Forgotten Fortress Returning to Uronarti
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Three “Italian” Graffiti from Semna and Begrawiya North
Eugenio Fantusati THREE “ITALIAN” GRAFFITI FROM SEMNA AND BEGRAWIYA NORTH Egyptian monuments are known to bear texts and composed of soldiers, explorers, merchants and, signatures engraved by Western travelers who in the second wave clerics, was quite consider- thus left traces of their passage on walls, columns able. For a long time the call of the exotic and of and statues beginning after the Napoleonic ex- adventure drew many Italians to Africa. In the pedition. early 19th century, they had no qualms about Sudan, although less frequented, did not leaving a fragmented country, not only governed escape this certainly depreciable practice. Indeed, by foreign powers, but also the theatre of bloody none of the European explorers in Batn el-Hagar wars for independence. Their presence in Africa avoided the temptation to leave graffiti on grew progressively to such an extent that Italian, archaeological sites, as if there was some myster- taught in Khartoum’s missionary schools, became ious force pushing them to this act, undeniable the commercial language of the Sudan. For a long because visible, once they had reached their so time, it was employed both in the official docu- longed-for destination. ments of the local Austrian consulate and in the Even George Alexander Hoskins, antiquarian, Egyptian postal service before being definitely writer and excellent draftsman, who openly supplanted by French after the opening of the condemned the diffusion of the practice to deface Suez Canal (Romanato 1998: 289). monuments, admitted his own “guilt” in this Naturally, the many Italians visiting archae- respect: “I confess on my first visit to the Nile, ological sites in Nubia did not refrain from I wrote my name on one of the colossal statues in leaving graffiti just like the other Europeans. -
Kvinner I Det Gamle Egypt
Kvinner i det gamle Egypt Ein komparativ studie Avbiletinga viser ei kvinne som sit ute i det fri og sel fruktene frå ein sykamorebusk med eit barn tett til brystet. Ein ser såleis den komplekse naturen til kvinnerolla; På den eine sida som mor og omsorgsperson, og på den andre som kvinne med eige ressursgrunnlag og høve for eiga inntekt. Masteravhandling i antikk historie. Institutt for arkeologi, historie, kunst og religionsvitenskap. Universitetet i Bergen, våren 2009 Reinert Skumsnes Kvinner i det gamle Egypt FØREORD Eit masterstudium, ei avhandling og ei lang reise i tid og stad er til endes. Reisa har vore interessant, mykje takka rettleiaren min, professor Jørgen Christian Meyer. Hans lange fartstid og gode kunnskapar som historikar har hjelpt meg ut av mang ei fortvilt stund kor kvinnene i det gamle Egypt rett og slett ikkje ville same veg som meg. Både Christian og fyrsteamanuensis Ingvar Mæhle skal ha takk for låge dørstokkar, velvilje og solid, jordnær profesjonalitet. Frå det norske egyptologimiljøet takkar eg professor emeritus Richard H. Pierce (UiB), professor Saphinaz-Amal Naguib (UiO), Pål Steiner (UiB), Anders Bettum (UiO) og Vidar Edland for større og mindre bidrag, som alle har vore viktige. Likeeins vil eg gje ei stor takk til alle medstudentane mine som til ei kvar tid har vore tilgjengelege og positive i kaffikroken vår på Sydneshaugen. Arbeidet har vore omfattande, men likevel overkommeleg. Dei fleste kjeldene har allereie vore jobba mykje med, og har såleis skapt større rom for drøfting og utvida fagleg innsikt. Ei spesiell takk må eg her sende til professor Anthony Spalinger, professor Doborah Sweeeney, professor Andrea McDowell, og professor Schafik Allam som alle har vore villige til å svare på spørsmål eg har hatt knytt til deira arbeid med kjeldene. -
No. 6 a NEWSLETTER of AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY May 19 75 Edited
- No. 6 A NEWSLETTER OF AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY May 1975 Edited by P.L. Shinnie and issued from the Department of Archaeology, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N lN4, Canada. (This issue edited by John H. Robertson.) I must apologize for the confusion which has developed con- cerning this issue. A notice was sent in February calling for material to be sent by March 15th. Unfortunately a mail strike in Canada held up the notices, and some people did not receive them until after the middle of March. To make matters worse I did not get back from the Sudan until May 1st so the deadline really should have been for the end of April. My thanks go to the contributors of this issue who I am sure wrote their articles under pressure of trying to meet the March 15th deadline. Another fumble on our part occurred with the responses we received confirming an interest in future issues of Nyame Akuma Professor ~hinnie'sintent in sending out the notice was to cull the now over 200 mailing list down to those who took the time to respond to the notice. Unfortunately the secretaries taking care of the-mail in Shinnie's absence thought the notice was only to check addresses, and only changes in address were noted. In other words, we have no record of who returned the forms. I suspect when Professor Shinnie returns in August he will want to have another go at culling the mailing list . I hope this issue of Nyame Akuma, late though it is, reaches everyone before they go into the field, and that everyone has an enjoyable and productive summer. -
