DOCSLIB.ORG

Ninth International Conference of the Society for Nubian Studies, 21

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ninth International Conference of the Society for Nubian Studies, 21 Originalveröffentlichung in: Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. 9, 1999, S. 58-62 58 TAGUNGEN ANGELIKA LOHWASSER NINTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE SOCIETY FOR NUBIAN STUDIES, 21. - 26. AUGUST 1998 IN BOSTON Die 1972 gegründete International Society for Organisatoren der Tagung ist es zu verdanken, Nubian Studies widmet sich vorrangig der För­ daß das Relief des Arikankharor, das normaler­ derung der Erforschung des antiken Sudan (siehe weise im Worcester Museum of Art ausgestellt die Informationen über die Society in MittSAG ist, für die Dauer des Kongresses in Boston zu 1, 1994: 20­21). Alle vier Jahre versammeln sich besichtigen war (Africa in Antiquity I: 15). Für die Nubiologen, um einen Kongreß abzuhalten jeden Nubiologen ist der Besuch der schön prä­ und dabei die neuesten wissenschaftlichen sentierten "Nubian Gallery" ein Leckerbissen ­ Ergebnisse auszutauschen. 1994 fand die 8. eine Möglichkeit, die die Kongreßbesucher Internationale Nubiologenkonferenz in Lille gerne nutzten. Ebenso wurde von der Möglich­ (Frankreich) statt; dort wurde beschlossen, die keit Gebrauch gemacht, den 12 Tonnen schwe­ 9. Konferenz im Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ren Sarkophag des Aspelta (MFA 23.729), der (USA) abzuhalten. wegen seines Gewichts nur im Magazin im Kel­ Zu Boston haben all diejenigen, die sich inten­ ler stehen kann, zu besichtigen. Dieser Sarko­ siver mit Nubien und dem antiken Sudan phag und der nahezu identische des Anlamani beschäftigen, eine besondere Beziehung: Der (National Museum Khartoum 1868) sind die ein­ Ausgräber George Andrew Reisner ­ den mei­ zigen Steinsärge, die wir von den kuschitischen sten Ägyptologen durch seine Grabungen in Königen haben. Die darauf geschriebenen Texte Giza bekannt ­ war der Leiter der großen archäo­ sind ähnlich denen der Könige der 18. Dynastie, logischen Arbeiten im Sudan am Anfang unse­ die in der 25. und 26. Dynastie von Priestern auf res Jahrhunderts. Er war es, der die Hauptstadt deren Särgen übernommen wurden. Doch auch der Kerma­Kultur, die etwas südlich des Dritten Passagen aus dem Totenbuch, den Sargtexten Kataraktes gelegene Stadt Kerma, mit ihren rie­ und der Pyramidentexte wurden verwendet sigen Friedhöfen ausgrub. Er war es aber auch, (Doli 1982: 279). der die Königsfriedhöfe in El Kurru, Nuri, am Nach dem Anreisetag, der vor allem einem Gebel Barkai und in Meroe freilegte. Durch die ausgiebigen Museumsbesuch gewidmet war, Fundteilung kamen Altertümer aus allen Peri­ begann am Freitag, den 21.8., die Konferenz. Die oden Nubiens in das Museum of Fine Arts (siehe Vorträge wurden inhaltlich zusammengefaßt dazu MittSAG 3, 1995: 32­34). Dementspre­ und in verschiedenen Sektionen gehalten. chend gut ausgestattet sind die Bereiche der Jeweils am Vormittag wurden die Hauptrefera­ Kerma­Kultur, der napatanischen und der mero­ te zu einem der großen Themen geboten, am itischen Periode des Reiches von Kusch. Dabei Nachmittag gab es zwei Sektionen, die sich mit beeindrucken sowohl Größe und Anzahl als kleineren Themen beschäftigten (siehe dazu die auch Qualität der Objekte. Im Obergeschoß des Liste mit den Titeln der gehaltenen Vorträge). Museums wird die Großplastik gezeigt: Die Sta­ Im folgenden sollen einige ausgewählte Vor­ tuen der Brüder Anlamani und Aspelta, beide am träge in einem kurzen Abriß vorgestellt werden. Gebel Barkai gefunden, sind Meisterwerke der Das Auswahlkriterium ist mein persönliches 1 kuschitischen Bildhauerkunst. ) Beeindruckend Interesse. sind aber auch die vielfältigen Gegenstände der Das Ergebnis der neuerlichen Untersuchung Grabausstattung, wobei sowohl Gefäße aus der Friedhöfe (ohne den Häuptlings­ oder Stein und Metall als auch Amulette, Schmuck­ Königsfriedhof Qustul) der A­Gruppe in Unter­ stücke und Teile des Mumienbelages wie die Sil­ nubien (Nordström 1972) durch H.