Impressions from the SARS colloquium 2014

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Jördis Vieth

On this Monday, May 19, the annual colloquium organized of the Sudan Archaeological Research Society took place as usual at the British Museum, London. The one-day colloquium focusses on recent archaeological fieldwork in Sudan and this year especially on projects within the framework of the Qatar-Sudan Archaeological Project.

For me it was the first time joining the SARS colloquium and so I was very much looking forward to it and of course to hear the latest about research, surveys and excavations in the 2013-2014 season.

The first session of the dense programme was dedicated to the excavations in the Northern Dongola Reach and comprised talks by Derek Welsby on the very interesting work going on at Kawa this season (e.g. erecting fences to protect archaeological zones, excavation of domestic houses and further work in the cemetery), by Pernille B. Jenson (animal deposits at a Kerma Ancien cemetery) and Ross Thomas (intriguing new rural settlement with strata from the New Kingdom). The second session started with an informative contribution by Matt Nicholas and Scott Haddow showing us the new excavations in the medieval fort and cemetery KRG3 at Kurgus. Further speakers were Julie Anderson (presenting on-going research at Dangeil representative of the sacred landscape of the late Kushite period), Neal Spencer (about work which was done in the desert hinterland of Amara West this season, about the potential and meaning of the western suburb as well as protecting the archaeological zones through fencing). The key lecture of the day was given by Matthew Davies, who talked about a survey in South Sudan he conducted for the British Institute in Eastern Africa in 2009.

A very enlightening talk was given afterwards by Vivian Davies about a survey of inscriptions along the Korosko Road, where he and his team recorded over 40 inscriptions, mostly of New Kingdom date, and where they were able to reconstruct the journey of personnel involved in gold-working industries from their home town to their destination, the Nubian Desert. The last session was held by Salah Mohamed Ahmed (for Mahmoud Suliman Bashir) about the survey and excavation between ed-Debba and the Merowe Dam, by Pavel Onderka, who informed about the past and present research at the site of Wad Ben Naga and finally by Jane Humphris. She gave a fascinating talk about the Post-Meroitic iron production in industrial Kush – a research project which has just started but obviously has much potential.

All in all it was highly informative and a great opportunity to gain the latest news of the several missions and projects so shortly after the end of the fieldwork season. The following reception offered the chance to chat and talk to the colleagues and to get to know one or the other, as in my case.

Every year: London calling

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Julia Budka

Like last year, some of AcrossBorders’ team members are heading this weekend for London to the SARS colloquium at the British Museum (Recent Archaeological Fieldwork in Sudan). The focus of this year’s presentations on Monday is on projects within the framework of the Qatar-Sudan Archaeological Project. The programme looks great as usual and it will be exciting to get all this first-hand information and fresh data. I am also very much looking forward to the social aspects and meeting our British and Sudanese colleagues to chat and exchange thoughts.

I am very happy to be able to combine this travel with a long-waited-for trip to Swansea – was kindly invited to give a lecture at the Egypt centre and will talk about settlement archaeology and especially our 2014 season at Sai. I will highlight the new findings at SAV1 East and summarize the importance of SAV1 West for our understanding of the town development! An exciting week is approaching and we’ll keep you posted!

Research on the New Kingdom settlement on Sai Island prior to AcrossBorders

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Julia Budka

Back in the summer of 2012, a joint paper by Florence Doyen and me was submitted to Egypt & Levant (Vienna), focusing on recent excavations on Sai Island within the area of the New Kingdom town.

We are very happy that this paper has now been published, being part of a major double-volume of the peer-reviewed journal, covering reports from Tell el-Daba and other Nile delta sites as well as various chronological studies and research concentrating on the archaeology of the Levant.

Our article gives a hopefully useful overview of the history of research on Sai up to 2012, focusing on the recent work by the Sai Island Archaeological Mission (SIAM) of Charles-de-Gaulle – Lille 3 University (UMR 8164 HALMA-IPEL), France.[i] It aims to illustrate the rich potential of the site and its importance for the history of Upper Nubia. The preliminary assessments of the ceramics and architecture from SAV1 North, undertaken in 2011-2012, allow a better understanding of the evolution of the town. As one of the major results of the 2012 SIAM season, the fortified wall in SAV1 North can be dated to the reign of Thutmose III. Until now, there is no enclosure wall attested prior to this king who is well known as being responsible for the heyday of Pharaonic Sai.

SIAM did undertake important steps forward to a closer understanding of Sai Island during the 18^th Dynasty – and today, AcrossBorders continues this path with new excavations and detailed assessments, focusing on the material culture and the intriguing mix of life styles at the site.

