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Contents

Kirwan Memorial Lecture

Death at Tombos: Pyramids, Iron and the Rise 2of the Napatan DynastyStuart Tyson Smith

The Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage Project

Survey and excavations in the vicinity of ed-Doma 15(AKSE) and et-Tereif (AKSCW), 2006-2007Derek A. Welsby

Preliminary Report on the Second Season of 20Excavations Conducted on Mis Island (AKSC)Andrew Ginns

The 4th Season of the SARS Anglo-German 26Expedition to the Fourth Nile CataractPawel Wolf and Ulrike Nowotnick

Rock art and archaeology: the Hadiab Survey 34Cornelia Kleinitz

The Value and Future Potential of Human Skeletal 43Remains Excavated at the Fourth CataractTina Jakob

Reports

A Century of Archaeological Salvage, 1907-2007 48William Y. Adams

The Nubian Cemetery at Hierakonpolis, Egypt.Results of the 2007 Season

The C-Group Cemetery at Locality HK27C 57Renée Friedman

Overview of the Hierakonpolis C-Group 63Palaeopathology

Margaret Judd

Overview of the Hierakonpolis C-Group Dental 66Remains

Joel D. Irish

The Taharqo wall painting rescue project 72Eric Miller, Pamela Rose and David Singleton

Excavations in the Palace of Aspelta at Jebel Barkal, 82March 2007Timothy Kendall and Pawel Wolf

SUDAN & NUBIAThe Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin No. 11 2007

Bread Moulds from the Amun Temple at Dangeil, 89Nile State – an Addendum.Julie R. Anderson, A. Catherine D’Andrea,Amanda Logan and Salah Mohamed Ahmed

Rescue Excavation of a Late-Meroitic Tomb at 94Botri, South of Khartoum. Preliminary ReportMahmoud Suliman Bashir

Akad Excavation ProjectPreliminary report on the 2005 and 2006 Seasons 98Mohamed Faroug, Yassin M. Saeed andAlexandros Tsakos

Report on the human skeletal material from Akad 107Husna Taha el-Ata and Hwida Mohamed Adam

Archaeological Reconnaissance in the 112Nuba Mountains, SudanHelen Taylor and Michal Bieniada

The Sultan Ali Dinar Museum, el-Fasher. 119A window on Darfur’s historyPieter Tesch

Victorian Gunboats in the 21st Century 122Henry Keown-Boyd

A visit to a traditional leather tannery 125in Central SudanLucy Skinner

Miscellaneous

Obituaries -

Friedrich Wilhelm Hinkel (1925-2007) 127Janice Yellin and William Y. Adams

Patrice Lenoble (1942-2007) 128Jacques Reinold

Peter Lewis Shinnie (1915-2007) 129Krzysztof Grzymski

Bruce Graham Trigger (1937-2006) 130Krzysztof Grzymski

Review -

Wlodzimierz Godlewski 2005. Pachoras. The 132Cathedrals of Aetios, Paulos and Petros. The ArchitectureJulie R. Anderson

Front cover : Village on the Island of Dirbi in the SARS con-cession above the Fourth Nile Cataract (photo: D. A. Welsby).

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Preliminary Report on theSecond Season ofExcavations conductedon Mis Island (AKSC)Andrew Ginns

During the 2005-06 season of fieldwork carried out onMis Island,1 exhumations from three separate medievalcemeteries were conducted, in order to obtain a large popu-lation sample for future osteological study. Limited excava-tion of a medieval settlement site was also carried out dur-ing that season. The second season of fieldwork conductedon Mis Island took place in early 2007 and saw a continua-tion of the excavations within the three cemeteries and inthe adjacent settlement.2

Cemetery 3-J-10

During the 2005-06 season, a total of 44 individuals wereexhumed from the medieval cemetery site 3-J-10. A further81 individuals were exhumed in the 2007 season, bringingthe total number of exhumed individuals across both sea-sons to 125.

The preliminary ‘in field’ break-down of the ages of theexhumed individuals followed the same pattern as that notedin the previous season, with a very high infant and childmortality rate tailing off during adolescence (Figure 1).

Individuals were exhumed from across the extent of thesite, in order to leave no large area of the cemeteryunsampled.

