Master’s Degree programme in Ancient Civilisations: Literature, History and Archaeology “Second Cycle (D.M. 270/2004)” Final Thesis The Meroitic palace B1500 at Napata – Jebel Barkal An architectural perspective Supervisor Ch. Prof. Emanuele M. Ciampini Assistant supervisors Ch. Dr. Marc Maillot Ch. Prof. Luigi Sperti Graduand Silvia Callegher Matriculation Number 832836 Academic Year 2016/2017 Index Index ............................................................................................................................................ 1 General introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 1. Historical introduction ........................................................................................................... 6 2. Other palatial structures at Jebel Barkal ........................................................................... 16 2.1 B1200 ............................................................................................................................... 16 2.2 B100 ................................................................................................................................. 20 2.3 B1700 .............................................................................................................................. 24 2.4 B2400 ............................................................................................................................... 24 2.5 B3200 ............................................................................................................................... 28 3. The entrances of palace B1500 ............................................................................................ 31 3.1 Northern access ................................................................................................................ 31 3.2 Western access ................................................................................................................. 32 3.3 Eastern access ................................................................................................................... 33 3.4 Southern access ................................................................................................................ 33 4. The foundation platform...................................................................................................... 37 4.1 The foundation platform of B1500 ................................................................................... 38 4.1.1 The exterior wall decoration ..................................................................................... 38 4.1.2 The masonry ............................................................................................................. 40 4.1.3 The plan .................................................................................................................... 41 4.2 Examples of cellular construction in Egypt ...................................................................... 45 4.2.1 Structures related to sacred areas ............................................................................... 45 4.2.1.a Shena wab(w) .................................................................................................... 46 4.2.1.b Tanis ................................................................................................................. 48 4.2.1.c Saqqara ............................................................................................................. 48 4.2.1.d Medamud .......................................................................................................... 49 4.2.1.e El-Kab .............................................................................................................. 49 4.2.2 Citadels and fortifications.......................................................................................... 50 4.2.2.a Defenna ............................................................................................................. 50 4.2.2.b Naukratis ........................................................................................................... 51 4.2.2.c Tell el-Balamun ................................................................................................ 52 4.2.2.d Tell Qedwa ....................................................................................................... 53 4.2.3 Domestic structures ................................................................................................... 55 4.2.3.a Mendes .............................................................................................................. 55 4.2.3.b Tell el-Fara’in (Buto)......................................................................................... 55 4.2.4 Royal palaces ............................................................................................................ 56 4.2.4.a Deir el-Ballas ..................................................................................................... 56 1 4.2.4.b Memphis ............................................................................................................ 58 4.2.4.c Tell el-Daba (Avaris) ........................................................................................ 60 4.3 Examples of cellular construction in Meroitic structures .................................................. 63 4.3.1 Wad Ben Naga palace ............................................................................................... 63 4.3.2 Muweis palace ........................................................................................................... 65 4.3.3 Meroe palaces M294-295 .......................................................................................... 68 4.3.4 Meroe palace M750 ................................................................................................... 69 4.4 Casemates and platforms: some considerations ................................................................ 70 5. The peristyle: a paradigm of syncretism ............................................................................ 74 5.1 Peristyle court in B1500 ................................................................................................... 74 5.1.1 Ground-floor colonnade ............................................................................................ 74 5.1.2 First-floor colonnade ................................................................................................. 75 5.2 Peristyle courts in Hellenistic palaces............................................................................... 78 5.2.1 Ptolemaic Kingdom ................................................................................................... 79 5.2.1.a Araq el-Emir ...................................................................................................... 79 5.2.1.b Ptolemais ........................................................................................................... 81 5.2.2 The Seleucid Kingdom .............................................................................................. 84 5.2.2.a Dura Europos ..................................................................................................... 84 5.2.3 Macedonia ................................................................................................................. 86 5.2.3.a Vergina .............................................................................................................. 86 5.2.3.b Pella ................................................................................................................... 87 5.2.4 Pergamon .................................................................................................................. 89 5.2.5 The models ................................................................................................................ 90 5.3 Hellenistic influences in Meroitic and Egyptian architecture ........................................... 92 6. The Meroitic synthesis: creating a new model .................................................................. 95 List of abbreviatons................................................................................................................ 100 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 102 Tables ...................................................................................................................................... 112 Images ..................................................................................................................................... 117 2 General introduction The following dissertation intends to delve into the architectural description of the major features characterizing the Meroitic palace B1500 at Napata (modern town of Karima, North Sudan), located at the foot of the Jebel Barkal, the “Sacred Mountain”. One of the most interesting aspects concerning this building is certainly the absorbability of Hellenistic influences reflected in its architecture and decoration, which show a strong capability of developing new formal elaborations. In order to accomplish this purpose, it was necessary to proceed to a preliminary collection of the available data which, to this date, has yet to be gathered in a single publication. Starting from that, the description of the palace