Archaeological Research in Lower Nubia and Sudan

Early travelers

The European travelers who succeeded in penetrating the area of Meroe Island at the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century did not leave any descriptions of the ancient creatures. The first of these travelers - Doctor Ponce, heading to Abyssinia, left notes of interest to those wishing to learn about the situation in the country at that period and the customs and traditions of its people. The second traveler - Lenoir de Roule, who was appointed as Poncet's replacement, was killed in Sennar after the locals saw in him a magician, while the king coveted the treasures said to be in De Roule's possession. The fate that befell him came to us from the story of the famous traveler Dr. Bruce, who discovered the sources of the Blue Nile Bruce, 1813. Bruce,1813

The first drawings of the temples of Lower Nubia between Philae and the monastery are due to the efforts made by the Danish Captain F.L. Norden 1755, who was sent by King Khristian in 1737 to Egypt and Sudan. According to Dr. Bruce, who in 1769 visited both Meroe and Aksum, collected a large material, but the antiquity of the Sudan and northern Nubia did not attract his attention. The same can be said about W.A. Brown, 1808, who arrived in 1793 by caravan to Darfur, but his work represents an indispensable reference for researchers in the field of ethnography. In the winter of 1812/1813, T. arrived. He entered Ibrim and left a description of it, along with some other monuments to the north, including Legh, 1818. Brown,1808Legh,1818

The works of travelers in the late first decade of the nineteenth century did not lose their importance, who not only provided valuable observations about the situation in the country, its customs, traditions, and the beliefs of its people, but also provided descriptions of a series of monuments that have disappeared at the present time or still remain in ruins. Usually, wonderful drawings made by these travelers were always attached to the description. These works also contained very valuable information taken from the works of medieval Arab writers, which provide important information about the country’s history. Here we must begin by mentioning Burckhardt (1919), who interviewed T. In 1813, he arrived in Corsco and continued his journey across the second cataract and reached Tamanara, which is 650 kilometers south of Aswan. In the following year, he crossed the Nubian desert with a convoy and arrived in Shendi, crossing about two hundred kilometers along the Atbara River until Goz Rajab, heading to Kassala and from there to Suakin. Burckhardt was the first among European travelers to see most of the monuments existing at that time in Northern Nubia: the cave temples in Abu Simbel and Toshka, the tumuli in Qastal, etc. The description he presents is supported by interesting quotes taken from Arab historians and geographers, for example Ibn Salim Al-Aswany. The precedence of the search for antiquities at Gebel Barkal, where Napata once stood, goes back to Waddington and Hunbury (1822), who stayed there for about ten days and explored and sketched the pyramids and temples of the ancient capital of Kush. The truth is that it is worth admitting that the drawings we executed are far from being complete in terms of their conformity to the originals. Waddington and Hanbury conducted limited excavations on Argo Island, and they drew a map of the temple in crucifixion, a map that is still valid and has not lost its value, as parts of the temple disappeared later. The cemetery dug into the rock in Dosha also attracted their attention. Waddington and Hanbury were more interested in antiquity than their predecessors, which of course makes their work important to contemporary archaeologists. Burckhardt,1919Waddington and Hunbury,1822

The first stage of archaeological exploration

Great importance is represented by the description of two French travelers - F. Caillot and Lenan de Bellefond, who penetrated the country further south than Waddington and Hanbury and showed a major interest in the antiquities of the past, can realistically be considered the founders of Kush archaeology. Cailliaud (1827) toured the country at the same time as the Englishmen Waddington and Hanbury, and he also met them upon their return, but the meeting was cold and Cailliaud did not obtain any information from them about Gebel Barkal. Caio and his companion Leturzet tried not to miss visiting any place where ancient creatures might be found. There is no room here to trace this journey in detail. Suffice it to say that Kayo arrived south from Omdurman and ascended the Blue Nile until Soba, where he found Abu Haul, and then continued his journey to Fazogli. Caio was the first among European travelers to visit and describe the ruins of Meroe (Al-Bajrawiya), Naqa, and Al-Musawarat Al-Yasfara, and determined the locations of many temples. He concluded, through studying the inscriptions, that Kush was ruled by queens, which was not a custom in Egypt. The appearance of people's clothes and the jewelry they were adorned with  in the inscriptions differed from the Egyptian clothing and jewelry, and therefore Caio concluded that a people culturally different from the Egyptians lived there. Through Naqa, in his opinion, trade routes extended further to the south-east - to Abyssinia, and to the east - to the Red Sea. Cailliaud,1827

