Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

FOURTH CATARACT - ULI ISLAND

SUDAN

POST-KERMA HORIZON AND NAPATAN PERIOD

The collection of sherds and complete ves-
sels from the surface and excavations of the
cemetery in Uli 23 deserves a separate and
detailed discussion. The site extends well
beyond the cemetery itself and has yielded
mostly standard Kerma-period wares. The
collection from the cemetery, however,
appears to represent a much more varied
time horizon. It should be kept in mind
that only intact vessels from the bottom of
graves can be regarded as constituting un-
disturbed grave goods. Since the graves were
disturbed and in any case lay very close
together, the loose ceramic material may be
mixed and there is no certainty that all the
sherds found in a grave actually belonged
to vessels deposited at the time of burial.
Despite this, it seems that the cemetery
may have been in uninterrupted use until

the 25th Dynasty. Thus, an in-depth con-
sideration of the pottery assemblage (here
presented at a very early stage in the study)
could bring mote light to bear on the
period in Nubian pottery production that
followed the fall of Kerma.
WHOLE VESSELS
Two bowls found in grave 4 and one from
grave 10 represent an interesting handmade
product in a similar, coarse black-topped red
ware with yellow band on the body imi-
tating Kerma products [Fig. 7:1-3]. Similar
bowls were discovered in Hillat el Arab, in
a grave attributed to the late New Kingdom.20
Such bowls were also found in graves by
the GAME expedition.21 Many sherds with
the same features collected from the surface
indicate that vessels of this type must have


Fig. 7. Pottery from the Uli 23 cemetery: 1 — U23-T4.2; 2 — U23-T4-1; 3 — U.23-T10.3;
4 — U.23.T1.4 (Drawing E. Klimaszewska-Drabot)

20 I. Livererani, "Two Field Seasons in the Napata Region", KUSH XVII (1997), 170.
21 M. El-Tayeb, E. Koiosowska, "Burial Traditions on the right bank of the Nile in the Fourth Cataract Region", GAMAR 4, Fig. 16.

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