a relative sequence of rulers, summarized by generations.12 Notwithstanding the central importance of further research into the site’s chronology, this contribution will focus on archaeological matters.

Archaeology The ancient site of Meroë, situated about 100 km above the Atbara’s mouth on the east bank of the Nile, had been the permanent residence of the king since the 7 The results are recorded in his work: Budge 1907. 8 Dunham 1957; 1963; Dunham/Chapman 1952. 9 Under Hinkel (1997, 409; 2000, 16, 21–25) from 1976 to 1988 and Yellin (2012, 264) from 1976 to 2005. 10 An outline of the Meroitic era e.g.: Lohwasser 2013, 227–244. For the various historical names see, for example, Breyer 2014, 5–6. 11 Dunham 1957, 2; Hintze 1973, 127–130 (comments to the methods of Reisner and Dunham). Reisner’s results have been published by Dunham (1957; 1963; Dunham/Chapman 1952). 12 From the beginning of the Meroitic Period up to the reign of the ruling couple Natakamani and Amanitore (1st century AD) there is a communis opinio on the number and order of the kings. For

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6th century BC. After 300 BC, the royal cemeteries were relocated to Meroë and remained there for half a millennium. Under the ruler Arkamani (Ergamenes I) around 275 BC, the centre of Napata (Gebel Barkal) was moved further south to Meroë.

The Cemeteries of Meroë Surrounding the pyramids of Meroë there are three major cemeteries (Fig. 2)13, which were designated by Reisner as Beg. N(orth), Beg. W(est) and Beg. S(outh) – with regard to the modern village Begrawiya. Their total extent is still unknown, but more than 900 burials have already been recorded.14 These burial grounds belonged to members of the royal family and members of the court. The north and south cemeteries were used exclusively for royals, whereas the western cemetery was a non-royal site for high-ranking officials. The southern cemetery (Fig. 3) is the older of the two royal cemeteries and was abandoned around 300 BC due to the division between royal and non-royal burials. It comprises simple pit graves as well as 24 pyramids.15 It was in Meroë that the first royal tombs of the second half of the 3rd century BC were found. This is the reason why these tombs are so similar to the late Napatan burials and those at the royal cemetery of Nuri.16 Furthermore, two early pyramids of queens are situated at the entrance to the wadi; they probably belonged to the ancestors of the first generation of kings from Meroë, and are considered to be guardians of their tombs (Yellin 2012, 270). At the northern cemetery (Beg. N.), royal women were buried in the same ground as the kings right from the start (Fig. 4). There are 27 kings, eight reigning queens and three prince or co-regents who were buried from c. 250 BC until the middle of the 4th century AD, that is, over a period of 600 years (Hinkel 1997, 408; 2000, 12).17 As a rule, these are burials of single individuals.18

an overview of 30 Meroitic rulers, the reading of their names and possible tomb assignments within the cemeteries Beg. N and Beg. S, see Breyer 2014, 16–17. 13 For illustration 2 I would like to thank Alexandra Riedel and Martina Düntzer (both DAI), who have allowed me to print the graphic in this article. 14 A total of more than 220 tombs can be found in Beg. S and over 800 in the Beg. N. See Hinkel 2000, 12. 15 Pyramids of the elite are e.g. Beg. S 7, 8, 10, 15, 20, 24, 500 and 503. In these, there were also stelae with hieroglyphic inscriptions. The assumption that it can be a mastaba superstructure is now rejected. 16 Royal tombs in Beg. S. are: Aramaniqo=Arkamani=Ergamenes I (Beg. S 6, c. 270 BC) and Amanislo (Beg. S 5). 17 Stone quarries of Meroë: Hinkel 1982, 28–33. 18 For a general comment, see Welsby 1996, 88–91.

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Fig. 2: The Site Meroë (Alexandra Riedel based on Hinkel 2000, Fig. 1).

Fig. 3: The Southern Cemetery of Meroë (Jana Helmbold-Doyé based on Dunham 1963, Map).

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Fig. 4: The Northern Cemetery of Meroë (Jana Helmbold-Doyé based on Dunham 1957, Map IV).

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Funerary Architecture The kings of Kush adopted the Egyptian pyramids of the New Kingdom as funerary monuments (Fig. 5).19 However, Kushite pyramids, made of stone with the interior filled with debris,20 were built above the underground tombs. While the substructure was built by the prospective tomb-owner, his successor was responsible for the construction of the structures above ground. Based on estimates, the construction of a larger pyramid took about one year (Hinkel, 1996, E; 2000, 12). Hinkel’s research into the pyramids’ construction processes has illustrated that substructures and superstructures are frequently displaced.21

Fig. 5: Section of the Northern Cemetery of Meroë with reconstructed pyramids and chapels (© Jana Helmbold-Doyé, 2015).

19 On the development line of the Egyptian and the Napatan/Kushite pyramids, see e.g. Francigny 2012, 53; Welsby 1996, 105–106; Wenig 1978, 72. 20 Most of the pyramids found in provinces are built with mud-bricks, or material from the neighbourhood was used as a base. Francigny 2012, 53. 21 For the unique find from the year 1979, one construction in 1 : 10 scale drawing for Pyramid Beg. N 2 on the wall of chapel Beg. N 8, see e.g. Hinkel 1981, 107–112; 1997, 411, fig. 69; 2000, 18–19, fig. 5–6; Welsby 1996, 134–135, fig. 57.

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The Meroites adopted the concept of incorporating a pyramid into the design of their royal tombs from the immediately preceding Napatans. In Meroë the earlier royal tombs were designed with entrances to the burial chamber for the performance of rituals benefiting the deceased. These portals vanished during the course of the 1st century AD, indicating that the pyramids could only have been constructed after the interment. The following period witnessed a deterioration of constructional quality, corresponding to decreasing size. Members of the Meroitic elite seem to have continued to bury their deceased in rudimentary sepulchres, which consist of a narrow shaft, enlarged at one end to form the burial chamber proper. No superstructure for any of these elite tombs has survived, but it can be assumed that they did exist in the form of a pyramid. Whereas in the beginning royal tombs consisted of three aligned chambers, now there were only two. In the course of centuries these were further reduced to only one chamber. The debris of the construction work was carted off over a ramp, which in some cases was ultimately converted into a sloping staircase. Kushite kings were mummified during the Napatan Period, whereas during the Meroitic Period the bodies of the deceased were not (Eisa 1999, 62–63; Török 1988, 225). In Meroë the deceased were buried in the burial chambers lying in an outstretched position on beds or in wooden coffins (Dunham 1957, chart I; Eisa 1999, 64–66).

Superstructure – the Pyramid Meroitic pyramids are steeper than Egyptian ones, with an inclination between 65° and 73°, except for one which stands at 81°; their height rarely exceeded 30 m (Hinkel 2000, 11).22 These angles are due to the use of the shaduf as a construction device.23 Around AD 130, the smoothed out stone mantle was replaced by bricks and later rough stone (Yellin 2012, 264). Regardless of the materials used, the superstructures were protected with lime plaster (Hinkel 1997, 412). The pyramids did not end in peaks, but ended in a pyramid stump. Their capstones were usually made of sandstone and consisted of a high, sloped base as well as a rather round stump with depressions, suggesting that statues or sunshades might have been attached.24

22 On the sizes and variations of the pyramids of El-Kurru, Nuri, Gebel Barkal and Meroë and related problems, see Hintze 1981, 91–98. Ordinary citizens were buried in much smaller pyramids and thus similar variances are found in the north of the empire. Thus, the base area of a pyramid in Kawa (Pyramid P2) or Sedeïnga can range between 10 × 10 m and 1 × 1 m. Francigny 2012, 53; Welsby 2010, 53–54. 23 Hinkel 1982, 36–51; 1984c, 462–468 (reconstruction of Beg. N 19); 1997, E, fig. 70; 2000, 19–20, fig. 7. 24 Hinkel 1982, 127–147; 1997, 411, note 33; 2000, 19; Welsby/Anderson 2004, 284 (cat. 267).

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Main group

Type(s)

Characteristic

Period

1

VII, IX

– blocks of equal height with receding courses, with or without base

disappeared around 185 BC

2

X (with 7 variations)

– particular edge formation: sharp edges, round torus-like mouldings or a combination of both – with or without horizontal band two-thirds of the way up – stepped or smooth surface

c. 185 BC–AD 100

3

XI–XIII

– no edge decoration – smooth surface

100 BC–end of Meroë (type XII)

XIV.B–XIV.C

– special cases

c. 100 BC–0

Outside Meroë capstones decorated with lotus blossoms were found. This decorative element has been related to the rebirth of the sun and the idea of renewal.25 A niche, whose function is not known, was situated at the upper part of the eastern face.26 Only in some cases have the pyramids’ temenoi formations been found. Based on Hinkel’s results, three main types of architectural superstructures can be defined.27

Pyramid Chapels Some of the more elaborate tomb-structures were supplemented by chapels on the east side of the pyramids. Their entrances were similar to the temple façades with pylons, leading to a small room.28 The walls were adorned with reliefs, originally covered with thin painted lime plaster (Hinkel 2000, 18). Instead of the winged sun-disc and star-friezes on a red background prevalent in the earlier tombs, other decorative elements such as faïence-inlays were found in the later ones.29 The inner walls of the chapels are decorated with reliefs, showing the deceased in front of the gods or acts of the living favoring the recently dead, which was to guarantee his continued well-being in the afterlife (Yellin 1995a, 2875). The de-

25 Francigny 2012, 53–54, pl. 1; Rilly/Francigny 2010, 63, pl. 1; Welsby/Anderson 2004, 284– 285 (cat. 268). 26 Function in connection with the ba of the deceased is so far only documented for Amanishakheto: Welsby 1996, 87 (with reference to the investigations of K.-H. Priese). 27 Hinkel 1984b, 312–331; 1997, 410–411, fig. 67; 2000, 17–18. 28 Thus resembling the temples dedicated to the local deities, which usually only consist of one room. See the summary in Welsby 1996, 110–112. 29 Hinkel 1997, 412–413, note 38; 2000, 18 coloured pl. XII (Beg. N 51). Coloured plaster: Hinkel 1982, 141–145; 1989, 827–833; Hinkel et al. 1985, 22–51 (generally to plastering).

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Type

Characteristics

Gen.

Period

A

– dominated by gods making offerings before the enthroned tomb owner – libations and cattle are the most common gifts – the goddess Isis stands behind the king, who is seated upon a lion throne, with three registers of deities and offering-bearers before him – Isis and Anubis are the dominant offering givers – inscriptions are in hieroglyphs

33– 37

c. 286/5 or 247/6 BC to 221 BC

B

– scenes are more complex 38– – members of the royal family stand behind Isis and 51 increase in number of registers before the king – long rows of mourners with palm fronds – representations with scenes from the Egyptian Book of the Dead – images from rituals from mortuary temples of Ramesside Period (festival of Choiak, the mortuary god Sokar, “Treiben der Kälber”) – images and texts suggesting first-hand knowledge of Ptolemaic temple rites of Thebes

c. 207/6 to mid– 1st century AD

C

– offering table before deceased – simplification of the registers – two variations: C1: chapels of the royal family Natakamani (king, Beg. N. 22), Amanitore (queen, Beg. N. 1), Arikhankharor (prince, Beg. N. 5) C2: all later royal funerary chapels: – the royal successor dressed as an incense-offering priest before the deceased or Anubis and/or Nephthys pouring a milk libation performed for Osiris

c. 2nd half 1st century AD to c. mid–4th century AD

52– 70

ceased is usually depicted sitting on the lion throne, often under the protection of a winged figure of Isis who stands behind him. The content and style of the reliefs changed over the centuries and their development has been subdivided into three major decoration types by Janice W. Yellin.30 The Amanitenmomide shall be presented as an example of the decoration of a late Meroitic tomb chapel. On its central west wall, depicting the funeral procession, the king sits on a lion throne wearing the royal regalia. Behind him is the goddess Isis, spreading her wings out (Török 1990, 151–220, costume of the ruler). In front of him the gods Nephthys and Anubis pour milk on an offering table. This is the first tomb in the northern cemetery showing the depiction of the ‘Abaton-style milk libation’ (Yellin 1982, 151–155). At the end of the southern wall, the king, again enthroned, is shown facing the entrance, protected by a goddess standing behind him, who is partially preserved, with wings spread out (Fig. 6–7).31 The king is wearing

30 Hinkel 1997, 413; Yellin 1990, 361–374; 1995a, 2875–2881; 2012, 271–272; 2015, 2–15 (Type B-II). 31 Berlin, ÄM 2261.

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Fig. 6: Part of the relief from the offering chapel of Amanitenmomide (Berlin, ÄM 2261).

Fig. 7: Part of the relief from the offering chapel of Amanitenmomide, in situ (LD).

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complete royal regalia, which include the broad sash that hangs diagonally across his upper body. The large rectangular plate of a shield ring is depicted on his left hand, and he is adorned with earrings and chains. The leather underarm cuffs next to the stone thumb rings on both hands signal the handling of bow and arrow. The king sits under a canopy, the roof and truss of which are merely indicated. The names of the king, Nebmaatre and Amanitenmomide, are written in Egyptian and Meroitic hieroglyphs in two cartouches in front of his face. Directly opposite, a priest with an incense arm is followed by three registers of men holding palm-branches. Traces of a depiction of the funeral procession and dance scenes in the reliefs manifest the perpetual performance of the funerary rites, which is also documented by the graffiti in Meroitic and other languages.32

Funerary Objects The tombs were almost completely robbed of their original contents later on. Nonetheless numerous items have been found in the burial chambers together with the deceased persons. The inventory of the tombs consists of amulets and jewellery, glass, bronze and ceramic vessels (Fig. 8), cosmetic utensils, clothes and weapons.33 The jewellery of one of the ruling queens, Kandake Amanishakheto, representing the biggest hoard discovery of its kind and its time, gives us an idea of the riches of these tombs. The treasure comprises more than 250 items including seals and shield rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, amulets and many other things (Fig. 9–10).34 These burial objects were not accessible to the descendants, but there were places for the veneration of the dead, as indicated by the group of ba-statues and various inscribed objects including offering tables, funerary stelae, and inscriptions above the entrances to the tombs of Sedeïnga.35 These were originally part of the cult installations in the superstructures of Meroitic tombs and therefore an integral part of the tomb-structure. Offering tables were related to continuous offerings whereas ba-statues and stelae symbolized and commemorated aspects of the dead. Except for the ba-statues, the other three types of objects were inscribed and formed a part of Meroitic funerary Culture (Breyer 2014, 53–54).

32 Dunham/Chapman 1952, pl. 8B, 16B; Hinkel 2000, 12, pl. 5; Yellin 1995a, 2876; 2012, 138. 33 Dunham 1957, Chart III; 1963, fig. A–T; Eisa 1999, 46–61. For pottery, see Ch. David in this volume. 34 The queen was buried in a pyramid in the northern cemetery of Meroë (Beg. N 6), dating from the second half of the 1st century BC. Her tomb was still well preserved at the beginning of the 19th century, as it is shown by Frédéric Caillaud’s (1787–1869) graphic reproduction from 1821: Caillaud 1823–1827, pl. XLI. 35 Geus 1989, 163–185; Hofmann 1991; Welsby 1996, 87–88; Welsby/Anderson 2004, 298–299 (cat. 300, 302).

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Fig. 8: Meroitic painted and stamped pottery (Berlin, ÄM 20631, 20632, 20835, 20873, 20889).

Fig. 9: Three shield-rings with the ram- and lion-headed gods Amun and Apedemak (Berlin, ÄM 22870–22872).

Fig. 10: Jewellery of the queen Amanishakheto (Berlin, ÄM 1661–1664, 1754, 1756, 1758, 22871, 22874, 22875, 22877).

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It is somewhat difficult to summarize information on Meroitic funerary cult practices due to three factors: 1. The original distribution of funerary objects is difficult to ascertain because only few have been found in their original context, while most have been found in secondary position.36 2. The objects bear Meroitic inscriptions, which are not completely understandable yet (see Ch. Rilly). 3. Looking at Meroitic images, we also recognize known Egyptian topoi, which nevertheless cause irritation in their stylistic implementation, and many iconographic details have not been discerned yet. With a few exceptions, all hieroglyphic inscriptions are carved in stone in the Meroitic Culture. However, it has to be noted that the hieroglyphs were mainly used for religious or royal inscriptions (Török 2009, 415–426). These texts represent more than one-third of the corpus of all Meroitic texts published so far. Without exception they follow the same formal scheme with five components (this already Hintze 1959).37

1

Part

Topic

Comments

Invocation

Invocation to the gods

Two vocatives almost always occur: Wos-i – O(h) Isis (A)sorey-i – O(h) Osiris.

2

Nomination Name of the deceased

3

Filiation

4

5

Description

Embedding the de-

Names of the parents, with the mother appearing

ceased into his social

very frequently, while there are fewer references to

environment

the father.

Deepening the social

The titles of the deceased are mentioned as well as

environment

the titles of the ancestors.

Benediction Requests

As a conclusion, there is a list with a request for food and drink.

36 E.g. in Cemetery 157, tombs 1 and 8 (Emery/Kirwan 1935, 148–150) or Karanog, tombs G 140, 165 and 203 (Woolley/Randall-MacIver 1910, 9–10, pl. 111) and the reconstruction of G 174 (Woolley/Randall-MacIver 1910, pl. 114). In Cemetery 214 (Abu Simbel), all of the 22 funerary objects were associated with 13 tombs, but none was discovered in situ. Emery/Kirwan 1935, 532, pl. 27 a–b, 29. 37 A summary of this can be found in the recent literature, see Breyer 2014, 58–62.

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The stelae and the offering tables, which are also inscribed with the sacrificial formula, often contain very detailed information about the relatives of the dead and his status. Even if not all of the titles can be safely understood in their meaning, these stelae constitute the most important source available to us for the reconstruction of the social structure of the Kingdom of Kush. Both the texts as well as the depictions, e.g., the worship of Isis and Osiris, clearly demonstrate the strong Egyptian influence on Meroitic Culture (Lohwasser/Kuckertz 2016, 101–107). Other gods from the Egyptian pantheon, such as Anubis and Nephthys, can also be found, although their depictions are different from the Egyptian originals. In contrast, genuinely Nubian gods of the Meroitic Period such as Apedemak seem to be missing in the funerary culture.

Offering Tables The largest corpus of funerary texts with about 250 documents is found on offering tables (Hintze 1982, 123–147). About 40 of them are associated with texts and representations of divinity. They can be divided into seven stylistic groups (Yellin 1995a, 2881–2884). With the others, the inscription runs counter-clockwise around the central depiction. A reverse direction occurs only rarely. The sacrificial panels were placed on a pedestal outside the tombs in a publicly accessible area of the tombs’ superstructure, and yet embedded in the architectural context. They have different sizes and were made from different materials. In the case of Berlin ÄM 2138 a rather fragmentary offering-table with a cursive Meroitic inscription has been preserved (Fig. 11).38 It belongs to the limited number of Meroitic offering tables made of faïence.39 The more common versions are of a larger format, made of sandstone. Their outline shows a design known from Egypt with a channelled surface, corresponding to the form of the hieroglyph hetep, ‘sacrifice’. The depictions usually show tables stacked with offerings or just the customary offerings themselves: bread, wine amphorae or cult containers like nemset-vessels.40 Additionally, recesses in the cartouche or a quadrangular form with stairs can be depicted.41 In some cases, lotus plants form a frame. The lotus as symbol of rebirth was closely associated with the imagery of regeneration and thus hints at the promise of resurrection.

38 The fragment comes from the northern cemetery of Meroë and covers the dimensions 10,5 × 10,2 × 2,2 cm. Published e.g.: Breyer 2014, 53–54; Hintze 1959, 39–40, fig. 8; LD VI, Blatt 8, 37; LD Text V, 313. 39 See also REM 73A–E, 805, 811A–B, 817–820, 828, 834 and 851. For the Répertoire d’épigraphie méroïtique (REM), see the short summary in Breyer 2014, 55–56 and Ch. Rilly in this volume. 40 Offering tables of Karanog: Harting 1984, 449–461. 41 E.g. Kuentz 1981, 243–282 (examples from Egypt and Nubia); Randall-MacIver/Woolley 1909, 32–33, pl. 36, 39 (Areika, with stairs).

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Fig. 11: Fragment of an offering table made of faïence with cursive Meroitic inscription (Berlin, ÄM 2138).

Royal offering tables, and very rarely those of private individuals, are sometimes decorated with a scene without paragon in Egyptian iconography: the goddess Nephthys and the god Anubis pour milk from situlas on or beside a sacrificial altar.42 The ‘Abaton-style milk libation’, which can be found on offering tables from the reign of queen Amanishakheto onwards, is a ritual closely associated with the goddess Isis. It represents the worship of Isis at Philae, which was adopted via the abaton of Philae into the Meroitic royal funerary art (Caßor-Pfeiffer 2013, 5–22; Yellin 1982, 151–155).43 The basic idea is Egyptian: Anubis provides for the dead, and Nephthys helps her sister Isis, who laments and protects the dead Osiris. Thus, the scene refers to the identification of the dead with Osiris. This also corresponds to the fact that in several royal offering chapels of the Meroitic Period the deceased is represented as Osiris standing between the gods. Previously, this position was occupied by stelae, which will be discussed in the following section. The offering table for king Takideamani probably originated from the eastern area of Beg. N. 29 (Fig. 12).44 In its centre is the above described scene, although

42 Dunham 1957, pl. XXXIX–XL. Examples of the various embodiments show: Francigny in: Baud 2010, 262–263. In other places there are representations of Nephthys and Anubis in the same pose, but on stelae or door jambs (e.g. Simpson 1964, 18, fig. 2 (Arminna); Welsby/Anderson 2004, 298– 299 (cat. 301/Sedeïnga). 43 For an influence from Nubia in the direction of Egypt, see e.g. Yellin 1978, 170; 1995b, 255–257 (milk and nursing). For other motives on offering tables from Qasr Ibrim with a comparable reference to the goddess Isis, see Welsby 1996, 95–97, note 97–98 (e.g. with reference to Hofmann 1991). 44 Berlin, ÄM 2255. Found in the course of the Lepsius-expedition: LD Text V, 313; Dunham 1957, 166–170 (Beg. N 29). Published e.g.: Baud 2010, 146, 275, fig. 193; Breyer 2014, 295–298, 309; Grif-

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Fig. 12: Offering table for the king Takideamani (Berlin, ÄM 2255).

two details are irritating. On the one hand, the Egyptian male god Anubis is clearly recognizable here as a female wearing a dress. On the other hand, the goddess Nephthys lifts her left heel, which is understood as an indication of movement (Priese, in: Wildung 1997, 259 (cat. 281)). Both observations are also found on other offering tables and can be referred to as genuinely Meroitic. Their text is written in Meroitic hieroglyphs, instead of the usual cursive Meroitic inscriptions. Thanks to this discovery Francis Ll. Griffith, one of the first scholars who attempted to decipher the Meroitic language, could already prove in 1910 that hieroglyphs and linear signs can be exchanged (Griffith 1910, 67–68). Due to the strong formalization of the inscriptions, some passages from the text can be understood despite still uncertain translations: O Isis and Osiris, Takide-amani is the one who gave birth to Napata-dacheto, which Adeqetali has begotten, Plentiful cake (?) may you give [goods to him] Good beer (?) may you give [him] The food of goodness (?) may you offer [to him]. 45

fith 1911, 81–83, no. 60, pl. XXXI–XXXII; Hintze 1959, 57 (no. 14), 66, pl. XI, fig. 52; Hofmann 1991, 48; Priese 1989, 47; Wildung 1997, 258 (cat. 280). 45 Translation in German: Breyer 2014, 295–298.

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Funerary Stelae Among the funerary texts, about 160 are on stelae, which were integrated into the superstructure of the tombs (Hintze 1982, 123–147). These texts, as well as the offering tables, were rarely decorated. One exception is Berlin stela ÄM 2253, with a depiction of prince Taktidamani, praying in front of Osiris who is seated on a throne, protected by his wife Isis with winged arms (Fig. 13).46 The stela stood in the middle of a six-fold aedlicula-like framing on the back wall of the sacrificial chapel, inserted into the inner west wall (Fig. 14).47 The combination of different materials – sandstone for the pyramid and dark granite for the stela – is remarkable. Tomb-stelae were no longer used in royal burials at this time, save for members of the royal family. Two stelae from the 1st century BC found in the Western Cemetery (Beg. W.) followed the pattern of the stelae of el-Kurru and Nuri. The upper edge of the roundtopped stela is decorated with a winged sun disc. The depiction below shows the deceased in front of Osiris and Isis. The status of the prince on the left is indicated by the cloak, which is placed over his right shoulder and knotted over his chest. He also wears a diadem, his right hand holding a lotus blossom and a palm branch. He lifts his left arm and his hand in worship of the gods. Osiris is wearing an atefcrown and is represented with the typical mummiform body, holding crook and flail in his fists. Isis carries the schu-feather of the goddess Maat in her right hand and

Fig. 13: Stela of prince Taktidamani (Berlin, ÄM 2253).

Fig. 14: Stela of prince Taktidamani, in situ (LD).

46 Priese 1991, 259; Wenig 1978, 199 (cat. 120) listed the older literature; Wildung 1999, 284. 47 Since 1999 a copy of the stela has been inserted into the niche; Hinkel 2000, 23.

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in her left a vessel from which the water flows (or: is dispensed). Below that scene is a six-line inscription in cursive Meroitic. The text begins with the invocation of the gods: ‘O Isis, o Osiris, the Taktidamani, who produced Do(k)arora, who bore the birth of Amaniterese, might be good bread … may … be, o Isis, o Osiris.’ – according to the usual scheme, which might be extended by mentioning further relatives. The benediction at the end can only be translated to a small extent so far. Similar to the stelae, a third group of funerary texts should be mentioned, which has only been found at the Meroitic cemetery of Sedeïnga.48 Up to now only about ten inscriptions engraved above the entrances of tombs have been discovered. Combined with the Winged Sun, this can be interpreted as a local peculiarity but might also be related to the funerary stelae from Meroë. Although only a few objects have been preserved in Sedeïnga, stelae were found besides funerary texts at the entrance.

Ba-statues Ba-statues were almost exclusively found in the cemeteries of Lower Nubia. The main find spots are (in alphabetical order): Abu Simbel Cem. 214 (Näser 1995; 1999, 23–24), Faras,49 Karanog (Woolley/Randall-MacIver 1910, 9–10, 46–48, pl. 1–10 (tombs G 140, G 165, G 203; see also Hofmann 1991, 37), Masmas (Nag Gamus) (Almagro 1965, pl. VII–IX (tombs 95, 99, 105), XXX), Nelluah (South Argin) (Almagro et al. 1965, 87, pl. XIV a–b) and Shablul (Randall-MacIver/Woolley 1909, 24, 29, pl. 16–20). In Upper Nubia or in the heartland of the Meroitic Empire, bastatues were occasionally found in the necropolis of Meroë,50 Naqa,51 Saï (Francigny 2010, 59, pl. 9–10) and Sedeïnga.52 Granted their archaeological context has been properly documented, these are exclusively associated with burials, as private sculpture is almost exclusively represented by ba-statues in Lower Nubia. The statues were made of local sandstone, which was often covered with plastering and painted. Quality as well as the different statuary types varies (Fig. 15– 16).53 Despite this diversity, some general observations can still be made. The statues 48 Carrier 2001, 55–66 (including inscriptions on architraves and stelae); Rilly/Francigny 2010, 63–64, pl. 2–3, fig. 2; 2011, 77–79, pl. 4, fig. 2; Welsby/Anderson 2004, 298–301 (cat. 300, 302, 304). 49 Griffith 1924, 175–177, pl. LXVI–LXVII; Hofmann 1991, 38. Later a few were summarily published by the second Archaeological Survey of Nubia: Emery/Kirwan 1935, 148–150, fig. 139, pl. 28 a–c (cemetery 157, tombs 1 and 8). 50 Dunham 1957, pl. XXXVIII D–E; 1963, 111, 244, fig. 83b (Beg. W 145), 164 (Beg. W 225); Geus 1989, 172; Hofmann 1991, 35–36; Näser 2004; 267, fig. 131–132; Török 2002, 67; 2009, 422–423. 51 Lohwasser/Kuckertz 2016, 146, fig. 82; Wildung 1999, 81, fig. 84; 2001, 324–325, note 31. 52 Francigny 2012, 56, pl. 8–9; Schiff-Giorgini 1966, 257 (tomb W 18), pl. XXX; Welsby/Anderson 2004, 285 (cat. 269). 53 For this reason, the work of Floyd Lattin (1978) with the approach of typologically ordering the material was not crowned with success. In addition, many ba-statues are depicted and commented on: Hofmann 1991, 25–41; Wenig 1978, 88–89; Woolley/Randall-MacIver 1910, 46–48, pl. 2–10.

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Fig. 15: Heads of ba-statues (Berlin, ÄM 19326, 22641).

Fig. 16: Headless ba-statue (Berlin, ÄM 22640).

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represent male or female standing figures with bird wings on their shoulders, often reaching to the back of the base plate or appearing in place of the arms. Apart from the statues with a complete body, there are more consisting of only heads. The two groups have not been differentiated so far. Some of them have solar discs on the top of their head or holes for the attachment of separate discs. They have smooth hair. There can also be notches on the forehead, which are deeply cut into the stone and probably signify some kind of ritual self-mutilation (Fig. 15). In some cases, headbands are recognizable which are more reminiscent of a tiara or a combination of a cap and a helmet. Self-mutilation might also be represented by three vertical lines on each cheek (Eisa 1999, 43, fig. 18; Lattin 1978, 19, figs. 18c, 31–34 (Philadelphia E. 7038, Cairo JE 40194)). Male statues can also wear jewellery and clothing, while female models are depicted with clothing but never with jewellery. An example of a painted statue with rich clothing is the much-quoted unique specimen of the Peseto (Viceroy) Maloton from tomb G 187 of Karanog (Cairo JE 40232) (Woolley/Randall-MacIver 1910, 46–48, pl. 1–2 (first publication); Lattin 1978, figs. 19–22). The figure is dressed in sandals and a pair of trousers, a long tunic with sleeves that reaches down to his ankles and a band at the height of his knees. Armlets adorn his arms and bracelets his wrists. He wears a wide necklace made of three rows of round and flat pearls with a small effigy of Amun. He holds a partially restored cane, walking stick or standard in his left hand and maybe a scroll in his broken right hand. This statue obviously represents the deceased with the insignia of a viceroy. Other statues usually hold sticks or cloths in their hands; occasionally other items, for example sistrums or the like (Hofmann 1991, 37–38; Lattin 1978, 12–14). The headless statue at Berlin (ÄM 22640) carries an elongated object with a slightly wavy line leading to the base plate from its right fist (Fig. 16). This could either be a strip of cloth or, more likely, the representation of a libation. The unusual detail corroborates the assumption of a close connection between the statues and a cultic chapel on the eastern side of the pyramidal or bank-like superstructures of the tombs. This observation leads to the question of function, which has not been explained to date. One reason for this is the disproportion of the number of tombs and the approximately 150 statues and statue fragments. Thus, only a small percentage of the deceased can be related to ba-statues. Apart from individual figures, paired statues are also documented. With regard to Maloton, it seems likely that only burials of high-ranking individuals of the currently elusive elite were equipped with ba-statues.54 Because of the combination of the human body with

54 Although the tomb was plundered, it is considered to be the richest in terms of the furniture and the most elaborate related to the architecture from the cemetery of Karanog (Woolley/ Randall-MacIver 1910, 37–40, 146–147, fig. D). It included, among other things, the largest group of elaborate bronze vessels, in addition to various weapons and numerous clay vessels. So far, however, there has been no published attempt to record all the documents and to analyse them in their context together with other items – neither for Karanog nor for the ba-statues in general.

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bird wings known from pharaonic Egypt, it has been assumed that the statues represent the ba of the deceased.55 This mode of representation has its origin in the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. Indeed, the ba, one of the components of a human being, just like the ka, the akh, the shadow and the name, is represented as a bird with a human head and sometimes shown equipped with arms. The ba can be defined as the spiritual part of an individual’s personality, which after death may wander at will in this world in its winged form, independently of the body of the deceased. The iconography of the Nubian statues differs from the Egyptian model insofar as they seem to be dedicated to the worship of the deceased. The Egyptian custom of depicting a part of the soul of the deceased as a dynamic, mobile being is not doubted, but it has not been established within Nubian Culture. Nonetheless, the statues illustrate the interdependence among Nubian and Egyptian Culture, as the two civilizations were closely linked, allowing the adaptation of a model for other practices and beliefs.

Summary The architectural design of Meroitic tombs and their furnishings clearly demonstrate that the social status of the deceased was to be manifested beyond death. Additionally, the relative location also matters and is therefore not as indicative to chronological developments as previously supposed. Various depictions in burial-chapels of the elite clearly show that milk was offered as libation for the deceased instead of water. It is assumed that offerings were accompanied by prayers and rituals, which to us are largely unknown. Sacrificial sites were situated in the eastern parts of the offering chapels. Their size and design might vary. At their western end funerary stelae were installed. In individual cases these were complemented by offering tables and ba-statues. Well-known Egyptian deities such as Osiris and Isis, as well as Anubis and Nephthys dominated Meroitic religious beliefs of the underworld and functioned as guardians for the deceased. However, their role differs in some ways from that in Egyptian belief: Anubis no longer appears in connection with mummification, but rather side by side with Nephthys caring for the deceased.

Bibliography Adams, William Yewdale (1977): Nubia. Corridor to Africa. Princeton, New Jersey: University Press. Almagro Basch, Martín (1965): La necrópolis meroítica de Nag Gamus (Masmás. Nubia egipcia). Memorias de la Misión Arqueológica Española en Nubia (Egipto y Sudan). Tome VIII. Madrid: Direccion General de Relaciones Culturales. 55 For an interpretation, see e.g. Adams 1977, 343, 378, 395, 416; Edwards 2004, 174–175; Emery 1965, 116, 229; Francigny in: Baud 2010, 259; Pomerantseva 2006, 219–222; Török 2002, 67–68; 2009, 424–425.

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Almagro Basch, Martín / Blanco Caro, R. Y. / Garcia-Guinea, Miguel Angel / Presedo Velo, Francisco J. / Pellicer Catalán, Manuel / Teixidor, Javier (1965): Excavations by the Spanish Archaeological Mission in the Sudan, 1962–63 and 1963–64. In: Kush 13, p. 78–95. Baud, Michel (2010): Méroé. Un empire sur le Nil. Catalogue d’exposition, presentée à Paris au musée du Louvre du 26 mars au 6 septembre 2010. Milan/Paris: Officina Libraria/Musée du Louvre. Breyer, Francis Amadeus Karl (2014): Einführung in die Meroitistik. Einführungen und Quellentexte zur Ägyptologie 8. Berlin: Lit. Budge, Ernest Alfred Wallis (1907): The Egyptian Sûdân. Its History and Monuments. 2 Vols. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. Caillaud, Frédéric (1823–1827): Voyage à Méroé, au Fleuve Blanc, au-delà de Fâzoql dans le midi du Royaume de Sennâr, a Syouah et dans cinq autres oasis, fait dans les années 1819, 1820, 1821 et 1822. Paris: Imprimerie Royale. Carrier, Claude (2001): Quelques inscriptions méroïtiques provenant du secteur II de la nécropole de Sedeinga. In: Meroitic Newsletter 28, p. 55–66. Caßor-Pfeiffer, Silke (2013): Milch ist es. Es ist kein Wasser darin. Bemerkungen zu den Szenen des sogenannten Übergießens der Opfergaben mit Milch in Philae und den unternubischen Tempeln. In: Beinlich, Horst (ed.): 9. Ägyptologische Tempeltagung: Kultabbildung und Kultrealität, Hamburg, 27. September–1. Oktober 2011. Königtum, Staat und Gesellschaft früher Hochkulturen 3/4. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 5–22. Crowfoot, John Winter / Griffith, Francis Llewellyn (1911): The Island of Meroë & Meroitic Inscriptions – Part I: Sôba to Dangêl. Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of Egypt 19. London/Boston: Egypt Exploration Fund. Dunham, Dows (1957): The Royal Cemeteries of Kush. Vol. IV: Royal Tombs at Meroë and Barkal. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts. Dunham, Dows (1963): The Royal Cemeteries of Kush. Vol. V: The West and South Cemeteries at Meroë. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts. Dunham, Dows / Chapman, Suzanne E. (1952): The Royal Cemeteries of Kush. Vol. III: Decorated Chapels of the Meroitic Pyramids at Meroë and Barkal. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts. Edwards, David N. (1996): The Archaeology of the Meroitic State. New Perspectives on its Social and Political Organization. Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 38. British Archaeological Reports International Series 640. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Edwards, David N. (2004): The Nubian Past. An Archaeology of the Sudan. London: Routledge. Eisa, Khider Adam (1999): Le mobilier et les coutumes funéraires koushites à l’époque méroïtique. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 16. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Emery, Walter Bryan (1965): Egypt in Nubia. London: Hutchinson. Emery, Walter Bryan / Kirwan, (Archibald) Laurence Patrick (1935): The Excavations and Survey between Wadi Es-Sebua and Adindan, 1929–1931. Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte. Mission archéologique de Nubie, 1929–1934. Cairo: Government Press. Francigny, Vincent (2008): La tombe privée méroïtique. Unpublished PhD Thesis. University of Lille. Francigny, Vincent (2010): The Meroitic Necropolises of Sai Island. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 14, p. 56–61. Francigny, Vincent (2012): Preparing for the Afterlife in the Provinces of Meroe. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 16, p. 52–59. Francigny, Vincent (2016): Les coutumes funéraires dans le royaume de Méroé. Les enterrements privés. Orient & Méditerranée, Archéologie 22. Paris: de Boccard. Geus, Francis (1989): Enquêtes sur les pratiques et coutumes funéraires méroitiques. La contribution des cimetières non royaux. Approche préliminaire. In: Revue d’Égyptologie 40, p. 163–185.

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Geus, Francis (2004): Funerary Culture. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.): Sudan’s Ancient Treasures. An Exhibition of Recent Discoveries from the Sudan National Museum. London: British Museum Press, p. 274–282. Griffith, Francis Llewellyn (1910): A Meroitic Funerary Text in Hieroglyphic. In: Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 48, p. 67–68. Griffith, Francis Llewellyn (1924): Oxford Excavations in Nubia, University of Liverpool. In: Liverpool Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology 11, p. 115–125, 141–180. Harting, Dietlind (1984): Pilotstudie zur Klassifizierung der Opfertafeln von Karanog nach archäologischen Merkmalen. In: Hintze, Fritz (ed.): Meroitische Forschungen 1980. Akten der 4. Internationalen Tagung für meroitische Forschungen vom 24. bis 29. November 1980 in Berlin. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 7. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 449–461. Hinkel, Friedrich Wilhelm (1981): Pyramide oder Pyramidenstumpf? Ein Beitrag zu Fragen der Planung, konstruktiven Baudurchführung und Architektur der Pyramiden von Meroe (Teil A). In: Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 108, p. 105–124. Hinkel, Friedrich Wilhelm (1982): Pyramide oder Pyramidenstumpf? Ein Beitrag zu Fragen der Planung, konstruktiven Baudurchführung und Architektur der Pyramiden von Meroe (Teil B, Teil C und D). In: Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 109, p. 27–61, 127–147. Hinkel, Friedrich Wilhelm (1984a): Gedanken und Bemerkungen zum Thema “Meroitische Architektur”. In: Hintze, Fritz (ed.): Meroitische Forschungen 1980. Akten der 4. Internationalen Tagung für meroitische Forschungen vom 24. bis 29. November 1980 in Berlin. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 7. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 290–309. Hinkel, Friedrich Wilhelm (1984b): Die meroitischen Pyramiden: Formen, Kriterien und Bauweisen. In: Hintze, Fritz (ed.): Meroitische Forschungen 1980. Akten der 4. Internationalen Tagung für meroitische Forschungen vom 24. bis 29. November 1980 in Berlin. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 7. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 310–331. Hinkel, Friedrich Wilhelm (1984c): Das Schaduf als konstruktives Hilfsmittel beim Wiederaufbau der Pyramide Beg. N 19. In: Hintze, Fritz (ed.): Meroitische Forschungen 1980. Akten der 4. Internationalen Tagung für meroitische Forschungen vom 24. bis 29. November 1980 in Berlin. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 7. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 462–468. Hinkel, Friedrich Wilhelm (1989): Examination of Meroitic Mortar and Plaster. In: Donadoni, Sergio / Wenig, Steffen (eds.): Studia Meroitica 1984. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference for Meroitic Studies, Rome 1984. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 10. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 827–833. Hinkel, Friedrich Wilhelm (1997): Meroitic Architecture. In: Wildung, Dietrich (ed.): Sudan. Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile. Paris/Munich: Flammarion, p. 393–416. Hinkel, Friedrich Wilhelm (2000): The Royal Pyramids of Meroe. Architecture, Construction and Reconstruction of a Sacred Landscape. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 4, p. 11–26. Hinkel, Friedrich Wilhelm / Grunert, Brigitte / Grunert, Siegfried / Schneider, Hartmut (1985): Putze und Mörtel aus nubischen Baudenkmalen des Altertums. Struktur- und Phasenanalyse als Grundlage für die Deutung der historischen Technologien. In: Altorientalische Forschungen 12/1, p. 22–51. Hintze, Fritz (1959): Studien zur meroitischen Chronologie und zu den Opfertafeln aus den Pyramiden von Meroe. Abhandlungen der Deutschen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. Klasse für Sprachen, Literatur und Kunst 2. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. Hintze, Fritz (1973): Meroitic Chronology: Problems and Prospects. In: Hintze, Fritz (ed.): Sudan im Altertum. 1. Internationale Tagung für meroitische Forschungen in Berlin 1971. Meroitica.

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Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 1. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 127–144. Hintze, Fritz (1981): Die Größen der meroitischen Pyramiden. In: Simpson, William Kelly / Davis, Whitney M. (eds.): Studies in Ancient Egypt, the Aegean, and the Sudan. Essays in Honor of Dows Dunham on the Occasion of his 90th Birthday, June 1, 1980. Boston: Department of Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art, Museum of Fine Arts, 91–98. Hintze, Fritz (1982): Statistische Beobachtungen zu den meroitischen Opfertafeln. In: Millet, Nicholas Byram / Kelley, Allyn L. (eds.): Meroitic Studies. Proceedings of the Third International Meroitic Conference, Toronto 1977. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 6. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 123–147. Hofmann, Inge (1991): Steine für die Ewigkeit. Meroitische Opfertafeln und Totenstelen. Beiträge zur Sudanforschung, Beiheft 6. Vienna: Mödling. Hofmann, Inge / Vorbichler, Anton (1979): Der Äthiopenlogos bei Herodot. Veröffentlichungen der Institute für Afrikanistik und Ägyptologie der Universität Wien 4. Beiträge zur Afrikanistik 3. Vienna: Institut für Afrikanistik. Kuckertz, Josefine (2010): Carl Richard Lepsius und die Pyramiden von Meroe. In: Sokar 21, p. 66–81. Kuentz, Charles (1981): Bassins et tables d’offrandes. In: Bulletin de l‛Institut Français d‛Archéologie Orientale supplément 81, p. 243–282. Lattin, Floyd (1978): Towards a Classification of Meroitic Ba-Statues. Location unknown/ unpublished. LD = Lepsius, Carl Richard (1849–1859): Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien nach den Zeichnungen der von Seiner Majestät dem Koenige von Preussen Friedrich Wilhelm IV nach diesen Ländern gesendeten und in den Jahren 1842–1845 ausgeführten wissenschaftlichen Expedition. 12 Text- und Tafelbände. Berlin: Nicolai. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs. Lohwasser, Angelika (2013): Die meroitische Periode des Reiches von Kusch (um 270 v. Chr.– ca. 330/350 n. Chr.). In: Wenig, Steffen / Zibelius-Chen, Karola (eds.): Die Kulturen Nubiens – ein afrikanisches Vermächtnis. Dettelbach: Röll, p. 227–244. Lohwasser, Angelika / Kuckertz, Josefine (2016): Einführung in die Religion von Kusch. Dettelbach: Röll. Näser, Claudia (1995): Cemetery 214 at Abu Simbel North. A Case-Study of Patterning in Meroitic Lower Nubian Burial and the Interpretation of the Social Practices. Unpublished M. Phil. Dissertation. Cambridge. Näser, Claudia (1999): Cemetery 214 at Abu Simbel North. Non-Elite Burial Practices in Meroitic Lower Nubia. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Recent Research in Kushite History and Archaeology. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. British Museum Occasional Paper 131. London: British Museum Press, p. 19–28. Näser, Claudia (2004): The Small Finds. In: Shinnie, Peter Lewis / Anderson, Julie Renee (ed.): The Capital of Kush 2. Meroë Excavations 1973–1984. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 20. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 215–350. Pomerantseva, Natalja A. (2006): Concept of Meroitic Ba Statues and Heads of the II–III Centuries. In: Caneva, Isabella / Roccati, Alessandro (eds.): Acta Nubica. Proceedings of the X International Conference of Nubian Studies, Rome 9–14 September 2002. Rome: Libreria dello Stato, p. 219–221. Priese, Karl-Heinz (1989): Das Ägyptische Museum. Wegleitung. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Randall-MacIver, David / Woolley, Charles Leonard (1909). Areika. Eckley B. Coxe Junior Expedition to Nubia. Vol. 1. Publications of the Egyptian Department of the University Museum / University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Oxford: University Press. Rilly, Claude / Francigny, Vincent (2010): Excavations in Sedeinga. A New Start. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 14, p. 62–68.

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Rilly, Claude / Francigny, Vincent (2011): The Late Meroitic Cemetery at Sedeinga. Campaign 2010. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 72–79. Sakamoto, Tsubasa (2014): Chronology of Meroitic Graves in Northern Sudan: Agency, Power and Society. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 809–826. Schiff-Giorgini, Michela (1966): Sedeinga 1964–1965. In: Kush 14, p. 244–258. Shinnie, Peter Lewis (1967): Meroe. A Civilization of the Sudan. Ancient Peoples and Places Vol. 55. London: Thames and Hudson. Simpson, William Kelly (1964): The Pennsylvania-Yale Expedition to Egypt. Preliminary Report for 1963: Toshka and Arminna (Nubia). In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 3, p. 15–23. Török, László (1986): Der meroitische Staat. Untersuchungen und Urkunden zur Geschichte des Sudans im Altertum 1. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 9. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. Török, László (1988): Geschichte Meroes. Ein Beitrag über die Quellenlage und den Forschungsstand. In: Temporini, Hildegard / Haase, Wolfgang (eds.): Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt. Teil II: Principat. Bd. 10.1: Politische Geschichte (Provinzen und Randvölker: Afrika und Ägypten). Berlin/New York: Walter De Gruyter, p. 107–341. Török, László (1990): The Costume of the Ruler in Meroe. Remarks on its Origins and Significance. In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 4, p. 151–220. Török, László (2002): Kingship and Decorum: (re-)constructing the Meroitic Élite. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 13, p. 60–84. Török, László (2009): Between two Worlds. The Frontier Region between Ancient Nubia and Egypt 3700 BC–AD 500. Probleme der Ägyptologie 29. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Welsby, Derek Anthony (1996): The Kingdom of Kush. The Napatan and Meroitic Empires. London: British Museum Press. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2010): Kawa Excavations 2009–2010. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 14, p. 48–55. Welsby, Derek Anthony / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.) (2004): Sudan’s Ancient Treasures. An Exhibition of Recent Discoveries from the Sudan National Museum. London: British Museum Press. Wenig, Steffen (ed.) (1978): Africa in Antiquity. The Arts of Ancient Nubia and the Sudan. Catalogue of the Exhibition held at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, Sept. 30−Dec. 31, 1978. Vol. 2: The Catalogue. Brooklyn: The Brooklyn Museum. Wildung, Dietrich (ed.) (1997): Sudan. Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile. Paris/Munich: Flammarion. Wildung, Dietrich (1999): Die Stadt in der Steppe – Grabungen des Ägyptischen Museums Berlin in Naga, Sudan. Begleitpublikation zur Ausstellung des Ägyptischen Museums und Papyrussammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin − Preußischer Kulturbesitz “Die Stadt in der Steppe” im Stadtmuseum Ingolstadt, 9. April − 18. Juli 1999. Berlin: Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Wildung, Dietrich (2001): Naga. Die Stadt in der Steppe. Grabungen des Ägyptischen Museums im Sudan. Vorbericht II: Statuen aus dem Amun-Tempel. In: Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen 43, p. 303–330. Woolley, Charles Leonard / Randall-MacIver, David (1910): Karanòg. The Romano-Nubian Cemetery. Eckley B. Coxe Junior Expedition to Nubia. Vol. 3: Text. Vol. 4: Plates. Publications of the Egyptian Department of the University Museum / University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Yellin, Janice W. (1978): The Role and Iconography of Anubis in Meroitic Religion. PhD. Dissertation. AnnArbor.

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Yellin, Janice W. (1982): Abaton-style Milk Libation at Meroe. In: Millet, Nicholas Byram / Kelley, Allyn L. (eds.): Meroitic Studies. Proceedings of the Third International Meroitic Conference, Toronto 1977. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 6. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 151–155. Yellin, Janice W. (1990): The Decorated Pyramid Chapels of Meroe and Meroitic Funerary Religion. In: Apelt, Dietlind / Endesfelder, Erika / Wenig, Steffen (eds.): Studia in honorem Fritz Hintze. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 12. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 361–374. Yellin, Janice W. (1995a): Meroitic Funerary Religion. In: Temporini, Hildegard / Haase, Wolfgang (eds.): Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt. Teil II: Principat. Bd. 18.5: Religion. Heidentum: Die religiösen Verhältnisse in den Provinzen: Berlin/New York: Walter De Gruyter, p. 2869–2892. Yellin, Janice W. (1995b): Egyptian Religion and its ongoing Impact on the Formation of the Napatan State. A Contribution to László Török’s Main Paper: The Emergence of the Kingdom of Kush and her Myth of the State in the First Millennium BC. In: Actes de la VIIIe Conférence Internationale des Études Nubiennes, Lille 11–17 septembre 1994. I: Communications principales. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 17/1. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle − Lille III, p. 243–263. Yellin, Janice W. (2012): “Nubian Religion” and “Meroe”. In: Fisher, Marjorie M. / Lacovara, Peter / Ikram, Salima / D’Auria, Sue (eds.): Ancient Nubia. African Kingdoms on the Nile. Cairo/New York: American University in Cairo Press, p. 125–144, 258–273. Yellin, Janice W. (2015): Meroitic Royal Chronology: The Conflict with Rome and its Aftermath. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 19, p. 2–15.

Josefine Kuckertz

Meroitic Temples and their Decoration What attracted travelers and scholars to the Meroitic culture – flourishing between c. 300 BC and 350 AD – above all were the temples found in the Nubian and Sudanese territory. Besides pyramid tombs with decorated chapels, more seldom with palaces or other official buildings, the temples and their decorations in particular are manifestations of ideas and religious perceptions and are thus integral to our understanding of the Meroitic culture of ancient Nubia and Sudan. The more so because Meroitic inscriptions are yet only poorly understood.

History of Research A first attempt to summarize Meroitic architecture – including, of course, religious buildings – is the dissertation of Ali Hakem from 1971, fully published in 1988. Meroitic architecture was a major topic at the 4th International Conference for Meroitic Studies in 1980 in Berlin, with the main essay being given by W. Y. Adams (1984). Several authors responded and contributed to this topic (see Meroitica 7, 1984), of which two essays dealing with temples are important here (Hinkel 1984; Wenig 1984b). A short summary on Meroitic architecture was given later in 1996 by F. W. Hinkel, who deals with various topics of Meroitic architecture in nearly all of his papers (Hinkel, in: Wildung 1996; see also Welsby 1996, 115–123, 130–136).

Planning and Construction According to Hinkel’s research some of temple planning in the Meroitic Period was based not on the measurement-unit of the Egyptian cubit of 52.3 cm – as could be expected after a long time of Ancient Egyptian colonial rule and since it was still used in Napatan and some Meroitic temples – but on the ‘Vitruvian module’.1 The lowermost diameter of a column was taken as the unit on which all other measurements depended. Through Hellenistic and Roman influence the module unit was popular in Kush, especially for temples of the single-room type.2 As in earlier times, the goal of temple planning was to create a harmonic proportion of 8 : 5.

1 For the temples, e.g. Hinkel 1990; 1991; for the pyramids, e.g. Hinkel 2000. 2 The early single-room-temples B 900-first (Pi(ankh)y) and B 900-second (Harsiyotef?/late Napatan) have the Egyptian cubit as measurement unit, see Hinkel 1990, 150 f., fig. on p. 159. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-033

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Meroitic temples are like older Napatan or Egyptian examples, usually oriented according to astronomical criteria defined at the initial foundation ceremonies (cf. Welsby 1996, 135 f.; Török 2002, 24–34). That stellar or solar constellations played a decisive role may be evident in, for example, the slightly altering orientations of the different building periods of the central temple 100 of the Great Enclosure IA at Musawwarat es-Sufra (cf. Török 2002, 24, note 92) or the fact that the bark stand in the sanctuary of the Amun-temple Naga 100 was illuminated by the sun during the summer solstice there on March 22nd.3 Other modalities like orientation towards the Nile or towards the processional route of a larger temple were equally valid. Building material was mostly dependent on the availability of stone or other building material as well as on economical and climatic conditions. Temples were largely built of stone – mostly Nubian sandstone gained locally in adjacent quarries. Walls were either erected with orthogonal blocks or by producing two outer shells of conically dressed stones, the space in between filled with rubble or stone chips. Sometimes simple natural boulders of hard ferricrete sandstone were used, occasionally combined with bricks. Besides stone the favourite building material was mud brick (adobe) and red brick or a mixture of both, combined with stone elements for doors, columns, door-sills, lintels, sockets, etc., and some wood for enforcing the walls and for roof-constructions. Metal parts like the door-fittings of Taharqo at Kawa (MacAdam 1955, 57 f., 171, figs. 64–66) may have been present, but no Meroitic example has yet been found. Decoration – if present – consists of reliefs carved on the outside and inside stone-walls, often with a layer of plaster and painted in vivid colours. Inlays – e.g. separate eye-inlays, ankhs, knobs or figural inlays like Bes-figures – and goldfoil may have been added. Coloured plaster also covered the stone- and brick-built wall faces.4 A temple compound may contain several architectural units. Besides the main building a processional kiosk, a high altar and diverse features inside the temenos can be observed. At large Amun-temples a ram alley leads to the entrance. A porch in front of the pylon or the entrance wall is a common Kushite feature also in Meroitic temples. Temple or temenos sometimes lie on an elevated platform. This is either due to external influences (Török 2011, 215–219) and/or designed to function as a means of preventing flood destruction. Enclosure walls do not always seem to have been present. While in many areas of temple-architecture and -decoration the Egyptian models prevail, Mediterranean influence (or better: borrowings from the GrecoEgyptian sphere) can likewise be observed in this field (cf. Török 2011). This is, however, more obvious in secular elite architecture like the palaces5 and far less in the quite conservative area of sacred buildings. A good example is the water sanctu3 One is reminded of the placement of Taharqo’s tomb pyramid at Nuri over which – viewed from the top of Jebel Barkal – the sun rose up on New Year’s day, see Kendall 2002, 68; 2008. 4 Cf. e.g. the colourful appearance of the rams and kiosk at Dangeil, see Anderson/Salah 2013. 5 Cf. Sist 2006 for Hellenistic features in palace B 1500 of Natakamani.

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ary (‘Royal Baths’) of Meroe. Not only does the statuary that was once erected in the building – although locally crafted – display strong Hellenistic influence, but also the outline of the building components (e.g. the exedra) and the mixed Meroitic and Hellenistic decoration testify to the influence from the Mediterranean world (see below). Another example is temple Meroe 250, which in its layout and architectural components6 exhibits input from Hellenistic architecture. The so-called Roman kiosk (Hathor-chapel) which is contemporary with the Lion-temple Naga 300 shows Alexandrian influence, but is in itself a mixture of Egyptian and Meroitic elements; it was most probably designed and executed by a local workshop.7 In general, the inventiveness of Meroitic architects in choosing and combining elements of different sources results in diverse and multi-facetted architectural expressions, and thus variegated religious buildings.

Types of Religious Architecture Temples in Kush in the Meroitic Period are found in nearly every town or larger settlement of the Meroitic heartlands of the Keraba and Butana and along the Nile Valley (cf. Edwards 1989; 1996 with gazetteers).8 Often they are a continuation of older buildings from the preceding New Kingdom or Napatan Periods. In the south, temples of the single-room type are quite common. In general two varieties are distinguished, the multi-room-temple of Egyptian type and the temple of simple structure (here called single-room-temple). The majority of scholars believe the multi-room temples were built for Egyptian gods and goddesses; they attribute the single-room-temples to Meroitic deities. But the lack of inscriptional or pictorial evidence often prevents an ascription to a defined main deity venerated in the sanctuaries (for sceptical authors, cf. Wolf 2006, 240, note 5). The single-room-temples with or without pylon are sometimes enlarged by a further room or a peripteros.9 The earliest examples may go back to the early Napatan Period.10 The most renowned examples are the Lion-temples in Musawwarat esSufra (temple IIC), built c. 220 BC, and Naga 300 from c. 50 AD (Fig. 1). Their attribution to the lion-god Apedemak has sometimes led to the erroneous regarding of all

6 For the Krepis, colonnades, peristasis, see Hinkel 2001, 83 f. 7 Kraus 1964; Török 1984; Ahrens (forthcoming). 8 Temples of the south are enumerated by Wolf 2006, 253–258. Cf. the plan in Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, frontis. Other cult-places are known only by inscriptions. 9 Wenig 1984a, 394 ff., chart 2; Hakem 1988, 179–230 with chart on p. 188 f.; Wolf 2006, 246–249, figs. 13–14; cf. also Hinkel 2001, 254, fig. 92 with different types of single-room temples. 10 Hakem 1988, 183 f.; Hinkel 1996, 99. Cf. Kendall 2014, 663–666, figs. 1–2. B 900 however is an Amun-temple; the Meroitic temples Naga 500 and Duanib are equally regarded as Amun-sanctuaries, cf. Rocheleau 2008, 51, 55, 68.

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Fig. 1: Lion-temple Naga 300 with portico and shrine, scale 1 : 100 (© Naga-Project; Plan: A. Riedel et al.).

single-room-temples as Lion-temples. Some examples are considered as sanctuaries for the Meroitic god Sebiumeker (temple IIA in Musawwarat, WBN 400).11 The multi-room-temples of the Egyptian type can be divided into two classes, the very large Amun-temples (e.g. in Napata, Meroe, el-Hassa, Naga)12 and smallerscale temples (e.g. Meroe 720, Naga 200, WBN 500, Muweis J, etc.) (Fig. 2).13 In Egyptian type temples the alignment of rooms – pylon, hypostyle hall, offering hall(s), pronaos, sanctuary – and the approach to the deity are along an everascending straight axial line beginning at the entrance and ending on a higher level in the area of the sanctuary. In contrast to this axial model, the single-room-temples exhibit a concentric concept as all activity inside the building was confined to only

11 Temple IIA: Wenig 1984b; rejected by Török 2002, 201–204; WBN 400: Onderka/Vrtal et al. 2013, 93–96, 132. 12 Mentioned here are temples that were definitely built or enlarged in Meroitic times. Others, as in Kawa or Tabo, erected by Taharqo, were frequented also in Meroitic times but not substantially altered or enlarged in that period. 13 Large temples: Wenig’s type A, cf. Wenig 1984a, 393, chart 1; Wolf 2006, 241–244, figs. 2–5; smaller temples: Wenig’s types B and C, cf. Wolf 2006, 244–246, figs. 8–12.

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Fig. 2: Complexes of the Amun-temples Naga 100 and Naga 200, scale 1 : 1000 (© Naga-Project; Plan: A. Riedel et al.).

one room.14 Areas of ritual activity here, however, resemble those in temples of the Egyptian type. A careful investigation of the Lion-temple in Musawwarat has shown that activities attributed in Egyptian temples to, for example, court, hypostyle hall, offering hall or sanctuary are found also in a single-room-temple. The deity’s dwelling place and a sanctuary-area in the back of the interior columned room is recognisable; zones of offering- or feast-activities are found as well, albeit outside the building proper on the temenos (Andrássy 2007). Unknown to the Egyptian concept of temples are buildings with circular ground plans (for this topic, see Kuckertz, in: Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, 142–145). Popular in Kushite funerary or domestic architecture,15 religious buildings of circular outline exist as well. Only a few examples, however, have survived or have been identified as such. Their shape is reconstructed like a round African hut with domed roof. One of the oldest examples is witnessed by the traces of a circular buttressed brick building with two adjoining circular chapels from the Classic Kerma Phase in Dokki Gel. The Egyptian administration of the early 18th Dynasty allowed it to remain in use for the indigenous population.16 Embellished over time and constantly

14 The concentric concept is thematized by Wolf 2004, 249; 2014, 373–377, who assumes inspiration from the Abyssinian highlands. 15 Cf. the large tumuli of C-Group or Kerma Periods. An extraordinary large audience hall was built in the town of Kerma, see Bonnet/Valbelle 2006, 22 f. with fig. 16 Bonnet 2009, 98–108, figs. 2–11; 2011b; 2015; Bonnet/Valbelle 2010, 44–46, figs. 35, 39.

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renovated or reconstructed, it functioned throughout the entire Egyptian domination, surely under the auspices of the nearby Egyptian palaces and temples. At the time of its re-erection, possibly by Aspelta, after the destruction by Psamtek II’s troops in 593 BC,17 the diameter reached 10.5 m. From this phase traces of the interior layout survived: a pedestal, a cache of decorative material plus part of a bronze cornice of a naos, which indicate that the northern half was the sanctuary (Bonnet 2007, 189–191, figs. 9–11; 2011a, 25 ff., figs. 7–12). The circular temple in which most probably an indigenous Nubian deity was venerated was in use until Meroitic times (Bonnet, pers. comm. in September 2014; cf. the plan in Welsby/Anderson 2004, 112, fig. 86). A Meroitic circular building, which recently and very convincingly was identified as a religious structure, is situated in Wad Ben Naga (Onderka/Vrtal et al. 2013, 67–74).18 The size of WBN 50 and features like the deliberate application of mud brick and red brick, a white plaster cover on the outside, or probable sandstone elements are not indicative of its having been a granary or other storage facility, which is the generally held view. An ascending ramp leads to the entrance; in the interior two stairways go down to the lowered floor; traces of (later?) partitions and post-holes have been identified. WBN 50 has been reconstructed with a domed roof (Fig. 3). According to the excavators in the 1960s, the complex, including a series of rectangular rooms and an enclosure wall, probably stood in connection with the adjacent orthogonal ‘Isis’-temple WBN 300 (Vercoutter 1962, 273–275, pl. 18b). Other circular structures of possibly Meroitic date have not been sufficiently investigated so far, so their function and date remain unclear.19 That in Meroitic times circular or conical sanctuaries existed may be proven by the so-called ‘omphalos’ of Jebel Barkal, a dome-shaped naos with relief decoration dedicated by king Amanikhareqerem (end of the 1st century AD) in which a statuette of Amun was presumably once installed.20 It is regarded by most scholars as a depiction of a shrine resembling an African hut. Inscriptional evidence comes from writings on the stele of Nastasen (second half of the 4th century BC), where the word for chapel is determined by a domed structure with attached uraeus.21 Both – the omphalos and the writings – are, however, also interpreted as depicting the rock of Jebel Barkal in which Amun dwelled (Kendall, in: Wildung 1996, 270, Cat. 288, and in many subsequent papers).

17 For the campaign of Psamtek II, cf. Sauneron/Yoyotte 1952; most recently Kuckertz 2016. 18 Diameter 18.3/10.8 m inside, wall thickness 3.7 m; Onderka 2014, 86–87, figs. 6–7. 19 At Jebel Barkal and in Usli, cf. Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, 144. 20 Boston MFA 21.3234, PM VII, 222 f.; cf. Wildung 1996, 270 f., Cat. 288; Onderka/Vrtal et al. 2013, 62–74, fig. 8.10. 21 Berlin ÄM 2268, Peust 1999; FHN II, no. 84.

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Fig. 3: Wad Ben Naga 50, plan and reconstruction, after: Onderka/Vrtal et al. 2013, 68 f., figs. 8.2, 8.5 (Drawing: V. Vrtal; Reconstruction: S. Rihák):

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Nevertheless, the above examples reveal that the age-old type of African circular buildings was handed down in religious architecture as well despite the overwhelming influence of Egyptian temple building. It has been suggested that the single-room orthogonal temples – invented in Meroitic times and believed to have been constructed for Meroitic deities – may have been an Egyptian-inspired development of the traditional Kushite circular temples with domed roof, to which were added Egyptian features like pylon, cavetto cornice, star frieze, torus moulding and wall decoration, etc. (Kuckertz, in: Kuckertz/ Lohwasser 2016, 144 f.). The traces of earlier circular structures below the singleroom-temple IA 300 of the Great Enclosure at Musawwarat (cf. Wolf 2004, 21, 24 f., pl. 1)22 may hint at this evolution. If indeed the traditional round structures – surely of organic material or of brick work – were replaced by orthogonal buildings of stone with added pylon, this offered some advantages (durable building material, more space for relief depictions, especially on the pylon). On the other hand these temples maintained a traditional indigenous feature – though slightly altered – besides the ubiquitous Egyptian type of temple architecture which had dominated the cultic landscape of Kush since the Egyptian colonization. If this theory proves right, then in addition to the multi-room-temples two distinct traditions drawing upon the same source existed during the Meroitic Period, an Egyptian-related one with orthogonal single-room-temples and an indigenous one with domed round buildings. Whether they represent different backgrounds of religious practice, sociological status of the worshippers or something else is as yet unknown. The temple forms described do not cover the whole range of sacred places in Meroitic Culture. Cult places in natural caves are another noteworthy feature when dealing with temples in Meroitic times (cf. Williams 2006). The most conspicuous is the cave at Jebel Qeili, where Amun seems to have been venerated: In a painting a Meroitic queen and her companion adore Amun and Mut.23 On a nearby rock boulder a large figure of king Shorkaror (c. second half of the 1st century AD) triumphing over enemies was engraved; a solar deity with aureole presents to him a group of bound prisoners and a bunch of sorghum stalks symbolizing fertility and nourishment.24 Two caves above temple Naga 500 with lion-heads in high relief were perhaps dedicated to the lion-god Apedemak (Hofmann/Tomandl 1986a, 98 f., figs. 127–130; cf. Zach/Tomandl 2000, 145).

22 Until further excavations it is, however, not clear that the site was continuously used for religious purposes. 23 Whitehead/Addison 1926, 52 f., pls. XI–XIII, figs. 2–4; Zach 1995; Williams 2006, 153. The queen is debated (Nawidemak, Amanirenase or Amanitore). 24 Hintze 1959b, 189–190, fig. 2 (drawing K.-H. Priese); Hofmann/Tomandl 1986, 122–124, figs. 165–167; Zach 1993, 89–98, figs. 1, 2.

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General Remarks In Egypt temples are viewed as representing a model of the world as well as being the dwellings of deities. The royal temple builder is searching for contact with the divine world in order to be promoted in his office as king (cf. Török 2002, 40–48 concerning Kushite temples). He himself presents offerings to the deities in return and enables their statues to become alive and potent by cleaning, robing and nourishing them. Such cultic action is only rarely documented in Meroitic temple reliefs. Most of the decoration deals with topics of royal kingship dogma. Themes illustrating the king’s legitimacy by showing his selection and acceptance by deities are plentiful. Coronation rites and the presentation of the heir and future king are other modes of focusing on his rightful rulership. Triumphal scenes – that is annihilating chaos and restoring order (Maat) – are found on pylons and walls and relate to Egyptian models. Other topics include the adoration of deities by the king, only sometimes followed by his family. In general, the mode of depicting divine and royal figures is the Egyptian ‘aspective’ way of combining side and front views of the different body parts. The iconography is largely adopted from Egyptian precedents; not well known, however, is to what extent the meaning of the items and the character of the deities have been adopted as well. On the contrary, one must strongly assume that the Kushites expressed their own and indigenous ideas only through the lens of selected Egyptian pictures. Not all deities or religious concepts prevalent in Egypt in former times were implemented into Kushite Culture; others were accentuated more in Kush than in Egypt. A new element of decoration besides the integration of indigenous deities like Apedemak, Amesemi (Fig. 4), Sebiumeker and Arensnuphis (Fig. 5) (cf. Kormysheva 2010, 233–319; most recently Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, 112–128) is, for example, the large scale decoration of the narrow sides of the pylon, which in this form is alien to Egyptian temple decoration.25 The wall-high figures on the outer and inner walls of Meroitic temples are another local feature.26 The large-scale relief enables one to visualize even from a distance the meaning of the temple decoration and its religious statements. Promoting in this way topics of kingship dogma and the sacralized royal status gives these reliefs a religio-political focus. Such proclamation of royal dogma throughout the country was necessary in a diverse conglomerate of different clans and peoples, sedentary and non-sedentary, having their own interests or drifting apart from central rule. As the majority of people was not able

25 Found at the first stage of the Lion-temple Musawwarat es-Sufra, at Naga 200, Naga 300 and Barkal 500. 26 Perhaps already in the decoration of B 900-first of Pi(ankh)y, cf. Kendall 2014, 666–671. In Egypt comparable large-scale figures are found on the back walls of the temples at Edfu and Dendera.

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Fig. 4: Left: Lion-god Apedemak, Naga 300, south wall; right: goddess Amesemi, Naga 200, west wall (© Naga Project; Fig. 4 right: Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, 119, fig. 62).

Fig. 5: Sebiumeker and Arensnuphis, Liontemple IIC at Musawwarat es-Sufra, south wall (© J. Hamann).

to write or understand written evidence, large pictures were the best and most impressive means to proclaim the ideas of kingship. To a large extent it is unknown how the temples were funded and how they paid their personnel. The building of the temple proper was in most cases certainly due to royal initiative, but the operating costs – especially of the large temples like B 500 or other large Amun-temples – may have been covered either by taxes or

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commercial activities in which, besides royal departments, perhaps temples were involved as well (cf. Edwards 1996, 26).27

Gazetteer In the following a gazetteer of important sites with Meroitic temples is attached, which leaves aside other buildings with partially religious function (e.g. palaces) and temples in the Dodekaschoinos (like Philae, Dakke and Debod), where Meroitic kings had been likewise involved. Many temples, however, are confined mostly to ground plans (e.g. Tabo) and thus lack decoration. Special focus is laid on the activities of Natakamani and his mother Amanitore, the most prolific rulers around the middle of the 1st century AD (cf. Zach 2001).28 On many of their buildings and objects Egyptian hieroglyphic script was used in addition to hieroglyphic or cursive Meroitic (Vrtal 2015).

Naga The city of Naga (Tolkte),29 located away from the Nile in the Butana, had existed at least since the time of Nastasen (last third of the 4th century BC) (Zibelius 1972, 172, 176). The impressive stone buildings dispersed over c. 1 km2 all seem to have been official institutions (palaces, temples, administrative buildings, hafirs). Domestic quarters have not been found so far, but two extensive cemeteries speak for a greater number of inhabitants. At least nine stone temples can be identified. The oldest seems to be the single-room-temple Naga 500, which lies at the flank of Jebel Naga; it was built – perhaps over a forerunner – by queen Shanakdakhete, generally dated to the late 2nd century BC. The interior decoration does not reveal to whom the temple was actually dedicated (Amun or Apedemak or both?) (Hintze 1959a, 36–39, figs. 6–7, pls. III–VIII). Other temples in the town as yet mostly unexcavated are the one-room-temples Naga 700, with statues of Arensnuphis and Sebiumeker flanking the entrance and Naga 800, the peripteros temples Naga 400 at the great hafir and Naga 600, temple Naga 200 of Amanikhareqerem, and the newly detected Lion-temple Naga 1200. The time span of Naga’s archaeological remains concentrates on the late 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD, with later squatter occupation; earlier traces, however, are to be expected in future excavations.

27 About taxes, see Török 1997a, 494. According to Pliny the Elder (cited in Baud et al. 2010, 100) Amun-temples were also involved in trade, which was a royal prerogative and usually confined to palaces, see Edwards 1996, 26–27. 28 A detailed report of their building activities will be Kuckertz (forthcoming). 29 An overview of the archaeological remains is Wildung 1999; Kroeper et al. 2011.

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Fig. 6: Lion-temple Naga 300, pylon with Natakamani and Amanitore triumphing over enemies (© Naga-Project).

Two temples built by Natakamani and Amanitore are described at length to give an impression of other temples of their reign. The single-room Lion-temple Naga 300 (cf. Fig. 1) with Arikankharor accompanying the couple – he seems to be the first in the row of three ‘princes’ in their retinue30 – was built at an early date. The temple is dedicated to Apedemak and Amun.31 In its interior four columns once supported the roof; a small shrine at the back was the focus of worship. In front of the temple a prostylos with double Bes-figures (Kroeper et al. 2011, 116–117, 136–137, figs. 144– 145, 175–176) is a connective element to the nearby Hathor-chapel, a contemporary processional kiosk combining Hellenistic with Egyptian-Kushite elements (see above). An offering place for, inter alia, the general populace, decorated with several lion statues, lies between them (Kroeper 2014). On the pylon above a frieze of captured foreign peoples, the relief decoration of Naga 300 (Gamer-Wallert 1983) shows Natakamani and Amanitore in victorious poses smiting enemies (Fig. 6). On the pylon’s outer narrow sides a depiction of Apedemak as a snake terminating in a lion-headed human emerges from an acanthus plant; the back faces of the pylon walls show pierced enemies.

30 On these figures Arikankharor, Arakakhataror and Shorkaror, see Török 1997a, 464–467. 31 For relevant literature, see Wolf 2006, 257; for the religious content also Török 2002, 226–241.

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Fig. 7: Amun-temple Naga 100, view from south (© Naga-Project).

The royal family is depicted in wall-high figures adoring male gods on the outer south wall and goddesses on the north wall.32 The most spectacular focus of the back wall is Apedemak, who has three heads and four arms; he is touching the elbows of the king and queen, thereby selecting them as rulers.33 The interior decoration concentrates on the election of Natakamani and Amanitore by Amun and Apedemak respectively a syncretistic deity Amun-Apedemak-Serapis shown with Hellenistic traits. A smaller upper register mirrors in some way the statements of the main register. Notable here are a Hellenistic solar deity and a figure combining crocodile, lion and falcon elements. The Amun-temple Naga 100 (Figs. 2, 7)34 was built at a later date in the joint reign; here ‘prince’ Arakakhataror35 indicates its later erection. The temple – in bypassing a high altar (Naga 1500) with access ramp and storage chamber (Kroeper/ Krzyżaniak 1998, 206–207)36 – was approached from the west by a large ramp; a set of two smaller ramps from the north and from the south lead up to the terraced temenos. An avenue of twelve rams interrupted by a processional kiosk line the passage to the entrance. The figures between the rams’ paws depicting Natakamani as Khonsu had deliberately been broken off; several were found dispersed in the temple. The kiosk’s interior was – like most of the dado-zones of the temple and the lower column

32 South: Apedemak, Horus, Amun, Aqedis, Amun of Pnubs; north: Isis, Mut, Amesemi, Hathor, Satet. For the inscriptions, see Zibelius 1983. 33 Many discussions have arisen concerning this figure, and even Indian influence has been assumed. Most probably it is a combination of different pictorial aspects combined, thus integrating both halves of the wall. 34 Wolf 2006, 257; Török 2002, 241–253; for the recent excavations cf. Kroeper 2006; 2011. 35 The reading of the name – formerly Arikakhatani – was recently established as Arakakhataror, see Francigny 2011. 36 Similar high altars are found with Naga 200, in Kawa, Meroe, Awlib and el-Hassa, cf. Kuckertz/ Lohwasser 2016, 134.