­A. Nord­ bermaske der Malaqaye zu bewundern sind. Den ström war erstaunlich: Er konnte zeigen, daß in der klassischen Phase der A­Gruppe, und zum 1) Zur wiedergefundenen Nase der Statue des Aspelta Ende dieser Kultur sogar zunehmend, die Bei­ siehe MittSAG 4, 1996: 53-55. gaben in den Frauengräbern reichlicher und qua­ TAGUNGEN 59 litätvoller als in denen der Männer waren. Eini­ aller Art ­ zu den einzelnen Grabungsplätzen, ge bestimmte Objekte sind überhaupt nur in zu allgemeinen Problemen der Archäologie, aber Frauengräbern belegt. Aus diesem Befund kann auch zu Gedanken der nubischen Wurzeln der man auf eine bedeutende Stellung der Frauen in Afro­Amerikaner ­ gestellt wurden. Das breite der A­Gruppe, insbesonders in der Endphase, Interesse, auf das diese Veranstaltung stieß, und schließen. das Engagement bei den Diskussionen waren V. Davies stellte sein Projekt vor, dessen Ziel einerseits eine Rückenstärkung für die Veran­ es ist, die Felsinschriften von Kurgus (nahe dem stalter, andererseits gab es uns Nubiologen die Fünften Katarakt) aufzunehmen. Einige wurden Gewißheit, die Wissenschaft nicht „an der bereits von A. J. Arkell (1950) veröffentlicht, es Öffentlichkeit vorbei" zu betreiben, sondern mit stellte sich jedoch heraus, daß viele fehlerhaft unseren Forschungen und Ergebnissen auch die publiziert sind oder bis jetzt überhaupt überse­ Neugier von Menschen aller Altersgruppen hen wurden. Thutmosis L, Thutmosis III. und wecken zu können. Vielleicht kann eine solche Ramses II. sowie eine Reihe von Privatpersonen Veranstaltung beispielgebend für andere Konfe­ haben sich im Stein verewigt, außerdem sind eine renzen sein? Reihe von Felszeichnungen zu erkennen. Den Abschluß der Konferenz bildet tradi­ K. Grzymski berichtete von seinem Survey tionsgemäß die Sitzung der Society for Nubian im Letti­Basin (am Nilknick zwischen Drittem Studies, in der Neumitglieder aufgenommen und und Viertem Katarakt), bei dem bisher unbe­ verschiedene Probleme erörtert werden. Den kannte Keramik gefunden wurde. Die C14­ Organisatoren der Konferenz, allen voran Dr. Untersuchung ergab, daß die Scherben 1000­800 Rita Freed und Dr. Tim Kendall, wurde mit v. Chr. zu datieren sind. Diese 200 Jahre sind im herzlichem Beifall gedankt. Zu klären blieb nur nubischen Raum bisher kaum belegt, so daß in noch der Ort der Konferenz in vier Jahren: Prof. der Literatur von „dunklen Jahrhunderten" Dr. Alessandro Roccati lud die Society für das gesprochen wird. Umso erfreulicher ist es, genau Jahr 2002 nach Rom ein ­ arrividerci a Roma! für diese Zeit nun eine Bevölkerung zumindest im Letti­Basin nachgewiesen zu haben. Der Vortrag von M. Byrne wurde außer dem LITERATUR hohen Informationsgehalt zu einem musikali­ schen Ereignis. Er untersuchte Darstellungen Africa in Antiquity I: ESSAYS; Brooklyn, 1978 (rundplastisch und im Flachbild) sowie archäo­ logische Reste von auloi (Doppelflöten) des Arkell, A. J.: VARIA SUDANICA. JEA 36: 24­40, meroitischen Reiches. Byrne erklärte die ver­ Kurgus: 36­39; London, 1950 schiedenen Formen, die er nachweisen konnte, und die Technik, solche Flöten zu spielen. Doli, S.K.: IDENTITY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE Anhand von Nachbauten konnte er nicht nur die TEXTS AND DECORATION ON THE SARCOPHAGI OF Handhabung sehr anschaulich schildern, son­ ANLAMANI AND ASPELTA. Meroitica 6: 276­280; dern auch Tonbeispiele vorführen. Berlin, 1982 Außer den Themenbereichen, aus denen die vorgestellten Referate