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Archaeological Survey of Nubia (Bulletin 2). (Published in 1908 by the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, Survey Department, Cairo.)
PROGRESS OF SURVEY.
From
December 1 to 10, the men were employed clearing the Coptic church
found in Cemetery No.8 and filling in the pits close to the road in
Cemetery No.7. On December 11, they were shifted to Cemetery No.11 and
to Khor Ambukol. Khor Ambukol was made the centre for the excavation of
Cemeteries Nos.12-18, most of which had been marked down early in
October by an exploratory gang of men sent out from Shellal. This
exploratory gang was composed of especially experienced men, and was
divided into two gangs moving parallel to each other, one along the
lower face of the cliff and the other along the top. The ground was
covered twice; and the gangs changed places on the return journey. They
went as far as Demhid, and reported a number of sites on both sides of
the river.
On January 2, the gang on the west bank was moved
to Dabod. Owing to the desire of the inhabitants to cultivate the site
occupied by Cemetery No.22, that cemetery, although lying at the south
end of the district, was excavated first, rapidly recorded, and turned
over to the cultivators. In the meantime, the east-bank gang was
working on the important predynastic Cemetery No.17. As each section of
this gang finished its allotment in Cemetery No.17, it was sent on to
Dabod. The excavation of the cemetery was finished on January 8. On
January 10, the camp was transferred to Dabod, near the temple. From
here, we dug over thoroughly the whole site of Dabod on both banks.
This included Cemeteries Nos.19-26.
On February 1, the gangs moved out again to the south, one on the east
bank and one on the west bank. The west-bank gang cleared a series of
Roman and Coptic cemeteries lying in the village of (p.4) Madi-elQadi,
Cemetery No.27, and three New Empire graves at Kolodul, Cemetery No.28.
At this point, they entered the region of the granite rock and found
only a small Moslem cemetery (No.31) and a small Christian cemetery
(No.32) cut in rotten granite between Kolodul and Wadi Qamar. At Wadi
Qamar behind the Byzantine (?) fortress on the rock, they found a third
small cemetery (No.33) and then began work on the mud banks south of
the fortress, Cemeteries Nos.34-35, and on the mud bank at Khartum
(Dimri), Cemetery No.36.
The east-bank gang made a careful examination of Khor Menab, or Khor
Bir Amram, where they found about fifteen archaic graves, Cemetery
No.29. They then made a careful examination of the ground between Menab
and Biren. But this stretch contains very little alluvium, and no
graves or other remains were found. At Biren, south of the village,
just opposite Wadi Qamar, a predynastic cemetery had been marked by the
reconnoitring gangs, and the east-bank gang excavated this cemetery,
No.30, while the west-bank gangs were on No.34 just opposite. On
February 6, the camp was moved to Wadi Qamar to Cemetery No.34. From
this camp, Cemeteries Nos.30-36 were recorded.
On February 10, the east-bank gang moved south again, examining the
ground, but finding nothing until they reached Seali on the 12th. There
they found a Roman cemetery and a late predynastic cemetery, No.40, on
which they began work. The west-bank gang moved out on the 12th, and
found only two small patches of Christian or early Moslem graves
between Khartum and Meris. At Meris was a Roman cemetery. Between Meris
and the Island of Markos is a broad pin in broken by small granite
hills. In this plain were a number of cemeteries, Nos.41-42, on which
they began work. On the 13th, the cam]) was moved to Meris, and
Cemeteries Nos.37-42 were recorded from the Meris camp. The two banks
were also examined by the men as far as Sham Nishai on the east bank
and Bogga-el-Gharb (Demhid) on the west bank, at both of which places
predynastic cemeteries were noted.
On February 23, all the gangs were put on Cemetery No.43 at Bogga, and
on the 25th they moved across the river to Cemeteries Nos.44 and 45 at
Sham Nishai (Demhid). On the 26th, camp was moved to Demhid Post
Station, from which point Cemeteries Nos.43-49 were worked and
recorded.
(p.5) Between March 4 and 6, reconnoitering gangs were sent out, and
examined both banks as far as Kertassi. On the 7th, the workmen's camp
was moved to Sekuti, north of Kertassi, from which point they worked
Cemetery No.50 on the east bank at Metadul and examined all possible
sites on the east bank as far as Gudhi. They also excavated several
small plundered cemeteries,—Cemetery No.51 at Metatod, No.52 at Sekuti
and No.53 at Kertassi, and they examined the west bank as far as
Ginari. On March 10, they shifted camp to Ginari, where they had
discovered a cemetery, No.55, with well preserved superstructures.
On March 13, our camp was shifted to Metadul, from which point
Cemeteries Nos.50 to 52 were recorded. On March 17, our camp was
shifted to Ginari. On March 29, the expedition returned to Shellal, and
the work of the season was at an end. The recording by photography has
been carried on by the native The work of staff under my supervision.
The tomb cards have been prepared by Mr. C. M. Firth, Mr. A. M.
Blackman, and myself. Mr. 0. Bates assisted in the recording during
March. The topographical maps (1: 2,500) and the detail maps (1: 100)
were made by Mr. T. I). Scott and Mr. Murray up to January 27, and
after that date by Mr. Crosthwaite and Mr. Murray.
Forty-six new cemeteries, besides the eleven reported in the first bulletin, have been marked down and excavated:—
No.12 at Tondi (Khor Abzel. Khor Abu Zeid, really called Sellemballin-agil) on the east bank. Christian period.
No.13 at Bishir on the west bank. Christian period.
No.14 at Khor Ambukol. Old to Middle Empire and Christian period.
No.15 at Sharifa-tod, Godi. New Empire, Ptolemaic-Roman, Christian and Moslem.
No.16 at Shemt-el-Wah. New Empire.
No.17 at Bahan. Early predynastic.
No.18 at Saqiat-el-Gemel. Inundated.
No.19 at Kozikol. Christian (?). Inundated.
No.20 at Fanassi. Christian. Inundated.
No.21 at Antogo. Sheep burials. Inundated ('!).