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Fig. 8: Architrave of the pylon entrance into the Amun-temple Naga 100 (© Naga-Project).

parts – decorated with Nile gods offering water. Only gates, columns and the sanctuary are of local sandstone bearing relief decoration, other walls were built of red brick and mud brick. Some parts, including one column and the walls of the sanctuary, have been standing upright since antiquity; others (columns in hypostyle hall) are now re-erected. The temple is dedicated to Amun, who appears as ram-headed Amun of Naga or as human-headed Amun of Thebes. The preserved eight architraves show the royal couple with Arakakhataror venerating both divine forms (Fig. 8). On the eight columns in the hypostyle hall, in twelve panels above the Nile frieze, each member of the family is shown venerating a deity. In rooms 102 and 103 painted plaster fragments that have fallen off from the brick walls depict royal figures and Nile-gods. The northern side room 106 contained a painted platform on which a sandstone altar, part of a faience Isis-statue, an offering table fragment and some pottery were deposited. Partly open to the sky, room 106 functioned as solar cult place and possibly for commemorating coronation rites as well (cf. Kroeper, in: Baud et al. 2010, 234; Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, 65–66, 125–126, fig. 29). In sanctuary 104 stood a decorated bark stand.37 The sanctuary walls exhibit at least three registers depicting the veneration of Amun, Mut and Khonsu; they also include indications of coronation ceremonies. Southern side room 107 seems to have been a storage area for sacred objects; ritual implements, small statues, votives, etc. were found there (cf. Kroeper et al. 2011, figs. 102, 104, 132 and passim). The narrow room 105 running over the whole width of the temple terminates the building; its western wall directly behind the sanctuary was again decorated – here in sunken relief – with Amun being adored above a frieze of Nile gods and floral bouquets. Behind the temple a further ram-statue and an offering area with altar and octagonal pillar are part of a popular cult place (Kroeper 2006, 294, fig. 6; Kroeper et al. 2011, 91 f., fig. 106). The Amun-complex lying at the foot of Jebel Naga was surely linked to the town by a pathway that has not been detected yet, but must have led to the Lion-temple. One religious building oriented nearly perpendicular to such a processional route 37 Khartoum SNM 31331, see Kroeper et al. 2011, 42–45, figs. 43–45.

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is the smaller Amun-temple Naga 200 with way station and high altar built by Amanikhareqerem around 80 AD (cf. Figs. 2, 4 right) (Kuckertz 2011; 2012). Reconstructed largely from numerous loose relief blocks, the scenes show the king on the pylon fronts triumphing over enemies and adoring various groups of deities on the outer and inner walls. The name of the indigenous god Sebiumeker, written there in Meroitic hieroglyphs, is unique.38

Wad Ben Naga The site of Wad Ben Naga (Jrbjklb), an important urban centre already in late Napatan times, lies near the Nile at a crossroad of trade routes. In addition to the palace of Amanishakheto (WBN 100), several orthogonal temples like the single-room-temple WBN 400 (for Sebiumeker?), the eastern temple WBN 500 and those cited in the following, all of multi-room-type, have been detected.39 The so-called Typhonium WBN 200 stood on the spot of an older building and was erected by Natakamani and Amanitore (Onderka/Vrtal et al. 2013, 35–50, 111–120, 121–126, figs. 16.1–16.16; 2014, 164–177; Onderka 2015). Now destroyed pillars decorated with Bes-figures and Hathor-capitals, which were recorded by 19th century travellers, hint at a goddess as cult owner. Two double-statues of Amun and his spouse and wall inlays suggest Mut as temple owner. WBN 300 resembles in its outline the Amun-temple in Naga, indicating that it also was erected by the royal couple.40 For a long time it was identified as an Isistemple due to a bark stand now in Berlin.41 The round structure WBN 50 may have been an indigenous dome-shaped sanctuary (see above).

Musawwarat es-Sufra The site of Musawwarat (Aborepi) – located c. 30 km away from the Nile in the Butana – has been excavated by the Humboldt-University of Berlin since 1959.42 In addition to elite domestic architecture, a few cemeteries, two hafirs and several quarries, at least ten larger and smaller temples or shrines were found at the site, but no substantial settlement remains (cf. Hintze et al. 1971, pl. 1).43 38 At the entrance of Naga 200, see Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, 121, fig. 65. 39 Vercoutter 1962; Wolf 2006, 258; new Czech excavations by Onderka/Vrtal et al. 2013; Onderka 2014. 40 For identification as Amun-temple, see Priese 1984a; 1984b. 41 Two bark stands found and recorded in LD V, 55. One is Berlin ÄM 7261, of the other stand fragments have recently been found, cf. Onderka/Vrtal et al. 2014, 140–143, no. 47–48. 42 Initiated by F. Hintze, followed by St. Wenig and C. Näser. 43 Summaries are given by Näser 2010; Wenig 2013. For the temples, see Wolf 2006, 256–257.

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Fig. 9: Great Enclosure IA at Musawwarat es-Sufra (© A. Schröder).

The Lion-temple IIC,44 a single-room-temple with six columns inside, can be dated to Arnekhamani around 220 BC. It is the earliest Meroitic temple with relief decoration, providing insight into perceptions of religion. Influenced by concepts of Philae and most likely planned and designed with the aid of Philaean priests, it incorporated for the first time Meroitic deities (Apedemak, Amesemi, Sebiumeker and Arensnuphis). The inscriptions are in Egyptian hieroglyphs. The most conspicuous area is the Great Enclosure IA, an agglomeration of three temples of simple room-structure (100 with unusual window-like openings, 200 as well as 300, the last with statues of Sebiumeker and Arensnuphis) surrounded by interconnecting courtyards, corridors, ramps, chapels, gardens and different room complexes (Fig. 9). Its function is as of yet not understood, and different models have been proposed, spanning from pilgrimage centre to a taming place for elephants.45 Arnekhamani is considered to be the builder of its latest phase, but there are also discussions that Natakamani might have initiated the building of the enclosure (cf. Näser 2011, 321). The origins of the complex, however, are much older and reach back into Napatan times. Decoration in the Great Enclosure is sparse: Besides statuary decoration on lintels (triple-head-blocks), column-statuary and those attached to 44 Hintze 1962; Hintze et al. 1971; 1993; Török 2002, 187–200. For the ‘mythological’ scenes on the columns most recently Kormysheva 2015. 45 Cf. Wolf 2001; Wenig 2001; Török 2002, 173–186.

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the temple front (Arensnuphis and Sebiumeker), only some columns bear relief decoration. The motifs on four columns in front of temple IA 100 are intriguing, as scenes related to royal legitimization and coronation are depicted. Mixed decorative patterns, partially of Hellenistic origin, and human and animal figures adorn other column bases, with the effect that no column resembles the other. Another temple on the site, the single-room-temple IIA, equally bears relief decoration. It is attributed to Sebiumeker (Wenig 1984a), although it seems more probable that it was a temple for the royal cult (Török 2002, 203–204).

Duanib At Duanib in the Wadi el-Banat a single-room-temple (Wolf 2006, 254) bore a relief decoration showing Natakamani and Amanitore with a ‘prince’.46 Conspicuous is the picture on the outer back wall (SW-wall) of Bes-Satyrs pulling water with containers and ropes; similar figures were probably depicted on the NW-wall. Today the temple is no longer visible.47

Muweis Muweis – 8 km south of Shendi – is another city in which Natakamani and Amanitore erected impressive buildings. Fragments of the plastered and painted wall decoration with cartouches of Natakamani and of one of the ‘princes’ reveal that the smaller brick temple J, which lies perpendicular to the still unearthed Amun-temple, was erected or renovated by them (Baud 2014, 763–772, figs. 3–5, pls. 1–8). The large Amun-temple may have been built by them too, as fragments of ram statues resembling the rams of Naga 100 and Meroe 260 indicate (Baud 2014, 775, pl. 10).

El-Hassa Due to the finds of several sandstone rams, excavations started in 2000 in El-Hassa where an Amun-temple built by king Amanikhareqerem came to light (Wolf 2006, 254; Rondot 2012). The brick temple – supplemented with stone elements – resembles in its layout the Amun-temple Naga 100, with a kiosk, high altar and ram denoting a popular cult-place at the back. The avenue of rams in front displays two sets of rams of different size. 46 Wolf 2006, 254; LD V, Bl. 68e-f; LD text, 346; cf. Tomandl/Zach 2000, 143–144 for the venerated deities. 47 In 1966 traces of reliefs on the inner NE-wall were recorded, cf. Wenig 1974, 141.

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Awlib The multi-room brick temple of Awlib south of Meroe might have already functioned in Napatan or at least in early Meroitic times. Its last phase traces back to the activities of Natakamani and Amanitore. Besides sandstone blocks with figural and inscriptional relief (of different periods?), one block contains the throne name of Amanitore (Sander 2010, 154, fig. 3; Baldi 2014, 63).48

Abu Erteila Recently found hieroglyphic inscriptions with cartouches of Natakamani and Amanitore reveal that they were also active in temple-building or -restoring in Abu Erteila, which is situated only 1 km south of Awlib. In addition, a basalt bark stand came to light.49 Column drums with hieroglyphic inscriptions and Nile-god figures were found in earlier years (Fantusati et al. 2014).50

Meroe The site of Meroe had been inhabited at least since Napatan times, then being the seat of important local families who were related to the ruling clans of the Jebel Barkal area (cf. Pope 2014). The town exhibits several temples which functioned during the Meroitic era, when it was the empire’s central town.51 The large Amun-temple Meroe 260 with an avenue of rams in the east (Garstang et al. 1911, 11–16, pls. III–XII; Török 1997b, 116–128) seems to have been begun in the early Meroitic Period. It is believed that it replaced an earlier Amuntemple situated inside the Royal Enclosure at the place of the later Meroitic palace M 294 (Török 1997b, 26–29; 2002, 314–316).52 Due to insufficient excavation the exact building phases of M 260 are difficult to determine (Fig. 10). The temple received attention in the form of stelae or votives, e.g. from Amanishakheto (so-called obelisk)53 or Amanikhabale.54 Natakamani and Amanitore ex48 On the reliefs, see Sander 2015; on Awlib in general, see Paner/Kołosowska 2005; Baldi 2014. 49 http://www.agi.it/international/2016/01/11/news/italian-russian_archeologists_make_major_ discovery_in_sudan-408847/ last seen: 20. 01. 2016; see now Fantusati/Baldi 2016, 102 f., fig. 4. 50 As yet, it is unclear if they belong to the temple where the bark stand was found, cf. Fantusati/ Baldi 2016. 51 Cf. Török 1997b, 32–40 with a general survey of Meroe in Meroitic times; for references to the temples in Meroe, cf. Wolf 2006, 255 f. 52 His opinion is rejected by Hinkel/Sievertsen 2002, 35. 53 Rilly 2002, REM 1361 (including several other REM-numbers). 54 Stele FHN II, no. 192: upper part in Khartoum SNM 522 (REM 1083); lower part in St. Petersburg (REM 1001), see Wenig 1978, Cat. 122.

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Fig. 10: Amun-temple Meroe 260, view eastward from the sanctuary with bark stand (© Naga-Project).

tended the temple to the east with court M 271 and kiosk M 279 and restored other parts of the temple (Török 1997b, 120, 124). They were perhaps also responsible for kiosk M 280 farther east and the alley of rams, which display the same spiral curls of fleece as the rams of Naga 100 (Török 1997b, 118, 120).55 It may well be that in the time of Natakamani and Amanitore the whole sacred area was reorganized together with the Amun-temple compound, including temples along the processional route (M 720, KC 100, KC 101, KC 104, MJE 105) and palace M 750 (Baud et al. 2010, 63; cf. Wolf 2006, 256). Definite inscriptional evidence comes from M 720, a multi-room temple with a free-standing sanctuary where column drums and relief blocks with cartouches were discovered (cf. Wolf 2006, 256, fig. 9; Näser 2004, 271–280, figs. 137–145). In temple KC 104, a double temple with nearly identical layout of its halves (cf. Wolf 2006, 256, fig. 11), plaster fragments also ascribe the temple to the couple. In the western hall the lower parts of the columns are formed like Bes-statues (Shinnie/Anderson 2004, pl. XIII). Inside the Royal Enclosure two temples deserve mentioning: First is chapel Meroe 292 in the northern part, which probably goes back to the earliest occupation

55 For the rams, cf. Garstang et al. 1911, pl. VI.1.

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levels of Meroe (cf. Shinnie/Anderson 2004, 79–88; Wolf 2006, 255). One building stage seems to have been initiated by Natakamani and Amanitore as preserved paintings may indicate.56 M 292 is remarkable because a bronze head of Augustus was found there, which has led to discussions concerning chronology and historical background.57 Reused relief blocks with the head of Apedemak, dated stylistically to the couple’s period, may not have belonged to the original building (Hofmann/ Tomandl 1987). Second is the complex of the so-called Royal Baths, the water sanctuary Meroe 94–194–195, which centres on a large basin with stairs at the north-western corner leading down and remnants of a fountain. On three sides the basin is girdled by a colonnade; the fourth side is a decorative wall displaying paintings of, inter alia, vine tendrils, inlays and statues. From here and through figural outlets the water flowed into the tank; lion and bull protomes decorated the basin’s borders. To the ensemble belongs an exedra with four seats. Neither the exact date of the erection of the complex58 nor the end of its use in the 2nd century AD (?) nor its function59 have been yet ascertained. Broken statues found in the basin were probably once erected in the building; to them belong, e.g., Dionysian related figures like a silenus, Dionysos (?), Pan and statues playing double flute, syrinx and kithara, as well as stout reclining figures and others (Török 1997b, 77 ff. with figures and plates; Manzo 2006, 85–87, fig. 1, pls. 1–3, col.-pl. 38). Meroitic elements are present in depictions of the lion-god Apedemak who – besides his connection with water – seems associated with the cult of Dionysos (Manzo 2006, 87–89, col.-pl. 39). The Royal Baths, initially excavated by Garstang in 1912, have been investigated since 1999 by the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and the Sudanese National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM).60 East of the central city lies the Apedemak-temple Meroe 6, consisting of two columned rooms with pylon and reclining lions in front (cf. Wolf 2006, 255). Several Meroitic kings are documented here by objects and sandstone blocks.61 Temple Meroe 250 is situated farther east near a hafir.62 The layout of the temple proper (M 250/1–3) is unusual as it comprises a free-standing cella, which is encom-

56 For the paintings, see Shinnie/Bradley 1981; Hakem 1988, 38–42, fig. 4, pls. 6–8; Török 1997b, 148–149, pls. 111–112. 57 London BM EA 1911,0901.1, most recently Opper 2014; to its origin Matić 2014. 58 Ranging from third to 1st century BC. 59 Royal cult, New Year’s ceremonies, rising Nile flood or Dionysian rites (?). 60 Török 1997b, 63–91; Wolf et al. 2008, 166–195; 2010, 217–234; see also http://www.dainst.org/ en/project/meroe?ft=1. 61 Tanyideamani (REM 0405, votive tablet Baltimore WAG 22.258); Amanishakheto (REM 0407); Teqorideamani (REM 0408–10). 62 First excavated by J. Garstang in 1910–11, see Hinkel 2001; cf. also Török 2002, 212–225; 2009, 501. The labelling by the first excavators as ‘sun-temple’ is due to an (erroneous) identification with the ‘table of the sun’ mentioned by Herodotus III,17–18.

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passed by a single-room-temple with pylon.63 The main entrance was reached by a ramp from the east leading through a pylon into the elevated court, which is surrounded by a colonnade. A further colonnade on a lower level is interrupted by priest house I (M 250/4–10) on the outside. A kiosk (M 245), a high altar (M 246) and another priest house II (M 251–253) are situated on the temenos. Historical and archaeological arguments point to an erection of the temple in the period after the peace-treaty with Augustus in 21/20 BC. The treaty ended the Meroitic-Roman conflicts begun after Meroitic uprisings and Roman invasion into Meroitic territory. Begun by ruling queen Amanirenase, the temple was finished by her successor Amanishakheto. The governor of Lower Egypt and pqr Akinidad, a man of royal descent, played a central role as well. Relief decoration in the interior depicts royal persons adoring deities, and on the outer walls extensive battle scenes. Extraordinary are illustrations of temple, kiosk and high altar on the outer west wall – here, Amanirenase and Akinidad are watching rituals conducted on the high altar. Another smaller multi-room-temple Meroe 600A (cf. Wolf 2006, 256) that lies north of the central area is said to be an Isis-temple. The attribution, however, is doubtful and only based on a few finds.64 Columnar statues of Sebiumeker and Arensnuphis, now in Copenhagen and Edinburgh, cannot be precisely assigned to a certain emplacement, and thus their attribution to M 600A seems insecure. The adjoining temple 600B is of the single-room type.

Dangeil In Dangeil, which may have been occupied since early Napatan times – discarded statues of rulers reaching from Taharqo to Aspelta have been found (Anderson/ Salah 2014) – a large temple of red brick and stone dedicated to Amun was built by Natakamani and Amanitore, possibly on the spot of an older Taharqo-temple.65 Layout and preserved decoration resemble Naga 100, with an alley of rams and a processional kiosk. Stone column trunks and the dado of walls were decorated with processions of Nile-gods; a relief-fragment shows the king praying in front of the human-headed Amun; the brick walls were plastered and painted. Several bark stands and altars were set up in the hypostyle hall and sanctuary. As in other Amuntemples, a dais-room with elevated platform was either a place of solar worship or perhaps of (re-)enactments of coronation rites.

63 The measurement unit is the cubit. 64 Stele of Teriteqase in front of Isis (now in Liverpool, see Baud et al. 2010, 176 f., fig. 224) and some Isis figurines (cf. Tomandl 1989). Török 1997b, 35 assumes a sanctuary for the ruler’s cult. It may have been an Amun-temple; see Wolf 2006, 256, note 181; Rocheleau 2008, 43, 63. 65 Anderson/Salah 2010; 2011; cf. www.britishmuseum.org/research/research_project/all_current_ projects/sudan/berber-abidiya_project.

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Jebel Barkal The most important religious site of the Kushite Empires lies at Jebel Barkal. Egyptian pharaohs from the mid-18th Dynasty onwards built there; the prominent Amuntemple was begun in Thutmoside times and saw continuous enlargement until Ramesses II (now Kendall/el-Hassan et al., 2017). After the Egyptian retreat Nubian kings took over and erected or restructured sanctuaries and palaces (for the Napatan temples, cf. Kendall 2002). In addition to the Amun-temple B 500 (Fig. 11), Meroitic building activities are known from temple B 700 of Atlanersa and Senkamanisken, with renovations and additions (sanctuaryniche and portico) being made after the partial destruction by rockfall (Kendall 2014). A kiosk in front of the Amun-temple was built by Amanishakheto.66 Through finds of Meroitic objects, it is clear that most of the temples,67 and especially the Amun-temple, were active throughout the whole Meroitic era (e.g. stela, bronze object and Isis-statue of the time of Taneyidamani,68 gold statuette of queen Nawidemak,69 ‘omphalos’ of Amanikhareqerem,70 Meroitic statues in B 700, fragments of several throne daises, etc.). Meroitic royal individuals were buried in the pyramid field north-west of the jebel (cf. Dunham 1957). Only recently a small temple with processional kiosk (Barkal 560–561) lying in front of B 500 was unearthed (Kendall/el-Hassan 2015).71 Kiosk B 560 has yielded an architrave with inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphs.72 Inside scenes in low relief depict a bark procession. In temple B 561 of the smaller multi-room type with its middle sanctuary in stone, relief decoration was also found. The sanctuary scenes – which focus on the cult of the royal child, thus giving the impression of being a kind of mammisi – are most probably more ancient (Napatan?). Other scenes and inscriptions on columns, door jambs and loose blocks are clearly Meroitic. Royal and divine figures are depicted, e.g., Horus and Thoth and possibly Sebiumeker and Arensnuphis. Texts on the column drums resemble those of the Amun-temples of Naga and Amara, indicating that perhaps Natakamani and Amanitore were responsible for renovations or additions. Both rulers carried out large-scale restructuring of the religious landscape of Barkal. One focus was the Amun-temple Barkal 500 (Török 2002, 205–207). Besides restoration and recarving of the 1st and 2nd pylon and of the walls in the 1st court

66 Cf. Kormysheva 2010, 45; Kendall, http://www.jebelbarkal.org/frames/B500kiosks.pdf . 67 Exceptions are B 200 and B 300 of Taharqo. 68 FHN II, no. 152; stela MFA 23.736; sheath of staff MFA 24.856; Isis-statue Berlin ÄM 2258. 69 Khartoum SNM 5457 + Oberlin Allen Memorial Art Museum 164, see Wenig 1978, Cat. 137. For the queen, cf. FHN III, 801–804, no. 186. 70 MFA 21.3234, see above. 71 Date not assured: 2nd / 1st century BC (temple) to 1st century AD (kiosk); cf. Kendall, http:// www.jebelbarkal.org/frames/B560561.pdf. 72 With the name of [Amanikhare]qerem (?).

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Fig. 11: Jebel Barkal, Amun-temple B 500 (© A. Schröder).

they added decoration at several places. A new kiosk B 501 was built in the first court where the couple adores the triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu. The latest phase of temple Barkal 1100,73 which yielded over 30 relief blocks, partially with cartouches, is likewise the work of the couple. According to T. Kendall the temples B 1100 and the adjacent B 1150, lying north-east of Mut-temple B 300, are coronation temples. Perhaps partly built into the rock, B 1100 originated in the New Kingdom (Horemheb?). After a rockfall had destroyed the rear area it was rebuilt as a free-standing temple by Pi(ankh)y or Taharqo. An area north of the great Amun-temple, the Meroitic Royal District, also witnessed concentrated activities by Natakamani and Amanitore (for an overview, cf. Roccati 2013). The area comprised the large palace B 1500, another (earlier?) palace B 2400 (Roccati 2014), kiosk-like buildings B 1800 and B 2300, an edifice (sanctuary?) with water basins B 2200 (Ciampini 2015) and two now destroyed temples –

73 PM VII, 211; LD V, 15e-m (temple C); LD V text, 263 f., Kendall 2002, B 1100 and B 1150; cf. Kendall, www.jebelbarkal.org/frames/B1100.pdf.

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brick temple B 1300 (Donadoni/Bosticco 1982) and stone temple B 1400 (Barocas 1982) – near the edge of the cultivation. All buildings seem chronologically coherent with Natakamani’s palace B 1500, and inscriptional evidence also comes from B 1300.

Kawa Only a few traces have survived signifying Kawa’s74 prominence in Meroitic times. Temples had existed there since the late 18th Dynasty. In the 25th Dynasty and Napatan times it was a major centre with a temple built possibly by Alara and the large Amun-temple of Taharqo. A painted shrine (A1) of Taharqo was found in recent excavations in the South-town; pottery figures of Bes and Beset were presumably part of the wall decoration. The so-called Eastern Palace (a temple) and the Western Kiosk seem to date to Meroitic times; minor traces are found in the habitation zone. Finds of Meroitic date, like parts of a shrine of Amanirenase and Akinidad, an aegis of Arnekhamani from a processional boat, or a conical flagpole cap with the name of Amanikhabale, as well as many Meroitic graffiti speak for continued use of the large Amun-temple. Blocks with the names of Amanishakheto and Akinidad are witness to renovation activities in Taharqo’s temple.

Tabo Further upstream it is the Amun-temple of Taharqo in Tabo where Natakamani and Amanitore commissioned restoration work and built a processional kiosk, if not also the courtyard (Bonnet 2011c; Kiosk: Jacquet-Gordon 2005). A previous temple had been erected in the New Kingdom. The two colossal statues of Tabo, once thought of as figures of Natakamani, or at least of Sebiumeker and Arensnuphis, are royal representations either of the era around the turn of the millennium or the 2nd century AD (Rondot 2011c). Intended to decorate the pylon front, they seem never to have been set up. In Meroitic times, at least three brick-temples were erected in the quarter south of the Taharqo-temple (Bonnet 2011c, 290, figs. 1, 7).

Dokki Gel In Dokki Gel, a site near Kerma town, several temples survived into the Meroitic Period. At the beginning of Egyptian rule in Kush in the early 18th Dynasty temples

74 MacAdam 1949; 1955; Welsby 2013; 2014; cf. http://www.britishmuseum.org/kawa and http:// www.sudarchrs.org.uk.

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and official buildings were erected near an earlier Kerma-site. The temples saw constant development, at least up to Aspelta, as broken royal statues found in a cache in the central temple and stela fragments reveal (statues: Bonnet/Valbelle 2006; stela: Valbelle 2012). Troops of Psamtek II in 593 BC probably devastated parts of the site (see Ch. Bonnet/Valbelle). In the temples a ram-headed Nubian Amun was venerated, in the central one Amun of Pnubs. In the eastern temple a reliefplate of king Amanikhareqerem was detected (Valbelle 2011). It is remarkable that the western and the central temple had from their beginning access to wells below from where water for ritual purposes could be obtained. A large sector for preparing the temples’ offerings was found in the vicinity (Bonnet/Valbelle 2007). Nearby an indigenous circular sanctuary of the late Classic Kerma Period remained in use for the population – constantly repaired and rebuilt – throughout the Egyptian occupation and the Napatan era until Meroitic times (see above).

Amara-East Built in the late reign of Natakamani and Amanitore, the Amun-temple of AmaraEast features Shorkaror as heir to the throne who – surviving his predecessors Arikankharor and Arakakhataror – indeed became king.75 Archaeologically, only sparse remains have endured (Vila 1977, 8–49, figs. 8–9), but travellers of the 19th century documented parts of the then still standing columns (Wenig 1977). This documentation gives rise to the assumption that the temple of Amara resembled the Amun-temples at Naga and Wad Ben Naga in its architectural form, the preserved relief decoration being only slightly different. Amara(-West) on the opposite shore of the Nile was an important centre of the Egyptian vice-regal administration in the later New Kingdom.

Sai For a long time it has been known that a Meroitic temple must have stood on the Island of Sai south of the Second Cataract. This is mentioned in the inscription on the Tanyideamani-stele from Jebel Barkal. But only recently was it recognized that column drums and cubic abaci found in the city bear the names of Natakamani, Amanitore and a ‘prince’, most probably Arakakhataror (Francigny 2015). The abaci and some column drums resemble those of both Naga and Amara. Differences, however, occur in the lowermost register where small-scale cattle and gazelles in the marshes appear besides the Nile-gods – a motif derived from Ptolemaic sources

75 Rock picture of Jebel Qeili, see above.

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(Dakka). The exact spot of the temple has yet to be established. An important Meroitic settlement must have been located on Sai, as extensive cemeteries of all social classes are situated mainly in the northern part of the island.

Qasr Ibrim The fortress of Qasr Ibrim (for a summary: Rose 2011), which survived the flooding of Lake Nasser, saw Kushite temple building in the 25th Dynasty with a small temple of Taharqo (Rose 2007, 33–36; wall paintings: Miller/Rose/Singleton 2007). At least four temples from different periods can be recognized on the mount. The rather small brick Isis-temple that existed from the late Meroitic into the Ballana Period is remarkable for its finds comprising cultic equipment (altars, offering tables, statuary, fragments of curtains, offering pottery, etc.) and votives like inscribed and painted wooden tablets (Adams 2013). Of the Meroitic Amun-temple complex at the southern edge, which incorporated the Taharqo building, only a few courses and foundations survived; most stones were re-used in the Christian cathedral. Fragments of painted plaster stylistically attributed to Natakamani and Amanitore denote possible building activities by them (Rose 2007; plaster: Pyke 2007, for the dating, p. 68). Qasr Ibrim, an important administrative centre and once short-term site of a Roman garrison (cf. Wilkins/Barnard/Rose 2006), seems an apt place for the couple’s presence in the century after the Meroitic-Roman conflict. Two lion statues of king Yesbokheamani (late 3rd century AD) probably once flanked the temple entrance. The Amun-temple was widely known as a place of pilgrimage where people from far and near left graffiti and inscriptions in the fortress and on rocks in the area (cf. Kuckertz/Lohwasser 2016, 138, note 356).

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Steffen Wenig

Art of the Meroitic Kingdom Meroitic art has been discussed in many publications, several written by the present author. At the risk of being repetitive, one fact must always be emphasized: Meroitic art is unique. It is Egyptian and African, traditional and innovative at the same time, and sometimes very open to external influences. Until the early 1960s, Egyptologists regarded it as an offshoot of Egyptian art, describing it as ‘barbaric’ or ‘negroid’; fortunately, this view has changed completely. Thanks to intensive research, the archaeology of the Sudan has become a discipline sui generis since the 1960s. Major contributions to this paradigm shift have been made by the Sudanese Archaeology of the Humboldt University in Berlin (see the numerous works by F. Hintze and his students). The editor of this book asked me to write a contribution on Meroitic art. I readily agreed because the art of the Kingdom of Kush, especially during the Meroitic Period (c. 270 BC−c. 350 AD), is an integral part of this compilation. However, the scope of the article is too limited to give an overview of Kushite art – containing distinct characteristics from the outset − developed from the 25th Dynasty on (see Wenig 1975), nor to give an overview of all aspects of the art from the Meroitic Period of the Kingdom of Kush. This means, for instance, I will have to limit myself to a few examples in the section on reliefs or sculptures. For the catalogue of the exhibition Africa in Antiquity. The Arts of Ancient Nubia and the Sudan, I wrote a comprehensive essay in volume 2 and provided numerous examples. Many things were still provisional at the time, but it is now clear that there is no new general framework for discussing the art of ancient Sudan. Although numerous essays have been published since then – increasing the amount of available material and altering scholarly consensus concerning certain details1 – except for L. Török,2 unfortunately no one has weighed in on the discussion with recourse to basic questions. I cannot provide a complete overview of Meroitic art in this contribution. Thus, I will concentrate on a few areas that I believe will be useful to the reader of this book. I have selected examples from the representative art of the ‘official’ art; however, we are fortunate to be able to contrast this with works of artisans, ‘simple’

1 Kroeper/Schoske/Wildung 2011 mainly focussed on the art of Naga. The catalogue by Wildung 1996 is not a history of Meroitic art. 2 See the publications by Török mentioned in the Bibliography. Note: I would like to thank Karl-Heinz Priese, who passed away on 27 January 2017; Tine Bagh, Copenhagen; Josef Röll, Dettelbach; Alessandro Roccati, Turin; Loredana Sist, Rome; Giacomo Lovera, Turin; Krzysztof Grzymski, Toronto; Karola Zibelius-Chen and Pawel Wolf, both Berlin. Simone Wolf’s, Berlin, critical review of the section on wall decorations was very helpful. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-034

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men. This applies to the painted ceramics, both from Lower Nubia and from Meroe and the surrounding area. Also the graffiti, of which thousands of instances have been found in Musawwarat es-Sufra, demonstrate how openly, sometimes playfully or even ironically, people depicted reality to be understood by all. I would like to show how innovative the people in the Middle Nile could be. They did not restrict themselves to traditions, but added inserted novelty alongside tradition. This is the aspect of Meroitic art that makes it so unique and incomparable.

1 The Canon of Proportions in Meroitic Art As an introduction to the following sections, I would like to comment briefly on the Meroitic canon of proportions, which, in my opinion, provides an approximate dating tool for the reliefs and sculptures from Meroitic times. In the essay on Meroitic art (AiA II, 65 ff.) I have, among other things, reflected on the canon of proportions and assumed that one did exist. I noticed that the figures on the wall reliefs of the Lion-temple in Musawwarat es-Sufra are considerably slimmer than, for example, those in the Lion-temple of Naga. Here, the figures appear more compact, stocky. Without revising this scientifically, I argued that this could be owed to modified proportions. Thus I postulated a change in the proportions between the late 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD. This change not only applied to reliefs, but also to sculpture. In the course of writing this article, I again delved into this question. I do not know the specific reasons for a change in the canon of proportions. Only one thing is certain. Meroitic art was alive, far from stagnating, and was attempting to break new ground. This also shows that it was open to Roman-Hellenistic influences.

2 Architectural Decoration J. Kuckertz has dealt extensively with the Meroitic temples in this book. There is little to add. I would merely like to point out a few elements that were used for decorating temples and palaces because they were a component of Meroitic art and thus worthy of detailed analysis.

2.1 Three-dimensional Wall Decorations One area that vividly demonstrates how special Meroitic art is are the wall decorations found in Napata and Meroe. In palace B. 1500 at Gebel Barkal, numerous (more than ten) tondi, made of burnt and greenish glazed clay, were found during the Italian excavations. They depict in raised relief female busts and figurines in a

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Fig. 1: Goddess of fecundity en face in RomanHellenistic style. Tondo from Gebel Barkal Palace B.1500 after restoration, Find-No. GB 82.01 (Photo: Giacomo Lovera).

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Fig. 2: Upper part of goddess with pomegranates (?). Tondo from Gebel Barkal Palace B.1500 after restoration, Find-No. GB 82.18, Diam. 30 cm, thickness 1.5 cm (Photo: Giacomo Lovera).

Hellenistic style. The quality of execution varies. The average diameter of the tondi is 30 cm.3 All the figures represent goddesses. Here, I would like to present two tondi4: one depicts a woman in frontal view. She is covering her breasts with her hands and wearing a diadem, probably with an uraeus (Fig. 1). The second tondo depicts the upper part of a goddess, probably holding pomegranates in her hands (Fig. 2). In other tondi, the goddesses hold grapes in their hands. They most likely refer to the ‘cult of the grape’, about which A. Manzo (2006) has written extensively. However, scholars have already studied this type of wall decorations. Since John Garstang’s excavations at the beginning of the 20th century in the so-called ‘Royal Baths’ 5 in Meroe, a variety of wall decorations have become known, including tondi.6 Female busts in Hellenistic style are also depicted on them (Fig. 3).7 Applying tondi

3 Sist (2000) has published four complete objects, including the tondo on our Fig. 1 (ibid., fig. 5). Further tondi are depicted in Sist 2006. For our Fig. 2, see Roccati 2013. All tondi were found in fragments and restored. 4 Details such as find numbers and measurements are owed to Sist (email 21st February 2017). Lovara gave me photos of 11 tondi. A tondo from Napata is located in the National Museum in Khartoum. An inventory number could not be determined. 5 The term ‘Royal Baths’ goes back to Garstang. In fact, it is a water sanctuary decorated with wall paintings and numerous statues. 6 For the archaeological context during Garstang’s excavations, see Török 1997/I, 63–91; II, pls. 28–34. See also the work of the German Archaeological Institute since 1999 and some illustrations of tondi: Wolf/Onasch 1998–2002, 191–203, pls. 1–4 as well as Wolf et al. 2008/2, 178–183, esp. figs. 25–27. 7 One example from the ‘Royal Baths’ in Meroe (Fig. 3) is now in the Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Bruxelles E 3709; it is depicted and described in AiA Cat. 215.

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Fig. 3: Tondo from the so-called ‘Royal Baths’ at Meroe after restoration, Diam. 25.5−26.5 cm, thickness 2.2 cm. Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels E. 3709 (Photo: RMAH Brussels).

on walls was a widespread practice in classical antiquity – it continued until the last century. It reflects a Hellenistic-Roman influence coming from Egypt, which left its mark on many places in the Kingdom of Meroe (Török 2011). We can also specify an approximate date for both contexts. This phase of Hellenistic-Roman influence can be dated to the first half of the 1st century AD. Sist has dated all objects of this type to the time of Natakamani, since palace B. 1500 was built by this king (for the palace, see the essay by Roccati 2013). The water sanctuary of Meroe can also be clearly dated to the time of Natakamani because of its similar layout, making both structures more or less contemporary. The Hellenizing elements in Musawwarat esSufra and in Naga (Lepsius 1849–1859; Kroeper/Schoske/Wildung 2011) probably also emerged during that time. It is remarkable that at both places not only Hellenistic motifs, but also Meroitic motifs, were used for wall decorations. The Italian Mission found a clay mould for a wall decoration in the palace of B. 1500, which shows the lion god Apedemak from the front standing over a crescent moon (Fig. 4a), and a three-dimensional wall decoration with this motif (Fig. 4b). Apedemak over the crescent moon was a common motif in Meroitic art. Already Garstang had discovered such an object in Meroe.8 An eight-petalled rosette also belongs to the wall decoration in palace

8 Liverpool, Merseyside Country Museums 49.47.847, see AiA Cat. 214.

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Fig. 4a: Mould for the emblem of ‘Apedemak en face over a crescent moon’, from Gebel Barkal Palace B.1500, Find-No. GB 82.19, c. 27 × 25 cm (Photo: Giacomo Lovera).

Fig. 4b: Apedemak en face over crescent moon, from Gebel Barkal Palace B.1500, Find-No. GB 82.12a, after restoration (Photo: Giacomo Lovera).

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B. 1500 (see Sist 2000, Fig. 8). The two contexts from Napata and Meroe complement each other. Even though we now know how this type of decoration was made, the necessary workshops remain to be found.9

2.2 Decoration of Gates: Triple Protomes Stone plates with three sculptured heads each are attested only in Musawwarat esSufra. These so-called ‘Dreiköpfe/triple protomes’ were located above the entrances, at the Lion-temple between the towers of the pylon and at the Great Enclosure above the entrances to the Central Temple (MUS 100). The two triple protomes of the Liontemple were found in the debris of the pylons and in the rear inner part of the temple respectively. The latter was faced downwards, so that the back side could be used as a table (Fig. 5; see Hintze et al. 1971). It belongs to the first phase of the pylon.10 When the pylon was rebuilt by the Meroites after its collapse, the portal

Fig. 5: Triple protome from the Lion-temple at Musawwarat es-Sufra, Khartoum SNM 18890 (Photo: Ursula Hintze).

9 A mould for an uraeus of burnt clay was also found in palace B. 1500 (see Roccati 2013, fig. 13). Were the workshops located directly next to the palace? 10 Khartoum SNM 18890.

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Fig. 6: Triple protome from the Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra, Central Temple. Ram of Amun flanked by the heads of Arensnuphis and Sebiumeker, Khartoum SNM 19466 (Photo: Ursula Hintze).

decoration was renewed.11 The motifs on both triple protomes are the same: In the middle is the head of a ram (Amun) with double-feather and sun-disc, flanked by two lion-heads with hmhm-crowns. They probably represent the two gods Arensnuphis and Sebiumeker.12 The paws of the lions were worked separately on both triple protomes and were inserted into rectangular recesses (partly broken off and lost). The stylistic differences between both objects are considerable and indicate that they were built at different times.13 Some of the details of the older triple protomes are more abstract, especially with regard to the design of the lions’ heads and the ram’s ears. As already mentioned, such objects were also found in the Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra. One is completely preserved and depicts in the middle a ram’s head with two uraei in front of a very wide sun-disc, flanked by two human heads. Because of the crowns, we know that they represent Arensnuphis (on the right in Fig. 6) and

11 Berlin ÄM 24300, permanent loan from the Collection of Sudan Archaeology of the Humboldt University Berlin, see AiA Cat. 145. 12 This interpretation contradicts Török. 13 Unfortunately, we do not know when exactly the Lion-temple was restored.

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Fig. 7: Triple protome from the Central Temple of the Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra. Head of Amun flanked by Isis and Hathor. Humboldt University of Berlin, Find-No. IA 190a–d, HU-SUD008 (Drawing: Karl-Heinz Priese).

Sebiumeker.14 Amun was portrayed here as well as at the Lion-temple because he was the main god of the Meroites. He also appeared in temples that were not dedicated to him. This triad was placed above the main portal of the Central Temple of the Great Enclosure on the east side. Above the second entrance to the temple, on the north side, there was a similar stone plate. The fragmented piece is now in Berlin and depicts in the middle a ram’s head flanked by the two goddesses, Isis and Hathor, each with a sun-disc between her horns (Fig. 7; see Priese 2003). In addition to Amun, female deities are also portrayed here – perhaps because this entrance was devoted to the queen. The reason why such portal decoration is only found in Musawwarat es-Sufra is unclear.

2.3 Friezes of Uraei Most of the sacral buildings from Meroitic times have a frieze with uraei above a cavetto cornice, a decoration pattern adopted from Egypt. Such blocks have been found in the Great Enclosure of Musawwarat es-Sufra and are of high quality. They did not remain on the walls for long. When chapel 107/108 was reconstructed, the uraei blocks were taken down and ‘buried’ under a floor, virtually entombed in a

14 Khartoum 19466. For Arensnuphis und Sebiumeker, see Wenig 1974.

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Fig. 8: Two uraei blocks from the Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra, chapel 108, with yellow painted stucco and marks on back side: greek ‘A’. Humboldt University of Berlin, Find-No. IA 140–141, HU-SUD-015 (Photo: Barbara Herrenkind).

Fig. 9: Block with depiction of kneeling goddess in a corniche, Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra. Humboldt University of Berlin, Find-No. IA 195, HU-SUD-015 (Drawing: Karl-Heinz Priese; Photo: Barbara Herrenkind).

holy place. The uraei were still faced with the original stucco and painted yellow – in imitation of gold. Some of these blocks have architectural marks on the back side. They were made by the stonemasons so that the workers knew how to place the blocks on the top of the wall. Our example comes from the Sudan Archaeological Collection at the Humboldt-University Berlin and contains on the back side the Greek letter alpha on two adjoining blocks (Fig. 8).15 Among the finds from Musawwarat es-Sufra is also a block on which a kneeling goddess with outstretched wings in frontal view is depicted in a cavetto cornice (Inv-No. I A 195, HU-SUD-017; Figs. 9a and 9b). The upper part is slightly weathered. According to K.-H. Priese (Email 4th December 2016), the piece was probably found

15 The objects shown here are part of the Sudan Archaeological Collection of the Humboldt University Berlin. They were brought to Berlin when the finds were apportioned in 1970 and 1975.

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at the approach to ascending ramp 119. The block marked the middle of the entrance. So far it is unique.

2.4 Statues in Front of Pylons and Columns While large numbers of statues have been found in front of Egyptian temples, there are only few from the Meroitic region. I know of just three pairs of statues that stood in front of temples. One of them was discovered by F. Cailliaud at the temple in Tabo on the Island of Argo. I have discussed these monumental statues in detail (Wenig 1974, 143–144; AiA 1978) and argued that they are not royal but divine sculptures. They are made of grey granite and are now displayed in front of the National Museum in Khartoum.16 The other pair of statues was found at Meroe, at site M 600 in Keniseh, and belonged to a temple that Garstang named ‘Isis Temple’. The statues were broken into pieces and used as foundations for columns during a later construction phase. They are made of sandstone and show the gods Sebiumeker (Fig. 10)17 and Arensnuphis; the skin of the latter god was painted black,18 while Sebiumeker was painted red (Bagh 2015, 39 below). They have been described in detail (Wenig 1974, 135– 137; Bagh 2015, 28 ff.). Bagh stated ‘Both statues were once part of the architecture as columned or engaged statues.’ However, it is no longer possible to reconstruct the back of the statue because “the broad back pillar was cut to be quite vertical in recent time. Török called it a ‘columnar backpillar’”. The statues are massive, arms hanging down at the sides, and in their fists they each hold a so-called ‘handkerchief’, a rolled and folded piece of cloth, a common motif in Egyptian art. This is unusual for Meroitic statues of gods. T. Bagh sent me two photos of the statue viewed from the side (email from 9th December 2016). One shot clearly shows the outline of the right leg, stretched backward, in high relief (unfortunately, this detail cannot be seen in the Garstang photos reproduced by Bagh). Bagh dates the statue to the 1st century BC. This would match the change in the Meroitic canon of proportions. In other words, because of its compact form, the statue of Sebiumeker from Meroe can be attributed to the later canon, while the statues in front of Temple 300 at Musawwarat es-Sufra and the two pillared statues from the Great Enclosure are to be dated earlier. A third pair statue was found at Temple 300 in the Great Enclosure of Musawwarat es-Sufra, not freestanding, but connected to the back wall. Here, too, Sebiumeker and Arensnuphis are depicted; they hold lions on ropes. K.-H. Priese painstakingly pieced together the crowns, which enabled the identification of the statues (Fig. 11). A date in the Early Meroitic Period corresponds to the canon of proportions.

16 Sudan National Museum 23983. Height: c. 7 m. 17 Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Kopenhagen Æ.I.N. 1082. Height: 2.25 m. 18 Royal Scottish Museum Edinburgh 1910.110.36.

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Fig. 10: Statue of god Sebiumeker, from the so-called Temple of Isis at Meroe. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Kopenhagen Æ.I.N. 1082 (Photo: Ole Haupt).

Fig. 11: Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra, front of Temple 300, with statues of Arensnuphis und Sebiumeker (Reconstruction: Karl-Heinz Priese).

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Fig. 12: God Sebiumeker, columnar statue from the Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra, chapel 107/108 (Drawing: Karl-Heinz Priese).

Statues in front of columns are the exception. As far as I know, they are attested only once: in the Great Enclosure of Musawwarat es-Sufra in room 108 in front of Chapel 107. The statues represent the two gods Arensnuphis and Sebiumeker. They were restored between 2000 and 2004 and are now in the open air museum at Musawwarat es-Sufra (Fig. 12). In a reconstruction drawing by K.-H. Priese we see the god Arensnuphis (for illustrations, see Wenig 1974). Under his arm he is carrying a bag for water made of crocodile skin (for a description and image, see also Bagh 2015).

2.5 Theriomorphic Column Bases In Meroitic art, we find pillars in temples and palaces that are modelled after Egyptian examples. At first, it seems odd to see bases in the shape of animals in the Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra that are not documented elsewhere. But

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Fig. 13: Column base with the heads of an elephant and a lion en face, Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra, in situ (Photo: Ursula Hintze).

this is an independent innovation in a place that was of particular importance to the Meroites (we also find Hellenistic motifs). These bases show either elephants, flanked by lions and topped by a column in Egyptian style, or an elephant and lion seen from the front (Fig. 13).

3 Puteals During Garstang’s excavations in Meroe, unusual items of burnt clay with greenish glazed coating were discovered. These large hollow bodies are decorated on the outside. One of these objects has a wide ring-shaped stand; on it are four scenes in raised relief, three showing a ram and one a lion in front of which is a rearing serpent (Fig. 14; for diameter and further details, see Trigger 1994).19 Another object 20 depicts four winged goddesses: Satis and Mut in the upper row, and below them Anukis and another goddess who is not preserved. Trigger (1994) suspects that it may have been Hathor. He described this object in detail. A third object of this type has been lost, but Trigger was able to describe a copy of it in the Redpath Museum. There are four scenes with the following motifs: in the upper left section are two men, the larger man is pointing to the left, the smaller man with clenched fists is facing him and seems to be attacking the larger man (see Török 1989, 133 and No. 106 on p. 175). In the upper right scene is a faun (a large section is missing). The animal skin can be seen clearly, and in the lower left scene a dancing human figure (probably male) is turned to the left and dressed in a tunic. The figure on the lower right is probably also male and wearing a tunic (large sections are missing). Trigger uses the term ‘Hellenistic-Roman style’, which seems more accurate than ‘Hellenistic’.

19 Royal Ontario Museum ROM 921.4.1, Toronto. 20 Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montreal, accession number 2023.

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Fig. 14: Puteal from Meroe Area M.200 (excavation J. Garstang), probably from a garden. Royal Ontario Museum ROM 921.4.1, Toronto (Photo: Brian Boyle).

It is interesting that the puteals were found in area M 200 in Meroe.21 PythianAdams believed the area was a garden that belonged either to the Royal Palace or to the Great Amun Temple. Many scientists have studied the pieces, but their interpretations have proven incorrect. It was not until recently that K. Grzymski (2014) was able to clarify what these objects really were. While visiting Pompeii, he came across similar objects, namely enclosures around wells (so-called ‘puteals’). The objects from Meroe were also parts of wells, but the images are ‘Meroitic’. Such objects were not found in the garden of the Great Enclosure of Musawwarat esSufra, which was excavated by the Humboldt University in Berlin in the 1990s.

4 Sculpture Meroitic sculpture is very diverse. There are statues of gods, as we have already seen, and of kings and queens, including a double statue. Many are made of hard rock, but some are of gold or bronze. A larger number of sculptures were found in the so-called ‘Baths of Meroe’ (the review of which would be worth a separate arti-

21 A fragment of another example, which is decorated with lotus leaves, is in the Royal Ontario Museum ROM 921.4.27 (see Grzymski 2014).

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Fig. 15: Sandstone statue of a lion with head turned to the side, from Gebel Barkal Palace B.1500, Khartoum SNM (Photo: Loredana Sist).

cle). The same applies to a large corpus of Ba-figures, predominantly from Lower Nubia and dating to the late and Post-Meroitic Period. Above all, there are numerous animal sculptures. They usually depict lions, but also bovine protomes (from the ‘Royal Baths’ of Meroe), baboons and elephants (for example, as a wall in antis in Musawwarat es-Sufra). I will only discuss a new type that was recently found. During the Italian excavations at palace B. 1500 in Napata, a large sculpture of a crouching lion, who is turning his head, was discovered (Fig. 15). It is the only known example of its kind. A. Roccati correctly compared this motif with the two sculptures of recumbent lions of Amenophis III that were brought from Soleb to Gebel Barkal.22 The Napatan lion was modelled after them, but was executed in a contemporary style. In AiA 1978, I compiled and discussed numerous sculptures from Meroitic times. Here I can present only one object: it is a pair statue without parallel (AiA Cat. 135). It depicts Queen Shanakdakhete in royal regalia, with the crown prince standing behind her, and is exhibited in the museum in Aswan (Fig. 16). Queen Shanakdakhete can be identified by comparison with representations on the walls of her

22 They are known as ‘Prudhoe Lions’ and are located in the British Museum (EA 1 and 2).

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Fig. 16: Statue of queen Shanakdakhete with the crown prince standing behind her. Basalt, H. 165 cm, formerly Cairo CG 684, now in Aswan Nubian Museum (Photo: Bernard V. Bothmer).

pyramid chapel in Meroe. The sash is still very narrow here; it serves as a chronological indicator because it becomes wider over time. I would also like to mention a royal statue of bronze found in Tabo (Wildung 1996) and the statuette of a queen made of gold and found at Gebel Barkal (see AiA Cat. 137). She is wearing state regalia and the width of her sash is the decisive iconographic element for dating.

5 Reliefs The majority of the reliefs are on the walls of the temples, for example in the Liontemples in Musawwarat es-Sufra and Naga. Stelae of kings and princes as well as stelae of private persons from Lower Nubia are numerous. There are also representations on offering tables and on door-frames of the entrances to tombs in Lower Nubia, as well as on votive offerings from temples and elsewhere. Here I can only present two objects: one is the right part of a rectangular slab on which Prince Arikankharor is shown smiting his enemies (AiA Cat. 125; Fig. 17). I chose this piece because it is probably a sculptor’s model. If this assumption is confirmed, it would be proof that this aspect of artistic creation was also adopted

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Fig. 17: Slab showing Prince Arikankharor smighting enemies. Worcester (Mass.), Worcester Art Museum 1922.145 (Photo: Bernard V. Bothmer).

Fig. 18: Stele of a couple from Karanog, tomb 275. Cairo Egyptian Museum JE 40229 (Photo: Bernard V. Bothmer).

from Egypt. The piece is unusual. Only the right part of the scene is preserved (on the left, a similar scene mirrored that on the right). A Meroitic goddess of victory, named Talakh, with large wings floats behind the prince and holds a large palm leaf over his head. Between the legs of the prince is a dog, who is biting an enemy lying on the ground (usually a lion attacks the enemy). The subject matter of the goddess of victory is remarkable, and unique; also, the prince’s clothes are noteworthy: he is wearing knemides. The second piece which I would like to present here is a colourful private tombstone from Karanog, tomb 275 (Fig. 18). A woman and a man, both facing left, are

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depicted under a winged sun-disc. A swastika adorns the woman’s dress, which is an unusual feature; there are parallels for the plait in her hair. The man is naked and has light hair. To my knowledge it is the only representation of a man with blond hair in Meroitic art.23

6 Meroitic Pottery Meroitic pottery is the topic of R. David’s contribution to this volume; however, the painted decoration deserves special mention. There are numerous examples illustrating the taste of the Meroitic court. This is true of the grave-goods in royal tombs in Meroe, but also of the fine, painted and stamped fabrics made in Musawwarat esSufra or in Hamadab (see also Wenig 1979). The ceramics from private tombs in Lower Nubia, especially in Karanog, but also in Faras, reveal two artistic tendencies, which – in this form – were not previously attested in the Meroitic heartland: one displays an elegant, one might say an ‘academic’, taste. Often, motifs were ‘decorative’ and enhanced the attractiveness of the vessels. This type of pottery has been found in Lower Nubia and Meroe. However, the decoration can also be witty, ironic and satirical. There is something here similar to that which in other disciplines is described as ‘folk art’. So far, such a variant is only known from Lower Nubia and not from the south of the empire. Studies, especially by W. Adams, have shown that Lower Nubian ceramics, found in tombs, were produced and sold in central workshops. Adams assumes that the vessels were decorated by painters who worked in the pottery workshops. My study on the painted decorations revealed that related motifs, such as antelopes, giraffes or prisoners – to name only three examples – are artistically so similar that they must have been executed by a single painter or craftsman. Thus, I referred to the ‘prisoner painter’, the ‘antelope painter’ or the ‘giraffe painter’ (Wenig 1979). The next question was whether painting schools existed. It is unfortunate that such approaches have not been further developed. I will now present five examples of painted pottery, three from Lower Nubia and two from the Meroe region, which could not be more different. A particularly significant example is a high, cylindrical vessel from Karanog (AiA Cat. 235; Fig. 19). The painted decoration shows two men standing in front of tall, stylized papyrus plants, holding a stick in the left hand and a rope in the right to which a small, sitting animal is tied. Only red and black colours were used. The man was not rendered naturalistically, but looks like a caricature with an oversized eye and a small torso on long legs.

23 For further reliefs from the Meroitic Period, see AiA Cat. 118 ff.

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Fig. 19: Cylindrical vessel with painted decoration from Karanog, tomb 535. Philadelphia, University Museum E 8193 (Photo: Bernard V. Bothmer).

A similar painting is on a vessel from Faras (AiA Cat. 234). Undoubtedly, both vessels were decorated by the same painter. These pictures remind me of works by Pablo Picasso, and so I speak of ‘picassoesque’ paintings on the two Meroitic vessels. Unfortunately, we do not know what the artist was thinking. Only one thing is certain: there are no parallels from ancient Egypt, which again underscores the fact that ceramic production in Nubia, beginning with the A- and the C-Group, was superior to many products from Egypt. As another example, I chose a cup from Faras (grave 786), which depicts a winged mythical animal as a central motif (AiA Cat. 253; Fig. 20). Only red and dark colours were used. The rim bands are filled with flowers (trefoils). The eye of the animal is over-sized, its ears very small with two ‘antennae’. I do not know any parallels for this kind of mythical creature, although mythical animals themselves often appear in Meroitic art. Vessels that were decorated by the ‘antelope painter’ are completely different. He favoured other vessel forms and motifs taken from nature. There is a vast array of antelopes jumping or running, single or grouped (Fig. 21). The animals and other motifs, usually vine-leafs, were painted on a brown background in black and white. The scene on the body of the vessel is between double framing lines (for more examples, see AiA Cat. 221–223).

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Fig. 20: Beaker with painted decoration from Faras, tomb 786, H. 8.8 cm, Diam 9.1 cm. London, British Museum EA 51615 (Photo: Bernard V. Bothmer).

Fig. 21: Amphora with stand and painted decoration, from Karanog. Cairo, Egyptian Museum CG 40086 (Photo: Bernard V. Bothmer).

I have selected two examples from the Meroe region that represent a vast variety of forms and topics. Fig. 22 shows an especially beautiful carinated example. It was found in the western cemetery of Meroe. The colours used are brown and red. The motifs on the body of the cup are several stylized six-petalled flowers, framed by two lines, the neck of the cup is decorated with a fish-scale pattern. The second example from Meroe is a rim fragment of a large beaker (Fig. 23) from Meroe (see AiA Cat. 220). A naked, bearded man, facing right, is depicted alongside a naked woman, facing left. They hold a large piece of cloth in front of them. Something is being covered up: it is unclear what is happening behind the cloth, but obviously the scene is taboo. The man and woman are portrayed in Roman-Hellenistic

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Fig. 22: Carinated beaker with painted decoration, from Meroe, West Cemetery. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 23.1469 (Photo: Bernard V. Bothmer).

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Fig. 23: Rim sherd with painted decoration, from Meroe. Liverpool, Merseyside County Museums 49.47.840 (Photo: Bernard V. Bothmer).

Fig. 24: Potter’s wheel from the Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra, room 215 (excavations F. Hintze), Khartoum SNM 19367 (Photo: Hans-Ulrich Onasch).

style. This piece is unique; I know of no parallels. However, taboo scenes are often found in Meroitic art, e.g. the corresponding scene at the Lion-temple in Musawwarat es-Sufra. The discovery of a pottery workshop in Musawwarat es-Sufra in the 1990s was quite remarkable; during Hintze’s excavations in the 1960s, only modest amounts of thin-walled and painted ceramics had been found. The new discovery yielded tools for pottery manufacture, a potter’s wheel, now in Khartoum (Fig. 24), stamps for impressed decoration (now also in Khartoum), as well as a deposit with potters’ waste in courtyard 225. Many vessels had broken during the firing process. This confirmed that pottery was produced in the Great Enclosure – a surprising observation that led to a new interpretation of this structure (Wenig 1999).

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7 Graffiti The largest corpus of graffiti adorns the walls of the Great Enclosure in Musawwarat es-Sufra. Thousands of graffiti testify to the visitors who immortalised themselves here. Some of these images are small works of art, while others are less ‘skilfully’ executed or are roughly engraved. The graffiti comprise an astonishingly wide range of motifs. Animals such as elephants, cattle, giraffes, lions, crocodiles, hippos, horses, camels (from Islamic times) are frequent, as are dogs hunting hares, juggling baboons, people using straws to drink from a pot, ankh signs, abstract motifs or simple scribbles. The only known erotic scene from Kush can be found here. U. Hintze began to record the graffiti during fieldwork in Musawwarat es-Sufra in the 1960s. Based on her work, individual images can be located with the name of the wall and a continuous number on the wall (Hintze 1979).24 U. Hintze’s contribution to the recording of the pictorial graffiti has proven seminal.25 At present I can only present a few graffiti from Musawwarat es-Sufra. However, they are representative of the thousands of other graffiti. The southernmost Latin inscription was found in the Great Enclosure of Musawwarat es-Sufra. This stone block has a special history. Lepsius, who was in Musawwarat in 1844, brought the block to Berlin to the Egyptian Museum (Inv.-No. 1504), but it disappeared in 1890. No one knew where it was. Scientists who wanted to study the inscription had to work with a squeeze made by Lepsius. A few years ago, A. Łajtar and J. van der Vliet found the small stone block in the sculpture collection of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Fig. 25). They improved the reading and narrowed down the date:

Fig. 25: Facsimile of the southernmost Latin inscription, Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra. Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Inv.-No. 9675 (formerly Inv.-No. 1504). W. 28 cm, H. 32 cm (Drawing: Fritz Hintze).

24 F. Hintze recorded more than 100 inscriptional graffiti. 25 Hopefully, C. Kleinitz will soon be able to complete the documentation of the graffiti.

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BONA FORTUN[A] DOMINAE REGINAE IN MULTOS ANNOS FELICITER VENIT B VRBE MENSE APR(ILI) DIE XV[…]IDIT ACUTUS Translation after Łajtar / van der Vliet (2006): ‘Good fortune to the Lady Queen for many years in happiness. Acutus came from the city in the month of April, day 15. (and) he [---].’

The inscription was written by a Roman from Rome and is now dated to the end of the 3rd or the first half of the 4th century AD. According to Łajtar/van der Vliet, Acutus was on an official mission in Meroe. This important fact should be included in future discussions about the end of the Kush Empire (Łajtar/van der Vliet 2006). In addition, the Great Enclosure of Musawwarat es-Sufra comprises inscriptional graffiti in Meroitic, Egyptian (hieroglyphic and hieratic), Old Nubian, Greek, Coptic and also in an unknown script. One block with unidentified script comes from Temple 300 of the Great Enclosure of Musawwarat es-Sufra (Fig. 26). I believe some of the inscriptional graffiti are in Old Ethiopian. All of them were made by people who visited Musawwarat es-Sufra over the centuries. The many representations of male heads have not yet been interpreted or studied. One of the most beautiful graffiti with this theme is shown in Fig. 27. A man is wearing a palm leaf on his forehead. As Khidir Abd el-Karim Ahmed told this author, young men still wear a palm branch at weddings in Sudan. This block was found during the excavation of a group of rooms, which is most likely to be connected with the ‘holy wedding’, the most important ritual in Musawwarat. Among the many representations of animals, there are also several elephants (Fig. 28). Some assumed that this indicated that the elephants were tamed at the Great Enclosure. However, this discussion has long since been abandoned.

Fig. 26: Inscription in unknown script, Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra, Temple 300 (Photo: Cornelia Kleinitz).

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Fig. 27: Head of a man with palm leaf on his forehead, Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra, graffito No. 506/9 (Photo: Cornelia Kleinitz).

Fig. 28: Graffito of an elephant, Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra (Drawing: Christa Link).

Fig. 29: Graffito of juggling baboons, Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra, graffito No. 529/22 (Drawing: Christa Link).

In my opinion, the juggling baboons (Fig. 29) are a parody of something we still do not understand. The Meroitic visitor, on the other hand, must have grasped the meaning of this scene, which extends over several stones.

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8 Small Finds Finally, I would like to mention the small finds. Unfortunately, this genre does not attract great attention, although many objects meet the highest artistic and technical standards. I have introduced some pieces in AiA. I would only like to state that depictions of prisoners are quite popular in Meroitic art. They can be found in the ‘official’ art, on temple walls, in one case even in front of a temple where a statue of a kneeling man with a lance piercing his chest was erected (temple of Tabo). On pylons of temples and pyramid chapels, as well as in graffiti, the male or female ruler is about to smite a group of enemies, held together by their hair; sometimes they are accompanied, for example, by a lion who is attacking the prisoners. But even small bronze figures of enemies have been preserved.

Bibliography AiA = Wenig, Steffen (ed.) (1978): Africa in Antiquity. The Arts of Ancient Nubia and the Sudan. Catalogue of the Exhibition held at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, Sept. 30–Dec. 31, 1978, and other Places. Vol. 1: The Essays. Vol. 2: The Catalogue. New York: Brooklyn Museum. Bagh, Tine (2015): Finds from the Excavations of J. Garstang in Meroe and F. Ll. Griffith in Kawa in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Meddelelser fra Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek ny. Ser. 17. Copenhagen: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Garstang, John / Pythian-Adams, William John Telia / Sayce, Archibald Henry (1914–1916): Fifth Interim Report on the Excavations at Meroe in Ethiopia. In: Liverpool Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology 7, p. 1–24. Grzymski, Krzysztof Adam (2014): The Decorated Faience Puteals from Meroe. In: Lohwasser, Angelika / Wolf, Pawel (eds.): Ein Forscherleben zwischen den Welten. Zum 80. Geburtstag von Steffen Wenig. Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. Sonderheft 2014. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 165–168. Hintze, Fritz / Hintze, Ursula / Priese, Karl-Heinz / Stark, Kurt (1971): Musawwarat es Sufra. Bd. I/2: Der Löwentempel. Tafelband. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. Kroeper, Karla / Schoske, Silvia / Wildung, Dietrich (eds.): Königsstadt Naga – Naga Royal City. Grabungen in der Wüste des Sudan. Excavations in the Desert of the Sudan. Munich/Berlin: Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst München. Łajtar, Adam / van der Vliet, Jacques (2006): Rome – Meroe – Berlin. The Southernmost Latin Inscription Rediscovered (CIL III 83). In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 157, p. 193–198. Lepsius, Carl Richard (1849–1859): Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien nach den Zeichnungen der von Seiner Majestät dem Koenige von Preussen Friedrich Wilhelm IV nach diesen Ländern gesendeten und in den Jahren 1842–1845 ausgeführten wissenschaftlichen Expedition. 12 Text- und Tafelbände. Berlin: Nicolai. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs. Lohwasser, Angelika (2001): Der „Thronschatz“ der Königin Amanishakheto. In: Arnst, CarisBeatrice / Hafemann, Ingelore / Lohwasser, Angelika (eds.): Begegnungen. Antike Kulturen im Niltal. Festgabe für Erika Endesfelder, Karl-Heinz Priese, Walter Friedrich Reineke, Steffen Wenig. Leipzig: Helmar Wodtke & Katharina Stegbauer GbR, p. 285–302. Manzo, Andrea (2006): Apedemak and Dionysos. Further Remarks on the “Cult of the Grape” in Kush. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 10, p. 82–94.

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Priese, Karl-Heinz (1992): Das Gold von Meroe. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern. Priese, Karl-Heinz (2003): Bauen in Musawwarat. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 14, p. 53–72. Roccati, Alessandro (2013): Der königliche Bezirk von Napata in meroitischer Zeit. In: Wenig, Steffen / Zibelius-Chen, Karola (eds.): Die Kulturen Nubiens. Ein afrikanisches Vermächtnis. Dettelbach: Röll, p. 245–259. Sackho-Autissier, Aminata (2016): Les faïences d’époque méroïtique conservées au musée du Louvre. Technologie et production: les prémices d’une recherche. In: Dotawo. A Journal of Nubian Studies 3, p. 29–39. Sist, Loredana (2000): Natakamani e l’Ellenismo: alcune considerazioni sul palazzo B1500 a Gebel Barkal. In: Russo, Simona (ed.): Atti del V Convegno Nazionale di Egittologia e Papirologia, Firenze, 10–12 dicembre 1999. Florence: Istituto Papirologico “G. Vitelli”, p. 253–257. Sist, Loredana (2006): Motivi ellenistici nell’architettura meroitica: nuove scoperte a Napata. In: Caneva, Isabella / Roccati, Alessandro (eds.): Acta Nubica. Proceedings of the X International Conference of Nubian Studies, Rome 9–14 September 2002. Rome: Libreria dello Stato, p. 475–481. Sist, Loredana (2011): Preliminary Notes on Two Royal Buildings discovered in Napata. In: Vicino & Medio Oriente XV, p. 155–166. Török, László (1989): Kush and the External World. In: Donadoni, Sergio / Wenig, Steffen (eds.): Studia Meroitica 1984. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference for Meroitic Studies, Rome 1984. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 10. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 49–215. Török, László (1997): Meroe City. An Ancient African Capital. John Garstang’s Excavations in the Sudan. Part One: Text. Part Two: Figures and Plates. Egypt Exploration Society Occasional Publications 12. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Török, László (2011): Hellenizing Art in Ancient Nubia 300 BC–AD 250 and its Egyptian Models. A Study in „Acculturation“. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 53. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Trigger, Bruce Graham (1994): The John Garstang Cylinders from Meroe in the Redpath Museum at McGill University. In: Berger, Catherine / Clerc, Gisèle / Grimal, Nicolas (eds.): Hommages à Jean Leclant. Vol. 2: Nubie, Soudan, Éthiopie. Bibliothèque d’Étude 106/2. Cairo: Institut français d‛archéologie orientale, p. 389–397. Wenig, Steffen (1974): Arensnuphis und Sebiumeker. Bemerkungen zu zwei in Meroe verehrten Göttern. In: Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 101, p. 130–150. Wenig, Steffen (1975): Die Kunst im Reich von Kusch zur Zeit der 25. Dynastie und der Herrscher von Napata. In: Vandersleyen, Claude (ed.): Das Alte Ägypten. Propyläen Kunstgeschichte 15. Frankfurt on Rhine: Propyläen Verlag, p. 400–412. Wenig, Steffen (1979): Meroitic Painted Ceramics. In: Hintze, Fritz (ed.): Africa in Antiquity. The Arts of Ancient Nubia and the Sudan. Proceedings of the Symposium held in Conjunction with the Exhibition, Brooklyn, September 29–October 1, 1978. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 5. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 129–134. Wenig, Steffen (1994/95): Die Rettung der Tempel von Musawwarat es Sufra. Ein Beitrag der deutschen Archäologie zur Erforschung der sudanesischen Altertümer. In: Nürnberger Blätter zur Archäologie 11, p. 51–70. Wenig, Steffen (1999): Zur Deutung der Großen Anlage von Musawwarat es Sufra. In: Dornisch, Klaus (ed.): Sudan. Festschrift für Steffen Wenig zum 65. Geburtstag. Nürnberger Blätter zur Archäologie. Sonderheft 1. Nuremberg: Bildungszentrum der Stadt, p. 23–44. Wenig, Steffen (2001): Interpreting the Great Enclosure. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 5, p. 71–86.

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Wenig, Steffen / Zibelius-Chen, Karola (eds.) (2013): Die Kulturen Nubiens. Ein afrikanisches Vermächtnis. Dettelbach: Röll. Wildung, Dietrich (1996): Sudan – Antike Königreiche am Nil. Eine Ausstellung des Institut du Monde Arabe Paris und der Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung München. Tübingen: Ernst Wasmuth Verlag GmbH& Co. Wolf, Simone / Onasch, Hans-Ulrich (1998–2002): Investigations in the so-called Royal Baths at Meroë in 1999. A Preliminary Report. In: Kush 18, p. 191–203, pl. 1–4. Wolf, Simone / Wolf, Pawel / Onasch, Hans-Ulrich / Hof, Catharine / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2008): Meroë und Hamadab. Zwei Städte im Mittleren Niltal in den Jahrhunderten um die Zeitenwende. Bericht über die Arbeiten zwischen 1999 und 2007. In: Archäologischer Anzeiger 2008/2, p. 157–230, esp. figs. 25–27. Wolf, Simone / Wolf, Pawel / Onasch, Hans-Ulrich / Hof, Catharine / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2011): Meroë und Hamadab. Stadtstrukturen und Lebensformen im afrikanischen Reich von Kusch. Die Arbeiten der Kampagne 2010. In: Archäologischer Anzeiger 2011/2, p. 213–245.

Romain David

Ceramic Industries of Meroitic Sudan Introduction For our knowledge about Meroitic ceramics we are indebted to the work of Adams, whose synthesis, Ceramic Industries of Medieval Nubia (1986), summarized his field experience acquired during the salvage campaign of Nubia. The chapters devoted to the Meroitic wares represented the achievements of every previous study produced since the discovery of the first Meroitic ceramic and set new research standards. In doing so, Adams helped create a new and now thriving field in Nubian and Sudanese archaeology: the study of ceramic industries. One of his greatest contributions has been to provide a simple and useful classification of the Meroitic ceramics into various families. Each group shares a manufacturing technique (handmade or wheel-made) and a type of clay and is subdivided according to surface treatment (colour of the slip, decorative elements or lack thereof, etc.). Adams has isolated various ways of manufacturing that accentuate distinct traditions composing Meroitic Culture (Robertson/Hill 1999; Evina 2010). However, his attempt to attribute a chronological range to each production was limited due to a lack of data coming from well-dated contexts. Moreover, his view was mainly based on the material from Lower Nubia, even though several distinctive wares could still be found further south. The various excavations undertaken in Middle and Upper Nubia, in the region of the Fourth Cataract and in Central Sudan, now offer a better understanding of the regional variations of ceramic traditions.1 The multiplication of discoveries as well as a second look at past excavations have provided more evidence to define the Meroitic productions and their evolution.2 The development of archaeometric analyses3 and the recent perspectives offered by material studies focussed on the chaîne opératoire (David/Evina 2016) are also very promising. Presented in this article, such developments help to provide a more dynamic picture of the ceramic industries during the Meroitic Period, from production to economy. However, the historiography of Nubian and Sudanese studies encourages us to approach chronological and territorial issues with caution. In the first place, Meroitic

1 For the history of research, see Adams 1977, 71–90; Geus 1989; Török 1997, 7–27; Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed 2010. 2 Fernández 1983; Williams 1985; Edwards 1999b; Mahmoud Suliman Bashir/David 2011; 2015; Francigny/David 2013. 3 Notably Smith 1997; Daszkiewick et al. 2002; Mason/Grzymski 2009; Daszkiewicz/Bobryk/ Schneider 2005; Daszkiewicz/Schneider 2012; Näser/Wetendorf 2014. Note: I am grateful to Elsa Yvanez and David Edwards for their kind review of the English text as well as their useful comments. However, the content of this paper is my own responsibility. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-035

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archaeology has historically favoured the excavations of cemeteries rather than urban areas, resulting in an incomplete perception of the ceramic production. The forthcoming publications of material from current settlement excavations, such as Hamadab, Naga, el-Hassa, and Muweis,4 will undoubtedly enrich the record and help us gain a more comprehensive understanding of ceramic industries. In the second place, when applied to Sudanese ceramics, the term ‘Meroitic’ should be understood as a chronological rather than a cultural description. The territorial and ethnic boundaries of the Meroitic Kingdom are not precisely defined yet and some productions, notably in the southern regions, may be attributed to populations in contact with the Meroites but from a different political or cultural entity.

1 The Early Meroitic Ceramics (3rd−1st Century BC) The archaeological transition between the Napatan and the Meroitic Periods remains very poorly documented, so we are not yet able to define any evolution of ceramic production that might have occurred between the 4th and 3rd century BC. One of the rare excavated sites dated from the mid-3rd century BC is a cemetery located at Amir Abdallah, between the Second and the Third Cataract (Fernández 1984, 50–51). Deposited among grave furnishings, the black hand-made ceramics (Fig. 1a, b) are completely different from their late Napatan counterparts known from the same region (see, e.g., Vila 1980; Welsby Sjöström/Thomas 2011). The different types of ceramics, characterized by their black colour and their impressed decorations, fit clearly within the sub-Saharan tradition and remind us of some Kerma (Gratien 1978) and C-Group ceramics (Bietak 1979) that disappeared from Nubia over more than a thousand year period. Unfortunately, archaeology has not yet revealed the persistence of sub-Saharan pottery traditions in Central Sudan, or elsewhere, that could highlight any cultural relationship between all these hand-made ceramics.5 Their reappearance during the Early Meroitic Period surely witnessed the progressive resettlement of Lower Nubia (Török 1997, 432–435). Material dated from the end of the 3rd to the beginning of the 2nd century BC is more numerous and is still composed of various types of hand-made ceramics, some of them distributed all over the Meroitic Kingdom.6 In reality, the generic term ‘hand-made’ conceals different manufacturing processes. Indeed, ongoing research on the Central Sudan site of Muweis has yielded evidence for coexisting chaînes opératoires as early as the 3rd century BC (David/Evina 2016): Some jars were made according to the coiling method, while others were produced with the paddle and

4 Dittrich 2003; 2010; Evina 2010; Evina/David 2011; David/Evina 2016. 5 Linguistic research on these issues is more advanced: Rilly 2014. 6 For further references, see Adams 1986, 419–420, ware H11; Török 2011, 243–245.

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Fig. 1: Early Meroitic productions (3rd−1st century BC). a–b) Meroitic hand-made jars, Amir Abdallah nos. 415-1, 423-1 (Fernández 1983); c) Wheel-shaped jar, Sedeinga I T 062 Cc 04 (© SEDAU); d) Wheel-shaped crater, Muweis Mws11-A-F11.Cer1 (David/Evina 2016, fig. 24); e) Long-necked bottle, Sedeinga II T 145 Cd 01 (© SEDAU); f–g) Aswan askos and lekythos, Sedeinga I T 009 Cd 03, I T 087 Cc 19 (© SEDAU); h) Aswan clepsydra, Amir Abdallah no. 166-1 (Fernández 1983).

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anvil method.7 A third method, consisting of moulding the lower part of the jar on a convex shape and finishing it with coils, has also been identified, but its first appearance is not well dated. As a chaîne opératoire is likely specific to one social group (for a synthesis, see Roux 2010), we might infer that these types of handmade ceramics were made by potters belonging to various communities of craftsmen, sharing the same practices and transmitting their skills within a restricted social context. The iconography of Meroitic hand-made ceramics, with both impressed and incised patterns, is also developed from local traditions whose antecedents remain unclear even if the practices of impression and incision have been known since the Mesolithic Period (Caneva/Marks 1990). Often interpreted as simple imitations of basketry or nets (Arkell 1953), the non-figurative motifs8 are first and foremost the expression of cultural identity and beliefs. Firstly, certain categories of the Meroitic repertoire may be used as iconographical signals linked with different groups of potters.9 Secondly, the similarity of motifs observed on both ceramics and tattooed bodies may allow us to reconstruct the shared cultural context of both decorative practices.10 Several prophylactic or curative properties attributed to corporal decorations (for a recent update, see Tassie 2003), notably tattoos and scarifications, can, e.g., be transferred to hand-made ceramics, while religious themes and motifs are mainly painted on wheel-made vessels (infra). The nature and organisation of the hand-made ceramic industries remain mainly unknown, as no workshop or smaller production unit has ever been identified. However, the study of the vessels themselves indicates that the majority of potters were skilled and specialized craftsmen: Most of the ceramics are standardized and well-finished, and some types are known to have been widely distributed along the Nile from the south of Khartoum up to the First Cataract (Edwards 2014). Domestic manufacturing certainly occurred at the local level, but we can assume that larger workshops, linked to a centralized distribution system, existed as well. They would have functioned within a network of trading relays able to supply goods to the margins of the Meroitic Kingdom (David 2018). From the mid-2nd century BC, other ceramics combining the coiling method with wheel-shaping appeared (David/Evina 2016, 104). The discontinuity of use of the potter’s wheel in Sudan, between the late Napatan and the early Meroitic Periods, seems rather enigmatic (Adams 1973, 187). A lack of data might be the cause, but this reason alone cannot explain the similar disruption observed at the same time in ceramics typology (supra). The first pottery to be wheel-shaped reproduced and

7 For a description of the gesture, see Shepard 1985, 57–59, 63–65; David/Evina 2016, 90–91. 8 See the various corpuses in Robertson/Hill 2004, pl. V-VI; Fernández 1983, 372–412. 9 See, e.g., the ‘giraffe potter’ in Lower Nubian contexts of the 1st century AD: David 2018. 10 Vila 1967, 368–369, pl. XII–XIX; Fernández 1983, 389; Steffensen 2011. For an ethnographical point of view: David/Sterner/Gavua 1988.