Full reference of the article:

Julia Budka & Florence Doyen, Living in New Kingdom towns in Upper Nubia – New evidence from recent excavations on Sai Island, Ägypten & Levante 22/23, 2012/2013, 167–208.

[i] Other than stated in the editor’s preface (p. 14-15), the study has nothing to do with my ERC Starting Grant nor the FWF START project – it rather summarizes the status quo from which the new projects were launched.

An update from work on the pottery database

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Julia Budka

The last week has been mainly devoted to registering site photos, object photos and working on the various databases, especially the ones dedicated to small finds and pottery.

As noted earlier, the appearance of fire dogs was very remarkable at the new site SAV1 West. At present 21 pieces have been registered in 2014, making up 10 % of the 209 diagnostics from Square 1 currently in the database. 8 “legs” or “ears” have been found, 12 fragments of the lower part and 1 “nose”, all of which show some traces of burning.

Example of a “leg” of a fire dog from SAV1 West.

Fragment of the lower part of a fire dog from SAV1 West.

Most of the pieces come from the eastern half of the square, especially from the substantial layer of debris covering the New Kingdom mud brick structures. It remains to be investigated whether we can associate the fire dogs with the use-life of these remains. All in all, SAV1 West seems to mirror the situation at SAV1 North – after five years of excavation 126 fire dogs have been unearthed in this northern area of the Pharaonic town. In contrast, only 5 fragments of fire dogs have been found in two seasons (2013 and 2014) at SAV1 East.

In total, the corpus of fire dogs from the New Kingdom town of Sai comprises with the new finds from 2014 more than 150 pieces – a very large amount and strikingly different from other known New Kingdom settlements. For example, my pottery database of the material from Elephantine in Egypt, currently a total of 11002 pieces, only includes 15 fire dogs, thus less than 0.1 %! This seems to be especially relevant because other than this special ceramic type, both vessel types and quantities from 18^th Dynasty Elephantine compare very nicely to the corpus from Sai Island. It seems logical to assume that the considerable quantity of fire dogs from Sai is connected with their functional use on the island – a use which still has to be verified! At the moment, it is striking that both sites yielding fire dogs in large numbers, SAV1 West and SAV1 North, are immediately adjacent to the city wall and comprise what seems to be suburban domestic architecture, maybe of a workshop-like character.

I am very much looking forward to the outcome of the ongoing research of Nicole Mosiniak about the fascination yet still very puzzling fire dogs!

The least complicated dogs on Sai Island… Photo: N. Mosiniak 2014.

First-hand experience with New Kingdom pottery

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Elke Schuster

Over a month has passed since I came back to the office after spending 4 weeks on the wonderful island of Sai – time to share some of my experience! I have taken home loads of new impressions (new country, new culture and new people!) and acquired a lot of fresh skills in drawing pottery.

My main task on Sai Island was to draw pottery, in particular vessels and sherds excavated in the sectors SAV1 North and SAV1 West. This was something new: until February I was only digitizing the pencil drawings from the previous seasons, so sometimes it was hard to imagine the proper piece of pottery. With real sherds in my hands, I gained new experiences in dealing with ceramics.

My working table at Sai.

My first working step was to take a close look at the object, especially for getting its dimensions, first of all, the diameter. Then I had to figure out the right orientation, to measure the preserved height and transfer it onto the drawing paper. Afterwards I checked the external profile again and finalised its outline – adding the inner profile in the next step. The last stage was to flip the outer profile from the section side (right) to the left side (front view) and to add characteristic features of the object, especially related to the manufacturing process.

Some of my drawings from vessels excavated in 2014 at SAV1 West.

Helping our inspector Huda with washing sherds and sorting these according to types and wares was another small task for me at Sai Island.

Huda and me, exploring the island.

All in all it was a huge new experience to work directly on objects and hopefully not the last time.

Finally, some personal impressions from Sai Island:

DSCN2086a

Categories of finds from Sai, New Kingdom town – some preliminary numbers

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Julia Budka

Working on the database of the finds and objects from Sai, New Kingdom town, a brief update is possible, especially regarding the amounts and percentages of categories of finds.

