DOI Heft:
Egypt
DOI Artikel:Piasecki, Karol: The skulls from Naqlun
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41368#0175
NAQLUN
EGYPT
THE SKULLS FROM NAQLUN
Karol Piasecki
The anthropological examination1 2 3-1 of the
skeletons from the cementery at Naqlun,
which started in 1999, has yet to be
completed. Nonetheless, the material
analyzed up to date is sufficient for some
initial conclusions to be presented.
THE CEMETERY
The cemetery under investigation was used
undoubtedly by the secular21 Coptic
population inhabiting Fayum Oasis; in all
probability, it was of the likes of a parish
cemetery.
The deceased were buried in coffins,
wrapped in mats made of palm leaves
stretched over a framework of palm-leaf
ribs, or else wrapped directly in mats. The
coffins were made of palm tree trunks or
planks, usually a few narrower or shorter
pieces that were put together, this owing to
the general dearth of this valuable material.
Wooden pegs or big iron nails were used to
join these planks together. Some of the
coffins had openings cut in the lids at the
end where the head of the deceased was to
be found, others were additionally covered
with white linen and decorated with
schematically sketched crosses executed in
red paint.
Most of the bodies were either robed or
wrapped in shrouds; this obviously
affected the partial mummification of the
soft tissues, primarily the skin, hair,
tendons and muscles. In many cases, the
skin on the head had been mummified as
a result of tight head coverings wrapped
around the head. The mummification of
the local burials, spontaneous beyond
doubt, was conditioned by the desert
environment (the salinity and dryness of
the soil checked the usual processes of
tissue decay).
Another phenomenon, apparent
especially in the case of the less deeply
deposited burials, is the precipitation of
salts and gypsum on the bones wherever
mummification was lacking.31 The
conditions inside the coffins provided the
proper climate for salt-and-gypsum
efflorescence, occasionally up to 2 cm thick,
forming on the smooth, flat surfaces of the
bones and hampering analysis until the
material has been cleaned. Most of the
coffins were made rather carelessly,
1) Fieldwork in 1999 and 2000 was carried out by the author. In 2000 Ms Elzbieta D^browska, anthropologist, also
participated in the work.
2) Apart from a single case of a body being arrayed in a robe suggestive of a clergyman, the remaining burials represent
both sexes in equal percentage, while the share of child and adolescent burials is a relatively good reflection of the age
structure typical of the period.
3) The situation of the monastery at the edge of an oasis rich in water results in more extensive condensation of water
vapor on cool nights, a phenomenon common in the desert. The skeletons, even if left inside the coffins to be explored on
the next day, were covered with a layer of salt efflorescence overnight!
173
EGYPT
THE SKULLS FROM NAQLUN
Karol Piasecki
The anthropological examination1 2 3-1 of the
skeletons from the cementery at Naqlun,
which started in 1999, has yet to be
completed. Nonetheless, the material
analyzed up to date is sufficient for some
initial conclusions to be presented.
THE CEMETERY
The cemetery under investigation was used
undoubtedly by the secular21 Coptic
population inhabiting Fayum Oasis; in all
probability, it was of the likes of a parish
cemetery.
The deceased were buried in coffins,
wrapped in mats made of palm leaves
stretched over a framework of palm-leaf
ribs, or else wrapped directly in mats. The
coffins were made of palm tree trunks or
planks, usually a few narrower or shorter
pieces that were put together, this owing to
the general dearth of this valuable material.
Wooden pegs or big iron nails were used to
join these planks together. Some of the
coffins had openings cut in the lids at the
end where the head of the deceased was to
be found, others were additionally covered
with white linen and decorated with
schematically sketched crosses executed in
red paint.
Most of the bodies were either robed or
wrapped in shrouds; this obviously
affected the partial mummification of the
soft tissues, primarily the skin, hair,
tendons and muscles. In many cases, the
skin on the head had been mummified as
a result of tight head coverings wrapped
around the head. The mummification of
the local burials, spontaneous beyond
doubt, was conditioned by the desert
environment (the salinity and dryness of
the soil checked the usual processes of
tissue decay).
Another phenomenon, apparent
especially in the case of the less deeply
deposited burials, is the precipitation of
salts and gypsum on the bones wherever
mummification was lacking.31 The
conditions inside the coffins provided the
proper climate for salt-and-gypsum
efflorescence, occasionally up to 2 cm thick,
forming on the smooth, flat surfaces of the
bones and hampering analysis until the
material has been cleaned. Most of the
coffins were made rather carelessly,
1) Fieldwork in 1999 and 2000 was carried out by the author. In 2000 Ms Elzbieta D^browska, anthropologist, also
participated in the work.
2) Apart from a single case of a body being arrayed in a robe suggestive of a clergyman, the remaining burials represent
both sexes in equal percentage, while the share of child and adolescent burials is a relatively good reflection of the age
structure typical of the period.
3) The situation of the monastery at the edge of an oasis rich in water results in more extensive condensation of water
vapor on cool nights, a phenomenon common in the desert. The skeletons, even if left inside the coffins to be explored on
the next day, were covered with a layer of salt efflorescence overnight!
173