DOI issue:
Sudan
DOI article:Żurawski, Bogdan: Dongola Reach: the Southern Dongola Reach survey report on fieldwork in 2000
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41368#0289
DONGOLA REACH
SUDAN
In another place in the Annals,
Harsjotef states that he: “built Tara, one side
being 50 cubits, making four sides, cubits 200,
as well” ^ As no excavations have been
conducted on the site, nothing can be said
concerning the real size of the Usli
buildings. The square shape rather
precludes a temple. It might reasonably be
a palace of moderate size, the more so that
the building of Tare by Harsjotef is listed
together with repair works done by him in
the royal palace at Napata.
Tare is also referred to in the stele of
Nastasen from year 8 of his reign. Nastasen
on the 24th day of the month “went up to
Bastet who dwells in Tele (-Tare), his good
mother who gave him life, a long beautiful old
age, and her left breast”,10) On the 29th day
of the month, he was in Napata. This
means that going either up or down
between Napata and Tare, including the
making of offerings, took five days, and
a visit in Tare, on the way upstream from
Pnubs and Kawa during a journey to
Napata, lasted the same amount of time.
The location of Usli satisfies both
situations, since the site sits on the left
bank of the river, 35 km south of Napata.
It must be noted that during the winter
months, the distance from Usli to Napata
was covered overland due to reverse winds
and current on the river. The second
mention of Tare in the Nastasen stele is
connected with the war with the rebel
Mediye (Medjaj) who sacked the “property
consisting of things that come to Bastet who
dwells in Tarae, a foundation of king
Aspelta”,n) This means that the temple
existed during Aspelta's time, if it was not
founded by him. Last but not least,
R(h)adata is listed by Bion as lying next,
and on the opposite bank, to Coetum
(identified as Kereten). Were Kereten to
be identified with Tergedum in Sonijat,
then topographical reality would appear to
concur with the textual record.
Contrary to the rather barren Hugeir
region, the environs of Usli were densely
populated throughout the Kushite period.
South of the temple there are huge
Christian koms and desertwards there sits
a huge tumuli field that had been
devastated by road construction among
other things. Luckily, two complete jars
were recovered from the inhabitants of
Usli. One brownish burnished jar, 36 cm
in diameter, was decorated with an incised
zigzag band on the shoulder (Fig. 4, top
right), the other, with a diameter
exceeding 42 cm, bore a mat impression.
One endangered tumulus, situated next to
a gahwa place, was excavated under the
supervision of NCAM inspector Mahmoud
Suleyman. The rescue operation revealed
a hypogeum with a side niche of oval shape
and a subrectangular entrance shaft. To
judge by the trail of beads that usually
adorned the corpse, the body must have
been dragged out by robbers through
a hole made in the entrance blocking. The
grave furnishings were left virtually intact.
One pot was discovered filled with small
pebbles. In another, 300 or so faience beads
were found.
The ceramics from the tumuli field in
Usli produced a very interesting
assemblage unknown from hitherto
excavated post-Meroitic tumuli on the
right bank (Fig. 5). Some ornaments and
shapes are analogous to ceramics of the 2nd
9) Ibid., (78, 131-132), 455.
10) Ibid., (84, 33), 483.
11) Ibid., (84, 181-182) 493.
287
SUDAN
In another place in the Annals,
Harsjotef states that he: “built Tara, one side
being 50 cubits, making four sides, cubits 200,
as well” ^ As no excavations have been
conducted on the site, nothing can be said
concerning the real size of the Usli
buildings. The square shape rather
precludes a temple. It might reasonably be
a palace of moderate size, the more so that
the building of Tare by Harsjotef is listed
together with repair works done by him in
the royal palace at Napata.
Tare is also referred to in the stele of
Nastasen from year 8 of his reign. Nastasen
on the 24th day of the month “went up to
Bastet who dwells in Tele (-Tare), his good
mother who gave him life, a long beautiful old
age, and her left breast”,10) On the 29th day
of the month, he was in Napata. This
means that going either up or down
between Napata and Tare, including the
making of offerings, took five days, and
a visit in Tare, on the way upstream from
Pnubs and Kawa during a journey to
Napata, lasted the same amount of time.
The location of Usli satisfies both
situations, since the site sits on the left
bank of the river, 35 km south of Napata.
It must be noted that during the winter
months, the distance from Usli to Napata
was covered overland due to reverse winds
and current on the river. The second
mention of Tare in the Nastasen stele is
connected with the war with the rebel
Mediye (Medjaj) who sacked the “property
consisting of things that come to Bastet who
dwells in Tarae, a foundation of king
Aspelta”,n) This means that the temple
existed during Aspelta's time, if it was not
founded by him. Last but not least,
R(h)adata is listed by Bion as lying next,
and on the opposite bank, to Coetum
(identified as Kereten). Were Kereten to
be identified with Tergedum in Sonijat,
then topographical reality would appear to
concur with the textual record.
Contrary to the rather barren Hugeir
region, the environs of Usli were densely
populated throughout the Kushite period.
South of the temple there are huge
Christian koms and desertwards there sits
a huge tumuli field that had been
devastated by road construction among
other things. Luckily, two complete jars
were recovered from the inhabitants of
Usli. One brownish burnished jar, 36 cm
in diameter, was decorated with an incised
zigzag band on the shoulder (Fig. 4, top
right), the other, with a diameter
exceeding 42 cm, bore a mat impression.
One endangered tumulus, situated next to
a gahwa place, was excavated under the
supervision of NCAM inspector Mahmoud
Suleyman. The rescue operation revealed
a hypogeum with a side niche of oval shape
and a subrectangular entrance shaft. To
judge by the trail of beads that usually
adorned the corpse, the body must have
been dragged out by robbers through
a hole made in the entrance blocking. The
grave furnishings were left virtually intact.
One pot was discovered filled with small
pebbles. In another, 300 or so faience beads
were found.
The ceramics from the tumuli field in
Usli produced a very interesting
assemblage unknown from hitherto
excavated post-Meroitic tumuli on the
right bank (Fig. 5). Some ornaments and
shapes are analogous to ceramics of the 2nd
9) Ibid., (78, 131-132), 455.
10) Ibid., (84, 33), 483.
11) Ibid., (84, 181-182) 493.
287