Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

FOURTH CATARACT - ULI ISLAND

SUDAN

termining body position at burial during
this period.
In some of the grave pits, hand-made
bowls were discovered next to the face of the
buried individual. In one case (T.4 in the
Uli 23 cluster), there were three pots: two
bowls and one small wheel-made jar. The
pottery, both from the pits and scattered
on the ground around the tombs, especial-
ly the hand-made bowls, revealed many
similarities with the Kerma tradition. One
of the bowls, found inside grave T. 1 of the
Uli 23 cluster, was a black-topped wheel-
made red ware vessel {Fig. 3]. Based on the
ceramic evidence, the tombs on the smaller
southern plateau were tentatively attributed
to the Late New Kingdom/Napata periods.
POST-MEROITIC TUMULI
Four tumuli from the Post-Meroitic period
(Uli 24-Uli 25), erected on the western side
of a small mound rising from the valley
floor, were investigated and in three cases
found to be looted. One was fully preserved
but there can be no doubt that the Uli
tumuli belonged to rather poor people.
Rings of stones encircled sand-filled
centers covering the grave pits, which were
shallow and had burial chambers at the
bottom in the case of Tumuli 1-2 (Uli 24)
{Fig. 6] The fourth tumulus (Uli 25) had
a much deeper pit (2.20 m) and a burial
chamber off its southwestern side {Fig. 7].
The burial chamber yielded different kinds
of beads (made of semi-precious stones,
bone, glass, ostrich eggshells and faience),
two earrings, one ring, arrowheads and
a stone archer's ring. The two small bottles
and one bowl, all hand-made, were found
on the surface in the western part of the
tumulus, in what is presumed to be the
original position {Fig. 8], The grave goods
from the disturbed burial chambers of the
other tumuli recorded a similar repertory,
but without the archer's rings: mostly beads

and arrowheads, and broken bowls and
bottles.
CEMETERIES FROM KINGDOM
OF MAKURIA TIMES
Two cemeteries dating from the times of the
Kingdom of Makuria were recorded in the
southern part of the island. The first (Uli 1)
covered an extended territory, encroached
upon today by modern buildings. All the
tombs were rectangular constructions of
stones. The bodies were laid on their backs
in deep and narrow pits, the head pointing
to the west. A surface scattering of red brick
and lime plaster west of the cemetery was
suggestive of a settlement, but archaeo-
logical testing brought to light no preserved
structures, not even traces of foundations.
Finds of red bricks, floor tiles and fragments
of outside lime wall plastering indicated the
presence, but not the exact location of
a soundly constructed building, most likely
a church. Sherds collected from the ceme-
tery and presumed settlement resembled
Dongola wares and could be dated to the
Post-Classic Period.
The other Christian cemetery (Uli 25-
26, located close to Tumulus 4 on Uli 25)
was recorded in the immediate vicinity of
a seasonally inhabited campsite. No struc-
ture or shelter of any kind was observed,
only broken pottery, traces of fires and ash
dumps. The two groups of graves were not
very numerous. On Uli 24 there were 18
adult burials with well preserved rectangu-
lar stone superstructures (2.13-3.05 m in
length, 0.90-1.10 m in width {Fig. 9].
Some of the tombs marked children's burials
and in these cases the superstructures were
correspondingly smaller (1.25-1.56 m
long, 0.70-0.85 m wide). The other group
(Uli 26) contained 12 children's graves
with stone superstructures in good con-
dition (L. 1.00-1.60 m, W. 0.55-0.90 m)
{Fig. 101

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