DOI issue:
Sudan
DOI article:Longa, Anna; Śliwa, Joachim: The el-Ar P1 cemetery (fourth cataract, Sudan)
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42093#0431
FOURTH CATARACT
SUDAN
In the first one (structure A) the bones were
very fragmented and could be attributed
probably to a single male individual. The
mixed assemblage of bones in structure B
belonged to at least two individuals: an adult
who was most probably a female and a
juvenile.
The interpretation of these structures is
not easy. In the Old Kush II period structures
interpreted as chapels for the cult of the dead
appeared on the cemetery in Kerma. They
were built of mud brick, but in earlier periods
such structures could have been made of
organic materials. They accompanied the
burials and undoubtedly were connected
with funerary rituals. Structures of this kind
are known from Kerma and also from the
island of Sa'i (Lacovara 1986; Bonnet 1990:
53-55; Geus 1991: 64; Edwards 2004:
90-91).
The rock structures from the El-Ar 1 site
could be representative of chapels of this
kind. They were constructed of stone
material that was easily available at the site
and were scaled to match the size of the
associated tombs. Potsherds from inside
these structures have to be considered as
evidence of the rituals that took place there.
No potsherds dated to between the Old
Kush and the Late Meroitic periods were
discovered on the El-Ar PI site. However,
this chronological gap was filled by the
discovery of an Egyptian scarab from the end
of the new Kingdom or the Third
Intermediate Period, from the twentieth to
the twenty-fifth ynasty (c. 1200-650 BC)
(see appendix by J. Sliwa below). The scarab
was found between two large rock chips, next
to the western wall of the funerary chapel,
structure A.
CONCLUSIONS
The location of the site on a rocky eminence
corresponds to that of Old Kush cemeteries
known from the Fourth Cataract region on
the Nile. They were often positioned on
rocks, rising above the river valley (El-Tayeb,
Kolosowska 2005: 4; Sip 2007). The
cemetery should be considered as relatively
small. The overall number of graves here
probably did not exceed 20, judging by what
can be seen on the ground. Individual burials
are situated near to one another, occupying
only the top of the eminence.
With the exception of grave 1, the
remaining burials represent a similar
construction type, both with regard to the
superstructures and the grave pits. The body
alignment reveals similarities, the most
common orientations being north-south
and east-west. The skeletons are usually
slightly contracted, the knees flexed and
hands placed against the face or on the pelvis.
The bottoms of grave pits were frequently
sprinkled with red ocher. In one case the
ocher was sprinkled over the bodies as well.
Animal offerings in the two cases recorded in
the present excavations consisted of whole
animals deposited next to the burials of adult
males and in both cases the arms of the man
appear to have been wrapped around the
animals body. Burials with animal offerings,
both whole and in parts, are known from
Nubia and they are linked to the Old Kush
(Kerma Culture) period (Bonnet 1980: 53;
Welsby 1997: 5-7; 2001: 215-224; Chalx
1986; Chaix, Grant 1987). Explorations in
the Fourth Cataract region have confirmed
the occurrence of such burial practices in the
Old Kush II (Middle Kerma) period
(Kolosowska et alii 2003: 23-24; El-Tayeb,
Kolosowska 2005: 53).
Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007
425
SUDAN
In the first one (structure A) the bones were
very fragmented and could be attributed
probably to a single male individual. The
mixed assemblage of bones in structure B
belonged to at least two individuals: an adult
who was most probably a female and a
juvenile.
The interpretation of these structures is
not easy. In the Old Kush II period structures
interpreted as chapels for the cult of the dead
appeared on the cemetery in Kerma. They
were built of mud brick, but in earlier periods
such structures could have been made of
organic materials. They accompanied the
burials and undoubtedly were connected
with funerary rituals. Structures of this kind
are known from Kerma and also from the
island of Sa'i (Lacovara 1986; Bonnet 1990:
53-55; Geus 1991: 64; Edwards 2004:
90-91).
The rock structures from the El-Ar 1 site
could be representative of chapels of this
kind. They were constructed of stone
material that was easily available at the site
and were scaled to match the size of the
associated tombs. Potsherds from inside
these structures have to be considered as
evidence of the rituals that took place there.
No potsherds dated to between the Old
Kush and the Late Meroitic periods were
discovered on the El-Ar PI site. However,
this chronological gap was filled by the
discovery of an Egyptian scarab from the end
of the new Kingdom or the Third
Intermediate Period, from the twentieth to
the twenty-fifth ynasty (c. 1200-650 BC)
(see appendix by J. Sliwa below). The scarab
was found between two large rock chips, next
to the western wall of the funerary chapel,
structure A.
CONCLUSIONS
The location of the site on a rocky eminence
corresponds to that of Old Kush cemeteries
known from the Fourth Cataract region on
the Nile. They were often positioned on
rocks, rising above the river valley (El-Tayeb,
Kolosowska 2005: 4; Sip 2007). The
cemetery should be considered as relatively
small. The overall number of graves here
probably did not exceed 20, judging by what
can be seen on the ground. Individual burials
are situated near to one another, occupying
only the top of the eminence.
With the exception of grave 1, the
remaining burials represent a similar
construction type, both with regard to the
superstructures and the grave pits. The body
alignment reveals similarities, the most
common orientations being north-south
and east-west. The skeletons are usually
slightly contracted, the knees flexed and
hands placed against the face or on the pelvis.
The bottoms of grave pits were frequently
sprinkled with red ocher. In one case the
ocher was sprinkled over the bodies as well.
Animal offerings in the two cases recorded in
the present excavations consisted of whole
animals deposited next to the burials of adult
males and in both cases the arms of the man
appear to have been wrapped around the
animals body. Burials with animal offerings,
both whole and in parts, are known from
Nubia and they are linked to the Old Kush
(Kerma Culture) period (Bonnet 1980: 53;
Welsby 1997: 5-7; 2001: 215-224; Chalx
1986; Chaix, Grant 1987). Explorations in
the Fourth Cataract region have confirmed
the occurrence of such burial practices in the
Old Kush II (Middle Kerma) period
(Kolosowska et alii 2003: 23-24; El-Tayeb,
Kolosowska 2005: 53).
Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007
425