Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (18.2006(2008))

OLD DONGOLA

SUDAN

EXCAVATIONS IN THE SOUTHWESTERN BUILDING
AND SOUTHWESTERN ANNEX

Excavations along the west wall of the
Southwestern Building (for earlier work,
cf. esp. Jakobielski 2005a: 261-271) proved
that the wall had been renovated repeatedly
in the past, the repairs and modifications
totally obscuring its original appearance. As
the outer wall of the Monastery, it had been
open to the elements, especially the
northerly and westerly winds. Close
examination of the lower part of the wall
revealed a fragment of the original bond,
virtually the same as in the west wall of the
so-called Main Monastery Building, of
which it appears to be an extension to the
south. It thus appears that the Southwestern
Building (still called so for convenience)
may be dated back to the 8th century, like
its northern counterpart. The Southwestern
Annex, however, is definitely not earlier
than the 10th century [Fig. 1}.
In the Late Christian period, the Annex,
attached as it appears to be to the southern
end of the Main Monastery Building, was
connected with it by an entrance cut in the
north wall of Room 6, suggesting a possible
passageway into the monastery compound
through a vestibule (1). The Southwestern
Building, itself many times rebuilt,
comprised at least 12 rooms on two floors,
joined by a system of stairways recorded in
three of the rooms, that is, 7, 9 and 11. An
additional staircase in Room 8 on the upper
storey, apparently put in at a later date, may
have opened onto the roof. This complicated
system of communication inside the edifice
goes back most probably to the original
building phase. As such, it must have been
entered from the outside through a door in
the west wall of Room 7. The position of
this alleged gate could not be established by
excavation as it had been obliterated already
in antiquity by intensive repairs intended as

structural reinforcement (including ad-
dition of extra walls on both sides).
A transversal corridor (12), running to the
east and entered from Room 7 on the
ground floor of the Southwestern Building,
gave access through an arched doorway
straight into the monastery compound, and
particularly into a small rectangular yard
(SW-E.14) of overall dimensions 7.50 by
4.50 m, lining the east fagade of the
Southwestern Building. By the time of the
discovery, the yard had been completely
engulfed by a sand dune. On the south, it
was closed by a small building (4.50 by
4.00 m), comprising two narrow rooms
(SW-E.13-13A), and in the northwestern
corner there was a single barrel-vaulted
room (SW-E.15; 3.30 by 2.00 m), built of
mud brick, and entered from the east
through a high, arched doorway. Originally,
it had narrow slot windows on the north and
south, and it was constructed with older
walls as its western and northern limits.
While the north and south range of the
yard is clearly defined, the eastern limit has
not been determined satisfactorily as yet.
There were some remnants of a heavily
destroyed structure with a narrow entrance
in its west wall, stuck close to the outer,
northeastern corner of SW-E.13, but no
traces were found of any further extension to
the north of the mentioned structure closing
the yard at its northeastern corner. So far,
however, the original level of the yard in
this place has not been reached.
The SW-E.13 structure (4.00 x 4.50 m),
closing the yard from the south, is attached
to the outer east wall of the Southwestern
Building, where it joins the Southwestern
Annex. In fact, this wall is at its core the
original western enclosure wall of the
monastery compound. The building,

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