DOI issue:
Sudan
DOI article:Klimaszewska-Drabot, Edyta: Early Makuria research project: the pottery
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42092#0487
MtoM - MEROWE SHERIQ, TANQASI, ZUMA
SUDAN
The assemblage found in the various
chambers of the tomb consisted of at least
27 vessels.2 Most were found in the burial
chamber on the south (cf. Fig. 11 on
p. 473) and in its vicinity, at the bottom of
the shaft (perhaps taken out of the burial
chamber during the original plundering),
the rest in the chambers on the west (see
Figs 9 and 10 on p. 437), and north,
intended for offerings alone. These vessels
will be discussed first.
The various layers in the fill of the shaft
yielded many sherds, but these were most
likely not part of the grave goods; they were
left by the builders or robbers, or were
thrown in accidentally with the earth used
to backfill the shaft. They will be discussed
separately at the end of this section.
WHEELMADE VESSELS
The 17 bowls and cups which belong in the
wheel-made category constitute a fairly
homogeneous group made of a very similar,
if not identical clay, characterized by fine-
grained mineral temper and finely chopped
chaff as organic temper. Physico-chemical
analyses are underway to determine the
composition of the clay and possible
sources. Vessels are red-slipped on the
outside and inside, and burnished.
Wherever the burnishing was not very
precise on the inside surface, traces of
making on the wheel are in evidence as even
quite thick coils of clay. No signs of use
suggest that the vessels were made as tomb
equipment, specifically for the purposes of
this burial.
Fig. 10 . Wheel-made bowls: group 1 (1-3) and group 2 (4-7), from the burial chambers of tumulus
tomb Tnq.87
2 For a discussion of the importance of the pottery assemblage from the Tanqasi tumulus tomb Tnq.87, see my paper
presented at the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, held at the University of Warsaw in 2006 (Klimaszewska-Drabot,
forthcoming).
484
SUDAN
The assemblage found in the various
chambers of the tomb consisted of at least
27 vessels.2 Most were found in the burial
chamber on the south (cf. Fig. 11 on
p. 473) and in its vicinity, at the bottom of
the shaft (perhaps taken out of the burial
chamber during the original plundering),
the rest in the chambers on the west (see
Figs 9 and 10 on p. 437), and north,
intended for offerings alone. These vessels
will be discussed first.
The various layers in the fill of the shaft
yielded many sherds, but these were most
likely not part of the grave goods; they were
left by the builders or robbers, or were
thrown in accidentally with the earth used
to backfill the shaft. They will be discussed
separately at the end of this section.
WHEELMADE VESSELS
The 17 bowls and cups which belong in the
wheel-made category constitute a fairly
homogeneous group made of a very similar,
if not identical clay, characterized by fine-
grained mineral temper and finely chopped
chaff as organic temper. Physico-chemical
analyses are underway to determine the
composition of the clay and possible
sources. Vessels are red-slipped on the
outside and inside, and burnished.
Wherever the burnishing was not very
precise on the inside surface, traces of
making on the wheel are in evidence as even
quite thick coils of clay. No signs of use
suggest that the vessels were made as tomb
equipment, specifically for the purposes of
this burial.
Fig. 10 . Wheel-made bowls: group 1 (1-3) and group 2 (4-7), from the burial chambers of tumulus
tomb Tnq.87
2 For a discussion of the importance of the pottery assemblage from the Tanqasi tumulus tomb Tnq.87, see my paper
presented at the 11th Conference of Nubian Studies, held at the University of Warsaw in 2006 (Klimaszewska-Drabot,
forthcoming).
484