No.22 at Dabod, north end of Madi-el-Qadi. Sheep burials, Old to Middle Empire.
No.23 at Dabod, Naziria, the district immediately south of the temple.
Late predynastic, Old and Middle Empire, New Empire. Sheep burials.
No.24 at Dabod, Dib-tod, [1] north-west of the temple. New Empire to Roman.
No.25 at Dabod, Halisab, north of temple. Roman to Christian.
No.26 at Dabod, Madi-el-Qadi, under cliff. Ptolemaic.
No.27 at Dabod, Madi-el-Qadi, in mud banks. Roman to Christian.
No.28 at Dabod, Kolodul, in gravel. New Empire.
No.29 at Menab, in alluvial banks. Old to Middle Empire.
No.30 at Biren, in spate bank. Middle predynastic, early dynastic, Old to New Empire.
No.31 at Wasa, north end, on the west bank. Christian or Moslem.
No.32 at Wasa, south end. Christian.
No.33 at Wadi Qamar, west of Byzantine (?) fortified town in mud bank. Christian.
No.34 at Wadi Qamar, south of Byzantine (?) fortified town, in mud bank. Roman and Christian.
No.35 at Wadi Qamar, just north of No.34 and perhaps originally part of No.34.
No.36 at Khartum (Dimri), in mud bank. Roman and Christian.
No.37 at Hibs, in mud bank. Christian.
No.38 at Dibto, in mud bank. Christian and Moslem (?).
No.39 at Meris, in mud bank north of the inlet. Ptolemaic-Roman and Christian.
No.40 at Seali, on the east bank, in mud strata. Late predynastic, early dynastic, New Empire, Ptolemaic-Roman, and Christian.
No.41 between Meris and Markos. Late predynastic, early dynastic, Old
Empire, Middle Empire, Ptolemaic-Roman, Christian. Late predynastic
settlement.
No.42 on the north side of the khor the mouth of which is opposite
Markos Island, on the west bank, in rotten sandstone. Christian.
No.43 at Denihid, Bogga-el-Gharb, in spate gravel. Middle to late predynastic.
No.44 at Demhid, Max, in spate gravel. Middle to late predynastic.
No.45 at Demhid, Sham Nishai, in a row of mud mounds (p.7). Early dynastic to Old Empire.
No.46 at Demhid, Naga-el-Gama, in decayed sandstone. Indeterminate date.
No.47 at Demhid, Bogga-el-Sharq, partly in spate gravel and partly in mud strata. Old Empire and New Empire.
No.48 at Demhid, Kolosek. in mud strata. New Empire and Late Roman (type 1 of Cemetery No.15).
No.49 at Demhid, north bank of Khor Demhid, in spate gravel. Early dynastic to Old Empire.
No.50 at Metadul, partly in spate gravel, partly in mud strata and
partly in sandstone. Early dynastic, Middle Empire, New Empire.
No.51 at Metatod, in gravel. Early dynastic.
No.52 at Wah Hadid and Sekuti, in mud bank and in sandstone. Date indeterminate.
No.53 at Kertassi in sandstone and clay. Ptolemaic-Roman.
No.54 at Ginari, north of khor, in mud banks. Middle Empire.
No.55 at Ginari, in mud banks with well-preserved superstructures with Greek stelae. Coptic period.
No.56 at Taifa, in mud banks with superstructures like No.57. Coptic period.
No.57 at Kolaessi, in gravel. Empty graves of uncertain date.
DESCRIPTION OF EXCAVATED CEMETERIES.
Cemetery No.8.
Cemetery No.8 was on a granite knoll covered with decayed granite and
blown sand. This loose surface was found to contain a large number of
graves (perhaps 500) of the Coptic period. It had been much larger,
extending down the slope below the 106-metre level. A number of bodies
had been removed from the lower graves before the present Reservoir was
filled and re-buried higher up to avoid the pollution of the water. We
uncovered a strip along the western side of Cemetery No.8, and also a
building—a church—situated on the top of the knoll (see PL.XXX).
(p.8) The graves in Cemetery No.8 were of the same type as those in Cemeteries Nos.2 and 5.
Type 1.—Large communal or family tombs consisting of mud-brick vaulted superstructures. Some of them have pillared porticos.
Type 2.—Similar superstructures with burial in or on the floor.
Type 3.—The denuded form of Type 2, which in Cemetery No.2 was called Type 3, is wanting.
Types 4 and 5.—The small graves were similar to those in Cemetery No.2,
but the superstructures were denuded. The burials are also like those
in Cemeteries Nos.2 and 5, extended on back, head to west, with hands
at side or on pelvis. They are likewise wrapped in coarse
winding-sheets tied with cord or tape. Embroideries may also be found
when the wrappings are opened.
The number of graves opened was small, not more than 200, most of them
single graves. Therefore, the amount of pottery and other objects of
antiquity found is small; but all that has been found shows no
essential difference from Cemetery No.5.
The building. The buildings on the knoll were found to be:—
(1) An older and smaller mud-brick building;
(2) A later and larger stone building with mud-brick and burnt brick restorations and repairs.
Graves of all types were found inside the walls of these buildings.
They had been dug subsequently to the older mud-trick building, in its
floor, but previously to the stone building. The stone building had
been built over these graves—a fact which is especially clear outside
the walls of the smaller mud-brick building. The older mud-trick
building was entirely denuded to the foundations when the stone
building was built and its walls run at an angle of about 5° to those
of the later building. The fact that the pillars of the mud-brick
building are in the western courtyard or hall indicates that the older
building may have been the superstructure of a large communal grave of
Type 2, with burial in the floor. A careful examination, however, did
not show an important the central grave, such as a sheikh's tomb, as
might have been expected.
(p.9) Cemetery No.9.
Cemetery No.9 is on the slope of the granite wall about 100 metres
cemetery 9 west of Cemetery No.8. A number of rock-cut chambers were
visible characteristics below the 106-metre level, having been exposed
by the water of the as Cemetery 3- full reservoir. Nine tombs were
excavated above the high-water level, and all these, except one,
together with the lower exposed chambers, presented the same features
as the rock-cut chambers in Cemetery No.3 (Hesa). The bodies were
mummified—that is, prepared with bitumen, wrapped in cloth, and covered
with five pieces of painted and gilded cartonnage. The coffins were of
both stone and pottery, as in Cemetery No.3. Tombs 1 and 8 had parts of
mudbrick superstructures preserved.