There were two main burial styles practiced within thiscemetery:

1. The deceased were placed on either side, or on theirbacks in a grave cut with no structural elaboration.

2. The deceased were placed on their backs and sub-square rocks were placed either side of the head, with a flatrock then placed on them over the face.

The first burial style was used in a little over half of theinhumations excavated, the rest were of the second variety.Within this latter category were two burials utilising mudbricks, in place of rocks, to protect the head (Plate 1).

Within this overall burial trend were a handful of unu-

sual burials. There were two instances of burials where thedeceased was aligned in the opposing direction to the norm,with the head at the eastern end of the grave cut. Twoburials, with the deceased laid in a prone position, were alsopresent.

The monuments associated with adult burials were ofthe standard box-grave type. They were constructed of sub-angular rocks set in a rectangle and with the rocks arrangedto form flat external faces, often still surviving to fourcourses in height. The interior of the monuments was of

smaller rocks and gravel. Onlymonuments associated with in-fants and young child burials dif-fered in form. Some were con-structed of rocks forming an ir-regular pavement, others were ofsmall rocks formed into an ovalor sub-rectangular outline withgravel inside this rock perimeter.A number of child burials wereunmarked, possibly because theassociated monuments wereeroded over time.

Cemetery 3-J-11

A total of 163 exhumations fromthe medieval cemetery site 3-J-11were conducted during the 2005-06 season. Within the 2007 fieldseason a further 120 exhumations

1 See Ginns 2006 for a summary of the 2005-06 season. See Welsby2003 for descriptions of the sites prior to excavation.2 Team members:- Catherine Bird (osteologist), Andrea Clowes (oste-

ologist), Showgi Dow Elbied (NCAM inspector first half of season),Saami Elamin (NCAM inspector second half of season), AndrewGinns (director), Lindsey Jenny (osteologist), Anna Mabrey (ceramicist,illustrator), Hussein Mosa (cook), Tracy Titchnell (osteologist), StefanieVincent (osteologist), Richard Watt (archaeologist).

Figure 1. Preliminary identifications of inhumationsexcavated from 3-J-10 across both seasons.

Plate 1. Inhumation of burial type2 with three mud bricks placedaround the head.

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were conducted giving a combined total of 283. The sameage pattern of deceased individuals as noted in the 3-J-10cemetery was also found in this cemetery, a very high infantand child mortality rate tailing off during adolescence (Fig-ure 2).

As noted in the report on the 2005-06 season, there werethree main burial styles practiced within the 3-J-11 medi-eval cemetery. A single example of a fourth type was notedthis season:

1. The deceased were placed on either side or on theirbacks in a grave cut with no structural elaboration.

2. The deceased were placed on their backs, with eitherrocks, or mud bricks placed either side of and over thehead.

3. The deceased were placed on their backs and thenlarge flat blocking stones were placed on ledges in the gravecut above the body, thus creating a chamber in which earthwas kept away from the body (Figure 3).

4. The upper part of the grave cut is rectangular, meas-uring 2.5m in length and 1m in width. The lower part of thegrave cut is central to the upper portion and is of the samedimensions as more standard grave cuts. The deceased wasplaced within the lower part of the grave cut and flat block-ing stones were then placed across the top of the lower partof the cut again creating a chamber where earth was keptaway from the body (Figure 4).

Similar to the inhumations within 3-J-10, a little underhalf of the inhumations within 3-J-11 were of the secondtype, with rocks placed around the heads. The use of mudbricks, instead of stones, was much more common in thiscemetery, with 10% of the inhumations having mud bricks

placed around the head. Fourburials had combinations ofstone and mud brick aroundthe head.

Of the inhumations exca-vated, 40% were seen to be ofthe first type of burial practice,with no structural elaborationto the grave cut. Much lesscommon were examples of thethird type, with blocking stones.These accounted for only 7%of the excavated graves within3-J-11. It is suggested that this type and the fourth type areearlier than types 1 and 2. Several examples of graves withblocking-stones having been disturbed, or truncated by latergraves, with no structural elaboration were present. Noexamples of graves with blocking-stones, having truncatedburials of types 1 or 2, were present.