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adapted the local hand-made repertoire (Fig. 1c), while other types of pottery were directly inspired by Hellenistic forms such as the craters (Fig. 1d) or tablewares from Muweis (David/Evina 2016, fig. 24). The adoption of these new forms and techniques was followed by the introduction of painted decoration following Hellenistic models, such as wavy-lines, vine scrolls and other floral motifs (for a synthesis, see Török 2011, 252–260). The growth of influence from Ptolemaic Egypt on Meroitic ceramic production from the mid-2nd century BC can be linked to the numerous contacts developed between the two kingdoms since the end of the 3rd century BC (Török 1997, 424–432). From the second part of the 2nd century until the end the 1st century BC, the repertoire of forms of wheel-shaped ceramics increased considerably. As a tool, the wheel was better mastered: The joins between the coils became less visible, indicating that rotating the pot was introduced earlier in the manufacturing process. Jars, bottles, bowls and cups were likely made in workshops that could distribute their production through the same network as the hand-made wares. The first evidence of regional preference is noticeable in funerary contexts, e.g. at Sedeinga, where predecessors of the long-necked bottles appear in several graves (Fig. 1e) (infra). Besides hand-made and wheel-made Meroitic vessels, rare ceramic imports from Ptolemaic Egypt are known. Since the 1st century BC, the Aswan workshops provided specific vessels, such as forms inspired by the Greek lekythos and askos (Fig. 1f, g), that point to the trade in perfumed oil and wine from the southern Egyptian border with the Meroitic elite.11 A kind of clepsydra (Fig. 1h) (Devries 1973), probably used to transfer a liquid from one container to another, as well as rare cooking-pots and pitchers (Fernández 1984, fig. 8) were also distributed in Nubia to a wider market. Transiting through Egypt, imports from the Mediterranean world were very scarce and seem restricted to the royal sphere, e.g., a few Rhodian amphorae unearthed in royal or private tombs at Meroe and Gebel Barkal (Hofmann 1991, 234–235). Rather than a poor commercial relationship between Egypt and the Meroitic Kingdom, the scarcity of long-distance imports may also reflect the limited supply of Mediterranean goods to Upper Egypt and therefore to the Egyptian southern border.12

11 For the askos, see Hofmann 1999. On the jugs found in early Meroitic contexts (1st century BC for the most ancient specimen), see, e.g., Almagro 1965, fig. 229; Vila 1967, fig. 131c; Edwards 1998, fig. 6.25, no. T11/106C; Dixon 1963, pl. L. 12 The number of Rhodian amphorae is also insignificant at Thebes during the Ptolemaic Period: Marangou/Naguib Reda 2016.

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2 The Heyday of Meroitic Ceramics (1st−2nd Century AD) The first decades of the 1st century AD are marked by the introduction of the fine ware industry (for a last update, see David/Evina 2015). For the first time, this type of production made use of kaolinitic clay. Potters used all the potential of the wheel to shape new forms borrowed from the Roman ceramic, bronze, and glass vessels, and Hellenistic techniques were employed for stamped decorations. The fine ware production appears as the result of a transfer of knowledge from the Roman Empire to the Meroitic Kingdom: Potters integrated several techniques and shapes into their own repertoire while immediately adapting the stamped decoration method to their own iconography (Fig. 2a). The light-coloured surface of the vessels became a major medium to develop religious themes, influenced by Pharaonic, Ptolemaic and Romano-Egyptian liturgy, as well as local features (Fig. 2b, e). The workshop excavated inside Musawwarat es-Sufra’s religious compound is the only one known to have produced fine ware (Edwards 1999a; Näser/Wetendorf 2015). This discovery is essential to our understanding of the organization of production: These highly standardized ceramics were made within a state-controlled structure, which suggests that their production was attached to the Meroitic state (David/Evina 2015; David 2018). The specific religious iconography painted or stamped on the ceramics provides us with another argument. Indeed, the patterns employed are very similar from the north to the south of the Meroitic territory: They show no regional preference and follow canonical models. The iconography used on vessels is also very close to that encountered in other media such as reliefs in funerary chapels and temples, which follows a common and structured decorative program defined by the religious authorities. In this case, fine ware ceramics would have participated in the diffusion of the archaizing cultural trends clearly expressed in architecture as well as Meroitic writing (Török 1997, 463–467). Despite the strong links uniting the fine ware production with the central power, the vessels show several typological variations, probably relating to regional production centres. For example, imitations of Aswan lekythoi seem to have only been produced in Lower Nubia (Fig. 2e), and carinated goblets (Fig. 2c, d) are mainly found in the north while large open bowls (Fig. 2b) are more frequent in the Meroe region (David 2018). The study of the fine ware material discovered at the Nubian sites of Saï and Sedeinga shows that the same type of vessel could be made in different fabrics, i.e. using different clays, which would indicate the involvement of various workshops or, as supposed by Edwards (2014, 51), of itinerant potters. The beginning of our era witnessed the important development of the industry of wheel-made ceramics. Their significance is particularly noticeable in funerary context, particularly in Nubia and in the Meroe region, where they had totally supplanted hand-made vessels by the end the 1st century AD. This significant evolution of pottery assemblages reflects the situation of Meroitic ceramic industries as a

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Fig. 2: Fine ware ceramics (1st−2nd century AD). a) Stamped bowl, Sedeinga I T 087 Cc 01 (© SEDAU); b) Painted bowl, Berber B-1-6 (courtesy Berber-Abidiya Archaeological Project); c–d) Painted goblets, Sedeinga II T 017 Cc 01, II T 215 Cd 02 (© SEDAU); e) Painted lekythos, Saï cemetery 8-B-5.A, T 027 Cd 01 (© SIAM).

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whole – urban archaeology also observes a considerable decrease of hand-made wares during the same period (David/Evina 2016) – and points to a major change occurring in funerary customs. The sharp decrease of hand-made ceramics might be due to economic rather than cultural factors: Potters specialized in this technique might have been unable to compete with wheel-made ceramics workshops, which established a highly productive and low-cost industry. Indeed, several types of vessels could be manufactured at a very fast rate, probably in less than one minute, and were widely distributed (Robertson/Hill 2004, 111–115). Simultaneously, the distinction between the two regions of Nubia and Meroe deepened and became clearly apparent in the funerary context. We have already mentioned the case of the fine ware, but this movement now includes other types of ceramics. For example, the distribution of long-necked bottles (Fig. 3a) is exclusively restricted to Middle Nubia and, rarely, to a few other burial grounds in neighbouring areas, which indicate their relation to intrinsically local customs (Leclant 1985; David 2018). In the region of Meroe, a ritual performed with seven bowls deposited on a basket tray was particularly followed from the 2nd to the 3rd century AD (Lenoble 1991). As indicated by an exceptional discovery at Dangeil, seven bowls joined together (Fig. 4), specific orders might have sometimes been given to potters to produce original vessels for particular rituals. In Nubia, only one or two similar bowls (David 2010, 60) have been found in the same grave together with other rounded bowls, implying a local variant of the same gesture and the influence of Meroe. The influence of the Meroitic heartland is also visible in the iconography painted on the wheel-made ceramics made with alluvial clay, which bear the same motifs as the fine ware (Fig. 2d, 3a). Since they follow the same canons, we can assume that the same persons were in charge of the decoration of both the fine ware and the alluvial clay wheel-made ceramics. This hypothesis would imply that painters were acting in different workshops or that all the painted ceramics were produced within the same workshops (Adams 1986, 14). Wenig and Török have identified various painters or groups of painters active in Lower Nubia during the 1st and 2nd century AD.13 Considering the time required to paint these complex decorations on ceramics and the high level of skill involved, there is little doubt that shaping and painting pots were different activities practised by different craftsmen. The centralizing influence of the capital city on Meroitic ceramic production can also be inferred from the standardization of short-necked, ovoid wheel-made jars and their wide distribution over the whole kingdom (Fig. 3c) (David 2018). These containers were likely devoted to the transport of commodities (more probably solid, like grain, rather than liquid) from the capital to the other regions of Meroitic territory, or the other way around. The emergence and swift generalization of such jars at the end of the 1st century AD seems to have coincided with the disappearance of

13 Wenig 1979; Török 1987a; 1987b.

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Fig. 3: Alluvial and Imported ceramics (1st−2nd century AD). a) Long-necked bottle, Saï cemetery 8-B-5.A, T019 Cd 01 (© SIAM); b) Aswan painted table-amphora, Sedeinga, II T 008 Cd 01 (© SEDAU); c) Ovoid jar, Berber B-1-60 (courtesy Berber-Abidiya Archaeological Project); d) Amphorae dressel 2-4 from Mareotis region, Sedeinga W T 005 Cd (1) (© SEDAU).

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Fig. 4: Seven bowls stuck together, Dangeil no. 204-03 (© R. David, courtesy Berber-Abidiya Archaeological Project).

the previously ubiquitous hand-made jars, likewise also used for carrying goods. This replacement naturally occurred in accordance with the evolution of ceramic industrial processes described above, and resulted moreover from the rise of economic relationships between different regions of the Meroitic territory. The economic wealth of the Meroitic Kingdom during the 1st and 2nd century AD is visible in the increasing number of imported objects coming from or passing through Roman Egypt. The installation of Roman garrisons at Aswan and in Lower Nubia (Welsby 1998) likely favoured the circulation of goods towards the south and stimulated the production of the Aswan workshops (for a short synthesis, see McNally/Schrunk 2000, 92–97). Consequently, the trade of perfumed oil and wine, materialized by lekhytos, askos and a considerable variety of amphorae, expanded significantly.14 As previously noted, only the Meroitic royal family and the high members of the administrative and religious elite had access to these categories of ‘prestige goods’ (Edwards 1996, 39–47). These high-value commodities would have been distributed through diplomatic exchanges rather than through simple trading relationships between Egypt and the Meroites. An amphora Dressel 2–4, coming from the Mareotis region (Fig. 3d) on the Egyptian Mediterranean coastline and discovered in Nubia at Sedeinga, might illustrate that case (David forthcoming). The container bears a dipinto referring to Ammios, probably its former owner. However, we must remain cautious in putting aside every evidence for a dynamic long-distance trade: Ceramics, as well as glass and bronze vessels to a lesser extent, are only the

14 See Hofmann 1991; 1994; Bagińska 2005.

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indestructible evidence of trade, unlike organic material such as ivory, incense and textile, and we are still waiting for the results from excavations at urban settlements. Besides perfume and wine containers, Nubia, particularly downstream of the Second Cataract, received tablewares such as table amphorae (Fig. 3b), pitchers and painted bowls from the Aswan workshops.15 Occasional Barbotine cups are also attested.16 The Aswan products are very uncommon further south, the Batn el-Haggar marking the limit of their usual distribution. We can assume that their economic value was limited, so that their trading over such distances was unprofitable.

3 The Decline and Fall of Meroitic Ceramic Industries (3rd−4th Century AD) After two flourishing centuries, the unity of the Meroitic Kingdom weakened during the 3rd century, finally to fall apart by the 4th century AD and be replaced by smaller political entities. If the main causes of this decline are still a matter of debate, its manifestations are well defined: The temples as well as the capital city were gradually abandoned, the building of royal pyramids at Meroe ceased, economic production shrunk back and political organisation was divided between north and south, certainly prefiguring the three Early Medieval Kingdoms of Nobadia, Makuria and Alodia.17 The ceramic industries, as any other economic activities, were heavily impacted by these changes. The first evidence is the impoverishment of the ceramic repertoire, touching both its typology and its iconography. First, the fine ware industry was gradually replaced by cheaper imitations, fashioned with alluvial or mixed clay and poorly decorated. In the Meroe region, the genuine fine wares disappeared during the 3rd century AD, replaced by their semi-fine counterparts (David/Evina 2015, 55). In Nubia, few fine ware painted cups still appear in graves dated to the mid-3rd century AD (Török 1987a, 205–206). Apparently, a small number of workshops producing kaolinitic fine ware even prolonged their activity in Lower Nubia into the PostMeroitic Period (Adams 1986, 440). The reasons for the abandonment of this type of production are rather unclear. According to the model of an industry linked to the central power, it could be explained by the disappearance of the administrative and religious authorities who used to support the production. The fine ware, with its low productive rate, could not be maintained in the framework of domestic or small-scale independent manufacture. On the contrary, the survival of the fine ware

15 For some references, Török 1987a, 197–202. For the Roman date of the Silhouette style, see Rodziewicz 2005, 48–50. 16 For further reference in Nubia, see Rodziewicz 2005, 177–178. 17 See mainly Lenoble 1999; Török 1999; 2009, 515–530; Edwards 2004, 182–211.

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Fig. 5: Late Meroitic ceramic from Saï (3rd−early 4th century AD). a) Painted goblet, Saï cemetery 8-B-5.A, T029 Cc 04 (© SIAM); b) Red slipped and white washed goblet, SA. S.2.T.2-1 (David 2012, fig. 1.b); c) Painted jar, SA. S.2.T.2-2 (David 2012, fig. 2.a).

industry in Lower Nubia was facilitated by the continuity of the religious cult in several temples, such as Kalabsha (Török 1999, 141–142, 149). Simultaneously, the decoration of Meroitic ceramics, either painted or stamped, became gradually simpler, then completely disappeared during the course of the 3rd century AD. The figurative motifs were limited to a simple range of symbols previously much more elaborate, and the painting techniques show less skill (Fig. 5a). The latest graves at Saï, dated to the 3rd century AD and more likely towards its end, contained wheel-made jars decorated with only a few painted black bands. Their neck was covered with a small inverted goblet, red-slipped on the outside and white-washed inside (Fig. 5b, c). The decline that characterizes the painted decorations on Meroitic ceramics during the 3rd century AD is most probably related to the disappearance of some fine ware workshops, which cultivated and made use of both painting skills and iconographic knowledge. This parallel process reinforces our hypothesis regarding painted pottery, according to which every category of painted vessel, both in kaolinitic and alluvial clay, was decorated at the same location by the same craftsmen. Furthermore, it continues to highlight the relationships existing between all workshops, regardless of techniques and materials used.

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The simplification of shapes and decorations allowed for an important development of mass-production. Standardization of the production had existed for a long time and we have highlighted the signs of such a phenomenon at the beginning of our era (supra), but it seems that the last centuries of the Meroitic Period marked a new step in this direction. At el-Kadada, even the clay mixture was adapted to massproduction: It seemed to be less prepared, the potters used a crude mixture and straw temper was added in a greater proportion (Lenoble 1987, 165–166). At Saï and Sedeinga, the red slip was burnished earlier in the manufacturing process than it used to be, when the clay was still wet. The glossy effect was diminished and the surface was less smooth with some irregularities. Diverse technical steps such as these were taken across the whole ceramic industry to reduce the drying time and thus attain a better productivity. Regionalization of ceramic production, a process initiated a few centuries earlier, seemed to be finalised during the 3rd century AD. In Nubia, the regional repertoire of shapes lost the common traits previously shared with the southern regions. The typical bowls and jars of this period found at Saï (Fig. 5b, c) seem to be widely distributed, as they have been uncovered in some of contemporary graves in Lower Nubia.18 In Middle Nubia, the long-necked bottle ceases to be represented in funerary assemblages during the late 3rd−4th century AD, indicating the cessation of a distinctive local production and the disappearance of local funerary practices perpetuated in this region since the 2nd century BC. Further south, the new shapes widely distributed at Meroe during this period are specific to the region and are not represented in Nubia. The case of the cylindrical wheel-made jars highlights the decline of the supply of Nubia by the capital city. The ovoid containers, supposedly used to trade commodities (Fig. 3c), were not replaced in Nubia by their higher and more cylindrical counterparts (Fig. 6a) otherwise frequently attested in the Meroe region (see Dunham 1963, fig. K5 and L8; Edwards 1999b, 38). In the south, this transition gradually took place from the mid-2nd century AD on and such cylindrical jars continued to form part of the funerary equipment in the transitional Post-Meroitic graves at el-Kadada (Geus/Lenoble 1985, fig. 5).19 Besides these regional differences, we can still notice several practices common in both the north and the south of the Meroitic territory, e.g. the application of a red slip on the outside and a white wash on the inside of open forms such as the large bowls from el-Hassa (Evina/ David 2011, 307). Another explanation for these disparities resides in the possibility of new cultural influences impacting ceramic production on the Island of Meroe. In this region, the appearance of the ‘little black bottles’, in graves dated from the 3rd century AD to the Post-Meroitic Period (Lenoble 1995), could be linked to a new southern tradition,

18 See also at Nelluah, Garcia-Guinea/Teixidor 1965, fig. 25.2–7. 19 The drawings of the cylindrical jars are only available in the unpublished thesis of P. Lenoble. For a synthesis about these jars, see Hofmann 1988.

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Fig. 6: Late Meroitic ceramic from the region of Meroe (3rd−early 4th century AD). a) Cylindrical wheel-made jar, Dangeil no. 188-13; b) Hand-made black jar, Berber B-12-101 (courtesy BerberAbidiya Archaeological Project); c) Hand-made black bottle (Dunham 1963, J05, 23-2-231).

for which no counterpart within earlier hand-made Meroitic productions has been found. The typology of these small containers shows some variability: Some of them (Fig. 6c) can easily be compared to older small bottles coming from 1st century AD contexts in Lower Nubia (e.g. Garcia-Guinea/Teixidor 1965, fig. 9.1, 28.2),20 while others continue to have different shapes, with a restricted neck and always with a vertical burnishing (Fig. 6b). Moreover, some specimens found at Meroe and elKadada display impressed decorations filled with red pigments (Fig. 6c), which may suggest a different origin. Lenoble observed the similarities between the containers found on Meroe Island and other productions from the upstream regions. The ‘black bottle’ and its different decorative patterns should probably be linked to the ceramic productions of the Khartoum region as well as regions further south.21 Indeed, the area around the confluence of the Blue and White Nile may have generated another

20 For other mention, see the ‘giraffe potter’ in David 2018. 21 Among others, Crawford/Addison 1951, pl. XXVII–XXIX; Edwards 1991, pl. I; Arkell 1949, pl. 106–108.

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distinct type of ceramic production, yet one still poorly known (also distinguished in Robertson/Hill 1999, 321). Although several publications have already described the material, its origins, chronology and cultural background are still not understood. 22 Such a potentially ‘southern’ group is certainly encountered in graves with clear Meroitic attributes, including painted and stamped Meroitic pottery. The situation has become totally obscure because some examples likely related to this ‘southern’ group were found within one of the latest graves of the cemetery of Berber, north of the Atbara (Mahmoud Suliman Bashir/David 2011, fig. 6). The distribution of such productions far from their original area gives rise to particularly interesting issues for which answers are still to be formulated. The situation of the imported material is not as clear as it was during the previous period. By the end of the 3rd century AD, it can be argued that the frequent raids by Blemmyan tribes along the Egyptian and Meroitic border (Török 1997, 479) would have considerably disrupted the movements of merchants and the circulation of goods. Based on our current state of knowledge, imported ceramics are completely absent from the cemeteries of the latest Meroitic Period. The lekythoi disappeared for a short while from the funerary assemblage.23 The perfumed oils were still used in the funerary liturgy and their containers deposited in the graves, but the actual vessels had changed: Small glass bottles, or aryballoi, were now placed close to the deceased. Interestingly, this type of glass bottle is thought to have been produced in Egypt, so its wide distribution in Nubia would indicate a change of the nature of the trade more than its decline (Nenna 2010, 126). The North African amphora from Tubusuctu, discovered in the tomb of Teqorideamani, is most probably the latest ceramic import to have been buried in the grave of a Meroitic king (Desanges 1972; Laporte 1980). Dated to the middle of the 3rd century AD, it attests to the continuation of contacts between the Roman world and the Meroitic capital, through Egypt as intermediary, until the reign of this king, albeit very limited in volume and restricted to royalty.

Conclusion The historical decline of the Meroitic Kingdom appears rather clearly in the ceramic productions, the industry of which evolved radically during the 4th century AD. In the south, hand-made ceramics became the only kind produced. New shapes, with a new surface treatment consisting of mat impressions, appeared quite suddenly and were widely distributed. Often imprecise, the archaeological documentation

22 In addition to the publication previously mentioned, see Addison 1949; Dixon 1963; Brass 2015; Usai et al. 2015. 23 These containers are, however, distributed again during the Post-Meroitic Period, i.e. Edwards 1998, fig. 6.31.

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shows nonetheless that a short ceramic transition took place at the very end of the Meroitic Period, announcing the general patterns of the Post-Meroitic assemblage (Edwards 2004, 189–191; Geus/Lenoble 1985). The presence of the so-called Alwa ware and the well-known ‘transitional jar’ in the Meroe region signifies the growing impact of southern traditions on the fading Meroitic industries (Lenoble 1992, 81– 83). However, the cultural meaning of such changes in the ceramic industries of Central Sudan remains totally obscure to us and the end of Meroe is still a matter of debate (see mainly Lenoble 1999). The situation in Nubia is comparatively much better understood, with more evidence available. There, a transitional phase clearly marks the evolution of the Meroitic ceramic traditions towards the Post-Meroitic industries. The first indication is the continuity of the fine ware production during the 4th century AD (Adams 1986, 440). The wheel-made industry as a whole had been maintained, even if the typology shows gradual changes. The use of hand-made pots was by then confined to specialized activities, such as cooking. In Lower Nubia, exchanges between workshops in Aswan and in Nubia led to mutual borrowings (Adams 1986, 458).24 To conclude this survey of the Meroitic ceramic industries, I would like to point out the main prospects of ceramic research in Meroitic Sudan, which encompasses the three aspects of the industry: the production, distribution and use of the ceramics. First of all, it is now of paramount importance to look for and to excavate ceramic production centres. A better knowledge of the Meroitic industrial network, as well as its links with the central power, is crucial to better our understanding of the organization of production. Previously underexploited methods, such as archaeometric and technical analyses, are to be developed on a larger scale to complete the archaeological investigations. The continuing identification of the various kinds of ceramic products will contribute to a detailed picture of distribution patterns and will highlight trading networks. Lastly, typological and functional studies of the material from the settlements will shed light on the incredible diversity of ceramic usages within the urban context and, in so doing, on the peoples’ every-day life and activities within Meroitic towns.

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24 For an interesting example, see Gempeler 1992, 125, T 608 and Ballet et al. 2012, 107.

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Adams, Williams Yewdale (1986): Ceramic Industries of Medieval Nubia. Memoirs of the UNESCO Archaeological Survey of Sudanese Nubia. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. Addison, Frank (1949): The Wellcome Excavations in the Sudan: Jebel Moya. London: Trustees of the Late Sir Henry Wellcome. Almagro Basch, Martín (1965): La necropolis meroitica de Nag Gamus (Masmas. Nubia Egipcia). Memorias de la Mision Arqueologica. Madrid: Minist. Asunt. Ext. Arkell, Anthony John (1949): Early Khartoum. An Account of the Excavation of an Early Occupation Site carried out by the Sudan Government Antiquities Service in 1944–5. London/New York/Toronto: Oxford University Press. Arkell, Anthony John (1953): The Sudan Origin of Predynastic ‘Black Incised’ Pottery. In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 39, p. 176–79. Bagińska, Dobiesława (2005): Amphora Import in Nubia. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 3, p. 15–36. Ballet, Pascale / Bonifay, Michel / Marchand, Sylvie (2012): Africa vs Aegyptus: Routes, rythmes et adaptations de la céramique africaine en Égypte. In: Guédon, Stéphanie (ed.): Entre Afrique et Égypte. Relations et échanges entre les espaces au sud de la Méditerranée à l’époque romaine. Actes du colloque de Limoges, 23–24 septembre 2010. Scripta Antiqua 49. Bordeaux/Paris: Ausonius Éditions, p.87–117. Bietak, Manfred (1979): Ceramics of the C-Group Culture. In: Hintze, Fritz (ed.): Africa in Antiquity. The Arts of Ancient Nubia and the Sudan. Proceedings of the Symposium held in Conjunction with the Exhibition, Brooklyn, September 29–October 1, 1978. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 5. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 107–127. Brass, Mike (2015): Results from the re-Investigation of Henry Wellcome’s 1911–14 Excavations at Jebel Moya. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 19, p. 170–180. Caneva, Isabella / Marks, Anthony E. (1990): More on the Shaqadud Pottery: Evidence for Saharo-Nilotic Connections during the 6th-4th Millennium B. C. In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 4, p. 11–35. Crawford, Osbert Guy Stanhope / Addison, Frank (1951): The Wellcome Excavations in the Sudan III: Abu Geili and Saqadi & Dar el Mek. London: Oxford University Press. Daszkiewicz, Małgorzata / Bobryk, Ewa / el-Tayeb, Mahmoud / Kołosowska, Elzbieta / Schneider, Gerwulf (2002): Composition and Technology of Pottery from Neolithic to Christian Periods from Jebel El-Ghaddar and from the Karima-Abu Hamed Region, Sudan. In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 9, p. 65–87. Daszkiewicz, Małgorzata / Bobryk, Ewa / Schneider, Gerwulf (2005): Archaeoceramological Study of Pottery Fabrics from Awlib, Sudan. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 3, p. 67–78. Daszkiewicz, Małgorzata / Schneider, Gerwulf (2012): Ceramics from Meroë and Hamadab. Report on the First Results of Classification by re-Firing (MGR Analysis) and Chemical Analysis (WD-XRF). In: Archäologischer Anzeiger 2011/12, p. 247–268. David, Nicholas / Sterner, Judith Anne / Gavua, Kodzo (1988): Why Pots are decorated. In: Current Anthropology 29/3, p. 365–389. David, Romain (2010): Second Report on the Ceramics from the Meroitic Cemetery 8-B-5.A. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 14, p. 60–61. David, Romain (2012): Saï Méroïtique. Quelques illustrations du matériel céramique. In: Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 29, p. 67–78. David, Romain (2018): Funerary ceramics and Meroitic economy: a first insight. In: Honegger, Matthieu (ed.): Nubian Archaeology in the XXIst Century. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference for Nubian Studies, Neuchâtel, 1.−6. September 2014. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 273. Leuven/Paris/Bristol CT: Peeters, p. 481−488.

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Francigny, Vincent / David, Romain (2013): Dating Funerary Material in the Meroitic Kingdom. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 24, p. 105–115. Garcia-Guinea, Miguel Angel / Teixidor, Javier (1965): La necrópolis Meroitica de Nelluah (Argin Sur). Madrid: Direccion General de Relaciones Culturales. Gempeler, Robert D. (1992): Elephantine X. Die Keramik römischer bis früharabischer Zeit. Archäologische Veröffentlichungen 43. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern. Geus, Francis (1989): Enquête sur les pratiques et coutumes funéraires méroïtiques. La contribution des cimetières non royaux. Approche préliminaire. In: Revue d’Égyptologie 40, p. 163–185. Geus, Francis / Lenoble, Patrice (1985): Évolution du cimetière méroïtique d’El Kadada. La transition vers le postméroïtique en milieu rural méridional. In: Geus, Francis / Thill, Florence (eds.): Mélanges offerts à Jean Vercoutter. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique: Éditions recherche sur les civilisations, p. 67–92. Gratien, Brigitte (1978): Les cultures Kerma. Essai de classification. Université de Lille III: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion. Hofmann, Inge (1988): Ein Gefässtype der Endphase des meroitischen Reiches. In: Varia Aegyptiaca 4/2, p. 121–140. Hofmann, Inge (1991): Der Wein- und Ölimport im meroitischen Reich. In: Davies, William Vivian (ed.): Egypt and Africa. Nubia from Prehistory to Islam. London: British Museum Press, p. 234–245. Hofmann, Inge (1999): Der Askos in der Meroitischen Kultur. In: Wenig, Steffen / Andrássy, Petra (eds.): Studien zum antiken Sudan. Akten der 7. Internationalen Tagung für meroitistische Forschungen vom 14. bis 19. September 1992 in Gosen (Berlin). Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 15. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 572–584. Laporte, Jean-Pierre (1980): Les amphores de Tubusuctu et l’huile de Maurétanie césarienne. In: Bulletin archéologique du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques 12–14 (1976–1978), Fasc. B, p. 131–157. Leclant, Jean (1985): Bouteilles globulaires à long col en Moyenne Nubie. In: Geus, Francis / Thill, Florence (eds.): Mélanges offerts à Jean Vercoutter. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique: Éditions recherche sur les civilisations, p. 185–204. Lenoble, Patrice (1987): Commentaire archéologique. In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 2, p. 165–172. Lenoble, Patrice (1991): Plateaux de gobelets dans les sépultures méroïtiques, un équipement liturgique de la libation isiaque. In: Davies, William Vivian (ed.): Egypt and Africa. Nubia from Prehistory to Islam. London: British Museum Press, p. 246–252. Lenoble, Patrice (1992): Documentation tumulaire et céramique entre les 5e et 6e cataractes. Un exemple de “prospection orientée” visant à renseigner la “Fin de Méroé” dans la région de Méroé. In: Bonnet, Charles (ed.): Études Nubiennes – Conférence de Genève. Actes du VIIe congrès international d’études nubiennes, 3–8 septembre 1990. Vol. I: Communications principales. Geneva: Société d’études nubiennes, p. 79–97. Lenoble, Patrice (1995): La petite bouteille noire, un récipient méroéen de la libation funéraire. In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 7, p. 143–162. Lenoble, Patrice (1999): The Division of the Meroitic Empire and the End of the Pyramid Building in the 4th Century AD: An Introduction to Further Excavations of the Imperial Mounds in the Sudan. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Recent Research in Kushite History and Archaeology. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. British Museum Occasional Paper 131. London: British Museum Press, p. 157–197. Mahmoud Suliman Bashir / David, Romain (2011): Meroitic Pottery from Excavations of the Cemetery at Berber. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 22, p. 121–128.

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Mahmoud Suliman Bashir / David, Romain (2015): The Meroitic Cemetery at Berber. Recent Fieldwork and Discussion on Internal Chronology. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 19, p. 97–105. Marangou, Antigone / Naguib Reda, Mohamed (2016): Recherches sur les importations grecques dans la vallée thébaine à l’époque ptolémaïque. In: David, Romain (ed.): Céramiques ptolémaïques de la région thébaine. Cahiers de la Céramique Égyptienne 10. Cairo: Institut français d‛archéologie orientale, p. 281–303. Mason, Robert B. J. / Grzymski, Krzysztof Adam (2009): Petrography of Pottery from Meroe. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 13, p. 87–91. McNally, Sheila / Schrunk, Ivančica (2000): The Impact of Rome on the Egyptian Pottery Industry. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 37, p. 91–114. Näser, Claudia / Wetendorf, Manja (2014): The Musawwarat Pottery Project 2014. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 25, p. 73–93. Näser, Claudia / Wetendorf, Manja (2015): The Musawwarat Pottery Project 2014/2015. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 26, p. 35–74. Nenna, Marie-Dominique (2010): Les vases en verre. In: Baud, Michel / Sackho-Autissier, Aminata / Labbé-Toutée, Sophie (eds.): Méroé. Un empire sur le Nil. Paris/Milan: Officina Libraria, p. 124–127. Rilly, Claude (2014): Language and Ethnicity in Ancient Sudan. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 1169–1188. Robertson, John H. / Hill, Edna M. (1999): Two Traditions or One? New Interpretation of the Hand-Made/Wheel-made Ceramics from Meroe. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Recent Research in Kushite History and Archaeology. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. British Museum Occasional Paper 131. London: British Museum Press, p. 321–329. Robertson, John H. / Hill, Edna M. (2004): The Meroitic Pottery Industry. In: Shinnie, Peter Lewis / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.): The Capital of Kush 2. Meroë Excavations 1973–1984. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 20. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 109–136. Rodziewicz, Myeczysław D. (2005): Elephantine XXVII. Early Roman Industries on Elephantine. Archäologische Veröffentlichungen 107. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern. Roux, Valentine (2010): Lecture anthropologique des assemblages. Fondement et mise en œuvre de l’analyse technologique. In: Les Nouvelles de l’archéologie 119, p. 4–9. Salah ed-Din Mohamed Ahmed (2010): Un siècle d’archéologie méroïtique. In: Baud, Michel / Sackho-Autissier, Aminata / Labbé-Toutée, Sophie (eds.): Méroé. Un empire sur le Nil. Paris/Milan: Officina Libraria, p. 29–34. Shepard, Anna Osler (1985): Ceramics for the Archaeologist. 12th Edition. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 609. Reprint Ann Arbor: Braun-Brumfield, Inc. Steffensen, Uffe (2007): The Ritual Use of Mortuary Pottery in Ancient Nubia. In: Archéo-Nil 17, p. 133–152. Smith, Laurence M. V. (1997): Study of Clay Sources for Meroitic Finewares. In: Azania 32, p. 77–92. Tassie, Geoffrey J. (2003): Identifying the Practice of Tattooing in Ancient Egypt and Nubia. In: Papers from the Institute of Archaeology 14, p. 85–101. Török, László (1987a): The Historical Background: Meroe, North and South. In: Hägg, Tomas (ed.): Nubian Culture. Past and Present. Main Papers presented at the Sixth International

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Conference for Nubian Studies in Uppsala, 11–16 August 1986. Stockholm: Almquist & Wiksell, p. 188–229. Török, László (1987b): Meroitic Painted Pottery. Problems of Chronology and Style. In: Beiträge zur Sudanforschung 2, p. 75–106. Török, László (1997): The Kingdom of Kush. Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. Handbook of Oriental Studies. I: The Near and Middle East. Vol. 31. Leiden/New York/ Cologne: Brill. Török, László (1999): The End of Meroe. In: Welsby, Derek Anthony (ed.): Recent Research in Kushite History and Archaeology. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference for Meroitic Studies. British Museum Occasional Paper 131. London: British Museum Press, p. 133–156. Török, László (2009): Between two Worlds. The Frontier Region between Ancient Nubia and Egypt 3700 BC–AD 500. Probleme der Ägyptologie 29. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Török, László (2011): Hellenizing Art in Ancient Nubia 300 BC–AD 250 and its Egyptian Models. A Study in “Acculturation”. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 53. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Usai, Donatella / Salvatori, Sandro / Jakob, Tina / David, Romain (2014): The Al Khiday Cemetery in Central Sudan and its “Late/Classic Meroitic“ Period Graves. In: Journal of African Archeology 12/2, p. 183–204. Vila, André (1967): Aksha II. Le cimetière méroïtique d’Aksha. Paris: Direction Générale des Affaires culturelles et techniques/Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Vila, André (1980): La prospection archéologique de la Vallée du Nil, au sud de la cataracte de Dal (Nubie Soudanaise). Fasc. 12: La nécropole de Missiminia. Tome I: Les sepultures napatéennes. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Welsby, Derek Anthony (1998): Roman Military Installations along the Nile South of the First Cataract. In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 8, p. 157–182. Welsby Sjöström, Isabella Y. / Thomas, Ross (2011): The Kushite Pottery Sequence at Kawa: Parallels at Home and Abroad. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 64–71. Wenig, Steffen (1979): Meroitic Painted Ceramics. In: Hintze, Fritz (ed.): Africa in Antiquity. The Arts of Ancient Nubia and the Sudan. Proceedings of the Symposium held in Conjunction with the Exhibition, Brooklyn, September 29–October 1, 1978. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 5. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, p. 129–134. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1985): A Chronology of Meroitic Occupation below the Fourth Cataract. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 22, p. 149–195.

Bogdan T. Żurawski

Defending the Indefensible. Nubian Fortifications in the Middle Ages One way of arranging a good defense is to station sentinels and troops in outposts, to light signal fires, and to set up fortified positions to give warning of the approach of the enemy. Second, in anticipation of an enemy attack, we can erect walls, outer ramparts, and dig moats. Then, upon the actual approach of the enemy, most of our people can gather behind them. They can also take refuge on mountains, in caves, and on any readily defensible island. (Anonymous Byzantine author of the 6th century Military Treatise on Strategy, [ed. and transl. Dennis 1985, 23])

To what degree did the Nubian way of raising defences correspond to the advice given by the Anonymus Byzantinus? Were the fortifications on the Middle Nile styled on the imported models as were the Nubian churches? Assuming that the Byzantine military engineers supervised the construction of Nubian ramparts after the Nobades and Macurites became the Empire’s foederati, were they able to overcome the unfavourable physical conditions of Nubia, a desperately defenceless country, whose eastern frontier could be seen from the western one? Nubia, being in fact one huge borderland, was impossible to defend with walls. It does not mean, however, that such efforts were not made. Although most of the Nubian fortifications were built of undressed stone and mud brick within a couple of centuries after the fall of the Meroitic Kingdom in the late 4th century AD, they are neither technologically standardised nor formally uniform. The reasons behind raising fortifications south of the First Nile Cataract were also far from being homogenous.

Refuge Forts versus Fortified Settlements The primaeval sin of the studies of the fortified sites in early Medieval Nubia is the conviction that they were built for the people whose main intention was to move in and live safely within the walls. The archaeological evidence suggests a somewhat different scenario: Nubians, whose main occupation was agriculture, preferred to stay closer to the fields, while the fortifications were used as a place of refuge, storage and, in some cases also pilgrimage. The above preference is observable even in the case of the model Nubian fortress of Qasr Ibrim. The excavators believe that the fortress town upon the sandstone rock served rather as a refuge, storage and pilgrimage place throughout many periods of its history while its inhabitants ‘mainhttps://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-036

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tained more conventional residences in the valley below.’1 This modus vivendi at Qasr Ibrim in Post-Meroitic times was repeated during the Classic Christian Period (Adams 1996, 89). The causes that made the well-organised groups of skilful builders undertake the Herculean tasks of raising the ramparts, some a dozen or so metres high, were many. Needless to say, they should be mentioned and clarified first. However, before I begin listing and categorising them into functional and formal groups, I would like to introduce a class of fortifications that has already been put forward but was never seriously isolated and consequently not taken into consideration. Since the proposed category comprises a considerable group of key Middle Nile fortifications, I deem it necessary to introduce it at the very beginning. Although the existence of refuge forts or protective enclosures was assumed by Deichmann (1988a, 86; 1988b, 88), Adams (2005, 30, 34), Welsby (2002, 134), Wiewióra (2007, 135) and Paner (2010, 201), the definition thereof was rather limited to the curvilinear, hastily constructed and poorly walled enclosures of the late period. The excavations at Selib completed in 2016 revealed a totally new kind of refuge site dated to the 6th/7th century AD and built according to the highest standards of military technique and masonry. (Fig. 1) Before 2015 the site was discussed en marge of the debates on the Nubian fortifications because of its similarity to the enclosures in Wadi Abu Dom and the walled hydreumata in the Eastern Desert (Żurawski 2013, 136). The Selib enclosure wall made of mud-brick on a stone substructure was regarded more as a mighty fence rather than a light rampart. The situation changed when the detailed topic oriented research was completed in December 2015. First, the unearthing of the fallen sections of the wall proved that the height of its mud-brick section had been at least 6 m. Second came the discovery, in the north-eastern corner of the enclosure, of the bricked rectangular hollow, which resembled the so-called trebuchet sockets known from Banganarti, Shofein, Marakul, Suegi-East, Haraz and Usheir (Żurawski 2013, 132–134). The discovery of the putative trebuchet socket came together with the detection of the eight double stairways constructed into the fabric of the walls. Although the walls were built of mud-brick, the stairways were made of stone. They provided easy access to the parapet, necessary for effective defence during a siege. They were not detected in the riverine curtain wall, which had a mighty gate. Such a specialized, skilfully executed system enabling an effective defence against the light force of desert dwellers, riding camels but not armed with siege machines of any sort, was planned for the enclosure, which was almost totally devoid of any dwellings. Inside there was only a church, a well, a lime-plastered basin and a tiny residential building (apparently associated with the church). The only explanation for such incoherency could be the nature of the site, which was most plausibly a refuge fort that was not permanently inhabited. People from the neigh-

1 Adams 1982, 31; Plumley 1982, 108; Plumley/Adams 1974, 214.

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Fig. 1: Airborne orthophotograph of the refuge fort at Selib under excavation during the 2010 season (Photo & rendering: Bogdan T. Żurawski).

bouring villages could visit the church during times of peace and move in with all their movable goods and livestock during times of war. The caravans also could be stationed inside. Having an interior source of water, a basin for watering the animals and the sacred protection manifested by the church, the refugees from the nearby sites could survive until relief came. The fitting analogy to the Selib refuge is the fortified enclosure at Ukma-East/Kageras (Chittick 1957, 42; Welsby 2002, 134, fig. 48). It contains a church with a southern annexe (another church?) within a dry stone defensive wall equipped with a parapet that was accessed by double stairways made into the fabric of the southern and western walls (Welsby 2002, 134). The results of the 2015/2016 excavations in Selib impact the evaluation of some heavily walled enceintes in the cataract regions, which were built up only with a church and a couple of houses. Some of them, e.g. Kisinarti and Nabash (Adams 2005, 30, 33–34), were identified as refuge places. However, Sueigat forts and Redab, in the Fourth Cataract, Marakul (Fig. 2) in the Third Cataract and a couple of the heavily walled enceintes elsewhere also fit the scheme of a refuge place. It is worth noting that Deichmann (1988a, 86; 1988b, 88) assumed the original character of the Lower Nubian town of Ikhmindi was that of a refuge place (Fliehburg), which was later settled permanently. He repeated this argument while explaining the tri-

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Fig. 2: Airborne (kite) photograph of the Third Cataract fort at Marakul in 2013 (Photo: Bogdan T. Żurawski).

partite division of Sabagura, of which only the middle part was fortified (Deichmann 1988b, 92). The discussion of the Hisn el-Bab, in which the absence of the intramural dwellings was confronted with the presence of a Christian settlement in the neighbourhood (Rose/Gascoigne 2013, 262, 265–266), inevitably leads to the suggestion that the fort could fall under the category of ‘refuge fort’. It is perhaps worth noting here that refuge forts were built in Byzantium in the 7th−10th century (Koder 2005, 170; Veikou 2012, 343), and the idea was known to Carolingian and Ottonian Europe, especially during Magyar inclusions (cf. Schmidt 2008, 238, note 7).

Why Were the Nubian Fortifications Built? The inhabitants of the unprotected villages could also take refuge in the lightly fortified annexes to the heavily walled settlements or fortified urban centres. The huge enclosure attached on the south to the Tungul/Old Dongola is the best example of such a complex. The Dongolese enclosure surrounded by a 150 cm wide wall of mixed (mud-brick and stone) construction was equipped with a church provision-

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Fig. 3: Concentric fortification, airborne orthophotograph of the walled fort at Ed-Diffar in 2016 (Photo & rendering: Bogdan T. Żurawski).

ally dated to the 7th–9th century (Wiewióra 2003, 501–502). A fortified settlement at Ed-Diffar is composed of a strong citadel and an outer ring of sparsely distributed houses set within a bastioned perimeter wall (Fig. 3). Ed-Diffar was inhabited until modern times; nevertheless, the site’s history reaches back to the early Christian Period (Żurawski 2003, 295–297). Upriver from Ed-Diffar the more lightly fortified extensions to the main fort were found in Ed-Deiga (Żurawski 2001, 371–376; 2003, 343–348), Tarfaya (Drzewiecki 2011, 99–100, fig. 4) and Shemkhiya (Żurawski 2014, 140–141). Further, upstream similar annexes are known in Merowe esh-Sherq (Godlewski 2008, 465–468), Jebel Nakharu (Edwards 1989, 74; Drzewiecki 2012, 185–187) and Jebel Umm Marrihi (Drzewiecki 2012, 194–196). The opinion that the protection of trade routes was the main reason behind the creation of the Lower Nubian fortifications derives from Stenico’s assumption that Ikhmindi was a caravan station located at the river terminus of a trade route leading to Egypt (Stenico 1960, 47). Deichmann (1988b, 91) disagrees with the above thesis. I know only one example of a fort guarding the Nile terminus of the desert track. The defences in Wadi Damm et-Tor and in Tarfaya had such a function, being situated on the desert shortcut from Merowe to Berber (Żurawski 2015, 373, fig. 12d; Drzewiecki 2011, 102–105). The route passed either through the wells at Sani or Jura and after

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reaching Wadi Damm et-Tor crossed to the left bank at Tarfaya and continued further south on the left bank to Berber (Żurawski 2015, 373, fig. 12c; Drzewiecki 2011, 98– 101). In the past, the produce of the Province of Merowe was transported to Berber and to the Sawakin along these tracks until they were replaced by a new trade route from Tanqasi Market to Shabluka via Bayuda wells (Gleichen 1905, II, 181–182, 187). The tracks negotiating the Jura and Sani wells en route to the Nile seem to have been used in the remote past as ‘the remains of ancient buildings’ in Wadi Sibaa (near Sani wells) might suggest (Jackson 1926, 29–30). In Bayuda there are probably more slightly fortified caravanserais similar to those known from Wadi Abu Dom and the Eastern Desert. A small quadrilateral enclosure of Post-Meroitic date is situated c. 100 km south from Mograt. Built in the vertical masonry technique, it is plausible that it associated with some tumuli that stand close to its western wall (Żurawski 2014, 139). The control of the traffic on the river was claimed by Paner (2005, 201) as the raison d’être of Redab in the Fourth Cataract region. The small picturesque fort of Haraz that sits a couple of kilometres further upstream from Redab was also claimed by its excavator to be associated with control of river traffic (Paner 2010, 161–163). The crown argument for a river controlling function of some of the Fourth Cataract forts were the famous twins at Dar el-Arab (Suegat), located opposite each other on both banks of the river at the foot of the Fourth Cataract. However, since they were found almost empty (only a row of rooms was found attached to the SuegiWest wall, cf. Żurawski 2007, 192) they fall into the category of refuge forts rather than river controlling outposts. Considering the light traffic on the Nile in the Fourth Cataract, and even less along its banks, a controlling function would be rather problematic explanation for these structures (Welsby 2002, 135). Nevertheless, there are other fortifications in Nubia whose ultimate purpose was monitoring traffic on the river, collecting tolls in kind, etc. Probably such was the function of the fort at Shofein (Fig. 4) in the Third Cataract (Łopaciuk et al. 2014, 234–237, figs. 1–8; Osman/Edwards 2012, 145–146) and of Ed-Deiga (Fig. 5). Welsby (2002, 134) suggested that the Shofein fort was a ‘heavily defended refuge’. It could have been, but Shofein’s strong construction, peculiar layout and, most importantly, its location allow for other uses. The fort’s putative role in controlling the movement of people and goods along the river results from its position in the place where the mountain range almost touches the river. Its many similarities with Ed-Deiga probably arise from the common function they served. Both were situated perpendicular to the river. Shofein’s traffic controlling function is corroborated by the barrier, which runs from the southern wall towards the river. In the four square hollows in the fort’s eastern wall, still 4 m wide at the top, the bases of the stone trebuchets could have been installed. If so, the fort was able to control boat traffic on the river and effectively guard a border post between Makuria and Nobadia. On the opposite bank, there are two characteristic landmarks (conical hills) known as the Two Virgins (cf. Griffith 1927, 193). On the slope of the western hill sits the

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Fig. 4: Airborne orthophotograph of the fort at Shofein in 2013 (Photo & rendering: Bogdan T. Żurawski).

Fig. 5: Aerial photograph of the fort at Ed-Deiga taken in 2003 (Photo: Bogdan T. Żurawski).

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medieval fortified settlement (Osman/Edwards 2012, 350–351). Shofein’s twin, the mighty fort at Deiga, guarded (in the Post-Medieval Period) a traditional border point between Dar Dongola and Dar Shaiqiyya (Żurawski 2003, 347). It measures 120 × 60 m and covers no more than a quarter of a hectare. Summing up, the main reason behind raising the fortifications seems to be the general lack of safety in the Middle Nile after the fall of Meroe. There is no doubt that at least part of them were raised rather as a symbol of authority and power than a solution to real troubles caused by the target enemy of the Nubian sedentary population, which in the 4th–6th century AD were the bands of Blemmyes who terrorized Upper Egypt and the Red Sea littoral as far as Sinai.

Help Will Come by the River or from the Heavens? Medieval fortifications depended on the Nile as did everything else in Nubia. The lightly protected riverine walls, if any at all, substantiated the necessary confidence and trust placed in the river as the only line of supply and relief in time of siege. Therefore any river-borne attack, similar to that which Abdallah Ibn Abī Sarkh made in 652 AD against Tungul/Dongola, met with feeble resistance. If the river was the only reliable way of relieving the besieged riverine forts, the command of the Nile should have been a topmost priority for the kingdom’s administration. There is some evidence to corroborate this thesis. First of all, Nubian epigraphy provides three attestations of the office of nauarchos (vel nauarches).2 Second, the petroglyphs and graffiti show multi-oared vessels of considerable dimensions that, due to the reliance on oars instead of sails, were able to negotiate the reverse wind and current (Żurawski 2013, 116). The navy contingents were probably anchored near the administrative centres of the kingdom since the nauarchoi also held the other highest state offices (Iesusinkounda was nauarchos, domestikos of Pachoras and eparch of Nobadae, cf. Łajtar 2003, 38–39). Mighty walls were not the only source of protection for the medieval city. Many of the Middle Nile forts were equipped with a church located within their walls. The sacral buildings provided heavenly protection, essential in times of trouble. Patronage of the Divine in medieval warfare was always an important factor. The reason behind its significance was deep faith and confidence in the holy patronage provided by relics and icons. The examples of this attitude toward the supernatural protection evidenced by sacrum might be multiplied to include the Virgin’s girdle and maphorion used as palladium and the war tropaion of Constantinople being the best-known example (cf. Pentcheva 2006).

2 Hägg 1990, 161 f.; Łajtar 1998, 78; 2003, 39.

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It is worth mentioning that according to the record of Alvares, there were still 150 churches in 16th century Alwa and ‘these churches were all in old ancient castles’ (Beckingham/Huntingford 1961, II, 461).

Plans, Materials, Construction Model and Building Techniques Needless to say, local conditions and availability of materials influenced the planning and engineering of indigenous fortifications. The relationship, however, was not a direct one; the fort at Shofein, e.g., was built entirely of stone whereas Bakhit, which stood further inland from the river bank, was built primarily of mud brick. In purely technical terms of materials used in outer walls, the Nubian fortifications fall into three categories: – walls made of sun-dried brick, – walls made of stone, and – walls made of stone and mud. Stone and mud-brick walls can be, in turn, divided into three subcategories: – mud-brick wall raised above a stone substructure of varied height, – mud-brick wall faced on both sides with a stone coating, and – mud-brick wall faced with a stone coating on the exterior only. Dressed stone was used in Nubian fortifications only occasionally in the ground courses, gates and sections of the walls adjoining the gates.3 Red (baked) brick was also applied sporadically due to the high cost of firing. In Abkur (Fig. 6) it was used in the foundations of mud-brick walls (Wiewióra 2005, 275; cf. also Nichols 2014, 154). Compared to Byzantine fortifications in North Africa, where ashlar masonry was widely employed (Pringle 1981, 138), the execution of the Middle Nile forts is rather poor. On the other hand, using a mud-brick core in the ramparts faced with stone gave the walls, among other advantages, more stability and resistance against the stone throwers that were introduced on a bigger scale in the later 6th century AD. The mud core absorbed the vibration caused by each stroke and eliminated its domino effect on the stones. When used in defensive walls, mud-bricks are usually bigger than the bricks used for houses and churches. In Old Dongola (Fig. 7), the mud-bricks used in the curtain wall measure 41–42 × 18–19 × 9 cm (Godlewski 2013, 21). In Ed-Diffar (Fig. 3) they were 48 × 12 and 45 × 12 cm, respectively. In Banganarti three kinds of mud-brick

3 Griffith 1926, 26–28; Presedo Velo 1964, 13, fig. 13, 23, pl. I; Curto et al. 1965.

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Fig. 6: Airborne (kite) photograph of the fort at Abkur taken in 1998 (Photo: Bogdan T. Żurawski).

were used in the southern wall only, the largest of which measured 52 × 28 × 9 cm (Wiewióra 2007, 64). It is difficult to arrange chronologically the building techniques employed in raising the medieval fortifications in Nubia. Nevertheless, it has been conclusively demonstrated that the so-called vertical masonry, a technique resembling the Roman opus spicatum, is associated with the earliest medieval fortifications (Żurawski 2014, 139). Being a derivative of Kushite building technique, the vertically set stones were usually used in the lowest sections of the walls. In the Fourth Cataract fort of El-Ar, the core of the original curtain wall was made of stones bonded with mud. In the lowest section, it was faced on both sides with stones set vertically and slantwise (Żurawski, loc. cit.). This kind of stonework was found in the Mikeisir fort (Näser 2008, 50 ), Umm Ruweim 1 and Kejabi/Detti near Merowe (Welsby 1998, 172). The vertically placed slabs were also found in the ground courses, e.g. in Ikhmindi (Grossmann 1988a, pl. 10.1). This is also noted by Crawford (1953, 30, pls. IX a, XXI b) at the forts of Gandeisi (Fig. 8) and Jebel Nakharu. Eponymous examples of forts built entirely of stone are Shofein and Deiga (Łopaciuk et al. 2014, 234–237, 243–245). The walls of Tungul/Old Dongola were built

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Fig. 7: Aerial photograph of the walled town of Tungul (Old Dongola) taken in 2003 (Photo: Bogdan T. Żurawski).

Fig. 8: Airborne (kite) photograph of the fort on Gandeisi Island taken in 2013 (Photo: Bogdan T. Żurawski).

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of mud-brick faced with an 80–130 cm thick coat of undressed stones (Godlewski 2003, 100). The fortified enclosure at Pachoras, the biggest brick structure in Nubia after the Kerma deffufa, was built according to a different principle: a mud-brick wall was superimposed on a stone substructure 4 m high. Griffith (1926, 25–26) discovered that the smooth plastering along the top of the brickwork on the western wall showed that the original height of the wall (from the footing) was 11.60 m (the stonework was 3.80 m high). Fortifications made of crude brick are few. The most important are the fort at Kurgus, with 5 m thick walls built of mud-brick (Welsby 2002, 161), Banganarti (Wiewióra 2003, 493–494) and the unpreserved fort on Tanqasi Island (Żurawski 2001, 362; 2003, 50). The walls were usually constructed of a series of masonry sections now traceable by vertical joints. In the Third Cataract fort at Shofein (Osman/Edwards 2012, 147), more than 20 wall sections have been identified (Łapaciuk et al. 2014, 235–236). The putlog holes for external scaffolding were noticed in Shofein and Bakhit, with some remains of wooden beams still in situ in Bakhit (Łopaciuk et al. 2014, 241). In terms of shape the Nubian fortifications fall into two broad categories: rectangular structures and other structures. Interestingly, the above dichotomy reflects the topographical distribution of the fortifications. The border zone is the Fourth Cataract. The fortified sites upriver are characterised by their overall quadrilateral layout, standardised sizes, the system of angle and interval towers. Forts at Mikeisir, Jebel Umm Marrihi,4 Jebel Nakharu,5 Hosh el-Kab (Drzewiecki 2012, 192–193), Wad Mukhtar (Drzewiecki 2012, 190–191), Mutmir (Welsby 2014, 199, fig. 6, pl. 9), Abu Sideir (Welsby 2014, 189, fig. 6; Drzewiecki / Stępnik 2012), Gandeisi (Drzewiecki 2012, 182–184) and others are located in the commanding position on the river bank between the Fourth and Sixth Cataract. Most do not seem to be densely built over. Generally, they resemble the standard Late Roman and Byzantine forts protecting the African limes or the trade routes in the Eastern Desert. On the other hand, it is difficult to find a dominant type among the forts and fortified settlements down the river from the Fourth Cataract. Statistically, among the downriver fortifications, there is a slight dominance of trapezoids, e.g. Bakhit (Fig. 9), Faras, Ikhmindi, Sabagurra and the now non-existent fortification on Tanqasi Island, seen by Evliya Çelebi in 1670 and drawn by Wilkinson less than two hundred years later (Żurawski 2001, 362; 2003, 50). The rest mainly belong to the group called by Chittick (1957, 45) ‘contour type’, i.e. their layout was ‘chiefly governed (…) by the determination of their builders to take every advantage of the natural features’.

4 Crawford 1953, 39–40; Drzewiecki 2012, 192–193; Welsby 2014, 188–189, fig. 6. 5 Crawford 1953, 17–19; Drzewiecki 2012, 185–187; Welsby 2014, 189, fig. 6.

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Fig. 9: Aerial photograph of the fort at Bakhit taken in 2003 (Photo: Bogdan T. Żurawski).

Walls, Towers, Gates, Posterns and Stairs The walls were usually raised in vertical sections that are evidenced by the joints on either face of the curtain walls. The raising of the walls started in the corners; the angle towers, if there were to be any, were built first. As a rule, they were built from two opposite directions and met in the middle. On rugged terrain, the walls ascended the elevation. It was the easiest and in some cases the only possible way to negotiate the height difference. Square towers projecting at right angles from the wall were found in, e.g. Faras Enclosure (Griffith 1926, 26), Ikhmindi (Grossmann 1988a, 69, fig. 32), Sheikh Daud (Presedo Velo 1964, pl. after p. 10; cf. also Obłuski 2014, fig. 16), Kalabsha (Monneret de Villard 1935, I, 36, fig. 29; Curto et al. 1965, 22, 31) and Gebel Adda (Millet 1969, 47). In Sabagura the middle towers are square (tower gates included), whereas the angled ones are rounded (Grossmann 1988b, 57–61, fig. 28). One square middle tower was found between two rounded angle ones in Merowe esh-Sherq (Godlewski 2008, 466). Square towers were also found in the Alwan fort at Wad Mukhtar, datable to the late Meroitic/Post-Meroitic Period (Drzewiecki 2012, 190–191), and in the fortified site at Diaga (el-Amin/Edwards 2000, 46–47, fig. 4). Access to the parapet and tower platforms poses a problem; in Faras the 4 m high brickwork that survived provides no clear indication how the tower tops and parapets were reached. Griffith (1926, 26) suggested internal passages within the

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towers and constructions built against the wall (that were cleared away later) or wooden ladders. Stone stairs were found in a couple of Nubian fortifications, e.g. Marakul, Selib, Deiga, Suegi-West. Constructed into the fabric of the walls, they provided access to the parapet and the upper platforms of the tower. The defences of Jebel Adda, built in Meroitic times, were provided with a wide gate in the middle of the eastern wall. Two staircases on both sides of the gate enabled sentries to mount the walls when necessary (Millet 1967, 54). One is tempted to see in the rectilinear towers and walls the earlier phase. The main, and only, argument behind such a claim, however, is the precedent of Kushite strongholds, which had square towers and straight walls. Nubian fortifications give an impression of strength and solidness, but a closer look strips them of some of their defensive veneer. How could effective defence be accomplished, e.g., in the Suegi-East fort equipped with ten gates? Of course, these gates could be blocked in case of an emergency, but the original purpose behind making these slots, known in the poliorcetological literature as sally ports, was certainly different. In Suegi the segmentation of the walls into eleven separated sections by ten openings, with no trace of an arch or horizontal slab to cover them, made communicating on the walls hardly possible. With no traces of stairs leading to the parapet, we can assume that the walls were climbed by means of ladders or were not climbed at all. Ed-Deiga belongs to the strongest forts in the Middle Nile. Its sturdy walls, with an average thickness of 5 m, stand in sharp contrast to its eight openings, which make it less impregnable (Żurawski 2001, 371–376). What was the purpose of these slots then? There are many suggestions one might make; they could have provided a perfect position for the archers and slingers. The stone throwers could also have been positioned in these openings. Anyone who has been in the Fourth Cataract in April or May, and experienced the unbearable heat coming from the stones, would probably welcome the suggestion that they could simply have served as the ventilation slots that let the air circulate and cool down the inside of the fort.

Outworks, Dry Moats, Proteichismata and other Novelties of Time ‘It is a good idea to dig a ditch outside this wall. This provides double protection, forward wall and ditch, for the main wall’ (Dennis 1985, 36–37). The Nubian fortification that fits this 6th century Byzantine instruction is Suegi-West. Its construction was begun in the lowest part, where two angle towers were raised. Then two other towers were built, and the walls ascended the slope. After the walls had reached the hilltop, the extension was added on its landward side. Then the out-

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Fig. 10: Aerial photograph of the Suegi-West fort taken in 2003 (Photo: Bogdan T. Żurawski).

work, known by the Greek term proteichisma, was raised and a dry moat dug alongside (Żurawski 2007, 189). A double dry moat has been found at Bakhit (Fig. 9). Wilkinson‛s drawing suggests a dry moat in Tanqasi fort (Żurawski 2003, 50, fig. 12). Mileham discovered a shallow brick-lined dry moat outside the western wall of the Faras Enclosure 20 m from the wall. Its sides are vertical from the bottom upward to a height of c. 2 m, and the upper parts slope (Mileham 1910, 23; Griffith 1926, 1–2, pl. XXV). In Suegi-West (Fig. 10) and in Redab (Paner 2005, 181, 189, figs. 2, 3) the proteichismata were built on severely sloping terrain less than 12 m from the curtain wall (cf. Żurawski 2013, 130–131). Middle Nile military architecture displays a medley of features and devices that were brought into the country as novelties of the time. Although in most cases they were totally useless, they give evidence for the close contacts Nubia had with Byzantium in the 6th century. Interestingly, the walls of Faras had the same size as the Theodosian land walls of Constantinople. Both were probably built according to Byzantine military manuals (cf. Dennis 1985, 3, 35). Putative trebuchet sockets were found in Shofein, Marakul (Łapaciuk et al. 2014, 239, with note 13), Banganarti, Suegi-West, Usheir (Żurawski 2013, 132–134) and Haraz (Paner 2010, 152). The eyewitness account of an impressive shot from a

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trebuchet from the hilltop of Gebel Sesi was provided by Çelebi (Prokosch 1994, 124–125). Trebuchets were both offensive and defensive weapons. In fortifications, they were installed on the towers, very rarely on the walls. Probably at the same time when trebuchets (manajiq) were brought to the Middle Nile, Nubians learned to use chevaux-de-frise. Those known from the insular fort of Ras el-Gezira are 17 m wide and 60 m long and block the north-eastern approach to the fort, the weakest section where the main gate was situated (Becker 2008, 61, 65, 66). A similar arrangement of half-buried stones was observed by Crawford in Usheir (he first named them chevaux-de-frise, cf. Crawford 1953, 22). They look quite impressive but probably were totally useless. From the photographs, we might assume that they were not a great obstacle for the mounted troops (provided the horse soldiers attacked the island fort). Nor do they seem to have been a hindrance for the movable stone throwers that were not rolled on wheels but put on tripods.

The Era of Walls and Enclosures The large areas enclosed within the low partitions built of loosely laid stones and devoid of any gates, buttresses, ditches, etc. already puzzled the archaeologists participating in the UNESCO Campaign. The enclosures within the Scandinavian concession were studied by Carl Jacob Gardberg. He labelled them temporary refuges, stressing, however, that they were not ‘strong enough to hold out against a siege or a blockade’ (Gardberg 1970, 47). His second choice was ‘a more permanent form of zeriba’ (loc. cit.). His assumptions held water for more than a half of a century. The problem was revisited by Welsby (2002, 136). Summing up the discussion on the Nubian enclosures, Obłuski (2014, 106–111, esp. 107) suggested that they might have been associated with trade, especially slave trade. The difficulty in dealing with the problem is lumping all enclosures together into one category despite their obvious diversity in form, construction mode, dimensions and location. The enclosures at, e.g. Nabash (Adams/Nordström 1963, 36–38; Adams 2005, 33–34), Shemkhiya (Fig. 11) (Żurawski 2012, 298; 2014, 139–141) and Kajabi/Detti (Titherington 1939) do not have much in common with, e.g., the five enclosures published by Gardberg (1970, 47–50). The former apparently served as a fortified refuge place for the chain of medieval settlements strewn along the river bank. Attributing, however, a refuge function to all these enclosures is nonsense. Adams and Nordström (1963, 43) regarded the Batn el-Hagar enclosures as soil-retaining walls. Edwards considered some of the Third Cataract enclosures to be animal pens instead (Edwards/Osman 1990, 30). Interesting proposals on the possible functions of the Third Cataract ‘dry-stones’ were recently published by Yahia Fadl Tahir and Azhari Mustafa Sadig (2014). Griffith attributed the building of the Faras Enclosure to the late Meroitic Period, although a voussoir (presumably a keystone) from the arch of the Western Gate, found in the rubbish, had a cross sculptured upon it. On the other hand, the brick-

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Fig. 11: Airborne (kite) photograph of the fortified enclosure at Shemkhiya taken in 2009 (Photo: Bogdan T. Żurawski).

lined ditch along the western wall of the enclosure contained early Christian graves built into it (Griffith 1926, 25, 27, 28). If the late Meroitic/Post-Meroitic dating is correct, one cannot resist assuming that the construction of the Faras Enclosure was the product of the same political system that managed to marshal the large manpower resources needed to raise the huge tumuli at Ballana and Qustul (from c. 380 to c. 490 AD; cf. Török 1986, 197). Griffith eased his stance a year later, under the influence of Monneret de Villard, an unquestionable authority on Christian antiquities in the Middle Nile, who based his Early Christian dating of the Faras Enclosure on the conviction, not backed by firm arguments, that the right-angled entrance gates were introduced to Nubian fortifications with Christianity (after Griffith 1927, 114). Mileham (1910, 24), based on his own field research, ascribed the Enclosure to the so-called Blemmyan Period. Adams (1977, 494) claimed the great administrative centres of Lower Nubia at Qasr Ibrim, Gebel Adda and Faras were fortified in Meroitic times. Godlewski (2006, 27), resuming the evolution of the dating attitudes towards the Faras agglomeration, opted for the 6th century. Quite recently the fort at Mikeisir in the Fourth Cataract has been dated to the Post-Meroitic Period (Rees/Lahitte/Näser 2015, 192). Earlier, a similar date was proposed for El-Ar on the basis of a ceramic study (Żurawski 2014, 138–139).

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Grossmann (1988b, 57) attributed the walled part of Sabagura to the second part of the 6th century, when Ikhmindi was also built. The assumption that the walled towns of Lower Nubia might have been built concurrently was questioned by Deichmann (1988b, 89). His arguments sound convincing, since the simultaneous execution of such grandiose schemes would rid the region of all of its skilled builders. Apart from the conventional dating based upon ceramics, C14, thermoluminescence, etc. there are some diagnostic features of the fortifications themselves that might be helpful in dating. First of all, the rectilinear bastions seem to antedate the curvilinear ones. Together with the vertical masonry (discussed above), they are a survival of old methods in raising the ramparts in Nubia. The dressed stone gate with nicely fitted voussoirs and keystone is also an element determining the early dating of the masonry. The fortifications at Shofein and Marakul have been recently dated, on the basis of ceramic studies, to the 6th/7th century and 5th/6th century respectively (Łapaciuk et al. 2014, 237, 240). The same authority provided the Transitional/Early Christian Period date for Bakhit and 6th–7th century for Ed-Deiga (op. cit. 243, 245). Godlewski (2008, 467) proposed the 5th century date for Merowe esh-Sherq, although among pottery finds nothing earlier than the 6th century was found. The dates for the Middle Nile fortifications can be approximated only. With one exception, however, the fortification of Ikhmindi is dated to the second half of the 6th century by the foundation inscription (Donadoni 1959, 26–30). The radiocarbon and ceramic dates for other forts, fortified towns and enclosures seem to be consistent with it. The sondage dug in this part of the Suegi-West fort (Fig. 10), where its construction probably began, provided two charcoal samples that provided a calibrated (95.4 % confidence) range date of 430–640 AD (Poznań Radiocarbon Laboratory: Analysis No. 951/05; Lab. No. 10880), the Suegi-East sample gave a date of 530–610 AD: 61.1 % confidence (Paner/Borcowski 2005, 108). The radiocarbon date for Redab (an animal bone fragment from the lowermost layers of trial pit no. 4) gave the date of 604–649 AD: 68.2 % confidence (Wiewióra 2005, 178, note 2). Tungul/Old Dongola ramparts were recently dated by Godlewski (2013, 23) to the end of the 5th century. Summing up the above chronological complexities, it can be said, without making the statements too broad, that the era of raising the formidable fortifications in the Middle Nile passed with the turbulent, formative years of the centralised kingdoms based on Christian faith. During the 9th–11th century the fortifications of Banganarti and Tungul became overgrown with domestic architecture and were partly dismantled (Welsby 2002, 133). In Banganarti the defences were renovated and partly rebuilt in the 11th–13th centuries (Drzewiecki 2014, 906). Earlier, in the second half of the 10th century, the central part of the settlement at Abdallah al-Irqi was fortified (Barkóczi/Salamon 1974, 335). The general lack of security in the late period does not directly translate to the increased construction of walls in Nubia. The general impoverishment of the state on the one hand, and the progress in siege techniques on the other, made this way of providing security ineffective.

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Stone Symbol of Might and Prestige? On the much-defaced voussoirs of the Western Gate to the Faras Enclosure, a lion is sculptured in relief on either side of the doorway (Griffith 1926, 27, pls. XXIV.2, XXVIII.2; Mileham 1910, 23, pl. 12, fig. b). It recalls the lions carved in the stone block at the entrance to the Shofein fort (Żurawski 2015, 376, fig. 15). The lion as a royal symbol of might finds its rightful place on the entrance to the structure, which itself was a symbol of power. The dimensions of some of the Nubian fortifications amazed the visitors in the past and still surprise them now. To the dwellers of the tents, and stone/mud-brick huts, they might have appeared to be the work of the Anag, the giants from the past. The biggest fortified enclosure in the Middle Nile datable to the Medieval Age was at Faras (Pachoras). Having four walls 290, 110, 305 and 200 m long respectively (Griffith 1926, 28), it covered an area of 4.4 ha. The area of the fortified part of Tungul, which was calculated as 4.75 ha (Żurawski 2013, 126; Welsby 2002, 130), according to the estimate of the excavation‛s director is 5.7 ha (Godlewski 2003, 100). The area occupied by the fortified settlement on Gebel Sesi (4.5 ha, cf. Obłuski 2014, 107) is highly improbable, since the complex is a sub-triangle 235 m high and 200 m wide at the base (Osman/Edwards 2012, 277), therefore its area must be c. 2.4 ha. The area of the ville fortifiée on Firkinarti is 3.4 ha (Obłuski 2014, 107, after Vila 1974, III, 90). To the group of large fortified settlements belong also Kalabsha, its stone wall enclosed an area of 3.1 ha (Obłuski 2014, 107), and Karat Negil in EzZuma, which is known from Lepsius’ description only. According to his measurements, it covered an area of c. 2.25 ha. (cf. Żurawski 2001, 382–383; LD V, 253). Other sites are smaller: Qasr Ibrim is 1.8 ha (Obłuski 2014, 107), Ikhmindi is 1.1 ha (loc. cit.). The walled part of Sabagura (one-third of the whole settlement) was 0.79 ha (Grossmann 1988b, 57). The mighty walls protected against the external enemy but also strengthened the authority of the sacrosanct king. Their importance grew together with the changing pattern of security in the region. The consolidation of the segmented territories under the sceptre of the first Christian kings in the Middle Nile required the assurance of protection for the local ethnic groups, who had been in charge of their own safety until then. The role of the church administration in this process needs to be investigated. It should be borne in mind that in the 6th century mentality the main obligation of the ideal Christian ruler was the construction of churches and fortifications (Cameron 1985, 124). The chain of fortified enclosures that were permanently or occasionally inhabited could also serve other purposes such as, e.g. postal stations (Adam/Łajtar pers. comm.). Research into the neglected realm of medieval Nubian fortifications has gained momentum in the last two decades. Holistic, contextual research addresses a wide range of issues and invites comparisons between the south and north. There is a sense of urgency and work needs to progress quickly before the advance of agricul-

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ture, home construction and general growth of the country’s infrastructure strip the Middle Nile fortifications of most of their context, which is of utmost importance for modern research on the subject. Map showing the location of sites mentioned in the text (elaborated by Bogdan T. Żurawski).

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Deichmann, Friedrich Wilhelm (1988b): Zu den Befestigungen und zur Urbanistik. In: Deichmann, Friedrich Wilhelm / Grossmann, Peter (eds.): Nubische Forschungen. Archäologische Forschungen 17. Berlin: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Gebr. Mann, p. 88–94. Deichmann, Friedrich Wilhelm / Grossmann, Peter (eds.) (1988): Nubische Forschungen. Archäologische Forschungen 17. Berlin: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Gebr. Mann. Dennis, George T. (1985): Three Byzantine Military Treatises. Text, Translation and Notes. Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae 25. Dumbarton Oaks Texts IX. Washington: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Donadoni, Sergio (1959): Un’epigrafe greco–nubiana da Ikhmindi. In: La Parole del Passato 14, p. 458–465. Drzewiecki, Mariusz (2011): The Southern Border of the Kingdom of Makuria in the Nile Valley. In: Études et Travaux XXIV, p. 93–107. Drzewiecki, Mariusz (2012): Ufortyfikowane założenia architektoniczne w kontekście osadniczym w Górnej Nubii w czasach królestwa Makurii. Unpublished PhD Thesis (in Polish). Adam Mickiewicz University, Institute of History. Drzewiecki, Mariusz (2014): Banganarti-Fortifications. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/ Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 901–908. Drzewiecki, Mariusz / Polkowski, Paweł (2015): Fortified Sites in the Area of the Fifth and Sixth Cataract in Context: Preliminary Reflections. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 8, p. 79–92. Drzewiecki, Mariusz / Stępnik, Tomasz (2012): Fortresses of Sudan Project. Abu Sideir Case Study. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 16, p. 96–99. Gardberg, Carl Jacob (1970): Late Nubian Sites. Churches and Settlements. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 7. Stockholm: Scandinavian University Books. Gleichen, A. Edward W. (1905): The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan: A Compendium prepared by Officers of the Sudan Government. Vol. 1: Geographical, Descriptive, and Historical. Vol. 2: Routes. London: Printed for H. M. Stationery Office by Harrison and Sons. Godlewski, Włodzimierz (2003): The City of Dongola before the Arab Raid of 651/652. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 2, p. 99–104. Godlewski, Włodzimierz (2006): Pachoras. The Cathedrals of Aetios, Paulos and Petros. The Architecture. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 1. Warsaw: University Press. Godlewski, Włodzimierz (2008): MtoM. Early Makuria Research Project, Season 2006. In: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean XVIII, p. 463–476. Godlewski, Włodzimierz (2013): Dongola – Ancient Tungul. Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology Archaeological Guide 1. Warsaw: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology. Griffith, Francis Llewellyn (1926): Oxford Excavations in Nubia. In: Liverpool Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology XIII/1–2, p. 17–34. Griffith, Francis Llewellyn (1927): Oxford Excavations in Nubia. In: Liverpool Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology XIV/3–4, p. 57–116. Grossmann, Peter (1988a): Ihmindi. In: Deichmann, Friedrich Wilhelm / Grossmann, Peter (eds.): Nubische Forschungen. Archäologische Forschungen 17. Berlin: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Gebr. Mann, p. 67–80. Grossmann, Peter (1988b): Sabagura. In: Deichmann, Friedrich Wilhelm / Grossmann, Peter (eds.): Nubische Forschungen. Archäologische Forschungen 17. Berlin: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Gebr. Mann, p. 57–66. Hägg, Tomas (1990): Titles and Honorific Epithets in Nubian Greek Texts. In: Symbolae Osloenses 65, p. 147–177.