One tomb, however, No.9, was of a different type. It contained one New
Empire two chambers. In both chambers and in the stairway were found
some amulets and number a of pots of the late New Empire. It is
probable that there are more tombs of this date under the village and
below the 106-metre level.
As this cemetery gave no great promise of adding anything to bur
material on the cataract region, it was left to be done at the
beginning of next year, and the work was transferred to Cemeteries
Nos.11-14.
Cemetery No.11.
At the village of Tingar, on the west bank just beyond the south end of
Hesa, there was a cemetery, probably early Moslem or late Christian in
date, but all of it lay below the 106-metre line and was covered by
water when the workmen arrived. An attack was made on the blown sand
above the line; but the cemetery did not appear to continue up the
slope. A mud-brick wall was found, but there was no indication of a
building of sufficient size to justify the removal of the enormous mass
of drift-sand above it.
Cemetery No.12.
On the north side of the khor which lies north of the village of Tondi
was an alluvial bank partly cut away by spates. On the northern side of
this bank were four narrow shallow graves, oriented east and west. They
were quite empty, but must have contained Christian burials.
(p.10) Cemetery No.13.
In the khor north of the village of Bishir were alluvial banks and a
mound of sand. The mound of sand had been cut off from the cliffs
behind by spates coming down the khor. In this sand were found four
contracted burials, but nothing was found with them. In the bad granite
rock of the promontory south of the khor, between it and the village, a
few rock-cut tombs were found. These were all small, not like those in
Cemetery No.3 (Hesa). They were empty, but the debris about them was
mixed with Coptic potsherds, so they are probably of the Christian
period.
Cemetery No.14.
At Khor Ambukol, there are a series of sand mounds piled on dark
alluvial strata. These mounds seem to be the remains of a khor fan laid
down in the mouth of the khor by earlier spates. The dark strata, where
they lay exposed below the 106-metre level, contained perhaps 300 long
shallow graves, oriented east and west. These were noted on October 14,
and were covered with water when the working-gangs reached the place on
December 11.
All the sand mounds were thoroughly examined (see PL.XXXI). The
southern and highest mound contained 20 burials, presenting the same
characteristics as the b group in Cemetery No.7 at Shellal. They were
contracted usually on the left, side, but were oriented in all
directions. They were protected by skins and mats. The objects found
included rough black-topped ware, bracelets, slate and stone palettes,
ivory combs, beads, etc. On the lower slopes west of this group were
found three burials resembling the c group of Cemetery No.7, and on the
hills above were found a few scattered burials similar to the e group
burials in Cemetery No.7. Along the low decayed-stone promontory south
of the main mound were found seven rock-cut tombs resembling those in
Cemetery No.3 (Hesa), both in type of tomb and burial. Two graves, one
that of a goat, were found near the bottom of the small drainage-course
in the northern part of the delta. There had obviously been a certain
amount of denudation subsequent to these burials, but they show that'
the denudation in the northern part (p.11) of the delta had taken place
previous to the early dynastic period. The rapid and general denudation
must have ceased when the present deep channel on the south was cut
out.
It is clear that at Khor Ambukol we have a series of small cemeteries
from a local population supported by the cultivation of the delta fan
of the khor. A number of members are missing from the series, but they
may have been swept away by spates. There is no Mohammedan cemetery,
but that is because the place was cultivated from Tondi, and the burial
ground for the people of Tondi was beside that village and is now under
water.
Cemetery No.15.
At the village of Godi, there is a deep bay in the rock wall which is
called Sharifa-tod. In the middle, next to the river, rises a high
rocky hill. The floor of this bay seems to consist of gravel and mud
strata. To the south is a promontory, and beyond that a smaller bay of
similar character. On the south side of the rocky hill, there are a
number of graves of several different types in a dark alluvial bank.
One type [2] consists of a broad pit with a broad side-chamber,
and contains burials slightly contracted on the left side, head
south. These graves contain a number of pots', some of which are
undoubtedly late, subsequent at any rate to the late New Empire. A few
resemble, in form and ware, well-known Roman-Coptic pots. A number of
beads, a castor oil plant, an iron needle, etc., all point to the same
period.
The second type of grave has a long narrow pit about 100-150 cm. deep,
with a chamber at the bottom, half recessed and half in the bottom of
the pit. The chamber was closed by leaning stones across from the
higher part in the bottom of the pit to the pit wall above the chamber.
The burials were not uniform, being sometimes extended on the back, and
sometimes extended on either the right or the left side with the knees
slightly bent. The heads were uniformly west. The bodies were wrapped
in cloth, but the graves contained no objects of any sort. They were
undoubtedly not previous to the Christian period (possibly very early
Moslem [3]) in date.
The third type (p.12) was a simple pit similar to Type 2, but without
the chamber. The graves of Type 3 belong, without question, to the same
date as the graves of Type 2.
The fourth type was a chamber-tomb. These chamber-tombs are as old as
Types 2 and 3, or perhaps older, but they now contain Moslem
burials.[4] One of these, the first opened, contained a number of
burials and a sheet of paper stuck on a strip of palm-leaf rib. The
]taper contained the well-known "Prayer of the Prophet Akasha," which
is placed on a green palm-leaf stick at the head of burials in Nubia as
a testimonial to be used in the other world that the individual is a
Moslem. This originated in the fact that for some time after the Moslem
conquest of Nubia the people spoke only Nubian. At present only the
women and small children are ignorant of Arabic. These Arabic graves
were closed up as soon as recognized, to the satisfaction of the people
of the village.
At three different places there were Moslem graves of the usual type,
but in each group the general north and south orientation differed
slightly from the two other groups.
Cemetery No.16.