The fact that certain graves were truncated by later onesmeant that their associated monuments were either removedduring the digging of the later graves, or were sufficientlydenuded to be unrecognisable to the individuals digging thelater graves. Graves with no monument were not uncom-mon. The majority of burials excavated, however, did haveassociated monuments, mainly of the standard type of stonebox-grave construction, as seen in the 3-J-10 cemetery.

Two different types of monument were also represented.There was a single example of a monument constructed offour large mud bricks placed flat in a single line (Plate 2)

Figure 2. Preliminary identifications of inhumationsexcavated from 3-J-11 across both seasons.

Figure 3. Burial type 3.

Plate 2. Mud brick grave monument in the cemetery at site 3-J-11.

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and several examples of monuments, constructed of large,long, stone slabs, laid widthways, forming a pavement overthe top of the grave (Plate 3) (MDASP Type FF02f).

A feature differentiating 3-J-11 from the other medievalcemeteries on the island was the inclusion of ceramic ves-sels within the graves of a number of individuals. The more

common location of these vessels was at the feet of thedeceased, with the grave cuts lengthened to accommodatethem. Vessel types were commonly cups, or large sphericalvessels, with grave cuts being widened at the eastern end toaccommodate the latter. Several graves contained one ofboth types. In many instances where ceramic vessels werefound, the associated skeletons were disturbed by later gravedigging activity. The fact that disturbed graves are relativelyearly in date and contain a high ratio of ceramic vesselsindicates that the depositing of these as grave goods waspracticed in the earlier periods of use of the cemetery.

Predating the medieval burials in the 3-J-11 cemeterywas a phase of Meroitic activity. Unearthed in the previousseason was a robbed burial from that period. The burialwas in a subterranean chamber, still containing many of thegrave goods (Colour plate XVI). No further burials of thissort were encountered in this season’s work. However, evi-dence that at least one more did exist was found. This wasan assemblage containing a large spherical painted ceramicvessel, a ceramic cup and a copper-alloy beaker (Colour

plate XVII). The disturbed nature of the assemblage wasevidenced by the cup being found upside down and thebeaker ‘floating’ above the spherical vessel. It would beexpected that such an assemblage should be associated withan inhumation, but in this instance there was none. Anysuch remains had been removed by later, medieval grave

digging activity.

Church Cemetery 3-J-18

A total of 96 exhumations from themedieval cemetery site 3-J-18 wereconducted during the 2005-06 season.Within the 2007 field season a fur-ther 123 exhumations were conductedgiving a combined total of 219.

The preliminary ‘in field’ breakdown of the ages of the exhumed in-dividuals followed a pattern differing

from that noted in the 3-J-10 and 3-J-11 cemeteries. Thevery high infant and child mortality rate of those cemeter-ies is not in evidence in this cemetery, with a much higherratio of inhumations being those of adults (Figure 5). Thereason for this is unlikely to be due to a drop in infant andchild mortality rates. A more logical scenario is that therewas a preference for burying deceased children in either the3-J-10 or 3-J-11 cemeteries. This, therefore, implies that the3-J-18 cemetery was in use contemporaneously with either/both 3-J-10 and 3-J-11.

The association of this cemetery to the church (exca-vated in 2005-06) which it surrounds, differentiates it fromthe two cemeteries previously discussed. The use of thiscemetery, contemporaneously with other cemeteries on Misand also of those in the wider local area, allowed choice asto where deceased individuals could be buried. Burials within

Figure 4. Burial type 4.

Plate 3. Stone-pavement grave monument in 3-J-11.

Figure 5. Preliminary identifications of inhumationsexcavated from 3-J-18 across both seasons.

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the church cemetery could well have been reserved for more‘prestigious’ individuals from the local area. The lower ratioof child burials goes some way to reinforcing this claim, asdoes the use of different monument types used to markthe graves within the 3-J-18 cemetery.

As noted in the previous year’s report, monuments wereconstructed of either stone, fired brick, mud brick or, in afew cases, combinations of these materials (Plate 4). Al-most all the brick monuments only survived to a height ofa single course, the complete form of the monumentsbeing lost. However, interesting variations in constructiontechnique were evident.

