Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (14.2002(2003))

OLD DONGOLA

SUDAN

eastern entrance on the spot of an engaged
pillar of a transversal arcade. It was re-
tained inside the thickness of this pillar,
which supported the springing of the
vault. This unusual construction that went
against all building principles apparently
caused the collapse of the vault in the end
(Fig. 7). Further to the south, the old vault
was retained in room 36 and a new one at
right angles to the previous one was built
in room 34. Room 42 adjoining tower 60
was treated in similar fashion. The only
entrance from the new parts was through a
narrow passage designated as 45 (and its
extension 46) joining the northern and
southern parts of the building. In all of the


Fig. 7. Building NW-E. Interior of rooms 44A
& 44B with entrance to passage 45. In
the background, an archway leading to
room 45 (Photo W. Chmiel)

rooms the rubble from the collapsed vaults
was leveled, reducing the height by almost
one meter. All the rooms, except for those
at both ends (42 and 34), were connected
by arcade doorways nearly 2 m high; the
wall between rooms 36 and 34 was pierced
by a small doorway barely 1.20 m high and
over it a slot window.
On the upper floor (Fig. 8) a single
room (later divided by a large arcade)
existed at first over rooms 43 and 44; it
was bordered on the south by two other
rooms (36, 34) in a row, connected by
narrow doors in the east wall. All the walls
were plastered (2 layers of plaster and
evidence of successive coats of whitewash
were recorded), the floor was paved with ir-
regular stone slabs. Room l44 was con-
nected with T45 (and may have been one
with it initially). Room 43 was obviously
connected with staircase 40 in the Annex,
but no traces of jambs or threshold were
found because the wall in this place was
preserved too low. Considering that the
rubble fill underlying the final collapse of
the vaults regularly contains Late Christian
pottery, the rooms, on both the ground
floor and the upper level appear to have
been used for quite a long period of time.
The third phase falls generally in the
Terminal Christian period. Some rooms
(36, 43) continued to be used in un-
changed form, but on a higher level. The
deposits seem to be in part the leveled rub-
ble from ruined parts of the building and
in part the outcome of rainfall. In the
ground-floor rooms, which were undoubt-
edly used in some way, not even a mud
floor had been installed. In the well-
preserved room 43, four storage jars were
set into the floor in the four corners (cf.
Fig. 6). A graffito, apparently in Old
Nubian, mentioning bishop(?) Marianos
(iB MxpixN ni") was lightly scratched on
the body of one of these jars. On another

220