North of El-Wah, on the west bank, there is an inlet in the rock wall,
the bottom of which is covered with alluvial deposits, partly mud and
partly gravel. The northern and western parts are covered with blown
sand. At the north-west corner, a road (aqaba) marked by a rough stone
wall leads up on the desert plateau. In the gravel mound in the centre
were two contracted burials of indeterminate date. In the mud mound
along the eastern side there were two typical New Empire graves and two
more contracted burials. The New Empire graves contained burials
extended on the back, head north, accompanied by characteristic New
Empire pottery. Each also contained a scarab with the name of Thothmes
III. The bodies were females and showed negroid characteristics (see p.
38).
Cemetery No.17 (p.13).
At Bahan, on the east bank, is the mouth of a double khor (see
PL.XXXII and Map, PL.LXXIX). This mouth is built up in two
terraces (or khor fans) laid down on alluvium by spates comingdown the
khor. On the top of the highest spate deposit (about the 115-metre
level) is a layer of Nile mud showing that the spate deposits were laid
down at a time when high Nile at any rate was above the top of the
terrace. The alluvial bank near the water contains a few Christian
graves, probably the remains of a cemetery now under water. The lower
khor fan contains a few graves of the late predynastic and early
dynastic periods, the remains of a large cemetery entirely destroyed by
sebbakhin. The upper khor fan contains about 95 graves of the earliest
predynastic period. The surface of this early predynastic
cemetery had been cut to pieces by sebbakhin (see PL.XXXIII); but
underneath the disturbed stratum many quite undisturbed burials were
found (see PL.XXXIV). There had been little modern plundering, but a
great deal of ancient plundering, so that in some graves no bodies at
all were found.
Although the grave walls had been mostly broken down by the sebbakhin,
enough remained to show that the graves were of the types known in the
same period in Egypt, rectangular and oval pits about 70- 150 cm. deep.
The burials were on mats, twig platforms, and skins (see
pls.XXXV-XXXVI). The skeletons were contracted usually on the left
side, but not uniformly with the head south. In fact, the burial
position is, in the older period, far less constant than it is in the
late period or in the early dynastic period.
The objects found with the burials are identical with those found in
tombs of the same date in Egypt—black-topped red polished pottery,
white line-decorated pottery, black incised, plum-coloured polished
ware, stone vessels, flints, slate palettes, stone weapons, ivories,
and small copper objects (see Pls.XXXVII-XXXIX).
The bodies found in the graves are, according to Drs. Elliot Smith and
Wood Jones, characteristically Egyptian, see p. 39. This cemetery is
extremely important as showing the lowering of the Nile bed both
before and after the predynastic period. It is to be assumed that
the cemeteries have always been in the desert nearest to the
habitation, and the habitation has been in the unused (p.14) ground
nearest the cultivation. It is therefore significant that the early
predynastic burials are on a terrace which was once certainly under
high Nile level after the deposition of black mud began; that the early
dynastic burials are on a terrace two metres lower and fifty metres
nearer the Nile; that the Christian burials are just at the present
full reservoir level (106 metres), and the Moslem burials not far from
the same level.
Cemeteries Nos.18-21 (East Bank).
At Saqiat-el-Gemel were a few rock-cut tombs still above water, the remains of a Ptolemaic-Roman cemetery—No.18.
At Kozikol we found a pit which had once contained a brick-vaulted
substructure and two narrow graves. These were in an alluvial mound
near the 106-metre level and are probably part of a Christian cemetery
now under water—No.19.
At Fanassi were found three long narrow graves of the same types as the
Christian graves in Cemetery No.15. These were also part of a larger
cemetery now under water—No.20. The bodies were on the back, head west,
wrapped in coarse cloth.
At Antogo there were also three graves in crevices in the granite, but
near the water—No.21. Two of these were sheep-burials—a ewe and a ram.
The cemetery is probably to be connected with Cemetery No.22, just
across the river on the west bank.
The Cemeteries at the Temple of Dabod
(Cemeteries Nos.22-25)
At Dabod there is a long wadi running out to the west. To the south,
the high granite ridge crops up again, extending from Koladun to
Markos. Owing to this configuration, the drift sand has for ages been
carried down the Dabod wadi to the Nile, leaving the granite district
practically free of sand. The black mud stratum at about 115-metre
level, which is laid down at Cemetery No.17 (Bahan) on a spate terrace,
is at Dabod laid down on drift sand—except at the north end, at
Halisab—arid covered with drift sand. In some cases, as at Madi-el-
Qadi, there were two mud strata resting on sand and separated by sand.
These sand and mud strata are cut by spates at two points, one between
Madi-el-Qadi and Naziria, and one at the Temple. The mud stratum (p.15)
has at many places been entirely removed by the inhabitants to enrich
fields lower down and to plaster their houses. This removal is still
going on wherever we have been, and may be seen in progress nearly
every day.
As the burials were often in the mud stratum, much of which has now
been removed, it is not possible to determine the original extent of
Cemeteries Nos.22 and 23, nor whether they were originally one
cemetery. On the other hand, many of the graves were dug through the
mud stratum into the drift-sand, and this fact made the examination of
those parts where the mud stratum was gone a very tedious and difficult
operation.
Cemetery No.22 was on a mud knoll south of the southern khor. The lower
slope on the east, nearer the river, was occupied by animal
burials—sheep (rams and ewes), a cow, and a dog. Near these were also a
few Christian graves of the types 2 and 3 described at Cemetery No.15.
On the top and western slope were about 150 graves of the late b group
and the c group found at Cemetery No.7 (Shellal); but these had been
nearly destroyed by the inhabitants in digging out mud for the fields
below. However, the size of the graves and the skeletons found in place
show that all the burials were contracted, but not uniformly
orientated. The objects found were beads and potsherds. The potsherds
were of the black-mouthed [5] and the incised Nubian wares. The date is
undoubtedly not so late as the New Empire and not so old as the Old
Empire.