Fired brick monuments were formed of a rectangle ofbricks forming the outer faces (MDASP type FF01b) (Plate5). These were commonly laid flat and end to end, but some-times the bricks were placed on their edges. The naturalsand/silt was the most common material used within theinterior of the fired brick monuments. Some monumentshad the inner portions also of fired brick, others were seento have mud brick used within them (MDASP type FF02c).Rubble (or a combination of materials) was not used toform the core of these types of fired-brick monument. Anumber of the fired-brick monuments still had lime ren-dering attached to them in places.

Mud-brick monuments generally followed acommon pattern. Surviving only as a singlecourse of bricks, these bricks were all placedon end. The bricks were arranged so that therewas a line of bricks running centrally along thelength of the monument, with bricks runningoff at right angles from this on either side(MDASP type FF02a). The central line of brickswas of either one, two, or three brick thick-nesses (Plate 6). No lime rendering was presentupon any of the mud-brick monuments. Thepositioning of mud-brick monuments amongstcontemporary fired-brick ones (Plate 4) suggeststhe possibility that these, like the fired-brickexamples, were also lime rendered.

The majority of inhumations within the 3-J-18 cemetery were placed within grave cuts withno structural adornments. Examples of inhu-

mations with the three stones protecting the head werepresent, but in greatly reduced proportion within the overallnumber of burials excavated. No examples of burials thathad large blocking stones forming chambers were present,excepting one that was located within (and predating) thechurch, excavated in the previous season.

A fifth type of burial type wasencountered within 3-J-18 (Fig-ure 6). This was represented bya single example. The deceasedwas placed within the grave cutand then half way up the cut acapping was formed of firedbricks and mud mortar.

Overall preservation of re-mains within the 3-J-18 cemeterywas markedly better than at 3-J-10 and 3-J-11. Bodies with softtissue and preserved textiles werenot uncommon. The quality ofpreservation elucidated burial practices to a degree. De-ceased individuals were often completely wrapped in awoven shroud, bound with lengths of string (Plate 7). Ofnote were two examples of deceased individuals with the

Plate 4. Fired brick and mud brick grave monuments in the 3-J-18 cemetery.

Plate 5. Remains of a typical fired brick grave monumentfrom the cemetery at site 3-J-18.

Plate 6. Remains of a typical mud-brick grave monument from 3-J-18.

Figure 6. Burial type 5.

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big toes tied togetherthereby keeping the feetside by side.

No burials within 3-J-18contained ceramic vessels.However, jewellery waspresent in a number ofcases. This included beadsfrom necklaces and metalrings, earrings and brace-lets. Two inhumations hadmetal cross pendants, oneof these (Colour plateXVIII) also with beads andorganic remains from theassociated necklace.

Cemetery 3-J-20

This cemetery was situatedat the top of a hill limitingthe southern edge of set-tlement 3-J-19. The sitecontained only five inhu-mations, all of which hadclearly been robbed. Fourof these burials were oncebelow fired-brick monu-ments, one was within a rec-tangular, stone-built struc-

ture (Plate 8). Work on this site was conducted in order tobetter understand the stone-built structure. This was alignedNNE – SSW and it was built of carefully placed stones200-600mm in size, forming walls averaging 500mm thick.The walls were built directly onto the bedrock and promi-nent outcrops of bedrock were utilised as components ofthe walls.

Within the SSW side of the structure there was a gravecut running ESE – WNW cut into the bedrock. The grave

cut was flanked on its NNE side by a single line of firedbricks surviving to two courses in height. These were theremains of the monument associated with the grave cut.The respective alignments of the rectangular stone struc-ture and of the grave cut within is indicative of them beingcontemporary. The direct association is suggestive of thestructure being a mausoleum.

The position of this site on the high point of Mis Islandis not an obvious location for burials, bearing in mind thatgraves would need to be cut into the bedrock. The chosenlocation, presumably, is due to a desire to give prominenceto the graves by occupying this commanding position. This,allied with the fact that space for inhumations upon the hilltop was limited, quite possibly made this site an exclusiveplace for the dead to be buried. The use of fired brick inthe construction of the monuments attests to this as doesthe ‘mausoleum’.

Pathology

In-depth study of the recovered skeletal material was notcarried out in the field. This will be carried out at a futurepoint. However, several instances of violence and possibleviolent damage to individuals were noted in the preliminary‘in field’ study. From the 3-J-11 cemetery was an unhealedtrauma running across two of the lumbar vertebrae. Thiswas caused by a sharp object used in a stabbing motion.Another individual had a skull with a large depression frac-ture that had healed. A third had a sharp force trauma tothe skull that had not healed. From the 3-J-18 cemetery, anindividual exhibited a healed depression fracture as well as afatal sharp-force trauma on the skull (Plate 9).

