DOI issue:
Sudan
DOI article:Godlewski, Włodzimierz; Kociankowska-Bożek, Joanna: Early makuria research project season 2007
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42093#0505
MtoM - GHADDAR
SUDAN
The other investigated tumulus,
Gh.l.Nlll (=Tumulus 2) (El-Tayeb 1994:
66-71) was intact. It also had a rectangular
shaft and a burial chamber opening off the
bottom to the south. The chamber was
1.60 m long, 1.10 m wide and 0.65 m high,
and was sealed with a wall of dried brick.
The body lay in contracted position with
the head pointing south. Grave goods
comprised one handmade bowl and the
remains of a meat offering from a small
animal. On the southern slope of the
mound, a handmade bottle and small wheel-
made cup were found placed inside an
intentionally erected box of small stones.
In 1990, the Sudanese team explored yet
a third tumulus, this time located in the
southern group of big tombs. Gh.l.S-149
(=Tumulus 3) (El-Tayeb 1994: 71-72) had
a base area of 360 m2 and a height of
1.60 m. It comprised a wide corridor
(1.60 m) with an entrance from the east,
running 3.00 m to an oval shaft at its
western end. The shaft was 1.00 m deep
with a burial chamber excavated off its
western side. Stone slabs had sealed it once,
but it was found opened and plundered.
The skeletal remains in the destroyed
chamber were severely disturbed. What
remained of the grave goods included many
beads and pieces of unidentified iron
objects, as well as half of a big red bowl.
The surviving archaeological material is
insufficient to date the tomb, which is
already exceptional in this cemetery because
of the architecture of the underground part
that is so unlike the other investigated
tumuli. Overall, it appears to be earlier than
Gh.l.N-98 where the 11 bowls were found.
The latter tomb is provisionally dated to the
second half of the 5th century based on the
evidence of these bowls which are very much
like the vessels from the tombs in Zuma in
form as well as in the finishing of the rim.
REFERENCES
El-Tayeb, M.
1994 Excavation at El-Ghaddar-Old Dongola [in:] Ch. Bonnet (ed.), Etudes nubiennes II,
Geneve, 65-79
2007 Early Makuria Research Project. Test excavation in el-Zuma cemetery [in:] B. Gratien
(ed.) , Aielanges ojferts a Francis Geus, CRIPEL 26, 71-85
Grzymski, K. (ed.)
1987 Archaeological Reconnaissance in Upper Nubia, Toronto: Benben Publications
Phillips, J.
1987 Test excavations at El Ghaddar [in:] K. Grzymski (ed.). Archaeological Reconnaissance in
Upper Nubia, Toronto: Benben Publications, 35-41
Philips, J., El-Tayeb, M.
2003 The pottery assemblage from the Hammur Abbasiya tumulus field (SDRS Hammur 2)
[in:] B. Zurawski, Survey and Excavations betiveen Old Dongola and Ez-Zuma, [-Nubia
II, SDRS I] Warsaw: ZAS PAN, 458-462
Zurawski, B., El-Tayeb, M.
1987 Test Excavations at Jebel Ghaddar [in:] K. Grzymski (ed.), Archaeological Reconnaissance
in Upper Nubia, Toronto: Benben Publications, 41-46
1994 The Christian cemetery of Jebel Ghaddar North, Nubica III/1, 297-317
Polish Archaeology in che Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007
499
SUDAN
The other investigated tumulus,
Gh.l.Nlll (=Tumulus 2) (El-Tayeb 1994:
66-71) was intact. It also had a rectangular
shaft and a burial chamber opening off the
bottom to the south. The chamber was
1.60 m long, 1.10 m wide and 0.65 m high,
and was sealed with a wall of dried brick.
The body lay in contracted position with
the head pointing south. Grave goods
comprised one handmade bowl and the
remains of a meat offering from a small
animal. On the southern slope of the
mound, a handmade bottle and small wheel-
made cup were found placed inside an
intentionally erected box of small stones.
In 1990, the Sudanese team explored yet
a third tumulus, this time located in the
southern group of big tombs. Gh.l.S-149
(=Tumulus 3) (El-Tayeb 1994: 71-72) had
a base area of 360 m2 and a height of
1.60 m. It comprised a wide corridor
(1.60 m) with an entrance from the east,
running 3.00 m to an oval shaft at its
western end. The shaft was 1.00 m deep
with a burial chamber excavated off its
western side. Stone slabs had sealed it once,
but it was found opened and plundered.
The skeletal remains in the destroyed
chamber were severely disturbed. What
remained of the grave goods included many
beads and pieces of unidentified iron
objects, as well as half of a big red bowl.
The surviving archaeological material is
insufficient to date the tomb, which is
already exceptional in this cemetery because
of the architecture of the underground part
that is so unlike the other investigated
tumuli. Overall, it appears to be earlier than
Gh.l.N-98 where the 11 bowls were found.
The latter tomb is provisionally dated to the
second half of the 5th century based on the
evidence of these bowls which are very much
like the vessels from the tombs in Zuma in
form as well as in the finishing of the rim.
REFERENCES
El-Tayeb, M.
1994 Excavation at El-Ghaddar-Old Dongola [in:] Ch. Bonnet (ed.), Etudes nubiennes II,
Geneve, 65-79
2007 Early Makuria Research Project. Test excavation in el-Zuma cemetery [in:] B. Gratien
(ed.) , Aielanges ojferts a Francis Geus, CRIPEL 26, 71-85
Grzymski, K. (ed.)
1987 Archaeological Reconnaissance in Upper Nubia, Toronto: Benben Publications
Phillips, J.
1987 Test excavations at El Ghaddar [in:] K. Grzymski (ed.). Archaeological Reconnaissance in
Upper Nubia, Toronto: Benben Publications, 35-41
Philips, J., El-Tayeb, M.
2003 The pottery assemblage from the Hammur Abbasiya tumulus field (SDRS Hammur 2)
[in:] B. Zurawski, Survey and Excavations betiveen Old Dongola and Ez-Zuma, [-Nubia
II, SDRS I] Warsaw: ZAS PAN, 458-462
Zurawski, B., El-Tayeb, M.
1987 Test Excavations at Jebel Ghaddar [in:] K. Grzymski (ed.), Archaeological Reconnaissance
in Upper Nubia, Toronto: Benben Publications, 41-46
1994 The Christian cemetery of Jebel Ghaddar North, Nubica III/1, 297-317
Polish Archaeology in che Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007
499