Cemetery No.23 was on three mud and sand knolls between the predynastic
village of Naziria and the Temple khor. In the southern knoll, the
burial8- graves were dug through the mud stratum into the sand. On the
south half of the knoll, there were 6-10 graves of undoubtedly late
predynastic type. On the north half were graves of the early dynastic
and Old Kingdom type. On the northern edge was an intrusive New Empire
burial in an older grave. Below the knoll on the east, about forty
metres nearer the river, there were a number of animal burials— sheep,
dogs, mongoose (?), and cow. In the debris about these there was a mass
of broken Nubian pottery, rubbing-stones, and other objects pointing
probably to the presence of a settlement. In the middle knoll of
Cemetery No.23, the mud stratum was thicker and the graves were p.16)
in the mud. These graves were of the pit and chamber type—a rectangular
pit about 200 cm. by eighty cm. with a side chamber, or with a large
room at the end, or both, like No.60.
The pottery, scarabs, beads, bronze bowl, kohl pots, and remains of
coffins found here, date the graves with absolute certainty to the
XVIIIth to XXth dynasties. Among these graves were two goat burials.
The northern knoll contained only a few empty circular graves—with one
intrusive extended burial in one of them.
The next cemetery, No.24, was in the two sandstone hills lying
north-west of the temple. These hills presented on the east face two
cliffs separated by a terrace about 40 to 60 metres across. The lower
cliff was almost buried in drift-sand, but the layer of sand was in
most places light and no difficulty was found in penetrating it. The
upper cliff was bare, and had been repeatedly examined by plunderers
with the result that the slope was strewn with fragments of bitumenous
mummies and bleached human bones.
On the terrace between the two cliffs were found traces of a camping
place—ashes, animal bones, a black-mouthed bowl, a jar of fine drab
ware (1st to IInd dynasty form), and a fragment of a slate bowl (1st to
IInd dynasty form). Under the cliff edge in the sand were found a few
potsherds of similar date and two stone axe-heads. The lower cliff was
cut by several quarries, but where the face was uncut it was found to
have been hollowed out by the action of sand and wind, and then covered
with sand. All along, graves had been rock cut tombs. trough the sand
and the burials laid in the hollow under the cliff.
The sand had been banked up with rough stone walls. These burials were
shown by the pottery and the scarabs to belong mainly to the New Empire
and the Late New Empire. There were in addition two large rock-cut
tombs in the lower face, one, No.1, in the southern hill, and the
other, No.51, in the northern hill. No.1 consisted of five chambers,
and No.51 consisted of four. These tombs contained originally New
Empire and Late New Empire burials; they had been re-used, however, in
Ptolemaic-Roman times, and had been entered in modern times. They
yielded a number of scarabs, beads, ushebtis, stone vessels, and
pottery of the New Empire types,
The upper cliff in the southern hill contained about 100 rock-cut
rock-cut tombs of which we only examined 16. The upper cliff in the
northern hill contained four rock-cut tombs, all of which were
cleared. These (p.17) rock-cut tombs were simply packed with
mummies—some of them prepared with resin and wax and some with bitumen.
No.204 in the northern hill also contained fragments of three
characteristic portraits on wood (Hawara portraits) and an inscribed
linen mummy covering. There were fragments of papyrus cartonnage in
No.1, from an intrusive Ptolemaic mummy.
Only a small amount of pottery was found, but the pieces pointed to the
Ptolemaic-Roman period or perhaps earlier. It seems clear, therefore,
that Cemetery No.24 extends continuously from the New Empire to the
Roman period.
Cemetery No.25 occupied the mud bank on the north near the
village of Halisab and contained two distinct types of graves.
The earlier type is a modification of the Ptolemaic-Roman type of
rock-cut tomb, such as found at Cemetery No.3 (El Hesa). There is a
small rectangular pit with a chamber on the upper side, hollowed out of
the mud stratum. The door of the chamber is blocked with mud-brick
or stones. The bodies are mummified, and lie with the head away
from the entrance. Traces of cartonnage were also found; and there were
a number of pots in the chambers, all of Ptolemaic-Roman form. To the
west of these chamber-tombs there were a number of simple long narrow
rectangular pits, with burials extended on the back, head west. These
contained no objects, and were undoubtedly Christian. Thus the
cemeteries at Dabod, even if we assume the loss of a certain
number of the earlier graves, show that there was a population on
the site in the late predynastic period at the latest, that this
population was probably comparatively sparse in the Old and Middle
Empires, larger and richer in the New Empire, and reached its greatest
extent in the Ptolemaic-Roman period.
Cemeteries Nos.30, 34, 35, and 36, at Wadi Qamar.
The two banks of the river at Wadi Qamar furnished an interesting
series of cemeteries which gave a further insight into the height of
the river and the consequent changes in population over a long period.
The east bank alone contains gravel or spate deposits at a high level.
In these gravel deposits at the southern end of Biren were found the
onlv early graves in the district. There were a few graves of the
middle predynastic period, a few late predynastic graves, and a few
(p.18) New Empire graves. The later graves were on a lower terrace.
Still lower down in the mud stratum there were a few Christian graves.
On the west bank there was a series of mud banks containing only
Ptolemaic-Roman and Christian graves. The Ptolemaic-Roman graves were
of the usual mud-chamber type. The bodies were sometimes in pottery or
stone coffins with traces of cartonnage and accompanied by a few pots.
There were also a few graves of the type described as Type 1 in
Cemetery No.15, containing characteristic pottery. The Christian graves
were of the same three types found in Cemetery No.15:—
Type 2.—Narrow pit with side chamber.
Type 3.—Simple narrow pit.
Type 4.—Mud-chamber tomb.
Cemetery No.40—Seali.
At Seali there is a long, high mud bank at the foot of the cliff
between two khors. This mud bank contains archaic graves on top and New
Empire, Ptolemaic-Roman and Christian graves on the slopes. At the
southern part, there was a late predynastic and early dynastic
cemetery. The graves were both circular and rectangular. The skeletons,
with a few exceptions, were lying contracted on the left side, head
south. The pottery, slate palettes, beads and other objects were like
the objects of the same period found in Egypt. There was also a fine
porphyry bowl and a heavy copper harpoon. Further north there were many
empty circular pits which had been cleaned out by plunderers. These may
have been of the same date as the b and c group burials at Shellal.