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Jackson, Henry Cecil (1926): A Trek in Abu Hamed District. In: Sudan Notes and Records 9/2, p. 1–35. Jesse, Friederike / Vogel, Carola (eds.) (2013): The Power of Walls − Fortifications in Ancient Northeastern Africa. Proceedings of the International Workshop held at the University of Cologne 4th−7th August 2011. Colloquium Africanum. Beiträge zur Interdisziplinären Afrikaforschung 5. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut. Koder, Johannes (2005): Το Βυζάντιο ως χώρος. Εισαγωγή στην Ιστορική Γεωγραφία της Ανατολικής Μεςογείου στη Βυζαντινή Εποχή. Thessalonike: Banias. Krause, Martin (ed.) (1986): Nubische Studien. Tagungsakten der 5. Internationalen Konferenz der International Society for Nubian Studies, Heidelberg, 22.–25. September 1982. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern. Łajtar, Adam (1998): The Epitaph of Iesousinkouda: Eparch of Nobadia (?), Domestikos of Faras and Nauarchos of the Nobadae, died A. D. 1102. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 1, p. 73–80. Łajtar, Adam (2003): Catalogue of the Greek Inscriptions in the Sudan National Museum at Khartoum. Vol. 1: Khartoum Greek. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 122. Leuven: Peeters. LD V = Lepsius, Carl Richard (1849–1859): Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien nach den Zeichnungen der von Seiner Majestät dem Koenige von Preussen Friedrich Wilhelm IV nach diesen Ländern gesendeten und in den Jahren 1842–1845 ausgeführten wissenschaftlichen Expedition. Fünfte Abtheilung: Aethiopische Denkmaeler. Berlin: Nicolai. Łopaciuk, Roman / Wasik, Bogusz / Wiewióra, Marcin / Cedro, Aneta (2014): Architectural Studies of the Fortresses in the Third Cataract and Southern Dongola Reach Region. In: Études et Travaux XXVII, p. 233–256. Mileham, Geoffrey S. (1910): Churches in Lower Nubia. University of Pennsylvania Egyptian Department of the University Museum. Eckley B. Coxe Junior Expedition to Nubia 2. Philadelphia: University Museum. Millet, Nicholas Byram (1969): Meroitic Nubia. PhD Thesis. Yale University. University Microfilms. Inc. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Monneret de Villard, Ugo (1935–1957): La Nubia Medievale. 4 Vols. Cairo: Institut français d‛archéologie orientale. Näser, Claudia (2008): Die Humboldt University Nubian Expedition 2008: Arbeiten auf der Insel Mograt. In: Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 19, p. 47–52. Näser, Claudia / Lange, Mathias (eds.) (2007): Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract. Berlin, August 4th–6th, 2005. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 23. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Nicholas, Matthew (2014): Excavations in the Fort, Site KRG 2. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 18, p. 148–155. Obłuski, Artur (2014): The Rise of Nobadia. Social Changes in Northern Nubia in Late Antiquity. The Journal of Juristic Papyrology Supplements 20. Warsaw: Journal of Juristic Papyrology. Paner, Henryk (2005): The Christian Fortress at Redab. Game Survey, 2002. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 3, p. 179–201. Paner, Henryk (2010): The Haraz Fortress. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 6, p. 147–164. Paner, Henryk / Borcowski, Zbigniew (2005): Gdańsk Archaeological Museum Expedition. A Summary of Eight Seasons’ Work at the Fourth Cataract. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 4, p. 89–115. Pentcheva, Bissera V. (2006): Icons and Power: The Mother of God in Byzantium. University Park PA: Penn State University Press. Plumley, Jack Martin (1982): The Christian Period in Nubia as represented on the Site of Qasr Ibrim. In: van Moorsel, Paul (ed.): New Discoveries in Nubia. Proceedings of the Colloquium

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on Nubian Studies, The Hague 1979. Egyptologische Uitgaven 2. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het nabije oosten, p. 99–110. Plumley, Jack Martin (ed.) (1982): Nubian Studies. Proceedings of the Symposium for Nubian Studies, Selwyn College, Cambridge 1978. Warminster: Aris & Phillips. Plumley, Jack Martin / Adams, William Yewdale (1974): Qasr Ibrim 1972. In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 60, p. 212–238. Presedo Velo, Francisco J. (1964): La Fortaleza Nubia de Cheikh–Daud. Comite Espanol de la UNESCO para Nubia. Memorias de la Mision Arqueologica en Nubia IV. Madrid: Ministerio de asuntos exteriores direccion general de relaciones culturales. Pringle, Denys (1981): The Defence of Byzantine Africa from Justinian to the Arab Conquest. An Account of the Military History and Archaeology of the African Provinces in the Sixth and Seventh Centuries. 2 Vols. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 99. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Prokosch, Erich (1994): Ins Land der Geheimnisvollen Func. Des türkischen Weltbummlers, Evliyā Çelebi, Reise durch Oberägypten und den Sudan nebst der osmanischen Provinz Habeš in den Jahren 1672/73. Ein Reisebericht aus dem Sudan des 17. Jahrhunderts. Osmanische Geschichtsschreiber. Neue Folge Band 3. Graz/Vienna/Cologne: Styria. Rees, Gareth / Lahitte, Miriam / Näser, Claudia (2015): The Fortresses of Mograt Island Project. In: Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 26, p. 177–200. Rose, Pamela J. / Gascoigne, Alison (2013): Hisn al-Bab: More Symbol than Substance. In: Jesse, Friederike / Vogel, Carola (eds.): The Power of Walls − Fortifications in Ancient Northeastern Africa. Proceedings of the International Workshop held at the University of Cologne 4th−7th August 2011. Colloquium Africanum. Beiträge zur Interdisziplinären Afrikaforschung 5. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 251–268. Schmidt, Achim H. (2008): (…) praesidiis dubiarum condita rerum (…) − Straßenwarte oder Fluchtburg? − Archäologische und historische Aspekte zur Funktion der spätrömischen Höhensiedlungen im Rhein-Mosel-Raum. In: Wagener, Olaf (ed.): Der umkämpfte Ort – von der Antike zum Mittelalter. Beihefte zur Mediaevistik 10. Frankfurt on Main etc.: Peter Lang, p. 237–260. Stenico, Arturo (1960): Ikhmindi – una città fortificata medievale della Bassa Nubia. In: Annali della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia dell’Università degli Studi di Milano (Acme) 13, p. 31–76. Tahir, Yahia Fadl / Sadig, Azhari Mustafa (2014): A New Provision to the Nature and Function of the Wadi Walls (“Dry-stones”) in the Nile’s Third Cataract Region, ADAB. In: Journal of Faculty of Arts University of Khartoum 33, p. 378–58. Titherington, Geoffrey Wrench (1939): The Kubinat. Old Forts of the Fourth Cataract. In: Sudan Notes and Records 22, p. 269–271. Török, László (1986): The Chronology of the Qustul and Ballana Cemeteries. In: Krause, Martin (ed.): Nubische Studien. Tagungsakten der 5. Internationalen Konferenz der International Society for Nubian Studies, Heidelberg, 22.–25. September 1982. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern, p. 191–197. van Moorsel, Paul (ed.) (1982): New Discoveries in Nubia. Proceedings of the Colloquium on Nubian Studies, The Hague 1979. Egyptologische Uitgaven 2. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het nabije oosten. Veikou, Myrto (2012): Byzantine Epirus: A Topography of Transformation. Settlements of the Seventh-Twelfth Centuries in Southern Epirus and Aetoloacarnania, Greece. The Medieval Mediterranean 95. Leiden: Brill. Wagener, Olaf (ed.) (2009): Der umkämpfte Ort – von der Antike zum Mittelalter. Beihefte zur Mediaevistik 10. Frankfurt on Main etc.: Peter Lang. Welsby, Derek Anthony (1998): Roman Military Installations along the Nile South of the First Cataract. In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 8, p. 157–180.

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Welsby, Derek Anthony (2002): The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia. Pagans Christians and Muslims along the Middle Nile. London: British Museum Press. Wiewióra, Marcin (2003): Fortifications in the Southern Dongola Reach of the Nile. In: Żurawski, Bogdan T. (ed.): Nubia II. Survey and Excavations between Old Dongola and Ez-Zuma. Southern Dongola Reach Survey 1. Warsaw: Centre d’Archéologie Mediterraneenne de l’Academie Polonaise des Sciences, Editions Neriton, p. 403–511. Wiewióra, Marcin (2005): Suegi. A fortified Settlement near the Fourth Cataract. Preliminary Results of Archaeological and Architectural Survey. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 4, p. 167–179. Wiewióra, Marcin (2007): Architektura obronna w Nubii od V do XVI wieku. Studiumm archeologiczno-architektoniczne (in Polish). Toruń: Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika. Wotzka, Hans-Peter (ed.) (2012): Proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract, University of Cologne, 13–14 July 2006. Africa Praehistorica 22. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut. Wotzka, Hans-Peter (2013): Strongholds on the Middle Nile: Nubian Fortifications of the Middle Ages. In: Jesse, Friederike / Vogel, Carola (eds.): The Power of Walls − Fortifications in Ancient Northeastern Africa. Proceedings of the International Workshop held at the University of Cologne 4th−7th August 2011. Colloquium Africanum. Beiträge zur Interdisziplinären Afrikaforschung 5. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 113–143. Wotzka, Hans-Peter (2014): The Fourth Cataract in the Medieval Period. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 135–154. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2001): Makurian Defensive System in the Southern Dongola Reach (6th–14th Century). In: Études et Travaux XIX, p. 356–386. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2003): Nubia II. Survey and Excavations between Old Dongola and EzZuma. Southern Dongola Reach Survey 1. Warsaw: Centre d’Archéologie Mediterraneenne de l’Academie Polonaise des Sciences, Editions Neriton. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2007): Where the Water is crying. Survey and Excavations in Shemkhiya, Dar el-Arab (Suegi el-Gharb) and Saffi Island carried out by the Polish Expedition to the Fourth Cataract in the Winter of 2004/2005. Preliminary Report. In: Näser, Claudia / Lange, Mathias (eds.): Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract. Berlin, August 4th–6th, 2005. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 23. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 179–205. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2012): Shemkhiya 2006. A Contribution to the Later History of the Region. In: Wotzka, Hans-Peter (ed.): Proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract, University of Cologne, 13–14 July 2006. Africa Praehistorica 22. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 287–301.

Włodzimierz Godlewski

The Sacral Architecture in the Kingdom of Makuria Church architecture appeared in Nubia with the Christianization of the three Nubian Kingdoms of Nobadia, Makuria and Alwa in the mid-6th century. At this time the kingdoms already demonstrated distinct territorial and organizational autonomy, as well as a well-organised technical infrastructure based on the continuity of local architectural workshops; but the new religious structures reflected established building plans corresponding to liturgical needs that were introduced with the coming of Christian missionaries, although implemented by local craftsmen. Hence the architectural form of the first structures was dependent on the regions from which the missionaries came, as well as the ambitions of the local administration and the informed needs of the local community as far as it was open to the new religious reality. Church architecture in Nobadia, where Meroitic religion was still running strong, developed largely inside pharaonic temples and sanctuaries, whereas the earliest churches in Makuria were entirely new foundations, representing a wide range of forms and consequently well-rooted in Byzantine architecture. Nothing can be said as yet about Alwan church architecture at this early date. Mass conversion of pagan temple interiors in the region between the first and Second Cataracts, in Qasr Ibrim (temple of Amun), Kalabsha (temple of Mandulis), Wadi el-Sebua (temple of Amun-Ra), the speos in Abu Oda and a few other places with less well preserved evidence of the transformation, was carried out in all likelihood at the instigation of Philae bishop Theodoros, as suggested by a foundation inscription above the entrance to the temple at Dendur adapted by priest Abraham (Ochała 2011). The temple at Kalabsha was transformed by the priest Paulos. The latest to be changed was the temple at Tafa, a transformation achieved in 710 by the priest Ioannes, although the foundation stele discovered next to the temple may have concerned an entirely different religious structure (Kubińska 1974, 18–19). Several churches on the same plan of a three-aisled pillar basilica with an apse featuring lateral entrances to the pastophories were built in the 6th/7th century in Faras (Pachoras) and in settlements around the metropolis (Fig. 1.2: Debeira). The sanctuary in the apse was accessed from the naos under a Triumphal Arch springing from two transverse pillars. A staircase located usually in the south-western corner room led onto the galleries running atop the aisles. Lower parts of walls were of stone blocks, upper parts of mud-brick, and the interiors were vaulted (Mileham 1910, 14–21, pls. 8–9; Godlewski 1990, 282–283). Stone lintels and door embrasures were decorated with Christian symbols and floral decoration in shallow relief (Fig. 6); granite or sandstone columns of the Triumphal Arch were topped with Corinthian-style capitals. The apse and the inner https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-037

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Fig. 1: Early churches in Makuria and Nobadia Kingdoms. 1–2: Monastery churches: 1. Dongola, Kom H, Monastery (mid-6th century); 2. Qasr el-Wizz/Pachoras (6th/7th century); 3–5: Parish churches: 3. Dongola, Old Church (mid-6th century); 4. Debeira-West (6th/7th century); 5. Dongola, Mosaic Church (6th/7th century).

walls of the naos were covered with murals, preserved fragmentarily on the whole, most fully in the speos at Abu Oda, where they were painted on the stone ceilings and architraves, and at Kalabsha, but also in the conch of the apse at Debeira-West. Early architecture in Makuria is known mainly from Dongola and from the nearby sites of Banganarti and Selib (Godlewski 2006a; 2013b, 58–66). The buildings in Dongola followed different architectural plans apparently depending on their function. The Old Church, which served as a parish church, was built of mud-brick

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on the plan of a three-aisled basilica with pillars and an inner narthex and side annexes (Fig. 1.2). The Monastery Church on Kom H was a red-brick foundation on the plan of a three-aisled basilica with a central tower supported by four stone pillars (Fig. 1.1). Of the four commemorative churches, each one represented a different form: Church BX was a large central building on a cruciform plan inscribed in a rectangle, featuring pastophories connected by a passage behind the apse providing access to the crypts located under the apse; Church ED was a small structure with an undivided naos and a developed eastern end, the apse and pastophories projecting from the main body of the building; the Mosaic Church (MC.I) near the royal tombs was a three-aisled basilica with four stone pillars in the naos and a portico fronting the western facade (Fig. 1.5). A small cruciform structure (SWN.B.III; Fig. 4.1) in front of the southern facade of the palace of Ioannes on the citadel, most likely commemorating the defenders of the citadel, was topped by a dome and featured four doorways, one in each of the arms (Fig. 4.1). The interiors of all these churches were finished with lime plaster on the walls and paintings (although these have been preserved only in SWN.B.III on the citadel and the Central Building to the north of the Monastery Church on Kom H). Churches on a basilical plan must have had galleries. Apses were filled with synthrona and sanctuaries were arranged in the eastern part of the nave, set off by chancel posts. Differences in the form of religious buildings raised in Makuria and Nobadia became evident, especially in the new foundations, in the second half of the 6th and the early 7th centuries. The relatively well-preserved churches in Pachoras and its neighbourhood, now at the bottom of the Nubian Lake, represent a homogeneous group, best exemplified by the North and South Churches at Pachoras, the River Church at Adindan and the church at Debeira-West (Mileham 1910). The principal characteristics of religious architecture and the internal furniture in the Kingdom of Makuria, both in terms of elements of architecture and functional organization, were established early in Dongola. The Monastery Church on Kom H and the Old Church to the north of the Citadel are the oldest examples of Dongolan church architecture built in the mid-6th century. The incorporation of Nobadia into the Kingdom of Makuria at the close of the 6th/ beginning of the 7th century was followed by a uniform organization of the Church of Makuria with bishoprics at Dongola, Sai, Pachoras, Phrim and Qurte. The first of the preserved cathedrals were built at Dongola (EC.I) (Fig. 2.1), Pachoras (Cathedral of Aetios) (Fig. 2.1) and Phrim (Old Church). These cathedrals were five-aisled basilicas with columns in the naos, and the eastern end with the sanctuary and pastophories following a different layout but in keeping with the earlier tradition. The cathedral in Dongola (EC.I) replaced the earlier Building X (BX), apparently damaged in a natural catastrophe as suggested by the thick deposits of black Nile silt found inside the building. It was a rectangular structure (33.4 × 23.6 m), built of red brick with a five-aisled naos in which the nave was one-and-a-half times wider

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Fig. 2: Cathedrals in Dongola and Pachoras. 1. Dongola, Cathedral no. 1 (6th/7th century); Pachoras, Cathedral of Aetios (6th/7th century); 2. Dongola, Cathedral no. 3 (end of the 7th century); Pachoras, Cathedral of Paulos (AD 707); 3. Dongola, Cathedral no. 4 (second half of the 10th century); Pachoras, Cathedral of Petros (end of the 10th century).

than the aisles. The aisles were separated by four rows of pink granite columns. Inside the apse was a synthronon and the eastern part of the nave was enclosed by stone chancel posts; a sanctuary with a table altar was located there. On both sides of the apse were two pastophories connected by a passage running behind the apse. Inside the southern sacristy there was a round and deep baptismal pool furnished with two sets of steps, one from the west and the other from the east (Godlewski 2006a, 269–271).

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In Pachoras, the cathedral of Aetios, the first bishop of Pachoras, was built in stone, red brick being used for the upper parts of the walls. It was a five-aisled columnar basilica with narthex. On both sides of the apse, which was filled with a synthronon, there were pastophories connected with the naos (Godlewski 2006b, 33–41). The first cathedral at Qasr Ibrim (32.0 × 19.6 m), the Old Church, was built of stone by bishop Agathios(?), as suggested by a fragmentary foundation inscription (Łajtar 2010, 15–19). It was a five-aisled columnar basilica with the nave two-anda-half times wider than the aisles, and a small apse connected with the side pastophories. A rectangular pool in the south sacristy is the only part of the liturgical furniture that has survived. Below the eastern part of the church there are two narrow crypts (2.10 m wide) with steps descending to them from the south and north aisles (Aldsworth 2010, 126–136). New cathedral foundations appeared at the end of the 7th and the beginning of the 8th century, first at Dongola (RC.I), and then in 707 in Pachoras (Cathedral of Paulos) (Fig. 2.2). They were built on a central plan with a five-aisled, columnar naos comprising two equally important naves intersecting at right angles in the middle of the complex. The eastern side of the building had pastophories in the shape of gamma, on both sides of the apse. The south-eastern pastophory was divided into two separate chambers. The staircase accessible from the naos suggests the existence of galleries. Liturgical furniture included a synthronon in the apse, a sanctuary in the eastern part of the nave surrounded by a stone cancelli, a table altar and a pulpit in the central part of the naos. In the baptistery, beside the sunken baptismal pool, there is a small apse, with a table altar; the sanctuary is screened off by a low altar. The construction of these buildings initiated the development of original Makurian church architecture. Buildings constructed in this period in Soba (poorly preserved) copied the layout of the Dongolan cathedral, while introducing a number of local features (Welsby/Daniels 1991, 33–92; Welsby 1990, 491–498). Also, the cathedral in Qasr Ibrim, built most probably around AD 700, was extensively reconstructed but on the same basilical plan. The apse was enlarged and filled with a synthronon; the sanctuary was located in the eastern part of the nave. The western part of the church, party preserved, was composed of a narthex between two corner towers, the south-western of which contained the staircase leading to the galleries (Aldsworth 2010, 136–142). The most monumental complexes that demonstrate veritable local input on global architecture are two churches built in Dongola in the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 9th century: the King’s Church of Archangel Raphael standing next to the royal palace on the citadel (Fig. 3.1) and the Church of Great Jesus (CC.I), the biggest religious structure ever constructed in Makuria, situated to the north of the Citadel (Fig. 4.2). Both were royal foundations, referring in their architectural form to earlier churches built in Dongola, notably Cathedral III (RC.I) and SWN.B.III.

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Fig. 3: 1. Dongola, Church of the Archangel Raphael (end of the 8th century); 2. Dongola, Church of Pillars (8th/9th century); 3. Hambukol, Church of Mariankouda (mid-9th century); 4. Dongola, Church D (9th/10th century); 5. Kulb, Church (10th century).

The Church of Archangel Raphael (24.0 × 15.0 m) was built on a central plan with a narthex and two projecting arms on the south and north sides, both furnished with entrances. The square naos with four round pillars and very prominent round pilasters projecting from the side walls was covered with five domes. In the eastern part, on either side of the apse, there were gamma-shaped pastophoria connected by an eastern corridor. The apse was filled with a synthronon and the eastern part of the nave was marked off with masonry cancelli. The pulpit, built of reused granite blocks, was located by the north-eastern pillar (Godlewski 2016). The Cruciform Church (37.5 × 34.8 m) is the biggest building discovered in Makuria so far. It was built in the form of a cross, with three arms radiating from the central part under a monumental dome. Each of the arms was made up of two parts.

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Fig. 4: Commemorative buildings. 1. Dongola, SWN.B.III (second half of the 7th century); 2. Dongola, ‘Cruciform Church’ (mid-9th century); 3. Dongola, Kom H, Monastery – Annex NW, Church of Georgios (c. 1060 AD); 4. Banganarti, Upper Church (end of the 11th century).

The inner parts were wider and had a portico opening onto the central bay. The outer parts were narrower and different in function: three of them formed entrances to the building. The narrower part of the eastern arm, separated from the rest of the interior, was a kind of commemorative chapel with an altar by the east wall and a structure in the form of a Latin cross on the pavement over the two crypts, containing most probably the bodies of the Apostles of Makuria. In the middle of the central bay was a large ciborium, housing most probably a monumental silver cross carried off by the Mamluk armies after a raid on Makuria in 1276 (Vantini 1975, OSN 472, 475, 534, 536). A synthronon was located between the bases of the eastern triforium, and the space on either side and behind the structure was set apart by wooden barriers placed between the columns and pilasters of the eastern portico. The position of the altar has not been identified. The cruciform building in Dongola was

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commissioned by the co-reigning kings Zacharias and Georgios after the latter retuned from a trip to Bagdad in 836.1 Smaller foundations on a central plan mushroomed throughout Makuria at this time, all modelled on the Church of Archangel Raphael: Naga el-Oqba, Kulb, Hambukol, the Lower Church in Banganarti, Nuri, as well as Dongola (Church D and the Pillar Church) (Godlewski 2006a, 279–281). In the late 10th century the cathedral in Dongola (RC.2) was rebuilt, as was the Cathedral of Petros in Pachoras. In both cases, the wooden ceilings were replaced with domes, the central dome being more distinguished. The rebuilding of the Cathedral in Dongola (Fig. 2.3) was accomplished by the introduction of round brick pillars inside the naos, in the nave and transept, while simultaneously leaving a columnar naos with wooden roof in the corners. A central dome was placed on the pillars, and vaulted ceilings over the nave and transept (Gartkiewicz 1990, 264–299). During the rebuilding of the Cathedral at Pachoras (Fig. 2.3) pillars were introduced instead of columns that supported a central dome, barrel vaults were placed in the nave and transept, and groin-vaults in other parts of the naos. The new Cathedral of Petros in Pachoras was a more harmonious building, and with its painted decoration was one of the most magnificent buildings of the kingdom (Godlewski 2006b, 93–117). New original foundations appeared in the 11th century. King Raphael founded a hall basilica with pillars in Tamit at the beginning of the century (Grossmann 1982, 184–189; 2016) and the Upper Church (21.0 × 21.5 m) was raised in Banganarti at the end of the century (Fig. 4.4). The latter was an entirely new type of monumental religious structure, designed on a central plan with the naos surrounded by chapels, three each on the southern, western and northern sides and seven apses on the eastern side. Two staircases in corner rooms led up to the galleries (Żurawski 2014). Lateral external porticoes seem to refer to the architecture of the Throne Hall in Dongola (Godlewski 2013b, 41–47), but also to the porticoes of the so-called Cathedral at Soba (Welsby 1990). The church was a royal foundation imbued with special commemorative function, as it was dedicated to the dead sovereigns of Makuria (Kingdom of Dotawo). The late period of the 12th through 15th centuries witnessed the construction of many small mud-brick churches in Makuria, for the most part three-aisled basilicas with shortened dome in the naos or domed structures on a central plan. These religious buildings no longer had synthrona in the apses, which were now replaced with altars. The sanctuaries were screened off from the naos with high altar screens. The oldest complex of this kind is the church in Sonqi Tino from the end of the 10th and beginning of the 11th century (Fanfoni 1979). A small cruciform building with side entrances in Tamit (Grossmann 1982, 81) has close parallels in the small

1 Godlewski 1990; 2006a, 278–279; 2013b, 39–41.

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Fig. 5: Commemorative buildings with graves. 1. Dongola, Kom H, Monastery, Chapel of St. Anna (end of the 10th century); 2. Dongola, Chapel of Bishops (11th–14th century).

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churches at Sur-South of the Fourth Cataract (Näser/Tsakos 2014). The small central structures in Serre (Grossmann 1982, 191) recall blockhouse architecture of a domestic nature. Commemorative chapels with graves constitute a separate group of religious structures. These are the sanctuary of a local saint, Anna, in Dongola on Kom H (Fig. 5.1) (Godlewski 2013b, 82–83) and the sanctuary of bishops in the northwest Annex of the Monastery, both on Kom H in Dongola (Fig. 5.2) (Godlewski 2013b, 85–91).

Liturgical Furniture in Makurian Churches Sanctuary In Nobadia and in late Makurian churches the sanctuary was located in the apse. In the large cathedral complexes and in Dongolan churches, however, a masonry synthronon filled the apse and the sanctuary was in the eastern part of the nave, set off from the body of the church by chancel posts and an altar screen (Fig. 1.1 & 1.2). The screen was first a low barrier of stone with three passages, one in the centre and two lateral ones. Later a built screen was introduced, not too high at first, and topped with a templum above the central doorway. In the end, the sanctuary was screened off completely, as in the Rivergate Church in Pachoras and in more developed form in Sonqi Tino.

Altars Altars came in two types: a table altar on four supports and a masonry altar with a niche entered in the east and a mensa on top. From the end of the 8th century altars appeared in the prothesis (Fig. 7.4); earlier, they were introduced also in the baptistery of the cathedrals in Dongola (Godlewski 1979, 110–124).

Liturgical Vessels Liturgical vessels – chalices, patens and incense burners – were made of glass (Fig. 3.3) and metal (Fig. 7.2), and increasingly often of pottery.

Pulpit The ambo or pulpit was situated most often in the nave, on the northern side, near the altar screen. The steps and platform stood on small columns (Fig. 1.1), but much more often it was a masonry structure with steps from the west (Figs. 1.4–5; 2.3; 3.1–2).

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Baptistery The baptistery was always inside the church, in the south-eastern room. The early fonts (from the 6th–7th centuries) were large and deep, sunk into the pavement, circular with steps from the east and west (Fig. 7.5); later they became smaller and the piscina was separated from the steps (in the second half of the 7th century). In the late period, a stone piscina, square or oval in form, was placed on a platform or on the floor. In the cathedrals RC.1 in Dongola and that of Paulos in Pachoras, the baptismal font was located in the south-eastern room with a sanctuary, presumably because baptismal rites were connected with anointment and holy communion (Fig. 2.2). Murals depicting John the Baptist, St Stephanos and bishops are found in a few of the churches and cathedrals. A larger number of different wall paintings appeared on the walls of the baptistery in the cathedral of Paulos and Petros in Pachoras. The southern pastophory served also as a diakonikon (Godlewski 1979).

Prothesis The prothesis was located always in the north-eastern pastophory; from the 8th century on there was also an altar in it. A prothesis altar also appeared sometimes in commemorative chapels. Greek prayer texts connected with the consecration of presanctified gifts, wine and bread, accompanied the altars. Representations of Christ with a chalice appeared above the altars (Fig. 7.4). Representations of priests in offering are also found in the Church of Raphael in Dongola (Łajtar/Zielińska 2016).

Narthex The narthex was more common in the early basilicas; later it was reduced to the western vestibule as an extension of the nave. It is also present in cathedrals (Fig. 2.2) and buildings on a central plan, like the Church of Raphael in Dongola (Fig. 3.1).

Gallery Galleries were found above the aisles in the western end of a church and were reached via staircases; they have been preserved in a few churches.

Wall Paintings and Architectural Decoration Religious building interiors were plastered from the beginning, that is, from the 6th century. Lime plaster was applied in many buildings, but later only in the Don-

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golan churches. Whitewashed mud plaster was much more common, as also in cathedrals, as attested by the cathedral of Paulos in Pachoras. Architectural decoration, made of sandstone and granite, was introduced, more frequently in Nobadia. The decor included columns, capitals, lintels, door embrasures, niche tops, tympanums and carved friezes, the latter decorated with symbolic images as well as floral and geometric motifs, based mainly on palmettes and scrolling vines, occasionally animated with images of birds and animals (Fig. 6).2 Floors were made mainly of ceramic tiles and stone slabs, of different size and usually not squared (Godlewski 2013b, 126). Geometric mosaics made by local craftsmen, using white and black desert pebbles set in a bedding of poor quality, were discovered in two Dongolan buildings: Cathedral II (EC.II) and church MC II.

Fig. 6: 1. Pachoras, lintel, red limestone (6th/7th century); 2. Pachoras, lintel, limestone (mid-6th century); 3. Pachoras, lintel, sandstone (mid-6th century); 4. Pachoras, frieze from the Cathedral of Aetios; fragment, red limestone (6th/7th century); 6. Pachoras, capital, red sandstone (6th/7th century); 7. Pachoras, capital, red sandstone (6th/7th century); 8. Pachoras, capital, sandstone (7th century).

2 Aldsworth 2010, 91–114; Ryl-Preibisz 1971; 1987; Godlewski 1986; Idzikowska 1983.

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Fig. 6: 5. Pachoras, encasement of entrance, limestone (7th century); 9. Dongola, capital, granite (8th–9th century); 10. Dongola, capital, granite (7th century); 11. Dongola, capital, red granite (6th/7th century).

They evoke the ambitions of artisans from the capital centre of the kingdom (Godlewski 2011). It was common for the lower parts of walls and the inside of baptismal fonts in the early churches to be painted in imitation of marble revetment (Fig. 7.5). The dado with elements of decorative stuccowork in BC.III on the Citadel in Dongola is relatively well preserved (Zielińska 2010b). Murals were introduced in the upper parts of the walls, about 1.50 m above the floors and on the soffits of the arcades. The painted decoration of religious buildings drew upon early Byzantine iconography starting from the conversion of the Nubian Kingdoms to Christianity in the mid-6th century. They were created most probably by local craftsmen with the assistance of missionaries and monks. The Dongolan school associated with the royal court, possibly international in its make-up, rose to artistic excellence already in the 7th century. The bust of an archangel from the Central Building next to the Monastery Church on Kom H is a good example (Fig. 8.1), as are also fragments of a composition from SWN.BC.III on the citadel (Zielińska 2010b) and the paintings in House A (Jakobielski 2004, 214). A similar iconography, albeit not as well preserved, is known from Abu Oda and Kalabsha. It remains to be seen whether it could date to after the incorporation of

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Fig. 7: Liturgical equipment of churches in Makuria. 1. Pachoras, Cathedral of Aetios – mural on the synthronon, challis with paten (6th/7th century); 2. Dongola, Cathedral no. 4: censer, alloy (10th–11th century); 3. Pachoras, Cathedral of Petros, challis, glass (10th–11th century); 4. Pachoras, Cathedral of Petros, prothesis – altar and mural – Christ with challis (end of 10th century); 5. Dongola, Old Church, baptistery – basin (mid-6th century).

Nobadia by Makuria at the end of the 6th/beginning of the 7th century. The largest set of murals from the early 8th century is preserved inside the Cathedral of Paulos at Pachoras.3 The redevelopment of the building on the plan of the Dongolan cathedral suggests that the wall paintings may have been executed by Dongolan painters as well. Two official foundation stelae, bilingual in Greek and Coptic, both very well composed and without parallel in the kingdom, also point to Paulos’s roots in the capital city.4 The full set of wall paintings from the Cathedral of Paulos has not been 3 Michałowski 1974; Martens-Czarnecka 1982; Jakobielski 1972; 1982; Godlewski 2006b. 4 Jakobielski 1972, 35–51; Kubińska 1974, 14–18; Łajtar/Twardecki 2003, 260–270; van der Vliet 2003, 3–15.

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Fig. 8: Early murals of Makuria. 1. Archangel, Dongola, Kom H, Monastery – central building (6th/ 7th century); 2. Archangel, Pachoras, Cathedral of Paulos (707 AD); 3. St. Anna, Pachoras, Cathedral of Paulos (707 AD).

preserved, but a few of the compositions from this phase of the cathedral made their way into the liturgical decoration of Makurian churches. The set is perceived in a much clearer form in the Cathedral of Petros from the end of the 10th and beginning of the 11th century (Zielińska 2010a; 2009). The composition in the apse was tiered from the start: Christ in Glory with the Four Apocalyptical Beings in the conch above (the oldest example of this kind of composition is preserved at Debeira-West) and the college of Apostles on either side of a central figure of the Virgin in the lower part, just above the synthronon. A fuller composition from the early 11th century was preserved in the Church of Raphael at Tamit (Monneret de Villard 1957, pl. CXLVII). Narrative scenes of the Nativity and Three Youths from a Fiery Furnace were an integral part of the iconography present in religious buildings. Other compositions included the Virgin Hodegetria, St Anne, archangels, apostles, martyrs and holy bishops.5 Surprisingly, representations of the Alexandrian bishops and great theologians are missing. Representations directly linked to the liturgy in the prothesis, that is, Christ with a chalice cup and St. John the Baptist in the baptistery, started being painted in the 8th/9th century. Several other images were closely tied in with the liturgical calendar, but a fuller interpretation is possible only for the end of the 10th and the early 11th century, for which time the preserved evidence is more complete (Łajtar/ Zielińska 2016). An official programme of images was introduced into the religious interiors at the end of the 8th century, appearing side by side with the New Testament figures and saints from the Byzantine Church. The Church of the Archangel Raphael is next to the royal palace in Dongola, the oldest example of such a programme. Its rather

5 Innemee 1995; Zielińska 2008; 2010a.

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Fig. 9: 1–3. Official program, Cathedral of Petros, Pachoras (end of 10th century) [1. King Georgios III; 2. Martha, Mother of King; 3. Bishop Petros]; 4–5. Eschatological program [4–4A. Dongola, Kom H, Church of Georgios (c. 1060 AD); 5. Banganarti, Upper Church (12th century)].

local (Makurian) form is presumably dictated by the processes shaping the autocephalous Church of Makuria under King Ioannes II (c. 770–804 AD). A representation of the king between the Apostles was painted in the apse and that of Bishop Aabram in the baptistery; priests were imaged in the prothesis and portraits of highranking officials of the royal court found their place on the walls of the naos on the southern, better preserved side (Godlewski, forthcoming). In the 10th century, a somewhat modified official programme reduced to images of the King, Mother of the King and Bishop appeared in the Cathedral of Paulos at Pachoras and was continued in the edifice commissioned by Petros (Figs. 9.1–3). It has also been noted sporadically in a few of the smaller parish churches: at Sonqi Tino and in Tamit in the Church of Raphael and the Church of the Angels (Godlewski 2008). An even more modified official programme, most probably eschatological in nature as it is linked to the cult of dead rulers, was introduced in the second half

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of the 11th century in a commemorative church founded by the archpresbyter and archistylites Georgios in the so-called north-west Annex of the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola (Figs. 9.4AB; 4.3) (Godlewski 2013b, 85–87; Martens-Czarnecka 2011, 221) and in more developed form in the Upper Church at Banganarti (Figs. 9.5; 4.4)6 where only the bottom parts of the wall paintings have been preserved, but where a tiered composition should also be expected: representations of the king under the protection of a psychopomp archangel surrounded by the Apostles in the lower part and in the upper part, now lost, Christ Pantokrator. The upper part of the composition has been preserved solely at Dongola. Makurian painting demonstrates significant development of the iconography over the ages, often without analogy in late Byzantine painting. The process is understandable considering the deep isolation of Makuria as a result of the geopolitical situation in the region during the rule of the Ayyubids and Mamluks in Egypt. Makurian artisans remained masters of their craft as attested by the artistic quality of paintings from this age in the cathedrals at Pachoras, the religious buildings at Dongola and the churches at Banganarti, as well as many other churches in Makuria. Of particular interest in the late period (11th–14th century) were scenes of the Nativity extended to include “dancing” warriors (Martens-Czarnecka 2014), representations of the Holy Trinity with a three-figured Christ (Makowski 2016) and a Triumphant Cross combined with the figures of 24 enthroned Elders (Zielińska 2016), as well as images of the date palm willed to bend toward the Virgin by Christ the Child sitting on her arm (Zielińska 2016; Godlewski 2014). Indeed, local iconographic innovation in Makurian wall painting abounded, and the most exceptional example of such creativity presented by the Dongolan artistic milieu is the set of murals from the so-called south-west Annex to the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola, dated most probably from the 13th century and connected with an influx of a sub-Saharan population to the capital (Martens-Czarnecka 2011). Narrative compositions associated with genre scenes like the sale of a slave and a joyous religious feast involving dance and music, and a reminder of everyday life with Mary nursing the Child while spinning (Martens-Czarnecka 2011, 172–174), are undoubtedly a considered sociological form of presentation combining folk religiosity with a simple message encoded in images rather than based on text. This folk religiosity of Makurian society in this period is reflected in hundreds of graffiti preserved on the walls of the Upper Church at Banganarti (Łajtar 2008). They fit well with all the religious graffiti known from Nubian churches and commemorative edifices. Even so, one seeks something of extraordinary social significance to explain the casus of Banganarti religiousness as expressed in graffiti of the 14th century, something that only Divine Providence may ‘heal’ or ‘remove’. The references to the Archangel Raphael in the graffiti need not be only an indication

6 Żurawski 2014; Wozniak 2014; 2016.

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of the dedication of the Upper Church. The church was a cult place of the dead rulers of Makuria, a dynasty that had just fallen, practically all its living members having been deported to Egypt. The collapse of the kingdom and the growing economic problems caused by foreign exploitation must have hit society hard, but there may have been something even more stressful that caused this quest for the protection of the archangel, the ‘physician who did not take payment’ as is said in a suggestive phrase from one of the inscriptions in the royal church at Dongola (SWN.B.V). The collapse of the economy and central administration, as well as continuous wars could have led to something that could not be checked socially in any way, a plague that decimated a society, which was still very religious at heart (Łajtar 2014). In one of the inscriptions (Banganarti 16[578]) one reads: ‘Raphael, helper of the whole of mankind , you administer all men, now save (us) alive from the danger(s) (as you saved) Sarra after coming down (from Heaven) and throw out every enemy who is upon us fighting […..] and now keep away (from us) sudden death […..] your God and [….] your sweetest name. I, Papa, being a deacon of (the Church of) Jesus at Dang( ) {Dongola ?}, and the one who is called Thegna of the town of the Island of Michael, (and) Lord of Elders.’ (Łajtar 2014, 278–280).

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Grossmann, Peter (1982): Mittelalterliche Langhauskuppelkirchen und verwandte Typen in Oberaegypten. Eine Studie zum mittelalterlichen Kirchenbau in Ägypten. Abhandlungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo. Koptische Reihe 3. Glückstadt: J. J. Augustin. Grossmann, Peter (2016): Spätantike und mittelalterliche Vierstutzenkirchen in Ägypten. In: Łajtar, Adam / Obłuski, Artur / Zych, Iwona (eds.): Aegyptus et Nubia Christiana. The Włodzimierz Godlewski Jubilee Volume on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday. Warsaw: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, p. 135–143. Idzikowska, Barbara (1983): La décoration en pierre des portes dans les églises et édifices profanes de Faras. In: Études et Trauvaux 12, p. 195–237. Innemee, Karel C. (1995): Observations on the System of Nubian Church-decoration. In: Actes de la VIIIe Conférence Internationale des Études Nubiennes, Lille 11–17 septembre 1994. I: Communications principales. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 17/1. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle − Lille III, p. 279–288. Jakobielski, Stefan (1972): A History of the Bishopric of Pachoras on the Basis of Coptic Inscriptions. Faras III. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Éditions scientifiques de Pologna. Jakobielski, Stefan (1982): Remarques sur la chronologie des peintures murales de Faras aux VIIIe et IXe siècles. In: Jakobielski, Stefan (ed.): Nubia Christiana. Tom I. Warsaw: Akademia Teologii Katolickiej, p. 142–167. Kubińska, Jadwiga (1974): Inscriptions grecques chrétiennes. Faras IV. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe – Editions Scientifiques de Pologne. Łajtar, Adam (2008): Late Christian Nubia through Visitors’ Inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference for Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August– 2 September 2006. Part 1: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 321–331. Łajtar, Adam (2014): Archangel Raphael in Inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti. In: Żurawski, Bogdan T. (ed.): Kings and Pilgrims. St Raphael Church II at Banganarti, mideleventh to mid-eighteenth Century. Nubia V. Banganarti 2. IKŚiO PAN. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Neriton, p. 261–283. Łajtar, Adam / Twardecki, Alfred (2003): Catalogue des inscriptions grecques du Musée National de Varsovie. The Journal of Juristic Papyrology Supplement 2. Warsaw: Taubenschlag Foundation. Łajtar, Adam / Zielińska, Dobrochna (2016): The Northern Pastophorium of Nubian Churches: Ideology and Function (on the Basis of Inscriptions and Paintings). In: Łajtar, Adam / Obłuski, Artur / Zych, Iwona (eds.): Aegyptus et Nubia Christiana. The Włodzimierz Godlewski Jubilee Volume on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday. Warsaw: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, p. 403–426. Makowski, Piotr (2016): The Holy Trinity in Nubian Art. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Dzierzbicka, Dorota (eds): Dongola 2012–2014. Fieldwork, Conservation and Site Management. Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology Excavation Series 3. Warsaw: University of Warsaw, p. 293–308. Martens-Czarnecka, Małgorzata (1982): Les élements décoratifs sur les peintures de la Cathédrale de Faras. Faras VII. Warsaw: Editions scientifiques de Pologne. Martens-Czarnecka, Małgorzata (2011): The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola. Nubia III. Dongola 3. Warsaw: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw. Martens-Czarnecka, Małgorzata (2014): Nubian Representations of Nativity discovered in the Monastery in Old Dongola. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.):

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The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 917–927. Michałowski, Kazimierz (1974): Faras: Wall Paintings in the Collection of the National Museum in Warsaw. Warsaw: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw. Mileham, Geoffrey S. (1910): Churches in Lower Nubia. Eckley B. Coxe Junior Expedition to Nubia II. Philadelphia: University Museum. Monneret de Villard, Ugo (1935–1957): La Nubia Medioevale. 3. Vols. Cairo: Institut français d‛archéologie orientale. Näser, Claudia / Tsakos, Alexandros (2014): From Bits and Pieces. A Corpus of Medieval Manuscripts from the Humboldt University H.U. N. E. Concession in the Fourth Nile Cataract. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 977–984. Ochała, Grzegorz (2011): The Date of the Dendur Foundation Inscription reconsidered. In: Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists 48, p. 217–224. Ryl-Preibisz, Ida (1971): Chapiteaux en granit de Nubie. In: Etudes et Trauvaux 5, p. 209–241. Ryl-Preibisz, Ida (1987): Nubian Stone Architectural Decoration. In: Hägg, Tomas (ed.): Nubian Culture. Past and Present. Main Papers presented at the Sixth International Conference for Nubian Studies in Uppsala, 11–16 August 1986. Stockholm: Almquist & Wiksell, p. 247–259. Vantini, Giovanni (1975): Oriental Sources concerning Nubia. Heidelberg/Warsaw: Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften. Welsby, Derek Anthony (1990): Excavations at Soba East in Central Sudan, 1983/1984. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz (ed.): Coptic Studies. Acts of the 3rd International Congress of Coptic Studies, Warsaw 20–25 August 1984. Warsaw: PWN-Editions Scientifique de Pologne, p. 491–498. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2014): The Kingdom of Alwa. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/ Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 183–199. Welsby, Derek Anthony / Daniels, Charles M. (1991): Soba. Archaeological Research at the Medieval Capital on the Blue Nile. Memoirs of the British Institute in Eastern Africa. Vol. 12. London: British Institute in Eastern Africa. Wożniak, Magdalena (2014): L’apport des portraits de Banganarti à l’étude du costume et des textiles. In: Żurawski, Bogdan T. (ed.): Kings and Pilgrims. St Raphael Church II at Banganarti, mid-eleventh to mid-eighteenth Century. Nubia V. Banganarti 2. IKŚiO PAN. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Neriton, p. 317–325. Wożniak, Magdalena (2016): The Chronology of the Eastern Chapels in the Banganarti Upper Church. Some Observations on the Genesis of the “Apse Portraits” in the Nubian Royal Iconography. In: Łajtar, Adam / Obłuski, Artur / Zych, Iwona (eds.): Aegyptus et Nubia Christiana. The Włodzimierz Godlewski Jubilee Volume on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday. Warsaw: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, p. 619–636. Zielińska, Dobrochna (2009): Iconographical Program in Nubian Churches. A Study of Wall Paintings Location in Sacral Interior. Unpublished PhD Thesis. University of Warsaw (in Polish). Zielińska, Dobrochna (2010a): The Iconographical Program in Nubian Churches: Progress Report based on a New Reconstruction Project. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part Two: Session Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/2.2. Warsaw: University Press, p. 643–652.

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Zielińska, Dobrochna (2010b): Edifice without Parallel: Cruciform Building on the Old Dongola Citadel. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August– 2 September 2006. Part Two: Session Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/2.2. Warsaw: University Press, p. 695–704. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (ed.) (2014): Kings and Pilgrims. St Raphael Church II at Banganarti, mideleventh to mid-eighteenth Century. Nubia V. Banganarti 2. IKŚiO PAN. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Neriton.

Further Reading Adams, William Yewdale (1965): Architectural Evolution of the Nubian Church 500–1400 A. D. In: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 4, p. 87–139. Adams, William Yewdale (2009): The Churches of Nobadia. 2 Vols. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 17. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 2000. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Donadoni, Sergio et al. (1967): Tamit 1964. Missione archeologica dell’Università “La Sapienza” di Roma in Egitto. In: Serie archeologica 14, p. 27–37, fig. 11–20. Curto, Silvio (2000): Catalogo delle chiese della Nubia. Memorie dell’Accademia delle scienze di Torino 24. Turin: Accademia delle Scienze. Deichmann, Friedrich Wilhelm / Grossmann, Peter (1988): Nubische Forschungen. Archäologische Forschungen 17. Berlin: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Gebr. Mann. Gartkiewicz, Przemysław (1979): New Outline of the History of Nubian Church Architecture. In: Bulletin Antieke Beschaving 55, p. 137–160. Godlewski, Włodzimierz (1992): The Early Period of Nubian Art. Middle of 6th–Beginning of 9th Centuries. In: Bonnet, Charles (ed.): Études Nubiennes – Conférence de Genève. Actes du VIIe congrès international d’études nubiennes, 3–8 septembre 1990. Vol. I: Communications principales. Geneva: Société d’études nubiennes, p. 277–305. Godlewski, Włodzimierz (2004): The Rise of Makuria (late 5th–8th Cent.). In: Kendall, Timothy (ed.): Nubian Studies 1998. Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the International Society of Nubian Studies, August 21–26, 1998, Boston, Mass. Boston: Department of AfricanAmerican Studies. Northeastern University, p. 52–73. Godlewski, Włodzimierz (2014): The Kingdom of Makuria. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/ Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 155–169. Godlewski, Włodzimierz (2015): Monastic Life in Makuria. In: Delouis, Olivier / MossakowskaGaubert, Maria (eds.): La vie quotidienne des moines en Orient at en Occident (IVe–Xe siècles). Vol. I: L’état des sources. Bibliothèque d’Étude 163. Cairo: Institut Français d‛Archéologie Orientale, p. 81–97. Innemee, Karel C. (2016): Monks and Bishops in Old Dongola, and what their Costumes can tell us. In: Łajtar, Adam / Obłuski, Artur / Zych, Iwona (eds.): Aegyptus et Nubia Christiana. The Włodzimierz Godlewski Jubilee Volume on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday. Warsaw: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, p. 379–401. Jakobielski, Stefan (2008): The Holy Trinity Monastery in Old Dongola. In: Godlewski, Wlodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 283–302.

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Krautheimer, Richard (1980): Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. 3rd Edition. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Łajtar, Adam (2002): Georgios, Archbishop of Dongola († 1113) and his Epitaph. In: Derda, Tomasz / Urbanik, Jakub / Węcowski, Marek (eds.): Euergesias Charin: Studies presented to Benedetto Bravo and Ewa Wipszycka by their Disciples. The Journal of Juristic Papyrology Supplement 1. Warsaw: Taubenschlag Foundation, p. 159–192. Łajtar, Adam (2012): Wall Inscriptions in a Burial Vault under the Northwest Annex of the Monastery on Kom H (Dongola 2009). In: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 21, p. 330–337. Łajtar, Adam (2014): Dongola 2010: Epigraphic Report. In: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 23/1, p. 285–295. Łaptaś, Magdalena (2016): Archangel Raphael as Protector, Demon Tamer, Guide and Healer. Some Aspects of the Archangel’s Activities in Nubian Painting. In: Łajtar, Adam / Obłuski, Artur / Zych, Iwona (eds.): Aegyptus et Nubia Christiana. The Włodzimierz Godlewski Jubilee Volume on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday. Warsaw: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, p. 427–448. Martens-Czarnecka, Małgorzata (2010): Two Unique Paintings in the Monastery on Kom H in Old Dongola. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August– 2 September 2006. Part Two: Session Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/2.2. Warsaw: University Press, p. 705–712. Mathews, Thomas F. (1971): The Early Churches of Constantinople. Architecture and Liturgy. Pennsylvania: University Press. Obłuski, Artur (2016): Nobadian and Makurian Church Architecture: Qasr el-Wizz − A Case Study. In: Łajtar, Adam / Obłuski, Artur / Zych, Iwona (eds.): Aegyptus et Nubia Christiana. The Włodzimierz Godlewski Jubilee Volume on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday. Warsaw: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, p. 449–480. Ryl-Preibisz, Ida (1986): On the Types of Capitals in Christian Nubia. In: Krause, Martin (ed.): Nubische Studien. Tagungsakten der 5. Internationalen Konferenz der International Society for Nubian Studies, Heidelberg, 22.–25. September 1982. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern, p. 379–389. Weitzmann, Kurt (1970): Some Remarks on the Sources of the Fresco Paintings of the Cathedral of Faras. In: Dinkler, Erich (ed.): Kunst und Geschichte Nubiens in Christlicher Zeit. Ergebnisse und Probleme auf Grund der jüngsten Ausgrabungen. Recklinghausen: Aurel Bongers, p. 325–333. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2006): Settlement in Nubia in the Medieval Period. In: Caneva, Isabella / Roccati, Alessandro (eds.): Acta Nubica. Proceedings of the X International Conference of Nubian Studies, Rome 9–14 September 2002. Rome: Libreria dello Stato, p. 21–43. Zielińska, Dobrochna (2014): The Iconography of Power – The Power of Iconography. The Nubian Royal Ideology and its Expression in Wall Painting. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/ Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 183–199.

David N. Edwards

Post-Meroitic Nubia Introduction Post-Meroitic Nubia witnessed a period of both political and cultural transition. By the early 4th century, the political hegemony of Meroe seems likely to have disappeared. By that time a number of major cultural changes of many kinds are also apparent in the archaeological record. In the Meroitic heartlands, Meroe and a series of ‘urban’ centres seem to have declined as major population centres. Major monumental sites including temples and palaces went out of use; some may have been deliberately destroyed, although it is still impossible to date precisely or to determine the circumstances of such events. The construction of royal pyramid tombs at Meroe also came to an end, although exactly when this happened also remains a matter of debate. If the last reasonably secure date for a Meroitic king is that of King Teqorideamani, in 253 AD, it seems possible that several later kings were buried at Meroe, into the 4th century. While the circumstances that brought this royal tradition to an end remain entirely obscure, the last of these kings still provides a convenient marker for the end of Meroitic Period. In the absence of contemporary historical sources, we remain almost entirely ignorant of the political events that accompanied the disappearance of a central authority at Meroe. Even though certain historical generalizations have acquired a measure of acceptance through long repetition, it is still important to acknowledge the many uncertainties that surround explanations of what are themselves still very poorly understood socio-cultural transformations associated with the ‘end of Meroe’. In common with many general narratives of late antiquity and imperial ‘decline’, external forces have long been presumed to have played an important role in ‘Meroitic decline’, along with more loosely conceptualized ‘political and economic difficulties’ (Török 1997b, 476–487). That the ‘end of Meroe’ had an ‘ethnic’ dimension, which saw the supplanting of Meroites/Kushites by ‘Nubians’, has long been a favoured explanation, drawing particularly on Procopius’ (6th century) account of the 3rd century Egyptian frontier. There, the Nobatai appear as a new presence in Lower Nubia. A more general association has been assumed with populations identified in other classical sources as ‘Nubai/Noba’ in and around the Middle Nile, and indeed with references to ‘Noba’ and ‘Kasu’ in Axumite royal texts (Phillipson 2102, 74–78). These, along with other fragments of Axumite texts from Meroe itself, while obscure in many ways, are suggestive of one or more actual Axumite interventions in the Middle Nile, reaching into the Meroitic heartlands (Burstein 1981). The many inadequacies of older historical narratives of this period, and the problematic nature of sources such as Procopius, are now increasingly well-recognised (Török 2009, 472), but a few points are worth emphasizing. Assumptions that this https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-038

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period may have seen the arrival of new ‘Nubian’ populations (commonly ‘tribes’) would seem mistaken inasmuch as they assign a specific ethno-linguistic significance to a Meroitic term, which in fact had a much more generic and pejorative sense by which it effectively referred to all ethnic ‘others’ (Rilly 2008b, 216–217). It is in such a generic sense that we should be interpreting the term, later adopted by Greeks, Romans and Axumites. While major changes in relations between rulers and ruled were doubtless central to socio-political transformations underway in this period, assumptions that such changes may be explained in terms of new populations – bounded ethnic units, which could be associated with discrete archaeological cultures – seem no longer tenable (Edwards 2011a). That the disintegration of the Meroitic Empire was accompanied by considerable social upheaval and reconfiguration cannot be doubted. Old identities central to the Meroitic imperial enterprise will have been eroded and displaced as new political landscapes with new centres of power emerged. Over the next few centuries new social and political identities were created, with new elites, and these manifested their power in new ways. In Lower Nubia we may assume that the existing Meroitic populations were in fact key participants in the restructuring of the Roman frontier, and new elites emerged from amongst them. By Procopius’ day they were known to their Egyptian neighbours as Nobatai/Noubades. In the Meroitic heartlands, the impact of any Axumite expeditions into the region and their impact on the political history of the kingdom can only remain the object of speculation, not least in relation to the question of whom, in fact, the Axumites might have encountered. Where some sparse historical sources reappear in the early Medieval Period, these suggest that by the later 5th century there had appeared a series of new regional powers occupying the territory of the old Meroitic Kingdom. In the (unknown) political history of this period, new elites and new rulers emerged. By the Medieval Period new and hereditary principles of rulership would seem to have been in place. Whether any direct links survived to those of the late Meroitic Period remains unknown, but explicit claims to a Meroitic royal heritage do not seem to survive this transition. The political landscape of Nubia was also transformed in spatial terms (Fig. 1). In central Sudan the southernmost of the new ‘Nubian’ Kingdoms, Alodia (Arabic: ‘Alwa’), no longer had its centrepoint in the Meroe-Shendi Reach, but further south, at Soba, close to the confluence of the Niles. Makuria was centred on (Old) Dongola at the southern end of the Letti Basin, centrally placed in the Dongola Reach. A northern Kingdom of Nobadia/Noubadia occupied Lower and Middle Nubia, Meroe’s northern frontier province. By the 6th century this new political order was increasingly linked with the new religion of Christianity, introduced from Egypt and perhaps Ethiopia. Christian sources report a series of episodes of conversion during the 6th century, although there is reason to assume that the processes and progress of religious transformation were rather more complex than such accounts suggest (Dijkstra 2008). If we know virtually nothing of the political history of the late Meroitic Period, cultural changes evident in the archaeological record in the 3rd century can provide

Post-Meroitic Nubia

Fig. 1: Post Merioitic Nubia.

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some indications of the social changes underway. Many of the most visible seem to relate to the disappearance of a unifying imperial culture as much as to innovations. However, the limited range of evidence as yet provides only a partial and potentially unbalanced view of cultural changes. In particular, the archaeology is still overly dominated by evidence from mortuary contexts, whose availability also varies considerably between regions (as it does for the preceding Meroitic Period). Much more is known of Meroitic to Post-Meroitic developments on the northern periphery (Lower and Middle Nubia) than about the fate of Meroe and the old imperial heartlands. With relatively little known about the Meroitic Dongola Reach, we are similarly poorly placed to establish the Meroitic background to the development of Makuria. Our knowledge of the archaeology of the Meroitic heartlands of the Shendi-Berber Reach is also limited and dominated by relatively few elite centres close to Meroe and the handful of cemetery sites so far excavated. The southern margins of the Meroitic state, potentially extending along the Blue Nile and into the hinterlands of the Gezira and Butana, remain almost entirely unknown archaeologically. This lack of evidence is especially problematic for a region likely to have become more central in the political economy of Alodia in the Medieval Period. We also have a growing awareness of the likely importance of non-riverine regions such as the Bayuda, which represents the territories of more mobile and pastoral populations in both the Meroitic and Post-Meroitic Periods. Where a pastoral resurgence seems a likely response in periods of weakening political authority, as it has been suggested more generally in Sahelian-Sudanic regions (Spaulding/Kapteijns 2002), such regions may have played important roles in larger-scale socio-economic transformations of this period. If such was the case, it remains unfortunate that the few investigated settlement sites of this period are mainly in the Nobadian north. Far from the political core of the Meroitic state and in the most arid Saharan regions, its settlement history in both the Meroitic and Post-Meroitic Periods was quite distinctive (Edwards 1996), largely lacking a comparable pastoral dimension (see below). As unifying Meroitic imperial cultural traditions dissolved, it is, however, becoming possible to trace over the subsequent centuries the gradual development of a number of regional traditions that may, at least in general terms, be linked with the development of smaller successor states of Alodia, Makuria and Nobadia. Political fragmentation was accompanied by much greater cultural diversity, both within and between larger regions. This is evident in mortuary archaeology both in burial forms and practices, as well as the material culture deposited in graves. More complex approaches to such observable cultural changes are now required (Lenoble 1992; Lenoble/Sharif 1992), looking beyond more simplistic culture-historical approaches favoured by earlier generations of scholars. We are now much more aware of the variability of Meroitic material culture, as well as many continuities between the two periods (Trigger 1969), notwithstanding the disappearance of certain elite forms of burials and state-generated cultural forms. If the abandonment of the royal

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pyramids was the most obvious of such changes, more ubiquitous changes in ceramic culture, for example, must now be understood first and foremost in terms of changing modes of production and distribution. Similar transformations might be sought with other forms of material culture, for example in major changes in ‘bead culture’ (Then-Oblsuka 2014). The likely urban focus of much Meroitic craft production in turn draws our attention to much more specific issues concerning, firstly, the role of Meroitic towns in the creation of what we recognize as Meroitic material culture, and its subsequent transformation, rather than more loosely conceived notions of ‘civilisational decline’ or, indeed, ethnic change. If the circumstances behind Meroitic urban decline seem likely to be primarily political, such political factors also seem likely to underpin many other more visible socio-cultural changes. The disappearance of many more traditional Meroitic religious practices, including those manifest in elite and urban burial forms, seems likely to be linked to the decline of (royally-sponsored) religious institutions and the religious specialists they supported. Changing political circumstances also seem likely to have been central to the disappearance of the Meroitic (written) language as the language of state, and its literate practices. While the limited corpus of Meroitic texts suggests that its written usage may have remained relatively restricted, in a largely oral environment, nothing is really known of the vernaculars of the Meroitic Kingdom, likely to comprise a range of ancient Eastern Sudanic languages, including early forms of Nubian. Its written use does not seem to survive much beyond the 4th century, even if its last epigraphic use may be slightly later, in an (early 5th century?) inscription of Kharamadoye at Kalabsha (Rilly 2008a, 193).

Post-Meroitic Transitions in the South – After Meroe In the Meroitic heartlands, notwithstanding the pioneering work of Garstang (see Garstang et al. 1911) and Reisner at Meroe,1 definition of a Post-Meroitic archaeology developed slowly. During the first excavations at Meroe, Garstang had suggested that there might have been some late occupation, perhaps extending into the Medieval Period. Similar possibilities were recognised during later excavations (Shinnie/Bradley 1980; Shinnie/Anderson 2004), albeit without the ability to identify structures or discrete assemblages of this period. Some episodes of potentially deliberate destruction were also identified, particularly in a number of the temples. Clear evidence for continued occupation within Meroe or other urban centres remains elusive. If there is no clear evidence for a survival of urban life in any of the larger Meroitic centres into the Post-Meroitic Period, it may be premature to assume their total or immediate abandonment. Recent excavations at Hamadab

1 Dunham 1957; 1963; Török 1997a.

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certainly suggest that ironworking continued around the old Meroitic townsite into the mid-1st millennium (Humphris 2014; Humphris/Scheibner 2017). As such, even if political power had shifted away from this region, its heritage of iron-production may have encouraged the survival of at least one ‘urban’ settlement, likely to have been associated with a number of forms of craft production during the Meroitic Period. As creations of the Meroitic state the later histories of these settlements, and those of their inhabitants, will have been intertwined with political restructurings. Other major monumental centres in the region such as Naqa and Musawwarat in the Western Butana also seem to have been largely abandoned. It may be presumed that seasonal herding and cultivation may have continued within that region, but there is little evidence, as yet, for an active state presence or interest in these sites in later centuries. If the fate of the old Meroitic urban centre cannot as yet be traced in any details, a general shift in the main political centres does seem clear. Soba, on the lower Blue Nile, was to become the capital of medieval Alodia. Its origins remain unknown, but that it was not an entirely new foundation also seems clear with some apparently Meroitic structures and pottery having been found within the area of the medieval townsite (Welsby 1991). That the Blue Nile region was increasingly important in the Medieval Period seems likely, but there are indications that the Meroitic presence in this region, at least as far south as Sennar, was rather more significant than previously supposed (Yvanez 2016). It seems likely that different regional pottery styles, notably black burnished wares, may have developed from the Meroitic Period on, continuing to be produced within medieval Alodia (Welsby/Daniels 1991; Welsby 1998). Rarely encountered further north, such material is common at excavated sites such as Abu Geili, near Sennar and elsewhere along the Blue Nile (Edwards 1991). Although we may suggest a possible shift south in the centre of gravity of this southern kingdom, the nature of Post-Meroitic (and indeed Medieval) settlement in the old Meroitic heartlands remains very uncertain. On the west bank, large numbers of tumulus/cairn burials are quite visible. Many may date to the Post-Meroitic Period (Lenoble 1992). However, in the absence of excavation, to what extent these may also relate to earlier (Meroitic?) or indeed later periods remains unknown. On the east bank, there still remains inadequate information to gauge the extent of any continuities in cemetery use after the Meroitic Period. Rare excavated cemeteries, notably at Kadada and Gabati as well as at Meroe, contained Post-Meroitic and later burials. However, these betray considerable variety in burial forms and associated material culture, making clear that there was no single regional trajectory of cultural change in the Post-Meroitic Period, even though this period did witness the disappearance of region’s most distinctively Meroitic features. Meroitic burial practices were themselves varied, changing considerably over time. By the later Meroitic Period pottery is increasingly abundant in burials, a phenomenon perhaps to be linked to an increased prominence of grain-beer in burial

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rites. Such a shift continues well into the ‘Post-Meroitic’ centuries, along with the appearance of new pottery types, as recognised at Kadada by Lenoble (Edwards 2011a). The circumstances under which this tradition of burial later disappeared still remain uncertain; the absence of beer-jars at other Post-Meroitic cemeteries (e.g. Gabati) suggests that such practices were by no means ubiquitous (Edwards 1998; Judd 2012). As also apparent at Gabati, despite new pottery types and new ways of marking graves with tumuli, the dominant burial layout in both the Meroitic and Post-Meroitic Periods remained broadly similar, with contracted burials oriented north-south, with the head south. Such burial forms in fact, appear to be widespread in central Sudan during this period outside of Meroitic urban and elite contexts. On the other hand, the reappearance of bed-burials marks a new development. Excavations at Kadada were important in demonstrating the co-occurrence of typical ‘late Meroitic’ wheel-formed pottery types along with what has previously been considered to be ‘Post-Meroitic’ handmade pottery (Geus/Lenoble 1985), confirming the coexistence of different specialist producers using different production methods for what were functionally similar wheel-made and handmade ‘beer jars’. If it seems not unlikely that much of the utilitarian wheel-made pottery was produced by urban workshops, the origins of the handmade types that appear in the Shendi-Meroe region at the end of the Meroitic Period remain far from clear. Some jar forms are similar to types found further north in the southern Dongola Reach (el-Tayeb 2012). Although widely distributed, the extent to which such pottery represented an innovation of the late Meroitic Period is itself not entirely certain, due to our only partial understanding of Meroitic pottery and its variability (see below). If it is possible to trace continuities between Meroitic and Post-Meroitic burial practices, some marked changes can also be identified. One apparently widespread change was the disappearance of multiple burials within single graves, something which previously had been widely practiced in the Meroitic Period. This would seem to mark a significant change in the way people related to their dead, and may perhaps be linked to changing emphases on ‘familial’ or similar identities in mortuary contexts, although other explanations may yet emerge. A similar change is observable in Lower and Middle Nubia during this period (Vila 1982, 177), a region where burial practices had largely followed elite/urban practices. In other areas there are suggestions that other burial forms may have developed, if they were not already present during the Meroitic Period. In the southern Dongola Reach, for example at ez-Zuma, burials with multiple chambers arranged around a central shaft (el-Tayeb 2012) appear to be a distinctive regional grave form, with a range of other types found in the Fourth Cataract region (el-Tayeb/Kolosowska 2005). In the BerberMeroe another grave form with double shafts may represent another new and distinctive burial form, also encountered at Meroe itself (Lenoble 1991).

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Post-Meroitic Elites? The discovery and excavation of spectacular Post-Meroitic tumulus burials at Ballaña and Qustul in Lower Nubia in 1934–35 (Emery 1938) revealed the burials that must surely be those of the new rulers of what became the Kingdom of Nodadia. This discovery established expectations that other Post-Meroitic regional elites, and perhaps kings, were to be found in similar tumulus cemeteries elsewhere in the old Meroitic territories. Such expectations have, at least in part, been borne out in more southerly regions. The first of these to be excavated in 1977 were in the cemetery at al-Hobaji (or Umm Makharoqa), which included several massive tumuli, some over 40 m in diameter, set within stone enclosures.2 While no radiocarbon dates exist for these tumulus burials, a very late 4th or 5th century date seems likely. Marked by such massive monuments, the material recovered from the first of these tumuli provided, for the first time, convincing evidence for Post-Meroitic elites who, while buried in new ways, also shared some of the ritual observances found within earlier Meroitic practice (Lenoble/Sharif 1992). Such continuities of elements of Meroitic ritual and symbolism suggested that such impressive tumulus burials might be characterised as Post-Meroitic ‘royal’ burials in this region. Manifestations of military power were especially apparent in some graves containing large numbers of broad-bladed ceremonial spears, lances, axes, swords and archery equipment. Such a ‘military’ element in elite status display is echoed more widely in many Post-Meroitic burials throughout the old Meroitic territories, most commonly through the inclusion of archery equipment; arrowheads and stone archer’s looses survive most commonly. Notwithstanding some clear continuities with earlier Meroitic practices, the wider significance of these burials still remains uncertain. That many other (unexcavated) cemeteries with large tumuli exist in this and adjoining regions makes it difficult to claim a special significance for those at al-Hobaji. That they represent high-status burials cannot be doubted. The location of these on the left bank of the Nile bordering the Bayuda is perhaps suggestive of local/regional elites linked to populations represented in many cemeteries on the west bank of the Nile, perhaps extending south of the Sixth Cataract. However, unlike the great tumuli of Nobadia, it has been perhaps premature to attribute a ‘royal’ origin to these. More importantly perhaps, these suggest no obvious links with the political processes out of which the early medieval kingdoms and kingship were to emerge. Unlike many other aspiring elites of late antiquity, they do seem to have enjoyed a special access to other high-status materials. While large quantities of imported goods of many types were reaching the Nobadian elites during the 4th–6th centuries, very little of such material seems to have been finding its way further south during this period. Unlike their contemporaries in Lower Nubia,

2 Lenoble 1989; 1997; 1994; 1999; 2018.

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those buried at al-Hobaji, were not able to supply their funerary feasts with wine, nor indeed with other ‘exotic’ imports. Small quantities of Late Roman Mediterranean amphorae were found in the latest occupation levels and burials (Kirwan 1939, 45) at Meroe. None have yet been found in Post-Meroitic graves elsewhere in this region, although occasional sherds have been found in early levels at Soba (Welsby 1998). Further north examples of Aswani oil bottles and (imported?) ivory kohl-pots were found at Gabati (Edwards 1998), suggesting that this area was still connected with Egypt during this period. The strong military presence signalled in the al-Hobaji burials is, however, suggestive in relation to another, still poorly understood feature of the later Post-Meroitic Period, a number of fortified sites, mainly along the Nile but also within the Bayuda. Several are now known, including at Jebel Umm Marrihi, on the west bank south of the Sixth Cataract, Hosh-al Khafir, near el-Hobaji, and another at Jebel Nakharu, on the west bank Dangeil. These may also have counterparts further north in the territories of Makuria and Nobadia (Welsby 2002, 131–132; Drzewiecki 2013). While still poorly dated, it is quite possible that these may be linked with the formative processes of medieval kingdoms, as part of the creation of new political landscapes.

The Rise of Makuria and the Dongola Reach Recent fieldwork has been providing rather more information on Post-Meroitic cemetery sites within what was to become Makuria. Few sites are known in the northern Dongola Reach; a few are known from Tabo on Argo Island (Bonnet/JacquetGordon 1971–72). In the rocky Third Cataract region tumulus burials become more visible (Edwards 2011b), although the few excavated examples suggest cultural links to the north. Survey work elsewhere within the northern Dongola Reach remains limited, but Post-Meroitic sites were not found within the Wadi al-Khowi (Welsby 2001); by this period settlement was probably already focused on the river banks and seasonal islands or within the Kerma Basin. Further upstream, tumulus cemeteries become more common, and visible, in the area of Old Dongola and in the Letti Basin, for example around Jebel Ghaddar (Grzymski 1987; el-Tayeb 1994). Further upstream many cemeteries have now been identified, including some with impressively large tumuli (Fig. 2) at HammurAbbassiya, Tanqasi and ez-Zuma3 as well as in the Fourth Cataract region at Hagar al-Beida (Chlodnicki 2014). Extensive survey work between the Fourth Cataract and the Fifth Cataract further upstream has also confirmed the presence of many Post-Meroitic (and later) cemeteries in this often rocky and inhospitable area. Some, such as those at Kassinger Bahri (Kolosowka/Borcowski 2014) and El-Ginefab,

3 Żurawski 2003; el-Tayeb 2012; el-Tayeb/Czyzewska 2011; el-Tayeb et al. 2016.

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Fig. 2: Massive Post-Meroitic tumulus (T.7) at ez-Zuma, Dongola Reach (Photo: Mahmoud el-Tayeb).

close to Mograt Island (Baker 2014), span the later Meroitic to Medieval Christian Periods, documenting local cultural transformations across several centuries. The heterogeneous character of both Meroitic Period and Post-Meroitic burials suggests that this region enjoyed loose cultural connections with the Meroitic core and the later successor states. The presence of ‘Eastern Desert Ware’ vessels and other pottery types rather different from those encountered within the Dongola Reach (e.g. Kolosowska 2010) also suggest cultural connections to the (Cushitic speaking?) eastern populations, known further north as Blemmyes. The environmental constraints of the rocky Fourth Cataract region is also likely to have favoured more mobile pastoral strategies, either within the Bayuda or east of the Nile. One important recent discovery here was of ‘Post-Meroitic’ settlement sites, located on wadis some distance from the Nile. Representing small impermanent structures (Wolf/Nowotnick 2005), these may be associated with more pastoral populations of a type which exploited the interior of the Bayuda both in earlier and in more recent periods. Such pastoral concerns may also perhaps be reflected in finds of animals associated with tumulus burials in the Dongola Reach and the Fourth Cataract region, namely cattle and camels associated with higher status burials and sheep/goat, which were more common in the less favoured landscapes of the Fourth Cataract (Osypinska 2010). Post-Meroitic ceramic developments in the Dongola Reach and Fourth Cataract region clearly followed a rather different course than is seen further south. It seems

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Fig. 3: Wheelmade bowls and handmade beer-jars from ez-Zuma tumulus burial (T.24) (Photo: Mahmoud el-Tayeb).

likely that some wheel-using producers continued to manufacture at least a range of bowls/cups through the Post-Meroitic Period in addition to a range of larger handmade jar forms (Fig. 3), more similar to types found on the Shendi-Meroe region (el-Tayeb 2012; Klimaszewska-Drabot 2014). With our limited knowledge of late Meroitic pottery in this region it may well be that these handmade jars continued existing Meroitic Period forms of production, in areas which in fact may have had limited contacts with Meroitic urban workshops. A long-standing tendency to assign all handmade jars a ‘Post-Meroitic’ or at least ‘transitional’ date may in fact be misleading, and explain co-occurrences of apparently ‘Meroitic’ and ‘Post-Meroitic’ pottery types in assemblages in the southern Dongola Reach (Żurawski 2003, 384–386) and in the Fourth Cataract region (Edwards 2011; Baker 2014).

