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Archaeological Survey of Nubia (Bulletin 4). (Published in 1909b by the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, Survey Department, Cairo.)
Introduction
The
Third Bulletin of the Archaeological Survey of Nubia summarized the
results obtained in the field during the last three months of 1908. The
character of each cemetery and site will be found noted therein,
followed by a general commentary on the whole material, and special
notices of Cemeteries 58 and 72 as presenting new and important
features. The last cemetery noticed was Cemetery 80. This, the fourth
Bulletin, will deal with the cemeteries and sites examined during the
first three months of 1909, and numbered 81 to 92 inclusive. The
greater part of the work was on the group of cemeteries 85 to 89 and on
the mud-brick fort known as Kuri, as el Kur (or Ikkur), and as
Koshtamna. It is most satisfactory that Dr. Reisner was able to find
time to contribute to this Bulletin a description and full discussion
of the more important of these. I have only added a few notes on the
smaller cemeteries not dealt with by him. The Bulletin, therefore, must
be regarded as substantially his, and embodies, at first hand, the
conclusions he has arrived at after his examination of the material in
question. [C.M. Firth]
KOSHTAMNA (North).
The great bay on the west bank at the northern end of Koshtamna
presents all those physical characteristics which the Nubian Survey has
shown repeatedly to presuppose a continuous population from predynastic
times and a nearly complete series of cemeteries. A choke in the river,
due to the sandstone cliffs to the north, appears to have caused the
deposition of a series of high mud banks along the edge of the low
sandstone stratum on the west. Between these and the river is a series
of broad low alluvial mounds, made into flat terraces cultivable by
saqias at high Nile.[1] Some sand drifts continually over this plain;
but, except where held up by trees or other obstacles, it seems to
cause little inconvenience.
As usual, the high mud banks have been used for a long time for digging
sebakh for the fields below. All the cemeteries have been denuded and
cut about by this process, except the two Christian cemeteries and the
C-group cemetery (No.87), all three of which have stone
superstructures. These constructions held up the sand, making the
digging of sebakh difficult. Just south of Cemetery 87, between it and
No.89, there is a stretch of bare sandstone, about 80-100 meters
long, covered with heaps of debris from sebakh sieves. In this debris
we picked up six or seven stone axes, and a number of palettes and
rubbing pebbles, and noted many potsherds of early dynastic types. It
was clear that a whole mound of mud, containing an ancient cemetery (or
town site ?) had been entirely cut away by sebbakhin down to the
bed-rock. [2] In Cemetery 89, the Ptolemaic-(p.8) Roman graves were
nearly as much denuded as the older graves lying among them, so that
the denudation by sebbakhin is probably subsequent to the Roman period.
One of the interesting phenomena presented by all these graves down to
the modern Moslem is the orientation. All are orientated according to
the Nile, which here flows nearly due east, so that all orientated
graves are turned about 90° to the right of the intended orientation.
The predynastic and early dynastic graves are orientated to the local
south (i.e., to the magnetic west); the C-group graves, to the local
east (i.e., to the magnetic south); the Christian graves, to the local
west (i.e., to the magnetic north); and the modern Moslem graves, to
the local south (i.e., nearly to the magnetic west). The cemeteries
show, most of them, re-use during several periods, as follows:
Cemetery 85: B-group, Roman-Byzantine, Christian, and ancient
Moslem.—The Byzantine mud-cut chambers ("dromos graves") were on the
slopes of a mound, the summit of which was occupied by a few B-group
graves, all much denuded. The Christian cemetery was lower down. One of
the Christian (?) graves has been turned into a "sheikh" by the people
of Bod-Hamad, and a few modern Moslem graves have been placed near it.
The ancient Moslem graves are on a knoll a little to the north.
Cemetery 86: Late B-group to C-group, Ptolemaic-Byzantine,
Christian, modern Moslem.—Here again the earliest graves are on top of
the mound, and the Ptolemaic- Byzantine mud-cut chambers on the slope.
The Christian graves are lower down on a flat mound to the north, while
the modern Moslem cemetery lies nearest the cultivation in front of the
Christian cemetery. The mud banks above have suffered from denudation
affecting all graves.