The New Empire tombs were pits with side or end chambers. Each tomb
contained many skeletons which had fallen down together on the decay of
the coffins. These burials were accompanied by typical New Empire
pottery with only one piece of black-mouthed Nubian pottery, by kohl
pots, ushebtis, amulets and many scarabs.
The Ptolemaic-Roman tombs were of the mud-chamber type with a very
narrow entrance. The bodies were extended on the back with the hands at
the side. With the bones were found traces of cloth wrappings and
cartonnage. The Christian graves were partly of the mud-chamber type
and partly of the simple pit type. The bodies were extended on the
back, head west.
p.19) Cemeteries Nos.39, 41, and 42, between Meris and Markos. Between
Meris and Markos there is a wide plain built up partly of alluvial
deposits and partly of spate deposits. It is dotted with small granite
hills and cut by a number of khors. The northernmost and southernmost
khors are of considerable size. At the southern end of the plain the
mud banks along the water contain a large number of graves of the
Ptolemaic-Roman and Christian periods. The cemetery seems to have
extended under the present water level. The graves are of the types
already described in the section on Cemetery No.15:—
Type 1.—Wide pits with side chamber.
Type 2.—Narrow pits with side chamber.
Type 3.—Simple narrow pit.
Type 4.—Mud-chamber tomb.
With Types 1 and 4 a number of characteristic pots were found. In the
Ptolemaic-Roman graves stone and pottery coffins were found, and
cartonnage mummies. The cartonnage was not well enough preserved to be
taken away. The skeletons were oriented as it was convenient. The
graves of Type 1 were, as usual, oriented north and south. The
Christian burials were extended on the back, head west. Further back in
the plain, there were a series of knolls composed in some cases of
alluvial mud and in others of spate gravel. Three of these knolls in
the northern part contained graves similar to the b group graves in
Cemetery No.7 at Shellal. The group of graves numbered 105-115 in
Cemetery No.41 contained a few pots of hard pink ware like the pots of
the early dynastic period in Egypt, and also black-mouthed and black
incised pottery of Nubian types. The group numbered 210-250 contained
only Nubian pottery, slates and ornaments like the Shellal b group.
A few hundred metres south of group 200, on a sandy slope, we came on
evidences of a camp or settlement. The sand, which lay about 30-50 cm.
deep, was carefully stripped off the old surface. No walls or even
wattle trenches could be found; but in a number of places the old
surface was very much trodden down. There were, moreover, several round
hearths formed of ashes, such as would be left by camp fires. There
were also a few animal bones left about, pottery, slate palettes, stone
axe-heads, mace (p.20) heads, a fine copper axe-head, flint chips,
stone buttons (from the handles of maces ?), resin, haematite colouring
matter, an ostrich egg, beads, bracelets and other objects. Two of the
pots were quite full of smaller objects which had evidently been put in
them intentionally. The objects found at this place were all of the
late predynastic period. Near this camp or settlement on the south,
across a shallow, dry watercourse, a small cemetery of 16 graves
(Cemetery No.41, graves 401-416) was found in a sandy slope which had
been somewhat denuded by the water running down the shallow watercourse
just mentioned. These graves contained pottery, slate palettes, beads
and bracelets of the same period as that in the camp or settlement.
Further west and higher up the same shallow watercourse, in a mud bank,
there were five or six rectangular graves with pottery characteristic
of the early dynastic period. Still further west, in gravel, there were
about ten graves of the Old Empire.
On the southern side of the granite hill which adjoins graves 401-416
on the south, there is a sandy slope containing thirty-two graves,
apparently of the Old to Middle Empire period—late b group. This
cemetery, according to the inhabitants of village nearby, extends under
the present cultivation. The graves contained black-mouthed and black
incised pottery, beads, amulets, shell pendants and a copper basketwork
awl with a wooden handle. The graves were numbered 500-531. On the
northern side of the khor which opens on the river at the island of
Markos, there are a number of chamber tombs cut in the rotten stone.
The chambers are very roughly cut, just large enough to take a single
body. The entrances were blocked with stones and mud. The bodies lay
extended on the back with the head towards the entrance. Thus the
orientation varied, being always at right angles to the hill-side in
which the tomb was cut. One of these graves contained a pot, and two
others contained some gilt glass beads, blue glass beads and blue
glazed beads. Several had fragments of coarse cloth. The graves are,
therefore, probably not far distant in date from the early Christian
period.
Cemeteries Nos.43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, and 49, in the District of Demhid.
Khor Demhid is the largest of the ravines which we have yet visited,
and runs far back into the eastern desert. The Nile valley is (p.21)
comparatively wide for several kilometres north of the khor, and on the
east bank there is a long, narrow plain composed mostly of Nile mud.
When the high Nile level was at about the 106-metre level this must
have been a large tract of cultivable ground. Judging from the
cemeteries found, the plain has supported a considerable population
from the late predynastic period down to the present day.
Cemeteries Nos.43 and 44 are middle to late predynastic cemeteries
on opposite sides of the river. No.43 is at Bogga-el-Gharb in a spate
deposit on the north side of a khor. No.44 is at Max in a spate deposit
on the south side of a small khor. Both are at high levels. They contained
the usual oval graves with contracted burials and characteristic
pottery, slate palettes and ornaments.
Cemetery No.45 at Sham-Nishai occupied a series of mud knolls. There
was a strip of cultivation between these knolls and the present level
of the full reservoir. According to the fellahin, there are graves
under this cultivation. The cemetery has been plundered recently by a
gang of men from Luxor, and many graves have been destroyed by the
cultivators taking soil for the fields below. We cleared about 400
graves, a few of which were unplundered. The objects found were
pottery, slates, palettes, leather garments, beads and ornaments. The
pottery resembled that of the late predynastic period found at
Cemeteries Nos.7 and 40, and contained some pieces identical with
Egyptian pottery of the 1st to IInd dynasties—for example, the types
III, V, IX, XV, XVII, XVIII, XXIV, XXIX given in Naga-ed-Der I. The
other pottery found was almost entirely of the earlier black-topped
Nubian ware of which only four pieces have been found in Egypt in the
early dynastic period. Therefore, although a number of the
characteristic types of the early dynastic period were not found, it is
clear that the greater part of Cemetery No.45 is from the early
dynastic period. The graves themselves present several new features:—
(1) A number of graves are of a bee-hive shape, having their narrowest
part at the opening. They are plastered heavily inside. This shape is
little different from the interior form of the corbel vaults used in
the second to fourth dynasties in Egypt.
