Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (19.2007(2010))

BANGANARTI

SUDAN

cannot be easily determined because of the
dense domestic architecture that had once
stood adjacent to the wall and had also
suffered extensively at the hands of those
salvaging building material. The outside face
of the wall is, on the other hand, evident and
in good condition. It follows a slight curve,
bulging toward the north.
NORTH GATE
The North gate is Banganarti’s biggest and
earliest [Fig. 2]. It is a semicircular structure
measuring approximately 12 m in diameter,
projecting about 8 m from the outer face of
the curtain wall. The plan, which is repeated
by all of the recorded gates at Banganarti, is a
bent-axis one with two independent passages
at right angles to one another and connected
by a courtyard area that takes on the shape of
a half-ellipse. Walls are up to 4 m thick and
have been preserved to a height of 2.60 m.
No other entrance dating to the beginning
of the Banganarti complex has been recorded
and it can be assumed that the North gate
dates to this period. At 5.45 m below the
threshold of the Upper Church, the founda-
tions of the curtain wall constituting the south
wall of the gate are the deepest. The remaining
gate foundations are 5.11-5.28 m below this
threshold. The gate appears to have been
altered and modified on a number of
occasions, as indicated by the four phases that
have been distinguished [cf. Fig. 2, bottom].
Phase L Gate construction
The semicircular wall was about 2 m thick at
this time and the courtyard measured 4.30 x
4.20 m. Big mud bricks (approx. 48 x 22 x
8 cm in size) were used and the structure
plastered with mud containing insignificant
amounts of plant temper. The vaults of the
passages were of red brick. The external one
was about 1.80 m wide between walls and
may have been closed with a single-wing
doorway mounted on a pivot behind the

south wall of the arch. The inner passage was
narrower, 1.45 m between walls. A threshold
from this phase was observed, composed of a
6 cm high step made of red brick [no. 1 in
Fig. 2, bottom]. The height of this passage
was approximately 2.20 m at the time. The
lowest layers connected with this phase
preserve both mud bricks and red bricks,
making it difficult to ascertain with any
measure of certainty what the floor in the
gateway was like. It should be noted that
today the prevailing winds in the southern
Dongola Reach are from the north; it means
that sand must have quickly accumulated
against the face of the North gate and the
curtain wall here.


Fig. 3. Layers ofburning and ash from Phase l,
recorded at the foot of the curtain wall in
Sector IV; 1- dark brown sand,
potsherds, small red brick fragments; 2 -
burning, charcoal, mud, argillaceous
sand, potsherds, small rocks (Photo
M. Drzewiecki)

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Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007