ausgewählt wurden, Nordström, H.A.: NEOLITHIC AND A­GROUP waren die Vorgeschichte und Landschaftsbil­ SITES. THE SCANDINAVIAN JOINT EXPEDITION TO dung, die Kerma­Kultur, das christliche Nubien SUDANESE NUBIA, 3; Uppsala, 1972 und die islamische Archäologie vertreten. An zwei Tagen fand parallel zur wissen­ schaftlichen Konferenz eine öffentliche Veran­ staltung zum Thema „Nubische Archäologie" statt, zu der alle 400 Plätze des Auditoriums besetzt waren, weitere 120 Personen standen auf der Warteliste. Wenn das Interesse an der Sudan­ archäologie auch in Europa so groß wäre! Beson­ dere Beachtung verdient die sehr engagierte „Black Community", der ein Großteil der Zuhö­ rer angehörte. 15 Wissenschaftler sprachen über ihre Grabungen und gaben dem Publikum so einen Eindruck von der Breite des Spektrums der Nubiologie. Nach jeweils drei Vorträgen fand eine Podiumsdiskussion statt, bei der Fragen 60 TAGUNGEN Vortragsprogramm SAMSTAG, 22.8. FREITAG, 21.8. Kerma Main Papers ­ D. Valbelle, The cultural significance of epi­ Eröffnung der Konferenz durch R. Freed, Ch. graphic material found at Kerma Bonnet, J. Leclant, Hassan Hussein Idris, Gabal­ ­ M. Honegger, Recent work on the Pre­Kerma la Ali Gaballa, T. Kendali. settlement (mission of the University of Gene­ va at Kerma) Prehistoric Main Papers ­ B. Gratien, Administrative practices and move­ ­ J. Reinold, The Nubian Neolithic of the Third ments of goods between Egypt and Kush from Cataract: Funeral Customs and Social Struc­ seals and sealings during the Middle Kingdom tures and the Second Intermediate Period ­ H.­A. Nordstöm, The Nubian A­Group: Per­ ­ B. Privati, Kerma: Classification des cerami­ ceiving a social landscape ques de la necropole Orientale ­ E. Garcea, Beyond Napata: The Prehistoric ­ J. Bourriau, Egyptian pottery found in Early evidence in the Napatan region Kerma and graves ­ F. Geus, Pre­Kerma storage pits on Sai Island ­ D. Raue, Nubian pottery from the Old King­ ­ B. Keding, Recentfield studies in the catchment dom settlement of Elephantine/Aswan areas of the Wadi Howar, northern Sudan The Pharaonic Period, C­Group and Medja Gebel Barkai and Napatan kingship ­ A.M. Mills, The gold mining of Saras ­ T. Kendali, Gebel Barkai 1997: The discovery ­ A. Minault­Gout, Les superstructures des of the Coronation
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Matrilineal Royal Succession in the Empire of Kush: a New Proposal Identifying the Kinship Terminology in the 25Th and Napatan Dynasties As That of Iroquois/Crow
    2015 Varia Kumiko Saito The matrilineal royal Succession in the Empire of Kush: A new proposal Identifying the Kinship Terminology in the 25th and napatan Dynasties as that of Iroquois/Crow Introduction1 Various theories about the patterns of royal succes- sion in the 25th and Napatan Dynasties have been proposed. Macadam proposed a fratrilineal successi- on in which kingship passed from brother to brother and then to the children of the eldest brother.2 Török integrated the patrilineal, matrilineal, and fratrilineal succession systems.3 Kahn and Gozzoli4 take the position that the succession pattern in the 25th and in which some royal women held both the titles of Napatan Dynasties was basically patrilineal. It is snt nswt “king’s sister” and sAt nswt “king’s daughter”, noteworthy that, in Macadam’s and Török’s theories and this ground is regarded as decisive. However, this as well as the patrilineal succession, it is supposed that ignores the fact that it has been suggested that sn(t) all kings were sons of kings. I doubted this father- in its extended meaning may mean “cousin,” “aunt,” son relationship when I started inquiring into the “uncle,” “nephew,” or “niece.”5 If so, a daughter of matrilineal tradition in Kush. the previous king who had the title snt nswt could One of the textual grounds for accepting the be a cousin of the reigning king. It is also possible father-son relationship of the kings is the indirect one that the Kushite kingdom was a matrilineal society using a kinship terminology that was different from 1 This article is a revised version of my paper originally that of Egypt.