Lower and Middle Nubia and the Nobadian North Post-Meroitic transitions between the Third and First Cataracts took on a very distinctive regional character. Archaeological evidence is much more abundant from that region, acquired over more than a century since this period was first recognized in Reisner’s ‘X-Group’ in the early 20th century. This and the existence of a (limited) range of historical sources makes possible the construction of rather more coherent historical narratives concerning this period. These provide some indications of the political processes underway in the region from the 3rd century on. Procopius’ 6th century account records the withdrawal of Roman presence from the Dodekaschoinos region to the First Cataract, identify-

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ing the Noubades as inhabitants of riverine regions and the Blemmyes in the Eastern Desert. These were the ethnonyms of his own time, using the terminology of Egyptian accounts of a period that saw considerable unrest and raiding on Egypt’s southern frontier.4 These Blemmyes are also recognizable archaeologically, mainly within the PostRoman Dodekaschoinos region, south of Aswan, best known from distinctive cemeteries around Wadi Qitna, Kalabsha and Sayala,5 and perhaps some cult centres close by (Kromer 1967). These may date back to soon after the withdrawal of the Roman frontier and then continue into the 5th century. The cemeteries provide some indications of the scale of this presence; the largest, at Wadi Qitna, c. 5 km south of Kalabsha, contained c. 520 tombs covered by distinctive stone cairns. While attracting much historical attention due to their relative prominence in the Egyptian sources, their wider significance in the development of northern Nubia in the PostMeroitic Period still remains uncertain and should perhaps not be overestimated. Recent research on the eastern deserts and its material culture (Barnard 2008; Barnard/Duistermaat 2012) leaves little reason to doubt that such burials and the distinctive ‘Eastern Desert Ware’ do relate to intrusive populations entering the Nile Valley during this period. Their distinctive styles of pottery are also known to be much more widely distributed across wide areas of the Egyptian and Sudanese eastern deserts, far to the south (Lassányi 2014), occasionally encountered along the Nile in the Fourth-Fifth Cataract region and at least as far south as Gabati (Edwards 1998). Notwithstanding contemporary Egyptian accounts of ‘Blemmye’ raiding in Egypt, there is no signalling of ‘warrior’ identities in the cemeteries of the Dodekaschoinos burials. While there are few internal sources relating to the Noubades and Blemmyes, some key records were left on the wall of the temple of Kalabsha, much used by the Blemmyes. These include what may be the last formal Meroitic inscription, that of a self-styled king (qore) Kharamadoye. While possibly dating to the early decades of the 5th century and relating to a Nobadian king (Török 2009, 525), that this king was of Blemmye origin (Updegraff 1998) is also possible. At least four other Blemmyan ‘kings’, some near contemporary, are recorded in Greek inscriptions within the same temple (Török 2009, 526). While this late occurrence of Meroitic writing requires further investigation, its presence raises interesting questions concerning the circumstances in which Greek was emerging as an appropriate alternative to Meroitic as an epigraphic language within a frontier zone between two empires. By the mid-5th century a Nobadian king Silko similarly asserted his presence in a Greek inscription on the walls of the same temple, at that time recording his victory over the Blemmyes and the incorporation of this northern part of Lower Nubia into his kingdom. It is interesting to note that following Silko’s assertion of authority in this

4 Török 1988; 2009; Dijkstra 2012; Dijkstra/Fisher 2014; Obłuski 2014. 5 Ricke 1967; Bedawi 1976; Strouhal 1984.

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area the distinctive ‘Blemmye’ archaeological signature becomes much less obvious in the region. The internal origins and development of Nobadia remain obscure, but seem to have focused in southern Lower Nubia with its most impressive cemeteries at Qustul and Ballaña (Emery 1938; Williams 1991) between Jebel Adda and Faras, and Gemai (Bates/Dunham 1927; Sakamoto 2016), just upriver of the Second Cataract. By the early Medieval Period Faras was to reemerge as an important religious, and perhaps political, centre. Whether the hilltop site at Jebel Adda became a seat of power remains unknown. The (limited) archaeological excavations provided no evidence that this might have been a Post-Meroitic royal residence (Millet 1968), although its large cemeteries suggest it survived as a centre of some importance into the Medieval Period. There is, however, scant evidence for other substantial settlements in this period, which may have been royal centres. Faras or its environs are quite possible, and a potentially important settlement has also been identified at Gezira Dabarosa (6-G-6), closer to the Second Cataract (Adams 2005), potentially rather larger than the nearby island settlement of Meinarti (Adams 2000), which was to become an important administrative centre in the Medieval Period. To the north, the development of the religious centre of Qasr Ibrim, with strong links to the north as well as within Meroitic Nubia, followed a distinctive path, reflecting its unusual status (Adams 2013; Edwards 2014). Its temples may have remained quite active until a late date while discoveries of official letters and other texts of this period suggest that it maintained an important role as a centre of literate skills, as it remained in the Medieval Period, as the seat of a bishop. South of the Second Cataract, the later Post-Meroitic Period (late 5th–6th century) sees a marked expansion into an inhospitable region where Meroitic occupation (Edwards 1996) had previously been quite limited. The few locations with a more long-standing Meroitic presence do not seem to have survived as major centres, in keeping with a more fundamental restructuring of settlement landscapes. With relatively little evidence for significant settlement south of Murshid-Gemai prior to the 6th century, a few sites such as Firka and Kosha (Kirwan 1939) may have been in use in the 5th century, with other local elites being buried beneath some large tumuli, as elsewhere. Most of the evidence from more southerly ‘Nobadian’ PostMeroitic sites, around Sai-Abri (Vila 1984) and Sesibi (Edwards 2011b), suggests a relatively late (6th century) date. At least 68 cemeteries are known along with some 20 settlements, many in areas not previously occupied, and most surviving into the early Medieval ‘Christian’ Period. A more significant restructuring of settlement landscapes is suggested by a lack of direct continuity in the occupation of settlements or, indeed, in the use of cemeteries (if with some notable exceptions). Most known settlements of this period lack the more substantial and regular mud-brick architecture encountered in Meroitic settlements in the north (Adams 2005). These are often unfavourably compared with earlier sites as ‘crude’ and as built with ‘coarse stone masonry’ (e.g. Adams/Nordström

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1962, 30), but such comparisons may somewhat misrepresent the more fundamental differences in settlement functions and their origins. Most Meroitic sites seemed likely to have had planned (state-supported?) foundations, in contrast to new and more organic agricultural settlements (see below) developing in this period. Similarly, major transformations in burial practices are apparent in Lower and Middle Nubia during this period, if following a distinct regional trajectory. Burial practices in the Meroitic north, while showing some internal variety, had been rather more dominated by elite/urban practices than was the case in other provinces. In following centuries, much more varied practices become apparent, accompanying the more typical burial forms with pyramidal superstructures, and with extended east-west (multiple) burials being replaced with a range of grave forms and burial layouts and orientations (Obłuski 2014, 44), commonly covered by tumuli. In the absence of large-scale analyses, such developments have yet to be adequately defined or have their origins explained. However, some such changes, for example towards more common contracted burials aligned south-north, recall more widespread (non-elite/urban) practices of earlier centuries. Greater diversity is perhaps also suggestive of more heterogeneous populations, as well as dynamic and perhaps fast-changing identities, apparent within micro-studies of single sites as at ArminnaWest (Fuller 1999). Other distinctive groups of burials include some at the ancient pilgrimage centre of Qasr Ibrim (Mills 1982), amongst which may be some of the last priests servicing its temples. The richness of the most impressive cemeteries at Qustul and Ballaña, close to Gebel Adda,6 leave little doubt that these include the burials of emerging regional elites and early kings of Nobadia. Some were buried with explicitly royal regalia, and their tomb contents provide insights into emerging elite identities (Török 1988; Dann 2009). Displays of military power, wealth and conspicuous consumption, and destruction are of a kind commonly encountered in many parts of the late antique world. Close links to late Roman Egypt are evident in an abundance of imports, which also include ceremonial and other weaponry of a kind found in more southerly regions. Slaughtered horses, camels, donkeys and dogs are also novel contributions to elite burial rites, while sacrificed human victims add a new dimension to royal funerary displays, if not without Meroitic precedents (Lenoble 1996). Post-Meroitic burials commonly contained abundant pottery, apparently used in mortuary rites. Such collections make it possible to trace the gradual disappearance of recognizable Meroitic pottery and its replacement from the late 3rd and 4th centuries by new types drawing upon, and then developing, contemporary Romano-Egyptian styles (Adams 1986). By the later 4th century this was taking on a more distinctive ‘Nubian’ character. While some wheel-made pottery production also seems to have continued through the Post-Meroitic Period further south, at least in parts of Makuria, such northern ‘Nobadian’ products maintain a distinctive

6 Emery 1938; Farid 1963; Williams 1991.

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character. As in Egypt, but unlike further south, drinking vessels and bowls commonly had flat ring bases, while wheel-made jar production seems to have continued. These jars are readily distinguishable from contemporary Makurian types and, to date, there seems to have been a very limited distribution of these regional productions passing north or south through the Third Cataract region. The new settlement landscapes emerging during this period can now be linked, with some confidence, to quite fundamental transformations in the subsistence base of the region, apparent in new suites of crops and new farming practices linked to the spread of waterwheel irrigation (Edwards 1996). This new irrigation technology made possible both an expansion of cultivation as well as a more effective use of Sudanic crops, which could be grown in the summer, allowing for two cropping seasons (Fuller 2014; 2015). Notwithstanding early suggestions that the saqia waterwheel had underpinned the Meroitic presence in the north (Trigger 1965; Adams 1977), this may now be associated with the Post-Meroitic Period, making possible an agricultural colonization of the landscape in new ways. This transformation was quite apparent in the very different character of Post-Meroitic (and Medieval) settlement when compared with the Meroitic Period. A more productive agricultural base seems likely to have encouraged population growth and even a rise in life expectancy (Edwards 2004, 203–204), providing another rather different perspective on what was once assumed to be a period of post-imperial decline. The development of new farming regimes and lifestyles in Nobadia may perhaps also be manifested in other cultural arenas during this period, transforming the use of both space and time. The appearance of the distinctive waterwheel (qadus) jars in Post-Meroitic burials represents a novel, if still enigmatic feature of this period. These may perhaps be linked with emerging ‘agricultural’ identities, rather different from the military identities displayed elsewhere in this period. The development of larger scale and more intensive agricultural regimes also seems likely to have had profound consequences for the control and ownership of land and its produce, and for the control of labour. Greater attachment and investment in the land will also have been crucial in the expansion of what became essential Nubian crops, such as date palms. New agricultural calendars will have been required, based around new and complex agricultural systems very different than those found in this region in earlier periods. The need for more labour, potentially acquired from different sources, should perhaps also be considered in relation to the cultural heterogeneity often apparent within the larger region during this period (Fuller 2014, 174). If landowning underpinned new forms of social and political power, more diverse and hierarchical social formations may also have developed, including the landless and the potentially ‘unfree’ (Adams/Adams 2007). One final transition underway in this period concerns the religious transformation of Nubia with the arrival of Christianity, traditionally the marker of the beginning of a new ‘Christian’ Medieval Nubia. In a period when many different processes of social and political group-making were underway (Dann 2013), how and in what

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ways ‘being Christian’ (Christianness) became important invites much more explicit consideration, rather than being assumed as an unproblematic, simple, or inevitable phenomenon (Rebillard 2012). As noted above, conflict with neighbouring groups upriver had been a concern of Silko in the 5th century, perhaps as part of the process of extending his control into Middle Nubia – making it Nobadia – as much as confronting ‘early Makurians’. Other identities may have been important amongst late antique ‘Nubians’ throughout the old Meroitic domains and, as argued by Rebillard, we should perhaps not be too eager to follow the lead of Christian commentators in claiming the absolute salience of ‘Christianness’ as the most important new identity to emerge as ‘a central frame of interpretation for everyday experiences’ (Rebillard 2012, 91). Looking forward into the Medieval Period, the extent to which religious affiliation was to become a defining feature of Nubian life also remains to be more critically explored. The penetration of Christianity into key life-cycle rituals such as burial is increasingly apparent during the 6th century, perhaps already evident in the royal milieu by around 500, the likely date of the latest royal burials at Ballaña.

Conclusion The accumulation of much new data concerning both Meroitic and Post-Meroitic archaeology is making clear that the cultural transformations, which accompanied the political decline of the Meroitic state, were much more varied and complex than once supposed. A growing awareness of the many major gaps in our knowledge of the Meroitic Period must also add to our uncertainties about the novelty of many cultural features once thought to characterize the Post-Meroitic Period. The huge research interest in this period remains in developing new perspectives on such cultural transformations, and how these may throw light on the social and political changes then underway. That such perspectives may also look forward, to the creation of new polities, may provide a useful balance to more traditional approaches understood in terms of ‘decline’. That, however, such futures were by no means inevitable must also be borne in mind.

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Rilly, Claude (2008b): Enemy Brothers, Kinship and Relationship between Meroites and Nubians (Noba). In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August– 2 September 2006. Part One: Main Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 211–25. Rilly, Claude / de Voogt, Alex (2012): The Meroitic Language and Writing System. Cambridge: University Press. Sakamoto, Tsubasa (2016): Gammai revisité: Esquisse typologique d’une “frontière” postméroïtique. In: Dotawo. A Journal of Nubian Studies 3, p. 67–82. Shinnie, Peter Lewis / Anderson, Julie Renee (eds.) (2004): The Capital of Kush 2. Meroë Excavations 1973–1984. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 20. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Shinnie, Peter Lewis / Bradley, Rebecca J. (1980): The Capital of Kush 1. Meroë Excavations 1965–1972. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 4. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. Spaulding, Jay L. / Kapteijns, Lidwien (2002): Land Tenure and the State in the Precolonial Sudan. In: Northeast African Studies n.s. 9/1, p. 33–66. Strouhal, Eugen (1984): Wadi Qitna and Kalabsha-South. Prague: Charles University. Then-Obłuska, Joanna (2014): The Code of the Hidden Beads. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 1069–1089. Török, László (1988): Late Antique Nubia. History and Archaeology of the Southern Neighbour of Egypt in the 4th-6th c. A. D. Antaeus. Communicationes ex Instituto Archaeologico Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 16. Budapest: Archaeological Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Török, László (1997a): Meroe City. An Ancient African Capital. John Garstang’s Excavations in the Sudan. Part One: Text. Part Two: Figures and Plates. Egypt Exploration Society Occasional Publications 12. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Török, László (1997b): The Kingdom of Kush. Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. Handbook of Oriental Studies. I: The Near and Middle East. Vol. 31. Leiden/New York/ Cologne: Brill. Török, László (2009): Between Two Worlds. The Frontier Region between Ancient Nubia and Egypt 3700 BC–AD 500. Probleme der Ägyptologie 29. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Trigger, Bruce Graham (1965): History and Settlement in Lower Nubia. New Haven: Yale University. Trigger, Bruce Graham (1969): The Royal Tombs at Qustul and Ballana and their Meroitic Antecedents. In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 55, p. 117–28. Updegraff, Robert T. (1998): The Blemmyes I: The Rise of the Blemmyes and the Roman Withdrawal from Nubia under Diocletian. In: Temporini, Hildegard (ed.): Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt. Teil 2: Principat. Band 10/1: Politische Geschichte (Provinzen und Randvölker: Afrika und Ägypten). Berlin: Walter De Gruyter, p. 44–106. Vila, André (1982): La prospection archéologique de la vallée du Nil au sud de la cataracte de Dal (Nubie Soudanaise). Fasc. 13: La nécropole de Missiminia. II: Les sépultures méroïtiques. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Vila, André (1984): La prospection archéologique de la vallée du Nil au sud de la cataracte de Dal (Nubie Soudanaise). Fasc. 14: La nécropole de Missiminia. III: Les sépultures ballanéennes. IV: Les sépultures chrétiennes. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Welsby, Derek Anthony (1991): Early Medieval and pre-medieval Soba. In: Davies, William Vivian (ed.): Egypt and Africa. Nubia from Prehistory to Islam. London: British Museum Press, p. 278–285.

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Welsby, Derek Anthony (1998): Soba II. Renewed Excavations within the Metropolis of the Kingdom of Alwa in Central Sudan. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 15. London: British Museum Press. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2001): Life on the Desert Edge. Seven Thousand Years of Settlement in the Northern Dongola Reach, Sudan. 2 Vols. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 7. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 980. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Welsby, Derek Anthony / Daniels, Charles M. (1991): Soba. Archaeological Research at a Medieval Capital on the Blue Nile. The British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 12. London: British Institute in Eastern Africa. Williams, Bruce Beyer (1991): Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 9: Noubadian X-Group Remains from Royal Complexes in Cemeteries Q and 219 and Private Cemeteries Q, R, V, W, B, J, and M at Qustul and Ballana. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition 9. Chicago, Illinois: The Oriental Institute. Wolf, Pawel/ Nowotnick, Ulrike (2005): The Second Season of the SARS Anglo-German Expedition to the Fourth Cataract. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 9, p. 23–31. Yvanez, Elsa (2016): Spinning in Meroitic Sudan. Textile Production Implements from Abu Geili. In: Dotawo. A Journal of Nubian Studies 3, p. 153–178. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (ed.) (2003): Nubia II. Survey and Excavations between Old Dongola and Ez-Zuma. Southern Dongola Reach Survey 1. Warsaw: Centre d’Archéologie Mediterraneenne de l’Academie Polonaise des Sciences, Editions Neriton. Żurawski, Bogdan T. (2014): Meroitic to Medieval Occupation upriver from Dongola. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 887–900.

David N. Edwards

Islamic Archaeology in Nubia The ‘Islamic archaeology’ of Nubia and the Middle Nile has generally been perceived chronologically, in succession following its medieval ‘Christian’ archaeology (Adams 1987). However, Nubian engagements with the Islamic world were already long-established through the external contacts of the Medieval Kingdoms (Trimingham 1949; Cuoq 1986). The study of this region in later periods might also be aligned with the project of ‘historical archaeology’ (Edwards 2004), allowing for a wider range of disciplinary connections beyond the Islamic world. Textual sources relevant to such research are extensive and derive from a wide range of internal Nubian sources, as well as a large body of Arabic material. A substantial body of this was brought together by Vantini (1975). His collection has provided a valuable point of departure for more than 40 years, although important work continues to extend this corpus of material and to enrich historical research (e.g. Khan 2013; Seignobos 2015). The Arab conquest of Egypt soon brought the early Medieval Nubian Kingdoms into direct contact with this new power. Arab histories, written some centuries later, record that there were two campaigns into Nubia, the first in 642 and a second a decade later. These suggest that the Arab army penetrated to (Old) Dongola prior to the establishment of a treaty (Baqt). Many uncertainties surround the nature of the early treaties, and the extent to which these may have represented the different parties, or been understood by them, as tributary obligations or more balanced exchanges (Spaulding 1995). Various accounts of this and other treaties exist, and by the Mamluk Period slightly different obligations were found in the coronation oaths of Nubian client kings, preserved in Arabic literary sources (Holt 1990). These later reports suggest that terms stipulated a series of exchanges, including the delivery of slaves, as was also reported for an early foray into the Libyan Fazzan in the 660s and in another treaty established with the Beja in Egypt’s eastern deserts in the early 8th century. We catch one glimpse of the practical implications of the Baqt in a remarkable Arabic letter (dated 758/141) from the governor of Egypt (Musa Ibn Ka’b) to the king of Dongola. Written within the first decade of Abbasid rule in Egypt, the letter contains a series of complaints, some relating to the non-delivery of slaves and other (undefined) goods ‘to which you are liable according to the baqt’, but also expressing concerns about the return of runaway slaves and/or fugitives, the safety of Egyptian merchants in Nubia and the mistreatment of messengers (Plumley 1975, 243). The longer-term history of Nubian relations with Egypt and the Islamic world more generally was complex and varied, with extended periods of relatively peaceful coexistence punctuated by briefer periods of conflict (Welsby 2002). Linkages with Egypt were also complicated in relation to the Coptic Church and its leadership (Swanson 2007) as it negotiated its own position within Medieval Egypt. On the https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-039

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Aswan frontier new identities were also being forged between new Muslim ruling elites and their ‘Nubian’ neighbours, both in riverine settled areas and into the eastern deserts, linking ‘Arab’ and Beja, out of which new identities such as the Banu Kanz emerged. Within the border regions, more independent conflicts were possible, as recorded, for example, in the involvement of the adventurer al-Omari in his fights with Beja Groups in and around the desert gold mines, as well as his involvement in internal Nubian dynastic disputes (Vantini 1975, 708 ff.; Power 2012, 160–163). Further raids in and around the northern border zone and in adjoining deserts and oases are recorded in Arabic sources (Welsby 2002, 73–75). The new Ayyubid Dynasty in Egypt sent an exploratory campaign into Lower Nubia, sacking Ibrim in 1173, an episode perhaps reflected in destruction levels encountered during excavations within its cathedral. The Ayyubid presence was, however, apparently withdrawn after two years. More concerted and direct interventions in Nubia were apparent from the late 13th century. An attack on Aydhab and Aswan in 1275 seems to have opened an extended period of conflict over the next century (Seignobos 2015). Following the overthrow of the Nubian king David and his replacement by Shekanda, the Nubian king became a client. Some accounts also suggest the ceding of northern Nubia (el-Ali and el-Jebel) to the Sultan, and perhaps a special status being assigned to Qasr Ibrim and Jebel Adda (Vantini 1975, 498). However, a decade later a further Mamluk campaign was required to try and eject a new king Semamun from Dongola. In what became a series of inconclusive campaigns, the Nubians retreated before the Mamluk armies, evacuating northern Nubia. The Mamluk armies advanced on land as well as with boats, negotiating a very challenging riverine landscape, unfamiliar to those used to the Lower Nile (Cooper 2014). A generation later claimants to the Makurian throne included a number of Muslims. One of these, Kanz ed-Dawla, nephew of Kerenbes, seems to have been responsible for the conversion of the royal throne hall (Godlewski/Medeksza 1987) into a mosque in 1317. In 1365 a further Mamluk military force intervened in Nubia, where ‘Arabs’ of Bani Ja’d were now intervening in dynastic disputes (Vantini 1975, 698 ff.). The fragmentary histories of such events suggest a considerable Mamluk engagement in Nubia and in Nubian dynastic politics. There must in turn have existed considerable private interactions with a growing presence, and perhaps residence, of Muslim populations. Notwithstanding more traditional assumptions/perceptions of a growing (nomadic) Arab population in the region, following Ibn Khaldun, it remains possible that we are seeing here the first appearance of new Islamic identities being framed in the adoption of Arab genealogies, a process that has been ongoing ever since in the Middle Nile. These events may well have had a significant impact on the settlement history of the northern province of Nobadia in particular, and on its cultural history. Both the Ayyubid campaign into Nubia in 1172–73 and those of the Sultan Baybars a century later (Seignobos 2015) may have significantly disrupted settlement systems. Individual settlement histories may also reflect such events. The important island settlement of Meinarti, for example, at the downstream end of the Second Cataract (Fig. 1), ap-

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Fig. 1: Main sites in Nubia mentioned in the text.

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pears to have been evacuated on two occasions, quite possibly these particular campaigns, and on the later occasion only partially reoccupied (Adams 2002). Another manifestation of such political relations has recently emerged on the frontier itself, close to Aswan. There the fortified site of Hisn al-Bab (Gascoigne/ Rose 2012; Rose/Gascoigne 2013) may confidently be identified with al-Qasr, reported by al-Maqrizi (quoting al-Aswani) as ‘the first village of the Nuba’ (Vantini 1975, 601). Much of the complex history of Egyptian-Nubian relations seems likely to have been played out at this site, at times being occupied by Abbasid troops and perhaps finally going out of use in the 12th century (Gascoigne/Rose 2012, 89), when such frontier arrangements were supplanted. Two ‘minarets’ were built close by, apparently in the 11th century, and may relate to a further role played by this location, as a terminus of a route to Aydhab (Bloom 1984). While still under study, this intriguing site may provide interesting insights into the material character of Nubian-Egyptian interactions on and across the frontier (Gascoigne/Rose 2010). A particularly valuable source of information on the general character of trading relations is provided in the important 10th century account of Ibn Selim al-Aswani. His report suggests that while Egyptian merchants were active in Lower Nubia, areas upriver were closed and trade was royally administered. Such royal control seems likely to have been managed by the Nubian Eparch (viceroy). By the Fatimid Period, the dominant Banu al-Kanz of the Aswan region managed Egyptian relations with Nubia. From this period their hereditary leader Kanz al-Dawla was to play significant roles in frontier politics and later within Nubia itself. Material traces of such interactions with the Islamic world may take a range of forms. However, due to limited interest shown in the archaeology of more recent periods by the earliest generations of archaeologists in Nubia, records of such materials remain limited. Rare finds of lslamic gravestones provide some direct evidence for the presence of Muslims within Lower Nubia from at least the first half of the 9th century. Although rarely found in situ, most seem likely to have originated in burials reasonably close to their findspots. None have yet been found south of the Second Cataract. Two 11th century examples (two sisters) were found at Meinarti (Adams 2002), and others close by at Debeira-East – Fadrus (Säve-Söderbergh 1981, 135). Other examples of Fatimid date are known from Jebel Adda (Millet 1964, 10, pl. VII.20), as well as built into the wall of the congregational mosque at el-Derr. While its construction date remains unknown, this is potentially one of the earliest in Nubia, and possibly late medieval (Monneret de Villard 1935, 101; 1938, 118). Its presence at el-Derr raises interesting questions concerning the medieval history of a site that was later to become the administrative centre for Lower Nubia. Its proximity to Qasr Ibrim may, for example, have made this a suitable base for Egyptian merchants in the Medieval Period. While having been the subject of little archaeological research, a pharaonic rock-cut tomb at el-Derr is also known to have been repurposed as a shrine of ‘Sheikh Youssef’, and contains a lengthy Arabic inscription on its wall (Curto et al. 1987, 17–18, pl. 53–54). Another group of grave-

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stones was noted in the early 19th century in a cemetery at Tafa, closer to the Egyptian frontier (Lane 2000, 468–469). Most known tombstones from Lower Nubia date to the 9th–11th centuries. That this was the period where Nubian-Egyptian relations were most positive may be significant, although as suggested by al-Hakim (1999, 567–568), the lack of later tombstones may also relate to changing mortuary practices. Documents from Qasr Ibrim also indicate legal agreements with Muslims by the th 12 century, and indeed, some penetration of Islamic legal practices (Ruffini 2012, 155, note 82). As yet the many medieval Arabic documents from Qasr Ibrim await systematic study (Khan 2013), as do other texts (mainly ostraca) occasionally recovered in excavations elsewhere (e.g. Shinnie/Shinnie 1978, pl. LII). If some gravestones may be linked to the presence of merchants, and families, these in turn raise interesting questions concerning the development in Nubia of an Islamic merchant diaspora, also likely to have played a significant role in the spread of Islam. Mainly Fatimid legal documents from Qasr Ibrim also record boat and land leases/purchases as well as marriage contracts. That such well-established networks and trading relations were severely disrupted by the Ayyubid incursions would, however, seem likely, although later Ayyubid interest in and expectations of their southern neighbour may not have been great. Al-Aswani’s account has also inspired some debate on the penetration and possible use of coinage into Lower Nubia. A number of medieval Nubian documents from Qasr Ibrim record payments in gold and dirhams, apparently not dinars (Ruffini 2012, 171–180). Here it may be noted that finds of coins of any kind remain remarkably scarce, even in Lower Nubia. Rare finds include some early 8th century Umayyad silver dirhams found within a church at Aksha (Vercoutter 1963, 132) and early levels within a settlement at Gezira Dabarosa [site 6-G-6] (Lister 1967, 6, fig. 4), both close to the Second Cataract. Low value bronze Mamluk coins are occasionally found south of the Second Cataract, for example at Kulubnarti (Anderson 2008), but rather more commonly further north in more important settlements, with several found at Jebel Adda (Millet 1964, 11) and a larger number (c. 75?) at Qasr Ibrim, the majority apparently also of Mamluk date (Ruffini 2012, note 82). Glass coin weights, mostly Fatimid, have also been found at Qasr Ibrim as well as Soba, interestingly including two ‘Nubian’ examples, one bearing the title of the ‘Eparch of Nobadia’ (Adams 1996, 196, pl. 59, g; Allason-Jones 1991, 145, pl. 38). The Ibrim documents appear mainly concerned with the import of higher value materials such as spices, dyestuffs and medicinal materials, as well as textiles (Adams 2010, 246–255; Khan 2013, 149). The import of wine, as recorded by al-Aswani, is less evident here. More widespread evidence for the external trading contacts of the Medieval Kingdoms is found from excavations. A number of imported copper alloy vessels were found in later medieval levels at Qasr Ibrim (Adams 1996, 117). The most durable, imported Egyptian pottery from the Aswan potteries and further afield seems to have remained quite abundant in Lower Nubia for much of the Medieval Period; quantified data suggests that it formed c. 20–30 % of assemblages north

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of the Second Cataract (Adams 1986, fig. 9). Among this, small quantities of glazed wares may have been more desirable and valued. This may include 14th century Egyptian-made Mamluk sgraffito vessels (Walker 2004, 16, 85), as found at Gebel Adda (Millet 1967, 62), but most seem likely to have been utilitarian and of low value. Other more exotic ceramic imports may occasionally be identified, such as sphero-conical ‘grenades’ (Whitcomb 1997, 104) and what may be Yemeni bowls (Adams 2001, 86, pl. 30a). Occasional pieces of Chinese porcelain found at Soba (Welsby/Daniels 1991, 246) may relate to links to the Red Sea and its eastern trade. A small body of glazed aquamanile from Soba, which appear to be local manufacture, also point to a familiarity with Persian glazed wares and perhaps local potting experiments drawing upon this knowledge (Welsby 2002, 195). Jewellery moulds for medallions with Islamic texts found at Soba (Allason-Jones 1991, 145, 147, pl. 39) also suggest local metalworking, perhaps manufacturing for a local Muslim community. The importation of glass is also quite well-attested. Village sites such as DebeiraWest near the Second Cataract produced a range of vessel glass, possible window glass as well as glass bangles (Harden 1978). Similar material was also finding its way as far south as Soba, although how far it was distributed beyond the urban core remains unknown. Occasional finds of unworked glass point to some local glassworking at Soba (Morrison 1991) as in northern Nubia (Adams 2010, 70). Textile production and trade was of considerable economic importance during the Mamluk Period (Walker 2000), and clearly formed an important element of external trade into the Middle Nile. There it entered a cultural milieu wherein cloth and costume could be of considerable social and political significance, as still apparent in sumptuary laws of the Post-Medieval Period (Spaulding 1985b, 878–883). Most examples of such imports are known from Lower Nubia, where excellent conditions of preservation prevail, including Mamluk silks from Adda (Walker 2000, 178, note 46), often fine wool, cotton, silk and linen garments from a bishop’s burial at Qasr Ibrim (Crowfoot 1977), as well as material indicative of much humbler means (Adams 1996). Archaeological finds are rarer further south, but suggest that Egyptian imports were widely distributed. The range of clothing forms encountered suggest a range of dress styles and, at least in some regions, the penetration of new Islamic forms of dress (Welsby 2002, 200–201; Adams 2010). Changing attitudes toward personal presentation and grooming may also perhaps be linked with novel Islamic concerns with ritual cleanliness, and may be traced in the adoption of new styles of hair combs, as noted in Medieval Egypt (Scanlon 1997). With relatively limited excavation of domestic contexts outside Lower Nubia, the economic significance of the long-distance trade represented by archaeology in Makuria or Alodia remains difficult to assess. Most such finds relate to low-volume imports accessed by the elites and more cosmopolitan urban communities, and in themselves can tell us little of the scale or character of trading connections to the Islamic world. Portrayals of Medieval Nubian long-distance trade have tended to

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presume the existence of an active trade in slaves to the Islamic world, and that this was of central economic importance. The Kingdom of Alodia, for example, has been characterised as ‘primarily a slave-trading state’ (Adams 1977, 471). That forms of slavery were a normal condition within Medieval Nubia cannot be doubted, and predatory activity related thereto was likely an essential activity of medieval and later states; documents relating to fugitive slaves have recently been recognised amongst Nubian documents found at Jebel Adda (Lajtar 2014). While it seems clear that some slaves originating in the Middle Nile were indeed reaching external markets throughout the Medieval Period (Edwards 2012), the importance of an external trade remains less sure. Sales of slaves by the Nubian Eparch (viceroy) through Egyptian agents appear in Fatimid documents (Khan 2013, 148) in a period when trading relations seem to have flourished. Though significant in that period, whether it survived the transformations of Egypt under the Ayyubids is less certain. In relation to more general assumptions being made about a regular largescale sourcing of African slaves in the Medieval Period, the existence of other sources (e.g. Haour 2011) should not be overlooked. In later periods many slaves may have been sourced through increasingly common military campaigns and associated practices of captive-taking. What seem to be relatively rare documentary references to Nubian, as distinct from other African, slaves may be found in late 14th century purchase deeds from the Haram al-Sharif (Little 1981). The relative invisibility of Egyptian trading connections to Nubia may also be contrasted with a flourishing medieval commerce through the Red Sea, both to East Africa and to South Asia and involving Jewish traders (Goitein/Friedman 2007). In general terms, we might suggest that the scale and nature of medieval trading links between Nubia and its northern neighbours merit more critical assessment (Kapteijns/Spaulding 2005, 22–23), but the Ibrim documents provide glimpses of Upper Egyptian trading networks distinct from those of the political centre of Cairo (Khan 2013). It is perhaps noteworthy that cotton is also mentioned in the Ibrim documents (Khan 2013, 149), while large quantities were also amongst the booty seized at Qasr Ibrim by the Ayyubid army in 1173. From the later 11th century, the apparent decline in the importance of Aswan and the concomitant growth of Qus as a garrison and administrative and trading centre (Garcin 1976, 79–84) might itself relate to wider changes in trading imperatives. In the later Medieval Period we are also aware of the development of other kingdoms in the region, notably Darfur (O’Fahey/Spaulding 1974), although archaeological research has as yet been able to add little to our knowledge of them. However, early speculations of direct links between the Nubian Kingdoms and those of Darfur now seem unfounded (McGregor 2001a). Links between the riverine kingdoms and the Red Sea region (Power 2012) also remain unclear. Along the Red Sea coast several important ports, notably Aydhab, Suakin and ar-Rih/Badi (Peacock/Peacock 2008), developed during this period, with Islamic trading and pilgrimage networks linking Egypt and the Near East with Arabia and the Indian Ocean and the East

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African coast. Aydhab, occupying an exposed position, also served as hub for Muslim pilgrims heading eastward, especially to Jeddah. While again, little archaeology has as yet been done on such sites (Insoll 2003), close links to Arabia seem clear. A number of groups of Islamic tombstones commemorate Arabian merchant families on the Red Sea coast at, for example, al-Rih (Kawatoko 1993a; 1993b) and at Khor Nubt near Sinkat (Glidden 1954), indicative of an incorporation into the Islamic world rather earlier than most parts of the Sudanese Nile Valley. Dynastic struggles within Makuria clearly contributed to the weakening of its political structures (Welsby 2002), but many aspects of the decline of the Medieval Kingdoms and institutional Christianity remain obscure. The extent to which Nubia may have shared the devastation wrought by the Black Death in Egypt and Ethiopia (Borsch 2005) remains unknown, although it is a question of considerable importance, as it is for elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. In the same period Lower Nubian history seems increasingly bound to that of Upper Egypt, from which dominant ‘tribes’ such as the Banu Hillal and Banu Kanz were both not infrequently in conflict with the Mamluk government (Rapoport 2004) while also extending their influence into Nubia. The spread of new Arab and tribal identities into Nubia in subsequent centuries may require a more complex understanding of their nature, not least in what may be mistaken associations with ‘desert Arabs’ and nomads. That the present-day Kenuz Nubians may trace their origins back to the Banu Kanz illustrates just such transformations. Ethnographic investigations of the 1960s documented some of the complexity of such identities in modern times (Hopkins/Mehanna 2010). Tracing the development of such new identities remains one of the central challenges of future research in ‘Islamic Nubia’. In some areas, especially further south, increasing political instability may also have been accompanied by a pastoral resurgence, which may also have been (mis-)understood in more traditional narratives of the immigration of ‘Arab’ populations (Kapteijns/Spaulding 2005), themselves drawing on traditions, genealogical and historical, which are current in recent centuries (e.g. MacMichael 1922; Hasan 1967). From the 16th century on the political focus of the Middle Nile had again shifted southwards, centred on the Sultanate of Sinnar on the Blue Nile.1 The sultanate seems to have drawn on the products of both riverine and more extensive rainland agriculture, as well as more mobile pastoralism within the hinterlands of the Gezira and the Butana. By the 18th century the Sultanate’s influence also extended westwards into Kordofan. Given limited historical evidence (e.g. Holt 1999), its relationship to its medieval predecessor Alodia remains unclear. When David Reubeni passed through Soba in 1523, he reported that the metropolis was much decayed. We know almost nothing of the possible origins of Sinnar or Qerri and Arbaji, other reputedly important centres of the Abdallab and Funj in the 16th century. The pres-

1 Adams 1977; Crawford 1951; Spaulding 1985b.

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ence of the former indicates the adoption of Arab identities amongst some claiming rulership in central Sudan by this date. Their origins, however, remain unclear, notwithstanding claims in later centuries of Arab, and more specifically Umayyad, origins (Spaulding 1985a). Notable European accounts of Sinnar include those of Theodore Krump, who visited in 1700–1702 (Spaulding 2001), and James Bruce towards the end of the century (Bruce 1790). Krump depicts it as a major trading hub: ‘Caravans are continually arriving from Cairo, Dongola, Nubia, from across the Red Sea, from India, Ethiopia, [Dar]Fur, Borno, the Fezzan, and other kingdoms’. By this period it was also becoming integrated into Sudanic pilgrimage routes, which created diasporic communities, well-established in the region in recent centuries (Yamba 1995). Historical studies have established many of the basic organisational features of the Sultanate, which has much in common with other Post-Medieval Kingdoms. Its military power and predatory nature was reflected in the sultan’s reliance on slaves in his household, bureaucracy and military units as well as the presence of slave settlements.2 A well-developed commercial export trade in slaves to the Ottoman Egypt and latterly to Arabia is increasingly evident (Edwards 2012), likely stimulated by Ottoman demand and supplied by the turbulent frontier regions of the Sudanese sultanates. There is very little archaeological information concerning Sinnar or the settlement archaeology of the Funj (Osman 1986). Early excavations on the Blue Nile at Sinnar and at Abu Geili nearby (Crawford/Addison 1951) revealed some burials accompanied by some distinctive ceramic forms. Whether such pottery might represent a more widely encountered ‘Funj’ cultural form remains unknown. A few sherds found at Soba have been compared to such ‘Funj’ pottery (Welsby/Daniels 1991), but may be linked to late medieval Yemeni incense burner traditions (Le Maguer 2011). As yet there has been almost no systematic archaeological investigation of external impacts on Funj Period material culture beyond surface observations of likely imports such as beads, glass, glazed pottery and tobacco pipes. With the gradual erosion of royal control over longdistance trade, there appears to have been some use of coinage and greater commercial exchange by the 18th century, if perhaps limited to a relatively restricted commercial milieu. As elsewhere in Sudanic Africa, the progress of monetization of the economy was very slow. Money remained a scarce commodity, and probably rare outside urban enclaves. Continuing potentially long-established practices, as more recently, ‘commodities were used as money, while currencies were treated like commodities’ (Tully 1988, 153). Grain, livestock, cloth, salt (Tigani el-Mahi 2000), iron and copper objects all served as “media of exchange, measures of value, and stores of wealth” (Kapteijns 1985, 34).

2 Kapteijns 1984; Johnson 1989; 1992.

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Fig. 2: Qubbas tombs near ed-Debba, linked with Post-Medieval Islamic elites (Photo: Author).

Much more evident in the landscape is a growing Islamic presence linked with an increasing social and political importance of Islamic identities (Spaulding 1985a; 2000). These are manifested in the distinctive domed qubba tombs and monuments of Islamic holy men (Fig. 2), also commonly foci for new settlements within new landscapes of religious power (McHugh 1994). Such holy men were increasingly important amongst new Islamic elites, linked to trading networks and often increasingly independent of royal authority, while often linked to widely connected Sufi tariqas. The differentiation of such religious enclaves within settlement landscape also included the establishment of what were to become new urban centres, many of which have survived into modern times. The Islamisation of daily life was also played out in many different arenas. The adoption of Islamic burial practices remains difficult to trace, although it seems likely that Christian practices had never been ubiquitous within Medieval Nubia, especially within more southerly regions. Changing dietary practices, most obviously with the disappearance of the pig, are also evident (Tigani al-Mahi 1991). The extent of Funj and Abdallab control over northern regions remains uncertain, and was clearly by no means uncontested by local elites. Fortified residences and castles housing local kings (meks) are quite common upon the regional landscape, as also are qubba cemeteries linked with religious notables. The old medieval capital of (Old) Dongola survived as a regional centre now associated with Islamic teachers and holy men. Other centres such as Qasr Wad Nimeiri and el-Khandaq

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were emerging (el-Zein 2010; 2011) in the northern Dongola Reach, and other local centres in the territory of the Shaiqiya further upstream. While little is known of western Sudan in the later Medieval Period (Musa 1986), the Daju and later Tanjur Kingdoms of Darfur seem likely to have been in at least indirect contact with the Islamic world. That these commonly looked westwards toward the states of the Chad Basin is also clearly significant, and also reflected in many cultural practices as well as in the material culture (Haaland 1978; Tobert 1988). Ceramic repertoires from Darfur usually have rather more in common with the Chad Basin than the Nile Valley. The arrival of Islam is linked with the first Kayra/Keira Sultan Sulayman Solong in the later 16th century. Archaeology has as of yet added relatively little (McGregor 2001a) to what the historical records can tell us of the Sultanate of Darfur (O’Fahey 2008; O’Fahey/Spaulding 1974). There was an active Darfur trade with Egypt by the early Post-Medieval Period, with Egyptian merchants trading with the Tunjur capital at Uri in the 16th century.3 A range of exports included slaves as well as Sudanic materials such as ivory, rhinoceros horn, ostrich feathers, gum and natron. As in Sinnar, Islamic religious leaders and merchants managed to establish new forms of power accumulation upon existing Sudanic traditions. The burial ground of the Kayra sultans at Turra was restored by Ali Dinar at the start of the 20th century (McGregor 2001a), while a few other key sites were identified in the mid-20th century (Balfour-Paul 1955). An early mosque at Old Shoba near Kebkebiya may date to the mid-18th century (Balfour-Paul 1954), and Islam was the state religion by the end of the century, although its wider impact was much more variable, remaining so into recent times (Tubiana 1984; Holy 1991). Such processes of Islamic state building can be traced into more recent centuries (O’Fahey/Abu Salim 1983; Kapteijns 1985). By the 18th century the regions of Kordofan between Darfur and the Nile were increasingly contested (O’Fahey 1973). Traversed by key trading routes, Islamic merchants and holy men were penetrating deep into the region; this appears to be a key factor in the development of new small-scale polities, for example in the Nuba mountains (Spaulding 1987). From the Period of the Turkiyya on the riverine state took an increasing interest in its control (Stiansen/Kevane 1998).

The Ottoman North From the mid-16th century on Lower and Middle Nubia were increasingly drawn into a very different world (Baram/Carroll 2000) with the penetration of the Ottomans beyond Aswan following the conquest of Egypt. By the later 16th century a deep

3 O’Fahey 1978; Hassan 1979; Walz 1978; 1979.

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Fig. 3: Ottoman island settlement (21-N-19) near Akasha (Photo: ASSN Archive F485.10).

frontier zone was established downstream of the Third Cataract, north of which a series of Ottoman frontier garrisons and outposts were found, the southernmost at Sai Island. Their presence, and the shifting character of the military presence as part of wider Ottoman frontier policy, would prove fundamental in the development of the culturally quite distinctive Nubian-speaking societies which developed in Lower and Middle Nubia.4 This frontier context also seems likely to have been important for the persistence of Nubian language in this area into modern times, largely replaced by Arabic in areas further south during the Post-Medieval Period (Bell 1975; Spaulding 1990). Ottoman military presence in best known from excavations at Qasr Ibrim,5 while some limited information has been recovered from the fortress at Sai (Alexander 1997; Reinold 2000, 127–128). Garrisons at these sites became hereditary and rooted in the local communities as landowners and farmers, as evidenced in documentary records from Ibrim (Hinds/Ménage 1991; Hinds/Sakkout 1986). Other smaller communities may have developed at sites such as Jebel Adda and Faras, where troops were known to have been posted. It is unclear whether these military communities remained distinct from other members of the Ottoman elites of the ‘kashef’ rulers,

4 Alexander 1995; 1997; 2009. 5 Adams 1987; Menage 1988; Alexander 1994; 1995; 2000.

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Fig. 4: Islamic tombs at Jebel Adda, Lower Nubia (Photo: Reinhard Huber).

associated with a number of regional centres. The island settlement of Kulubnarti would seem to have been one such minor centre, which has been intensively studied (Adams 1994; Adams/Adams 1998). Recent work suggests that a series of other sites, several on islands, may represent Ottoman outposts, perhaps military. Some, close to the Third Cataract and south of the fortress at Sai, may relate to an early presence on the frontier, later withdrawn. Identifiable by their unusual architecture (Fig. 3) and some distinctive decorated handmade pottery, such sites have a distinctively ‘non-Nubian’ character. Some distinctive local architectural forms, such as ‘Diffi’ fortified houses, also seem to have developed in Middle and Lower Nubia during this general period (Edwards/el-Zein 2012). Other material links to Egypt are evidenced in some distinctive schist-tempered pottery and other finds, such as steatite cooking pots, likely to derive from the Egyptian Eastern Desert (Harrell/ Brown 2008). Novel cultural forms and usages may also be identified in finds of Ottoman footwear (Veldmeijer 2008/09, 132; 2012, 154–5) as well as textiles and clothing (Adams 1992; 2010, 296–297). Some distinctive burial monuments, also perhaps to be associated with the Ottoman military presence, have been identified at several sites as well. The largest group of these is at Jebel Adda (Fig. 4), while some other examples are known at Qasr Ibrim and close to Sai Island. In the absence of comparable structures elsewhere in the Ottoman Empire, their inspiration, and date, remain uncertain, if clearly to be found in the Islamic world.

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Further south, the Sinnar sultanate remained the dominant political force in the Middle Nile until its seizure by Muhammed Ali’s Ottoman Egyptian army in 1821. The 19th century Egyptian conquest began a late phase of colonial occupation, with major restructuring of the landscapes of the Middle Nile (Bjorkelo 1989; Ewald 1990), not least with a series of new urban centres, including Khartoum and associated monuments (McGregor 2001b). A number of surveys are beginning to record sites and monuments of this more recent history.6 The expansion of the Turco-Egyptian state also continued processes of Islamisation (Beck 1998), as well as widening the reach of the processes of predation on the peripheries of the riverine state, in which the ivory and slave trades played a major role (Lane/Johnson 2009). The Mahdist revolt against the Egyptians further transformed the region, while the subsequent decades of warfare left many material traces, often still well-preserved (Welsby 2010).

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Tully, Dennis (1988): Culture and Context in Sudan: The Process of Market Incorporation in Dar Masalit. SUNY Series in Middle Eastern Studies. Albany: State University of New York Press. Vantini, Giovanni (1975): Oriental Sources concerning Nubia. Heidelberg: Akademie der Wissenschaften. Veldmeijer, André J. (2008/09): Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear. Technological Aspects. Part IV: Plain plaited Sandals from Qasr Ibrim. In: Jaarberichten Ex Oriente Lux 41, p. 127–150. Veldmeijer, André J. (2012): Leatherwork from Qasr Ibrim (Egypt). Part 1: Footwear from the Ottoman Period. Leiden: Sidestone Press. Vercoutter, Jean (1963): Excavations at Aksha. In: Kush 11, p. 131–140. Walker, Bethany J. (2000): Rethinking Mamluk Textiles. In: Mamluk Studies Review 4, p. 167–217. Walker, Bethany J. (2004): Ceramic Evidence for Political Transformations in Early Mamluk Egypt. In: Mamluk Studies Review 8, p. 1–114. Walz, Terence (1978): Trade between Egypt and bilād as-Sudan 1700–1820. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale. Walz, Terence (1979): Trading into the Sudan in the Sixteenth Century. In: Annales Islamologiques 15, p. 211–33. Welsby, Derek Anthony / Daniels, Charles M. (eds.) (1991): Soba. Archaeological Research at a Medieval Capital on the Blue Nile. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 12. London: Royal Geographical Society, Thames & Hudson Ltd. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2002): The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia. Pagans, Christians and Muslims along the Middle Nile. London: British Museum Press. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2010): Sudan’s First Railway. The Gordon Relief Expedition and The Dongola Campaign. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 19. London: British Museum Press. Whitcomb, Donald (1997): Mamluk Archaeological Studies: A Review. In: Mamluk Studies Review 1, p. 97–106. Yamba, C. Bawa (1995): Permanent Pilgrims. The Role of Pilgrimage in the Lives of West African Muslims in Sudan. International African Library 15. Edinburgh: University Press. el-Zein, Intisar Soghayroun (2010): Qasr Wad Nimeiri and its Qubbas. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 14, p. 91–95. el-Zein, Intisar Soghayroun (2011): The Archaeological and Cultural Survey of the Dongola Reach West Bank, from el-Khandaq to Hannek: Survey Analysis. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 142–145.

IV Surveys and Fringes

Mariusz Drzewiecki and Aneta Cedro

Archaeological Surveys at the Third, Fourth and Fifth Cataract Regions Introduction Nile river cataracts are areas of a unique landscape where hard masses of stone stand in the way of Africa’s greatest river. Water pushes between the rocks making sharp turns and creating islands and/or rapids. Agricultural land is limited and travelling difficult. This creates the cataracts’ inimitable climate, where the balance between small population and limited natural resources can be admired. At the beginning of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium (1899–1956) and due to technological developments, it was quickly understood that Nile water could be controlled and that this can be of great benefit (Tvedt 2006, 26–27). At that time, it was possible to regulate the water by channelling it in Upper Nile sections and a series of barriers across the Middle Nile. The cataract regions were labelled the most suitable areas for blocking the Nile because of the hard, bedrock surface, differences in ground level and the sparse population of nearby areas. In modern times, this is how cataracts within the marginal areas have become strategic and potentially valuable regions for governments and dissidents. This turn of events put the archaeological heritage of those regions at risk. For scientists, this was a signal to start the documentation process of the usually understudied area of the cataracts. It is customary that archaeological surveys and excavations intensify prior to the construction of dams. The first survey of Nubia was made in 1907 to document archaeological heritage that was to be flooded or damaged during the modernization of the Aswan Dam (Reisner 1910, 7–13). The survey methods used in that research became the standard for archaeological salvage work in the Middle Nile. It allowed scientists to record past remains in large areas in a relatively short time, providing the first step in understanding past societies living in the region (Osman/Edwards 2012, 33–36). Surveys in any cataract area have always resulted in discoveries of the region’s immensely rich archaeological heritage. It turned out that cataracts had not always been areas of sparse population. It seems that there were times when cataracts, instead of dividing the land, were the regions that connected adjacent territories. Due to salvage operations, archaeologists had to choose which sites to work, which of them to explore and to what extent. Which of them to excavate and where to concentrate their efforts. Survey results gave scientists the means to find the most suitable places. This methodology was applied during the First Archaeological Survey of Nubia in 1907–1911, the Second Archaeological Survey of Nubia in 1929–1934, and in the 1960s when the Aswan High Dam was built. Not much has changed since that time https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-040

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Fig. 1: Map of the Middle Nile (by Mariusz Drzewiecki).

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as we witness an increase in salvage attempts in the Middle Nile. This article will explore the surveys at the Third, Fourth and Fifth Cataract where salvage operations have recently gained momentum due to hydropower station projects: at Kajbar – in progress (Third Cataract), at Merowe – construction finished in 2008 and where archaeologists are still present in the area (Fourth Cataract), and at Shereik – in progress (Fifth Cataract).

Third Cataract Region (by Mariusz Drzewiecki) The limits of the Third Cataract region were precisely described in James Henry Breasted’s accounts of the Egyptian Expedition to Nubia (1908, 48–51). His team was moving down the river on boats. They entered the Third Cataract at Abu Fatma and the Hannik Rapids, close to Tombos on the 11th of January 1907. They sailed through the area and on the 16th of January left the Third Cataract, passing the Kajbar Rapids after long, arduous hours and with substantial damage to one of the vessels. After repairs, they visited the site of Sesebi, located a few kilometres down the river, outside the cataract area. Breasted’s survey aimed at recording pharaonic monuments as well as remains of art, culture and religion inspired by the ancient Egyptians. Except for Tombos, he did not list any archaeological sites in the region. Following Breasted, the limits of the cataract area in this article will be Abu Fatma/Hannik Rapids in the south and the Kajbar Rapids in the north. This constitutes a 63 km long section of the Nile. Sesebi and Tombos will be excluded from this article since those sites are described in detail elsewhere in this volume. The first half of the 20th century did not bring any systematic surveys focusing on the Third Cataract region but, in general, the Middle Nile Valley was an area of few thematic surveys. Somers Clarke (1912) conducted a survey of Christian Period sites in the Nile Valley. However, he did not mention any in the Third Cataract region. Francis Llewellyn Griffith published inscriptions from one of the hills at Nauri (1927) and an Old Nubian text (Griffith 1928; Zylharz 1932, 187–190). The information about this site was first collected by J. W. Crawfoot from native report for some years past (Griffith 1927, 193), the medieval document was recovered from the site by Terence Grey in 1924 (Osman/Edwards 2012, 352). During the survey of medieval sites in Nubia, Ugo Monneret de Villard (1935, 241) also gave an account of the ruins and texts from Nauri. Since that time, Nauri has attracted the attention of many scholars.1 A. J. Arkell added rock inscriptions and drawings in Sabu (opposite Kajbar) to the list of antiquities in the region. He identified cattle images, possibly of C-Group

1 Edgerton 1947; Gardiner 1952; Rondot 2008; Osman/Edwards 2012, 350–353; Ahmad Abd el-rahman 2013.

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Fig. 2: Map of the Third Nile Cataract (by Mariusz Drzewiecki).

origin (2nd millennium BC), hieroglyphic graffiti, and lion depictions with Greek texts probably from the Christian Period (Arkell 1950, 35). Neville Chittick inspected the site in 1954 and copied some of the representations. He identified: pictures of cattle, boats of Predynastic type and various engravings of the Christian Period (Chittick 1962, 328). In the 1960s students at the University of Khartoum were encouraged to undertake archaeological research in their hometowns, villages or regions and subsequently write BA theses based on materials and information collected during fieldwork (Osman/Edwards 2012, 33). Ali Osman Mohammed Salih wrote the first thesis in the series about antiquities of the Third Cataract (Osman 1969). In the 1970s, two more BA theses were written by students of the University of Khartoum, one based on the east bank survey (Mokhtar Rida ed-Din 1978) and the other on the west bank survey (Mohammed Abd el-Hadi 1978). Latter BA theses contained a wealth of information (descriptions, maps and photographs), which was not available elsewhere. Unfortunately, the works were never published (Edwards 1992, 56). Up to the present day, Ali Osman Mohammed Salih has been the most active researcher in the Third Cataract Region, conducting numerous archaeological and ethnological surveys in the area. He recorded sites from various periods. His re-

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search interest has focused on historical archaeology (Osman 1984), local knowledge and the understanding of the past (Osman 1992), medieval realms,2 Post-Medieval times and the Kingdom of Kokka, with its heartlands at the Third Cataract (Osman 1982a). In 1990 the largest survey of the Third Cataract region was launched. It was labelled Mahas Survey. Ali Osman Mohammed Salih (University of Khartoum) and David Edwards (University of Leicester) directed the project. Field seasons were conducted in: – March–April 1990 in the area from Hannik to Kajbar;3 – November–December 1991 in the area from Tombos to Mashakeela (Osman/ Edwards 1992; Edwards/Osman 1992); – April–May and December 1999 – language/toponym survey based in Dafoi and Mashakeela (Hashim/Bell 2000; Osman/Edwards 2012, 6); – March–April 2000 at Arduan Island and its surroundings;4 – January–March 2002 at Simit, Musul and Nab Islands as well as on the western bank between Hannik and Fagirinfenti. Further work was also carried out at Nauri (Osman/Edwards 2002); – February–March 2005 (Osman/Edwards 2012, 1, 6). Due to new funding, the Mahas Survey developed into an interdisciplinary project during the 1990s and especially 2000s. The Third Cataract region became a place where students and researchers from the University of Khartoum and other institutions could conduct fieldwork research in archaeology, ethnology, language studies and palaeoenvironmental studies. Some of the team members published their research: – Yahia Fadl Tahir (2010), based on zooarchaeological remains from Wadi Farja, modelled the palaeoenvironment of the Third Cataract area; – Azhari Mustafa Sadig (2004; 2005) researched the Neolithic of the Third Cataract region; – Yahia Fadl Tahir and Azhari Mustafa Sadig are working together on drystone walls across wadis, with case studies from the Third Cataract area (2014; in press); – Intisar Soghayroun el-Zein with David Edwards undertook research into the Islamic Period at the Third Cataract (Edwards/el-Zein 2012); – Mohamed Ahmed Abd el-Mageed (2012) produced studies focusing on medieval fortifications in the region. The Mahas Survey produced records of 691 archaeological sites. In the Third Cataract region (between Hannik/Abu Fatma and Kajbar Rapids), 591 archaeological sites were attested (Osman/Edwards 2012, 422–427) ranging from late prehistoric to Post-Medieval sites. Intensive occupation periods in the region fell into late pre2 Osman 1978; 1982b; 2004. 3 Osman/Edwards 1992; Edwards/Osman 1994a; 1994b. 4 Edwards/Osman 2000; Hashim/Bell 2000; Osman/Edwards 2000.

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historic, Kerma/New Kingdom, Medieval and Post-Medieval times. Based on the survey results, heritage safeguarding actions were locally conducted. For example: in 2006 at Abu Fatma prior to canalling for agricultural modernization (Osman 2014); in 2011 Ali Osman and Yahia Fadl Tahir accompanied Naoyo Sekihiro (2012) on a tour of inspection to the sites of Sabu, Nauri and Wadi Farja. The main cemetery at Tombos was discovered in 1991 during the Mahas Survey (Osman/Edwards 2012, 5). Studies of quarries in that area started in 1996 (Harrell 1999, 239). In January 1997 a survey was launched between Khandaq and Hannek on the west bank of the Nile. It was organised by Stuart Tyson Smith (University of California Santa Barbara). The study area lay to the south of the Third Cataract. However, there was a slight overlap with the Mahas Survey in Hannek village (Smith 2003, 158). Systematic interdisciplinary research of the Tombos area began in the winter of 2000, including survey and excavations of the surrounding cemeteries from various periods.5 In 2003 and 2005 reconnaissance aiming at locating Neolithic sites was made on the eastern bank of the Nile in the Tombos area and on the western bank reaching a few kilometres up- and downstream and covering desert areas outside the river valley. Altogether 12 sites have been recorded including settlements, cemeteries and rock art sites.6 In 2012 the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology was granted a research concession in the Third Cataract region. In January and February of 2013 a team of archaeologists, ethnologists and Arabic language specialists from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań conducted ethnoarchaeological research in Jawgul village recording Post-Medieval and modern settlement.7 Researchers from the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences conducted two brief surveys. The first in 2013 focused on the fortifications of Marakul and Shofein (Łopaciuk et al. 2014). The second survey was done in 2016 and aimed at documenting the sites of Kissenfarki and Fagirinfenti.

Fourth Cataract Region (by Aneta Cedro) The landscape of the Fourth Nile Cataract 8 region is shaped by the rocky basement of a mainly Precambrian complex of metamorphic and igneous rocks (Gabriel/ 5 Edwards/Osman 2001; Smith 2008, 95; Buzon/Simonetti/Creaser 2006. 6 Herbst 2010; Herbst/Sander/Coulthard 2010; Sander/Herbst 2010. 7 Drzewiecki et al. 2013; Drzewiecki/Maliński 2013; Maliński/Drzewiecki 2013; Drzewiecki/ Drzewiecka/Elečková 2014. 8 The geographic limitation of this area is not clearly delineated, as the Fourth Cataract is clearly not a single point but a section of the Nile characterized by the small boulders and rocky islands that divide the river current into multiple channels with the rapids or ‘cataracts’. The area which best fits the geographic description is the stretch from Shirri Island upstream to Utmari Island in

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Wolf 2007, 28), which form the banks of the Nile and the core of over 48 islands, leaving a very narrow band of land suitable for human use and permanent settlement. The sandy planes on the right bank and a maze of deep wadis or khors on both sides of the river make this land even more inhospitable. It is not a surprise then that the Fourth Cataract region was, until recently, considered a peripheral zone, sparsely occupied in the past and ‘devoid of important remains’ of the major archaeological cultures which flourished in the Nile Valley (Adams 1977, 32). The salvage archaeological work of the last two decades, however, has yielded enough evidence to contradict these assumptions. Prior to the 1980s no archaeological excavations had been carried out in the area of the Fourth Nile Cataract. The first descriptions or reports from the Fourth Cataract area contain mostly information about striking monumental remains. It was not different at the beginning of the 20th century when James Henry Breasted, whose expedition was devoted to the search for archaeological remains, sailed from Abu Hamad to Merowe. He only left records of known fortifications (Breasted 1908, 22–24). Another report focussing solely on a pair of fortresses, Suweiqi and Kaldob, situated opposite one another on two banks of the river, was made by Major G. W. Titherington (1939). A wider range of types of archaeological sites was given by Henry Cecil Jackson, who conducted a survey in Abu Hamed district in March 1926. Apart from complementing the list of fortifications in the Fourth Cataract region, he paid attention to the rock art sites and recorded many tumuli and box-grave cemeteries, many of which he attributed to the so-called ‘Anaj’ people (Jackson 1926). The intensification of archaeological activity in the Fourth Cataract region was conjoined with the plans to build a dam or dams on the Nile, which, as a side effect, would result in the inundation of part of the inhabited land and consequently in damaging its archaeological heritage. The idea to control and exploit the waters of the Fourth Cataract goes back to the end of the 19th century, although the first steps toward such a plan were taken only half a century later. Between 1942 and 1949, the Egyptian Government carried out a study of the area with the aim of building a dam at Merowe Island (Kabbashi Hussein Gissema 2014, 1050). Consequently, preliminary surveys were undertaken in 1949 by Terence Gray and Thabit Hassan Thabit on the right bank of the Nile and some of the islands between Kareima and Elkab, where they located over 200 sites (Grzymski 2010, 67). Unfortunately, most of their documentation and collected samples were lost in a mishap and only a brief published notice remains as a remnant of this survey (Gray 1949). Fieldwork

the south-west (Harrell 2010, 71). Some researchers (cf. Emberling 2012, 72; Paner 2003, 15), however, use a broader definition for the Fourth Cataract, extending the limits upstream as far as Mograt Island. For the purpose of this paper, the second description will be applied, as it coincides with the area of the Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage Project and is commonly used in archaeological publications.

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conducted by Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford between December 1951 and March 1952 was more successful, resulting in the publication of several Medieval and early Islamic monuments from the region (Crawford 1953b, 10–14). After Sudan gained independence from the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium in 1956, the construction of a dam at the Fourth Cataract was postponed for more than two decades, until the late 1970s, when the plans were revived again by the Sudan Ministry of Irrigation (Ahmed M. Ali el-Hakem 1993, 1–2). Since then, the need for the archaeological reconnaissance of the area has become more urgent. The first reaction came from the Archaeological Mission of Rome University ‘La Sapienza’, working in the Jebel Barkal. In 1986 Sergio Donadoni and his team conducted an investigation of the small area closest to the dam site, the Island of Uli and two banks of the Nile in front of it.9 Three years later, in April-May 1989, Jacques Reinold started a first preliminary exploration on the left bank and on the islands in the area directly at risk from the dam. The work was continued later, that same year, by a joint team of the Sudan Antiquity Service and its French unit with Osama A. el-Nur as co-director (Osama A. el-Nur/Hassan Bandi 1994). Their systematic surface survey resulted in locating over 500 sites. At the end of 1989, Jean Leclant undertook a preliminary survey of the whole endangered area between Jebel Barkal and Abu Hamed as an official representative of UNESCO.10 The first surveys conducted in the Fourth Cataract region before the 1990s indicated that the archaeological potential of the area was bigger than had previously been assumed. It took, however, the following two decades of intensive salvage activities to discover the full cultural spectrum and uniqueness of this land in the past. At the beginning of the 1990s the Sudan government decided that a single high dam would be built at the Fourth Cataract, approximately 35 km upstream from the town of Merawi. The 8 km long construction would create an artificial reservoir extending 170 km upstream. The waters were to cover an area of approximately 724 km2. As a response to these plans, the authorities of the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) appointed the Hamdab Dam Project Research Council (later renamed the Merowe Dam) in 1991 to coordinate the expected fieldwork, and in 1993 issued an international appeal to foreign teams to undertake research on the archaeological heritage in the area threatened by damage caused by the Merowe Dam (Ahmed M. Ali el-Hakem 1993). Initially, the response was small. Apart from the Sudanese team from the University of Dongola and NCAM, only two foreign missions appeared in the Fourth Cataract area in the 1990s. First was the Gdańsk Archaeological Museum Expedition (GAME), which started a systematic survey in 1996, and three years later they were followed by a team of the Sudan Archaeological Research Society (SARS).

9 Donadoni 1990; 1997; Caneva 1988. 10 Leclant 1990; 1992; Montluçon 1994.

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Fig. 3: The Fourth Nile Cataract and the concession areas within the Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage Project (by Aneta Cedro).

After the initiation of engineering works at the dam site, the NCAM authorities, during the annual meeting of the SARS in London in 2003, reiterated the international appeal, and this time more institutions responded and became involved in the salvage project at the Fourth Nile Cataract (Salah Mohamed Ahmed 2014, 6). The prime objective of the Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage Project (MSDAP) was to document as much as possible of the archaeological heritage endangered by the construction of the dam. Given the limited time and available resources, most teams simultaneously conducted surveys and excavations or detailed studies in selected areas.

Participants of the MDASP The expeditions of the Sudanese National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) – started the salvage activity at the Fourth Cataract with surveys conducted between 1989 and 1991 (Ahmed M. Ali el-Hakem 1993). One of the first institutions to respond to the threat of the Merowe Dam construction was the Kareima branch of the University of Dongola. In cooperation with NCAM and under the direction of Kabashi Hussein Gissema, they conducted research on the left bank of the Nile,

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at the dam site area, between 1995 and 1998 (Abd el-Rahman Ali Mohammad/ Kabashi Hussein Gissema 1999). Their reconnaissance continued from 2001 to 2002, as a joint project of Khartoum and Dongola universities under the direction of NCAM. They worked in the future lake area, at the dam site, between the villages Umm Hazi to Dar el-Arab (Kabbashi Hussein Gissema 2014, 1052; Salah Mohamed Ahmed 2003). In 2005 NCAM started the el-Daghfali Salvage Project at the upstream end of the Fourth Cataract, between Elkab and Khor el-Daghfali, within the 32 km long area. In connection with the MDASP, salvage operations were also undertaken by NCAM in the resettlement areas, partly in collaboration with the French Archaeological Unit (Geus/Lecointe 2003), and in the areas of the future power transmission lines (el-Tahir Adam el-Nour 2008, 137–140). Gdańsk Archaeological Museum Expedition (GAME) – directed by Henryk Paner, was the first foreign expedition to start a systematic survey at the Fourth Cataract area in 1996. Initially, GAME was granted a concession on the right bank, covering a stretch of 250 km between Kareima and Abu Hamed. This was later reduced to 130 km, with an upstream limit at Khor el-Daghfali (Paner 2003a). During the first two seasons the Gdańsk team worked downstream of the dam site, where approximately 152 sites were registered (el-Tayeb 1998; Paner 1998). One of the most significant discoveries of these campaigns consisted of a group of sites associated with the Kerma Period, which were the first confirmation of this culture in the Fourth Cataract. With this discovery, evidence of its unquestionable connection with the Pan-Grave-Culture and Egypt was brought to light (Kołosowska/el-Tayeb/Paner 2003; Paner 2014). In the following seasons the GAME team moved upstream with a detailed survey conducted on the belt of a piece of land along the Nile, 1.5 to 5 km wide, and in 1999 part of the Umm Duras Island was also included (Borcowski/Paner 2005). They also carried out aerial reconnaissance with video and photographic recording of the whole original concession area (Paner 2005, 89). Archaeological excavations and detailed investigations were conducted at seven settlements and 34 cemeteries.11 GAME finished work in the Fourth Cataract region with excavations at the cemetery site near Kassinger Bahri in 2009 and 2010 (Kołosowska/Borcowski 2014). The list of sites recorded by GAME represents a wide range of periods, the most numerous being Neolithic, Kerma Horizon12 and Medieval.13 The majority were cem11 Borcowski 2003; Kołosowska 2010; Kołosowska/el-Tayeb 2005; 2012; el-Tayeb/Kołosowska 2012. 12 The GAME team suggested replacing ‘Kerma Horizon’ nomenclature with the new term ‘Old Kush’ (cf. Kołosowska/el-Tayeb/Paner 2003; Kołosowska/el-Tayeb 2007; Paner 2014). It was, however, subjected to some criticism (Welsby/Welsby Sjöström 2007, 387–388), and the old terminology is still more commonly used. 13 Paner 2003b; Paner/Borcowski 2005; Paner/Pudło 2010.

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eteries, in total 284 (Paner/Pudło/Borcowski 2010; el-Tayeb/Kołosowska 2007), but there were also 106 identified settlements, five fortified sites, including one previously unknown,14 two churches and 98 rock art sites. Apart from fieldwork activities, a detailed study of the finds collected during the salvage was conducted, which included pottery,15 lithics (Wąs 2005; 2010), beads (Then-Obłuska 2014) and skeletal remains.16 The Sudan Archaeological Research Society (SARS) – a mission directed by Derek A. Welsby from the British Museum, conducted the first survey at the Fourth Cataract area in 1999 (Welsby 2000; 2003a). The SARS concession extended 40 km along the river on the left bank and on islands between Suweiqi (Dar el-Arab) and Jebel Musa – Kirbekan (Welsby 2010). From 2002 to 2007 several teams worked simultaneously within the SARS concession: – A team directed by Derek A. Welsby started excavating cemeteries on the left bank near el-Tereif and an early Kushite pyramid (site 4-F-71) during the seasons of 2002–2003; in the following campaigns of 2004–2005 the left bank was surveyed near ed-Doma and the Islands of Dirbi and Umm Hagar; from 2005 to 2007 excavations were conducted on settlements and cemeteries near ed-Doma; during the last season in 2006–2007 Ishashi Island and the left bank near etTereif were surveyed;17 – An Anglo-German team with Pawel Wolf as field director conducted a survey of an 8 km long stretch upstream from Dar el-Arab, near Hadiab, et-Tereif and on eleven islands during four seasons (2003–2006). Excavations at a wide range of sites included a church, a Palaeolithic tool production site, early Kushite and Post-Meroitic settlements and Kerma and Meroitic-Christian cemeteries;18 – A team based at University College London directed by Dorian Fuller in the season of 2003–2004 excavated cemeteries and settlements on the Islands of Umm Melyekta, el-Hilla and Umm Muri, as well as surveying Ishashi Island (Edwards/Fuller 2005; Fuller/Kleinitz 2004); – A Peruvian team of the Centro Mallqui – the Bioanthropology Foundation, directed by Gerardo Carpio (2004–2006) and later by R. Diaz (2006–2007), focused mainly on physical anthropological research and excavations of the cemeteries of Kerma, Post-Meroitic and Medieval Periods (Carpio/Guillen 2005); – A team directed by John Payne during the 2004–2005 season conducted excavations of the Late Kushite and Medieval settlement on Umm Muri (McCann 2007; Payne 2005);

14 15 16 17 18

Paner 2005; 2010; Wiewióra 2010. Daszkiewicz/Bobryk/Schneider 2003; Kołosowska/el-Tayeb 2003a; Pluskota 2005. Gładykowska-Rzeczycka/Pudło 2005; Pudło 2005; 2010. Welsby 2003b; 2004; 2005; 2006; 2007. Gabriel 2012; Wolf 2004; Wolf/Nowotnick 2005a; 2005b; 2006; 2007.

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A team directed by Andrew Ginns during two seasons, 2005–2006 and 2006– 2007, conducted excavation of medieval sites (church, settlement and four cemeteries) on Mis Island (Ginns 2006; 2007).

A separate sub-project conducted by Cornelia Kleinitz within the concessions of SARS and Humboldt University (H.U.N.E.) was dedicated solely to rock art sites, which are among the most frequently encountered archaeological remains in the Fourth Nile Cataract area.19 The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of Warsaw University (PCMA) – joined the salvage project at the Fourth Nile Cataract in 2003 and closed it in 2010, with the excavation of the ‘royal’ tumulus at Hagar el-Beida (Chłodnicki/Stępnik 2013). Within the PCMA concession, three teams were working concurrently: – On Saffi Island a team directed by Bogdan Żurawski conducted survey and excavations. Among the nearly 80 recorded sites, most were of Kerma and Medieval date;20 – On Uli Island an investigation was conducted by a team headed by Włodzimierz Godlewski, the survey resulted in over 77 sites being recorded (Godlewski/Obłuski/Zielińska 2005); – On the left bank a 45 km long section of the Nile Valley in the easternmost part of the Fourth Cataract, between Khor Umm Ghizlan and Shamkhiya, was explored by the Polish Joint Archaeological Expedition to the Middle Nile Valley (cooperation of PCMA, Poznań Archaeological Museum and Polish Academy of Sciences-Poznań Branch) directed originally by Lech Krzyżaniak (et al. 2005) later by Marek Chłodnicki21 and Bogdan T. Żurawski22. Several hundred archaeological sites dating from the Palaeolithic to the Christian and Islamic Periods were found in this area. Excavations were conducted at the cemeteries of el-Ar,23 el-Gamamiya (Osypiński 2010b), es-Sadda,24 Hagar el-Beida (Lemiesz 2007) and Shamkhiya (Włodarska 2014; Woźniak 2008). The Humboldt University Nubian Expedition (H.U.N.E.) – took up work in the centre part of the Fourth Cataract area in March 2004 and ended it in 2008. Their concession comprised a stretch of approximately 40 km on the left bank as well as the Islands, including Us, Sur, Sherari and Shirri.25 Two teams worked within the

19 Kleinitz 2007a; 2007b; Kleinitz/Olsson 2005. 20 Klimaszewska-Drabot/Obłuski 2005; Żurawski 2005a; 2005b. 21 2007; 2010; 2012; Chłodnicki/Żurawski 2005; Chłodnicki et al. 2007. 22 2007a; 2007b; 2008; 2010; 2012. 23 Longa 2010; 2012; 2014. 24 Osypiński 2007; 2010a; Sip 2010. 25 The H.U.N.E. was forced to cancel the fieldwork on Shirri Island in 2006 due to the protests of the Manasir tribe. One of the teams was relocated then to Mograt Island.

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H.U.N.E. concession, and the mainland part of the project was directed by Frank Kammerzell and Julia Budka,26 while Claudia Näser27 directed the project on the islands. The sites recorded in both areas cover all periods from the Palaeolithic to Post-Medieval times, with a predominance of medieval remains. Special research themes were applied to work on pottery,28 lithics (Jeuthe 2005; Lange 2005) and epigraphy (Näser/Tsakos 2014). Among the areas excavated by the H.U.N.E. island team, the church SR022.A was the place of one of the most astonishing discoveries of the MDASP: inside over 100 fragments of medieval manuscripts were found (Billing 2007; Näser/Billig/Lange 2007). Apart from conducting archaeological work, a sub-project of H.U.N.E. focused on ethno-anthropological fieldwork, with the aim of documenting the cultural landscape and material and non-material traditions of the Fourth Cataract-present-day inhabitants, the Manasir tribe.29 The University of Cologne Fourth Cataract Project (ACACIA) – directed by HansPeter Wotzka, was granted a concession comprising the Island of Boni, the largest in the Fourth Cataract region (approximately 40 km2). In February 2004 a pilot survey campaign started their participation in the MDASP. From 2005 to 2007 the Cologne Fourth Cataract Project formed a part of the interdisciplinary collaborative research centre ACACIA (Arid Climate, Adaptation, and Cultural Innovation in Africa) at the University of Cologne (Petrick 2012, 117). The main focus of their research, apart from survey and documentation, was to collect data on environmental conditions and modes of human activities from past to present.30 Of the 230 archaeological sites identified at Boni Island, in particular from the Neolithic, Kerma and Christian Periods (Wotzka/Goedicke/Michels 2012), almost half (104) represent rock art (Fawzi Hassan Bakhiet 2012). Remains of settlements were recorded at 13 locations (Schmidgen-Hager 2012) as well as nine cemeteries. The mission of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Arizona State University (ASU) – started surveying the area on the right bank of the Nile from Elkab to the westernmost end of Mograt Island in November-December 2003 as an expedition of the California University, directed by Stuart Tyson Smith (Smith/ Herbst 2005, 133). Their concession was located in the furthermost upstream part of the Fourth Cataract, and thus it was the area last and least affected by the flooding. In 2007 they were joined by a bioarchaeological team from Arizona State Uni-

26 2005; 2007; 2010. 27 2004; 2005; 2007; 2008; 2012. 28 Pluskota 2008; Sievertsen 2005; 2012. 29 Eigner 2005; 2007; Haberlah 2007; Kleinitz/Näser 2012; Weschenfelder 2012. 30 Daszkiewicz/Bobryk/Wotzka 2012; Heikel/Patolla 2012; Maier 2012; Nussbaum/Darius 2012; Pöllath 2012; Ritter 2012.

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versity (ASU), and as a joint project for three seasons (2007–2009) they investigated the sites near Ginefab village. The UCSB team excavated settlements dating to the Neolithic through Kerma Period (Smith/Herbst 2008), while the main focus of the ASU partner was to research a Post-Meroitic cemetery (Baker 2008; 2014). After the MDASP ended, Brenda Baker, a director of the ASU team, continued their research in the 33 km long stretch downstream of Mograt Island, with the project Arizona State University’s Bioarchaeology of Nubia Expedition (BONE). The mission of the University of Delaware – directed by Steven E. Sidebotham, conducted their survey in January 2006. This project was originally granted a concession of the two forts at Elkab. Due to a lack of agreement between local population and the governmental authorities, the team was unable to study the sites and moved to a new area located on the left bank immediately downstream of the dam. Of the 22 km long section between Nuri and Hamdab, they managed to survey the western part of the concession. Among approximately 550 recorded sites, most represented funerary structures, while in two locations (37A and 37B) several dozen petroglyphs were noticed (Sidebotham/Thomas/Harrell 2010). The mission of the Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition (OINE), University of Chicago – directed by Geoff Emberling and Bruce Williams, worked in the Fourth Cataract area from January to March 2007 and in 2008. Originally they were assigned a concession on Shirri Island and a stretch of the right bank opposite this. However, like a number of other missions, they had to leave the area (Emberling/ Williams 2008; 2010). Invited by the Gdańsk Archaeological Museum, they finally conducted excavations at three sites within the GAME concession: two burial sites of the Kerma Period el-Widay I and II and an industrial, most probably gold mining, settlement site Hosh el-Guruf.31 The Hungarian – Sudanese Archaeological Project (HSAP) – was a mission of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Budapest) with Gábor Lassányi as a field director. In January and February 2007 they worked on the left bank, between the modern villages el-Kir and Dar el-Arab (Lassányi 2008, 9). Apart from the survey south of Dar el-Arab, they managed to conduct: a detailed study of three Prehistoric sites, two Palaeolithic and one Neolithic;32 excavations at one Kerma and two PostMeroitic sites (Lassányi 2008, 10–11); a detailed survey and test trenches in el-Kir (el-Kuneysa), a large Christian settlement (Faragó 2008). The construction of the concrete Dam of Merowe was completed in December 2005 and in the following years the reservoir started to fill until eventually 174 km of the Nile Valley, with all its archaeological remains, was covered by water. With

31 Emberling et al. 2014; Meyer 2010; Shonkwiler 2010; Harrell 2010. 32 Király 2008; 2012; 2013.

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this, the archaeological salvage project at the Fourth Cataract officially came to an end in 2008, and only one mission (ASU) has continued working until now in the least affected, northern part of the region.