On his way back, Caio stopped at Gebel Barkal, where he was interested in describing the pyramids. Of course, he could not determine either the time of its construction or the names of those who built it. Near Timbes (the third waterfall), he succeeded in excavating a quarry where he found an unfinished statue (currently called by the people of the region of Okununde-Osama), similar to the statue found on Argo Island. In every place he visited, Caio drew maps and made wonderful drawings that are still considered primary sources, as some of them have disappeared. He condemns both F. Lepsius and Lytron of Caio copied hieroglyphic and Greek inscriptions. Before beginning his journey, Caillaux had benefited from the book “The Image of Egypt,” which had just been published at the time, which had been written by the French scholars who accompanied Napoleon’s campaign. Therefore, we find him adhering to the same principles in his classification of antiquities as those drawn up by the authors of “The Image of Egypt.”

Linan de Belfond spent a year in Sudan (from August 1821 to July 1822). Unfortunately, his notes in diary form and the wonderful drawings that remained elusive for a century had only recently been published. Linnane visited Meroe Island and his observations are concise and precise. What is interesting about it is that it was made under the influence of direct impression, and the young traveler (he was 22 years old at the time) shows a high degree of knowledge and erudition. Lenan insists that in Gebel Barkal, where the pyramids that he drew and in some cases cleaned caught his attention, the city of Napata was established, not the city of Meroe as some believed. His drawings and maps were distinguished by their accuracy and almost surpassed those of Caillot and his maps, and were not even less than the works of the artists accompanying the later Lepsius expedition. Magnificent and precise was his copying of the inscriptions of the temples of Musawwarat al-Safar and Naqa.

In 1819, engineer F. Gau, 1919, painted temples in northern Nubia, and these drawings support the work of Caillot and Linan de Belfond, who gave this region less attention. At the same time, the journey of the Russian Mozarabs returns. Sinkovsky Сенковский, 1958 to Northern Nubia, where he visited Abu Simbel and recorded a wonderful literary description of the region. Dr. Belzoni cleaned the sand that had accumulated over the centuries to cover the cave temple at Abu Simbel, which as a result of his work became subject to study. Belzoni, 1820. Gau,1919Сенковский,1958Belzoni,1820

As for Champollion, who headed the French mission to Egypt in 1928-1929, he did not go further south than Wadi Halfa. The material that he and those accompanying him collected - copies of inscriptions, temple drawings and maps - goes back almost entirely to the times when the country was under the control of the Pharaohs, or to the Greco-Roman era Champollion, 1835. The results of the Champollion expedition were published after the death of this genius scientist, and the materials revealed by the Tuscany expedition, headed by Champollion's student Y., were added to them. Rosellini, 1844. Champollion,1835Rosellini,1844

In 1833, the island of Meroe was visited by Dr. Hoskins, 1835, whose book in parts repeats, and in some cases adds to, Cayo's information. Hoskins's book is also provided with many drawings and maps. Hoskins was greatly impressed by the pyramids of Meroe, which seemed to him extremely splendid and “excellent from an artistic architectural point of view,” and which he correctly recognized as the burial places of the queens and kings of Kush. The validity of his observations regarding the distinctive layout of these tombs was later confirmed, especially his speculation that the bodies of the kings were located in burial chambers under the superstructure, which were chambers to which the well's fossa led into the vestibule. Hoskins mapped the three groups of pyramids, which correspond to the three royal cemeteries at Meroe. Then Hoskins visited the Yellow Pictures, where he saw in the temple there a “hunting palace” for the king (in which Caio had seen a school) or a palace in which the king spends the fall semester. However, after studying the building, Hoskins correctly determined the time of its construction to be in the Greco-Roman era. However, for various reasons, Hoskins's visit to Meroe Island was quick, and although he succeeded in visiting Naqa and crossing Al-Bayuda, the material he collected was almost scarce. But he collected at Meroe at Gebel Barkal a huge harvest of drawings, maps and plans for temples. He then visited the island of Arqu, Thumbs, Salib (here he made a map of the temple and drew its ruins), and Jebel Dosha, where he succeeded, with the help of Champollion's work, in identifying the royal cartouches of the names of Senusret III and Tuthmosis III. He also visited Semna and Kamma. Although Hoskins's book contains more important information for the researcher in the field of ethnography than for the researcher in the field of archeology and history, some of his scattered observations still maintain their importance today. Hoskins,1835

