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Sudan uncovered
Melford Ita
 Little is known about the early civilisations and kingdoms of sub-Saharan
Africa. In the Sudan, - total land area estimate 32,505,810 sq km -
archaeological work is sparse and under-funded. Fortunately, as archaeologists
begin to uncover the once prosperous medieval Nubian Kingdoms, years of pains
taking work is now presenting us with many clues. In the past, archaeologists
were content simply to find objects. Today, enabled by cutting-edge technology -
serving as a bridge between human ways of existence and the physical
accumulation of material relics such as buildings, refuse, tools etc - together
with wide-ranging questions about society and culture, it is now possible to
delve into the minds of those who fashioned and used artefacts.
Nubia is commonly associated with the areas of the far north of Sudan and
southern Egypt, but excavations and research shows that medieval Nubia was a
much greater region spreading across what is now west central and northern
Sudan. Arguably, medieval Nubia's civilisation began with its conversion to
Christianity in the mid sixth century A.D. However, the missionaries who brought
the gospel are reported to have found three autonomous Nubian Kingdoms; Nobadia,
in the far north - already familiar to Greek and Roman authors - was the
post-Kushite successor state whose powerful Kings - buried at Ballaña and
Qustul - still wore the Kushite royal insignia and maintained the worship of
Isis and other deities. Makouria was located South of Nobadia, its centre
situated in the Dongola region between the Fourth and Third Nile Cataracts
whilst Alwa was situated far to the south, its capital close to present day
Khartoum.
In 1822, when the first European expedition visited the Lion Temple at
Musawwarat es-Sufra, except for a few contours of the outer north wall and some
columns remaining visible, the temple was found in ruins. In 1960, the Sudan
government granted Humboldt University-Berlin permission to begin excavations;
the Lion Temple was the first to be investigated. Over 800 collapsed blocks from
the outer walls, depicting well-preserved contours were uncovered from the sand.
When restoration work commenced in the early seventies, hieroglyphic
inscriptions revealed Arnekhamani (c.235-c.218 BC) as the King who had
commissioned the building of the Lion Temple, which he dedicated to the
lion-headed Meroitic god, Apedemak - responsible both for creation and war. The
signs of life on the northern part of the Temple's Western Wall and the
crocodile with its mouth tied; on the northern pylon indicates that the northern
half of the building was dedicated to peace and fertility. Sadly, the southern
part however, is symbolic of chaos and war: a portent of imminent conflicts
existing in southern Sudan today?
 Reconstructing life as it were, numerous clues and excavations in the valley
of Musawwarat es-Sufra - situated in the middle of a sandstone plateau in
Western Butana - offer an intriguing glimpse of the area. According to Prof. Dr.
Steffen Wenig of the Musawwarat Mission, Fritz Hintze (1915-1993) was the first
to carry out excavations at the Great Enclosure. Hintze not only captured
insights into its construction history, but also identified its ancient name,
Aborepe. Excavations revealed that several times in its
history, the complex had been demolished to be raised and expanded on the same
spot; each time with a slight change in orientation between 4º and 5º 20'.
Wenig opines that, the Great Enclosure was existent in the Napatan period
(c.664-c.270 BC). He advances that, the orientation of the temples must have
been determined by certain stars, whose position in the sky changed over time,
and this orientation was so quintessential that the
temples - of the earlier complexes - had to be reconstructed several times.
 The Great Enclosure - 55,000m2 in size was partly perched on terraces, a
feature not seen elsewhere in that ramps and not stairs led to the terraces.
This remarkable complex of buildings without a single parallel across the face
of Africa was constructed mostly of sandstone blocks of Nubian formation; white
on the inside, the outer surface containing iron oxide. Over time and with
exposure to the elements, the sandstone blocks developed
a light to dark brown sheen. Long corridors connected the individual groups of
buildings; the walls of these corridors were so high - over 2 metres - that when
people passed through them they could not be seen from the outside.
Historically, these walls were protected against weathering with a very hard
white plaster, but today very little of the protected covering remains.