    [Show full text]
  • Nubia: Treasures of Ancient Africa
    Audio Guide Transcript Nubia: Treasures of Ancient Africa April 18–August 22, 2021 Main Exhibition Galleries STOP 1 Introduction Gallery: Director’s Welcome Speaker: Brent Benjamin Barbara B. Taylor Director Saint Louis Art Museum Hello, I’m Brent Benjamin, Barbara B. Taylor Director of the Saint Louis Art Museum. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the audio guide for Nubia: Treasures of Ancient Africa. The exhibition presents the history and artistic achievements of ancient Nubia and showcases the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through magnificent jewelry, pottery, sculpture, metalwork, and more. For nearly 3,000 years a series of Nubian kingdoms flourished in the Nile River valley in what is today Sudan. The ancient Nubians controlled vast empires and trade networks and left behind the remains of cities, temples, palaces, and pyramids but few written records. As a result, until recently their story has been told in large part by others—in antiquity by their more famous Egyptian neighbors and rivals, and in the early 20th century by American and European scholars and archaeologists. Through art, this exhibition addresses past misunderstandings and misinterpretations and offers new ways of understanding Nubia’s dynamic history and relevance, which raises issues of power, representation, and cultural bias that were as relevant in past centuries as they are today. This exhibition audio guide offers expert commentaries from Denise Doxey, guest curator of this exhibition and curator of ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The guide features a selection of objects from various ancient Nubian kingdoms and shares insights into the daily life of the Nubians, their aesthetic preferences, religious beliefs, technological inventiveness, and relations with other ancient civilizations.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
    Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Past and present members of the staff of the Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Stelae, Reliefs and Paintings, especially R. L. B. Moss and E. W. Burney, have taken part in the analysis of this periodical and the preparation of this list at the Griffith Institute, University of Oxford This pdf version (situation on 14 July 2010): Jaromir Malek (Editor), Diana Magee, Elizabeth Fleming and Alison Hobby (Assistants to the Editor) Naville in JEA I (1914), pl. I cf. 5-8 Abydos. Osireion. vi.29 View. Naville in JEA I (1914), pl. ii [1] Abydos. Osireion. Sloping Passage. vi.30(17)-(18) Osiris and benu-bird from frieze. see Peet in JEA i (1914), 37-39 Abydos. Necropolis. v.61 Account of Cemetery D. see Peet in JEA i (1914), 39 Abydos. Necropolis. Ibis Cemetery. v.77 Description. see Loat in JEA i (1914), 40 and pl. iv Abydos. Necropolis. Ibis Cemetery. v.77 Description and view. Blackman in JEA i (1914), pl. v [1] opp. 42 Meir. Tomb of Pepiankh-h. ir-ib. iv.254 View. Blackman in JEA i (1914), pl. v [2] opp. 42 Meir. Tomb of Pepiankh-h. ir-ib. iv.255(16) Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Stelae, Reliefs and Paintings Griffith Institute, Sackler Library, 1 St John Street, Oxford OX1 2LG, United Kingdom [email protected] 2 Group with calf from 2nd register. Petrie in JEA i (1914), pl. vi cf. 44 El-Riqqa. Finds. iv.87 Part of jewellery, temp.