Fifth Cataract Region (by Mariusz Drzewiecki) The limits of the Fifth Cataract area in this article are at Shereik in the north and el-Bauga in the south. This constituted 78 km of the Nile Valley in which the river crosses fine and coarse sandstone layers (Geological Map of the Sudan 1981). Henry Cecil Jackson was the person to start a modern exploration of the Fifth Cataract area. He was a Governor of Berber province (Crawford 1953a, 2), including the Abu Hamed District, which in the 1920s comprised Manasir and Rubatab country. In 1926 he published an article in which he presented the modern history of the peoples, their legends and stories as well as antiquities, which he was able to inspect during his trip. In the region of the Fifth Cataract he listed: – Prehistoric sites near Shereik; – Meroitic sites at Gandeisi Island and Wadi Dam et-Tor; – rock art at Wadi Abu Haraz (near Esheir Island); – Medieval Christian remains at Wadi Dam et-Tor, Gandeisi Island, Isri Island, Umm Beid, Umm Mereikh and Abu Hagar (Tarfaya); – Early Arab sites at Sabnas Island and Abu Hagar (Tarfaya). Ugo Monneret de Villard composed a list of seven medieval sites based on the Jackson article and Sudan Survey Map 45G (Monneret de Villard 1935, 264–265). O. G. S. Crawford conducted fieldwork in the Middle Nile region in 1951 and 1952 (Crawford 1953a, 2; Drzewiecki/Rączkowski 2008, 3–4). He carried out a field-walking survey at Tarfaya, Shereik, el-Usheir, ez-Zuma, Wadi Dam et-Tor, Gandeisi Island, Baqeir, el-Gol and el-Bauga. He recorded various settlement sites and cemeteries, but most of them consisted of Medieval and Post-Medieval objects with visible architectural remains (Crawford 1953b; 1958). Since 1969 the University of Khartoum has started to organise field schools for students in the region (Haycock 1972). Field research was done mostly by means of survey methods. The students used that information in their BA theses. In this way two texts were written about antiquities of the Fifth Cataract region. One was by Khider Adam Eisa, focusing on the Karaba-Sheriek region (published as an article in 1995), and another by Yousif Mukhtar el-Amin describing archaeological heritage at the Karaba – el-Bauga section of the Nile Valley (published as an article with David Edwards in 2000). A single site, a Christian cemetery at Hamadab on el-Usheir Island, was mentioned in another dissertation by Ahmed Sid Abbas (1971, 13).

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Fig. 4: Map of the Fifth Nile Cataract (by Mariusz Drzewiecki).

Khider Adam Eisa reported burials from various periods in Abu Sideir, Bashtenab, Wadi Dam et-Tor, ez-Zuma, south of Nadi, Gandeisi Island, Atanasu Island. Settlements at Wadi Dam et-Tor, Gandeisi Island, Tarfaya, Baqeir and fortified sites at Abu Simarat, ez-Zuma, Abu Sideir, Baqeir, Zimama, Tarfaya-South, Umm Hugger, Deblieba, Nadi, Sabnas A and B, Gandeisi, Tarfaya-North and Kagrat. Yousif Mukhtar el-Amin lists sites at et-Tikkawin, Artoli, el-Jol, Umm Buwa, Gezira Mellu, Abu Qurun area, Diaqa, Mebeirika, Gezira Karni, Gezira Salage, Abu Mereikh and

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el-Usheir. In both articles most of the sites were settlements and cemeteries with architectural remains visible on the surface. The majority of the remains were dated to Medieval and/or later periods. In December 1977 a short, 15-day reconnaissance was made under Else Johansen Kleppe (1982), during which information was collected on history, ethnofolklore, archaeology and ethnoarchaeology of the Middle Nile. In the Fifth Cataract area, a region of Karaba was visited and an extensive Christian site was found on Isri Island (Kleppe 1982, 147). All of the surveys mentioned above were made in larger regions in which the Fifth Cataract was only a small part of the investigated area. The first research focusing on the cataract territory only was conducted in 2001 by researchers from the University of Khartoum and the University of Nile Valley. This was the Archaeological National Joint Project to the 5th Cataract region directed by Ali Osman in cooperation with Mohamed Ahmed Abd el-Mageed and Yahia Fadl Tahir. This intensive survey focused on the western bank of the Nile and revealed the rich archaeological heritage of the region. In total 153 archaeological sites from various periods were recorded in an area between Fotouar (Abu Qurun) and Zamama (vicinity of Umm Beid), with 11 sites located on Karni Island (Osman/Mohamed Ahmed Abd elMageed/Yahia Fadl Tahir 2003, 29–77). In 2008 an expedition from Adam Mickiewicz University entitled Fortresses of Sudan was conducted (Drzewiecki/Rączkowski 2008). In the Fifth Cataract region, the team surveyed selected fortified sites and their archaeological context (within a c. 2 km radius from the fortifications). This way sites at Wadi Dam et-Tor, Tarfaya, Gandeisi, el-Usheir-North were surveyed in 200833 and at the beginning of 2012 sites at Abu Sideir, Abu Mereikh and Karni Island.34 On the 15th of May 2012 the Sudan Dam meeting was held at the British Museum.35 At that time salvage projects in the Third and Fifth Cataract were announced and new research concessions were established. In the following year surveys on the new concessions were undertaken by institutions from Poland, the UK and Germany. Unfortunately, fieldwork was brought to a halt by circumstances beyond the researchers’ control. The team directed by Bogdan T. Żurawski was able to make a brief visit and take aerial photographs of Tarfaya, Wadi Dam et-Tor and Gandeisi fortifications (Żurawski, pers. comm.). The team directed by Derek A. Welsby surveyed the east bank between Karaba and Gananita as well as entered el-Usheir Island visiting alto-

33 Drzewiecki/Rączkowski 2008; Drzewiecki/Maliński/Rączkowski 2008; Drzewiecki 2011; 2013a; 2015. 34 Drzewiecki/Rączkowski/Stępnik 2012; Drzewiecki/Stępnik 2012; 2014; Welsby 2013, 233; Drzewiecki 2013b. 35 https://preservethemiddlenile.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/resume-from-the-sudan-dammeeting-at-british-museum-15-may-2012/; accessed on 27. 07. 2016.

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gether 18 sites. Dating for most of the sites was uncertain. However, material from three cemeteries indicates the Post-Meroitic Period and two might be dated to the Kerma Period (Welsby 2013, 131–132). The team directed by Angelika Lohwasser conducted a survey in February and March 2013 in the area south of N18°20′ (el-Gol) to Abu Haraz, which lies beyond the Fifth Cataract region (Jesse/Fiedler/Gabriel 2013; Gabriel 2014). They located 114 sites, focusing mostly on the western bank where they found 106 sites. From this number, 37 sites were located north of el-Bauga (southern limit of the Fifth Cataract). This included 8 habitation sites, 23 graveyards, five stone features and one rock art site ranging from the Palaeolithic to Islamic Period (Jesse/Fiedler/ Gabriel 2013, 60). Since then further work has become impossible in the area due to a lack of agreement between the government and the inhabitants.

Conclusions Salvage projects have discovered the rich archaeological heritage of the cataract regions. These regions should no longer be considered peripheral in constructing historical narrations of the Middle Nile Valley for Kerma, Post-Meroitic, Medieval and Post-Medieval Periods. There were times when cataracts constituted barriers and boundaries, but also periods when they connected neighbouring lands. Researchers, participants of salvage operations, fighting against time made and are still making enormous efforts in studies and documentation of the cataracts’ archaeological heritage. Due to limited time, funding issues and the difficult situation in areas where people were to be resettled, much of the archaeological heritage is being left unstudied and/or only briefly documented. Hundreds of sites have been added during various surveys on the banks and islands of cataracts. Only a small percent of them can be investigated in depth and only few could and will be studied through subsequent seasons of fieldwork. How much information is being lost? Too much? Interpretation of documentation can also constitute a challenge. Time limits and multiple teams working in the same area can create confusion. This was very visible in the Fourth Cataract salvage reports, especially in regard to place names and numbers of archaeological sites. Since Arabic names are frequently written in different English versions and various teams were giving their own site numbers, it has often been difficult to identify and connect data from various publications and years of fieldwork. Plenty of data and documentation is still waiting to be published and it seems that in a few years bibliographical references will need to be updated. However, below the authors have made a list of currently available published data for the Third, Fourth and Fifth Cataract archaeological surveys. Next to artefacts collected

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during the fieldwork and archives containing documentation, this is what will be left of the regions unique and fascinating archaeological heritage.

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Osman, Ali / Edwards, David N. (2012): The Archaeology of a Nubian Frontier Survey on the Nile Third Cataract, Sudan. Bristol: Mauhaus Publishing. Osman, Ali / Mohamed Ahmed Abd el-Mageed / Yahia Fadl Tahir (2003): The Archaeological National Joint Project to the 5th Cataract Region First Season 2001, Atbara (in Arabic). Khartoum. Ossama el-Nur / Hassan Bandi (1994): The Potential of the IVth Cataract Archaeological Project I. Mound-Graves at Umm-Ruweim and Khor al-Greyn. In: Berger, Catherine / Clerc, Gisèle / Grimal, Nicolas (eds.): Hommages à Jean Leclant. Vol. 2: Nubie, Soudan, Éthiopie. Bibliothèque d’Étude 106/2. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale, p. 323–331. Osypiński, Piotr (2007): Es-Sadda 1. Excavations of a Post-Meroitic Cemetery (Two Seasons). In: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 17, p. 348–363. Osypiński, Piotr (2010a): El-Sadda. Excavations on the Polish Concession (Hamadab Dam Rescue Project) January-February 2007. In: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, p. 435–447. Osypiński, Piotr (2010b): Excavations on Two Kerma Horizon Cemeteries in El-Gamamiya. In: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, p. 400–405. Paner, Henryk (1998): The Hamdab Dam Project. Preliminary Report of Results from Work in the Fourth Cataract Region, 1996–1997. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 1, p. 115–132. Paner, Henryk (2003a): Archaeological Survey on the Right Bank of the Nile, between Kareima and Abu Hamed: A Brief Overview. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 7, p. 15–20. Paner, Henryk (2003b): Kerma Culture, Rock Art, Dome Graves and Other Discoveries in the Fourth Nile Cataract Region. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 2, p. 163–183. Paner, Henryk (2005): The Christian Fortress at Redab (GAME Survey, 2002). In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 3, p. 180–201. Paner, Henryk (2010): The Haraz Fortress. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 6, p. 147–164. Paner, Henryk (2014): Kerma Culture in the Fourth Cataract of the Nile. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 52–79. Paner, Henryk / Borcowski, Zbigniew (2005): Gdańsk Archaeological Museum Expedition. A Summary of Eight Seasons Work at the Fourth Cataract. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 4, p. 89–115. Paner, Henryk / Pudło, Aleksandra (2010): Settlements in the Fourth Cataract GAME Concession in the Light of Radiocarbon Analysis. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 7, p. 131–146. Paner, Henryk / Pudło, Aleksandra / Borcowski, Zbigniew (2010): Funerary Customs in the GAME Fourth Cataract Concession in the Light of Radiocarbon Analysis. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part Two: Session Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series Vol. 2/2.1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 61–76. Payne, John (2005): Excavation of the Late Kushite and Medieval Settlement on Umm Muri. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 9, p. 9–13. Petrick, Bettina (2012): The Cologne Fourth Cataract Project 2005 Field Season on Boni Island. In: Wotzka, Hans-Peter (ed.): Proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract. University of Cologne, 13–14 July 2006. Africa Praehistorica 22. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 117–128. Pluskota, Krzysztof (2005): Pottery and Lime Kilns in the Fourth Cataract GAME Concession. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 4, p. 126–132.

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Welsby, Derek Anthony (2013a): Survey at the Fifth Cataract and on the Sudan Military Railway and Excavations at Kawa 2012–13. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 17, p. 131–136. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2013b): Rome’s Solution for the Defence of its Frontier. A Model for Understanding the Strategies Adopted to Combat Similar Problems by the States on the Middle Nile? In: Jesse, Friederike / Vogel, Carola (eds.): The Power of Walls − Fortifications in Ancient Northeastern Africa. Proceedings of the International Workshop held at the University of Cologne 4th–7th August 2011. Colloquium Africanum. Beiträge zur Interdisziplinären Afrikaforschung 5. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 217–238. Welsby, Derek Anthony / Welsby Sjöström, Isabella Y. (2007): The Dongola Reach and the Fourth Cataract: Continuity and Change during the 2nd and 1st Millennia BC. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Mélanges offerts à Francis Geus: Égypte – Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III, p. 379–398. Weschenfelder, Petra (2012): Life and Tradition of Manasir Women in Kirbekān. In: Wotzka, Hans-Peter (ed.): Proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract. University of Cologne, 13–14 July 2006. Africa Praehistorica 22. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 249–256. Wiewióra, Marcin (2010): Preliminary Report on an Archaeological and Architectural Survey of the Christian Fortresses of Suegi and Kaldob in the Fourth Cataract Region. In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part Two: Session Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series Vol. 2/2.1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 141–147. Włodarska, Magdalena (2014): Kerma Burials in the Fourth Cataract Region – Three Seasons of Excavations at Shemkhiy. In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 321–328. Wolf, Pawel (2004): The SARS Anglo-German Expedition at the Fourth Cataract of the Nile: The 2003/04 Season. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 8, p. 17–26. Wolf, Pawel / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2005a): First Season of the SARS Anglo-German Survey at the Fourth Cataract. In: Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 4, p. 181–198. Wolf, Pawel / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2005b): The Second Season of the SARS Anglo-German Expedition to the Fourth Cataract. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 9, p. 23–31. Wolf, Pawel / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2006): The Third Season of the SARS Anglo-German Expedition to the Fourth Cataract of the Nile. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 10, p. 20–33. Wolf, Pawel / Nowotnick, Ulrike (2007): The 4th Season of the SARS Anglo-German Expedition to the Fourth Nile Cataract. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 11, p. 26–33. Wotzka, Hans-Peter / Goedicke, Christian / Michels, Matthias (2012): Boni Island Radiocarbon and OSL Dates. In: Wotzka, Hans-Peter (ed.): Proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract. University of Cologne, 13–14 July 2006. Africa Praehistorica 22. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 137–176 Wożniak, Magdalena (2008): Shemkhiya 2006–2007 – Post-Meroitic Cemeteries. A Preliminary Report. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Actes de la 4e Conférence Internationale sur l’Archéologie de la 4e Cataracte du Nil, Villeneuve d’Ascq. 22 et 23 juin 2007. Cahiers de recherches de

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Tim Karberg and Angelika Lohwasser

Living and Travelling in the Bayuda: The Wadi Abu Dom The Wadi Abu Dom is one of the largest valleys of the Bayuda Desert. Whereas the wadi itself is in general a wide sandy plain, there are rocky areas consisting of flat outcrops and even hills that influence the (river)bed. The dendritic offspring of the Wadi Abu Dom is situated in the rocks of Ras ed-Dom south-west of the Bayuda volcano field. It flows around the Jebel Sultaniya in a roughly western direction, near Bir Merwa it changes its direction to north-west, and near Umm Beida it again flows in a sharp bend in a roughly western direction. The part of the Wadi between its offspring and Bir Merwa is defined as the upper Wadi Abu Dom, the part from Bir Merwa to Umm Beida as the middle, and the part from Umm Beida to the Nile River as the lower Wadi Abu Dom. Since 2009, the Wadi has been investigated archaeologically by an expedition of the University of Muenster. In eight field campaigns1 the banks of the roughly 150 km long course of the Wadi were investigated by ground survey and remote sensing, and altogether 8376 archaeological sites were discovered (Fig. 1). They range from late Palaeolithic workshops to graveyards and large buildings. The time span of the sites reflects its use from Prehistory up to the Islamic (Funj) Period, but in general the Neolithic era, the local variant of the Kerma Culture, the late and Post-Meroitic Period and the Christian Medieval Era are predominant. Most interestingly, despite the fact that at least the lower Wadi Abu Dom can be seen as the direct hinterland of the Napatan and Meroitic centre around the Gebel Barkal and especially the city of Sanam, the surface finds of the material culture of the Wadi show very few traces of the Napatan and (early and middle) Meroitic Culture. This fact raises some questions about the relationship between the desert and its inhabitants on the one hand, and the riverine Nile Valley Culture on the other hand. The Wadi Abu Dom was investigated by intensive foot survey using mobile GIS software especially designed for the needs of the project (Rosenberger 2011) and further improved based upon experience in the field (Rohrbach 2012). The fieldwork was mapped beforehand by intensive analysis of satellite images using Google Earth (Gabriel/Lohwasser 2010) and other sources (Eger 2018), as well as aerial images taken by low altitude UAV (Lohwasser et al. 2015, 110). The results are available to the scientific community by a browser-based webGIS (Prinz et al. 2014). The lower Wadi Abu Dom is actually dominated by two micro-oases fed by large, partly historical wells. These wells irrigate typical oasis horticulture with

1 Lohwasser 2009; 2010; 2011; Lohwasser/Karberg 2012; 2013; Lohwasser et al. 2014; 2015; 2016. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-041

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Fig. 1: General view of the Wadi Abu Dom with all archaeological sites documented from 2009 until 2016 by the Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary project (light grey) and the larger buildings (squares) (© W.A.D.I.).

dates, doum palms (from which the Wadi’s name is derived) and vegetables as its main products. These wells are oval or keyhole shaped and up to 6 m in diameter. Archaeological investigations of some of these wells revealed that they were used at least from the Medieval period onward. Nevertheless, the four larger structures of the lower Wadi Abu Dom (Umm Ruweim 1 & 2, Quweib and Umm Khafour) also group around the larger of these micro-oases, so it can be assumed that it functioned as an ecologically-favoured area already in late and Post-Meroitic times. The second, much smaller oasis is associated with the monastery of al-Ghazali. The most complex of these structures is called Umm Ruweim 1 (Eigner/ Karberg 2011). It measures roughly 75 × 65 m and consists of two rectangular segments and a third central building (Fig. 2). Its function still remains unclear. It cannot be interpreted as a military installation – as previously assumed (Welsby 2002, 87) – because it is lacking clearly identifiable fortification elements like bastions and has a tactically inferior position, being situated within the landscape surrounded by hills overlooking and dominating the site of the building. The general layout of the building shows some resemblance to Roman watering stations in the Egyptian Eastern Desert (Hydreumata); this was already stated by Chittick and Shinnie (Chittick 1955, 90–91) and by Alfredo and Angelo Castiglioni (Negro et al. 2006, 416). But the courtyards of the building show no traces of a well and water is easily available from wells within the nearby Wadi bed, so there is no convincing evidence for identifying the structure as a hydreuma. A number of very small win-

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Fig. 2: Ground plan of the building of Umm Ruweim 1 after an architectural survey of all walls above ground in 2011. Drawing Dieter Eigner.

dows are now understood to have been installed for the purpose of ventilating the rooms. These elongated rooms could be interpreted as living quarters as well as storage rooms, so this could be seen as a complex with a primarily economic function (like storing and redistributing of goods), or as an elite settlement. A massive platform within the central complex might also hint at an ideological or ritual function. Some C14 dates acquired during the architectural survey of the building dates it to the very late or Post-Meroitic Period.2 About 6 km east of Umm Ruweim, at the opposite edge of the oasis, the structure of Quweib is situated, which was constructed on a rectangular ground plan and measures 75 × 50 m (Eigner/Karberg 2012, 51–55). Even if the layout of this building shows only one rectangular structure with elongated rooms, it shares some

2 Three C14 dates from the construction layer of the wall from the architectural sondage A (cf. Fig. 2) revealed for the first sample a probability of 68.2 % for 240 AD–333 AD and 94.2 % for 212 AD–387 AD; for the second sample a probability of 68.2 % for 261 AD–395 AD and 95.4 % for 256 AD–413 AD; for the third sample a probability of 68.2 % for 255 AD–345 AD and 95.4 % for 240 AD–391 AD. All dates are calAD calibrated with OxCal v4.1.5. The samples were analysed by the Pozńanskie Laboratorium Radiowęglowe.

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close resemblances to Umm Ruweim 1: The small ventilation windows, the technological construction of the walls using mud mortar, and the fact that at one side of the inner courtyard a massive platform was attached to the wall, probably somehow functionally connected to the platform at the central complex at Umm Ruweim 1. For all this, it is not possible to date this building. The structures of Umm Ruweim 2 and Umm Khafour are of a very similar layout: Both are almost square-shaped walled structures (55 × 55 m at Umm Khafour and 65 × 65 m at Umm Ruweim 2) with entrances at the western and eastern wall. Due to the fact that today these buildings only consist of one single wall, they were interpreted as hosh for the keeping of livestock at the very beginning of the project. Because of their close association with the two larger buildings in the Wadi Abu Dom (Umm Ruweim 1 for Umm Ruweim 2 and Quweib at the other side of the Wadi for Umm Khafour), it seemed probable that they were used in some way as side installations for these larger buildings. Geophysical prospections revealed that these square buildings were not empty courtyards, but contained rectangular room structures similar to Umm Ruweim 1 and had central buildings assembled of two round huts each (Erkul et al. 2012). Most probably these inner constructions were built of mud-bricks. There are as of yet no C14 dates for these buildings, but the fact that at both structures some nearby Christian Medieval box graves were constructed from debris of the ruined walls suggests that in the Middle Ages these buildings were already out of use and fallen to ruins. Another larger building is situated far upstream the Wadi Abu Dom close to a well named Bir Merwa. This structure was discovered in 2012 and named after a nearby khor. It consists of a rectangular courtyard of roughly 50 × 30 m and two solitary building complexes, probably to be interpreted as living and storage rooms (Eigner/Karberg 2013). C14 samples date this ruin to the late Meroitic Period.3 The area around Bir Merwa is today an ecologically auspicious zone, and it can be assumed that the construction of such a building at this place might hint at a similar role of this area in antiquity. Nevertheless, it remains unclear why similar zones, like the pediments of the Gebel Barur in the middle Wadi Abu Dom, did not lead to similar material manifestations of economic wealth. Beside these complex buildings, 884 smaller habitation sites were discovered, mostly consisting of agglomerations of round huts. Many of them are grouped around the pediments of rock ridges and associated with cemeteries erected atop these ridges and dated to the Kerma Period. Disregarding the fact that only negligible datable material like ceramics were found in these round hut settlements, this

3 A sample from floor level of the presumable storage rooms showed a probability of 68.2 % for 86 AD–212 AD and 95.4 % for 76 AD–230 AD. All dates are calAD calibrated with OxCal v4.1.5. The samples were analysed by the Pozńanskie Laboratorium Radiowęglowe.

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Fig. 3: Photo of Post-Meroitic and Christian cemetery 5037 in the middle Wadi Abu Dom (© W.A.D.I.).

topographical association might suggest that they are functionally connected to these cemeteries and thus also date to the Kerma Period. Other round hut settlements contain larger quantities of Christian Medieval pottery, sometimes associated with box grave cemeteries and quite clearly dating to the middle ages. A significant number of these Medieval round hut settlements were found around the rocky gebels of the upper Wadi Abu Dom. The vast majority of archaeological sites within the Wadi Abu Dom consist of cemeteries of different sizes and ages: altogether 2981 cemeteries were documented (Fig. 3). Graves of the Kerma Period are mostly situated on rocky surfaces, often at the top of widely visible ridges. The late and Post-Meroitic Period is represented by tumuli up to 18 m in diameter, often agglomerated in large cemeteries with up to 70 tumuli. Christian Medieval box graves are in most cases also concentrated in cemeteries ranging from a few to 140 single graves (Lohwasser et al. 2015, 113), many of them placed within already existing Post-Meroitic tumulus cemeteries. This raises questions about the diachronic relations between these burial practices, and the continuity or discontinuity of the population of the Wadi Abu Dom between Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. First exemplary excavations of some tombs near Bir Merwa have so far revealed no clear results (Lohwasser et al. 2015, 119– 121): Some small tumuli with Christian burials that were at first glance assumed to be a kind of transitional phase between the tumulus and the box grave era turned out to be of quite late date, so there is still a chronological gap between the PostMeroitic and the Christian Medieval Period.

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Another category of archaeological records in the Wadi Abu Dom consists of temporary campsites, obviously mostly used by pastoralists.4 Some of them (predominantly in the lower Wadi Abu Dom) consist of simple fire places and stone concentrations marking the spot of former tents or lightweight huts. These camp sites date up to subrecent times; so far, no example of this type of campsite has been dated to a period earlier than the Christian Medieval Era. Other campsites (predominantly in the middle and upper Wadi Abu Dom) contain rectangular gravelfilled stone structures most probably used as beds and sometimes associated with stone rings (Lohwasser et al. 2015, 116–117). Pottery finds may often be used to date these structures to the Post-Meroitic and the Christian Medieval Period. The differentiation between these types of campsites and more durable stationary settlement structures is fluid. The Lithic Periods are represented by a relatively homogeneous substrate of Neolithic and partly Palaeolithic material, situated mostly in higher terrain, as at many places around the Fourth Cataract. The Palaeolithic material in particular is in some cases concentrated in workshop-like assemblages (Gabriel 2009). Rock art is found in most parts of the Wadi Abu Dom, but in quite incongruous quantities (Karberg 2014). The vast majority of documented rock art sites lie in the uppermost parts of the Wadi close to the Nile. Here, cattle depictions as well as typical Christian motifs are found in large quantities. In a side khor, more than 2 km from the main Wadi, a rock art site with very old, geometric motifs (most probably dating to the Neolithic Period) represents a singularity within the Wadi Abu Dom and might indicate that this place somehow played a special role in very early antiquity. As one moves into the other parts of the Wadi Abu Dom, the quantity and quality of rock art declines rapidly and shows in most cases Medieval or Islamic camel depictions, along with enigmatic geometric motifs. Another important but difficult-to-interpret archaeological feature are remains of paths. Most of these paths have been used by herders and donkey riders to this day. It is very hard to date them properly, but in at least a few cases assemblages of surface finds (mostly Medieval potsherds) are so clearly associated with the path that a functional, and thus chronological, connection may be assumed. In general, after finishing the archaeological survey of the Wadi Abu Dom, it turns out that the spatial division of the Wadi into the lower, middle and upper Wadi Abu Dom is clearly visible within the archaeological record. In the upper Wadi Abu Dom, the round hut settlements of the Kerma Period and the associated cemeteries are quite small. Often one hut cluster in a valley is associated with three or four Kerma graves only a few metres above the settlement. Christian sites are predominant, and the number of Post-Meroitic cemeteries as well as the number of single graves within the cemeteries are much smaller than in the

4 Cf. the ideas of Rebecca Bradley about the difficulties concerning the visibility of pastoral, nonsedentary groups in the archaeological record (Bradley 1992).

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middle Wadi Abu Dom. In the Middle Ages, several agglomerations of round hut settlements occur, some of them constructed quite elaborately and obviously intended for a longer lasting occupation. In most cases, they are located at the pediments of the rocky Jebel Sultaniya and the Jebel Ras ed Dom, which functioned as catchment areas of periodical rainfall. Some of these habitation sites also contain the above mentioned rectangular gravel-filled bed structures, which (at least in this case) seem to be durable constructions. Many of these Medieval settlements are associated with box grave cemeteries, mostly situated a little downhill from habitation areas. According to the archaeological record it can be assumed that during the Middle Ages rainfall on top of the Gebels increased, while during the Kerma and especially the (late and) Post-Meroitic Period this area was ecologically less favoured. In the middle Wadi most of the large-scale Post-Meroitic cemeteries are to be found. Medieval box graves are mostly directly attached to these pre-existing tumulus cemeteries. In general, cemeteries of these periods are quite concentrated – small cemeteries or even solitary graves are rare. Gravel-filled, bed-like structures occur in large quantities. Some of them are also associated with stone rings and presumably constructed for longer-term use. Nevertheless, the concentration of large numbers of burials at only few spots indicates that at least from late antiquity on a non-sedentary lifestyle based on a pastoral economy dominated the middle Wadi Abu Dom. Regarding the number of graves from the different periods, the middle Wadi Abu Dom seems to be more densely populated in the Post-Meroitic Era than in the Middle Ages. During the Kerma Period, several agglomerations of round hut settlements associated with smaller cemeteries on top of rock ridges indicate a more sedentary population in the earlier years. The settlement and land use history of the lower Wadi Abu Dom seems to be more complicated. Here, as stated above, the large wells irrigating the oases of this region (partly until today) according to our actual knowledge seem to date to the Christian Medieval Period, but so far there is no indication that wells existed in this area before that time. Nevertheless, at least the concentration of large scale architecture precisely around one of the still extant oases indicates that this area is significantly fertile, even without artificial irrigation. Concerning the graveyards, some large-scale Medieval box grave cemeteries are concentrated around the monastery of al-Ghazali (and obviously directly connected to this site, which played a separated role within the local culture of the Wadi Abu Dom) and one large-scale Post-Meroitic tumulus cemetery with over 40 tumuli lies directly on the opposite bank of the main Wadi from Umm Ruweim. Most other burials within the lower Wadi Abu Dom are distributed quite homogeneously in smaller cemeteries, and thus might also indicate the significant role of sedentary lifestyle even outside the larger buildings. On the other hand, in the hinterland of the lower Wadi a large number of campsites were found along the banks of the larger tributary khors, indicating a strong pastoral component to the local economy. Maybe the intensively irrigated

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oasis horticulture introduced during the Medieval Period made it necessary to differentiate the pastoral component of local subsistence quite strictly from the main Wadi (topographically, not economically) in order to protect the irrigated land from grazing livestock. Most interestingly, even further away from the Wadi a third category of land use can be reconstructed: Here, many paths do not connect the main Wadi and its hinterland but lead more or less parallel to the Wadi course bypassing the valley. Only very few other archaeological features are to be found here, making this area more or less exclusively a ‘land for travelling’. In many cases these paths do not follow least cost routes theoretically determined by the terrain, nor by water supplies (which both could be accessed much more easily closer to the Wadi course). Rather, their location suggests the manifest intention not to interfere with other land use patterns. Nevertheless, the reconstruction of ancient traffic infrastructure revealed more or less criss-crossed communication patterns mainly adapted to short- and medium-range travel and pastoralist subsistence strategies. A single, linear trunk road as an organized long-range communication axis across the desert is not supported by the archaeological data.

Bibliography Bradley, Rebecca J. (1992): Nomads in the Archaeological Record. Case Studies in the Northern Provinces of the Sudan. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 13. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. Chittick, H. Neville (1955): An Exploratory Journey in the Bayuda Region. In: Kush 3, p. 86–92. Eger, Jana (2018): Archaeological Satellite Imagery Based Remote sensing in the Bayuda and the Western Desert (Northern Sudan). In: Honegger, Matthieu (ed.): Nubian Archaeology in the XXIst Century. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference for Nubian Studies. Neuchâtel, 1–6 September 2014. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 273. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 873–878. Eigner, Diethelm / Karberg, Tim (2011): W.A.D.I. 2011: Die Bauaufnahme der Ruine Umm Ruweim I. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 22, p. 69–84. Eigner, Diethelm / Karberg, Tim (2012): W.A.D.I. 2012: Die Großbauten Umm Ruweim 2, Quweib und Umm Khafour im unteren Wadi Abu Dom. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 23, p. 47–60. Eigner, Diethelm / Karberg, Tim (2013): W.A.D.I. 2013: Die Bauaufnahme der Ruinen von El Tuweina. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 24, p. 51–58. Erkul, Ercan / Karberg, Tim / Stümpel, Harald / Klein, Christina (2012): W.A.D.I. 2012: Die geophysikalischen Prospektionen. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 23, p. 61–70. Gabriel, Baldur (2009): Zum Paläolithikum in der nördlichen Bayuda (Sudan) – Beobachtungen am 4. Nilkatarakt und im Wadi Abu Dom. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 20, p. 117–130. Gabriel, Baldur / Lohwasser, Angelika (2010): Google Earth und Groundcheck – Beispiele aus dem Wadi Abu Dom (Bayuda, N-Sudan). In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 21, p. 51–62.

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Karberg, Tim (2014): Rock Art from Wadi Abu Dom. Recent Discoveries of the W.A. D. I. Project (Münster/Germany). In: Anderson, Julie Renee / Welsby, Derek Anthony (eds.): The Fourth Cataract and beyond. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference for Nubian Studies. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 1. Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters, p. 1135–1142. Karberg, Tim / Lohwasser, Angelika (2018): The Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary Survey Project. In: Lohwasser, Angelika / Karberg, Tim / Auenmüller, Johannes (eds.): Bayuda Studies. Proceedings of the First International Bayuda Conference. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 3–119. Lohwasser, Angelika (2009): Ein archäologischer Survey an der Mündung des Wadi Abu Dom, Bayuda. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 20, p. 101–115. Lohwasser, Angelika (2010): Das Projekt Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary (W.A.D.I.). Kampagne 2010. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 21, p. 37–50. Lohwasser, Angelika (2011): Das Projekt Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary (W.A.D.I.). Kampagne 2011. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 22, p. 59–68. Lohwasser, Angelika / Eger, Jana / Karberg, Tim (2014): Das Projekt Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary (W.A.D.I.). Kampagne 2014. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 25, p. 177–188. Lohwasser, Angelika / Eger, Jana / Karberg, Tim (2015): Das Projekt Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary (W.A.D.I.). Kampagne 2015. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 26, p. 109–122. Lohwasser, Angelika / Eger, Jana / Karberg, Tim (2016): Das Projekt Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary (W.A.D.I.), Kampagne 2016. In: Der antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 27, p. 71–85. Lohwasser, Angelika / Karberg, Tim (2012): Das Projekt Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary (W.A.D.I.). Kampagne 2012. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 23, p. 35–46. Lohwasser, Angelika / Karberg, Tim (2013): Das Projekt Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary (W.A.D.I.). Kampagne 2013. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 24, p. 39–50. Negro, Giancarlo / Castiglioni, Alfredo / Castiglioni, Angelo (2006): An Archaeological Exploration of the Bayuda Desert. In: Caneva, Isabella / Roccati, Alessandro (eds.): Acta Nubica. Proceedings of the X International Conference of Nubian Studies, Rome 9–14 September 2002. Rome: Libreria dello Stato, p. 411–417. Prinz, Torsten / Walter, Stephanie / Wieghardt, André / Karberg, Tim / Schreiber, Torben (2014): GeoArchaeology Web 2.0: Geospatial Information Services Facilitate New Concepts of Web-Based Data Visualization Strategies in Archaeology – Two Case Studies from Surveys in Sudan (Wadi) and Turkey (Doliche). In: Archaeological Discovery 2, p. 91–106. Rohrbach, Arthur (2012): Prototypische Entwicklung zur Vergabe eindeutiger IDs unter Nutzung von ArcPad am Beispiel archäologischer Felddatenerfassung im WADI-Projekt im Sudan. Unpublished Bachelor Thesis. WWU Münster, Institut für Geoinformatik. Rosenberger, Malte (2011): Konzeption und prototypische Umsetzung eines Graphical User Interface (GUI) für die GIS-konforme Felddatenerfassung historischgeographischer Raumdaten mittels ArcPad im Sudan. Unpublished Diploma Thesis. WWU Münster, Institut für Geoinformatik. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2002): The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia. Pagans, Christians and Muslims along the Middle Nile. London: British Museum Press.

Adrian Chlebowski and Mariusz Drzewiecki

Recent Research Work at the Western and Southern Fringes of Nubia Introduction The main objective of this article is to present the archaeological research undertaken in the areas to the south and west of Nubia in the 20th and 21st century. People of these regions, due to the distance, could have a long history of relations with Middle Nile Valley inhabitants. Focus will be placed on territories that have not been presented in other articles of this volume. These areas are the modern provinces of Northern, Western and Southern Darfur, Northern and Southern Kordofan and the Nuba Mountains, as well as the southern regions starting just beyond Rabak-Jebel Moya-Sennar and reaching to the southern border of South Sudan at Nimule (Fig. 1). This reach is based on modern administrative divisions and does not reflect past contacts between Nubia and neighbouring territories. The borders – if they existed in the past – are difficult or even impossible to trace. The scale of archaeological research on these territories is much smaller than that of studies carried out in the Middle Nile. There are various reasons for this. However, the projects and studies conducted so far indicate huge potential within the region. The research, which has been organized chronologically and is up to date in this article, brings new ideas and data to the main research question concerning the creation, function and collapse of political powers, migrations, long distance trade and cultural changes in north-eastern Africa; it has also shed some light on regional history and prehistory in terms of agriculture, animal husbandry, burial customs, settlement, etc. We hope that this article will serve the reader as a guide to the archaeological research in the western and southern fringes of Nubia.

Away from the Rivers (west and south-west) Western Sudan is a collective term, used for describing the land located west of the Nile Valley – Darfur and Kordofan (Bechtold 2015, 63). The northern part of Darfur covers the flat plains – sandy deserts and stone wastelands (Paterson 1948, 857). It is an extremely dry area, with a low rainfall of around 25 cm per year (McGregor 2001, 3). The central and eastern part of the country is more diverse in terms of landscape. Much of this area is created by mountain ranges and individual hills. Darfur’s western landscape is dominated by the volcanic massif of Jebel Marra, whose relative altitude reaches 3000 m (McGregor 2001, 3). There are also numerous seasonal river valleys. The largest one is Wadi Howar (described in detail elsehttps://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-042

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Fig. 1: Sudan and South Sudan satellite image with main locations mentioned in the text. Dashed line indicates limits of the region which is described in the article (© Wikimedia Commons).

where in this volume), whose lower section runs through Darfur, creating a natural border between its northern and central part. Northern Kordofan, in terms of landscape, is similar to central Darfur. Sandy and stony plains are also densely cut by rocky hills or individual seasonal rivers (Lloyd 1910, 250). The south-west part of Sudan, which includes the wilayah (state) of South Darfur and South Kordofan, is mostly covered by the so-called goz dunes (Bechtold 2015, 63; March 1948, 832).

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A characteristic feature of the dunes is the immediate absorption of rainwater. This factor enables more intensive vegetation, giving rise to agriculture. Located in the eastern part of South Kordofan, the Nuba Mountains require a separate paragraph because of their uniqueness. This geological formation is composed mostly of granite, and its relative altitude ranges from 450 to 900 m (March 1948, 832). The collective name ‘Nuba Mountains’ refers not only to the mountain ranges but also to the individual hills. Most of them have a terrace structure, which allows for significant plant vegetation (March 1948, 832). Due to its key location, the region of Darfur, with an emphasis on the Marra massif, was always considered to be a politically independent area (McGregor 2001, 137; Edwards 2004, 3, 9). Kordofan, on the other hand, is recognized as the region that was a buffer zone between the valley of the Nile and Darfur (MacMichael 1912, 5).

Kordofan One of the first to conduct regular studies in Kordofan was Harold MacMichael, who entered the administration of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1905 as a young, 23year-old graduate from Magdalene College at the University of Cambridge. His interest in the region’s past and local traditions pushed him to make discoveries and publications. One of his earliest findings were two rock art galleries, at Jebel Haraz and Jebel Afarit (MacMichael 1927, 65). The first is located about 150 km north of the modern town Bara. Rock art (carved as well as painted, using white and red pigment) was located at the Jebel Haraz massif on three minor hills: Jebel Shalashi, Jebel Karshul and Jebel Kurkeila. It depicted armed equestrians and animals such as hyenas, giraffes or camels (MacMichael 1909, 562–567). The latter gallery at Jebel Afarit, located 50 km north of Foga, consists of a horse rider armed with a shield and infantry (MacMichael 1909, 567–568). Another site discovered in Kordofan by MacMichael was Fagrab, located about 32 km east of Bara. He registered two iron two-head pins (Arkell 1936b, 150) at the site consisting of four mounds c. 2–3.5 m high (Seligman 1914–1916, 107). At his request, an accurate inspection of the site was made by Charles Gabriel Seligman. Numerous fragments of pottery were recorded. One of the artefacts, registered between the mounds, was a carnelian bead (Seligman 1914–1916, 109). Flinders Petrie initially classified it as an Egyptian product, dated not later than the 18th Dynasty. Seligman also recorded a spear and arrowheads made of bone, which according to him had a striking similarity to the artefacts from the Ptolemaic Period discovered in Memphis by Flinders Petrie (Seligman 1914–1916, 108). Regarding the development of the archaeology of the Kordofan region, great importance should be ascribed to Douglas Newbold’s expedition of 1923, which explored the Bara-Bir Natrun-Bara routes. However, the expedition was administra-

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tive and topographic in nature. Its aims were to collect information about the economy and resources of the Kababish tribe and to verify the actual extent of Jebel Tageru, as well as to create general topographic descriptions of the area (Newbold 1924, 45). En route the expedition recorded a rock art gallery at Umm Qelti Tasawir (the majority of animal representations were cattle, oryxes, giraffes, etc., see Newbold 1924, 65; Shaw 1953, 35–36), as well as tumuli graves in el-Adha Hareiq and in the area of Jebel Tageru, on the border between Darfur and Kordofan (Newbold 1924, 48). The greatest merit of the expedition was the documentation of architectural remains made of stone and red bricks in Abu Sofyan, one of the most important archaeological sites in Kordofan (Newbold 1924, 78; Shaw 1936, 324). The site was first mentioned by MacMichael, but he never managed to verify the accounts of the local population (MacMichael 1912, 85). In 1927, Kennedy Shaw and Douglas Newbold organised another expedition in order to explore areas north of the oasis Nukheila up to the legendary oasis Zerzura. The initial route partly overlapped with the Newbold expedition of 1923. However, it was an interdisciplinary project, oriented to expanding knowledge and creating scientific descriptions of many aspects of the explored areas (e.g. cartography, geology, botany, etc.), including issues relating to archaeology. To the east of Jebel Tageru, in a place called El-Jihaf, researchers registered archaeological remains that consisted of stone tools, used probably for polishing and smoothing (Newbold/ Shaw 1927, 165). Albert Erie Dunston Penn, an employee of the Sudan Political Service in Kordofan, discovered the ruins of Zankor in December 1928 (Dissaux et al. 2013, 53). A year later, in May 1929, he conducted brief excavations on site (Penn 1931, 179). Zankor is a fortified settlement with an inner and outer wall, located in Western Kordofan in the Kaja Serung Hills (Penn 1931, 179). The study lasted for six days, during which time a number of artefacts were documented, e.g. different types of pottery, flints, ostrich egg shell beads, vessel containers dug into the ground or personal ornaments such as a metal chain worn on the ankle. In contrast to previous expeditions, which used camels as means of transport, the exploration of 1935 under the leadership of Kennedy Shaw was fully motorised (Mason/Sandford/Shaw 1936, 193). Participants set off from Cairo, moving along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. At the height of the village of Matruh, they turned toward the Libyan Desert. The main target of the explorers was the north Darfur region; however, the expedition also reached the ruins of Abu Sofyan (Mason/Sandford/Shaw 1936, 204). During this short visit at the site, Shaw and his assistants made detailed descriptions of the site, supplemented with drawings and photographs of individual features, including the huge tumulus, which was interpreted as a pyramid (Mason/Sandford/Shaw 1936, 324–325). The researchers did not register new sites in the close vicinity, or ceramics or other objects that might clarify the issue of the occupational chronology. In 1939, Peter Hogg, the Assistant District Commissioner, informed Anthony Arkell about wells and petroglyphs, located in a ravine on the northern outskirts

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of the Abu Negila Hills, approximately 55 km south of Wadi al-Malik (Arkell 1951a, 354). Images of fauna constituted a significant part of the gallery, but there were also Arabic inscriptions as well as an old Nubian text. The king’s name ‘Siti’, mentioned in the Nubian inscription, recently has been dated to the first half of the 14th century (Ochała 2011, 153–154). This was not the only case when Arkell was informed about certain ‘antiquities’ found in Kordofan. His friend from El-Obeid, Mr Hulbert, sent him a coin that had been found in the tomb, which was destroyed during construction work in the city, probably in 1916 (Arkell 1933, 187). John Allen, the numismatics specialist from the British Museum, managed to establish its chronology, dating it to the reign of Emperor Diocletian (Arkell 1933, 187). Besides interdisciplinary expeditions and individual finds, the late 1930s witnessed the beginnings of a strictly archaeological exploration of Kordofan, with research in the area of Dar Hawawir conducted by James Marmaduke Edmonds. During his prospection of the north-eastern part of Kordofan, he registered several types of objects, such as: – stone enclosures (Wadi Abu Hashim (Kernak wells), Mitnet el-Gawwala, Eilai and near the wells at Wadi el-Milh), – hafirs with stone embankments (Wadi el-Milh, Jebel el-Raat, Mitnet el-Gawwala and near Abu Urug), – burial mounds in Eilai and Wadi el-Milh (Edmonds 1940a, 296–303). Edmonds also conducted a small survey at the site of Zankor, during which he found a quartz arrowhead that he classified as a ‘Libyan’ type (Edmonds 1940b, 193). The second half of the 20th century, with the development of Middle Nile Valley archaeology, witnessed a decrease in research on Kordofan antiquities. However, archaeology related activities are still taking place in the region. In 1965 the Shikan Museum was officially opened in El-Obeid (Ayman El-Tayeb El-Tayeb Sidahmed 2009, 36–37). Today its collection consists mainly of objects from the historical battle in Shikan forest; however, the museum also holds ethnological objects from the region and archaeological objects transferred from the National Museum in Khartoum, covering the general history of Middle Nile civilisations. Part of the ethnoarchaeological research done by Rebecca Bradley from the University of Cambridge was conducted in Kordofan. This scholar attempted to explain the spatial distribution of archaeological remains on selected sites from the Nile-Atbara triangle based on ethnological analogies taken from nomadic tribes. Due to numerous transformations of a socio-economic nature, the nomads from the Nile-Atbara region could not be taken into consideration. Therefore, inhabitants of Dar Kababish located in the northern part of Kordofan were chosen. The project was carried out between January and June 1979, and the research in the northern Kordofan lasted from April to May (Bradley 1992, 37–38). Field work in Dar Kababish

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focused on the registration of household objects, as well as a detailed assessment of the spatial development of camps, individual households, areas surrounding wells, cemeteries, market places and abandoned structures (Bradley 1992, 38–39). The earliest studies in the 21st century were conducted by the French University of Charles de Gaulle in Lille (III). In December 2002, an expedition under the direction of Brigitte Gratien conducted a preliminary survey in the area of Jebel Zankor, to evaluate the research potential of the area (Gratien 2013, 3; Chlebowski 2015, 129). As a result, the decision was made to start work in the area of Wadi elMilk. The study was conducted during three seasons in 2003–2005, at two main sites: Zankor and Abu Sofyan, and in their immediate surroundings. The aim of the project was to determine the chronological sequence of the regions under study, and to find an explanation for any similarities occurring between artefacts found during fieldwork and Nile Valley antiquities. An archaeological survey and exploration of two tumuli graves was conducted to obtain samples for radiocarbon dating (Dissaux et al. 2013b, 67–69). During a survey in the area of Abu Sofyan, numerous rock art sites were registered. The most common forms were representations of wild fauna (including hyenas, giraffes and ostriches); domesticated animals (cattle and camels); anthropomorphic, geometric and abstract forms; as well as inscriptions in Arabic (Marchi 2013, 29). Numerous finds of ceramics and lithic material allowed the researchers to establish a settlement sequence, starting in the middle Palaeolithic (Dissaux et al. 2013a, 48). The area was inhabited in the Neolithic Period. Other human traces were dated to the 1st millennium BC (Dissaux et al. 2013a, 48). Research around Zankor covered an area of 20 × 30 km, focusing mainly on the east bank of Wadi el-Milk. A survey was also carried out on the western side and confirmed a parallel between the sites from both wadi banks. Researchers recognised a pattern in which stone circles and numerous burials with the dominant form of tumuli graves were recorded in the nearby hills, e.g. Jebel Goz, Jebel Umm Awish and Umm Gus. Settlements, on the other hand, were located directly on the tops and slopes of hills, e.g. Jebel Foya, Jebel Khazana, Jebel Dam Jamad and Jebel Tarenka (El Ghazafi Yosif Ishag 2008, 15–16). The oldest settlement traces in the area reach back into the middle Palaeolithic (Gratien 2010, 237). Research conducted by the University of Lille (III) is currently the most complete archaeological study in Kordofan. From 2008 to 2010, academics from the University of Khartoum carried out a project entitled The Archaeological Project of North Kordofan State. The main aims of this research were to complement the archaeological map of Sudan and to recognise routes connecting North Kordofan with the Nile Valley and other areas. In cooperation with local authorities, researchers were working on enhancing the legal protection of historical monuments and sites, as well as on reviving local tourism, starting with ethnological interviews among the local population in order to document regional folklore. In 2015 the University of Khartoum conducted another season of research in North Kordofan (Howeida Ahmed Adam 2016, pers. comm.).

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During the first season in 2008, the team focused on the Soderi region and Wadi el-Milk. The most numerous sites they recorded were cemeteries, dominated by tumuli graves (e.g. Jebel Al-Erabed, Jebel Abo Zomam and Al-Faki Ehaimer). In the vicinity of these cemeteries, concentrations of pottery and lithic tools indicated the presence of settlements; however, no architectural remains were visible on the surface of the sites (e.g. Mardofa and Al-Melbas). Settlement remains also occurred regardless of cemeteries (e.g. Torah and Jebel Abo Senoon). The individual sites are dated in general to the Neolithic, Meroitic, Post-Meroitic and Islamic Periods. Chronology and cultural affiliation of individual sites were determined based on the analysis of material finds and objects. However, without direct analogies from other sites in Kordofan, a more detailed chronology was difficult to establish. For this purpose, a comparative study between the acquired ceramic material and artefacts from the Nile Valley was conducted (Abdelrahim Mohamed Khabir Hassan / Howeida Ahmed Adam 2011, 18–22). Results pointed to the uniqueness of the material from the area of North Kordofan. Another project entitled Archaeological Survey in the Sodiri Region Project was possible due to the collaboration between the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM). The main initiator of the project, Ali Ahmed el-Mirghani, had an opportunity to carry out a short, individual reconnaissance mission in North Kordofan already in 2007 (Ali Ahmed el-Mirghani et al. 2013, 234; Chlebowski 2015a, 134–135). The joint research project was conducted in February 2011. The main objective of the project was to undertake a preliminary assessment of research potential through the identification and registration of archaeological sites located in the Soderi region. Parallel to this, ethnological research was conducted. Interviews with local residents were to determine what role past heritage played in the culture of these communities. Additionally, documentation of local craft production was carried out (Ali Ahmed el-Mirghani et al. 2012, 74). Representatives of local authorities were interested in the research results and the possibility of their use in the long-term promotion of the Kordofan region. Ethnological and archaeological surveys were conducted in four, previously selected areas: Jebel Al-Baklai, Jebel Al-Nurein, Suoni Al-Songor and Jebel Al-Grian. All hill regions proved to be rich in archaeological remains. The top of the hills were occupied by settlements, as well as water collecting and storing facilities. At the bottom of the hills varied forms of archaeological objects, especially graves, prove that these regions were settled in different periods. A detailed chronology was, however, difficult to establish.

Nuba Mountains One of the earliest studies was conducted at the beginning of the 20th century by S. C. Dunn, a geologist in the colonial service. In particular, Dunn was interested

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in gold mining in the Nuba Mountains region (Dunn 1921). Although his studies were ethnological in character, Dunn visited several places, e.g. Tira Mandi, Dungur and Atoro, in each registering activities related to gold mining made by the following generations of the local population (Dunn 1921, 142–145). In following years, the Nuba Mountains were visited by administration representatives and language specialists (Stevenson 1962, 118). The archaeological remains of the region were not the focus of these expeditions, for example in 1930– 1931 when a three-month tour was undertaken on behalf of the Sudan Government: the main goal was to ascertain the number of languages spoken in the region and their relation to one another (MacDiarmid/MacDiarmid 1931). In 1972, the Nuba Mountains were visited by Polish researchers working then in the Nile Valley. The group consisted of the director of excavations in Kadero, Lech Krzyżaniak, and members of the archaeological mission in Old Dongola: Stefan Jakobielski, Przemysław Gartkiewicz, Waldemar Jerke, Peter Scholz, Anna Drabikowa and Subhi Iskander Subhi (field inspector from Sudan Antiquities Service) (Ali Ahmed el-Mirghani et al. 2013, 226). So far, the researchers have not published any official report or article from their stay in South Kordofan. However, the archives of the Archaeological Museum in Poznan hold an impressive collection of photographs from the expedition. Some of the photographs are labelled as ‘archaeological reconnaissance’, which could explain the Poles’ activities in this area (Ali Ahmed Elmirghani et al. 2013, 226). During the field survey, Polish specialists looked for cultural and language correlations between Nuba from South Kordofan and the Nubians from the Nile Valley (Jakobielski 2013, pers. comm.; Ali Ahmed el-Mirghani et al. 2013, 226). Archaeologists focused on the area near the towns of Talodi, Kadugli and Dilling. Another reconnaissance trip led by Polish researchers was undertaken in 2006. The project was a cooperation between NCAM and the Institute of Anthropology and Archaeology of Aleksander Gieysztor College of Humanities in Pułtusk. An archaeological survey was conducted in January 2006 in the north-eastern part of the Nuba Mountains, in the vicinity of the hills of El-Hoi and the sites Chindorma and Sennar (Bieniada/Taylor 2006, 112, 117–119). Preliminary results indicated that most of the sites and the findings made during the survey were associated with the Kingdom of Taqali, functioning there from the 19th to the early 20th century.

Darfur The 20th century history of research in Darfur opens with Harold MacMichael whose research extended beyond archaeology. MacMichael had a keen interest in local dialects (MacMichael 1920), as well as folklore.1 He, however, during his ser1 MacMichael 1918; 1919; 1920; 1927, 61–64.

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vice in the colonial administration, also had many opportunities to verify local oral traditions referring to remains of the past. He documented photographically and described one of the graves of Fur Sultan, located in Tura, at the foot of Jebel Marra (MacMichael 1926). He recorded the 18th century metal industry in Anragóg, south of Haraz (MacMichael 1927, 64) as well as finds (stone rings, hollow conical ornaments) from settlement ruins in Umm Durrag that the local population associated with the Anaj people (MacMichael 1927, 62). Anthony John Arkell published a series of three articles devoted to the monuments of Darfur in the Sudan Notes and Records,2 and established the outline of medieval history of the region.3 During his visits in Darfur, Arkell carried out a field survey at: – Ain Farah (Arkell 1936a; 1960, 116), – Tura (Jebel Marra), House of Dali (Jebel Foga), Palace and ‘Prison’ of Sultan Kūru (Jebel Forei), Palace of Sultan Suliman Solong and of his son Sultan Musa (Jebel Nāmi), Palace of Sultan Tunsam (Dulo Kuri), Palace of Shau (Jebel Kusi), Tōra graves (near Daia), Palace of Sultan Ahmed Bukr (Abu Asal) (Arkell 1937a), – Palace in Uri (Arkell 1946). He also made a preliminary evaluation and documentation of rock art from sites at Jebel Merbo, Jebel Sigru and Gharra Murten (Arkell 1937d). The dominant theories in his interpretation were cultural diffusionism. He often associated products of the local population or individual findings with cultural borrowings from neighbouring regions such as North Africa (Libyan Desert), the Bornu region, the Nile Valley, etc.4 During the previously described expeditions by Douglas Newbold (see Kordofan, paragraph 4 and 5), the location of archaeological sites in the Darfur region in Wadi Hawa was noted (Newbold/Shaw 1927, 165–166). B. Shaw’s expedition in 1935 (see Kordofan, paragraph 6) conducted archaeological reconnaissance in the area of Wadi Hawa, Jebel Tageru and Wadi Magrur (Mason/Sandford/Shaw 1936, 203– 207). Additionally, Shaw and his colleagues made a closer inspection of a rock art gallery in Umm Quelti Tasawir, discovered by Newbold during his first expedition in 1923 (Shaw 1953, 35). In the 1950s, Hugh Glencairn Balfour-Paul visited the Shoba and Mara sites with the aim of creating plans and photographic documentation of the local palaces (Balfour-Paul 1954a, 5). In the winter of 1964, a study in the Ain Farah and Wara was conducted by Richard L. de Neufville and Arthur A. Houghton. The buildings were accurately measured. Additionally, during the exploration of stone huts in Ain Farah, researchers discovered stone objects in some of the buildings. They

2 Arkell 1936a; 1937a; 1946. 3 Arkell 1951b; 1951c; 1952a; 1952b; 1959. 4 Arkell 1937b; 1937c; 1937e; 1939; 1945.

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labelled them ‘cupboards’. However, a function as storage space was not so obvious to the researchers. They suggested a possible alternative function as small domestic ovens for those objects (Neufville/Houghton 1965, 197). In 1951 a chance find was made in the village of Umm Rish in Western Darfur (Balfour-Paul 1954c, 141). A cache on a sandy bank of a watercourse was found. It contained a pair of dog-headed annular brass ornaments, a pair of plain brass rings, a small bell, about 30 carnelian and agate beads, as well as a dozen small discs, which, on closer inspection, were identified as jetons (counting tokens) minted in Nuremberg5 between the 16th and 18th century (Balfour-Paul 1954c, 141–142). What is the history of these objects, and how did they become a part of the cache? In an attempt to understand this situation, Balfour-Paul analysed the objects within the context of a nearby tumuli cemetery; however, he did not find any strong connection between the cache and the cemetery (Balfour-Paul 1954c, 142–143). Balfour-Paul, in the same text, made a short note on a rock art site at Sileia (not far from the village of Umm Rish), where symbols that he interpreted as snakes – important in local omen-taking rituals – were visible (Balfour-Paul 1954c, 143). In 1965 G. E. Wickens visited the site of Kebeleh (Tora city) located at the northern foothills of Jebel Marra (Wickens 1959, 310). He recorded circularly enclosed dry-stone compounds with multi-room buildings inside, which covered a large part of the site. In the centre of the city, compounds were different, reaching below ground level and entered by means of low tunnels. In a few cases, the rooms were still roofed with stone covered by earth or timber that was covered by soil. In the southern part of the city, massive dry-stone cylindrical and cuboid shaped barrows were recorded, resembling – according to Wickens (1970, 150–151) – the C-Group graves of Lower Nubia. However, pottery collected from around the graves did not provide any chronological indications. According to Wickens, the city itself developed as a point on trans-African migration routes going from the Nile Valley through Wadi Howar and Darb el-Arbain, probably towards Lake Chad (Wickens 1970, 147 and map I). In the years 1979–1980 and 1981–1982, Ibrahim Musa Mohamed led archaeological studies in central Darfur. A survey was conducted on a total area of 1200 km2. The main objective of the research was to evaluate the spatial distribution of the archaeological sites dated to the 1st millennium AD and to define their exact function (Ibrahim Musa Mohammed in 1986, i). This was one of the few studies

5 According to Hans-Christoph Noeske (E-mail: 15 Nov 2016), Nuremberg Rechenpfennige are found all over the Osmanic Empire: “In the 17./18th centuries they were produced without any changes of their representations, and were exported from Nuremberg to the Osmanic Empire in very large quantities as small change, for circulation on local markets. Outside the Osmanic Empire, in regions without regular coin circulation, they mark the mere presence of turkish long distance trade beyond the frontiers”. For general information on Nuremberg Rechenpfennige, see Gebert 1917 and Erlanger 1947.

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conducted in the second half of the 20th century in the area. Helmut Ziegert undertook a small survey in the area of Jebel Marra and carried out excavations at several settlements. Between 1978 and 1982, Mohammed Ali conducted research in the upper Wadi Howar Basin where he registered Neolithic sites and examples of rock art (Ibrahim Musa Mohammed 1986, 7–8).

Upper Sections of Blue and White Nile (South of Rabak-Jebel Moya-Sennar) Charles Gabriel Seligman published an article on a Neolithic site at Jebel Gule in 1910. The hill was located some 300 miles south of Khartoum in the flatlands between the White and Blue Nile, where that kind of elevation constitutes a distinctive feature of the landscape. He presented the site as typical and suggested that these kind of archaeological remains may occur on other jebels in the region as well. At Jebel Gule he noticed implements and grooves in the bedrock where the grinding of stone tools had taken place (Seligman 1910, 209). Later J. D. P. Chataway visited the site, and others, in the region where we saw rock art with some representations of animals such as gazelle, giraffe, waterbuck and elephant (Addison 1930, 264–265). Chataway published his observations in a brief note in 1930 (Chataway 1930a). At the same time, he wrote more extensively on archaeological remains in Roseires and the Disa region of the Blue Nile (Chataway 1930b). He briefly surveyed nine sites in the region. All were located on mounds of alluvial soil (’azāza). Among materials visible on the surface, he recorded bones, pottery, beads and other ornaments, objects from stone, as well as the remains of structures made of bricks or conglomerate. The chronological sequence of the sites remains to be solved; however, Chataway divided the studied places into two types of sites: one known by the local residents as ‘Soba’ with pointed stones and flat beads on the surface, and the other with brick and conglomerate structures and ornaments of greater variety (Chataway 1930b, 264). The second type was dated by Frank Addison to the Meroitic Period (Addison 1930, 266). Addison also gives a brief account of the March 1928 finds in nearby Goz Fami (close to Renk) where, during earthworks, three black, roughly glazed earthenware pots were found (Addison 1930, 267). The chronology of the finds remains to be solved. Similarly, A. J. Arkell described accidental finds in Sennar and to the south of the city, where he located and documented three graves. He suggested dating them to the 4th–5th century AD based on pottery analogies (Arkell 1934, 110). Addison (1935, 288–292) published bronze vessels and pottery materials dated to the middle Meroitic Period from a cemetery discovered during railway construction at Sennar Dam, as well as pottery from another cemetery dating to the 4th–5th century AD,

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which was recorded during the digging of a small irrigation channel on the west bank in Makwar not far from Sennar (Addison 1935, 292–293; Dixon 1963). In 1924 W. G. R. Bond discovered faunal and archaeological remains dated to the Palaeolithic Period in Singa and also in Abu Hugar, about 15 km further upstream. The collection of faunal material contained some extinct species including an antelope, a porcupine hystrix astasobae and a bovine homoioceras singae or short-horned buffalo (Bate 1951). One of the most debated finds was one fossil human calvarium from Singa (to follow the debate, please refer to Stringer 1979, 78–82 and Spoor/Stringer/Zonneveld 1998). The Spanish Archaeological Expedition to Sudan conducted a survey in the region of the Blue Nile between 21 January and 11 February 2000. Between the towns of Sennar and Singa, two sites were registered. On the basis of the pottery material, both sites were dated to the Mesolithic Period (Fernàndez 2003, 86). Additionally, near the village of el-Karaba, archaeologists recorded a Palaeolithic site with lithic material (Fernàndez 2003, 85). In 2009, the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Sudan undertook a salvage project to study archaeological sites which were to be affected by the heightening of the Roseires Dam along the Blue Nile. Almost 69 sites were recorded, with a chronology ranging from Prehistoric Periods to the Christian and FungTurkish Periods (Mahmoud Suliman Bashir et al. 2012, 132). Two years later, archaeologists conducted extensive excavations at 14 selected sites. The most important was Azaz ROSE 5 (Mahmoud Suliman Bashir et al. 2012, 132). The most common materials were pottery, beads and stone tools (Mahmoud Suliman Bashir et al. 2012, 137). The site consisted of a sizeable settlement, which was probably used by nomadic communities travelling across the area along the Blue Nile (Mahmoud Suliman Bashir et al. 2012, 138–139). Its chronology was determined as ‘ancient’. For post-excavation studies, archaeologists took several samples for radiocarbon dating and soil for botanical studies (Mahmoud Suliman Bashir et al. 2012, 138–139). The Blue Nile Valley from Hag Abdullah to Al-Qutin is currently divided into four research concessions granted to: the NCAM covering the west bank of the river, the University of Bahri in the northern section of the eastern bank, Al-Neelain University in the central section (Sennar-East), and the University of Khartoum in the southern section of the eastern bank (Fawzi Hassan Bakhiet/Abdelhai Abdelsawi 2016, fig. 1; Ahmed Hamid Nassr 2016, fig. 2). Scientific activities at the NCAM concession were recently reported. Between the 7th and 17th of July 2015, researchers conducted the first phase of an archaeological project as part of a national program for the Sennar capital of Islamic Culture in 2017. Archaeological survey focused on an area between Wad Medani and Jebel Moya (Fawzi Hassan Bakhiet/Abdelhai Abdelsawi 2016, 153). The only site recorded south of the Sennar-Jebel Moya line was SEG/W15. A mound, covering an area of 200 × 100 m, with sparse cultural material (pottery and stone elements) and with oval-shaped Islamic

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graves located in the highest section of the mound (Fawzi Hassan Bakhiet/ Abdelhai Abdelsawi 2016, 156). The Al-Neelain University concession area was also surveyed, and at selected sites sondages were dug. In result 35 archaeological sites were documented. The region was dominated by permanent and temporal settlements mostly dated to the Fung Period; however, Medieval and Meroitic sites were also identified. A similar chronological division was observed at cemeteries. Tumuli fields, box grave sites, and Islamic burial grounds (some with qubbat or bania) were recorded. Archaeological work was supplemented with ethnological survey, during which various traditional objects were documented, e.g. some hand-written samples of the Holy Koran, swords, arrowheads and copper vessels, etc. (Ahmed Hamid Nassr 2016, 148–151).

Sudd and beyond Major C. H. Stigand noticed that villages, in the originally flat region of Sudd, were located on ‘little sandy mounds or dabbas (in Nuer wich)’ (Stigand 1918, 209). He explained that the elevation was a result of constant accumulation, as well as rain water dissolution and flotation of accumulated materials. He suggested that these places had been inhabited for generations. He noticed that dabbas consisted of large quantities of fish and animal bones embedded in the white sand which remained in place at times when rains washed away all the other lighter elements of the soil. How far back do these settlements reach? This remained unsolved. However, major G. W. Titherington published a short note in 1923 describing ‘city’ mounds, resembling ancient tells of the Middle East (for an opinion on the incorrect use of the term tell, see Kleppe 1979, 65). He noticed them in the Bahr elGhazal province, at the junction of the river Pongo and river Voll. They were roughly one to five acres and 15 to 40 feet high. In the area measuring 50 by 40 miles, Titherington recorded 25 of these mounds. On the surface, he saw fragments of coarse pots similar to those made by Dinka at that time. However, he also found sherds of fine ware with a smooth red surface inside, which Dinka were not producing. According to local oral traditions, these mounds were what remained after a group of people called Barrjo had inhabited the lands and left northwards before the Dinka’s arrival (Titherington 1923, 111–112). Titherington made a small trench in one of the mounds. It was 18 feet deep. He recorded layers of barren clay about nine inches deep, alternating throughout with occupation layers of about the same thickness. The latter contained ash, pottery, baked clay net sinkers, toy animals, iron slag and a few quartz and granite hand-stones most probably used for grinding (Seligman/Seligman 1932, 10–11). Reports on pottery from the surface of the mounds were submitted to the National Museum in Khartoum up until the 1980s, particularly by district commission-

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ers (Kleppe 1982a, 62). Debbas were marked on Sudan Survey maps and some of them were listed by O. G. S. Crawford (1951, 159–160). Elsa Johansen Kleppe conducted surveys in that area in 1975, 1976 (with Richard Holton Pierce), 1977 and 1979 (Kleppe 1982b). Oral traditions and archaeological materials were collected from 20 sites in the area of Malakal (Kleppe/Pierce 1976). In 1977 test excavations were carried out at Debbat Ali c. 27 km north-east of Er-Renk (Kleppe 1979, 64; 1983a, 14). In 1981 and 1983 further excavations were conducted at two sites near Er-Renk (Debbat El-Eheima and Debbat Bangdit) and two in the vicinity of Malakal (Wij Bur and Pareth Kur). Large amounts of pottery and osteological materials were recorded, as well as a number of personal adornments (ceramic bracelets, shell pendants, beads), organic materials and some fragments of galous (dried mud used in house-building), game pieces, figurine fragments, spindle whorls, grinders, hammer stones and iron objects.6 Radiocarbon dates from Debbat El-Eheima indicated that the settlements were inhabited at least from 1000 +/− 100 BC, calibrated (Kleppe 1983a, 19). In 1977 the Sudan Antiquities Service granted the British Institute in Eastern Africa an exploration license covering the three provinces of Eastern Equatoria, Western Equatoria and Bahr el-Ghazal (Phillipson 1981, 1). Scientists conducted four field seasons of interdisciplinary research. The first season in 1977–78 was a survey covering large parts of the entire concession (Phillipson 1981). The second season in 1979 focused on excavations in all three provinces (David/Harvey/Goudie 1981). The third season in 1980 limited research to Eastern Equatoria (Robertshaw/ Mawson 1981) and the fourth season in 1981 was conducted in Lakes Province, Western Equatoria (Robertshaw/Siiriäinen 1985). Researchers aimed at establishing the general chronology of human occupation in the region based on pottery (Siiriäinen 1984) and bone fragments analysis, and the analysis of stone tools, which was supplemented with radiocarbon dating. Listing all of the archaeological sites discovered during the project and the presentation of all suggestions put forward by researchers falls beyond the purview of this chapter. However, drawing a short conclusion: late Stone Age traces (early 2nd millennium BC to the 1st millennium AD), and early Iron Age (late 1st millennium AD to mid-2nd millennium AD) and late Iron Age (late 2nd millennium AD) remains were identified, adding new data to discussions on the origins of Nuer, Dinka and Atout as well as the migrations identified before with language studies and in ethnohistories (Mack/Robertshaw 1982; Robertshaw 1987). After the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the SPLM/A and the Khartoum government had been signed in January 2005, the British Institute in Eastern Africa put into action a broader strategy to encourage the revival of archaeology and other academic research in South Sudan. One of the outcomes was a survey of slave trading zara’ib (fortified camps) by Paul Lane conducted around the town of

6 Kleppe 1982c; 1983b; 1983c.

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Rumbek in Lakes Province, Western Equatoria (Lane/Johnson 2009). Rumbek was selected because historical records suggested that this was one of the very first fortified enclosures or zara’ib (plural from zariba) to be built as part of the slave and ivory commercial network that exploited the southern Sudan throughout the middle of the 19th century. The survey initially focused on remains of a large ditched enclosure located on the edge of Rumbek (most probably Alphonse de Malzac’s base for trade), but interviews with local residents provide information on the location of two other zari’ib at Meen Atol and Lol Nhom. In mid-2009 the British Institute in Eastern Africa was contacted by an Australian construction company (the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation) with regard to conducting a preliminary heritage impact assessment as part of a feasibility study into dam construction along the Nile between Juba and Nimule (the Bahr elJebel Hydroelectric Power Project). Three proposed dam sites were located at Shukoli, Laki and Bedden. As a result, four weeks of foot survey and site mapping were conducted in late 2009 (Davies 2012, 23). Some 110 clusters of three or more features were recorded. Most of them likely date to the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Pottery, iron slag and grinding stones were found as well as stone cairns of different size (the smaller examples were probably a result of field clearance activities), rectilinear stone platforms, granary bases, furnace bases and field terraces. A few potential rock shelters were recorded as well as a 2 km dry-stone ‘wall’ with settlement remains along it (especially at the northern end). Other dry-stone enclosures constituted part of a large pre-1950 village recorded in Renjek. Remains of a TurcoEgyptian fort at Laboré were located (Davies/Leonardi 2012; Davies 2014), as well as traces of colonial activities in the Nimule region. Matthew Davies suggested, based on some stone tool finds, that there could have been traces of human activity in the region dating to the Stone Age; however, this requires further fieldwork (Davies 2012, 37). In 1975 the University of Juba was founded. However, the Department of Archaeology was created in 2000 as part of the College of Arts and Humanities. The present authors were not able to trace any scientific publications of research done in South Sudan by department members. However, information about future projects, starting in 2017, were available on a website offering participation in the fieldwork.7 Three projects were listed: Kapoeta Area Archaeological Survey, Gondokoro Island Archaeological Survey and Test Excavation as well as Nimule National Park Archaeological Survey and Test Excavation. The projects are to be directed by Youssef Onyalla from the University of Juba. Representatives from the South Sudan ministries responsible for natural and cultural heritage, NGOs and Juba University participated in a series of workshops in 2012, 2014 and 2016 organised by UNESCO, The African World Heritage Fund and the African Wildlife Foundation. The aim of the workshops was to introduce the

7 http://www.bahr-el-jebel-safaris.com/7---10-day-archaeology-field-school.html.

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idea of creating a heritage list for cultural and natural heritage protection and management.8

Conclusion Studies completed to date on the western and southern fringes of Nubia create a picture of complex societies living throughout the ages. However, the change in these societies is usually interpreted as an impulse from outside connected with historical events in the main Middle Nile Valley such as the collapse of the Kingdom of Meroë or the end of Medieval Nubian Realms. Researchers conducting fieldwork on the fringes of Nubia face important scientific challenges. Certainly the most vivid is to establish a unique chronology for the individual areas and sites. Comparisons with the Nile Valley material culture as pointed out by some can be misleading. Not without significance is the unstable political situation in the regions. However, institutions such as the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Sudan and the British Institute in Eastern Africa encourage and support studies in these regions. As the authors of this chapter, we cherish a deep hope that the intensification of archaeological research in these regions will provide new information about the archaeological remains and fascinating past of these areas and will bring new insights into the broader history of north-eastern Africa.

Bibliography Abd el-Rahim Mohamed Khabir Hassan / Howeida Ahmed Adam (2011): Pottery from Sites surveyed in Sodari District, Kordofan Province. An Interim Report 2008–2009. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 15, p. 18–22. Addison, Frank (1925): Archaeological Notes. In: Sudan Notes and Records 8, p. 197–199. Addison, Frank (1930): Note to Chataway Archaeology in the Southern Sudan. In: Sudan Notes and Records 13, p. 264–267. Addison, Frank (1935): Antiquities at Sennar. In: Sudan Notes and Records 18, p. 288–293. Ahmed Hamid Nassr (2016): Sennar Capital of Islamic Culture 2017 Project. Preliminary Results of Archaeological Surveys in Sennar East and Sabaloka East. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 20, p. 146–152. Ali Elmirghani Ahmed / Chlebowski, Adrian / Maliński, Piotr (2013): Polskie badania nad ludami i kulturami Kordofanu – historia, najnowsze wyniki i przyszłe perspektywy. In: Cisło, Waldemar / Różański, Jarosław / Ząbek, Maciej (eds.): Bilad as Sudan – kultury i migracje. Warszawa: WDR, p. 69–86.

8 See http://www.unesco.org/new/en/nairobi/about-this-office/single view/news/the_government_ of_south_sudan_prepares_its_world_heritage_te-1/#.WAB6g_l97IV, accessed: 10. 10. 2016).

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Ali Elmirghani Ahmed / Drzewiecki, Mariusz / Maliński, Piotr (2012): Polsko-sudański projekt naukowy “Fortece Sudanu”. Krajobrazy kulturowe w perspektywie badań archeologicznych i etnologicznych. In: Cisło, Waldemar / Różański, Jarosław / Ząbek, Maciej (eds.): Sudan – ogactwo kultur i wewnętrzne napięcia. Warszawa: WDR, p. 51–82. Arkell, Anthony John (1933): A Roman Coin of Emperor Diocletian at El Obeid. In: Sudan Notes and Records 16, p. 187. Arkell, Anthony John (1934): Three Burials in Sennar District. In: Sudan Notes and Records 17, p. 103–110. Arkell, Anthony John (1936a): Darfur Antiquities. Part I. In: Sudan Notes and Records 19, p. 301–311. Arkell, Anthony John (1936b): Kohl Pins. In: Sudan Notes and Records 19, p. 150–151. Arkell, Anthony John (1937a): Darfur Antiquities. Part II: Tora Palaces in Turra at the North End of Jebel Marra. In: Sudan Notes and Records 20, p. 91–105. Arkell, Anthony John (1937b): An Extinct Darfur Hoe. In: Sudan Notes and Records 20, p. 146–150. Arkell, Anthony John (1937c): The Double Spiral Amulet. In: Sudan Notes and Records 20, p. 151–155. Arkell, Anthony John (1937d): Rock Pictures in Northern Darfur. In: Sudan Notes and Records 20, p. 281–287. Arkell, Anthony John (1937e): Hebron Beads in Darfur. In: Sudan Notes and Records 20, p. 300–305. Arkell, Anthony John (1939): Darfur Pottery. In: Sudan Notes and Records 22, p. 79–87. Arkell, Anthony John (1945): Beads made in Darfur and Wadai. In: Sudan Notes and Records 26, p. 305–310. Arkell, Anthony John (1946): Darfur Antiquities. Part III. The Ruined Town of Nuri in Northern Darfur. In: Sudan Notes and Records 27, p. 185–202. Arkell, Anthony John (1951a): An Old Nubian Inscription from Kordofan. In: American Journal of Archaeology 55, p. 353–354. Arkell, Anthony John (1951b): History of Darfur 1200–1700 A. D. Part I. In: Sudan Notes and Records 32, p. 37–70. Arkell, Anthony John (1951c): History of Darfur 1200–1700 A. D. Part II. In: Sudan Notes and Records 32, p. 207–238. Arkell, Anthony John (1952a): History of Darfur 1200–1700 A. D. Part III. In: Sudan Notes and Records 33, p. 129–155. Arkell, Anthony John (1952b): History of Darfur 1200–1700 A. D. Part IV. In: Sudan Notes and Records 33, p. 244–275. Arkell, Anthony John (1959): The Medieval History of Darfur. In: Sudan Notes and Records 40, p. 44–47. Arkell, Anthony John (1960): A Christian Church and Monastery at Ain Farah, Darfur. In: Kush 7, p. 115–119. Ayman El-Tayeb El-Tayeb Sidahmed (2009): Museums in the Sudan and their Role in Tourism. Unpublished BA Thesis (in Arabic). Khartoum. Balfour-Paul, Hugh Glencairn (1954a): “Sultans” Palaces in Darfur and Waddai. In: Kush 2, p. 5–18. Balfour-Paul, Hugh Glencairn (1954b): Islam at Uri. In: Sudan Notes and Records 35, p. 139–140. Balfour-Paul, Hugh Glencairn (1954c): Two Curiosites from Dar Masalit. In: Sudan Notes and Records 35, p. 141–144. Bechtold, Peter K. (2015): The Society and its Environment. In: Berry, LaVerle Bennette (ed.): Sudan. A Country Study. Area Handbook Series. Washington, DC: GPO, p. 59–140. Bieniada, Michal / Taylor, Helen (2007): Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 11, p. 112–119. Bradley, Rebecca J. (1992): Nomads in the Archaeological Record. Case Studies in the Northern Provinces of the Sudan. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 13. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.