At present, a total of 2397 finds from SAV1 North, 1128 pieces from SAV1 East and 602 from SAV1 West have been registered in the databases. This reflects five years of work at SAV1 North (2008-2012) under the directorship of Florence Doyen for the SIAM, two seasons at SAV1 East and one season at SAV1 West for AcrossBorders. The number of finds from SAV1 East and SAV1 West is actually much higher, but because of time reasons we have not been able to document all of the worked stones and tools excavated in 2014. 850 find numbers have been used in 2014 at SAV1 West – including collections of textiles, bones, charcoal and leather which are not integrated in the small find database but treated separately. At SAV1 East, 898 bags of finds of all types and materials have been excavated.

Registration of finds during the 2014 season.

The database of small finds comprises objects of all periods, thus also Post-Pharaonic material – for example, a large number of re-used sherds and figurines are of Medieval date, glass vessels and glazed wares attest to the Ottoman period on Sai and the date for the complete set of stone artefacts still has to be established.

Work in progress: the database of SAV1 East and SAV1 West.

At present, the corpus from SAV1 West is still not representative, but a comparison between SAV1 North and SAV1 East seems possible. The New Kingdom finds at both sectors are dominated by objects of Egyptian type and style.

Following a slightly modified system developed for Memphis (Giddy 1999), six main categories of finds have been established for Sai.

Distribution of finds according to categories from SAV1 North.

Distribution of finds according to categories from SAV1 East.

Category A is the label for figurines and statuettes, mostly of clay and mud. Both human and animal shapes are attested in various sizes and qualities – the total number from SAV1 North is much larger than from SAV1 East but this might be related to the smaller number of objects.

Category B is personal adornment like beads and amulets, making up 4% at SAV1 North, 2% at SAV1 East.

A quite diverse group is category C, household items including large rectangular stands and basin-like installations, but also mud sealings and other objects. At present, the percentage at SAV1 East is more than the double from SAV1 North (5.1% at SAV1 East, 2% at SAV1 North).

Tools and instruments are the largest group and have been labelled as category D. 60% of the finds from SAV1 North, 72% from SAV1 East fall into this set, comprising mostly stone tools like grinding stones and pounders but also re-used sherds.

A small number of stone and faience vessels represents category E, non-ceramic vessels (1% at SAV1 North, 3.5% at SAV1 East). Category F is again very diverse as it comprises models, games and unidentified pieces in various materials. Finally, a number of objects cannot be classified into categories A-F – these are e.g. slag fragments attesting to production processes which are common at both areas.

All in all, it is clear that the finds from SAV1 North and SAV1 East are very comparable and that there are only small differences, especially in terms of percentages of certain group of objects. A detailed contextual analysis, presenting associations between finds and a concise synchronic and diachronic assessment, still has to be established and is scheduled to be undertaken in the upcoming years.

Reference

Giddy, L. 1999. The Survey of Memphis II. Kom Rabi^ca: the New Kingdom and Post-New Kingdom objects. Egypt Exploration Society Excavation Memoir 64. London.

Post-excavation working steps in Vienna

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Julia Budka

Back in Vienna, all of us are engaged with several tasks, most of them of course connected with the field season 2014.

I am still busy with finalising reports and accounts, hoping to finish the administrative aftermath of the season as soon as possible!

Giulia is particularly occupied as we brought a large number of ceramics samples to Vienna, thanks to the kind permission of NCAM. Two sets of new samples are already prepared for iNAA – Johannes Sterba and his colleague at the Atominstitut have been most efficiently as usual! Tomorrow we have an appointment at the Geozentrum in order to arrange the next thin sections – we are in particular focusing this time on Nubian fine wares (Black topped cups and beakers) and Egyptian wheel-made cooking pots. The latter are most likely real Egyptian products in a very sandy Nile E variant – of course this macroscopic assessment has to be checked by petrographic and chemical analysis.

Ceramic samples from Sai selected for thin sections.

Jördis is currently updating our literature database – a number of very important articles have been published recently. Especially stimulating and a must-read for all interested in Nubian archaeology is the special new issue of the Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections! A particular inspiring paper by Neal Spencer on “Creating and Re-Shaping Egypt in Kush: Responses at Amara West” corresponds nicely to AcrossBorders’ focus and aims.

The literature database is growing - counting already more than 750 entries!

The literature database is growing – counting already more than 800 entries!

Nadia is working on the samples of animal bones we took from Sai to Vienna – it’s a nice collection from SAV1 North, from Levels 5-3, thus datable to Dynasty 18.

SAV1 North is also the prime task for Florence – she is currently integrating her new data about the architecture gathered at the site in February with the previous documentation from earlier years.

Elke has started again with digitalising new pottery drawings and Daniela is helping me with the database of the small finds – focusing on the new objects from SAV1 West and reworking some of the photographs.