    [Show full text]
  • Mitteilungen Der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft Zu Berlin Mitteilungen Der Sudanarchäologischen A
    Der Antike Sudan 2014 Der • Antike Sudan Heft 25 Colour fig. 6: The eastern section of the southeastern square of trench 224.14 with pit [224.14-015] (photograph: Claudia Näser) Heft 25 • 2014 Colour fig. 7: The workplace of the pottery project in the dighouse (photograph: Stephanie Bruck) Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. Titelbild: Das Nordprofil des Schnittes 102.20 (Foto: Thomas Scheibner) Colour fig. 3: Plane 3 of the northeastern square of trench 2014.14 with Colour fig. 4: The packing of unfired clay [context 224.14- the mudbrick wall [224.14-004] and the lower layer with traces of cir- 003] drawing over the mudbrick wall [224.14-004] (photo- cumscribed burning [224.14-009] (photograph: Claudia Näser) graph: Claudia Näser) Colour fig. 1: Results of the geomagnetic survey in the monastery Colour fig. 5: Selected samples representing seven MGRgroups. Five samples made of wadi clay: AD095 and AD098 (local), AD076 Colour fig. 2: The Musawwarat mosaic 'flower’ bead from the upper foundation layer of wall 120/122 in trench 122.17 and AD105 (local or regional) and AD087 (import). Two samples made of alluvial clay: AD077 and AD081. Samples after refiring at (photograph: Jens Weschenfelder) 1200°C (macrophotos of cross-sections: M. Baranowski) Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V. Heft 25 2014 2014 Inhaltsverzeichnis Editorial .............................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • NOIRS 10'000 Ans D'archéologie En Nubie a Ux Orig in Es
    10’000 ans d’archéologie en Nubie en d’archéologie ans 10’000 Aux origines des pharaons noirs Dans la vallée du Nil, au-delà des frontières de l’Empire égyptien, s’étend la Nubie, territoire fascinant et mystérieux, d’où ont émergé les fameux pharaons noirs au 7e siècle av. J.-C. Kerma constitue l’un des centres de cette région, AUX où l’intensité des recherches archéologiques menées par une équipe suisse depuis près de 40 ans a permis de retracer la trajectoire des sociétés antiques au cours des 10’000 dernières années, des premiers établissements séden- taires jusqu’à l’émergence de vastes royaumes qui rivalisèrent avec la puissance des Egyptiens. ORI- L’exposition «Aux origines des pharaons noirs» et le présent catalogue traitent du développe- ment des sociétés préhistoriques et antiques de la Nubie sur le long terme. Plus qu’une simple présentation d’objets illustrant le propos, l’objectif GINES est de restituer l’ambiance du pays et des fouilles archéologiques menées sur le terrain, en combinant les deux sources principales d’infor- mation qui s’offrent à l’archéologue. D’une part le monde des morts et ses impressionnants DES rituels funéraires, d’autre part le monde des vivants, des établissements villageois à la création des premières villes d’Afrique noire. Objets funéraires ou quotidiens, reconstitutions, maquettes, vidéos et présentation du musée de Kerma sont autant de fenêtres qui permettent PHA- de restituer la richesse et la diversité de l’archéo- logie nubienne. RAONS 10’000 ans d’archéologie NOIRS en Nubie 10’000 ans d’archéologie en Nubie AUX ORI- GINES DES PHA- RAONS Matthieu Honegger NOIRS Matthieu Honegger Ouvrage publié à l’occasion de l’exposition présentée au Laténium du 3 septembre 2014 au 17 mai 2015, avec le Aux origines des pharaons noirs, soutien de la Loterie Romande et de l’Association Archéone.
