Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (15.2003(2004))

OLD DONGOLA

SUDAN

possible only for the small ruminants and
cattle. A sizable percentage of bones from
edible parts indicates that in the case of
these species the remains were of a post-
consumption nature.
The material from B.I.l contained
eight bones from juvenile specimens. Six
came from cattle slaughtered between 12
months and 3-5 years of age. Two bones of
small ruminants came from animals
slaughtered one before 18 months and the
other before 3.5 years of age.
Osteometric observations of cattle
bones provided conclusions concerning the
morphology of the species. A sizable
number of skulls with the cornual pro-
cesses chopped off indicated that the cattle
at Old Dongola was a horned species, the
hones being of large size. Such values have
been noted for long-horned cattle
indigenous to Africa. On the other hand,
skeleton size points to medium-sized
specimens. Thus, the cattle variety should
be described as animals with very long
ANIMAL BONES FROM SWN
The osteological material from the court in
front of the palace entrance was poorer in
terms of the number of species represented.
Cattle (Bos primigenius f. Taurus) consti-
tuted 73% of the assemblage. The other
species accounted for: sheep/goat (Ovis
ammon f. arieslCapra aegagrus f hircus) 19%,
camel (Camelus dromedarius) 4%, horse/
donkey (Equus przewalskii f. caballus/Equus
asinus) 3%. The bones of pig and gazelle
constituted no more than 1% of the set
(Table 4).
In the anatomical analysis, the big
number of skulls of cattle and sheep/goat is
noteworthy. The post-cranial percentage in
the case of these species is characteristic of
post-consumption remains. Seven bones of
young animals represented cattle slaugh-

horns but with medium and even small
body size.
Regarding sheep, the assemblage
yielded nine examples of corkscrew-like
horns growing horizontally out of the
skull. The pigs from this period were
small or even very small. Teeth from pigs
were identified as coming from a sow in
two out of three cases. The third was from
a male.
Traces of processing were a characteristic
attribute of the material. As many as eleven
of the skulls had the horns broken off. In the
other cases, the traces were all chopping
marks.
While most of the cattle, sheep/goat and
pig remains originating from the staircase
area constituted post-consumption waste, it
is important to note that the assemblage
also yielded bones of animals that were
“inedible”, that is, camels, dogs, horses.
This suggests that the fill in B.I.l was
a secondary deposit of rubbish brought here
from elsewhere to be dumped.
8 (13TH-14TH CENTURIES)
tered between 15 months and 4 years of age.
In terms of animal morphology, the results
were identical to those discussed for B.I.l.
One bone with pathological changes
was identified in the material from the
courtyard. It was the jawbone of a horse or
donkey with changes caused by severe
inflammation resulting from the loss of
a premolar.
DISCUSSION
The archeozoological analysis of animal
remains from the site on Kom A, the first
such analysis to be conducted for Old
Dongola, has contributed to our under-
standing of consumer meat preferences of
the higher social classes in two different
periods. As stated above, the meat most

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