Cemetery 87.—This was the most uniform of all the cemeteries: almost
entirely C-group was found. But a whole cemetery had been destroyed
just to the south, and the whole circumference of No.87 itself removed
by sebbakhin. There were also a few older circular graves on the
summit, and a few apparently later graves New Empire (p.9) type I on
the denuded southern and eastern borders of the cemetery. The main
group of graves presented the C-group characteristics: grave Archaic
type VII, burial contracted on right side, head to the local east,
contents as usual. The graves had all been plundered; but in two cases
roofing stones were still in place. Almost all the graves had the
circular stone superstructures which were to be presupposed from the
remains found last year. One superstructure had a small offering-place
of stone slabs on edge, built on the local north-eastern side.
[Figure 1]
A large amount of pottery was found on the surface and in the
drift-sand, as if the pottery had been placed outside the grave on the
eastern side of the superstructure (see Bull. Nub. I, p. 19). (p.10)
The pottery included a great many complete vessels of black incised and
coarse red incised wares, wheel-turned pots and large hand-made drab
jars—known to us heretofore only in fragments. This fortunate accident
was due to the accumulation of sand held up by the stone
superstructures.[3]
[figure 2]
The evidence of the date of the C-group presented by this cemetery is
important. The typical C-group graves of deep, narrow, rectangular form
are later than the circular and oval graves. For example, in tomb
87: 96, burial B was a typical C-group burial contracted on the
right side, head to local east, while burial A, which was under the
eastern superstructure wall, and earlier, was contracted on the right
(p.11) side, head west, in a circular grave.
Three other examples showed the same relationship. On the other hand,
the long graves of New Empire Egyptian type are on the outskirts of the
cemetery, and appear to be contemporary with the latest part of the
cemetery. The two long graves best preserved, Nos. 16 and 21,
contained, one an extended burial, the other a contracted burial on the
right side, both heads to the local north. These are the only two
graves containing pottery, but the graves are very much disturbed, and
the pottery is of the same general types as the C-group graves. These
graves offer an opportunity for comparison with the Nubian graves (the
so-called "pan-graves") found by Prof. Petrie and Mr. Mace at Hou,
recorded in Diospolis parva, and dated to the XIIth- XIIIth dynasties.
The Hou cemeteries containing these graves are lettered E, B, and X,
and are rather widely separated. Cemetery E was between a Middle Empire
cemetery (M) and a series of settlements (E) supposed to be
prehistoric, and contained one Nubian grave among a few Middle Empire
graves. Cemetery B, which was predynastic, had several shallow Nubian
graves on the upper edge.
Cemetery X is between a VIth to XVIIIth dynasty cemetery (Y, YS), and a
XIIth dynasty cemetery (W), re-used in the XVIIIth and again later. It
is therefore clear that the Nubian graves at Hou do not present a small
compact cemetery of a single community confined to one short period of
time. Moreover, while all the material published in Diospolis parva
comes from Cemetery X, and one grave in E, there is ta considerable
difference between the two groups of obj ects: and the
possibility must be admitted that, while some of these graves may be
dated to the XIIth to XIIIth dynasties, it is by no means certain that
they all belong to that period. Grave E 2 is certainly later, and some
of the graves in X may be, I think, earlier. In comparison with our
Nubian graves, in the first place the Hou graves are nearly all
circular or oval, and so apparently belong to the earlier C-group. On
that account, the Hou graves are to be compared with the Nubian graves
of the late B- and early C-periods rather than with the graves in
Cemetery 87. It is not surprising, therefore, that while the Hou graves
present the same type of burial contracted on the right side, the heads
are turned to the west in the few cases found.[4]
The wrappings (p.12) of linen, goatskin, and matting correspond with
Cemetery 87, and the whole Nubian material: and the same is true of the
other objects — beads, bead- and shell-work, baskets, and grindstones.