Discernibly, whilst palaces were constructed of mud or unfired brick, temples
were built of stones and fired brick; this in part could account for their
preservation. Nevertheless, today in the eyes of an amateur the Great Enclosure
would appear very much undercoated.
Within the Great Enclosure - on the grounds of one courtyard, a dugout hole
was found and is now subscribed to as the hallmark of a wedding between persons
of notable repute; possibly a King and Queen. The signs are consistent with
weddings in contemporary Sudan, wherein a bride squats - in the nude - over a
dugout hole in the ground filled with a combination of aromatic woodchips and
hot charcoal. Three large graffiti, two of which are erotic augment the
findings. The last graffito portrays a male head with palm leaves for a crown,
an act still practiced in Sudanese weddings.
A well-preserved square water basin with walls - coated with lime chalk
plaster - constructed of baked bricks was also uncovered. The floor of the
cistern-like basin reveals that it was constructed using baked bricks placed in
soil mortar. There is a marked decline of the basin's floor - sloping 21cm from
the top - towards the centre from all sides and culminating in a hollow-like
depression, depth at the centre marked 2.16m. From west to east, the basin's
dimensions stand at 2.9m, and 2.6m from north to south.
In terms of an engineering feat worthy of commentary, a conduit, made from
hollowed sandstone blocks was found below the ground. The conduit, whose height
of fall runs approximately 5-7cm/m respectively towards the basin, and its deep
subterranean placement - 70-80cm - including its connection to the basin
suggests that, this conduit functioned owing to a pressure gradient that built
up over large distances. The basin is supposed to have served as storage for
water and irrigation; supported by a well-preserved drain and numerous small
channels.
In another courtyard revealing a garden complex, an avenue with two rows of
plant pits was unearthed. The inner filling of the pits contained fertile Nile
mud with shards sticking to the underside; suggesting that plants were obtained
very close to or by the Nile and then transported to Musawwarat. Remnants of
plant pots of varying sizes were also on hand and appeared to have been
shattered on the spot before being placed in the pits. Surprisingly, there was
no evidence of plant roots. I had remarked that the area seemed quite arid but
my Sudanese friend pointed out that when there are good rains, the Musawwarat
valley could be very productive agriculturally. The potential for cultivation,
grazing and hunting was probably considerably high in the Meroitic period, he
added.
Pottery is a common artefact found on archaeological sites in the Nile
valley. Clay - readily available in the Nile valley - was the essential raw
material for pottery production. A wide range of temper was added to the clay
and the nature of this material, the type of clay used coupled with the forms of
the pottery and decoration could be used to determine the location of the
production centres. Some finer works were made from fossil clays; found along
the desert fringes. Owing to the profligate manner in which still usable vessels
were discarded, a conceivable deduction is made that fine pottery was in
abundance and cheap. However, experts opine that owing to the reduced
availability caused either by financial stringency or particular pottery types
going out of production or in short supply, vessel lives were prolonged by
simply passing thongs through holes drilled to either side of a fracture.
To date, of a total 900m, 235m of restoration work on a wall to protect the
Great Enclosure has been completed, leaving another 665m. The Sudan
Archaeological Society-Berlin - founded in 1993 - has been at the forefront of
preservation work in Musawwarat. The German Foreign Ministry has also been
supportive by making funds available to the Sudan Archaeological Society for its
preservation work. The poignant question is what was the Great Enclosure used
for. It is envisaged that rescue work, including research combining archaeology,
history, linguistics, folklore and ecological research within a regional study
would offer clear outlines of the settlement history and language of the area.
More information:
Melford Ita is an environment consultant and freelance
journalist.
The author acknowledges the Sudan Volunteer Programme (UK and Khartoum
offices), Prof El-Zubeir Bashir Taha, former vice-chancellor, Khartoum
University, Prof. Dr. Steffen Wenig (Musawwarat Mission) and Dr. Salah Ed-Din
Ahmed (NCAM,Khartoum).
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