Preparing photos in reduced scale for the object database.

It’s hard to believe that we left Sai Island already more than a month ago – but all the data collected there will keep us busy during the next months!

Looking back on the 3D-Laserscanning Campaign on Sai Island

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Ingrid Adenstedt

Even though we have already been back in Vienna for some time, I would like to give some information on the 3D-laserscanning campaign, which was carried out on SAI Island from February 3-10, 2014. Robert Kalasek from the Technical University of Vienna was the main person in charge of the scanning process, providing his know-how and years of practical experience in the field of 3D-laser scanning. My part was to provide technical and scientific assistance, letting the knowledge acquired from last year’s architectural survey flow into the work process.

The main goal of the work was to obtain a complete geometric documentation of the remaining walls and floors of the southern part of the New Kingdom town on Sai Island. 3D-laserscanning seemed to offer the most comprehensive result which could be achieved in a relatively short time.

For the scanning an Image Laser Scanner Riegl VZ-1000 was used, a Nikon D800 camera with a 14 mm lens was mounted on the scanner in order to record the texture. During the scanning process a grid of three dimensional points is automatically measured in the surveyed area by the instrument. So-called 3D point clouds result from this process, including xyz-coordinates and an intensity value depending on the surveyed material.

Image Laser Scanner Riegl VZ-1000 in front of the ruins

The complete scanning of the remains of the Pharaonic town required 155 different scan positions, whereby the maximum distance of the measured points ranged between 200 and 400 m, according to the angle of incidence and the reflectivity of the material. The result of each scan is a point cloud in a local coordinate system. In a next step, the scans can be joined (registered) with the help of a multitude of reflector points, which were distributed throughout the ruins. Generally, at least five overlapping points are needed in order to put two scans together. These reflector points were also measured with a total station so that the registered scans can be placed into a geo-referenced net. With the help of the intensity information one can encode the three dimensional point clouds with different colors, which is often sufficient to differentiate the various objects.

Scan of part of the storage rooms of the Pharaonic town with different colors for the intensity of the textures

In addition to the standing remains of the Pharaonic town, the newly excavated trenches (SAV1 East and SAV1 West) as well as SAV1 North were also scanned and geo-referenced. In order to collect data for the topographic understanding of the surroundings, four long-range scans (range: 1.2 km) from elevated points were also undertaken. This could maybe help in understanding the general topography of the town and also to clarify questions such as the course of the city wall on the eastern side of the town.

scans_auswahl_aus_allen_projekte_2pt_03_25prozent

Overview of the entire area of the Pharaonic town compiled from selected scans

Looking back on our days on Sai Island, I am happy to say that our campaign proved to be very successful and everything worked out as planned. Luckily, we had very few nimiti-days and the strong winds did not affect the stability of the scans as much as we had feared. The work-flow was very smooth and even though the work load was intense, especially for Robert, who worked on the data acquired during the day every evening until long into the night, we left Sudan with a lot of positive energy.

Next to the final registration of the scans, the post-processing in Vienna now entails the preparation of the data, e.g. reducing the enormous amount of data and refining the registration. The final output, a geometrically accurate three-dimensional model, can be used in the future to produce scaled plans and sections and a terrain model. It can also serve as a basis for further analyses and the creation of a reconstructed visualization of the Pharaonic town.

Pavements and floors at SAV1 East

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Julia Budka

View of part of the brick pavement in the governor’s residence.

Different types of floor coatings, layers and pavements are well known from the southern part of the Pharaonic town of Sai examined by Michel Azim in the 1970ties. For example, the central room of the so-called governor’s residence has a splendid and very nicely preserved brick pavement. Some of the magazines show schist floors of which large pieces are still in place, together with a thick layer of gypsum. Similar schist floors have been recently excavated at Amara West, also within the context of storage rooms in the Rameside town.

Magazine with schist floor still in place.

At Sai, SAV1 East with its large building complex, Building A, resembles in some aspects the southern part of the town and especially the area of the governor’s residence. During excavation in 2014 a large amount of schist fragments were found (according to our geologist, Erich Draganits, the correct term for this type of stone is amphibolite). Very often these fragments are still coated with gypsum/plaster – direct evidence that they have been used to cover parts of a building, most likely the floor. The schist fragments came to light from both, directly below the modern surface above remains of mud floors and, in larger numbers, from fillings of large pits cutting into the New Kingdom structures. It is therefore likely that a former schist pavement has been destroyed in antiquity and the plates were broken and dislocated.

Overview of southern half of Square 3 – note the schist fragments in the southern baulk, within the filling of pit 46.