Here it is necessary to mention the doctor working in the Italian administration, Dr. Ferlini, who arrived at the royal pyramids at Meroe, did not differ much in his method of dealing with ancient tombs from contemporary or ancient thieves. One of the pyramids, which was the best in terms of preserving its shape, was literally demolished by Ferlini, whose destructive work culminated in the discovery of many gold, silver, and other metal artifacts. Part of it later arrived in Munich and another in Berlin. Hence, Ferlini actually plundered the only surviving tomb of the Queen of Meroe until that period. Before that, Ferlini and his companion Stefani had, with less success (for him), destroyed four other pyramids. Traces of their "activities" were also left behind in Ouadbanga. Fortunately for scientific research, no one after them attempted “archaeological excavation” in Sudan until the end of the nineteenth century Ferlini, 1938 Munich and another to BerlinFerlini,1938

The memoirs contain: Rozgira, about trips to the three oldest countries in the world, and various notes regarding the antiquities of Sudan. In 1838, he penetrated the country more than anyone else and reached Sennar, Fazoghli, and Roseires, and reached the southwestern regions of Abyssinia, and on his way back he passed through Gebel Barkal. It is worth noting that the material was presented in a confusing manner, Russegger, 1843

In 1842, he arrived in Lower Nubia, continuing the work of Champollion A. Brice de Avni, who was lucky enough to discover in Copan an obelisk containing information about the gold mines in the eastern desert and the wonders of Seti I and Ramses II in bringing water to the workers there.

Finally, as if as a conclusion to the first phase of the archaeological exploration of Sudan, the famous Lepsius expedition of 1842-1845 headed there, whose work constituted an era in the history of science about ancient Egypt. The atlas, consisting of twelve volumes, truly represents a valuable reference, as it contains a huge amount of copying works for the inscriptions and drawings found in the most important monuments, which were executed with a high degree of skill and precision. Lepsius, 1949. The expedition's route took via Corsco to Meroe, an area that has been subjected to exhaustive research. Then scholars and artists worked at Naqa and the Yellow Musawwarat, visited Soba and Sennar, and on the way back they devoted some time to the study of Gebel Barkal, Arqo, Tombas, Sisbe, Salib, Sadanga, Sai Island, and Semna, as well as the temples of Lower Nubia. Lepsius carried many inscriptions and drawings with him to Germany. Before the beginning of the twentieth century. The texts collected by Lepsius, as well as the Gebel Barkal stelae discovered by W. Mariet, especially the Kushine kings Pia, Aspalta, Horseuteph, and Nestasen, in addition to the writings of Greek and Roman historians and geographers, the only written sources about Napata and Meroe. Lepsius,1949

This first stage was characterized, so to speak, by “negative sum.” Scientists, with the exception of Ferlini, were basically content with what they found on the surface, and only in sporadic cases cleaned the sand accumulated by hundreds of years on one or another architectural complex. Of course, we must take into account the lack of development of description methods and the lack of knowledge of language and history. However, it is not permissible to underestimate the importance of the achievements of the scientific works of these pioneers and their enthusiasm. They were the first to draw attention to the relics of a culture forgotten for generations and to try to draw attention to them. It is logical to say that the blame does not fall on them, since the study of Sudan’s antiquities over the next half century remained in a low state. Virtually no scientist was interested in studying it, as all capabilities were directed to Egypt. It is possible that the unstable conditions in the country that ultimately led to the outbreak of the Mahdist Revolt (1883) were a reason for this, as European access to the cultural and political centers of the Meroe Kingdom became impossible.

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The First Aswan Reservoir and the Rescue of Nubia's Monuments

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