(2) A few graves have two bee-hive chambers, one underneath the other.
The opening to the lower chamber is in the floor of the upper chamber.
(p.22) (3) A few graves have a small recess chamber opening in the side
wall, the entrance to which is blocked with small stones and plastered
with mud. Both these features (2) and (3) remind us of the secondary
chambers which were used for hiding pottery, etc., in the graves of the
early dynastic period (see Naga-ed-Der I, p. 27, 56, 84).
These special features of the graves in Cemetery No.45 support,
therefore, the date assigned to the cemetery on the basis of the
pottery. The conclusion that Cemetery No.45 is of the early dynastic
period is important because some of the graves are identical in type
and contents with the early 6 group graves of Cemetery No.7 at Shellal.
The similarity of the leather garments is especially striking. Thus the
dating of the b group graves given in Bulletin I will probably be made
more definite when the material from Cemetery No.45 has been fully
considered.
The mounds between No.45 and No.47 contained a number of empty round
graves completely cleared by plunderers and sebbakhin. Cemetery No.47
contained a few graves of the Middle Empire and a number of large tombs
of the New Empire. The pottery, scarabs, amulets and beads of the New
Empire were, as usual, unmistakably of the types found in Egypt. In
September, I noted a large Christian cemetery adjoining No.47 on the
west and lower down, but it now lies under cultivation. Cemeteries
Nos.48 and 49 were nearer Khor Demhicl and consisted of plundered
graves of the early dynastic period. The District from Khor Demhid to
Bab el-Kalabsha, Cemeteries Nos.50 to 57.
From Khor Demhid to Bab el-Kalabsha there are only a few places,
Metadul, Gamali, Grinari, and Taifa, where the sandstone cliffs are
broken by ravines with alluvial and spate deposits. At several points,
Metadul, Wad Hadid, and Kertassi, there are rock-cut tombs of the
Ptolemaic-Roman period; but these are all completely plundered. The
only remains of any interest lie in the alluvial deposits. Cemetery
No.50 lies on both sides of a small khor at Metadul. On the south side,
in mud banks, there are about 60 graves, most of which are of the early
1st dynasty. Judging from the stone slabs and rubble lying about the
cemeteries, it seems that the graves were roofed(p.23) with stone slabs
and covered with rubble superstructures. There were also about six New
Empire graves in this cemetery, some of which were cut through the
older graves and so shown to be intrusive. On the north side of the
khor, there were a number of c group graves and one large pit grave of
the Middle Empire. These were also in alluvial banks. Nearer the water
there were Christian and Moslem graves, and in the cliff above the
village there were Ptolemaic-Roman rock-cut tombs.
The only remaining site of any interest in this stretch was at Ginari
near Taifa. Here there was a large Christian cemetery, the lower part
of which has been ruined by the water of the Reservoir. The
superstructures of the graves are remarkably well preserved, lying in
continuous rows, arranged in large blocks with narrow streets between.
The superstructures are plastered white, and some of them are decorated
with drawings in red—palm-trees, crosses and simple geometrical
designs. About fifty Greek stelae were found dated with Indiction
dates. One of these was in position in the upper part of the west end
of the superstructure, facing west. The burials lie extended on the
back with the head west.
SUMMARY.
The cemeteries found between Aswan and Bab el-Kalabsha present
practically all the larger divisions of Egyptian history. Moreover,
each of the more extensive sites, Shellal, Khor Ambukol, Dabod, Markos,
and Demhid, presents in itself the same series of cemeteries:—
[TABLE I]
(p.24) The cemeteries of the early pre-dynastic, the late pre-dynastic,
and the early dynastic periods, and the cemeteries of the New Empire,
the Late New Empire, and the Ptolemaic-Roman periods, present types of
burials and funerary furniture which are characteristically Egyptian,
that is, indistinguishable from the burials and objects of the
corresponding periods in Egypt.
Thus, of all the Egyptian periods, there remain only the Old and
the Middle Kingdoms for which the Nubian material is not identifiable
at first glance. Corresponding to this gap, we have the large number of
graves classified as the b and c groups, which do not contain objects
of any other Egyptian period. This fact suggests very strongly that the
b and c groups are to be dated to the Old and Middle Empires. That
general dating was established by the division of the Shellal graves
into a pre-denudation and a post-denudation period (see Bulletin I, p.
22), and is supported by the following facts:—
(1) The b and c graves occur in Cemeteries Nos.7, 23, 41, 45, and 50,
in connection with groups of late pre-dynastic and early dynastic
graves on the one hand, and with New Empire graves on the other. They
occur in Cemeteries Nos.14 and 29 at some distance from any other
graves. This is what would be expected of a cemetery of a definite
period, but might be explained by assuming that these graves represent
the burials of a different race living in the land. The latter
conclusion is. however, made improbable by the gap in the Nubian
material corresponding to the Old and Middle Empires, and is excluded
by the facts given below.
(2) There is a general continuity of types of small objects, pottery,
and burials, from the early dynastic graves through the early b group,
the late b group, and the c group. But, in spite of this general
continuity, differences are to be noted between the early dynastic and
the early b group, between the early b group and the late b group,
between the late b group and the c group.