    [Show full text]
  • Aspelta, Beloved of Re'-Harakhty and Tombs in the Temple
    SUDAN & NUBIA and the temple extends approximately 120m east-west (Figure QSAP Dangeil 2016: Aspelta, 1). Recent excavations have concentrated on the temple’s peristyle hall. The initial purpose was to expose the proces- Beloved of Re’-Harakhty and sional way and the court around the kiosk and determine if, Tombs in the Temple as with other Amun temples, this route had been flanked by a series of ram statue pairs. In the north-eastern area of the Julie R. Anderson, Rihab Khidir elRasheed court (designated ET8), two statue plinths constructed of red and Mahmoud Suliman Bashir brick and plastered on the exterior with white lime painted yellow, were exposed in autumn 2015. They lay beneath red- brick rubble from the colonnade, architectural fragments Excavations are being conducted within the temenos enclo- from the kiosk, and numerous small sandstone fragments sure of a 1st century AD Amun temple at Dangeil, River Nile from broken ram statues. State, as the Berber-Abidiya Archaeological Mission is focus- In autumn 2016, excavation of this area was expanded ing upon the sacred landscape of the late Kushite period in westward towards the kiosk in the centre of the court. This this region. Recently two field seasons were conducted, one exposed another regularly placed rectangular statue plinth, in autumn 2016 and the other in March 2017.1 The site of the processional way which was paved with red bricks and Dangeil measures approximately 300 x 400m, covers 12ha, sandstone flags, and a sandstone column capital. The plinth and consists of several mounds, some greater than 4m in and area to the west of it were covered with sandstone and height, each covered with fragments of red brick, sandstone, brick tumble from the kiosk and from the destruction of sherds, and white lime plaster.
    [Show full text]
  • Priestess, Queen, Goddess
    Solange Ashby Priestess, queen, goddess 2 Priestess, queen, goddess The divine feminine in the kingdom of Kush Solange Ashby The symbol of the kandaka1 – “Nubian Queen” – has been used powerfully in present-day uprisings in Sudan, which toppled the military rule of Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and became a rallying point as the people of Sudan fought for #Sudaxit – a return to African traditions and rule and an ouster of Arab rule and cultural dominance.2 The figure of the kandake continues to reverberate powerfully in the modern Sudanese consciousness. Yet few people outside Sudan or the field of Egyptology are familiar with the figure of the kandake, a title held by some of the queens of Meroe, the final Kushite kingdom in ancient Sudan. When translated as “Nubian Queen,” this title provides an aspirational and descriptive symbol for African women in the diaspora, connoting a woman who is powerful, regal, African. This chapter will provide the historical background of the ruling queens of Kush, a land that many know only through the Bible. Africans appear in the Hebrew Bible, where they are fre- ”which is translated “Ethiopian , יִׁכוש quently referred to by the ethnically generic Hebrew term or “Cushite.” Kush refers to three successive kingdoms located in Nubia, each of which took the name of its capital city: Kerma (2700–1500 BCE), Napata (800–300 BCE), and Meroe (300 BCE–300 CE). Both terms, “Ethiopian” and “Cushite,” were used interchangeably to designate Nubians, Kushites, Ethiopians, or any person from Africa. In Numbers 12:1, Moses’ wife Zipporah is which is translated as either “Ethiopian” or “Cushite” in modern translations of the , יִׁכוש called Bible.3 The Kushite king Taharqo (690–664 BCE), who ruled Egypt as part of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty, is mentioned in the Bible as marching against enemies of Israel, the Assyrians (2Kings 19:9, Isa 37:9).