All in all, 330 fragments were recovered from the western edge of Square 3 and Square 4 at SAV1 East. They would cover an area of approximately 3 square meters (not calculating spaces between the individual plates), indicating that either just a small area of the entrance rooms of Building A was equipped with this special paving or that much has been lost and we only found a very small percentage.

The first interpretation seems more likely as actually 3 square meters fit perfectly to the area where the highest concentration of schist fragments was discovered: between feature 40, a small interior wall running East-West, and feature 36, the main North-South wall in Squares 3 and 4, running parallel to the Eastern side of Building A as exposed in 2013.

Southwestern corner of Square 3: between features 40, 36 and 46 the highest concentration of schist plates was found (Digital surface model: M. Fera 2014).

Some mud pavement remains have also survived – maybe they originally were the lower bedding for the schist plates; towards the south, pit 46 cuts off the New Kingdom remains.

Even if Building A has been badly damaged and its present state of preservation is largely restricted to the foundations, the elaborate schist floor somewhere in the western part of the structure underlines its high quality of building technique and important status comparable to the governor’s residence.

Two months at the archaeological site of Sai Island

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Huda Magzoub

The director of the mission thinking about the future of this area. Photo: Martin Fera.

It’s not a fairy tale, but a real-life story: telling the tale of a group of researchers, experts and trainees in the field of archaeology of different nationalities and various ages. They are Austrians, Germans, French, Belgian, Italian, Greek, British, Egyptian, Sudanese, and local Nubians, all working under the direction of someone who despite of her young age was able of leadership and brilliant management, dealing with situations severely when there was the need to.

Family, work and archaeological excavations in the Pharaonic city of Sai Island.
Photo: Martin Fera.

The archaeological mission covered a period of two months, during which the group of researchers was set in center of the local community in the French digging house on Sai Island. Surrounded on the east by the great Nile and a magnificent scenery with palm trees, sand and mountains. On the south, west and north of the house expand the archaeological remains of one of the greatest sites in Northern Sudan, covering a wide range of periods: This is Sai lsand, or as the locals call it, the Land of Khalil. The property of the famous Sudanese poet (Khalil Frah) , who used to live on this island, has still survived in the extreme north of the island.

Sai Island archaeological site in the heart of beautiful landscape (Photos: Martin Fera)

The schedule of the mission required very hard work in the field, conducting archeological excavations, and also documentation in the lab, especially with the study collection of Pharaonic Egyptian antiquities characteristic for Upper Nubia.

The field work team members during office work in the afternoon. Photos: Huda Magzoub.

The tasks of the director Julia were immense, as the administration of the house, field work and mission accumulated with her beloved study and classification of pottery.

High expertise in the classification of large amounts of pottery from the Pharaonic town of Sai Island. Photos: Huda Magzoub.

Documentation and drawing of the ceramics were achieved with the help of a group of German, Austrian and Italian students and archaeologists. The study of pottery from the New Kingdom town of Sai, and here especially of the proportion of Nubian vessels and wares, plays a significant role in understanding 18^th Dynasty Sai.

Members of the pottery study group: Dr Giulia, Julia, Nicole (and Elke, not in the picture). Photos: Huda Magzoub.

Another important aspect of understanding Sai is the study of animal bones – this year undertaken by Konstantina (Nadia) Saliari.

Study and classification of the Pharaonic animal bones from Sai. Photo: Huda Magzoub.

More specialists: Dr Erich, Dr Ingrid, Dr Robert and Florence (the last three not in the photo), had special tasks and worked in various areas. Photo: Martin Fera.

The director of the mission did not forget to reward her team for the hard work, and also tried to find ways to come together with the local community despite the tight working schedule. During the two months she organized trips to visit archaeological sites (Soleb, Sedeigna, Gebel Ducha, Sesebi and of course to Amara West in the North). In addition, interconnection and communication with the local community and families on Sai was achieved by joining them at their ceremonies, both on formal and informal occasions.

Team members of Sai Island visit other archaeological sites. Photos: M. Fera.

The reception and a number of visits by local residents, foreign missions (visit of the British Museum team working at Amara West, visit of the French ambassador and his companions) and by staff of the National Authority for Antiquities and Museums has to be mentioned.

Photo: Martin Fera.

The archaeological season on the island has ended with much joy and celebrations, wishing the advent of a new year 2015 inshaallah.

AcrossBorders

This is the blog of the ERC starting grant project AcrossBorders (ERC grant agreement n° 313668)

Category Archives: Upper Nubia