Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (15.2003(2004))

BANGANARTI

SUDAN

BANGANARTI 2003
THE WALL PAINTINGS

Magdalena Laptas

The excavation season in 2003 was the
second one during which the mission
headed by Bogdan Zurawski continued to
uncover murals in the Upper Church in
Banganarti. During the first campaign in
2002 ^ four chapels numbered 1 to 4 (cf.
Fig. 6 on p. 237) were unearthed in the
eastern part of the Church. The apse com-
positions in these chapels imaged a Nubian
ruler under the protection of an archangel
and the apostles. During the second
campaign the excavation was continued,
uncovering most of the murals from rooms
5-21. Having the experience of the first
campaign, we expected to find more
images of the Nubian rulers in the eastern
part of the Church. Our expectations
proved correct — chapels 5, 6 and 7
contained such images. The apses of
chapels 5 and 6 were blocked in the late
period of the functioning of the church.
The dividing walls introduced in those
chapels to reinforce the construction of the
Church were also decorated with an image
of a ruler protected by an archangel. This
time the image of the ruler was
complemented by earlier images of
apostles from the northern and southern
walls reused in the later compositions. In
2003, the chapels were uncovered up to the
dividing walls, leaving the apses for the
next year.

The images of the apostles in Chapel 5
are particularly well preserved (Fig. 1). The
apostles are shown standing, facing the
viewer. The rendering of the figures is free,
the hand gestures varied, the faces slightly
inclined. A tendency toward correct body
proportions is evident. In Chapel 6, the
best-preserved images of the apostles are
on the southern wall. The figures were
painted with equal freedom and with a good
feel of the form, yet they are different in
style from the others.
The images of Nubian rulers protected
by an archangel found on the blocking
walls in Chapels 5 and 6 were partly
damaged because of the destruction of the
upper parts of the walls. The figures have
survived from the waist down. In both
instances, the archangel was depicted
behind the protege, enfolding him with
his wings. The figures of the rulers appear
to be floating in front and above the huge
feet of the archangels.
The richly ornamented robes of the
rulers are noteworthy. In Chapel 5, the
outer robe is decorated with big orna-
mental yellow-red medallions and the
dress under it with black stripes on a yel-
low background (cf. Fig. 1). In Chapel 6,
the ruler's robe features a wavy oblique
checker pattern with red dots inscribed in
the fields.

1) Cf. B. Zurawski, PAM XIV, Reports 2002 (2003), 241-252.

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