The Semna South Project Louis V
oi.uchicago.edu The Semna South Project Louis V. Zabkar For those who have never visited the area of southern Egypt and northern Sudan submerged by the waters of the new Assuan High Dam, and who perhaps find it difficult to visualize what the "lake" created by the new Dam looks like, we include in this report two photographs which show the drastic geographic change which oc curred in a particular sector of the Nile Valley in the region of the Second Cataract. Before the flooding one could see the Twelfth Dynasty fortress; and, next to it, at the right, an extensive predominantly Meroitic and X-Group cemetery; the characteristic landmark of Semna South, the "Kenissa," or "Church," with its domed roof, built later on within the walls of the pharaonic fortress; the massive mud-brick walls of the fortress; and four large dumps left by the excavators—all this can be seen in the photo taken at the end of our excavations in April, 1968. On our visit there in April, 1971, the fortress was completely sub merged, the mud-brick "Kenissa" with its dome having collapsed soon after the waters began pounding against its walls. One can see black spots in the midst of the waters off the center which are the stones on the top of the submerged outer wall of the fortress. The vast cemetery is completely under water. In the distance, to the north, one can clearly see the fortress of Semna West, the glacis of which is also sub- 41 oi.uchicago.edu The area of Semna South included in our concession The Semna South concession submerged by the waters of the "lake 42 oi.uchicago.edu merged, and the brick walls of which may soon collapse through the action of the risen waters. -
3 the Kingdom of Kush. Urban Defences and Military Installations
In : N. Crummy (ed.), Image, Craft and the Classical World. Essays in honour of Donald Bailey and Catherine Johns (Monogr. Instrumentum 29), Montagnac 2005, p. 39-54. 3 The Kingdom of Kush. Urban defences and military installations by Derek A. Welsby1 When the Romans took control of Egypt in 30 BC they with the rise of Aksum and the possible invasion of the came in direct contact on their southern frontier with the region around Meroe by the army of Aezanes (cf. Behrens Kingdom of Kush, the longest established state of any that 1986; Török 1997a, 483-4). they faced. Kush had been a major power at least since the Perhaps of more long-term concern were the low level mid 8th century BC at a time when Rome itself consisted raids mounted by the desert tribes on the fringes of the of little more than a group of huts on the Palatine. In the Nile Valley2. At least one of these incursions, during the th later 8 century BC the Kings of Kush ruled an empire reign of King Nastasen in the later 4th century BC, stretching from Central Sudan to the borders of Palestine resulted in the looting of a temple at Kawa in the Dongola controlling Egypt as pharaohs of what became known as Reach and earlier Meroe itself, the main political centre, th the 25 Dynasty. Forced to withdraw from Egypt in the seems to have been under threat. face of Assyrian aggression by the mid 7th century BC, they retreated south of the First Cataract of the Nile where they maintained control of the river valley far upstream of Urban defences the confluence of the White and Blue Niles at modern-day Khartoum, into the 4th century AD (Fig. -
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. -
In Lower Nubia During the UNESCO Salvage Campaign in the 1960S, Only One, Fadrus, Received Any Robust Analytical Treatment
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO CONTINUITY AND CHANGE: A REEVALUATION OF CULTURAL IDENTITY AND “EGYPTIANIZATION” IN LOWER NUBIA DURING THE NEW KINGDOM A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE HUMANITIES IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF NEAR EASTERN LANGUAGES AND CIVILIZATIONS BY LINDSEY RAE-MARIE WEGLARZ CHICAGO, ILLINOIS JUNE 2017 Copyright © 2017 Lindsey Rae-Marie Weglarz All rights reserved Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. viii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... ix Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1 : Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 Historical Background ................................................................................................................................ 3 Lower Nubia before the New Kingdom ................................................................................................. 3 The Conquest -
