Saving the antiquities of northern Sudan
The situation was more complicated with regard to rescuing antiquities and studying them in Sudanese territory. Here, starting from the country's borders with Egypt in Persia to Kusha, along an area covering about two hundred kilometers, that is, the area threatened by drowning, preliminary information indicated that approximately 75 archaeological sites will be covered by the waters of the emerging lake, and the number of these sites increased after conducting an aerial survey of the area. When work began on the Aswan Reservoir (High Dam), the sites that were subjected to study in this region did not exceed ten, and the study itself was partial. Verkuteh, who was then director of the Sudanese Antiquities Service and was planning a campaign to save the antiquities of the threatened area, was right to describe them as unexcavated. In total, 300 sites have been recorded in the region that need study and rescue.
First, with the help of an aerial survey, an archaeological map of the region from Wadi Halfa to Kusha was drawn up, which was completed in 1960, and the list of sites where work should be done in the first place was confirmed. This research and study is now being conducted over the years, under the supervision of UNESCO and with the participation of the global scientific community, which has yielded exciting results and discoveries, as is clear even from the brief initial reports.
In 1960-1962, detailed surveying and exploration operations were conducted from Faras in the north to Jammeh in the south, that is, along a 50 km stretch of the western bank of the Nile. In general, 312 sites were identified in this section that need study and rescue.
If the Polish mission working in Faras and the surrounding area crowned its efforts with uncovering the famous relics of the Christian era (churches, frescoes, tombs of bishops, etc.), then the relics of the Napata and Meroe era in the region were present in a worse quantity and quality. Inside Faras itself and in the hill beyond the surrounding fort, the remains of dwellings dating back to the Meroe period have been cleaned. Interesting were the architectural pieces and parts of statues that were found here: friezes, inscribed window frames, parts of bas-reliefs, some of which were used to line the church when it was built, as well as offering tablets and parts of two inscriptions that Mikhalovsky dated to the first and second centuries AD, that is, the period of the prosperity of Northern Nubia. Excavations continued until 1964.
Six kilometers south of Fars, in Aksha, a joint mission of French and Argentine scientists worked in the 1961/62 season, headed by Vercotier and Rosenwasser. Near the temple of Ramses II, and in the southeastern part of the area approved for the mission to work in, two cemeteries from the Meroe era were uncovered, the second of which was the youngest (late), making it overlap with the burials of the unknown group (fourth century AD). During the two seasons of work, 92 burials were excavated, the majority of which were shaped like a mine, with a cavity at the bottom of the pit. Although it was destroyed and looted in ancient times, they succeeded in collecting huge quantities of pieces that shed light on the customs of the people of the place: vessels bearing colorful drawings of various shapes on their walls, earrings, seals, amulets, perfume containers, cups made of copper and bronze, the remains of pieces of clothing, the remains of leather shoes, and articles of glass and ceramics. Many of these artifacts are the result of the work of craftsmen who possess a high degree of artistic skill. The dry climate helped preserve the bodies of the dead in the cemeteries despite the destructive activities of thieves. Many of the skeletons preserved their hair and skin, giving valuable material to anthropologists. In isolated cases, traces of the tattoo remained. From the later cemetery comes the funerary stele containing 17 lines, which belongs to a member of the local nobility named Atqé bin Amerêye (Father) and Fakih Bêqêke (Mother). It is a text that supplicates to Osiris and Isis in the usual stereotypical terms. Rosenwasser dates it to the fourth century AD.
There are three Meroe cemeteries in the West Bank, also in Surra, near Aksha. Two of them are late cemeteries and overlap chronologically with the burials of the anonymous group. Twenty tombs were excavated, all of which had been looted. Unfired bricks for tomb construction were usually used to build the vault. The shape of the vessels from the tombs is similar to what Griffiths described in his report on excavations at the time in Persia. The grave goods included beads of various materials, including glass, which was widely available, seals, fishing hooks, spearheads, and more.
Further south in Arqin, during experimental surveys conducted in the 1961/1962 season on the western bank of the Nile, the sites of a number of Late Meroe burials were identified. In the various burials, he found figures from which the dirt had been removed, and which were prey for plunderers in ancient times, objects that consisted mainly of pottery. Near the village, located directly on the bank of the Nile, a residence arose in the Meroe era, where people continued to reside until the spread of Christianity. Near the village he found a kiln for burning pots. This pottery, along with what Adams found, also allows for a better understanding of the skill of ancient potters.