    [Show full text]
  • Rediscovering the Empires of Ancient Nubia in the 21St Century*
    36 REDISCOVERING THE EMPIRES OF ANCIENT NUBIA IN THE 21ST CENTURY* BY RITA E. FREED #Blacklivesmatter, #Metoo, #Blackpanther… The world of the early 21st century differs from the world of a hundred years ago, when the Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition excavated in both Egyptian and Sudanese Nubia. This paper traces the history of the Nubian collection at the Museum from the time it arrived until the present. It reconsiders ways the Museum might present a gallery – or series of galleries – devoted to Nubia in a way that encompasses new perspectives on the material and engages and educates a broad audience. Ancient Nubia and the MFA, Boston According to the partage system instituted by the governments of both Egypt1 and Sudan2 at the time of the Harvard-Boston excavations in Nubia (1907-1932), the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) was awarded half the material discovered. Thanks to this generous policy, the MFA now has the finest collection of Nubian material outside Sudan. Nubian objects arrived at Boston shores between 1913 and 1947, at the same time as finds from the concurrent excavations in Giza and other Egyptian sites. The MFA decided at that time to install Nubian and Egyptian material together as art of the greater Nile Valley (fig. 1) in the newly opened Huntington Avenue building. The one exception was the massive sarcophagus of King Aspelta, which found a place in the Museum’s Lower Rotunda (fig. 2), where visitors enjoyed tea beside it every weekday afternoon. Recognizing the unique qualities of the Nubian material, curator Dows Dunham who had worked under George Reisner3 since his graduation from Harvard in 1913 advocated for a dedicated Nubian Gallery in the 1940s and 50s.
    [Show full text]
  • The Kushite Nature of Early Meroitic Mortuary Religion: a Pragmatic Approach to Osirian Beliefs
    The Kushite Nature of Early Meroitic Mortuary Religion: A Pragmatic Approach to Osirian Beliefs. This is offered in recognition of the pioneering work of Steffen Wenig in the field of Meroitic Art Janice Yellin As our understanding of Kushite culture deepens, the view promulgated by early scholars of Meroe, many of whom trained as Egyptologists, that Kushites follow Egyptian cultural traditions as closely as possible is increasingly revealed as flawed. Innovative re-workings of Egyptian sources, including images, and the introduction of Kushite ideas can be identified through a careful comparison of Egyptian sources and Meroitic use of them. A close analysis of early Meroitic pyramid chapels reveals that the priests who selected images for these monuments acted with comprehension of and an unexpected independence from Egyptian religion. They chose and sometimes manipulated Egyptian vignettes to express a combination of Kushite and Egyptian mortuary beliefs and also included scenes of Kushite libations and processions on chapel walls. Their program of decoration reveals focused beliefs based on an Osirian afterlife and a pragmatic sometimes non-Egyptian approach to providing for it. A desire for clarity of expression (with its attendant magical powers) appears to be the rationale for the content of the chapel decorations. Introduction1 traced back to the Kushite conquest of Egypt in the eighth century BCE when Kushite elites were in a The author’s analysis2 of early Meroitic pyramid position in which they could at last freely access, chapels in the Southern and Northern Royal Ceme- more or less on their own terms, the same temple teries3 reveals that, as with previous inquiries into archives of Egyptian religious art and texts used by Kushite uses of Egyptian texts and materials,4 the Egyptian priests.