The Egyptian Fortress on Uronarti in the Late Middle Kingdom
and omitting any later additions. As such, it would be fair to Evolving Communities: The argue that our notion of the spatial organization of these sites and the lived environment is more or less petrified at Egyptian fortress on Uronarti their moment of foundation. in the Late Middle Kingdom To start to rectify these shortcomings, we have begun a series of small, targeted excavations within the fortress; we Christian Knoblauch and Laurel Bestock are combining this new data with a reanalysis of unpub- lished field notes from the Harvard/BMFA excavations as Uronarti is an island in the Batn el-Hagar approximately 5km well as incorporating important new studies on the finds from the Egyptian Middle Kingdom border with Kush at the from that excavation, for example that on the sealings by Semna Gorge. The main cultural significance of the island Penacho (2015). The current paper demonstrates how this stems from the decision to erect a large trapezoidal mnnw modest approach can yield valuable results and contribute fortress on the highest hill of the island during the reign of to a model for the development of Uronarti and the Semna Senwosret III. Together with the contemporary fortresses at Region during the Late Middle Kingdom and early Second Semna West, Kumma, Semna South and Shalfak, Uronarti Intermediate Period. constituted just one component of an extensive fortified zone at the southern-most point of direct Egyptian control. Block III Like most of these sites (excepting Semna South), Uronarti The area selected for reinvestigation in 2015-2016 was a was excavated early in the history of Sudanese archaeology small 150m2 part of Block III (Figure 1, Plate 1) directly by the Harvard/Boston Museum of Fine Arts mission in the to the local south of the treasury/granary complex (Blocks late 1920’s (Dunham 1967; Reisner 1929; 1955; 1960; Wheeler IV-VI) (Dunham 1967, 7-8; Kemp 1986) and to the north 1931), and was long believed to have been submerged by of the building probably to be identified as the residence of Lake Nubia (Welsby 2004). -
The Uronarti Regional Archaeological Project: Second Cataract Fortresses and the Western Desert of Sudan Evan I
The Uronarti Regional Archaeological Project: Second Cataract fortresses and the Western Desert of Sudan Evan I. Levine1,*, Miriam A.W. Rothenberg1, Oren Siegel2, Christian Knoblauch3, Laurel Bestock1 & Lutz Klein1 Project Gallery The Batn el-Hagar in Sudan has traditionally been characterised as sparsely occupied during the Middle Kingdom Period, with most activity limited to the Egyptian fortresses along the Second Cataract. A new survey programme undertaken by the Uronarti Regional Archaeological Project offers evidence for a more richly occupied landscape. Keywords: Sudan, Nile Cataract, Middle Kingdom, survey, satellite imagery Introduction The Batn el-Hagar (Belly of Stone) is a 160km-long stretch of the Nile Valley in Sudan above the Second Nile Cataract where the river passes over a shallow bed in the exposed granite basal complex. Characterised by hyperaridity, a dearth of arable land and a very low carrying cap- acity, this region appears to have always been a challenging environment, especially since the introduction of agricultural subsistence strategies (Hewes 1966:42–43). In the area of the Semna Cataract, where our work is focused, larger populations are limited to the Nubian Christian period (AD 641–1400), when new irrigation technology and cultural factors favoured settlement; and the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (2010–1685 BC), when the cataract became Egypt’s southern border with the state of Kush (Kerma). Since 2012, the Uronarti Regional Archaeological Project (URAP) has been excavating the Middle Kingdom fortress of Uronarti, just south of the Second Cataract (Knoblauch et al. 2013; Bestock 2017). The fortress is one of five built by Senwosret III to consolidate economic and military control of the new border zone (Knoblauch 2019) between Egypt and Nubia. -
2013: Cincinnati, Ohio