In the following excavation season, the Spanish mission began the most comprehensive excavation in Arqin. In Naqa al-Arab, the mission excavated 220 tombs of different shapes in the Meroe cemetery. Among them were two terraces made of unfired brick. The cemetery was used from the first century BC. Until the third century AD. The funerary goods are similar to what was discovered in other cemeteries. The discoveries of archaeologists in Naqa al-Arab were characterized by richness, as these local cemeteries did not attract the attention of thieves. Some vessels: amphora, jars made under the influence of Greco-Roman models. What is important is that the full report of the mission's work has been published.
On the island of Debrossa, where experimental probes were limited, buildings from the Meroe era were revealed. These buildings occupied an area of 775 square metres. The walls were constructed partly of unfired brick, partly of stone. Currently I have cleaned five houses, three of which are complete. Various utensils were found in it, most of which were large in size, indicating that they were used to store food. Millstones were found here. Traces of stoves were found in two houses.
The other two houses, built of unfired brick, were larger on the island of Gemmi Nartey. One of the two houses contained 11 rooms, and the second contained 21 rooms. The distinctive feature of the two houses appears in the repetition of a combination of a short room and a long room. In the large room there is a stove, and in the short room utensils are stored. The study indicates that homes gradually expanded. Additional rooms were built attached to the main rooms as the size of the beds increased. Similar houses have been uncovered in Caranog. The two houses were suddenly and hastily abandoned as they were drowned by an unusually high flood of the Nile. Therefore, utensils and household materials remained in the two houses, including shapes rarely found in burials.
Meroe period houses have also been uncovered on Mele Island facing Jammeh. At the top of Mount Abu Sir, two houses were found. Near the rocks was cleaned a pot-burning kiln similar to that described by Adams. Hence, all of this region was inhabited by Kushites in the Greco-Roman era. It is possible that their activity is partly related to boating routes. We have to wait for the full publication of the composition of the houses of Jemmi Narti, perhaps this will reveal the picture of the life of those Kushites and their customs in that period.
On Matoka Island, located in the middle of the Second Cataract, 50 Meroe burials were uncovered, similar to the burials that were excavated in Faras, Karanog and other sites. The latter, in turn, was plundered. Another cemetery dating back to the same era was in better condition and was uncovered to the north of Jemmi. 29 of the tombs of this cemetery were studied.
In Buhin, where a huge castle was built in the Middle Kingdom era to protect sailing on the Nile during the dismantling of the Temple of Hatshepsut, traces of the architectural activity carried out by Taharqa were identified.
In 1957, Verkoté succeeded during experimental investigations carried out in Semna (the fortress that protected the second cataract in ancient times), a settlement site (or city) dating back to the Meroe period and an accessory cemetery. The delicate pottery with its wonderful colorful designs that was uncovered in the tombs may stand as evidence of the independence of the population and the large size of the site.
On one of the largest islands of the Nile River, Sai (180 km south of Wadi Halfa), the Egyptian citadel, built in the New Kingdom and long abandoned, was reused in the Meroe period as a residence. However, Meroe pottery and a lamp were found in one of the dwellings. It is not unlikely that the castle was destroyed during Psamtik II's campaign to Kush, and after that it remained uninhabited for a long period of time.
In the 1963/1964 season, the Italian mission headed by Chef Georgini, 300 meters east of the temple built by Amenhotep III to the goddess Ti, uncovered a huge Meroe cemetery whose superstructures, built of unfired bricks, were pyramid-shaped. The cemetery was full of objects dating back to the Meroe era. The cemetery had been looted in ancient times, as it provided only a number of texts and additional material to help in studying the development of the cemeteries. In one of the tombs of a nobleman, a seal and some other ornaments were found.
Further south, in Salub, the same mission over the years excavated the temple of Amenhotep III and found Meroe inscriptions.
Rescue work on Meroe Island (Al Butana)
If the last ten years have witnessed a revitalization of the work of archaeologists in the northern parts of Sudan, it is truly unfortunate that this does not apply to the rest of the other parts of Sudan, where the main cultural and political centers of the Meroe Kingdom are located.
The most successful and largest work was carried out by the Institute of Egyptian Studies of Humboldt University (East Germany) under the leadership of Hintza. These works are still ongoing. Although a full description is still under preparation, preliminary reports and publications successfully keep pace with the work of East German scientists, enriching our knowledge with exciting observations and new sources.
