Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (18.2006(2008))

BANGANARTI

SUDAN

POTTERY FROM BANGANARTI
SEASON 2006

Dobiesiawa Bagmska

Pottery from the Christian period (from the
6th/7th to the 14th century) was
abundantly represented in the material from
the 2006 excavations at Banganarti (see
above, report by B. Zurawski in this
volume). A few thousand sherds were
recorded,1 of which more than 570 vessel
fragments were identified as important for
the chronology of the Banganarti site and
for further ceramic studies. Together with
the material collected from archaeological
seasons in 2002-2005, this group is the
object of a typological study by the author,
which will contribute important data on
Nubian and imported pottery in the
Dongola region.
Vessels from the Early Christian period
were discovered in three trial pits dug down
to the foundation layer of the Lower
Church: in the northern aisle (no. 1), the
apse (no. 2) and the area behind the apse
(no. 3) (for location of trial pits, see. Fig. 4
on p. 388). This material dated the origins
of the Banganarti church to the 6th/7th
century.
The ceramics from the Western
Building proved equally important, for they
represent the post-Classic period (11th-
12th century). The same can be said of the
pottety from the northeastern corner tower
of the curtain wall and a bread oven
uncovered in a test pit dug outside the wall,

which can be attributed to the post-Classic
period (llth-12th century). Testing along
the northern stretch of the enclosure wall
brought abundant evidence of vessels from
the late Christian period (mid- 12th to l4th
century AD). Material from the post-Classic
and Late Christian periods, whether shapes
or decoration, is seldom presented in
reports, hence the importance of this group
for further studies.
The repertoire of vessel forms, both
wheel-made and handmade, was extensive
and both red and white tableware wares
were featured. Moreover, the pottery from
Banganarti appears to have been
manufactured in Old Dongola, a fact
confirmed by studies of the Dongola
ceramic kiln sites (Pluskota 2001). In the
Early Christian period Dongola workshops
produced imitations of vessels from Aswan
derived from the Late Roman terra sigillata
tradition. With time Nubian potters
developed their own traditions, exemplified
by the rich ornamentation and extensive
repertoire of new local forms of both
cooking and tableware. A few handmade
forms (bottles, cooking pots, bowls) were
survivals from post-Meroitic times; their
continued manufacture in the Early
Christian period is proof of the influence
traditional Nubian models exerted on
ceramic production in Nubia.

1 Descriptions Dobiesiawa Bagihska, drawings Agata Rak, Anna Biaszczyk, Mariusz Drzewiecki, Marta Momot,
Dobiesiawa Bagmska, and photographic documentation Adrianna Oles-Niedzielska.

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