    [Show full text]
  • Internecine Conflict in the Second Kingdom of Kush
    W&M ScholarWorks Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2013 The Enemy Within: Internecine Conflict in the Second Kingdom of Kush Sophia Farrulla College of William and Mary Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses Recommended Citation Farrulla, Sophia, "The Enemy Within: Internecine Conflict in the Second Kingdom of ushK " (2013). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 771. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/771 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ! ! The!Enemy!Within:! Internecine!Conflict!in!the!Second!Kingdom!of!Kush!! ! ! ! A"thesis"submitted"in"partial"fulfillment"of"the"requirement" for"the"degree"of"Bachelor"of"Arts"in"History"from"" The"College"of"William"and"Mary" " " by" " Sophia"Farrulla" " " " """"""" Accepted"for"____________________________________________" " " " " " """"""""""(Honors,"High"Honors,"Highest"Honors)" " " " !!!!! ! ! ___________________________________________! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Jeremy!Pope,!Director" " " " " " " ___________________________________________" " " " Neil!Norman! ! ! ! ! ! ! ___________________________________________! ! ! ! Ronald!Schechter! " " " " """""""""""""""Williamsburg,"Virginia" " " " " """"""""""April"25,"2013" " i" Contents!
    [Show full text]
  • The Sudan National Museum in Khartoum
    The Sudan National Museum in Khartoum AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE FOR VISITORS A short history of the Sudan To get a good overview of the history of the Sudan, it is quite handy to start with a map. Geography explains the history of a country quite well, but it is all the more true in Sudan, a wide desert spread crossed only by the thin strip in the shape of an “S” that is the Middle Nile valley, interrupted by five of the six cataracts. In the entrance of the exhibition hall of the Museum, a big bilingual map (Arabic/English) was put up three years ago. There had to be modifications to be made following the independence of South Sudan. As far as archaeology is concerned, the main topic of this visit is Sudan proper. Ancient remains have been found from the border with Egypt to the Khartoum region and the Blue Nile, but not much to the south. In the South, the soil and the climate do not allow a good preservation of artifacts and skeletons. The cultures that have evolved there were using perishable building materials such as wood that did not survive in the acid soil of the rainforest; whereas in the North, like in Meroe for example, stone and brick architecture buried in the sand can be preserved for millennia and it is the material that Egyptologists are accustomed to study. The border between Egypt and Sudan, today located slightly north of the second cataract, is one of the oldest in the world. It has been there for approximately 5000 years.
    [Show full text]
  • 2010: Oakland, California
    The 61st Annual Meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt April 23 - 25, 2010 Oakland Marriott City Center Oakland, California ARCHAEOLOGIA ARCHAEOLOGY BOOKS RARE AND OUT-OF-PRINT SCHOLARLY BOOKS ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF EGYPT & THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST Please visit us at our booth during the ARCE meeting We are always interested in purchasing libraries and important individual books on archaeological subjects 707 CARLSTON AVENUE OAKLAND, CA 94610 TELEPHONE: (510) 832-1405 www.archaeologia.com - [email protected] 3177 auc_ARCE_ad_final:Layout 1 3/2/10 8:16 AM Page 1 The American University in Cairo Press is proud to announce the publication of two new ARCE titles Just published… PRESERVING EGYPT’S CULTURAL HERITAGE Edited by Randi Danforth With a Foreword by Zahi Hawass Treasures of Egypt’s cultural heritage conserved under the direction of the American Research Center in Egypt Projects described in this volume range widely in their scope. Contributors: Hoda Abdel Hamid, Matthew Adams, Jere Bacharach, Elizabeth Bolman, Edwin C. Brock, Betsy Bryan, Anthony Crosby, Randi Danforth, Agnieszka Dobrowolska, Jaroslaw Dobrowolski, Mark Easton, Renee Friedman,Alaa el-Habashi, Douglas Haldane, Nairy Hampikian,W.Raymond Johnson, Michael Jones, Charles Le Quesne, Carol Meyer,Anthony Mills, David O’Connor, Bernard O’Kane, Diana Craig Patch, Lyla Pinch-Brock, William Remsen, Salah Zaki Said, Shari Saunders, Gerry Scott III, Peter Sheehan, Hourig Sourouzian, Robert K. Vincent, Jr., Nicholas Warner, Fred Wendorf, Willeke Wendrich, and A.J. Zielinski.
    [Show full text]