At the beginning of 1958, Hintza and his team conducted a preliminary exploration of nearly forty archaeological sites covering the stages from the Stone Age until the period immediately preceding the Arab conquest. Geographical and geometric maps were drawn, relief and engraved inscriptions and drawings were reproduced, photographs were taken, and many sites were inspected and measured, including sites of the Meroe era, for example in Umm Ali, where there are Meroe inscriptions, and in Jado, where statues and reliefs were recorded, and so on. In Meroe, new inscriptions and doodles were discovered. The mission paid special attention to the site of Al-Musawarat Al-Safra, where the mission later conducted systematic excavations and maintenance work over the years, which resulted in the complete restoration of the temple of the lion god. Exploration work was also carried out in the Naqa temples and in the city that arose in Abu Qili, which had not been studied until that time, and in addition to its temples, it contained irrigation facilities. In total, twenty archaeological sites were studied (in addition to cemeteries), residence sites, temples, cities, facilities, and others, only some of which received excavation that is far from being completed. The brief report published by Hintza points out the scarcity of work that has been carried out so far and the treasures that are still buried underground in this region.
Hintza and his team worked on the yellow paintings starting in the year 1960 and uncovered, in addition to many inscriptions and inscriptions, sculptures and architectural monuments, a complete complex of temples and sanctuaries, as well as irrigation facilities, excavations, canals, and so on, which provided water to irrigate the temple lands and their orchards. The temple dedicated to the lion god Abademak, as it turned out, was built by King Arnakamani, whom Hentza considered, on the basis of the similarity of epithets in titles, to be close in time to Ptolemy IV, which provides evidence from which we can proceed in establishing an absolute chronology. 210 AD. The thing that matches the history of this era].
In 1965, the University of Ghana mission headed by Sheeny and a modest team began conducting preliminary excavations in Meroe and developing a detailed map of the area, in preparation for future excavations. One of the cleaned slag piles indicated that iron smelting continued until the eighth century AD, which indicates that after the collapse of the Kingdom of Meroe, its capital remained inhabited and was not abandoned. At the beginning of 1966, Vinick, curator of the Berlin Museum (East Germany), was busy studying the sanctities of the tombs in the pyramids of the northern cemetery in Bagrawiyah, which were probably partially restored. Finnick uncovered an inscription of a little-known Meroe king named Shespankhnemun Stepenre, who likely ruled in the 2nd century BC. He was most likely buried in Pyramid No. 8, which is still unidentified. Vinik also proved that those buried in the Bagrawiya pyramids No. 21 and 25 are not two kings, as was commonly believed, but rather two queens. In addition, Vinik reproduced new Meroe engravings.
Important excavations in terms of their results on Meroe Island were conducted in 1958-1960 in Wadbanga by the Sudanese Antiquities Service headed by Verkoteh. Here he found a two-storey, square palace with each side measuring 61 metres. The palace contained 15 halls. The ground floor was allocated for supplies and services, and large quantities of pottery models, elephant teeth, statues of lions, and other small artifacts were found there. The owner of the palace, or rather its owner (Vercoté believes, and not without reason, that the Queen Mother lived in the palace) who lived on the upper floor, as evidenced by the finds in the upper floor. A piece of a wall painting remains representing one of the Kandakas (the queen mothers), and in another piece is a royal cartouche bearing the name of Amani Shakheti, a contemporary of Augustus, whom Strabo mentions. He revealed an exciting statue representing a person with the head of an elephant, reminiscent of similar Indian statues. Other statues and paintings depict a lion, a falcon, and a frog and are associated with local cults. A lamp depicting a Roman gladiator indicates connections with Rome. Next to the palace, a small temple was cleaned, in which a standing lion statue was found, even offerings. Also, a dirt mound was cleaned that covered a circular building with a diameter of approximately 20 meters, the identity of which is still unknown. A fragment of the Meroe inscription indicates that the residence existed since the third century BC. The palace was probably built in the first century BC. Wadbanga, located on the bank of the Nile, was often a port for the Safar and Naqa. Amani Shakhiti
In 1957, a cave bearing the name Aspalta was found 10 kilometers northeast of Khartoum. Excavations conducted the following year indicated that the huge building built in the Christian era, of which nothing remains now, had been erected on the ruins of Meroe.
Archaeologists and historians have a lot of work to do in Sudan to complete research that only began in the last decade. It is necessary, as soon as possible, to publish reports of the excavations conducted during these years. Only then will light be shed on what is hidden from us in the history of Sudan. Only then will it be possible to trace the roads that in ancient times linked the Mediterranean Sea to the interior regions of Africa.
Note: Many of the results that Katznelson calls for urgent publication have now been published. See bibliography appended to Arkamani.
Adams: The Archeology of Nubia
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