The deposits of pottery outside the graves correspond exactly to the
Nubian C-group graves, and especially to Cemetery 87; but the vessels
themselves present essential differences from the Nubian pottery found
by the Survey. The forms of Nubian jars corresponding to the jars in
Diospolis parva, PL.XXXVIII-XXXIX, are of different forms and
apparently of different materials. The Hou jars are manifestly
influenced by the contemporary Egyptian pottery. The Nubian jars of
Cemetery 87, appearing after a series of isolated black-topped vessels,
suggest Egyptian influence at first sight, and yet one looks in vain
through the publications of Egyptian material for their exact
duplicates. On the other hand, some of the incised bowls at Hou
(Diospolis parva, PL.XL) have their exact duplicates in Nubia.
Finally, the Nubian graves contain a series of well-polished
black-mouthed bowls, incised red-polished black-mouthed bowls, and
white-filled incised black-polished vessels not represented at Hou. It
is clear, then, that the only pottery which definitely connects the Hou
graves with Nubia are the coarse black incised bowls. The community
from which these burials came are thoroughly permeated with Egyptian
influence, and may have been in Egypt for a long period.
Now Hou is not the only place where these Nubian-like graves have been
found. Similar pottery has been found in the XIIth-XVIIth town site at
Der el Ballas, by the Hearst Expedition; at Khizam; at Rifeh by Prof.
Petrie (see Rifeh, PL XXV-XXVI), and elsewhere. A careful examination
will probably show a very wide occurrence of these graves; but, as they
are very poor, their importance may easily have escaped attention. In
view of the wide distribution of the Nubian pottery in Egypt in this
period and its subjection to Egyptian influence, I would like to
suggest as a basis for future investigation that the communities which
produced it were wandering desert tribes of Nubian origin, living along
the edge of the cultivation much like the Ababde in Upper Egypt at the
present time, and the Bedawin in (p.13) Lower Egypt. These tribes may
have drifted in gradually, beginning in the Old Empire.[5]
It is to be hoped that some large well-preserved "pan-grave" cemetery
may be found in Egypt, carefully excavated and recorded, and that the
anatomical material may be delivered to Dr. Elliot Smith for comparison
with our Nubian skeletons.
Thus it appears to me uncertain how far the " pan-graves " can be
relied on for the dating of the Nubian graves. They point with
certainty to some period previous to the New Empire; but their number
is too small, their connection with the Nubian graves too vague, to
justify dating the different groups of Nubian graves. The Nubian
material must be its own solution. In Nubia we have a clear series of
groups, early dynastic, B-group, and C-group, the contiguity and
chronological order of which is certain; but the exact limits of the
B-group and the C-group are of a necessity not clear. The great point
is the lower limit of the C-group. That lower limit which appeared at
Shellal was previous to the New Empire, and this conclusion has been
generally borne out by the C-group cemeteries found further south,
especially by Cemeteries 58, 69, 72 and, last of all, by No.87. But it
must be admitted that some of the C-group graves are probably
contemporaneous with the New Empire.
Cemetery 88: Early Dynastic and B-group.—This was a small denuded
mound of mud containing a few early dynastic and B-group graves which
may be the north-western end of the destroyed cemetery west of No.87.
As at Cemeteries 85 and 86, a small " sheikh " has been built on the
knoll, probably over an archaic grave. Cemetery 89: Middle Predynastic
to B-group, New Empire, Ptolemaic to Byzantine.—Cemetery 89 covered
three large mud mounds separated by two small water channels into three
parts. The whole had been uniformly denuded, so that the upright stones
blocking the doorways of the mud-cut chambers protruded from the ground
over (p.14) a cemetery of simple pits with headstones.
The desert side was steep and the valley side ran down in a long slope
to the lower terrace. The back has been cut up in recent years by
sebbakhin. The predynastic cemetery was on the top of the main knoll,
as were the B-group graves also. Several of the latter had been in the
older graves. The early dynastic graves were on the top of the
northernmost mound. There were two late New Empire graves—pits with
side chambers, orientated north and south—half-way down the slope of
the second mound, and two similar graves empty on the southern mound.
All the slopes were penetrated by mud-cut chambers of two main types.
In the earlier, a sloping passage descends, and widens as it descends,
to a chamber, square or circular, cut in the mud. The chambers in the
deeper and better tombs are cut to the solid sandstone. The latter •
graves consist of a small rectangular shaft with the mud-cut chamber on
the end towards the top of the mound, or in some cases on both ends of
the pit. The doorways were blocked with both mud-brick and stone
slabs.