The b and c graves have, in common with the pre-dynastic and early
dynastic graves, burials in a contracted position on the side, and
contain mats and sewed leather garments not essentially different from
those of the early dynastic period. But one type of mat-weaving found
in b group at Cemetery No.23 is unlike any of the earlier type's. The
slate palettes, grindstones, pebbles, and malachite, found in the early
b group graves connect the b group definitely with the early (p.25)
dynastic period, but these objects do not occur in the late b group, in
the c group, or in the graves of the New Empire. For Egypt, the latest
evidence of the use of these objects is in the Illrd dynasty. The
pottery found in the b and c group graves is not abundant and consists
mostly of (1) the heavy, soft black-mouthed Nubian bowls, which are
related on the one side to the black-topped, red, polished ware of the
pre-dynastic period, and on the other to the thin, black-topped ware of
the New Empire; and (2) of the black, incised Nubian bowls, which are
likewise to be connected with the earlier and with the later black
incised ware. But both of these kinds of b and c group pottery are, in
form and material, distinctly different from the earlier and the later
wares. At Shellal, there were found a few pieces of wheel-made pottery
in the late b and c graves; but, while they resemble Egyptian wares,
they are not well-known types. In the c group graves, we have found
fragments of incised vessels of lightcoloured ware which cannot be
identified in any way with Egyptian objects. No example of any of the
common types of Egyptian pottery occurs in these graves. Wheel-made
pottery, which came into use in Egypt in the Illrd dynasty, is not
commonly found in Nubian graves until New Empire Cemeteries Nos.7, 15,
16, 24, 30, 40, 47, and 50. [6]
(3) In spite of the complete absence of Egyptian pottery, other objects
occur in the b and c graves which are identical in form and material
with objects found in Egypt in the Old and Middle Empires. Among these
are copper implements, bone bracelets, ivory combs, beads and amulets.
The small badly-formed faience amulets of the Vlth-XIth dynasties and
the "crumb" beads of faience of the same period occur in the later b
group. The mother-of-pearl plate and disc beads similar to those found
in Nubian graves in Egypt (so-called "pan graves") are found in the c
group graves.
(4) The study (p.26) of the anatomical evidence by Prof. Elliot Smith
and Dr. Wood Jones shows that the skeletons of these groups present
Egyptian characteristics combined with negroid characteristics. In
other words, we appear to have a mixed Egyptian-Negroid population, not
a pure non-Egyptian race.
It will be possible, in the detailed publication, to show more
carefully the evidence for the dating of the b and c groups; but I
think it may be accepted that the general date of these graves is
proved and that we have found a continuous material from the early
predynastic period downwards.
There is one other group of burials which appears to present non-
Egyptian characteristics— those which are described as type No.1 in
Cemetery No.15. Burials of this type occurred in Cemeteries Nos.15, 33,
34, 41, and 45. They are pagan in character in that the graves contain
pottery. The burials are on the left side, slightly contracted, with
the head south. These graves are certainly earlier than the Christian
burials in Cemeteries Nos.15 and 34, and are shown by the pottery to be
not earlier than the Roman period.
We have, then, from the Aswan Dam to Bab el-Kalabsha, a series of
cemeteries presenting a homogeneous material covering the whole period
from the earliest predynastic times to the present day. From the
earliest predynastic times down to the early dynastic, the whole
district was characteristically Egyptian in culture. The race which
occupied the district in that period was also, according to Prof.
Elliot Smith, pure Egyptian. During the early dynastic period and the
Old Empire, the population seems to have been isolated from Egyptian
influence. The use of primitive implements, weapons, and industries,
continued longer than in Egypt. The hand-made, pebble-polished pottery
developed forms unknown in Egypt and incised decorations which are
characteristic of Nubia. The population was cut off from Egyptian
influence, and, according to Prof. Elliot Smith's conclusions based on
the anatomical evidence, became mixed with Negroid elements. There may
also be evidence of Negroid influence in the objects found in the
graves, possibly in the incised patterns on the pottery, but our
knowledge of the early Negro tribes on the south is too small at
present to permit a definite conclusion on this point. [7] From the
Egyptian inscriptions, we know that there were expeditions to this
district during the Old Empire to get stone and other materials; that
the (p.27) country was not under Egyptian civil administration; that
the population gave trouble by raids to the north and was subdued by a
series of military expeditions during the XIIth dynasty. During the New
Empire, our material shows that the country was again completely under
the influence of Egyptian culture, and, except for slight
interruptions, remained under that influence until the Christian
period.
At Bab el-Kalabsha, we come to a natural barrier. To the south, the
preliminary examination has shown a long stretch, comparatively poor in
the alluvial and the spate deposits in which we have been finding our
early cemeteries. With the Nile at the level which our excavations has
shown it to have been in the predynastic period, there was probably at
that time little cultivable soil. In the work of the coming year,
therefore, the first question will be: Was Bab el-Kalabsha the limit of
Egyptian culture in the predynastic period? If it was, then we may hope
to gain some insight into the character of the race under whose
influence Lower Nubia fell during the Old Empire.
April 10, 1908.
G. A. Reisner.
Footnotes:
1. Dib = the palace (i.e. Aswan). Dib-tod = the little palace.
2. This type is important and is referred to throughout this bulletin as "Type 1 of Cemetery 15."
3. The Moslem cemeteries on Biga and at Meshed contain graves oriented
cast and west, but the Nubian Moslems of the present day all bury with
the head south, face east.
4. Since writing the above, a large number of graves of this type have
been found in Cemeteries 25, 27, 34, 35, 30, and -11. The earlier
chamber-tombs have a slightly different form.
5. The ware is so described by Mr. Weigall in his report; the term is a
good one to distinguish the Nubian black and red polished ware from the
predynastic black-topped.
6. Egyptian wheel-made pottery is at present imported in the form of
large water-jars (zir) from Esna and Qena, portable water-jars (gerra)
from Ballas, and small cooling-jars (qulla) from Qena. The
eating-vessels, ointment jars, milk-vessels, etc., are made by hand of
pebble-polished ware in the districts of Domhid and Umbarakab. Both the
wheel-made Egyptian and the handmade Nubian wares are placed on the
modern graves.
7. In this connection, it must be remembered that while Egyptian objects
of all other periods occur in Nubian graves, nothing has been found in
the b and c group graves which can be connected with any period except
the Old or the Middle Empire.
Continue to Bulletin 3.
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