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Digital Reconstruction of the Archaeological Landscape in the Concession Area of the Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia (1961–1964)

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Digital Reconstruction of the Archaeological Landscape in the Concession Area of the Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia (1961–1964) Digital Reconstruction of the Archaeological Landscape in the Concession Area of the Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia (1961–1964) Lake Nasser, Lower Nubia: photography by the author Degree project in Egyptology/Examensarbete i Egyptologi Carolin Johansson February 2014 Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University Examinator: Dr. Sami Uljas Supervisors: Prof. Irmgard Hein & Dr. Daniel Löwenborg Author: Carolin Johansson, 2014 Svensk titel: Digital rekonstruktion av det arkeologiska landskapet i koncessionsområdet tillhörande den Samnordiska Expeditionen till Sudanska Nubien (1960–1964) English title: Digital Reconstruction of the Archaeological Landscape in the Concession Area of the Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia (1961–1964) A Magister thesis in Egyptology, Uppsala University Keywords: Nubia, Geographical Information System (GIS), Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia (SJE), digitalisation, digital elevation model. Carolin Johansson, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Box 626 SE-75126 Uppsala, Sweden. Abstract The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia (SJE) was one of the substantial contributions of crucial salvage archaeology within the International Nubian Campaign which was pursued in conjunction with the building of the High Dam at Aswan in the early 1960’s. A large quantity of archaeological data was collected by the SJE in a continuous area of northernmost Sudan and published during the subsequent decades. The present study aimed at transferring the geographical aspects of that data into a digital format thus enabling spatial enquires on the archaeological information to be performed in a computerised manner within a geographical information system (GIS). The landscape of the concession area, which is now completely submerged by the water masses of Lake Nasser, was digitally reconstructed in order to approximate the physical environment which the human societies of ancient Nubia inhabited. Information on the nearly 500 indexed archaeological sites of the SJE was classified and imported into the GIS. The potential of the system thereby established, validated against modern remote sensing data and aerial photography, was then demonstrated by a number of spatial analyses at an inter-site level. The resuls of those analyses contribute to discussions on various topics already raised within the SJE publication or elsewhere and includes issues on Nile palaeochannel reconstructions, seasonal habitation patterns and dedicatory orientation of elite tombs. The system hereby developed is intended to be used in further studies of the relevant and information-rich research fields of ancient Nubia for applications similar to those demonstrated in the present project or for educational and research purposes hitherto unpredicted. Sammanfattning Den Samnordiska Expeditionen till Sudanska Nubien (SJE) var en av de omfattande insatser av avgörande räddningsarkeologi inom den Internationella Nubienkampanjen som bedrevs i samband med byggandet av Höga Dammen i Aswan i början av 1960-talet. En stor mängd arkeologisk data samlades in av SJE i ett kontinuerligt område i nordligaste Sudan och publicerades under de efterföljande årtiondena. Denna studie ämnade överföra de geografiska aspekterna av den datan till ett digitalt format och därmed möjliggöra att rumsliga förfrågningar på den arkeologiska information kan utföras på ett datoriserat tillvägagångssätt i ett geografiskt informationssystem (GIS). Landskapet i koncessions- området, vilket nu är helt översvämmat av Nassersjöns vattenmassor, återskapades digitalt med syfte att approximera den fysiska omgivningen vilken de mänskliga samhällena i det forna Nubien bebodde. Information om de nära 500 indexerade fyndplatserna tillhörande SJE klassificerades och importerades in i detta GIS. Potentialen av det system som därmed skapats, validerat mot modern fjärranalysdata och flygfotografi, demonstrerades genom ett antal rumsliga analyser på en mellan- fyndplats-nivå. Resultaten av dessa analyser bidrar till diskussioner om diverse ämnen som redan tagits upp inom SJE-publikationen eller annorstädes och inkluderar frågor kring Nilens äldre dragningar, säsongsmässiga bosättningsmönster och avsiktlig orientering av elitgravar. Systemet som härvid har utvecklats är ämnat att användas i vidare studier av de relevanta och informationsrika forskningsområden som rör det forna Nubien för tillämpningar liknande de som demonstrerats i detta projekt eller för undervisnings- och forsknings-syften som hittills ej förutsetts. Table of Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 7 1.1. Nubia – The Geographical Setting................................................................................................ 7 1.1.1. Lower Nubia .......................................................................................................................... 8 1.1.2. Upper Nubia .......................................................................................................................... 9 1.1.3. Ancient Terminology ........................................................................................................... 10 1.2. A brief Chronology of Nubia ...................................................................................................... 11 1.2.1. The Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Periods ..................................................................... 11 1.2.2. The Neolithic Period ............................................................................................................ 11 1.2.3. The Bronze Age ................................................................................................................... 14 1.2.4. The 25th Dynasty and the Napatan Period .......................................................................... 16 1.2.5. The Meroitic Period ............................................................................................................ 16 1.2.6. The Transitional Period ....................................................................................................... 18 1.2.7. The Medieval Period ........................................................................................................... 19 1.2.8. The Islamic Period ............................................................................................................... 20 1.3. The Exploration of Nubia ........................................................................................................... 20 1.3.1. The High Dam and the International Nubian Campaign ..................................................... 23 1.3.2. The Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia (SJE) .............................................. 26 1.3.2.1. The Concession Area of the SJE ................................................................................... 26 1.3.2.2. Previous Investigations in the SJE Concession Area .................................................... 29 1.3.2.3. The Method of the SJE Survey ..................................................................................... 29 1.3.2.4. General Results of the SJE ............................................................................................ 30 2. Aim and Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 32 3. Material and Methods ...................................................................................................................... 34 3.1. Analogue material ...................................................................................................................... 34 3.1.1. Topography ......................................................................................................................... 34 3.1.2. Site-specific Data ................................................................................................................. 34 3.2. Remote Sensing Data ................................................................................................................. 35 3.3. Database Construction ............................................................................................................... 35 3.3.1. Site Number ........................................................................................................................ 35 3.3.2. Geographical Coordinates ................................................................................................... 36 3.3.2.1. Note on the Coordinate Values ................................................................................... 36 3.3.3. Description of Location ....................................................................................................... 36 3.3.4. Comments ........................................................................................................................... 36 3.3.5. Classification of Sites ........................................................................................................... 37 3.4. GIS software ............................................................................................................................... 38 3.5. Datum and Projection ................................................................................................................ 38 3.6. Digitalisation
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