Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (19.2007(2010))

MtoM - GHADDAR

SUDAN

The cemetery consists of a much bigger
group of tumuli in the north (Gh.l.N),
counting 153 tombs, and a smaller group on
the south (Gh.l.S). The 13 tombs in the
latter group are for the most part among the
biggest in this cemetery.
The mounds in the northern group,
which is nearer to Gebel Ghaddar, are
located very close together amid the new
houses and domestic buildings which have
sprang up around this cluster. The tops of
these mounds are mostly flat, often with
slight depressions in the center. They have
a stone coat as a rule, composed of dark
stones characterized by a rich iron content.
Such boulders can be found at the edges of
nearby wadis. In many cases this coat has
been preserved in residual form, most
frequently forming a circle around the tops of
the mounds. Wherever more of the coat has
been preserved, the stones are scattered over
the slopes as well. Occasionally, there are only
isolated big stones on top of a mound and it
should be assumed in these cases that there
was simply no stone coat on the sides.
The southern group is separated from
the northern one by a strip of once empty
land, now occupied by modern houses. The
tombs run more or less on axis, extending
southward. Most tumuli have lost their coat.
In a few cases, the top of the mound is
rounded without the evident flattening that
is a feature of mounds in the northern group.
Even so, the state of preservation of the
tumuli is generally poor.
The size of the tumuli in the southern
cemetery (Gh.l) is varied. The most
numerous group counts 85 tombs featuring
a base area of less than 100 m2. Another 70
mounds have a base area which falls in the
100 to 200 m2 range, the majority (55
tombs) being smaller than 150 m2. Only
twelve tumuli exceed 200 m2 in base area.
Six of these, including the two biggest ones
— Gh.l.S-146 (417 m2) and Gh.l.S-156

(514.5 m2) — are located in the southern
group of the southern cemetery. Only two of
the mounds currently exceed 2 m in height
and only a small group is over 1 m high.
One of the tombs from the northern
group of the southern cemetery, already
disturbed by looters, was excavated in 1984
(Zurawski 1987: 41-46, Fig. 4, PI. 10).
A burial chamber once sealed with a wall of
mud bricks was found at the bottom of
a vertical shaft, opening to the south. The
body appears to have been buried in
contracted position on its left side with the
head pointing to the west. It was laid out on
a piece of leather and had been wrapped in
a linen shroud. All that remained of the
grave goods and furnishings was a set of
200 glass beads and a small handmade cup
with engraved decoration under the rim,
found at the bottom of the shaft. The
tomb is tentatively of Early Makurian date.
Investigation of the surroundings of
this mound revealed earlier graves situated
in this part of the cemetery, provisionally
attributed to the Meroitic period based
on pottery evidence (Zurawski 1987: 45).
These graves were already non-existent
when the investigated tumulus was erected.
In 2007 it was impossible to locate the
position of this mound.
Two other mounds were explored by the
Sudanese team in 1990. With a base area of
395 m2 and height of 2.15 m, Gh.l.N-98
(=Tumulus 1 according to the excavation
report, El-Tayeb 1994: 65-68) is among the
biggest in this cemetery. At the bottom of
a deep rectangular shaft there was a burial
chamber opening off to the south. The
entrance to it was originally sealed with
a wall of dried brick. The grave proved to be
plundered. The remaining human bones
were mixed with animal ones, the latter
presumably belonging to a meat offering
made during the funeral. The robbers left
behind 11 wheel-made red-ware bowls.

Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007

497