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Gebert, Carl Friedrich (1917): Die Nürnberger Pfennigschlager. In: Mitteilungen der Bayerischen Numismatischen Gesellschaft 35, p. 1–138. Grant, James Andrew Sandilands (1875–1876): Itinerary from Debbe to El Obeyad, on the Upper Nile, with Details of Places of Most Importance after the Survey of Staff-Colonel R. E. Colston. In: Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London 20/4, p. 357–362. Gratien, Brigitte (2007): Royaumes du Soudan Lointain. In: Bruwier, Marie-Cécile (ed.): Pharaons Noirs: Sur la piste des quarante jours. Mariemont: Musée Royal, p. 29–38. Gratien, Brigitte (2010): Prospection dans le Kordofan occidental, autour de Zankor et d’Abou Sofyan (2002–2005). In: Godlewski, Włodzimierz / Łajtar, Adam (eds.): Between the Cataracts. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August–2 September 2006. Part Two: Session Papers. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean Supplement Series 2/2.1. Warsaw: University Press, p. 237–245. Gratien, Brigitte (2013): Introduction. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Abu Sofyan et Zankor. Prospections dans le Kordofan occidental (Soudan). Université de Lille III: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, p. 3–11. Kleppe, Else Johansen (1979): Research on Debbas Upper Nile Province. In: Nyame Akume. Newsletter on African Archaeology 15, p. 63–67. Kleppe, Else Johansen (1982a): The Debbas on the White Nile, Southern Sudan. In: Mack, John / Robertshaw, Peter Thomas (eds.): Culture History in the Southern Sudan: Archaeology, Linguistics and Ethnohistory. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 8. Nairobi: British Institute in Eastern Africa. London: Thames & Hudson, p. 59–70. Kleppe, Else Johansen (1982b): Habitation Mounds in Shilluk Land. In: van Moorsel, Paul (ed.): New Discoveries in Nubia. Proceedings of the Colloquium on Nubian Studies, The Hague 1979. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, p. 57–66. Kleppe, Else Johansen (1982c): Preliminary Report on Archaeological Excavation at Debbat El Eheima, Upper Nile Province, Sudan. In: Nyame Akume. Newsletter on African Archaeology 21, p. 36–38. Kleppe, Else Johansen (1983a): Towards a Prehistory of the Riverrain Nilotic Sudan. Archaeological Excavations in the Er Renk District. In: Nubian Letters 1, p. 14–19. Kleppe, Else Johansen (1983b): New Ceramic Finds from Settlement Mounds in the Upper White Nile (Southern Sudan). In: Bulletin de liaison de groupe internationale d’étude de la ceramique égyptienne 8, p. 34–42. Kleppe, Else Johansen (1983c): Progress Report on Archaeological Research in Upper White Nile, Southern Sudan. In: Nyame Akume. Newsletter on African Archaeology 23, p. 31–32. Kleppe, Else Johansen (1986a): The Past lives on in the Present: Debbat El Eheima revisited. In: Krause, Martin (ed.): Nubische Studien. Tagungsakten der 5. Internationalen Konferenz der International Society for Nubian Studies, Heidelberg, 22.–25. September 1982. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern, p. 109–112. Kleppe, Else Johansen (1986b): The Prehistory of Southern Sudan. Approaches made before 1950. In: Krause, Martin (ed.): Nubische Studien. Tagungsakten der 5. Internationalen Konferenz der International Society for Nubian Studies, Heidelberg, 22.–25. September 1982. Mainz on Rhine: Philipp von Zabern, p. 109–112. Kleppe, Else Johansen (1986c): Religion expressed through Bead Use: An Ethno-archaeological Study of Shilluk, Southern Sudan. In: Steinsland, Gro (ed.): Words and Objects. Towards a Dialogue between Archaeology and History. Oslo: Norwegian University Press, p. 78–90. Kleppe, Else Johansen / Pierce, Richard Holton (1976): Report on Archaeological Inspection Tour to the Vicinity of Malakal, Upper Nile Province, Southern Sudan in 1976. Unpublished Technical Report. Lampen, Graham Dudley (1950): History of Darfur. In: Sudan Notes and Records 31, p. 177–209. Lane, Paul Jeremy / Johnson, Douglas H. (2009): The Archaeology and History of Slavery in South Sudan in the 19th Century. In: Peacock, Andrew Charles Spencer (ed.): The Frontiers of

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the Ottoman World. Proceedings of the British Academy 156. Oxford: University Press, p. 509–537. Lloyd, Watkiss (1910): Notes on Kordofan Province. In: The Geographical Journal 35, p. 249–267. MacDiarmid, Phoebe A. / MacDiarmid, Donald N. (1931): The Languages of the Nuba Mountains. In: Sudan Notes and Records 14, p. 149–162. Mack, John / Robertshaw, Peter Thomas (eds.) (1982): Culture History in the Southern Sudan: Archaeology, Linguistics and Ethnohistory. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 8. Nairobi: British Institute in Eastern Africa. London: Thames & Hudson. MacMichael, Harold Alfred (1909): Rock Pictures in North Kordofan. In: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 39, p. 562–568. MacMichael, Harold Alfred (1912): The Tribes of Northern and Central Kordofan. Cambridge: University Press. MacMichael, Harold Alfred (1918): Nubian Elements in Darfur. In: Sudan Notes and Records 1, p. 33–48. MacMichael, Harold Alfred (1919): Seasonal Festival at Gebel Mīdōb. In: Sudan Notes and Records 2, p. 91–97. MacMichael, Harold Alfred (1920a): The Tungur of Dark Furung. In: Sudan Notes and Records 3, p. 24–32. MacMichael, Harold Alfred (1920b): Darfur Linguistic. In: Sudan Notes and Records 3, p. 197–215. MacMichael, Harold Alfred (1922): A History of the Arabs in the Sudan and some Account of the People who preceded them and of the Tribes inhabiting Dárfūr. Vol. 1. Cambridge: University Press. MacMichael, Harold Alfred (1926): A Note on the Burial Places of the Sur Sultans at Tura in Jebel Marra. In: Sudan Notes and Records 9, p. 75–77. MacMichael, Harold Alfred (1927): Notes on Jebel Haraza. In: Sudan Notes and Records 10, p. 61–67. Mahmoud Suliman Bashir / Murtada Bushara Mohamed / Mohammed Saad Abdalah (2012): Rosieres Dam Heightening Archaeological Salvage Project. The Excavations at Azaza Site ROSE 5. Preliminary Report. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 16, p. 132–139. March, G. F. (1948): Kordofan Province. In: Tothill, John Douglas (ed.): Agriculture in the Sudan. Being a Handbook of Agriculture as practised in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. London/Oxford: University Press, p. 827–850. Marchi, Séverine (2013): Abou Sofyan: les sites à gravures rupestres. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Abu Sofyan et Zankor. Prospections dans le Kordofan occidental (Soudan). Université de Lille III: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, p. 27–34. Mason, Michael H. / Sandford, Kenneth Stuart / Shaw, W. Bernard Kennedy (1936): An Expedition in the Southern Libyan Desert. In: The Geographical Journal 87, p. 193–217. McGregor, Andrew James (2001): Darfur (Sudan) in the Age of Stone Architecture c. AD 1000–1750. Problems in Historical Reconstruction. Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 53. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1006. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Neufville, Richard L. de / Houghton, Arthur A. (1965): A Description of Ain Farah and of Wara. In: Kush 13, p. 195–204. Newbold, Douglas (1924): A Desert Odyssey of a Thousand Miles. In: Sudan Notes and Records 7, p. 43–92. Newbold, Douglas (1928): Rock-pictures and Archaeology in the Libyan Desert. In: Antiquity 2, p. 261–291. Newbold, Douglas (1945): The History and Archaeology of the Libyan Desert. In: Sudan Notes and Records 26, p. 229–239.

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Newbold, Douglas / Shaw, W. Bernard Kennedy (1928): An Exploration in the South Libyan Desert. In: Sudan Notes and Records 11, p. 103–194. Ochała, Grzegorz (2011): A King of Makuria in Kordofan. In: Łajtar, Adam / van der Vliet, Jacques (eds.): Nubian Voices: Studies in Christian Nubian Culture. The Journal of Juristic Papyrology Supplements. Vol. XV. Warsaw: Taubenschlag Foundation, p. 149–155. Paterson, R. T. (1948): Darfur Province. In: Tothill, John Douglas (ed.): Agriculture in the Sudan. Being a Handbook of Agriculture as practised in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. London/Oxford: University Press, p. 851–874. Penn, Albert Erie Dunston (1931): The Ruins of Zankor. In: Sudan Notes and Records 14, p. 179–184. Phillipson, David W. (1981): A Preliminary Archaeological Reconnaissance of the Southern Sudan, 1977–78. In: Azania 16, p. 1–6. Robertshaw, Peter Thomas (1982): Eastern Equatoria in the Context of Later Eastern African Prehistory. In: Mack, John / Robertshaw, Peter Thomas (eds.): Culture History in the Southern Sudan: Archaeology, Linguistics and Ethnohistory. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 8. Nairobi: British Institute in Eastern Africa. London: Thames & Hudson, p. 89–100. Robertshaw, Peter Thomas (1987): Prehistory in the Upper Nile Basin. In: The Journal of African History 28/2, p. 177–189. Robertshaw, Peter Thomas / Mawson, Andrew (1981): Excavations in Eastern Equatoria, Southern Sudan 1980. In: Azania 16, p. 55–95. Robertshaw, Peter Thomas / Siiriäinen, Ari (1985): Excavations in Lakes Province, Southern Sudan. In: Azania 20, p. 89–161. Siiriäinen, Ari (1984): Two Southern Sudanese Pottery Traditions in a Historical Perspective. In: Norwegian Archaeological Review 17, p. 11–18. Seligman, Charles Gabriel (1910): A Neolithic Site in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. In: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 40, p. 209–214. Seligman, Charles Gabriel (1914–1916): A Prehistoric Site in Northern Kordofan. In: Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology 7, p. 107–114. Seligman, Charles Gabriel / Seligman, Brenda Z. (1932): Pagan Tribes of the Nilotic Sudan. London: Routledge. Shaw, W. Bernard Kennedy (1929): Darb el Arba’in. In: Sudan Notes and Records 12, p. 63–72. Shaw, W. Bernard Kennedy (1936): The Ruins at Abu Sufyan. In: Sudan Notes and Records 19, p. 324–326. Shaw, W. Bernard Kennedy (1953): Rock drawings in the South Libyan Desert. In: Kush 1, p. 35–39. Spoor, Fred / Stringer, Chris B. / Zonneveld, Frans (1998): Rare Temporal Bone Pathology of the Singa Calvaria from Sudan. In: American Journal of Physical Anthropology 107/1, p. 41–50 (DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1096–8644(199809)107:13.0.CO;2-G; last seen 07. 04. 2017). Stevenson, Roland C. (1962): Linguistic Research in the Nuba Mountains I. In: Sudan Notes and Records 43, p. 118–130. Stigand, Chauncy Hugh (1918): The Dabba of the Sudd Area. In: Sudan Notes and Records 3, p. 209–210. Stringer, Chris B. (1979): A Re-evaluation of the Fossil Human Calvaria from Singa, Sudan. In: Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Geology) 32, p. 77–93. Titherington, Geoffrey Wrench (1923): “City” Mounds in the Bahr el Ghazal Province. In: Sudan Notes and Records 6, p. 111–112. Wickens, Gerald E. (1959): A Brief Note on the Recently discovered Tora City of Kebeleh. In: Kush 7, p. 310–313. Wickens, Gerald E. (1970): A Brief Note on the Early History of Jebel Marra and the Recently discovered Tora City of Kebeleh. In: Sudan Notes and Records 51, p. 147–151.

Tim Karberg

Rock Art 1 Introduction Within Sudan, various rock art sites have been documented, associated with different traditions of this category of art. A general comprehensive study of Sudanese or Nubian rock art is still a desideratum, despite the fact that in several specific areas (especially Lower Nubia and the area of the Fourth Nile Cataract) rock art was documented very intensively during the general archaeological surveys these areas underwent in connection with the construction of the Aswan Dams and the Merowe Dam. Since the discovery of rock art is in most cases dependent on in-depth, large scale investigations on the ground, in other areas of the Sudan rock art is only known at solitary places which attracted for other reasons (and therefore, from the rock art point of view, rather coincidentally) the interest of archaeologists. Nevertheless, at these rather solitary places rich rock art stations are found; prominent

Fig. 1: Map of Nubian rock art sites mentioned in the text.

Note: The author expresses his gratitude to several experts in the field of Sudanese rock art research for detailed and fruitful discussions on the topic over many years; without them, this chapter would not have been possible. I want to mention especially Julia Budka, Fawzi H. Bakhiet, and, most importantly, Cornelia Kleinitz. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-043

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examples exist at Sabu near the Third Nile Cataract and the famous monumental rock art panel at Jebel Geili in the eastern Keraba. But there are also rock art findings outside these large and prominent spots, for example within the Wadi Abu Dom in the Bayuda, or the Wadi Howar in the Western Desert. The wide variety of different styles, sujets, and techniques would require a large scale, in-depth study to clarify the overall question whether an internally coherent and externally distinguishable Sudanese or Nubian ‘rock art province’ could be delimited; but here, due to the overview character of this chapter, the different types and categories of Sudanese rock art can only be exemplified (Fig. 1).

2 General Remarks on Techniques, Sujets and Chronology of Sudanese and Nubian Rock Art In a global perspective, several different techniques of rock art can be differentiated. In general, rock art divides into rock paintings and rock engravings. In some cases, these categories overlap since engraved rock art is highlighted with painted colours; it cannot be excluded that some significant amount of rock art which is nowadays documented as ‘engraved’ was originally treated in that way, but that the pigments eroded over the centuries, while only the engravings within the stone surface remain. Engraved rock art, furthermore, can be divided by the use of incised or pecked (or embossed) techniques; this differentiation also creates to some extent overlapping categories, since in some cases both methods were used at the same rock art panel (and sometimes even within the same depiction). Interestingly, within Sudan and Nubia engraved and embossed rock depictions are predominant. In contrast, in most areas of the world, including the (topographically and typologically) close Saharan rock art provinces, paintings are the most prominent category of rock art. A differentiation of rock depictions not by technique, but by style, is possible by contrasting depictions of animals either by simple outlines or by (partly or completely) plenary pecked surfaces. In some cases, these might be interpreted as different depiction styles, while in other cases technique might constitute part of a given motif itself, like the depiction of (partly plane embossed) belted cattle. The different sujets of rock depictions and the question of their chronology are closely connected. In general, dating rock art is a problematic (and often impossible) issue. For the internal chronology of single rock art panels, the patina of engraved depictions can provide for some rough assumptions, such as the dating very light, almost unpatinated depictions as being younger than stronger patinated ones. Nevertheless, this method can only provide internal chronologies of single find spots, since patination is influenced by so many factors (including chemical composition of the rocks, tilt, elevation, and orientation of the rock surface and therefore

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specific exposure to wind and sunlight, and even micro-organisms settling in the rock surface) that the general situation at another rock art panel just a hundred meters away can be completely different. For Saharan rock art, a periodization was established based on the sujets of the depictions. It relied on the idea that at least some of the depicted animals and objects could signal distinct lifestyles, cultural elements, and environmental circumstances which could be dated more clearly from the archaeological record than the rock depictions by themselves. Therefore, rock art of some of the rocky areas of the central Sahara was divided into a ‘Wild Fauna/Hunter Period’, a ‘Cattle Period’, a ‘Horse Period’, and a ‘Camel Period’ (sometimes completed by a ‘Round Head Period’ between the ‘Hunter Period’ and the ‘Cattle Period’, or to some extent parallel to the ‘Hunter Period’). This chronological frame was first established for the Hoggar and Tassili region (Lhote 1958, 240–247). The periodization was connected with the age of the so called ‘Green Sahara’ during the African Humid Period (also known as Neolithic subpluvial, and corresponding to the Atlantic climate episode (Kröpelin/ Kuper 2007) for the ‘Wild Fauna Period’, the age of Neolithic cattle nomadism (Gabriel 2002) for the ‘Cattle Period’, the introduction of the horse and chariot to Northern Africa for the ‘Horse Period’, and the general introduction of the camel (dromedary) as a beast of burden to the desert areas of the Sahara for the ‘Camel Period’. This periodization was often criticized, but remains popular even in more recent publications (Hallier 1995, 166–170). For Sudanese and Nubian rock art, nevertheless, such periodization can only provide a rough framework. In general, wild fauna, cattle, and camel depictions are prominently present in the rock art of Nubia and other areas of the Sudan (while any kind of ‘Horse Period’ seems to be missing to a great extent). But despite the fact that at least some wild fauna depictions seem to be rather old and some camel depictions quite young (or in some cases even sub-recent), they do not allow a distinguishable and clear periodization. For example, depictions of large wild fauna (especially giraffes) at the Fourth Nile Cataract area overlap chronologically to a large extent with cattle depictions, with some indications that the youngest giraffe depictions even date to the Meroitic Period (Kleinitz 2012, 39–40; 2007c, 225). The definition of a ‘Cattle Period’ seems rather problematic, since cattle depictions obviously occur from the Neolithic until (at least) the Meroitic Period (Kleinitz 2012, 37). The definition of an internal chronology of this long-lasting ‘Cattle Period’ seems, at the first glance, possible based on a chronological differentiation of the introduction of different forms of cattle into Northern and North-eastern Africa: The so-called ‘Hamitic Longhorn cattle’ around 5000 BC (Hanke 1989, 33), or even earlier in the case of an independent North-east African domestication center of longhorn cattle;1 short horned cattle forms around 2750 BC, and (humped) zeboid cattle forms at earliest around 2000 BC–1200 BC (Hanke 1989, 33). Nevertheless, such an

1 Gabriel 1972, 154; Wendorf/Close/Schild 1989; MacDonald 2000.

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internal chronology turned out to be rather impractical to date rock art, since forms sometimes attributed to earlier cattle depictions (Kleinitz 2012, 37), like exceptionally long horns, are, in fact, found until the Meroitic Period (Karberg 2005) (Kleinitz/Koenitz 2006), while other rock drawing types sometimes connected with relatively lately introduced cattle forms like humped, zeboid races are found in rock art contexts that could presumable date back to the Kerma Period (Karberg 2005; Kleinitz 2007b). This would suggest an earlier dating of the introduction of these cattle forms into North-eastern Africa (and therefore no definitely clear chronological differentiation of these forms from earlier ones is possible). The ‘Camel Period’ is chronologically more clearly definable, since many camel depictions are (topographically and by their patina) associated with Christian motifs like cross symbols or church depictions which can be attributed to the Medieval Period (Kleinitz 2007c, 218). Nevertheless, it cannot be excluded that some of the camel depictions of Lower Nubia (Červiček 1984) and the Fourth Nile Cataract Area (Kleinitz 2007c, 217–218) could date back to the Meroitic Period. Additionally, the wide stylistic range within camel pictures includes depictions of camels with riders and payloads, outlined and plane embossed designs (Budka 2007, 61), as well as different methods of depicting the hump (Kleinitz/Olsson 2005, 36). Side branches of rock art – besides classic rock pictures – exist in several other anthropogenic marks on rock surfaces, which shall not be the focus of this chapter, but at least should be mentioned. They range from rock inscriptions from the Pharaonic age (Davies 2003) until the Medieval Period (Tsakos 2018). Another phenomenon are so-called rock gongs, natural rock surfaces used as stationary musical instruments. This category of rock art was extensively studied at the Fourth Nile Cataract by C. Kleinitz et al. (2015), but since the phenomenon of rock gongs was not widely known to the scientific community during the age of the Nubian Salvage Campaigns, it cannot be excluded that in this area rock gongs were comparably widespread but simply not documented. Closely connected to rock art are graffiti on buildings. Since they are a highly complex topic on their own, they can only be briefly mentioned here. At many sites, for example at Musawwarat es-Sufra, the vast corpora of building graffiti are subject to extensive studies (see Ch. Wenig; Kleinitz 2014). In some cases, parallels between rock art and these building graffiti are obvious, for example within the category of geometric symbols (Karberg 2005; Kleinitz 2007a) or hunting scenes (Kleinitz 2007c, 225).

3 Rock Art Areas and Sites in Sudan and Nubia 3.1 Lower Nubia The largest and best-known rock art area of Nubia is its lower part, which was extensively researched during the several archaeological surveys connected with the

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enlargements of the old Aswan Dam, and especially the construction of the Aswan High Dam from 1960 till 1970 (under the umbrella of the UNESCO Nubian Salvage Campaign). While the Archaeological Survey of Nubia did not pay much attention to rock art, most of the archaeological surveys of the UNESCO program published large material corpora of rock drawings, especially from the concession areas of the Scandinavian Joint Expedition (Hellström/Langballe 1970), the Czechoslovak Institute of Egyptology (Váhala/Červiček 1999; Suková 2011a), the German Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic (Otto/Buschendorf-Otto 1993), the Spanish Expedition to Lower Nubia (Almagro Gorbea/Almagro Basch 1968), and the archaeological activities of the University of Vienna in Sayala (Kromer 1970; Bietak/Engelmayer 1963). The largest part of Lower Nubia is situated in modern Egypt; but since Nubian rock art forms a consistent cultural complex, it seems necessary to discuss Lower Nubian rock art as distinct from Egypt and Sudan together. Lower Nubian rock art consists almost completely of engravings. Pecked techniques are predominant (mostly on hard rock surfaces), while incised outlines also occur in some quantities (mostly on softer rock surfaces like sandstone) (Hellström/Langballe 1970, 29). In a few cases, incising and pecking techniques occur within the same depiction in order to differentiate between outline and colour of animals (Suková 2011a, pl. I). Rare findings of colour pigments in connection with pecked rock engravings might indicate that at least some of them were originally painted, but that the colour was not preserved (Hellström/Langballe 1970, 28). Only very few sites with painted rock art were recorded in Lower Nubia near Kalabsha (Suková 2011b, 14) and Korosko (Suková 2011b, 94). At Korosko, a large boat, several pieces of cattle, and anthropomorphic figures (with large round heads) are depicted in a red to violet hue (Suková 2011b, pl. I). At Kalabsha, one panel shows several geometric motifs (Suková 2011b, 96, fig. 7.2), and another one a boat depiction (Suková 2011b, 106, fig. 8.6). All these rock paintings are situated within natural rock shelters. Predominant Motifs within Lower Nubian rock art are cattle depictions in a wide variety of styles (Hellström/Langballe 1970, Corpus C). Anthropomorphic figures (partly armed) also occur quite often (Hellström/Langballe 1970, Corpus A), especially in northern Lower Nubia in Egyptianized style (Váhala/Červiček 1999, pl. 94.368). Several depictions of feet and sandal prints must be understood in connection with the corpus of anthropomorphic figures (Váhala/Červiček 1999, pl. 199.789A-790; Otto/Buschendorf-Otto 1993, 119, fig. 224). Camels are not as widespread as in other parts of the Sudan (Hellström/Langballe 1970, Corpus F; Váhala/Červiček 1999, pl. 47.179). Wild fauna is represented by elephants (Hellström/Langballe 1970, Corpus G; Váhala/Červiček 1999, pl. 24.78), giraffes (Hellström/Langballe 1970, Corpus K; Váhala/Červiček 1999, pl. 47.178), antelopes (Hellström/Langballe 1970, Corpus L), and few hippopotamoi (Hellström/Langballe 1970, Corpus H); horses (Hellström/Langballe

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1970, Corpus B) and donkeys (Hellström/Langballe 1970, Corpus J) occur, but are not very widespread. Another important motif are boats,2 which resemble to some extent depictions on Predynastic Egyptian pottery.

3.2 Third Nile Cataract Area Rock art at the Third Nile Cataract, unlike Lower Nubia or the Fourth Cataract area, was studied scientifically long before the cultural heritage of the area was endangered by the construction of the Kajbar Dam. Especially the site of Sabu is well known as a rock art station. It was documented by Chittick (1962), whose research was later extended under the umbrella of the fieldwork of the Sudan Archaeological Research Society in the area of the Third Nile Cataract (Edwards 2006). The rock art station shows some boat depictions of different styles (Chittick 1962, 328–331), and a large variety of cattle drawings (Edwards 2006, 57), Christian motifs, ranging from simple cross symbols (Edwards 2006, 59, pl. 5) to church depictions (Chittick 1962, 332, fig. 6), and rare wild fauna depictions (Edwards 2006, 56, pl. 2). Pecked technique predominates, but incised engravings also occur (Edwards 2006, 56, pl. 2). Part of the depictions of all four categories are depicted only in outline, and some are filled planar (Chittick 1962, 332, fig. 4–5). Some other rock art sites near the Third Nile Cataract were documented by Allard-Huard (1993, 150–153), consisting of hunting scenes and geometric motifs.

3.3 Fourth Nile Cataract Area Similar to Lower Nubia, the region of the Fourth Nile Cataract was extensively surveyed archaeologically due to the construction of the Merowe Dam. Rock art sites were studied extensively in all concession areas, including the Polish Gdańsk Archaeological Museum Expedition (Paner/Borcowski 2005), the Anglo-German Expedition of the Sudan Archaeological Research Society (Kleinitz 2012), the Humboldt University Nubian Expedition (Kleinitz 2012; Budka 2007), and the University of Cologne Expedition to Boni Island under the umbrella of the Joint Research Project ACACIA – Arid Climate, Adaption and Cultural Innovation in Africa (Bakhiet 2012). Due to the mainly hard rock surfaces, the vast majority of rock drawings were carried out in pecked technique. Traces of painting do not occur. Cattle (Kleinitz 2012, 36–38; Bakhiet 2012, 220) and camels (Kleinitz 2012, 38–39) are the most common motifs, which occur in many different variations. Horses, asses and boats

2 Suková 2011a, pl. XX; Váhala/Červiček 1999, pl. 46.173, 55.215, 55.217; Otto/BuschendorfOtto 1993, 107, fig. 189.

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are very rare, the latter maybe explained by the inhospitality of the Cataract area for navigation (Kleinitz 2012, 42). Anthropomorphic figures are rather popular, but not in such a wide variety as in Lower Nubia (Kleinitz 2012, 41–42). Wild fauna is mainly represented by giraffes and ostriches (Bakhiet 2012, 219, 221), while elephant depictions are much rarer than in Lower Nubia (Kleinitz 2012, 39–40). Another very common motif in Fourth Nile Cataract rock art are Christian representations, mostly consisting of symbols like crosses (Kleinitz 2012, 43–45), which often occur together with short Greek or Old Nubian inscriptions (Tsakos 2007), and several church depictions (Kleinitz 2012, 42; Budka 2005, 70–71). Another category of rock art consists of several geometric motifs that could be attributed to the Meroitic Period (Karberg 2005; Kleinitz 2007a) due to their similarity to the so-called ‘property marks’ of that era (Török 1972).

3.4 The Fifth Nile Cataract Area North of the Fifth Nile Cataract, the rock art site Kurgus is situated. Well known for its Pharaonic inscriptions (see Ch. Raue), some pictorial rock art is found at this site as well. At first glance, the few pecked, partly outlined, partly plane cattle and hunting scene depictions seem not very prominent. But since some of the 18th dynasty inscriptions are overlapping these rock art scenes, they provide a terminus ante quem for this type of rock art at least for this area, which allows some conclusions to be drawn about the long endurance of long-horned cattle depictions in Sudanese rock art (Davies 2003, 57, fig. 5).

3.5 Western Desert 3.5.1 Wadi Howar and Northern Darfur In Northern Darfur along the upper Wadi Howar and its northern and southern vicinity, surveys of the 1970s revealed some rock art sites which are not exceptionally rich, but which show some special characteristics which give them some significance for the discussion of Sudanese and Nubian rock art. The technique and style of the rock art of the upper Wadi Howar betrays a mixture of incised, pecked and painted rock drawings. Most of the motifs of the sites of Zolat el-Hammad, Wadi Hussein, Gelti Umm Tasawir, Merbo, and Idduguli consist of wild fauna and cattle depictions. Especially at Gelti Umm Tasawir and Idduguli, painted cattle in red and brown color has been found (Mohammed-Ali 1982, 105–107). The style of the depictions at these rock art sites and the fact that painted drawings occur quite often here place the rock art of the upper Wadi Howar closer to central Saharan rock art than to examples from the Nile Valley and its direct vicinity (Mohammed-Ali 1982, 109–110).

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The lower Wadi Howar was archaeologically surveyed during the project ‘Besiedlungsgeschichte der Ostsahara (B.O.S.)’ of the university of Cologne in 1983 and 1984. During these expeditions and later research carried out in this region, especially during the joint research program ACACIA (also conducted by the University of Cologne), some rock art sites in the lower Wadi Howar were documented. In particular, in the vicinity of the Kushite fortress of Gala Abu Ahmed several very deeply patinated net-shaped patterns were documented (Jesse 2005, 30–31).

3.5.2 Jebel Uweinat At the Jebel Uweinat at the very north-western edge of the Sudanese Western desert (close to the border to Egypt and Libya) the rock art sites of the Uweinat were studied by a Belgian team from 1968 till 1969 (van Noten 1978), after it was already visited by earlier desert expeditions which already documented several rock art specimens, among them the famous ‘cave of the swimmers’ (Almásy 1997; Winkler 1939). Contrary to most other rock art in Sudan and Nubia, painted depictions are predominant at this prominent rock art site, but engravings (mostly pecked) also occur (van Noten 1978, 14–15). The motifs of the rock art at the Uweinat consist mainly of several animals, among them wild fauna represented mainly by giraffes, ostriches and gazelles (Misonne 1978, 18–20), and different variations of long- and short horned cattle (Misonne 1978, 20–22). Camel depictions (Misonne 1978, 22) and hunting scenes including dogs (Misonne 1978, 23) also occur in some quantity. Besides the animal depictions, anthropomorphic figures occur (van Noten 1978, 24–25). Interestingly, all wild fauna representations are pecked, while the vast majority of the cattle depictions are painted; hunting scenes are, again, pecked. Anthropomorphic figures, often armed, occur painted (or sometimes pecked) together with cattle depictions (herders) as well as pecked within hunting scenes (hunters). Van Noten (1978, 26–28) estimates an internal chronology of the site’s rock art, with an early pecked wild fauna phase, an intermediate cattle phase, and a late phase with the hunting scenes, which he calls ‘protohistorical’ (van Noten 1978, 28).

3.6 Eastern Desert Rock art in the Sudanese Eastern Desert is, until today, not very intensively studied (contrary to the Egyptian Eastern Desert). As one example, the rock art station of Bir Nurayet south of the Halaib triangle was documented between 1997 and 1999 (Pluskota 2012). The most prominent motifs are cattle and camel depictions, sometimes chronologically distinguishable by their different patina on the same rock panel (Pluskota 2012, 64, fig. 4.9). Several anthropomorphic figures and wild fauna depictions (an elephant) are also to be found there (Pluskota 2012, 64, fig. 4.8). All documented depictions are pecked, partly in outline, partly (for example belted cat-

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tle) plane. Disregarding the distance to other Nubian rock art areas and the proximity to the Egyptian Eastern Desert with its well-documented rock art stations, Pluskota estimates (due to the predominant pastoralist motifs of the rock art station) stronger connections to the Lower Nubian A-Group than to Pre-Dynastic or Dynastic Egypt (Pluskota 2012, 64–65).

3.7 Ghazali Some rock art sites are situated in the lower Wadi Abu Dom in the vicinity of the monastery of Ghazali, and were discovered during an archaeological survey conducted by the University of Muenster. Some of them portray Christian motifs obviously connected with the monastery, among them a church depiction which most probably can be interpreted as a direct representation of the monastery’s main church (Karberg 2014, 1139). Deeply patinated spiral and net-shaped motifs seem to date to a rather early, presumably Neolithic Period (Karberg 2014, 1140–1141). At one rock art station, a large number of cattle depictions were documented, many of them of types and styles widespread also at the nearby Fourth Nile Cataract area (Karberg 2009, 133–134). Interestingly, at least one (but a prominently placed and depicted) cattle representation is paralleled not in the regional vicinity, but in Lower Nubia (Váhala/Červiček 1999, 192, 195–196; Otto/Buschendorf-Otto 1993, 319).

3.8 Jebel Geili At Jebel Geili and in its wider vicinity some rock art has been documented. Among the rock art stations in this area of the eastern Keraba (sometimes also called Butana) the so-called victory monument of Shorkaror, first described in the 1920s (Crowfoot 1920), plays a very special role. The fact that the monument was cut into a natural rock surface without carving any kind of stela or similar construction out of the stone defines it clearly as ‘rock art’, but contrary to most of the other pieces of art described in this chapter its style and technique proves that it is an element of an official art supported by the states authorities, and supporting their ideological claims. Shorkaror is depicted in a royal Meroitic costume, armed with a bow and arrows, giving him the attributes of a warrior. An unknown solar deity (depicted in a Hellenized style) grants him a bundle of bound captives with one hand, and durrha (sorghum) with the other, representing victory and fertility. More bound captives are depicted below Shorkaror’s feet. Additionally, more enemies are shown falling down from somewhere up above (Hintze 1959, 189–192). F. Hintze (1959, 190) interprets the monument as a memorial for a Meroitic victory against invading Axumites, an interpretation which would cause some chronological problems. L. Török (1997, 466–467) writes about a more general ‘pacification’ of the southern Butana/Keraba, undertaken in order to (re)gain control over trade routes connecting the Meroe region to the south.

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In the vicinity of the Shorkaror monument at Jebel Geili, and also further east near Jebel Rau, some sites with more common rock art are found, depicting giraffes, cattle and camels in pecked technique and planar style (Hintze 1959, 192–194). It remains unclear whether they are in any way directly connected to the Shorkaror depiction.

4 Common Motifs in Nubian Rock Art Within the above mentioned different rock art areas of Sudan and Nubia, several animal depictions are predominant (Fig. 2). Cattle depictions are, in fact, the most common motif in Sudanese and Nubian rock art (Fig. 3). They occur in a very large variety, which can be differentiated by the depiction of their color, horn form and the structure of their back. The length and form of horns (long or short horned cattle forms (Otto/Buschendorf-Otto 1993, 59, fig. 62)), and wide, round or lyra-shaped horn depictions (Otto/Buschendorf-Otto 1993, 157, fig. 324) and the color of the hide – either densely (Váhala/Červiček 1999, pl. 38.139) or widely (Karberg 2009, 133) spotted, or belted (Otto/Buschendorf-Otto 1993, 173, fig. 359) – might indi-

Fig. 2: A rock gong within the lower Wadi Abu Dom.

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Fig. 3: A cattle depiction from the lower Wadi Abu Dom.

cate common aesthetical concepts and therefore cultural parallels between different regions, but their use for a chronological mapping is very limited. Wild fauna depictions are also a common motif, and, at the first glance, it seems to be an interesting idea to attribute them to a period where the hinterland of the Nile Valley was a green savannah which could provide sufficient grazing grounds for animals like giraffes and elephants. It is likewise an intriguing prospect to date them to the Prehistoric era of the ‘Green Sahara’ in a way similar to what was done to construct chronological boundaries for the ‘Wild Fauna Period’ for Saharan rock art. Nevertheless, there are several indications that such an assumption would not match the facts. For giraffe depictions, comparisons with Meroitic ceramic decorations as well as building graffiti (Kleinitz 2012, 39–40) reveal that many of these rock drawings might date much younger than the ‘Green Sahara’ of the African Humid Period. This could also be true for elephant depictions: This animal was a quite popular motif within Meroitic art, a fact which may also allow us to draw some parallels to its depiction in rock art. According to some authors, the most recent elephant depictions in Sudanese rock art are to be dated to the Christian Medieval Period (Bakhiet 2014, 1058). Representations of anthropomorphic figures also contain a wide variety of motifs and styles. Many of them are simple human figures consisting of linear strokes (Hellström/Langballe 1970, Corpus A), sometimes armed with swords or bows. Generally, the greatest variety of depiction styles is found in Lower Nubia with Egyp-

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Fig. 4: Church representation (perhaps the monastery’s church itself) south of the monastery of Ghazali.

tianized figures (Váhala/Červiček 1999, pl. 94.368) as well as figures with masks (?), who appear in an unusual dance-like position which resembles some drawings from the central Sahara (Otto/Buschendorf-Otto 1993, 301, fig. 681). Further to the south, more anthropomorphic figures tend to be of simple design – at the Fourth Nile Cataract, for example, only few elaborate human depictions exist, mostly dating to the Medieval Period (Kleinitz/Koenitz 2006, 42, fig. 10), are found. Among Christian motifs, church depictions have a wide variety. In some parts of the Sudan, depictions of large, multi-naved churches are present in rock art (Fig. 4), for example at Sabu (Chittick 1962, 332, fig. 6), Ghazali (Karberg 2014, 1139), or at the Fourth Nile Cataract (Budka 2005, 71, fig. 1). Additionally, at the Fourth Nile Cataract, simpler church depictions are common, which depict small single-domed buildings. Interestingly, these depictions betray some close parallels to (Lower Nubian) boat depictions (Engelmayer 1965), which makes attribution not always easy (Budka 2005, 71). Geometric motifs are another important category of rock art motifs. Some of them belong most probably to the oldest examples of rock art in Sudan, like spirals (Fig. 6) and net-shaped geometric patterns (Fig. 5) dating back to the Neolithic Period (Karberg 2014, 1140–1141) (Allard-Huard 1993, 153). On the other hand, in Lower Nubia some spiral motifs (but of completely different geometric design and patina) are dated to the Roman and Islamic Periods (Verner 1974, 69–70). Another

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Fig. 5: Net-shaped (Palaeolithic or Neolithic) rock engraving south of the Wadi Abu Dom.

Fig. 6: Spiral-shaped (Palaeolithic or Neolithic) rock engraving south of the Wadi Abu Dom.

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class of geometric motifs are the widespread so-called ‘property marks’ or ‘magical signs’ (Kleinitz 2007a), which are to be dated in many cases rather clearly to the Meroitic Period (Török 1972), and in some cases are associated with cattle depictions, probably to be interpreted as brandings of unknown function (Karberg 2005).

5 Conclusions This chapter has described the wide variety of Sudanese and Nubian rock art exemplified at some prominent and interesting rock art sites. The question of whether a ‘Sudanese’ or ‘Nubian rock art province’ with close internal cultural connections is definable is still open. Rock art from Lower Nubia, the Third and the Fourth Nile Cataract areas show some similarities, but also contain differences regarding the range of motifs and their specific styles. A common feature of most of the Sudanese and Nubian rock art is the predominance of pecked (and sometimes incised) depictions over rock paintings – a significant difference to the Saharan rock art areas. Only the rock art sites within the Sudanese Western Desert share more similarities to them concerning technique and style, and seem, in general, to be more ‘Saharan’ than ‘Nubian’. When dealing with Sudanese and Nubian rock art, some scholars emphasize the similarities between Saharan and Nile Valley rock art (Leclant/Huard 1980), while others interpret the Nubian rock art by itself without reference to the chronological framework assumed for some Saharan rock art areas (Kleinitz 2012). The dating of some long-horned cattle, as well as hunting scenes and wild fauna like giraffes and elephants, to the Meroitic Period makes the applicability of Saharan rock art chronology (disregarding their internal problems not to be discussed here) rather doubtful.

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Otto, Karl-Heinz / Buschendorf-Otto, Gisela (1993): Felsbilder aus dem sudanesischen Nubien. Publikation der Nubien-Expedition 1961–1963. Text- und Tafelteil sowie Distriktkarten. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. Paner, Henryk / Borcowski, Zbigniew (2005): Gdańsk Archaeological Museum Expedition. A Summary of Eight Season’s Work at the Fourth Cataract. In: Paner, Henryk / Jakobielski, Stefan (eds.): Proceedings of “The Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract”, Gdańsk – Gniew, 23–25 July 2004. In Memory of Lech Krzyżaniak (1940–2004), Francis Geus (1942– 2005). Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports 4. Gdańsk: Archaeological Museum, p. 89–115. Pluskota, Krzysztof (2012): The Journey to the Rock Art Gallery of Bir Nurayet (Sudan). In: Barnard, Hans / Duistermaat, Kim (eds.): The History of the Peoples of the Eastern Desert. Monograph 73. Los Angeles: The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, p. 59–65. Suková, Lenka (2011a): The Rock Art of Lower Nubia (Czechoslovak Concession). Prague: Charles University, Faculty of Arts. Suková, Lenka (2011b): The Rock Paintings of Lower Nubia. Prague: Charles University, Faculty of Arts. Török, László (1972): A Special Group of Meroitic Property marks from the 1st to 2nd Century AD. In: Meroitic Newsletter 10, p. 35–44. Török, László (1997): The Kingdom of Kush. Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. Handbook of Oriental Studies. I: The Near and Middle East. Vol. 31. Leiden/New York/ Cologne: Brill. Tsakos, Alexandros (2007): On the Medieval Inscriptional Material from M.D.A.S.P. In: Näser, Claudia / Lange, Mathias (eds.): Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract. Berlin, August 4th–6th, 2005. Meroitica. Schriften zur altsudanesischen Geschichte und Archäologie 23. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 235–246. Tsakos, Alexandros (2018): Inscriptions in Greek Script on Rock Outcrops in the Wadi Abu Dom. In: Lohwasser, Angelika / Karberg, Tim / Auenmüller, Johannes (eds.): Bayuda Studies. Proceedings of the First International Archaeological Bayuda Conference. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Váhala, František / Červíček, Pavel (1999): Katalog der Felsbilder aus der Tschechoslowakischen Konzession in Nubien. 2 Bde. Prague: Charles University/Karolinum. van Noten, Francis (1978): Rock Art of the Jebel Uweinat (Libyan Sahara). Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt. Verner, Miroslav (1974): Some Nubian Petroglyphs on Czechoslovak Concessions: Rock Drawings of Foot and Sandal Prints, Symbols and Signs, and Erotica from Czechoslovak Concessions in Nubia. Acta Universitatis Carolinae: Philologica 45. Prag: Charles University. Wendorf, Denver Fred / Close, Angela E. / Schild, Romuald (1989): Early Domestic Cattle and Scientific Methodology. In: Krzyżaniak, Lech / Kobusiewicz, Michał (eds.) (1989): Late Prehistory of the Nile Basin and the Sahara. Proceedings of the International Symposium organized by the Archaeological Commission of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań Branch, Dymaczewo near Poznań, 11–15 September, 1984. Poznań Studies in African Archaeology 2. Poznań: Archaeological Museum, p. 61–69. Winkler, Hans Alexander (1939): Rock-drawings of Southern Upper Egypt (including Uweinat). Vol. II: Sir Robert Mond Desert Expedition, Season 1937–1938. Preliminary Report. Archaeological Survey of Egypt. London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press for the Egyptian Exploration Society.

Friederike Jesse

Fending off the Desert Dwellers – The Gala Abu Ahmed Fortress and other fortified Places in the South Libyan Desert Introduction The ‘Green Sahara’ is a well-known metaphor for describing the Holocene Humid Period in North Africa, which took place approximately 12,000 and 5,000 years ago. ‘Green Sahara’ evokes a landscape apt for human settlement and, indeed, hunter-gatherers thrived in the savannah-type landscapes of the Eastern Sahara (or Libyan Desert) during the Early and Middle Holocene. With increasing aridity and consequently changing environments, other economic adaptations arose: different forms of pastoralism with a strong focus on cattle (e.g. Kuper/Riemer 2013; Jesse et al. 2013). Areas of human settlement shifted gradually to the south and eventually ceased, as also in Wadi Howar in the southernmost part of the Libyan Desert during the late 2nd millennium BC (Kuper/Kröpelin 2006; Jesse/Keding 2007) (Fig. 1). A long-time ‘terra incognita’, the first exploration of the Libyan Desert started in the early 20th century, but it was only in the 1970s when archaeological research intensified.1 Concerning the south Libyan Desert, especially the fieldwork carried out by different Cologne research projects (B.O.S., ACACIA and Gala Abu Ahmed)2 as well as the Selima Oasis Project (SOP) (Jesse et al. 2015) and the University of Khartoum’s El-Ga’ab Basin Project (e.g. Yahia Fadl Tahir 2013) allowed scholars to decipher the story of human occupation during the Holocene. Geoscientific work by, e.g., the Berlin SFB 69 added to this picture (e.g. Kröpelin 1993; Pachur/Altmann 2006). It could be shown that even after the onset of today’s aridity around 3500 BC, the Libyan Desert was not completely barren land but still offered zones of activity either for pastoral groups – the desert dwellers of Pharaonic texts – or the Empires in the Nile Valley themselves. In the south Libyan Desert, pastoral groups belong to the Handessi Horizon of the late 3rd–late 2nd millennium BC (Jesse 2006a). For the 1st millennium BC archaeological evidence is scarce, but pastoral groups can still be assumed to have occupied this region. Thoroughfares such as, e.g., the Abu Ballas Trail (e.g. Förster 2015) reveal evidence for vital economic

1 For the history of early research, see Hinkel 1979. 2 B.O.S. stands for ‘Besiedlungsgeschichte der Ostsahara’ and ACACIA for ‘Arid Climate Adaptation and Cultural Innovation in Africa’. For the different projects see, e.g., Kuper 1995; Bubenzer et al. 2007; Jesse 2013. For informations and pictures see also the African Archaeology Archive Cologne (AAArC): arachne.dainst.org/project/afrarchcologne. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-044

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Fig. 1: The south Libyan Desert with the location of Gala Abu Ahmed fortress (7) and other sites mentioned in the text (Map: Forschungsstelle Afrika). 1 – Jebel Sahaba; 2 – Dorginarti; 3 – Dabnarti; 4 – Karni Island; 5 – Fura Wells; 6 – El-Hosh; 7 – Gala Abu Ahmed; 8 – El-Kueibi; 9 – El-Kab; 10 – Selima; 11 – Jebel al-Ain.

Fig. 2: Gala Abu Ahmed fortress seen from the north (Photo: ACACIA Project 1997).

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interests, and fortified places indicate the need of setting borders. The most impressive place in this regard is certainly the fortress Gala Abu Ahmed in lower Wadi Howar (Fig. 2).

Gala Abu Ahmed The massive stone structure of Gala Abu Ahmed (henceforth GAA) is situated in the lower part of Wadi Howar, about 110 km from the Nile Valley (Fig. 1). It was discovered by a B.O.S. expedition team from the University of Cologne in January 1984.3 An initial groundplan was then drawn (Kuper 1988, 137), which suggested a date going back to Meroitic times (Kröpelin 1993, 139–140). First, small test trenches were excavated during the ACACIA project in 2002 and 2006. On the basis of the finds and first radiocarbon dates, an occupation of the fortress at the time of the Napatan Kingdom (c. 900–400 BC) could then be proposed (Jesse/Kuper 2006; Jesse 2006b, 50–51). Between 2008 and 2011, three excavation seasons took place under the auspices of Cologne University’s GAA project: a detailed architectural survey and the excavation of several trenches inside and outside the fortress as well as a geophysical survey revealed details of the architecture and the remains of buildings or other structures in the interior.4

Description The GAA fortress, an impressive structure with projecting bastions, encloses an area of about 180 × 120 m, and was built on a low terrace of lower Wadi Howar (Kröpelin 1993, 105). The area is still an ecologically favoured one, with patches of vegetation growing in the valley to the north-east of the fortress (Kröpelin 1993, 139). A crosssection shows that the fortress was built on a sandstone outcrop, still partly visible in the interior. Its structure follows the topography of this outcrop, which accounts for the slightly irregular trapezoidal shape (Fig. 3). The massive curtain walls are about 4.5 m high and, on average, 6 m wide (between 8.5 m at the north-west corner and 4.4 m at the south-eastern corner; see Eigner 2013, 312). The walls are built of dry-stone masonry (Fig. 4): Regular, naturally shaped sandstone blocks were placed horizontally or vertically to form a ‘skin’ or casing over the inner core. Horizontally arranged stones were used for the bastions and gateways, vertically placed stones

3 See Jesse/Kuper 2006, with reference for earlier literature; for the history of the name, see Ibid., 135, note 1. 4 E.g. Eigner/Jesse, 2009; Jesse/Peters 2009; Eger et al. 2010; Flache 2012; Eigner 2013; Jesse 2013. For pictures see AAArC: arachne.dainst.org/project/afrarchcologne.

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Fig. 3: Groundplan of Gala Abu Ahmed fortress (adapted from Eigner 2013, 311, fig. 3).

for the curtain walls.5 An explanation for the vertically placed stones – a weaker type of masonry – cannot be given at present. Rectangular bastions were added. Except for the northern enclosure wall, an attempt was made to maintain a distance of approximately 26 m between two bastions. At each corner, the bastions were set at right angles to one another (Fig. 3). The discovery of the remains of a parapet on top of the enclosure walls, especially on the southern, eastern and northern parts of the curtain walls and bastions (Fig. 3), indicate that the walls are fully preserved here. The width of the parapet is 50–70 cm, which suggests a height of about 1.2 m. Given the dry stone construction, there was probably no crenellation (Eigner/Jesse 2009, 146–147; Eigner 2013, 310–311). Two gateways, one on the northern and one on the eastern side, allow access to the building (Fig. 3). Staircases lead to the top of the walls. Excavation revealed that the building was erected directly on the sandstone bedrock. Rectangular recesses cut into the bedrock under the northern gateway very probably supported the sleeper beam of the door (Eigner/Jesse 2009, 144–145; Jesse/Peters 2009, 62–63).

5 Eigner 2013, 313–314; see also Jesse/Kuper 2006, 138; Eigner/Jesse 2009, 146.

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Fig. 4: Detail of the northern curtain wall of Gala Abu Ahmed fortress showing the vertically and horizontally placed sandstone slabs (Photo: ACACIA Project 1995).

Fig. 5: Aerial photograph of the Gala Abu Ahmed fortress. The stone alignments east of the fortress are clearly visible (Photo: Gala Abu Ahmed Project 2009).

On the eastern side of the fortress, stone alignments are clearly oriented towards the eastern gateway (Figs. 3 and 5). Excavations here revealed the presence of massive walls made of large quartzite boulders, very probably the foundation of a porch with a superstructure made of perishable material (Eger et al. 2010). In the north-

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ern part of the outwork, another room of trapezoidal shape with an opening to the north, towards the valley, was recorded, which might have been a gatehouse. The porch then might have been a resting place for caravans, or a ‘killing field’ (Eigner 2013, 313). In view of the outwork, the eastern gateway would seem to be the more prominent entrance and the building would therefore have been oriented to the east, towards the Nile Valley. The northern gateway faces the wadi channel and might therefore correspond to the ‘river gateway’ of the fortresses in the Nile Valley. Locally available sandstone was mainly used as the raw material for the construction of GAA. Quartzite blocks are occasionally observed in the curtain walls of the main enclosure and are the dominant raw material for the eastern outwork. The walls were built of dry stone masonry: mortar was only observed in the lowest layers of the south-west corner of the fortress (Eigner 2013, 314). The building was constructed in sections (Jesse/Peters 2009, 62). The southern curtain wall can be regarded as one such section: The curtain wall was built first, and the bastions added afterwards (Eigner 2013, 315–316). The western enclosure wall, but also parts of the northern wall, suggest that the fortress was not finished – the lack of a parapet on the western wall, in particular, supports this conclusion (Eigner/Jesse 2009, 147; Eigner 2013, 311–312).

The Interior of the Fortress Some structures, such as stone circles of different sizes in the north-eastern and north-western corners, were visible on the surface and therefore already indicated on the first groundplan (Kuper 1988, 137, fig. 7). The remains of further buildings were excavated between 2008 and 2011 (Figs. 3 and 5). Geophysical surveys, however, attest that the interior of the fortress had not been fully developed, and it is likely that there were large open spaces (Jesse 2013, 324–325).6 The stone circle measuring about 20 m in diameter in the north-west corner was first interpreted as a cistern (Jesse/Kuper 2006, 138); during excavation, walls were found beneath the windblown sand (area 9; see Fig. 3), but it was not possible to confirm that this structure had been used for water management. An interpretation that this was an animal pen has been proposed (Eigner 2013, 311; Jesse 2013, 327). In area 6, the remains of a building with a rectangular groundplan (about 10 × 9 m) with three rooms and further additions to the south were recorded. The walls are constructed of irregular stone blocks bonded with clay mortar and still preserved up to a height of about 1.1 m. An official residence was probably located here (Eigner/Jesse 2009, 147–148; Eigner 2013, 316). This hypothesis is supported by the analysis of the faunal remains found in area 6: They evidenced a large amount of very young small-livestock animals. A strong preference for the meat of

6 For the geomagnetic survey see also Jesse 2006b, 50–51.

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Fig. 6: The western rotunda, one of the granaries in the Gala Abu Ahmed fortress seen from the north (Photo: Gala Abu Ahmed Project 2011).

very young animals (lambs, kids, calves) is usually regarded as a sign of luxury, and thus of the high status of the consumers.7 The excavation of area 10 revealed a building complex with a suite of courtyards and rooms that formed habitation units. The building was erected directly on the natural sandstone outcrop. Foundation trenches picked in the bedrock indicate a careful preparation of the building. When necessary, an equalizing layer of sandy sediment mixed with sandstone debris was applied, on which a clay floor was then laid. The walls are preserved up to two or three courses high; clay mortar was used for bonding. In the eastern part of area 10 the large number of ostrich-eggshell beads as well as small finds such as beads and amulets made of faience, stone and − to a lesser extent − metal (copper, copper alloy and iron) might indicate a sacred area (Jesse 2013, 342; see also Jesse/Kuper 2006, 141–142, 147). Here, no architectural remains are preserved, but there could have been at least one further large room or courtyard (Fig. 3). To the north of the complex building in area 10, two circular structures were excavated: Partly superimposed on these is a third circular structure, which is very probably of more recent date (Fig. 3). The completely excavated western rotunda has an internal diameter of about 5.6 m (Fig. 6). The wall, of which up to six courses

7 See Eigner/Jesse 2009, 153; Jesse 2013, 340–341; Linseele/Pöllath 2015, 571.

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Fig. 7: The probable well at site S09/1 close to the Gala Abu Ahmed fortress. Detail of the wall (Photo: Gala Abu Ahmed Project 2009).

of stone blocks are still preserved, is slightly inclined towards the centre of the rotunda, which would suggest a domed building. The two rotundas with a reconstructed height of about 5.6 m can be interpreted as granaries (Flache 2012). It is still an open question whether the existing buildings were made entirely of stone, or whether mud-brick (or galus) had been used for the construction of the upper sections.8 Inside the buildings recorded in areas 6 and 10, different features were observed: ash layers, pointing to the presence of hearths, and storage facilities, such as vessels set into the floors or a clay-lined pit about 70 cm in diameter.9 No signs of a well or cistern were found inside the fortress. About 100 m to the north-west of the fortress, what was probably a well was discovered (Fig. 7). A wall of ancient appearance encloses an area approximately 6 m in diameter (site S09/1). The wall was more than 4.5 m high and was made mainly of sandstone blocks bonded with clay mortar, a construction method very similar to that of the buildings inside the fortress (Eigner/Jesse 2009, 143–144; Eigner 2013, 309–310).

8 Eigner/Jesse 2009, 147–148; Eigner 2013, 316; Jesse 2013, 330. 9 Jesse/Peters 2009, 64; Eigner/Jesse 2009, 150; Jesse 2013, 331–332.

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The Archaeological Material A large amount of archaeological material was found during the excavations at GAA: numerous pottery sherds, lithic objects and small finds made of various kinds of material (faience, glass, metal) and bones.10 Several objects indicate that GAA must have been an important place during the Napatan Period: An udjat-eye made of silver, with grooves left by former inlays and traces of gilding (Lohwasser 2004, 159), for example, or a bronze figure of the Egyptian god Thoth (height 5.6 cm), completely gilded, which would have been worn as an amulet (Zumkley 2011). Fragments of about ten New Year’s flasks made of faience (e.g. Lohwasser 2004, 151– 156), small fragments of glass vessels with forms similar to lekythoi or oinochai and a total of 49 fragments of Greek pottery, mostly lekythoi (Fiedler/Jesse 2011), were also found. Like the sherds of marl clay vessels and cowrie shells, these finds indicate that the occupants of GAA had far reaching contacts – up to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The small finds also include a few inscribed pieces with parts of Napatan kings’ names written in Egyptian hieroglyphs: Among these kings are Shabaqo, Aspelta and Malonaqen, all rulers of the period between the mid-8th and mid-6th century BC (Lohwasser 2009, 161–162). The pottery uncovered comprises a wide spectrum of vessel types and wares (marl clay and alluvial clays). Utilitarian vessels are predominant and include jars, cooking pots and various kinds of bowls (Jesse 2016). Among the lithic objects were more than 200 arrowheads – not very surprising in a fortress − made of chalcedony, quartz and quartzite with bifacial retouch (Jesse 2013, 335). Stone was also used to make ornaments such as bracelets or amulets or simple sandstone figures mainly representing animals, for example baboons or cattle (e.g. Jesse/Kuper 2006, 140– 141; Jesse 2013, 355–356). A large amount of grinding stones also point to daily life tasks, as do the discovered plant remains and animal bones. Wild grasses were locally collected and emmer obviously imported from the Nile Valley.11 The animal food waste corresponds to ‘ordinary’ settlement waste: Sheep, goat and cattle are predominant, and herds were kept close to the fortress (Linseele/Pöllath 2015, 572).

Dating GAA was occupied roughly between 1250 and 400 BC, thus in the period between the final stage of the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BC) and the end of the Napatan Kingdom (c. 900–400 BC). This is indicated by 37 radiocarbon dates (Jesse 2013,

10 See, e.g., Jesse/Kuper 2006; Lohwasser 2004; 2009; Eigner/Jesse 2009; Eger et al. 2010; Jesse 2013; 2016; Linseele/Pöllath 2015; Lahitte 2016; Lahitte/Daszkiewicz 2018. 11 Jesse 2013, 342; Eichhorn 2013; Kahlheber 2013.

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329, Tab. 1), but also by the archaeological material. Two phases become apparent: the first between about 1200 and 900 BC, the second dating from the mid-8th to mid-6th century BC. The fortress seems to have been abandoned in the Meroitic Period, starting at around 400 BC. There is no evidence of violent destruction or of a later use of GAA (Jesse 2013, 344). Some of the radiocarbon dates can be used to determine the age of the fortress itself: A possible foundation deposit excavated in the north-eastern corner dates to around 1100 BC (Jesse 2013, 344; see also Eigner/Jesse 2009, 150). Radiocarbon samples taken from a hearth right at the base of the southern enclosure wall give a terminus ad quem or ante quem for the construction of the fortress around 1000– 900 BC.12 Thus it can be assumed that GAA was constructed at the end of the New Kingdom or during the Third Intermediate Period (Jesse 2016, 299–301).

Comparisons GAA was oriented towards the Nile Valley. This is indicated by the archaeological material as well as by the layout of the fortress and the way it was constructed. A central power would have been needed for such a construction and its maintenance and, at that time, this only existed in the Nile Valley. In the south Libyan Desert, pastoral groups of the Handessi Horizon are attested up to the end of the 2nd millennium BC (Jesse 2006a), and pastoral groups can be presumed to have inhabited the area during the 1st millennium BC even if archaeological evidence is scarce (Jesse 2006b, 49). During the New Kingdom, the Egyptian Empire reached as far as the Fourth Cataract region. Even if the central Egyptian power itself was not the driving force behind the construction of GAA, local rulers were present south of the Third Cataract. This is manifested, e.g., in a cemetery excavated at Hillat el-Arab, very probably the burial ground of local elites from the 19th Dynasty onwards, or in el-Kurru, which is also the burial place of the ancestors of the 25th Dynasty (Vincentelli 2006; Edwards 2004).13 At GAA, Egyptian methods of construction dating back to the Middle Kingdom can be observed (Jesse/Kuper 2006, 146), and the impressive fortifications erected in the region of the Second Cataract over a relatively short period during the 12th Dynasty might well have served as a model. They all have rectangular bastions and

12 One sample (faeces) was even dated to around 1270 cal BC (3010 ± 35 bp; Poz-36018) (Jesse 2013, 329). 13 For the area between the Dongola Reach and the Fourth Cataract during the 2nd and 1st millennium BC in general, see Welsby/Welsby Sjöström 2007. Taking the long chronology proposed by Török (1997, 92, Tab. F and p. 112–113) into account, the first burials at el-Kurru could be attributed to the end of the 11th century BC.

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sometimes towers that are arranged crosswise at the corners of the walls. This chain of fortifications was reactivated in the New Kingdom Period (Adams 1984, 176–181, 218–220). Military installations from the Kushite Period are not well known, even if the military was obviously of great importance: Six overseers of fortresses are mentioned on the Election Stela of king Aspelta (late 7th/early 6th century).14 Unfortunately, no information could be found concerning the names or locations of these fortresses. Close parallels to GAA are therefore limited in number (Figs. 1 and 8; Table): In the Nile Valley, the fortifications of Dorginarti, Dabnarti and Jebel Sahaba, all in the Second Cataract region, should be mentioned, as well as the recent discovery at Karni Island close to the Fifth Nile Cataract.15 The latter is, however, badly preserved. In its western part only the ditches cut into the bedrock allowed the mapping of the ground plan. In contrast to the other Nile Valley forts, no excavation has been conducted yet; the attribution of a Napatan date for the structure is therefore mainly based on the groundplan (Drzewiecki 2012).16 Leaving the Nile Valley, only two sites can be mentioned so far: Fura Wells and El-Kueibi. The first is a watering place in the Bayuda, about halfway along the track from Meroe to Napata. Here, a nearly rectangular fortress is situated on the wadi shore, which, especially regarding the crosswise arranged bastions in its corners, bears much similarity to GAA (Fig. 9). No detailed study has taken place there as of yet. Fura Wells can be attributed to Meroitic times, based on surface finds of pottery and the presence of Meroitic tombs nearby.17 In the Gharb Depression, a well and an old fort were recorded early on at El-Kueibi (el-Kewieb).18 The fort has a square shape with projecting towers at each angle and is built of sandstone and a few pieces of granite. The walls are about 2 m thick, and their height reaches approximately 4 m. Two gates allow access on the east and on the west side (Fig. 10). A few pottery sherds, unfortunately not a diagnostic for dating, grinding stones and ostrich eggshell fragments are distributed on the surface inside the fort.19 There are common features, such as the rectangular bastions that are set at right angles to one another at the corners, two gateways or the presence of staircases in

14 Török 1997, 251; Welsby 1996, 40; Drziewicki 2013. For military installations in Kushite times see Welsby 2005. 15 Jesse/Kuper 2006, 143–144; Heidorn 2013; Ruby 1964; Säve-Söderbergh 1991; Drzewiecki 2012, 2013; see also Welsby 2005, 44–47. 16 The pottery observed at the site is unfortunately not diagnostic – a collected sample could only be attributed to the New Kingdom up to Meroitic times (Drzewiecki, pers. comm. 2016). 17 Crawford 1961, 36–38; Welsby 2005, 50; Jesse/Kuper 2006, 144. For pictures see AAArC: arachne.dainst.org/project/afrarchcologne. 18 The fort is recorded on the archaeological map of Sudan (Hinkel 1979, 125) and was registered as KE-36–2A by the el-Ga’ab Basin Project (Yahia Fadl Tahir 2013, 129). For pictures see AAArC: arachne.dainst.org/project/afrarchcologne. 19 Yahia Fadl Tahir 2013, 129. Derek Welsby suggests a Meroitic date for the structure (Lohwasser 2014, 128).

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Fig. 8: Kushite fortifications. 1 – Gala Abu Ahmed; 2 – Karni Island; 3 – Dabnarti; 4 – Fura Wells; 5 – Dorginarti; 6 – Jebel Sahaba (Nr. 1, 3–6 adapted from Jesse/Kuper 2006, figs. 2–3; Nr. 2 after Drzewiecki 2013).

the bastions flanking the gateways, which are present in some, but not in all, forts (see Table and Fig. 8). Vertical masonry has only been reported for Fura Wells; this is a common feature, however, in Christian times (e.g. Crawford 1961, 30 and pl. XXIb). Vertically placed stone slabs in the walls are also recorded at the semicircular enclosure built up against the southern slope of Jebel el-Hosh in the Bayuda (Fig. 1). The structure is difficult to date, although the Napatan Period has been suggested (Jesse/Kuper 2006, 144–145).20 However, no common paradigm of defensive architecture becomes apparent for the Kushite Period, also because the layout of the groundplans always depended on the respective topographical situation. The rarity of military installations seems to indicate ‘that on the whole the Kushites were not on the defensive’ (Welsby 2005, 53).

20 As the building is located at an entrance to Wadi Muqaddam, it might have been a ‘customs facility’ for caravans travelling to the north (Kendall, pers. comm. 2015).

X

X

X?

X

X

X

X

–

Jebel Sahaba

Dorginarti

Dabnarti

Karni Island

Fura Wells

Gala Abu Ahmed

El Kueibi

El Kab

–

–

X

?

X

?

X

X

Staircases

–

–

X

X

X

X

–

–

“Crossed Walls”

1m

2m

4.4−8.5 m ⌀6m

5.2 m

4.5−5.7 m

3−5 m

up to 8 m

1.7−3.4 m

Wall thickness

–

–

X

X

–

–

–

–

Vertical Masonry

stone

stone

stone

stone

stone

mud brick on stone foundations

mud brick, partly on stone foundations

stone and stone with mud brick casing

Material

2500*

4900

10 000

3500

c. 6000

15 400

4200

6800

Size (m2)

2 building phases

8th–6th century BC

probably Medieval / Islamic

Meroitic?

Late New Kingdom − Napatan

Meroitic?

Napatan?

not explored

not explored

partly unfinished?

not explored

badly disturbed

unfinished, never occupied

Inferior defensive power

not earlier than the 3rd Intermediate Period or 25th Dynasty

construction started in New Kingdom?; surface finds of late Christian times

Note

Date

* Only the size of the hilltop fort is considered. Compiled after Eigner 2013, 313, Table 1; Jesse / Kuper 2006, 143–145; Säve-Söderbergh 1991; Heidorn 2013; Ruby 1964; Drzewiecki 2012; Crawford 1961; Kröpelin 2006; Tahir 2013.

Two gates

Fortification

Tab 1: Kushite fortifications: Comparison of some architectural elements.

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Fig. 9: The fortress at Fura Wells in the Bayuda Desert (Photo: Jesse 2009).

Fig. 10: The El-Kueibi fortress (© Google Earth Satellite Image).

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Other fortified Places in the South Libyan Desert For Kushite times, the extremely small number of fortified places in the whole area of the south Libyan Desert has to be emphasized, a fact that does not change when one broadens the time frame. So far, no fortification older than GAA is known and very little evidence exists for the following periods. Only three localities (Fig. 1) can be named in this context: 1. Selima Oasis: Even if not directly fortified, the ancient building in Selima Oasis should be mentioned in this context due to its prominent position on a small mound commanding the surrounding territory (Fig. 11). The multiple-room building made of sandstone, quartzite and fossil wood measures 9.82 × 5.92 m and is oriented north-south. Mentioned already early on, the interpretations of its age and function are manifold and range from a Christian convent to a tavern on the Darb el-Arba’in managed by an amazon-like princess called Selima. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was used as a watchtower by the Police Post and therefore called ‘tabia’ (the fort) (Leach 1926, 43–44). Excavation in 2013 by the Selima Oasis Project (SOP) in different rooms of the building provided first radiocarbon dates pointing to medieval times (7th century AD and 10th– 12th century AD). Pottery sherds found in the upper levels in a sounding outside the building date to Early and Classic Christian times (Jesse et al. 2015, 164–167). 2. El-Kab: About 30 km north of El-Kueibi, at El-Kab, stone structures are present on two small hills close to Ga’ab Umm Hilal village (Fig. 12).21 On the flat-topped northern hill, a fortification was built extending about 84 m north-to-south and

Fig. 11: The ancient building at Selima Oasis seen from the west (Photo: Jesse 2013). 21 Yahia Fadl Tahir 2013, 127; Kröpelin 2006 describes the place by the name ‘Gala el-Sheikh’. For pictures see AAArC at arachne.dainst.org/project/afrarchcologne.

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Fig. 12: The stone structures at El-Kab (© Google Earth Satellite Image).

a maximum of 42 m east-to-west. The walls are up to 2 m high and about 1 m thick. They were constructed using dry-stone masonry with a rubble-filled core. Only one gateway on the south-east provides entrance to the fort (Kröpelin 2006, 187–188; see also Yahia Fadl Tahir 2013). An enclosure (max. northsouth extension 52 m, max. east-west extension 36 m) links the north-east foot of the hill with an adjacent minor hill, a probable animal pen or an additional quarter (Kröpelin 2006, 188). A little south, a further stone construction was erected at the south side of a small hill. The complex structure is composed of two units, both of which are sub-rectangular. The western unit measures c. 25 × 11 m with a gate. The eastern unit is c. 21 × 11 m large and abuts the foot of the hill. Sandstone blocks were used for the construction of the dry-stone masonry walls, which have a maximum height of 2.2 m, but which have collapsed in most parts (Kröpelin 2006, 189; Yahia Fadl Tahir 2013, 128). Pottery sherds and grinding stones were observed on the surface within the enclosure and some engraved crosses, interpreted as probable evidence of Christian presence, were noticed on the rock slabs at the top of the hill.22 The installations at El-Kab were linked with the GAA fortress (Kröpelin 2006, 189);23 however, finds of Turkish pipe bowls at the hilltop site suggest a date at the end of the 17th century. El-Kab might be connected with the Darb el-Arba’in (Smith 2003,

22 Yahia Fadl Tahir 2013, 128. 23 Petroglyphs were found on the hilltop, among them obviously also Demotic writing (see Kröpelin 2006, 188, fig. 6).

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160). The location is ideal for controlling the area and was certainly also used for this purpose. Jebel al-Ain (also: el-Ein): In a small valley at the border of Jebel al-Ain, a building complex was discovered by remote sensing (site FJE-2010–1). The valley itself was closed off by a wall with a simple gateway. Work on the ground helped to identify the building complex as a church, a basilica with three naves and a protruding apse, and a further building, probably a housing and/or storage unit. Box graves were recorded inside the valley enclosure as well as outside of it (Eger 2011, 115–116).24 The whole complex can be interpreted as a cloister. The ground plan of the church corresponds to the early Nubian type according to W. Y. Adams, which would allow a dating to the 8th century AD (Eger 2011, 116).

With the exception of El-Kab, the structures are not fortresses; all, however, have a protective aspect and all are isolated outposts in marginal areas. Only at Selima have initial excavations taken place so far. All described structures date to medieval times. Like at GAA and El-Kueibi, there remains a question of their role and function as well as the premises for their construction and choice of the respective localities in the south Libyan Desert.

The Role of Gala Abu Ahmed and other fortified Places in Marginal Areas Besides their indisputable military function, fortifications represent much more: They are important trading posts and stations controlling and securing the flow of raw materials and commercial goods, and, last but not least, extremely powerful symbols of possession, exclusion, independence, status and political power. Fortifications protect what is most valuable to the defenders, i.e. persons, homes, stored food and property, livestock and other wealth as well as trade and administrative centres and ritual loci (Keeley et al. 2007, 81). The fortifications known in the Nile Valley, the core area of power, are known to have contained all these same things. The military purpose of the chain of fortresses erected during the Middle Kingdom in the area of the Second Cataract was to secure the southern border of the Pharaonic Empire. These forts were reactivated in New Kingdom times when Egypt conquered Nubia up to the region of the Fourth Cata-

24 For pictures see AAArC (site S11/1) at arachne.dainst.org/project/afrarchcologne. Hinkel (1979, 154–155) mentions for el-Ein (NE-35-P/10–1-1 to 3) a well, a probable habitation site with rounded stone structures and the remains of a defence wall across the entrance to the gorge. This does not, however, seem to correspond to the structures at FJE 2010–1 (see Eger 2011, 120).

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ract. Rock inscriptions by Thutmose I and Thutmose III at Kurgus mark the southernmost point of Egyptian control (e.g. Török 1997, 93–94; Edwards 2004, 103– 105). The expansion was not always peaceful: From written sources we know of one of Egypt’s powerful opponents during the New Kingdom – Irem. Sety I as well as Ramesses II and Ramesses III campaigned against Irem (e.g. Morris 2005), but the location of this hostile state is still a matter of debate: The area of Kerma and also of regions further to the south or even south-west have been proposed.25 Later on, e.g. during the 20th Dynasty, there are Egyptian military activities in Nubia (Morris 2005, 782 ff.) and several conflicts with the tribesmen of the Eastern Desert are recorded from Kushite times. Looking to the west, the south Libyan Desert, such information is unfortunately not available. It has been ascertained that areas such as Wadi Howar and the Ennedi Highlands (Fig. 1) had an uninterrupted sequence of Holocene occupation up to the 2nd millennium BC (e.g. Jesse/Keding 2007; Keding et al. 2007), but only in a few places are there indications, confirmed by radiocarbon dates from charcoal and cattle bones, that these areas were still used by pastoral groups during the 1st millennium BC (e.g. Jesse 2006b, 49). Even if we know little about these pastoralists, they seem to have been a threat: ‘the greatest problem facing the Kushites on their frontiers was not the threat of invasions which (...) were extremely rare occurrences, but that of small-scale invasions’ (Welsby 1996, 44). GAA, for example, was established to show the flag and provide protection against these pastoral groups. Even if the extension of imperial power – either Egyptian or Kushite – to the west is obscure, since textual and archaeological evidence is scarce in this regard, there was economic interest in the Libyan Desert. This is evidenced by the exploration of different raw materials and by the logistic effort to establish and manage long-distance thoroughfares such as the Abu Ballas Trail, which linked the Dakhla oasis with Gilf Kebir and probably also regions even further to the south-west (Förster 2015). And the areas were controlled as is evidenced, for example, by the existence of patrolmen – also known as ‘Medjay’ or ‘Nuu’ from Pharaonic Egypt – in the desert west of the Nile (Darnell 2003). Even during late Kushite times the existence of some sort of desert police can be presumed: The Nastasen stela (second half of the 4th century BC) mentions that while resting at jsdrst (Isderes, very probably Fura Wells) on his journey to Napata, King Nastasen met people who, according to J. C. Darnell, were ‘police’ or ‘patrolmen’ (see Jesse/Kuper 2006, 146; Darnell 1997/98). Fura Wells is located on an important ancient traffic route at a point where abundant water is present. It was located therefore, at a strategically important point, the control of which was sufficient to efficiently control a large area. Both located close to watering places, GAA and El-Kueibi also secured strategically important places in the south Libyan Desert, where people had to pass by when mov-

25 See Edwards 2004, 105; for a location in the south-west see Vercoutter 1980.

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ing in such marginal areas. It can be presumed that both also controlled ancient trade and traffic routes.26 Unfortunately, not much is known about how far trade extended to the west and south or about its organization (Welsby 1996, 139; Edwards 2004, 139). Trade connections with Kordofan and Darfur or regions even further west are most probable; as with Wadi el-Melek and probably also Wadi Howar, there are easy routes through otherwise inhospitable country (see also Shinnie 1991, 50). It can also be assumed that a north-south route through the desert areas west of the Nile existed (see Kröpelin 1993, 140), which then might have passed by GAA and probably also El-Kueibi. Of interest in this regard is the remark: ‘We know also of a more recent route connecting Bir el ‘Ein with Matassi and Dakar el Arak at the south-western end of the Wadi el Qa’ab, continuing to Selima Oasis as the Sikkat el Kamalab’ (Hinkel 1979, 155). In the case of GAA, where a settlement site (site S01/7) is located to the northeast of the fortress, the structure certainly served as refuge for the surrounding population.27

Conclusion Forts in desert areas dating to Kushite times have features clearly indicating a military function (e.g. the curtain walls or the defended gates at GAA), but all forts presumably fulfilled multiple functions, as posts to secure watering places, trade and traffic routes, and/or places of refuge. In marginal areas it is sufficient merely to control strategically important points, such as watering places, in order to secure large territories. This also holds true for later periods. In medieval and later times, however, zones of activity and interest in the south Libyan Desert, as well as the network of trade and traffic routes, had obviously changed as compared to Kushite times, so that other locations became more important. With the probable exception of El-Kab, a military function does not seem particularly conspicuous, seeing the layout of the structures, but all medieval and later sites were certainly places of control and refuge. Our knowledge about the extension of power to the desert areas west of the Nile, as well as the use and control of these territories, is sparse for the Kushite Period, and the same holds true for medieval and later times, so answering such questions poses a serious challenge for future scholars. So far GAA remains an outstanding example of a fort designed for fending off desert dwellers.