The 64th Annual Meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt April 19-21, 2013 Hilton Netherland Plaza Cincinnati, OH Abstract Booklet layout and design by Kathleen Scott Printed in San Antonio on March 15, 2013 All inquiries to: ARCE US Office 8700 Crownhill Blvd., Suite 507 San Antonio, TX 78209 Telephone: 210 821 7000; Fax: 210 821 7007 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.arce.org ARCE Cairo Office 2 Midan Simon Bolivar Garden City, Cairo, Egypt Telephone: 20 2 2794 8239; Fax: 20 2 2795 3052 E-mail: [email protected] Photo Credits Front cover: Cleaned wall reliefs at Deir el Shelwit. Photo Abdallah Sabry. Photo opposite: Relief detail Deir el Shelwit. Photo Kathleen Scott. Photo spread pages 8-9: Conservators working inside Deir el Shelwit October 2012. Photo Kathleen Scott. Abstracts title page: Concrete block wall with graffiti outside ARCE offices February 2013. Photo Kathleen Scott. Some of the images used in this year’s Annual Meeting Program Booklet are taken from ARCE conservation projects in Egypt which are funded by grants from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). MEET, MINGLE, AND NETWORK Rue Reolon, 12:30pm - 1:30pm Exploding Bunnies and Other Tales of Caution (a forum of experts) ARCE Chapter Council 2013 Fundraiser You have heard the scientific lectures; the reports of long, hard, and sometimes even dull archaeological work that produces the findings that all Egyptophiles crave. But there is more! Now enjoy stories of the bizarre, unexpected, and obscure, presented by our panel of experts. Saturday, April 20, 2013 12:15 - 1:00 pm Pavilion Ballroom, 4th Floor Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel $15 per Person ARCHAEOLOGIA BOOKS & PRINTS With selections from the libraries of Raymond Faulkner, Harry Smith & E. -
The Lower Nubian Egyptian Fortresses in the Middle Kingdom: a Strategic Point of View
Athens Journal of History - Volume 5, Issue 1 – Pages 31-52 The Lower Nubian Egyptian Fortresses in the Middle Kingdom: A Strategic Point of View By Eduardo Ferreira The Ancient Egypt was a highly militarized society that operated within various theaters of war. From the Middle Kingdom period to the following times, warfare was always present in the foreign and internal policy of the pharaohs and their officers. One of these was to build a network of defensive structures along the river Nile, in the regions of the Second Cataract and in Batn el-Hagar, in Lower Nubia. The forts were relevant in both the defense and offensive affairs of the Egyptian army. Built in Lower Nubia by the pharaohs of the XII dynasty of the Middle Kingdom, these fortresses providing support to the armies that usually came from the North in campaign and allowed the ancient Egyptians to control the frontier with Kush. In fact, one of the most important features of these fortresses was the possibility to control specific territorial points of larger region which, due to it’s characteristics, was difficult to contain. Although they were built in a period of about thirty-two years, these strongholds throughout the reign of Senuseret I until the rulership of Senuseret III, they demonstrate a considerable diversification in terms of size, defenses, functions, and the context operated. They were the main reason why Egypt could maintain a territory so vast as the Lower Nubia. In fact, this circumstance is verified in the Second Intermediate Period when all the forts were occupied by Kerma, a chiefdom that araised in Upper Nubia during the end of the Middle Kingdom, especially after c. -
Diplomová Práce
Univerzita Karlova Filozofická fakulta Český egyptologický ústav Diplomová práce PhDr. Bc. Jan Rovenský, Ph.D. The Land to its Limits: Borders and Border Stelae in Ancient Egypt Praha 2021 Vedoucí práce: doc. PhDr. Jana Mynářová, Ph.D. 1 Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Jana Mynářová for her stalwart support (not only) during the writing of this thesis. Many thanks are due to the other members of the Czech Institute of Egyptology for their help and guidance. This thesis would never have seen the light of day without the support of my family – from those who have departed, as well as those who have arrived. Thank you for your everlasting patience. 2 Prohlášení: Prohlašuji, že jsem diplomovou práci vypracoval samostatně, že jsem řádně citoval všechny použité prameny a literaturu a že práce nebyla využita v rámci jiného vysokoškolského studia či k získání jiného nebo stejného titulu. V Praze 9. dubna 2021 Jan Rovenský 3 Klíčová slova: hraniční stéla; hranice; Senusret III; Thutmose I; Thutmose III; Núbie Keywords: border stela; boundary; frontier; Senusret III, Thutmose I; Thutmose III; Nubia 4 Abstrakt Diplomová práce zkoumá tzv. hraniční stély a věnuje se i konceptu hranic ve starověkém Egyptě. Na základě historické, archeologické a epigrafické analýzy daných artefaktů dochází k závěru, že by se v egyptologii měla přestat používat kategorie „hraniční stéla“, jelikož existuje jen jediný monument, který lze označit jako hraniční stélu, jmenovitě stélu z 8. roku vlády Senusreta III. objevené v pevnosti v Semně. Abstract This M.A. thesis examines so-called border stelae in ancient Egypt, as well as the concept of the border.