3-J-19 Settlement

Small scale excavations of the medieval settlement 3-J-19were conducted in the previous season’s work. The charac-ter of the site, prior to excavation, was of irregular stones

Plate 7. Child burial from 3-J-18. The body is wrapped incloth and then bound with

lengths of string.

Plate 8. The ‘mausoleum’ at site 3-J-20.Plate 9. Skull from cemetery 3-J-18 with healed depression

fracture towards the rear and sharp-force trauma on the side.

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strewn over a large area with occasional depressions withfewer stones. These depressions were signifiers to the inter-nal spaces of buildings that once stood on the site. The sitealso displayed a few structural features surviving a little abovethe overburden. The previous season’s work concentratedon the excavation of two of the more visible structures andof their immediate surroundings.

The continuation of excavation within 3-J-19 this seasonwas carried out with a different strategy. Three 10 × 10msquares arranged in an L-shape were examined. This exca-vation area lay between the two areas studied in the previ-ous season and was conterminous with these,thereby creating a single large area of excavation.Clearance of wind-blown silts and sand exposedvarying densities of unworked stones. Removalof stones ‘floating’ in the overburden allowed theidentification of foundations of buildings to beseen with more clarity (Plate 10).

After removal of the overburden, two of the10 × 10m squares were seen to contain a collec-tion of sub-circular and sub-square remains ofbuilding foundations constructed of stone. Thelow height and poor quality of the stone remainsencountered proved problematic in interpretingthe functions of any particular feature. Also, the density ofsections of stone foundation indicated several phases ofbuilding. Instances of foundations surviving to a singlecourse and running under later foundations wererecorded. The low height of surviving foundations/walls isa probable indicator of robbing and reuse of buildingmaterials in new structures. The degree of robbing of build-ing materials and the associated low heights of survivingwalls also had the result of limiting the thickness of layerswithin a stratigraphy. The average thickness of the silt-sandbuild up above the natural horizon was only 300mm withno identifiable stratigraphic layering visible.

The third 10 × 10m square when cleared of its overbur-den of wind-blown silts, sand and ‘floating’ stones revealed

the natural surface of hard silt. Within this was cut a seriesof channels, orientated in parallel lines north to south andeast to west. These channels were presumably the result ofsmall stakes being spaced very closely together and beingdriven into the surface, thereby creating fences or semi-permanent walls. The walls may have been associated withanimal husbandry. The closely spaced parallel nature of thechannels implies movement of these semi–permanent walls,with the area itself retaining the same function (Plate 11).

Also cut into this surface were 14 post-holes. Most ofthe post-holes were isolated from others, possibly belonging

to posts which supported ramshackle roofs over the semi-permanent animal pens. Four post-holes showed a clearassociation to each other. They formed an arc, perhaps partof a circular structure.

This surface also exhibited evidence of having beenbaked by fire in places. The baked areas were small andmay have been single fire events rather than areas in whichcooking, or other practices involving fire were commonlypracticed. No structural remains, exhibiting a clear associa-tion with the baked areas, were present.

Acknowledgements

This project was only made possible through the generoussupport of the Packard Humanities Institute to whom weare most grateful. We would also like to thank the staff ofthe National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums forall their help and support. The friendship, help and hardwork of the Shaigiya people of Mis Island are also grate-fully acknowledged.

BibliographyGinns, A. 2006. ‘Preliminary report on the excavations conducted on

Mis Island (AKSC)’, Sudan & Nubia 10, 13-19.Welsby, D. A. 2003. Survey above the Fourth Nile Cataract. Sudan

Archaeological Research Society Publication no. 10. London.

Plate 10. Stone foundations of two round houses at site 3-J-19.

Plate 11. Hard silt natural surface withthe closely spaced parallel channels.

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Colour plate XVI. Mis Island. Meroitic painted vessel.

Colouir plate XVII. Mis Island. Meroitic vessels assemblage.

Colour plate XVIII. Mis Island. Remains of necklace and cross pendant from 3-J-18.

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