26 On the satellite image modern tracks are clearly visible close to El-Kueibi, which might indicate the presence of even older pathways here. 27 Cattle bones found at site S01/7 were radiocarbon dated and point to settlement activity there at least during the 7th and 6th centuries BC (Jesse 2013, 325–326).

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Hinkel, Friedrich Wilhelm (1979): The Archaeological Map of the Sudan. Vol. II: The Area of the South Libyan Desert. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. Jesse, Friederike (2006a): Pastoral Groups in the Southern Libyan Desert: The Handessi Horizon (c. 2400–1100 BC). In: Kroeper, Karla / Chłodnicki, Marek / Kobusiewicz, Michał (eds.): Archaeology of Early Northeastern Africa. In Memory of Lech Krzyżaniak. Proceedings of the International Symposium organized by the Poznań Archaeological Museum, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Science, Poznań Branch and the International Commission of the Later Prehistory of Northeastern Africa held at the Poznań Archaeological Museum, Poznań Poland Juli 14th–18th 2003. Studies in African Archaeology 9. Poznań: Archaeological Museum, p. 987–1004. Jesse, Friederike (2006b): Cattle, Sherds and Mighty Walls – The Wadi Howar from Neolithic to Kushite Times. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 10, p. 43–54. Jesse, Friederike (2013): Far from the Nile – The Gala Abu Ahmed Fortress in Lower Wadi Howar (Northern Sudan). In: Jesse, Friederike / Vogel, Carola (eds.): The Power of Walls − Fortifications in Ancient Northeastern Africa. Proceedings of the International Workshop held at the University of Cologne 4th–7th August 2011. Colloquium Africanum. Beiträge zur Interdisziplinären Afrikaforschung 5. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 321–352. Jesse, Friederike (2016): Between the New Kingdom and Napata – The Pottery Assemblage of the Gala Abu Ahmed Fortress in Wadi Howar, Northern Sudan. In: Bader, Bettina / Knoblauch, Christian M. / Köhler, E. Christiana (eds.): Vienna 2 – Ancient Egyptian Ceramics in the 21st Century. Proceedings of the International Conference held at the University of Vienna, 14th–18th of May, 2012. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 245. Leuven: Peeters, p. 299–318. Jesse, Friederike / Keding, Birgit (2007): Holocene Settlement Dynamics in the Wadi Howar Region (Northern Sudan) and the Ennedi Mountains (Chad). In: Bubenzer, Olaf / Bolten, Andreas / Darius, Frank (eds.): Atlas of Cultural and Environmental Change in Arid Africa. Africa Praehistorica 21. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, p. 42–43. Jesse, Friederike / Kuper, Rudolph (2006): Napata in the West? – The Gala Abu Ahmed Fortress in Lower Wadi Howar (NW-Sudan). In: Archéologie du Nil Moyen 10, p. 135–159. Jesse, Friederike / Peters, Robin (2009): Petroglyphs under the Sand – A Preliminary Report on the Field Season 2008/09 at the Fortress Gala Abu Ahmed. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 13, p. 62–71. Jesse, Friederike / Gradel, Coralie / Derrien, Franck (2015): Archaeology at Selima Oasis, Northern Sudan – Recent Research. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 19, p. 161–169. Jesse, Friederike / Keding, Birgit / Lenssen-Erz, Tilman / Pöllath, Nadja (2013): “I hope your cattle are well”. Archaeological Evidence for Early Cattle-centred Behaviour in the Eastern Sahara of Sudan and Chad. In: Bollig, Michael / Schnegg, Michael / Wotzka, Hans-Peter (eds.): Pastoralism in Africa. Past, Present and Future. New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books, p. 66–103. Kahlheber, Stefanie (2013): Archaeobotanical Investigations at the Gala Abu Ahmed Fortress in Lower Wadi Howar, Northern Sudan – The Fruit and Seed Remains. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 17, p. 33–41. Keding, Birgit / Lenssen-Erz, Tilman / Pastoors, Andreas (2007): Pictures and Pots from Pastoralists. Investigations into the Prehistory of the Ennedi Highlands in NE Chad. In: Sahara 18, p. 23–46. Keeley, Lawrence H. / Fontana, Marisa / Quick, Russell (2007): Baffles and Bastions: The Universal Features of Fortifications. In: Journal of Archaeological Research 15, p. 55–95 (doi: 10.1007/s10814-006-9009-0; last accessed: 10. 05. 2017).

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Török, Laszlo (1997): The Kingdom of Kush. Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. Handbook of Oriental Studies. I: The Near and Middle East. Vol. 31. Leiden/New York/ Cologne: Brill. Vercoutter, Jean (1980): Le pays Irem et la pénétration égyptienne en Afrique (Stèle de Saï S. 579). In: Livre du Centenaire (1880–1980). Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale, p. 157–178. Vincentelli, Irene (2006): Hillat El-Arab. The Joint Sudanese-Italian Expedition in the Napatan Region, Sudan. Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication 15. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1570. Oxford: BAR Publishing. Welsby, Derek Anthony (1996): The Kingdom of Kush. The Napatan and Meroitic Empires. London: British Museum Press. Welsby, Derek Anthony (2005): The Kingdom of Kush. Urban Defences and Military Installations. In: Crummy, Nina (ed.): Image, Craft and the Classical World. Essays in Honour of Donald Bailey and Catherine Johns. Monographies Instrumentum 29. Montagnac: Monique Mergoil, p. 39–54. Welsby, Derek Anthony / Welsby Sjöström, Isabella Y. (2007): The Dongola Reach and the Fourth Cataract: Continuity and Change during the 2nd and 1st Millennia BC. In: Gratien, Brigitte (ed.): Mélanges offerts à Francis Geus: Égypte – Soudan. Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Égyptologie de Lille 26. Lille: Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III, p. 379–398. Yahia Fadl Tahir (2013): Archaeological, Ethnographical and Ecological Project of El-Ga’ab Basin in Western Dongola: A Report on the Second Season 2010. In: Sudan & Nubia. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 17, p. 124–130. Zumkley, Kira (2011): Eine Statuette des Thot aus Gala Abu Ahmed. In: Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 22, p. 105–114.

Indices (by Josephine Hensel) I Geographical Names Abdallah al-Irqi 914 Abdallah Nirqi 86 Abd el-Qadir 402, 717 Abidiya 729 Abisko 367, 571 Abka 183, 250 Abkur 905 f. Abraq 55 Abri 51, 955 Abri-Delgo Reach 50 Abu Ahmed 282 Abu Asal 1037 Abu Ballas Trail 1069, 1086 Abu Darbein 86, 181 Abudiya 222, 298, 570 Abu Erteila 736, 738 f., 751, 828 Abu Fatma 989, 991 f. Abu Geili 729, 747 f., 753, 948, 973 Abu Hagar (see Tarfaya) Abu Hamad (var. Abu Hamed) 8, 18, 27, 41, 47 f., 54, 171, 222, 296, 314, 595, 727, 993 f., 996, 1001 Abu Handal 396, 400, 402 Abu Hugar 157, 1040 Abu Mereigh (var. Abu Mereikh) 727, 755, 1002 f. Abu Negila Hills 1033 Abu Oda 515, 520, 525, 530 f., 536, 921 f., 933 Abu Qurun 1002 f. Abu Sari 33 Abu Sayal 370 Abu Sideir 908, 1002 f. Abu Simarat 1002 Abu Simbel 3, 7, 91, 301, 394, 396, 402, 404, 443, 515 f., 520, 524–527, 530, 671, 783, 796, 801 Abu Sir (var. Abusir) 53, 402–404 Abusir (Egypt) 659 Abu Sofyan 1032, 1034 Abu Tartur 196, 203 Abu Urug 1033 Abu Zwayel 32 Abydos 274, 278 f., 372, 396, 453, 474, 476, 570, 625, 698–701, 704–707 Adaima 275 https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110420388-045

Adam, el 200, 244 Adda 970 Adha Hareiq, el- 1032 Adindan 495, 923 Adulis 10 Affad Region 163 Afiya (var. Afiya, Afiyeh) 7, 86, 278, 281, 284 f., 628 Agordat 317, 335, 350, 355 Ain Farah 1037 Akad 732 Akasha (var. Aksha) 371, 400, 443, 524, 531, 969, 976 – West 400, 404 Alexandria 654 Alfreda 49 Ali, el 966 ʻAlim 742, 746 Allaqi-Heiani Belt 23 Alodia 75 f., 137, 885, 890, 905, 921, 944, 946, 948, 970–972 Alwa (see Alodia) Amada 4, 7, 301, 404, 513 f., 517 f., 522 f., 529 – New 529 Amara 318 f., 516, 832, 835 – East 629, 719, 835 – West 52, 86, 109, 114, 116, 119, 247, 319, 406, 433, 436, 442–456, 474, 476 f., 483 f., 533, 542, 544–546, 549, 551, 559 f., 591, 594 f., 602, 629, 676, 691, 835 Amara el-Nasri 747 Amarna (see Tell el-Amarna) Ambikol 52 Amentego East 722 Amir Abdallah 86, 719, 876 f. Amri 174 Amur-Nakasib Suture Zone 23 Aneibis 181 Aniba 4, 54, 106, 295, 299–303, 305–309, 312, 317–320, 322 f., 368, 370 f., 376, 378, 382, 434, 438–440, 444, 446 f., 456, 467, 474, 479, 482 f., 511, 513, 517, 521 f., 529 f., 544, 546, 549–552, 554, 556, 559– 562, 580 f., 595, 628 Ar, el- 755, 906, 913, 998

1094

Indices

Arabian Peninsula 23, 183, 338 Arabian Shield 18 f. Arabian-Nubian Shield 16–19, 34 Arbaji 972 Arduan Island 50, 222, 224, 316, 719, 991 Areika 305, 368, 436, 797 Argin (var. Arkin) 157, 594, 628, 717 – South 801 Argo Island 534, 722, 856, 951 Arib, el 283 Arkinia 241 f., 244, 247 Armant 268, 270, 282 f., 570 Arminna 106, 120, 798 – West 86, 716, 956 Artoli 1002 Asasif 700–704, 706 – South 699–701, 704, 706 Ashkeit District 470 Askut 7, 368, 370, 377 f., 380, 396, 436, 439 f., 445, 450–452, 454, 467–474, 477, 482 f., 532, 678 – Island 371 Asrunia Island 402 Assiut 52, 323, 571 f. Aswan 3 f., 7, 17, 39, 41, 43, 45, 52, 54 f., 84, 91, 107, 134, 137, 270, 272 f., 275 f., 301, 370, 372, 394–398, 401 f., 404, 438, 445, 513, 528, 530 f., 541 f., 567, 571, 573, 575, 594, 675, 861 f., 877, 879 f., 883–885, 890, 951, 954, 966, 968 f., 971, 975 – (High) Dam 3, 6–8, 39, 42, 53, 84, 91, 104, 107, 112, 115, 155, 165, 241, 368, 395, 433, 541, 568, 987, 1051, 1055 – Old Dam 55, 395, 1055 Atanasu Island 1002 Atbai (var. Etbai) 10, 263, 300, 341, 580 – Southern 337 Atbara (River; Valley) 18, 41, 43 f., 46, 157, 171, 335, 337–342, 344 f., 350 f., 354 f., 357, 713, 729 f., 746, 785, 889, 1033 Atoro 1036 Attab -East/-West 629 Ausheq 131 f., 306, 576, 579 Avaris 568, 578, 580 Awad 55 Awlad el Imam 181 Awlib 728, 736, 738, 751, 823, 828 Aydhab 966, 968, 971 f. Bab el-Mandeb 155 Badari 270

Badden Island (var. Badeen Island) 64 Badi 971 Bahr el-Ghazal 1041 f. Bahr el-Jebel 1043 Bakhit 905, 908 f., 911, 914 Balabish 503 Ballana 162–164, 244, 913, 950, 955 f., 958 Banganarti 75, 77, 898, 905, 908, 911, 914, 922, 927 f., 936–938 Baqeir 1001 f. Baqqara 47 Bara 1031 Barga, el- 63, 65 f., 117, 174, 176, 178, 182 f., 220, 247 f., 250 Basa 738, 742, 746 Bashendi 203, 210, 266, 271 Bashtenab 1002 Batn el-Haggar (var. Batn el-Hagar, Batn elHajar) 6–9, 50, 52 f., 163, 278, 305 f., 316, 318, 368, 371–373, 380, 400, 403–405, 445, 468, 573, 575, 714, 719, 885, 912 Bauda 630, 730 Bauga, el- 1001, 1004 Bayuda 18, 21, 41, 47 f., 160, 300, 592, 676, 713, 721, 725, 728, 755, 902, 946, 950– 952, 1019, 1052, 1079 f., 1082 – Wells 902 Bedden 1043 Begrawiya 654, 786 – North 736, 749 – South 621, 631 f., 736 – West 621, 631 f., 735 f., 749 Beit el-Wali 443, 516, 520, 524–528, 536 Berber 46, 109, 596, 729 f., 881, 883, 888 f., 901 f., 946, 949, 1001 Berenice (var. Berenice) 55, 90 Biggeh 55 Bir el ʻEin 1087 Bir Kiseiba 174, 196, 199, 203, 205, 210 f. Bir Merwa 1019, 1022 f. Bir Natrun 1031 Bir Nurayet 1058 Bir Safsaf 17 f. Bir Sahara 276 Bir Ungat 402 Boni Island 999, 1056 Borno 973 Botri 747 Bubastis 400 Buhen 7, 222, 295–297, 305, 312, 317, 367 f., 370–373, 376–378, 381 f., 402 f., 406,

I Geographical Names

434, 438 f., 446, 450, 452 f., 456, 467, 474, 479, 482, 511–513, 521, 531–533, 544, 549–553, 559, 570, 594, 628, 653, 720, 749 Busharia 174, 176, 247 Butana 171, 186, 343–346, 350, 358, 713 f., 813, 821, 825, 1059 – Central 730, 738, 750 – East 742, 746 – Hinterland 730, 946, 972 – South 742, 1059 – Steppe 41, 46 – West 713, 730, 742 f., 948 Byblos 300 Byzantium 900, 911 Cairo 498, 971, 973, 1032 Cataracts (Region) 27, 39, 42–46, 48, 52, 55, 241, 262, 277, 370 f., 403, 632, 720, 899, 987, 989, 992, 1004 – Dal 8, 50, 52, 298, 306, 372, 396, 402, 404, 436, 631, 676, 714, 719 – First 6, 8, 39, 41 f., 54 f., 68, 71, 83, 85 f., 135, 266, 277 f., 280, 294 f., 296, 301– 304, 313–315, 318, 367, 370, 393–395, 402, 407, 430, 511 f., 541 f., 570, 575, 577, 592, 651, 653, 662, 714, 783, 878, 897, 921, 953 f. – Second 7, 39, 43, 45, 52–54, 63, 68, 71, 85 f., 107, 131, 134, 157, 160–162, 164 f., 171 f., 176–178, 183, 217, 220, 222, 227, 244, 251, 266 f., 277, 279, 281 f., 295, 302, 305, 314, 316, 367, 370, 377, 402, 404, 436, 440, 444, 468–470, 511–513, 515, 521, 525, 542, 570, 599, 714, 717, 835, 876, 885, 921, 954 f., 966, 968 f., 970, 1078 f., 1085 – Third 9, 27 f., 41, 45, 48–50, 64, 67 f., 71, 86, 135, 174, 178, 217 f., 222, 224, 227, 262, 265, 294 f., 298, 306, 314, 317, 371, 405, 436, 445, 514, 516 f., 544, 594, 647, 667, 714, 719 f., 876, 899 f., 902, 908, 912, 951, 953 f., 957, 976 f., 989–992, 1003 f., 1052, 1056, 1064, 1078 – Fourth 28, 45, 47–49, 68, 71, 86, 108, 155, 157, 160, 171, 174 f., 178, 184, 217, 222, 225, 227, 247 f., 269, 293, 307, 317, 349, 354, 359, 513, 580, 591, 596 f., 600, 611, 614, 630, 643, 647, 651, 653, 667, 677, 691 f., 713 f., 720, 725, 727 f., 755, 875,

1095

899, 902, 906, 908, 910, 913, 930, 949, 951–954, 989, 992–1001, 1004, 1024, 1051, 1053 f., 1056 f., 1059, 1062, 1064, 1078 – Fifth 41, 45–48, 86, 282, 614, 667, 672, 713, 721, 725, 727–729, 731, 951, 989, 1001– 1004, 1057, 1079 – Sixth 43, 45, 83, 86, 282, 729 f., 740–742, 783, 908, 950 f. Chad (var. Tchad) 10, 17 – Basin 975 – Lake 1038 Chindorma 1036 Constantinople 904, 911 Dabarossa Island (see Gezira Dabarosa) Dabnarti 1070, 1079–1081 Dabod (see Debod) Dafoi 991 Dahshur 571, 573 Daia 1037 Dakar el Arak 1087 Dakka (var. Dakke) 6, 54, 274, 276–281, 284, 300 f., 307, 370, 402, 529, 716, 821, 836 Damboya 739 Dangeil 86, 109, 120, 596, 610, 614, 653, 667 f., 670–672, 729 f., 739, 812, 831, 882, 884, 888, 951 Daragab 732 Dar el-Arab 726, 902, 996 f., 1000 Dar Dongola 904 Dar Hawawir 1033 Dar Kababish 1033 Dar Shaqiyya 904 Darb el-Ahmar 568 Darb el-Arbaʻin 52, 1038, 1083 f. Darb el-Gallaba 54 Darfur 9, 10, 52, 137, 143, 298, 426, 729, 971, 973, 975, 1029–1032, 1036 f., 1087 – Central 1030, 1038 – North 139, 1029, 1032, 1057 – South 1029 f. – West 1029, 1038 Daygah 725 Damer, ed- (var. Damer, el-) 46, 181 Debba, ed- 41, 47 f., 75, 175 f., 217, 404, 974 – Bend 48 Debbas 1042 Debbat Ali 1042 Debbat Bangdit 1042

1096

Indices

Debbat El-Eheima 1042 Debeira (var. Dibeira) 54, 301, 314, 318, 542, 545 f., 551, 553, 556, 628, 631, 921 – East 968 – West 86, 244, 250, 555, 922 f., 935, 970 Deblieba 1002 Debod (var. Dabod) 301, 513, 528, 716, 821 Defeia 597 Dehmit 301, 402, 553, 581 Deiga, ed- 901–904, 906, 910, 914 Deir el-Bahari 572 Deir el-Ballas 474, 579 f. Deir el-Medina 453 Deir Rifeh 576 Delgo 50 f. Dendara (var. Dendera) 266, 270, 819 Dendur 54, 921 Derr, ed (var. el-Derr) 54, 397, 404, 443, 516, 520, 524–527, 529, 968 Desert – Bayuda (see Bayuda) – Eastern 4, 16–23, 41, 47, 54 f., 178, 210, 263, 266, 268, 274, 283, 317, 337 f., 349 f., 358–360, 370, 378 f., 395, 402, 406 f., 436, 469, 545, 568, 576, 580, 898, 902, 908, 952, 954, 965 f., 977, 1020, 1058 f., 1086 – Libyan 4, 195–204, 206, 210, 263, 293, 729, 1032, 1037, 1069 f., 1078, 1083, 1085– 1087 – Nabta 271 – Rayayna 267 f. – Sahara v, 10, 17 f., 20, 33, 39, 42 f., 51, 84, 130, 172, 182, 195 f., 198 f., 206, 220, 226, 267, 276, 317, 946, 1052 f., 1057, 1061 f., 1064, 1069 – Sahel 172, 351, 946 – Sub-Saharan Africa 110, 972 – Sub-Saharan Belt 182 – Western 4, 8, 25, 41, 52, 55, 135, 161, 174, 176, 182, 197 f., 205, 208, 220 f., 242, 246, 248, 263 f., 266, 276, 298, 301, 370, 379, 402, 407, 570, 676, 1052, 1057 f., 1064 Detti 906, 912 Diaga (var. Diaqa) 909, 1002 Dibeira (see Debeira) Diffar, ed- 901, 905 Dilling 1036 Dinder, el- 749, 751

Dirbi Island 997 Dirwa, el- 749 Disa Region 1039 Diwaihia, el- 749 Djara 203, 205, 211 Djibouti 64 Dokki Gel (see Dukki Gel) Doma, el- 997 Dongola (var. Tungul) 63, 250, 259, 307, 503, 904, 922–938, 944, 965 f., 973 – Basin 3, 316 f. – Old 75 f., 137, 672, 722, 900, 904–907, 914 f., 944, 951, 965, 974, 1036 – Reach 25, 46–49, 86, 107, 160, 163, 171, 176, 183, 217 f., 220 f., 262, 265, 268, 434–436, 441, 445 f., 613, 677, 679, 720, 722, 946, 949, 951–953, 975, 1078 Dorginarti (Island) 595, 675, 1070, 1079–1081 Draʻ Abu el-Naga 504 Duanib 742, 813, 827 Dukki Gel (var. Dokki Gel) 63, 74 f., 313 f., 417, 423–429, 441, 456, 475, 477, 482 f., 513– 515, 534–536, 591, 594, 596 f., 603, 610, 613 f., 651, 657, 667–672, 676, 693, 722, 754, 815, 834 Dulo Kuri 1037 Dungur 1036 Duweishat 18, 21, 33, 370 Edfu 42, 274, 313, 578 f., 819 Egypt passim – Lower 274, 314, 380, 400, 452, 467, 472, 520, 831 – Upper 6, 8 f., 42, 134, 246, 260, 266, 270 f., 274 f., 281, 283, 298, 301 f., 312 f., 354 f., 359, 380 f., 400, 434, 436, 467, 469, 472, 476, 484, 511, 522, 575, 577, 580, 582, 685–689, 879, 904, 971 f. Eilafun 597 Eilai 1033 Elephantine 55, 222, 266 f., 279, 294, 296, 298, 304, 313, 315, 319, 349, 382, 394, 404, 467, 474, 479, 482, 512, 570, 573– 580, 582, 717 Elkab (Egypt; var. El-Kab) 172, 246, 270, 275, 394, 434, 577, 582 El-Kab (Sudan, see Kab, el-) Ellesiya 404, 513, 517, 520–522, 529, 535 Eltameer (var. Eltameer Merowe) 627, 630 Ennedi Highlands 263, 1086

I Geographical Names

Eriba 351 Eritrea 136, 296, 335 – Lowlands 355, 337, 350, 355 – Eritrean-Sudanese Lowlands 747 Erkowit 350, 355 Esheir Island 1001 Esna 698 Etbai (see Atbai) Ethiopia 4, 9, 18, 155, 499, 944, 972 f. – Highlands 44, 742 – Ethio(pian)-Eritrean Highlands 335, 337 f., 360, 747 Fadrus 542, 545–548, 551 f., 557, 559–561, 968 Fagirinfenti 991 f. Fagrab 1031 Faki Ehaimer, al- 1035 Faras 54, 107, 222, 300, 318, 320, 368, 370, 376, 445 f., 450, 467, 515, 519, 521, 524, 530 f., 536, 594 f., 628, 653, 714, 716 f., 720, 728, 738, 749, 751, 801, 864–866, 908 f., 911–913, 915, 921, 955, 976 – East 86 Fasher, el- 52 Fawakhir 21 Fereikha, el- 730 Fezzan 973 Firka 629, 955 Firkinarti 915 Foga 1031 Fotouar 1003 Frai, el- 730 Fura, el- 728, 755 – Wells 592, 601, 1070, 1079–1082, 1086 Fur Sultan 1037 Fustat 498 Gaʼab Umm Hilal 1083 Gaʼab Basin, el- 1069, 1079 Gabati 86, 121, 732, 749, 948 f., 951, 954 Gabarti 496 Gabgaba 23, 269, 370 – Terrane 21 f., Gadu 732, 746 Gala Abu Ahmed (var. Qala Abu Ahmed) 319, 446, 601, 676, 729, 1058, 1069–1073, 1075 f., 1080, 1085 Gala el-Sheikh 1083 Gamamiya, el- 998 Gaminarti 717

1097

Gananita 46 f., 1003 Gandeisi (Island) 727, 755, 906–908, 1001– 1003 Gash (River; Delta) 337 f., 340–342, 344 f., 350 f., 354 f., 357, 360, 573, 746 Gebeit Terrane 21–23 Gebel (see also Jebel) Gebel Adda 138, 491, 499 f., 502–505, 909 f., 913, 955 f., 966, 968–971, 976 f. Gebel el-Asr 370, 402 Gebel Aweinat (see Jebel Uweinat) Gebel Barkal 3, 30, 48, 433, 441, 456, 512– 516, 522, 535 f., 544, 592, 594–596, 603, 610, 614, 621, 623 f., 626 f., 630 f., 643– 645, 647, 652–654, 657–659, 661 f., 667 f., 670–672, 723 f., 740, 749, 751, 756, 786, 790, 812, 816, 819, 828, 832 f., 835, 848 f., 851, 861 f., 879, 994, 1019 Gebel Barur 1022 Gebelein 132, 135, 568 f., 571 Gebel Hafafit 20, 23 Gebel Moya (see Jebel Moya) Gebel Ramlah 269 f. Gebel Sesi 912, 915 Gebel el-Silsila (var. Gebel el-Silsila) 41, 275 Gebel Uweinat (see Jebel Uweinat) Gebel Wahaba (see Jebel Wahaba) Gedarif 714 Geili 184, 186, 277, 742 Gelti Umm Tasawir (see Umm Qelti Tasawir) Gemai (var. Gammai) 53, 162, 241, 445, 629, 720, 749, 955 Gematon 670 Gempaaton 702 Gereif 728, 742 Gerf Hussein 6, 277, 301, 401, 404, 443, 516, 520, 524–528 Getaina (var. Geteina, el-) 597, 630, 749 Gezira 45, 597, 713, 742, 747, 750 Gezira Dabaros(s)a (var. Dabarossa Island) 594, 653, 717, 955, 969 Gezira Hinterland 946, 972 Gezira Karni (see Karni Island) Gezira Mellu 1002 Gezira Salage 1002 Ghaba 117, 183 f., 186, 268 Ghaddar, el- 722 Ghanam, el- 248 Gharra Murten 1037 Ghazali, al- 121, 1020, 1025, 1059, 1062

1098

Indices

Gheresli 747 Ghorab, el- 200, 245 Gilf Kebir 195, 199, 205, 263, 273, 1086 Ginefab, el- (var. Ginifab, el-) 108, 120, 222, 225, 951, 1000 Ginis East/West 629 Gism (el-)Arba 63, 68, 72, 158, 316, 321, 426, 434, 445, 450, 452, 474 Giza 569 Gol, el- 1001, 1004 Gondokoro Island 1043 Goz Fami 1039 Great Sand Sea 197, 205 Gumaizat, el- 750 Habaraab 316, 445 Hadiab 997 Hag (see also Haj) Hag Abdullah 1040) Hagar al-/el-Beida 951, 998 Hagar el-Merwa (var. Hagr el-Merwa) 47, 314, 401, 405 f. Hagiz 360, 746 Haj Yusif 184 Halaib triangle 1058 Hamadab 29, 31, 735–737, 747, 751–756, 864, 876, 947, 1001 Hambukol 86, 926, 928 Hamdab Dam 725, 994, 1000 Hamid 629 Hamid Uplands 54 Hammur-Abbassiya 951 Hannak (var. Hannek/Hannik) 49, 119, 599, 629, 989, 991 f. Haram al-Sharif 971 Haraz 898, 902, 911, 1037 Hasaya 730 Hassa, el- 597, 739, 751, 753 f., 814, 823, 827, 876, 887 Hawawiya Nile 49 Haya Terrane 23 Heliopolis 525 Helwan 131, 569 Hesa, el- 55 Hibis 660 Hierakonpolis (= Nekhen) 42, 270, 279, 294, 302 f., 394, 398, 491, 495 f., 502 f., 505, 511, 567, 572, 574 Hilla Island, el- 997 Hillat el-Arab 319, 456, 544, 546, 551 f., 562, 630 f., 633, 691, 723, 1078

Hillat Saeed 750 Hindaw 402, 406 Hisn al-/el-Bab 87, 91, 900, 968 el-Hobagi (var. al-Hobaji) 138, 950 f. Hoggar 1053 Hoi, el- 1036 Hosh, el- 1070 Hosh Alkafir (see Hosh el-Kafir) Hosh ban Naga 740 Hosh el-Guruf 1000 Hosh el-Kab 755, 908 Hosh el-Kafir 730, 732, 755 Hosh el-Khafir 951 Hugair 652 Hut-nebes 671 Ibehat (var. Ibhet) 137, 302, 319, 570, 574 f., 579 Ibrim (see Qasr Ibrim) Ibshek 450 Idduguli 1057 Ikayta 319 Iken (= Mirgissa) 450 Ikhmindi 899, 901, 906, 908 f., 914 f. Ikkur 295, 305, 368, 370, 372, 376, 467 Ingessa 18 Irem 318, 1086 Irisheq 306 Ishashi Island 997 Island of Michael 938 Isri Island 1001, 1003 Itjet 135 Jam (var. Yam) 134 f., 139, 298, 300, 305, 309, 571 Al-Jamrab, al- 158 Jawgul 992 Jebel (see also Gebel) Jebel Abo Senoon 1035 Jebel Abo Zomam 1035 Jebel Abri 51 f. Jebel Abu Gamal 337, 352 Jebel Adda (see Gebel Adda) Jebel Afarit 1031 Jebel el-Ageida 46 Jebel Agg 404 Jebel el-Ain (var. Jebel el-Ein) 1070, 1085 Jebel Ali Barsi 50 Jebel el-Asr (see Gebel el-Asr) Jebel Aulia 186, 749 f.

I Geographical Names

Jebel Al-Baklai 1035 Jebel Barkal (see Gebel Barkal) Jebel Bilal 396 Jebel Da(i)yiqa 46, 732 Jebel Dam Jamad 1034 Jebel Danab el-Kelb 47 Jebel Dosha (var. Jebel Doshe) 50 f., 396, 405, 513, 517, 521–523, 534 f. Jebel Al-Erabed 1035 Jebel Fangul 46 Jebel Firka 52 Jebel Foga 1031, 1037 Jebel Forei 1037 Jebel Foya 1034 Jebel Geili 1052, 1059 f. Jebel Ghaddar 951 Jebel el-Girgawi 399 f. Jebel Gorgod 51 Jebel Goz 1034 Jebel Al-Grian 1035 Jebel Gule 1039 Jebel Hamra 47 Jebel Haraz 1031 Jebel Hardan 742 Jebel el-Hosh 1080 Jebel el-Humra 46 Jebel Karshul 1031 Jebel el-Kereiba 46 Jebel Khazana 1034 Jebel Khereiq 742 Jebel Kitfooga 52 Jebel Kurkeila 1031 Jebel Kusi 1037 Jebel Maqran 47 Jebel Marra 1029, 1031, 1037–1039 Jebel Matruqa 742 Jebel Merbo 1037, 1057 Jebel Moya (var. Gebel Moya) 105 f., 121, 597, 630, 729, 750 f., 1029, 1040 Jebel Musa 997 Jebel En-Nabati 47 Jebel Naga 821, 824 Jebel Nakharu 46, 755, 901, 906, 908, 951 Jebel Nāmi 1037 Jebel Noh 396 Jebel Al-Nurein 1035 Jebel Qeili 742, 746, 818, 835 Jebel el-Raat 1033 Jebel Ras ed-Dom 1019, 1025 Jebel Rau 1060

1099

Jebel Rauwiyan 45 Jebel Sabaloka 46 Jebel Sahaba 164, 178, 595, 628, 1070, 1079– 1081 Jebel Saqadi 750 Jebel Shalashi 1031 Jebel el-Shams 396, 404 Jebel Sheikh Suleiman 402 Jebel Sigru 1037 Jebel Sultaniya 1019, 1025 Jebel Tageru 1032, 1037 Jebel Taka 337 Jebel Tarenka 1034 Jebel Terabiya 46 Jebel Tomat 86, 750 Jebel Umm Awish 1034 Jebel Umm Ali 732, 736 Jebel Umm Marafieb 46 Jebel Umm Marrihi 730, 901, 908, 951 Jebel Uweinat (var. Gebel Aweinat/ Uweinat) 17 f., 23, 195, 199, 205, 263, 305, 407, 1058 Jebel Wahaba (var. Gebel Wahaba) 50, 316, 405 f. Jebel Zankor 1034 Jeddah 972 Jerar, al- 246, 248 Jihaf, el- 1032 Jol, el- 1002 Juba 44, 1043 Jura Wells 901 f. Kabbashi 742 Kabbashi Haitah 181 El-Kab (Sudan) 993, 996, 999 f., 1070, 1083– 1085, 1087 Kadada, el- 86, 184, 186 f., 221, 277, 596, 630, 739, 749, 887 f., 948 f. Kaddanarti 64 Kadero 86, 184, 186, 268, 1036 Kadruka 63, 67, 109, 117, 183 f., 217, 221, 265, 269, 316 Kadugli 1036 Kaganarti 594 f. Kageras 899 Kagrat 1002 Kahun 580 Kaja Serung Hills 1032 Kajbar 8, 989, 991 – Cataract, Rapids 50, 406, 989, 991 – Dam 1056

1100

Indices

Kalabsha 54, 138, 301, 402, 406, 716, 886, 909, 915, 921 f., 933, 947, 954, 1055 – New 528 Kaldob 993 Kapoeta 1043 Karaba, el- 1001, 1003, 1040 Karanog 75, 86, 714, 716, 720, 749, 796 f., 801, 803, 863–866 Karat 265 Karat Negil 915 Kareima (var. Karima) 8, 47 f., 121, 601, 621, 723, 728, 993, 995 f. Karimʼs Garden 749 Karmakol 175–177, 248 Karnak 522, 576, 623, 657 f., 660, 671, 699 f., 704 f. Karni Island 1002 f., 1070, 1079–1081 Kasanarti 717 Kasembar 747 Kashm el-Bab 407 Kashm el-Girba (var. Khasm el-Girba) 335, 340, 344 Kassala 317, 335, 337, 347, 426 Kassinger Bahri 951, 996 Kawa, el- 48, 86, 140, 254, 265, 269, 317, 426, 441, 443, 456, 515, 535, 544, 592, 594, 604–609, 612–614, 630, 647–651, 656– 659, 661, 670 f., 676, 689, 691, 702, 722, 749, 790, 812, 814, 823, 834 Kebeleh 1038 Kebkebiya 975 Kedurma 718–720, 723, 753 Kejabi 906 Kejek 732 Kelesaikal Gubli 727 Keniseh 856 Keraba 596, 601, 738, 740, 743 f., 746, 813, 1052, 1059 – Steppe 41, 46 Keraf Suture 47 Kerma 6 f., 27, 49, 63, 65, 68–75, 106, 108, 117 f., 131 f., 134 f., 139 f., 171, 174, 176, 178, 183 f., 187, 217–232, 247 f., 250–252, 259, 268, 282, 284, 294 f., 298, 300–302, 305–307, 309 f., 312–314, 316–318, 321, 323 f., 343, 348 f., 351, 359, 371, 382, 413–415, 420, 423, 426, 434–436, 438, 441, 444, 447, 452, 454, 466, 468 f., , 474 f., 495, 503, 506, 513–515, 534–536, 541, 568, 577 f., 580, 594, 603 f., 606 f.,

610, 612, 630, 647, 651 f., 676, 678, 691, 714, 722, 728, 730, 751, 815, 834 f., 908, 997, 1000, 1024, 1086 – Basin 49, 217, 246 f., 250, 300, 306, 313 f., 316, 570, 576, 647, 720, 722, 951 Kernak Wells 1033 Kewieb, el (see Kueibi, el) Khandaq, el- 974, 992 Khartoum v, 4, 39, 41–45, 48, 76, 84, 117, 165, 171 f., 186, 203, 242, 246, 261, 271–273, 277 f., 282, 591, 597, 601, 713, 747, 750, 867, 878, 888, 978, 1039 Khasm el-Girba (see Kashm el-Girba) Khatmiya 746 Khiday, el-/al- 109, 117, 176, 178–182, 184, 186, 749 Khor (var. Kor) 305, 368, 467 Khor Abu Anga 157 f. Khor (el-)Aqiba 294, 399, 402, 570 Khor el-Daghfali 996 Khor Dawd 276 Khor Marmareb 340 Khor Musa 160 Khor Nubt 972 Khor Umm Ghizlan 998 Kídin Tuu 52 Kir, el- 1000 Kirbekan 174, 692, 997 Kisinarti 899 Kissenfarki 992 Kokka 51, 991 Kom Ombo 42, 162, 269, 271 Konosso 396 Kor (see Khor) Kordofan (var. Kurdufan) 10, 129, 137, 158, 298, 426, 972, 975, 1029, 1031–1035, 1037, 1087 – North 729, 1029 f., 1033–1035 – North-eastern 1033 – South 1029–1031, 1036 – West 1032 Korosko 41, 47, 54, 314, 321, 324, 402, 595, 1055 – Bend of 3, 6, 41, 277–280, 296, 301, 303, 305, 317, 320, 324 – Hills 54 – Road 47, 395, 592, 595 Korti 48, 217, 594, 601 Kosha 955 Kosti 713, 749, 751

I Geographical Names

Kuban (var. Kubban/Quban) 54, 295, 305, 318, 368, 370, 376, 378, 382, 406, 438, 467, 470, 511, 517, 521, 528 f., 628 Kubanieh, el- (var. El-Kubaniah/Qubaniya, see also Wadi Kubbaniya) 106, 118, 303, 567, 574 f. Kueibi, el- (var. Kewieb, el) 729, 1020–1022, 1070, 1079, 1081–1083, 1085–1087 Kufriyat el-Atash 729 Kulb 926, 928 Kulubnarti 53, 107, 121, 969, 977 Kumma 30, 53, 368, 370 f., 396, 398, 402, 404, 467, 474, 512 f., 521, 533 Kuneysa, el- (see el-Kir) Kurdufan (see Kordofan) Kurgus 47, 54, 314, 317, 396, 401 f., 405, 407, 441, 445, 542, 908, 1057, 1086 Kurmuk 18 Kurru, el- 29 f., 254, 562, 595, 609, 621–627, 631 f., 636, 643, 654 f., 658–660, 690– 692, 701 f., 707, 723, 790, 800, 1078 Kush (Kingdom, Realm, State) 39, 41, 49, 131 f., 135, 139 f., 143, 230, 239, 305 f., 309, 312–314, 318, 323, 359, 371 f., 382, 434 f., 441–443, 446, 449, 453, 546, 562, 573, 577, 579, 591 f., 595, 601, 609 f., 613 f., 621, 624, 631 f., 636, 643, 672, 699 f., 706, 713, 729, 735, 783, 789, 797, 811, 813, 818 f., 834, 847, 868 f. Lake – Chad (see Chad, Lake) – Nasser 84, 91, 368, 498, 716, 836 – Nubia 52 Laki 1043 Laqiya 203, 205, 282 Laqiya Arbaʼin (var. Laqiya Arbein). 135, 298 Letti Basin 49, 175–177, 247, 720, 722 f., 944, 951 Levant(e) 210, 452, 465, 676 – South 183 Libya 10, 195, 305, 1058 – East 196 – Fazzan 965 – Desert (see Desert, Libyan) – South 17 Lisht 469 Lol Nhom 1043 Maghar Dendara 270 Mahalab, el- 181

1101

Mahal Teglinos (var. Mahal Daqlianus) 335, 338, 344 f., 347–356 Maharraqa 628, 716 Mahas 50, 991 f. Mahas-Fiyadikkya 41 Maheila Road 592, 594, 723, 728 Makuria 75, 137, 885, 902, 921–923, 925–928, 930, 934–938, 944, 946, 951, 956 f., 966, 970, 972 Makwar 747, 1040 Malla Island 47 Malqatta 581 Mansourkuti 723 Mara 1037 Marakul 898–900, 910 f., 914, 992 Mardofa 1035 Mareotis (Region) 883 f. Mariya 402 Marrakesh 497 Mashakeela 991 Masmas 628, 801 Masra, el- 749 Matassi 1087 Matruh 1032 Matuga 594, 629 – Rapids 53 Mebeirika 1002 Medinet el-Fayyum 139 Medinat Habu 655, 658, 704 Mediq 402, 406 Meen Atol 1043 Meili 717 Meinarti (Island) 717, 720, 723, 955, 966, 968 Melbas, el- 1035 Memphis 525, 552, 578, 580, 689, 698, 1031 Meragh, el- 601, 729 Merawe (see Merowe) Merbo 1057 Meroe 3, 25, 29–31, 46, 48, 73, 86, 107, 133, 138, 146, 253 f., 591 f., 595 f., 610–614, 627, 631 f., 653 f., 659, 662, 676, 723 f., 728–730, 732–736, 738–740, 746 f., 749, 751–756, 783–791, 794, 797, 801, 813 f., 823, 827–831, 848–850, 852, 856 f., 859– 862, 864, 866 f., 869, 879 f., 882, 885, 887 f., 890, 904, 943 f., 946–949, 951, 953, 1044, 1059, 1079 – Island 46, 596, 653, 730, 887 f. – South 630 – West 630

1102

Indices

Merowe (var. Merowe/Merawe/Merawi) 171, 728, 901 f., 906, 989, 993 f. – Dam 8, 30, 48, 108, 155, 171, 174, 305, 317, 993–995, 1000, 1051, 1056 Merowe esh-Sherq 901, 909, 914 Mersa Gawasis 349, 574 Meshgal, el- 750 Miam 562 Mikaisir (var. Mikaisir) 727, 755, 906, 908, 913 Mirgissa 53, 118, 131, 253, 306, 312, 320, 368, 371, 377 f., 380 f., 438, 444 f., 450, 467, 469–472, 521, 532 f., 544, 575, 594, 629, 631, 633 Mis Island 109, 121, 726, 998 Miskit Island 46 Missiminia 108, 120, 595, 621, 629, 631 f., 676, 693, 719 Mitnet el-Gawwala 1033 Miu-Region 314 Moʻalla 571 Mograt Island 47, 117, 178, 282, 317, 596, 727, 902, 952, 993, 998–1000 Morocco 497 Mostagedda 575 f. Mozambique Belt 18 Mudpans 205 Multaga, el- 175, 184, 186 Muqqadam 48 Murabba 742 Murshid-Gemai 955 Musawwarat es-Sufra (var. Musawwarat) 25, 29, 46, 137, 140, 596, 653, 714, 740, 742– 744, 753 f., 812–815, 818–820, 825 f., 848, 850, 852–862, 864, 867–870, 880, 948, 1054 Musul Island 991 Mutmir 732, 739, 908 Muweis 76, 724, 739 f., 751, 753 f., 814, 827, 876 f., 879 Nab Island 991 Nabash 899, 912 Nabta, el- 178, 200, 246, 263–265, 271 Nabta Playa 174, 182, 196, 199, 203, 205, 210 f., 217, 241 f., 244 f., 248, 265, 269 f., 273 f. Nadi 1002 Nadschd Aswad 736, 746 Naga 29, 46, 596, 659 f., 740, 742–746, 751, 756, 801, 812–815, 818–825, 827, 829, 831 f., 835, 847 f., 850, 862, 876, 948

Nagʻ Abidis 400, 402, 404 Nag Baba 470 Nagʻ el-Sabakhaya 402 Nag Gamus (see Masmas) Nag el-Qarmila 273, 275 f. Naga ed-Der 252 Naga el-Oqba 928 Naga Wadi 281, 283, 285 Napata 48, 73, 253, 429, 522, 610, 622, 643, 667, 670, 675 f., 678, 692, 697, 720, 723, 725, 728, 786, 814, 848 f., 852, 861, 1071, 1077, 1079, 1086 Naqa (see Naga) Nasb es-Sami 742 Nauri 50, 86, 96, 316, 318, 396, 453, 989, 991 f. Nekhen (=Hierakonpolis) 398 Nelluah 801, 887 Nile – Blue 18, 41, 43–45, 155, 161, 165, 172, 186, 317, 430, 597, 713 f., 742, 747, 749 f., 755, 888, 946, 948, 972 f., 1039 f. – White 43–45, 158, 172, 178, 180, 430, 597, 630, 713, 749 f., 755, 888, 1039 Nimule 1029, 1043 Noba (var. Nubai) 138, 729, 943 Nobadia (var. Nobatia/Noubadia(Nobadae) 75, 137, 720, 885, 902, 904 921–923, 930, 932, 934, 944, 946, 950 f., 955–958, 966, 969 Nofalab 86 Nuba Mountains 129, 137, 975, 1029, 1031, 1035 f. Nubai (see Noba) Nubia passim – Lower 3, 7, 10, 39, 54, 90 f., 104, 107, 134, 136, 138, 217, 222, 224, 242, 244, 247 f., 250 f., 260–262, 265, 270, 274 f., 277, 279 f., 293 f., 296, 298, 301–305, 312 f., 318–321, 346, 359, 367 f., 370, 382, 394– 396, 399 f., 403 f., 407, 433, 436, 443, 446, 456, 465, 474, 477, 484, 503, 511– 513 f., 516 f., 521–526, 541 f., 560, 571, 573, 575, 579, 582, 595, 627, 671, 675, 679, 689, 692, 713–716, 720, 723, 749, 752 f., 783, 801, 848, 861 f., 864, 875 f., 880, 882, 884–888, 890, 913 f., 943 f., 946, 949 f., 954–956, 966, 968–970, 975–977, 1038, 1051, 1054–1057, 1059, 1061 f., 1064

I Geographical Names

– Upper 3, 39, 68, 104, 107, 172, 174, 176, 178, 182–186, 217–219, 221, 226, 244, 246– 248, 250 f., 261 f., 265, 269, 271, 277 f., 294, 298, 313 f., 317, 324, 337, 346, 349, 351, 353, 360, 367, 371 f., 382, 395, 405, 443, 446, 455, 465, 474, 476, 483 f., 513– 517, 521 f., 524 f., 541 f., 549, 552, 559 f., 577, 579, 582, 671, 678, 692, 713, 720 f., 752, 754, 801, 875 Nuri 29 f., 595, 621, 624–627, 631 f., 636 f., 643, 654, 658, 699, 701, 706, 725, 786, 790, 800, 812, 928, 1000 Oases 135, 263, 676 – Dakhla 196, 198 f., 201, 203–205, 207, 210 f., 1086 – Dunqul 52, 54 – Farafra 195 f., 198, 203, 205, 207, 210, 267 – Fayum 198, 206, 275, 576, 580 – (el-)Kharga 195 f., 203, 205, 211, 660 – Kurkur 52, 54 – Nukheila 1032 – Selima 52, 54, 1069 f., 1083, 1085, 1087 – Siwa 199 – Zerzura 1032 Obeid, el- 1033 Omdurman 178, 493–495, 497, 749 f. – Bridge 187, 742 Pachoras 904, 908, 915, 921–925, 928, 930– 937 Palestine 280 Pa-nebes (var. Per-nebes, see Pnubs) Pareth Kur 1042 Philae (Island) 6, 139 f., 143, 147, 567, 653, 798, 821, 826, 921 Phrim 923 Piramesse 581 Pnubs (see Pa-nebes/Per-nebes) 428, 667, 670 f., 823, 835 Pongo River 1041 Punt 296, 300, 313, 349, 358, 426, 574, 581 Qadan 162–164, 241, 244 Qala Abu Ahmed (see Gala Abu Ahmed) Qalaat Shanan 186 Qandisi Island 47 Qara 402 Qasr, al- 968 Qasr Ibrim (var. Ibrim) 83, 85–87, 90–97, 132, 140, 396, 404, 433, 498 f., 501–505, 544,

1103

592, 594, 601, 653, 657, 675, 677–679, 689–692, 716, 753, 798, 836, 897 f., 913, 915, 921, 925, 955 f., 966, 968–971, 976 f. Qasr Wad Nimeiri 974 Qatta 628 Qau 576 Qena 270 Qena Bend 266 Qerri 972 Qos Barmilo 744 Qoz, el- 171 Qoz Burra 730 Qoz el-Khazna 749 Qoz Nasra 747 Qoz Nuri 749 Quban (see Kuban) Qubaniya (see El-Kubanieh) Qurna 700 Qurta (var. Qurte) 299 f., 307, 628, 923 Qus 971 Qustul 6 f., 86, 275, 279–283, 285, 293, 503, 627 f., 632, 913, 950, 955 f. Qutin, al- 1040 Quweib (see Kueibi, el-) Rabak 1029, 1039 Rahib 181 Ras el-Gezira 912 Redab 899, 902, 911, 914 Red Sea 10, 19, 24, 55, 90, 133, 155, 183, 208 f., 265, 274, 300, 337 f., 345 f., 349, 358 f., 568, 574, 580, 742, 904, 970–973, 1077 – Hills, Mountains v, 18 f., 26, 41, 54, 263, 337, 345, 355 Renjek 1043 Renk, er- 1039, 1042 Rih, er- 971 f. Riqa, er- 278 Riqa Hills 54 Roseires Region 749, 1039 f. Rubatab 1001 Rumbek 1043 Sabagura (var. Sabagurra) 900, 908 f., 914 f. Sabaloka 45 f., 282, 741 f. – Gorge/Rapids 39, 45 f. Sabeil, el- 747 Sabnas Island 47, 1001 f. Sabu 405 f., 989, 992, 1052, 1056, 1062

1104

Indices

Sadda, es- 998 Sadeik 50 Saffi Island 998 Saft el-Henneh 671 Saggai 181, 248 Sagiat el-Abd 52 Sahara (see Desert, Sahara) Sahel (see Desert, Sahel) Sai (Island) 27, 30, 51 f., 63, 68, 86, 108 f., 116, 119 f., 131, 135, 157 f., 165, 171, 183, 217, 222, 224 f., 227, 248, 251, 264, 306, 316, 343, 371, 405, 433, 436, 441–447, 450, 452–454, 456, 468, 474, 476–484, 513, 522, 533, 536, 544, 549, 558–560, 570, 591, 594 f., 602, 612–614, 629, 632, 676, 691, 719 f., 751, 783, 801, 835 f., 880 f., 883, 886 f., 923, 955, 976 f. Salha, el- 178 Saluga (Island) 55 Sanam 106, 456, 610, 621, 630 f., 633–635, 637, 647, 649–651, 657, 659, 661, 671, 675–677, 692 f., 725, 728, 1019 Sanam Abu Dom 591, 604, 609, 612–614 Sani Wells 901 f. Saqqara 131, 134, 137, 659 Saras (var. Sarras) 33, 222, 281, 298, 370, 378 Sarkamatto 404 Sarras (see Saras) Sarurab (see Sorourab) Satju 135 Saudi Arabia 19 Sawakin 902 Sayala 119, 274, 277, 281, 301, 320, 324, 402, 954, 1055 Sedeinga 30, 51, 144, 184, 224, 443, 515, 523, 525, 533, 536, 591, 594, 602, 613 f., 629, 653, 719 f., 751, 783, 790, 794, 798, 801, 877, 879–881, 883 f., 887 Sehel (Island) 55, 372, 396 f., 401 Seleim – Basin 49, 262 Selib 722 f., 753, 898 f., 910, 922 Semna 53, 137, 306, 313, 319, 367, 371 f., 375, 380, 396, 398 f., 402, 404, 440, 470, 474, 512 f., 518, 521, 532 f., 541 f., 544, 594, 629, 653, 657, 719 f. – Cataract 367, 371, 375 – East 86, 370, 467 – Rapids 719 – South 107, 120, 368, 371, 376 – West 8, 86, 368, 371, 375, 467

Sennar 3, 106, 597, 713, 747, 749–751, 948, 1029, 1036, 1039 f. – Dam 1039 – East 747, 750, 1040 Serra 285, 312, 314, 318, 370, 467, 477, 545 f. – East 86, 368, 372, 378, 438 f., 470, 544, 628 – West 275, 281, 531, 628 Sesebi (var. Sisibi) 30, 51, 106, 119, 318, 433, 436, 441–446, 450, 452 f., 474–476, 479, 515, 523, 534, 536, 544 f., 549, 552, 592, 594, 599, 602, 676 f., 719, 955, 989 Setit (River) 337 Shaat (=Sai) 131 f. Shabona 181 Shabluka 902 Shablul 801 Shaheinab, el- 86, 171, 184, 186 f., 268, 730 Shaiqiya 975 Shalfak 368, 371, 377, 382, 404, 433, 440, 467 Shanan 186 Shaqadud 86, 181, 186, 345 f., 350 Sharq el-Atiek 742 Shashotep 567 Shaukan, ash- 716, 718 Shefekhanh, esh- 750 Sheikh el-Amin 184 Sheikh Daud 909 Sheikheil, el- 723 Sheikh Mustafa 181, 747 Shellal 41, 119, 294, 370, 628, 671 Shemkhiya (var. Shamkhiya) 901, 912 f., 998 Sheikh Arab Haj 722 Shendi 46, 183, 186, 259, 614, 732, 749, 754, 827, 944, 946, 949, 953 Sherari Island 998 Shereik 47, 989, 1001 Shiri Island (var. Shirri Island) 48, 992, 998, 1000 Shoba (Old) 975, 1037 Shofein 898, 902–906, 908, 911, 914 f., 992 Shukoli 1043 Shurab el-Gash 351, 357 Siali 280 Sikkat el-Kamalabʼ 1087 Sikket el-Agamiya 54 Sikket Dehmit 54 Sikket el-Meheila 48 Sikket el-Umbarakab 54 Sileia 1038

I Geographical Names

Simit Island 991 Sinai (Peninsula) 18, 210, 493, 571, 904 Singa 155, 157, 161, 1040 Sinkat 972 Sinki 570 f. Sinn el-Kiddab 54 Sphinx (Khartoum) 181 Soba 76 f., 137 f., 597, 714, 747, 925, 928, 944, 948, 951, 969 f., 972 f., 1039 – East 75, 86, 597, 747 Sodari (var. Soderi, District/Region) 729, 1035 Sodmein (Cave) 182, 210 Sokar 33 Soleb 8, 30, 51, 108, 120, 222, 318, 433, 443, 445 f., 450, 514–516, 522 f., 525, 534, 544, 549 f., 552, 553, 559 f., 591, 594, 613 f., 629, 719, 861 Soniyat 594, 652, 657, 723 Sonki 400, 404 Sonqi Tino 928, 930, 936 Soros Island 402 Sorourab (var. Sarurab) 181, 630 Sour, es- 184, 186 Suakin 971 Sudan passim – Central 39, 41, 73, 75–77, 129, 160, 165, 176, 178 f., 181–187, 199, 217, 221, 248, 250, 263, 426, 494, 783, 875 f., 890, 944, 949, 973 – East 18, 136, 335–343, 346–353, 355 f., 358– 360 – North 18, 21 f., 39, 44, 131, 187, 195 f., 198, 484 – North-eastern 16, 21–23, 296, 301, 573 – North-western 130, 138 – South 9 f., 75, 77, 155, 187, 1029 f., 1042 f. – South-west 1030 – West 975, 1029 Sudd 1041 Suegi (var. Suweigi) 910, 993, 997 – East 898, 910, 914 – West 902, 910 f., 914 Sueigat (var. Suegat) 899, 902 Suoni Al-Songor 1035 Suweiqi (see Suegi) Syene (see Aswan) Tabo 63 f., 436, 534 f., 544, 594, 604, 609, 630, 647, 649–651, 657, 661 f., 722, 814, 821, 834, 856, 862, 871, 951

1105

Tafa 921, 969 Talodi 1036 Tamit 928, 935 f. Tanis 671 f. Tanjur 52, 400, 404, 975 Tanqasi 723, 908, 911, 951 Tanqasi Market 902 Tare 594 Tarfaya 901 f., 1001–1003, – North 1002 – South 1002 Tarif, el- 266 Ta-Seti 280 Tassili 1053 Tchad (see Chad) Tell el-Amarna (var. Amarna) 433 f., 449, 451, 479, 546, 549, 552, 560, 581 Tell Basta 546 Tell el-Daba 293, 469, 579 Tell Hebua 443 Tell el-Jehudiya (var. Tell el-Yahudiya) 317, 468 Tereif, et- 595, 630, 997 Thebes 115, 314, 368, 400, 450, 470, 521, 525, 546, 552 f., 578 f., 636, 654, 657, 659, 662, 698 f., 700–702, 704, 706, 792, 824, 879 Tibesti Massif 17 Tigray-North 10, 293, 296 Tikkawin, et- 1002 Tila Island 719 f., 723, 753 Tina Island 396, 402 Tira Mandi 1036 Tolkte (see Naga) Tomas (Tomâs) 7, 54, 301, 321, 397, 399, 402, 406 Tombos (var. Tumbus) 27 f., 49 f., 109, 114, 119, 318 f., 396 f., 405, 407, 433, 441, 445, 447, 452 f., 456, 477, 483 f., 542, 544– 546, 549, 551 f., 560, 594, 599, 603, 612, 630, 632 f., 676, 678, 691, 722, 989, 991 f. Tonqala (var. Tongale/Tunqala) 285, 402, 404, 406 – West 280 f. Tora City (see Kebeleh) Torah 1035 Toshka 54, 118, 296, 306–308, 402, 628 – East 404, 546, 553, 562 Tree Shelter 182, 210 Treis, el- 749

1106

Indices

Tubusuctu 889 Tungul (see Dongola) Tura 1037 Turra 975 Tuweina, el- 728 Ubat-Sepet (var. Webat-sepet) 131 f., 305 f. Ukma 52, 86, 316, 359, 371, 468, 899 Uli Island 994, 998 Umm Durrag 1037 Umm Aschira 402 Umm Beid 1001, 1003 Umm Beida 1019 Umm Buwa 1002 Umm Dom 597 Umm Duras Island 996 Umm Fahm 32, 371 Umm Garayat 25 f. Umm Gus 1034 Umm Hazi 996 Umm Hagar Island 997 Umm Hugger 1002 Umm Khafur 728, 1020, 1022 Umm Klait 248 Umm Kuweib 728 Umm Makharoqa 950 Umm Marrahi 181, 755, 908 Umm Melyekta Island 997 Umm Mereikh 1001 Umm Muri (Island) 86, 726, 753, 997 Umm Nabari 370, 407 Umm el-Qaab 699 Umm Q(u)elti Tasawir (var. Gelti Umm Tasawir) 1032, 1037, 1057 Umm Rish 1038 Umm Ruweim 728, 906, 1020–1022, 1025 Umm Singid 181 Umm Usuda 742, 746 Uri 975, 1037 Uronarti 8, 368, 371 f., 374 f., 377 f., 380–382, 404, 433, 440, 444, 467, 512 f., 521, 532 f. Urukutti 722 Usheir, el- (Island) 47, 898, 911 f., 1001, 1003 Us Island 998 Usli 441, 594, 652, 723, 816 Utmari Island 992 Voll River 1041 Wad Ben Naga 46, 657, 724, 739–741, 751, 754, 816 f., 825, 835

Wad el-Magzoub 750 Wad Medani 1040 Wad Mukhtar 755, 908 f. Wadi Abd al-Malik 23, 1033 Wadi Abu Dom 48, 676, 723, 725, 728, 898, 902, 1019 f., 1022–1025, 1052, 1059–1061, 1063 Wadi Abu Haraz 1001 Wadi Abu Hashim 103 Wadi Abu Subeira 55 Wadi el-Akhdar 174 Wadi Allaqi (var. Wadi Allaki) 23, 25 f., 32, 54, 269, 277, 282, 370, 395, 406, 528, 628 Wadi el-Arab 63, 65, 174, 176, 178, 220, 247 f., 250, 321, 402, 404, 716 Wadi Atulla 268 Wadi Awatib 730, 740, 742, 744, 746, 754 Wadi el-Banat 827 Wadi Dam(m) et-Tor 901 f., 1001–1003 Wadi Doshein 739 Wadi Eish 746 Wadi Farja 50, 991 f. Wadi Gabgaba 370 Wadi Gawasis 349 Wadi Ghadir 21, 23 Wadi Hadjala 732, 735 Wadi Halfa 7, 53, 84, 115, 162, 178, 244 Wadi Hammamat 268 Wadi el-Hasib 186, 742 Wadi Hawa 1037 Wadi el-Hawad 730, 738, 742, 746, 754 f. Wadi Howar 43, 130, 134 f., 171, 195, 203, 263, 269, 298, 446, 601, 676, 729, 1029, 1038 f., 1052, 1057 f., 1069, 1071, 1086 f. Wadi el-Hudi 55, 306 Wadi Hussein 1057 Wadi Khashab 274, 283 Wadi el-Khowi 67, 651 Wadi Kirbekan 741 Wadi Kubbaniya (see also Kubanieh, el-) 55, 84 Wadi el-Lawi 269, 271 f. Wadi Magrur 1037 Wadi Marmadeb 344 Wadi el-Melek 1087 Wadi Melik 263 Wadi (el-)Milh 1033 Wadi el-Milk 728 f., 1034 f. Wadi Mukabrab 730, 732 Wadi Muqaddam (var. Wadi Muqqadam) 48, 594, 601, 676, 723, 728 f., 1080

II Names of Gods, Kings, Queens und Individuals

Wadi el-Obeiyed (Cave) 203, 267 Wadi Onib 22 Wadi el-Qaʼab 1087 Wadi Qena 23 Wadi Qitna 86, 954 Wadi Rabob 186, 742 Wadi es-Sebua 41, 301, 320 f., 397, 404, 436, 443, 514–516, 519 f., 522, 524–529, 531, 921 Wadi Sibaa 902 Wadi Soba 742 Wadi es-Sufra 743 Wadi Tarabil 732 Wadi Thannori 726 Wadi Umm Rahau 597 f., 726 Wara 1037

1107

Wawat 39, 134 f., 442, 446, 556, 571 Webat-sepet (see Ubat-Sepet) Wij Bur 1042 Yam (see Jam) Yemen 18, 159, 183 Yemeni Highlands 335 Zakiab, el- 86 Zankor 158, 1032–1034 Zamama 1003 Zeidab 730 Zimama 1002 Zolat el-Hammad 1057 ez-Zuma 723, 915, 949, 952 f., 1001 f.

II Names of Gods, Kings, Queens und Individuals II.1 Gods Amesemi 819 f., 823, 826 Amun 69, 147, 405, 427, 517, 522, 525, 529, 596, 604, 611 f., 643, 646–652, 657, 660– 662, 667 f., 670, 699–704, 722 f., 729, 734, 738–740, 744 f., 795, 803, 812–816, 818, 820–825, 827–829, 831–836, 853 f., 860, 921 Amun-Apedemak-Serapis 823 Amun-Ra 514, 521–525, 528–536, 921 Anubis 398, 636, 792, 797–799, 804 Anuket (var. Anukis) 512, 521, 532, 859 Apedemak 147, 738, 741, 743 f., 795, 797, 813, 818–823, 826, 830, 851 f. Aqedis 823 Arensnuphis 819–821, 826 f., 831 f., 834, 853 f., 856–858 Aten 427, 515, 524, 534–536

Bastet 400, 594 Bes 561, 644, 657, 659, 749, 812, 822, 825, 829, 834 Bes-Satyr 827 Beset 834

Dedwen 398, 512, 521, 532, 594

Hathor 33, 450, 521, 525, 528, 530–533, 535, 561, 597, 644 f., 659 f., 744, 813, 822 f., 825, 854, 859 Hathor-Tefnut 644, 657 Horus 312, 377, 382, 406, 434, 446, 511 f., 521–523, 528–530, 532–535, 623, 823, 832 Isis 6, 143, 531 f., 636, 792, 796–801, 804, 816, 823 f., 831 f., 836, 854, 856 f. Khnum 398, 512, 521, 533 Khnum-Ra 533 Khonsu 823 f., 833 Maat 800, 819 Mandulis 921 Min-Amun 532 Montu 521, 532 Mut 524, 531, 644, 657, 818, 823–825, 833, 859 Nephthys 792, 797–799, 804 Nile Gods 824, 831, 835 Osiris 625, 636, 646, 699, 792, 796–801, 804

1108

Indices

Ptah 523–525, 528–530, 749 Ptah-Sokar-Osiris 703 Ptah-Tatenen 528

Sebiumeker 814, 819–821, 825–827, 831 f., 834, 853 f., 856–858 Sokar 792

Ra 523, 525, 529, 535 Ra-Atum 405 Ra-Horakhty 522–526, 528–531, 657, 661 f.

Talakh 863 Taweret 561 Thoth 530, 832, 1077

Satet (var. Satis) 512, 521, 529 f., 532, 534 f., 580, 823, 859

Wepwawet 528 f. Weret-Hekau 535

II.2 Kings & Queens Ahmose 314, 396, 441, 475, 529, 532 f. Ahmose (queen) 405 Akhenaten 515, 523 f., 529, 534–536 Akhratan 670 Aktisanes 652 Alara 604, 610, 612, 646, 834 Amanakhareqerema 739, 747 Amanikhabale 828, 834 Amanikhareqerem 816, 821, 825, 827, 832, 835 Amanimalel 670 Amaninatakilebte 634 Amanirenase 818, 831, 834 Amanishakheto 741, 791, 794 f., 798, 825, 828, 830–832, 834 Amanislo 786 Amanitenmomide 792–794 Amaniterese 801 Amanitore 670, 719, 724, 739, 785, 792, 818, 821–823, 825, 827–833, 835 f. Amannote-erike 133 Amasis 671 Amenemhat I 305, 367, 372, 400 Amenemhat II 305, 372, 574 Amenemhat III 379, 398, 529, 575 Amenhotep I 441, 532, 475, 531–533 Amenhotep II 405, 440, 518, 523, 529 f., 532– 534, 567, 581 Amenhotep III (var. Amenophis III) 137, 396, 405, 438, 443, 450, 514, 520, 522–525, 528 f., 532–535, 861 Amenhotep IV 475, 515, 534 f., 547 Amenirdis I 655 Anlamani 133, 596 f., 610, 613, 636, 646, 670, 672

Aramaniqo (see Ergamenes I) Arikeamanote 651 Arkamani (see Ergamenes I) Arnekhamani 743, 826, 834 Aschayt 572 Aspelta 428, 597, 603, 609 f., 613 f., 631, 634, 636, 646, 648 f., 668, 670–672, 729, 734, 816, 831, 835, 1077, 1079 Atlanersa 626, 646, 832 Augustus (Octavian) 830 f. David 966 Diocletian 1033 Djedkara 300 Djedkheperu 381 Ergamenes I (var. Aramaniqo/Arkamani) 786 Ezana 133, 729 Georgios III 927 f., 936 f. Haremhab (see Horemhab) Harsi(y)otef 133, 137, 610, 670, 811 Hatshepsut 427, 475, 477, 513, 517 f., 522, 530, 532–534 Horemhab (var. Haremhab) 515, 520, 530, 535 f., 833 Ioannes II 923, 936 Irike-Amanote 613 Kamose 314, 436, 438, 568, 577 Kanz el-Dawla 137, 966, 968 Kashta 622 Kemsit 572

II Names of Gods, Kings, Queens und Individuals

Khabau 381 Khafra 296 Kharamadoye 947, 954 Khufu 296 Malewiebamani 634 Malonaqen 1077 Mentuhotep II 304, 407, 571 f. Merenptah 529 Merenra 298, 301 Nastasen 133, 137, 609, 624, 634, 646, 816, 821, 1086 Natakamani 719, 724, 739, 785, 792, 812, 821–823, 825–836, 850 Nawidemak 818 Nebkheperura 524 Nebmaatra 450, 515, 523, 533 f., 794 Nectanebo I 660 Neferhotep I 312, 381, 575 Nefertari 530 Ninetjer 396 Nubkheperra 312 Nyuserra 296, 659 Pepy I 571 Pepy II (var. Pepi II) 222, 298, 301, 571, 659 Pi(ankh)y 592, 603, 610 f., 622 f., 631 f., 643, 646, 668, 704, 811, 819, 833 Piye (see Pi(ankh)y) Psamtek II 428, 430, 609, 613 f., 671 f., 691, 816, 835 Qalhata 623, 636 Raphael 928, 931, 935 f. Ramesses I 532 Ramesses II 3, 318, 405, 443, 515 f., 519–531, 533–536, 544, 549, 832, 1086 Ramesses III 516, 534, 1086 Ramesses VI 556 Ramesses IX 455, 533 Ramesses XI 456 Sahura 296, 659 Semamun 966 Senkamanisken 610, 636, 646, 668, 670 f., 673, 729, 832

1109

Senusret I 305 f., 309, 367, 371 f., 511 f., 573, 575 Senusret II 372 Senusret III 305 f., 314, 367, 371 f., 375, 396, 402, 439 f., 511 f., 521, 531–533, 573, 653 Sety I (var. Sethos/Seti) 318, 396, 405, 436, 443, 453, 516, 520, 522, 524 f., 529, 531, 533–536, 602, 625, 699, 1086 Sety II 516, 528 Shabaqo 428, 595, 603 f., 612, 623, 631, 634, 647, 651, 658, 667, 700, 1077 Shabitqo 623, 700, 704 Shanakdakhete 821, 861 f. Shekanda 966 Sheshi 381 Shorkaror 818, 1059 f. Siamun 318, 447 Silko 138, 954, 958 Siti 1033 Sneferu 294, 296, 570 f. Sobekhotep II 576 Sobekhotep IV 312, 575 Taharqo 28, 407, 428, 535, 592, 594, 601–606, 609–612, 624 f., 636 f., 643 f., 646–651, 653, 657–660, 662, 667 f., 670, 672 f., 699, 729, 812, 814, 831–834, 836 Takideamani 798 f. Tanutamani 428, 595, 623–626, 643, 668, 670, 672 Tanyideamani 830, 835 Teqorideamani 830, 889, 943 Thutmose I 314, 318, 396 f., 400 f., 405, 426, 440 f., 532, 534, 541 f., 1086 Thutmose II 314, 318, 427, 441, 532–533 Thutmose III 26, 30, 314, 318, 396, 401, 405, 427, 434, 436, 438, 440 f., 475 f., 513, 517 f., 520–524, 528–535, 542, 580 f., 653, 1086 Thutmose IV 518, 522, 529, 534 f. Tiye 523, 533, 602 Tutankhamun 443, 446, 500, 515, 524, 531, 535, 562, 581, 604, 612, 647 Yesbokheamani 836 Zacharias 928

1110

Indices

II.3 Individuals Aabram (bishop) 936 Abdallah Ibn Abī Sarkh (governor of Egypt) 904 Abraham (priest) 921 Agathios (bishop) 925 Ahmed Bukr (sultan) 1037 Ahmose (scribe) 400 Akinidad (governor of Lower Egypt) 831, 834 Álvares, Francisco 905 Amenemhat (chief of Serra) 545, 551, 553, 555 f., 560 Amenhotep (high Priest) 456 Amenhotep (prince) 581 Ameni (great administrator of the Town) 398 f. Ankhtifi (local ruler) 571 Arakakhataror (var. Arakakhataror) 822 f., 835 Arik(h)ankharor (prince) 792, 822, 835, 862 f. Aritekana (official) 705 Baken-wer (overseer of the treasury) 456 Baybars (sultan) 966 Bruce, James 3, 973 Cailliaud, Frédéric 3, 784, 856 Champollion, Jean-François 394 Dedu-bay 399 Djeba-nefer 399 Djefaihapi (mayor) 323, 577 Djehutyhotep (chief of Serra) 545 f., 553, 556, 559 Djehutymose (scribe) 132 Eratosthenes (mathematician and geographer) 134, 137 Gau, Franz Christian 394 Ha-ankhef (soldier) 434 Harkhuef (var. Harchuf/Harkhuef; expedition leader) 139, 222, 232, 298, 301 Harwa (official) 705 Hekanefer (prince of Miam) 546, 553, 562, 581 Hekata (official) 574 Heqaib (expedition leader) 572, 577 Heqanakht (viceroy) 531 Herodotus (historian) 253 Herunefer (scribe, priest of Horus) 406

Horakhbit (prince) 700 Horemakhet (prince) 699 f., 705 Horhotep (overseer of the double granary) 453 Hori I (viceroy) 400, 546 Hori II (viceroy) 400, 404, 546 Horkheb (prince) 699 Hoskins, George Alexander 3 Huy (viceroy) 531, 562, 581 Ibn Khaldun (historiographer and historian) 966 Ibn Selim al-Aswani (diplomat) 968 f. Ididi (priest) 701 Ipet (mother of Heqaib-son-of-Pen-idebi) 572 Imenemipet (viceroy) 405 Intef-iker (vizier) 400 Ioannes (priest) 921 Irw (official) 701 f. Jhtk (mercenary) 132 St. John the Baptist 931, 935 Ka (official) 312, 382 Karabesken (major of Thebes, fourth prophet of Amun) 700 Karakhamun (aq-Priest) 700, 704, 706 Kerenbes (king) 966 Kherirw (official) 701 Krump, Theodore 973 Kūru (sultan) 1037 Lepsius, Carl Richard 3, 395, 784, 798, 868, 915 Linant de Bellefonds, Louis Maurice Adolphe 3 Maiherperi (officer of Amenhotep II) 503, 581 Maloton (viceroy) 803 Maqrīzi, al- (historian) 968 Martha (mother of king) 936 Mentuemhat (official) 698, 704 f., 707 Merymose (viceroy) 137 Mesehti (local Ruler) 571 Messuy (viceroy) 546 Muhammed Ali (viceroy of Egypt and Sudan) 978 Musa (sultan) 1037 Musa Ibn Kaʼb (governor of Egypt) 965

II Names of Gods, Kings, Queens und Individuals

Nakhtmin (stewart of the queen) 553, 581 Napoleon Bonaparte 394 Nebet-it (mother of Ameni) 398 f. Nebnetjeru (scribe) 406 Nehi (viceroy) 530 Niu (daughter of priest in Kawa) 701 f. Norden, Frederik Ludvig 394 Padiamun (priest of Amun) 702 Padimenope (official) 705 Paheri (nomarch) 577 Panehsy (viceroy) 456 Paser I (viceroy) 404 Pasherenmut (official) 705 Paulos (priest) 921, 924 f., 931 f., 934–936 Pekator (generalissimo) 704 Pen-idebi (father of Heqaib, 12th Dyn.) 572 Penniut (deputy of Wawat) 318, 556 Pepynakht/Heqaib (expedition leader) 301 Percy, Algernon P. Baron Prudhoe 3 Petronius, Gaius (roman prefect) 609 Ptahmaakheru (prince) 699 Pliny the Elder (roman author) 133, 740, 821 Ren-iker (scribe) 400 Reubeni, David 972 Rifaud, Jean-Jaques 3 Rosellini, Ippolito 3 Sa-Hathor (official) 33 Sa-month (dignitary and speaker of Nekhen) 398

1111

Sarenput I (nomarch) 574 Sat-ipi (mother of Sa-month) 398 Sehetep-ib-re (brother of Ameni) 398 Selima (princess) 1083 Sen-usert (father of official Ameni) 398 Seped-hor (commandant of Buhen) 434 Setau (viceroy) 530 Setka (local ruler) 571 Sety (viceroy) 546 Shepenhor (lady) 701 Shorkaror (prince) 822, 835 Smet (priest of Isis) 143 Sobek-hotep (official) 399 Sobeknakht (mayor) 577 Stephanos (saint) 931 Suliman (Sulayman) Solong (sultan) 975, 1037 Taktidamani (prince) 800 f. Theodoros (bishop) 921 Tjeh(e)mau (mercenary) 367, 571 Tunsam (sultan) 1037 Usersatet (viceroy) 530, 567 Weni (expedition leader) 302, 571 Wedjahor (fourth prophet of Amun) 700 f. Wedjarenes (granddaughter of Pi(ankh)y) 704 f., 707 Youssef (sheikh) 968