DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49516#0051
THE LOWER DEFFtFA
25
natural supply of water made it more suitable for 50 men or less. In that dry climate, a
ration of half a litre of water a day would barely support life. Fifty men would require
25 litres a day or a store of 350 litres (say 35 skins of water) for a two-weeks’ siege. There
was no trace of any large reservoir, and the water must have been stored in big jars or in
skins. The weak point in the situation is clear. The building could not have served a
large permanent garrison; but it was eminently fitted to be the fortified residence of the
IOCMS
Fig. 2
governor of the district and to protect the stores imported from Egypt or collected in the
district. In other words, the Lower Deffufa satisfies all the requirements of a fortified
administrative center.
2. THE EASTERN ADDITION TO THE LOWER DEFFUFA
Plan X
Against the eastern face of the main structure, two successive additions had been built
of mud-brick. Both of these had been woefully hacked about by the natives, digging partly
for sebakh and partly for treasure. The fairy tale about a chest of gold found in the Deffufa
by a Nubian king has produced a perennial crop of treasure hunters.
The second addition was found in a hopeless state, but the plan and the structure of
the first could be made out. The first addition was of mud-bricks of the same size as
25
natural supply of water made it more suitable for 50 men or less. In that dry climate, a
ration of half a litre of water a day would barely support life. Fifty men would require
25 litres a day or a store of 350 litres (say 35 skins of water) for a two-weeks’ siege. There
was no trace of any large reservoir, and the water must have been stored in big jars or in
skins. The weak point in the situation is clear. The building could not have served a
large permanent garrison; but it was eminently fitted to be the fortified residence of the
IOCMS
Fig. 2
governor of the district and to protect the stores imported from Egypt or collected in the
district. In other words, the Lower Deffufa satisfies all the requirements of a fortified
administrative center.
2. THE EASTERN ADDITION TO THE LOWER DEFFUFA
Plan X
Against the eastern face of the main structure, two successive additions had been built
of mud-brick. Both of these had been woefully hacked about by the natives, digging partly
for sebakh and partly for treasure. The fairy tale about a chest of gold found in the Deffufa
by a Nubian king has produced a perennial crop of treasure hunters.
The second addition was found in a hopeless state, but the plan and the structure of
the first could be made out. The first addition was of mud-bricks of the same size as