Along the lower edge of the southern mound, there was a row of large
mud-cut chambers with sloping passages. The southernmost of these were
blocked with mud-brick, and contained mummy cases in wooden or stone
coffins of anthropoid form. The northernmost were blocked with
plastered stone slabs and contained five-piece cartonnage mummies in
stone or pottery coffins as at Cemetery No.3 on Hesa. The former
appeared to be the earlier—early Ptolemaic or slightly earlier. They
had almost all been plundered, and re-sealed by the plunderers, while
one sealed-up grave was found absolutely empty, although the walls were
intact.
The other graves with sloping entrances were scattered over the whole
surface, and presented a large number of five-piece cartonnage mummies
in pottery coffins. Some of the latest coffins were decorated in a
curious manner with vine leaves, palm branch, and other patterns, and
the faces, painted white, were marked with red dots—one each on the
nose, chin, each cheek, and forehead, like a circus clown. The graves
with pit and chamber contained a large number of neatly wrapped mummies
like the cartonnage mummy without the cartonnage, of which a dozen or
more were on string beds with wooden frames like the modern angareeb.
(p.15) A few extremely rude blue-glazed amulets, a mummied goat in one
case, a pair of brass anklets, a pair of brass bracelets, and, in two
cases, beads, were all the objects found in these graves. To sum up,
the site of Koshtamna (North) shows two remarkable sets of
graves—simple archaic pits with contracted burials and mudcut chambers
with extended mummies. The archaic graves extend unbroken except for
denudation all along the tops of the highest mud banks. Unfortunately,
many archaic graves have been lost, but, judging from the remainder,
the earliest graves are the Middle Predynastic on the southern mound of
Cemetery 89. This mound appears to contain the whole predynastic
period. Going to the north, all the mounds seem to have been used in
succession during the early dynastic and B-period, until the northern
end was reached, and the cemetery began again on the south and
continued northwards during the late B-period, and early C-period.
Cemetery 87 marks the close of this first set of burials. The New
Empire, which ought to occupy the middle place between the archaic
graves and the mud-cut chambers, is represented by only three graves;
and these of the late New Empire. The second set of graves, the mud-cut
chambers, representing the period from the earliest Ptolemaic period
down to Christian times, are at present in the majority, but this
majority, owing to the destruction of archaic graves, may be deceptive.
Like the archaic graves, the Ptolemaic graves begin on the south and
appear to end with the Byzantine graves on the north of Cemetery 85.
KOSHTAMNA (South.)
The Mud-brick Fort.
The mud-brick fort on the west bank at the southern end of Koshtamna
has been repeatedly examined, but never very thoroughly. Prof. Garstang
was the last to mention it.[6] It consists of two forts, an older and
smaller fort inside, and a later large one on top of the earlier one
and around it. The earlier fort has round bastions, a deep trench with
a mud-brick casing, and one entrance preserved on the desert side.
There was probably another entrance on the river side.
(p.16) This fort is denuded below the old floor, and nothing was found
to indicate its date. The later fort has massive walls, standing to a
height of five or six meters , with square bastions, a deep trench
cased with mud-brick and a serpentine wall on the local west side to
keep the sand out of the trench.
The walls of the later fort make a slight angle (ca. 5°) with those of
the earlier, so that on the north (local) the later wall crosses the
outer casing of the earlier trench near the eastern end. The eastern
wall of the later fort was built over the eastern end of the earlier.
On the desert side, the later walls are built on sand, probably
accumulated against the desert face of the earlier fort. In the western
end of the later fort were a number of house walls of mud-brick. In the
debris among these walls was found a lot of mud jar sealings,
uninscribed pottery cones, and a mass of potsherds of the C-group and
New Empire. Some of the potsherds might have been earlier, but not
later. The fort was then inhabited down to the New Empire. In that
case, the fort may be from the New Empire or somewhat earlier. The
inner fort must necessarily be older still. The surrounding cemeteries
are early dynastic,[7] and New Empire. Therefore the earlier fort may
be of a considerable age. Dr. Borchardt, who visited it some years ago,
was inclined at that time to consider it of the Old Empire, on account
of the mud bastions, and that conclusion would be quite in accordance
with the facts revealed by the Survey excavations. It is even possible,
in view of the cemeteries found, that the fort is actually early
dynastic. [8]
DESCRIPTION OF CEMETERIES 81-84 and 90-92. By C. M. Firth (p.17)
Cemetery 81: West bank.
A small cemetery of the C-group type dug in the
alluvial mud on the south side of a small valley about one km south of
Cemetery 80 and separated from it by a projecting promontory with the
ruins of a Coptic chapel on the summit. The burials are for the most
part those of infants. To the south among the rocks were a few
scattered sheep burials and traces of walls. In clearing these latter a
considerable quantity of C-group potsherds were found, which would seem
to point to an archaic Nubian settlement at this point. Some of the
sandstone rocks had the usual lightly incised drawings of oxen, etc.
Cemetery 82:
This was situated at the edge of the high desert a few hundred
meters further south. It consisted of a small group of graves which had
contained contracted skeletons and had been covered by cairns or stone
superstructures of which only the lower course remained. With these
were several large jars for burials now plundered and filled with blown
sand and debris. The cemetery would appear to belong to the B-group or
early C-group. Cf. Cemetery 77.
Cemetery 83: West bank.
The cemetery, about a km south of 82, was on an
ancient alluvial mound thickly covered with sand and gravel. Some of
the graves were very deep, as if an effort had been made to reach a
firmer stratum in which to deposit the burial. Large rings of stones
round the graves showed the size and positions of the superstructures.
The cemetery had been much plundered, but the graves were mainly of the
C-group type.
Fortified Town 84.
The Byzantine fortified town of Sabagura on the east
bank. A large series of photographs was taken of the houses and walls
and two plans, scales 1/400 and 1/1000 of the fortress and the entire
site were made.
Cemetery 90 (p.18).
On two or more alluvial mounds to the north of Kuri
fort were patches of early dynastic and New Empire graves. These,
however, had been examined by Prof. J. Garstang in 1900, and are now
filled with blown sand. One New Empire and one archaic grave which had
been overlooked served to indicate the general character of the
remainder.
Cemetery 91.
Late predynastic to early dynastic periods in alluvium
to the north-west of Kuri fort. The cemetery had been examined by the
same Expedition as Cemetery 90, but a few graves had been overlooked.
Cemetery 92: East bank.
Large X-group cemetery in the village of Aman
Daiid [9] dug in strata of gravel and ancient alluvium. The X-group
graves, which were all of the pit and side chamber type (axis of grave
local north and south, chamber local west), had been intruded on a late
predynastic or early dynastic cemetery, and many objects belonging to
the earlier burials had found their way into the fillings of the
X-group graves. One plundered New Empire grave at the north end of the
cemetery contained a large steatite scarab, engraved with a figure and
animals, and a green-glazed scarab of Thothmes III.
Footnotes:
1. Since the tilling of the reservoir, this land yields two
crops: a high Nile (or summer) crop and a Reservoir (or winter) crop.
2. A similar destruction of a cemetery by sebbakhin has been recorded
by Quibell at Kom el Ahmar: see Hierakonpolis II, p. 26 a (below).
3. The accumulation of sand appears to have begun very early,
as grave 85 (on right side, head east), apparently of nearly the same
date, was principally on the surface, and must have been made through
the sand.
4. I consider that all the cases of dismembered burials
reported in Diospolis parva, p.45, are shown by ample parallel
material to be merely cases of plundering.
5. It seems as if the beginning of the B-group in Nubia were
marked by a decided decrease in the material prosperity of the country,
whether caused by some change in the Nile or some other event of
economical importance. If some such event took place, it would in all
probability have caused the migration of some tribes along the desert
to Egypt.
6. Annales du Service des Antiquity de l'Egypte, Tome VIII, pp. 139-141.
7. So far as could be seen by the few graves not excavated by Prof. Garstang.
8. See "Excavations at Heirakonpolis, at Esna, and in Nubia," by J.
Garstang. Annales du Service des Antiquity de l'Egypte, Tome VIII,
pp. 139-141
9. Yemen Dahute on the older maps of the district.
[Continue to Bulletin 5]
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