PAM II, Reports 1989-1990 (Warsaw 1991)
CONTENTS
HATSHEPSUT'S TEMPLE AT DEIR EL-BAHARI. EGYPTOLOGICAL
DOCUMENTATION 1989-1990
Janusz Karkowski
……………………………………………………
7
TEMPLE OF TUTHMOSIS III, DEIR EL-BAHARI. REPORT ON THE 1990 SEASON
Jadwiga Lipińska
……………………………………………………
12
CONSERVATION WORK ON KOM EL-DIKKA IN ALEXANDRIA IN THE 1989 SEASON
Wojciech Kołątaj
……………………………………………………
15
EXCAVATIONS IN ALEXANDRIA IN 1989-90
Grzegorz Majcherek
……………………………………………………
19
POLISH-EGYPTIAN EXCAVATIONS AT TELL ATRIB IN 1990
Karol Myśliwiec
……………………………………………………
25
MARINA 1990
Wiktor A. Daszewski
……………………………………………………
31
THE ACTIVITIES OF THE POLISH-EGYPTIAN PRESERVATION MISSION AT
MARINA EL-ALAMEIN IN 1988
Włodzimierz Bentkowski ……………………………………………………
38
POLISH-EGYPTIAN RESTORATION MISSION AT MARINA EL-ALAMEIN IN 1990
Jarosław Dobrowolski
……………………………………………………
44
DEIR EL-NAQLUN 1990
Włodzimierz Godlewski ……………………………………………………
48
DEIR EL-NAQLUN 1990: THE GREEK PAPYRI
Tomasz Derda
……………………………………………………
54
ARABIC PAPYRI AND INSCRIPTIONS FROM NAQLUN, HERMITAGE NO. 89
0laf E. Kaper
……………………………………………………
57
DAKHLEH OASIS PROJECT: RESEARCH ON THE PETROGLYPHS, 1990
Lech Krzyżaniak
……………………………………………………
60
OLD DONGOLA 1989-1990
Stefan Jakobielski
……………………………………………………
65
THE OLD DONGOLA FORTIFICATIONS
Włodzimierz Godlewski ……………………………………………………
74
NEA PAPHOS 1990 REPORT
Wiktor A. Daszewski
…………………………………………………....
78
……………………………………………………
85
……………………………………………………
91
THE THIRD SEASON OF EXCAVATIONS IN NORTHEAST SYRIA, 1990
Piotr Bieliński
……………………………………………………
94
NEMRIK 9
Stefan Karol Kozłowski ……………………………………………………
102
LA REPRISE DES FOUILLES À M'LEFAAT (SAISON 1989/1990)
Stefan Karol Kozłowski, Kazimierz Kuźma et Karol Szymczak ……………
112
THE FIRST SEASON OF EXCAVATIONS IN HATRA, IRAQ
Michał Gawlikowski
……………………………………………………
119
PALMYRA
Michał Gawlikowski
THE ARAB CASTLE IN PALMYRA
Janusz Byliński
HATSHEPSUT'S TEMPLE AT DEIR EL-BAHARI
EGYPTOLOGICAL DOCUMENTATION 1989-1990
Janusz Karkowski
An Egyptological mission of the PCMA worked for a brief period in
April of 1989.1 The main objective of this season was to trace the scenes
of the Opet Feast from the southern end of the east wall of the Upper
Court, as well as details of the upper, unpreserved scenes on fragments
in the temple stores.
In addition, the mission documented some of the unpublished
figural graffiti of Greco-Roman times preserved on the walls and
columns of the Ptolemaic portico and verified copies of the texts
of the birth scenes in the northern middle portico and the texts in
the royal complex to the south of the upper court.
During the second season,2 conducted in 1990, studies in the
temple stores were continued in order to provide new material for
further restoration in this temple and for final publication. A separate study concerned Greek inscriptions left by pilgrims who visited the important sanctuary of Amenhotep, son of Hapu and Imhotep, which functioned in the temple ruins for over 500 years.
The mission used transparent plastic film for tracings. The drawings were then re-traced and photographically reduced to produce
1
2
The mission comprised Miss Hanna Koczowska, artist; Dr. Janusz Karkowski,
egyptologist, Director of the Mission; Miss Małgorzata Koperwas, archaeologist; Dr. Maciej Witkowski, egyptologist and Mr. Nur Abd el-Gaffar Muhammad, who acted as the inspector of the EAO.
During this season, which lasted from 21 January to 3 April 1990, the mission
comprised: Dr. Janusz Karkowski, egyptologist, Director of the mission; Mr.
Mirosław Barwik, egyptologist; Dr. Nathalie Beaux, egyptologist; Mrs. Dorota
Bielińska, archaeologist-documentalist; Miss Joanna Kusek, artist; Mr. Adam
Łajtar, Greek epigraphist and Mr. Stefan Sadowski, photographer. The EAO
delegated two inspectors : Messrs Reda Ali Suleiman and Nur el-Gafar.
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plates for the planned publication. Altogether over 120 full scale
copies, averaging 1.10 x 1.50 m in size, were made.
In choosing the scenes to be recorded the mission applied the
following criteria:
1. Completing the documentation of temple elements which were
recently restored. This included the walls of the upper portico,
eastern, southern and northern walls of the upper court and the
northern wall of the same court. Here, it may be signaled that
some additional fragments were identified in the temple stores
as coming from the southern wall of the upper court. They belong to the western jamb of the entrance to the room with the
window. The tracing of all the decoration on these walls was
completed.
Fig. 1. New blocks from the walls of the solar chapel.
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2. Recording the decoration of the parts of the temple which are
closest to the rocks towering above the temple or which are
excavated in the rock. Thus, the mission recorded the innermost part of Amun's sanctuary (chapel of Amun's cult statue
and the southern chapel of the Ennead), as well as the solar
complex. Tracing of the decoration in these rooms was completed.
In the solar complex, a number of stored fragments could be
ascribed to the western, unpreserved wall of the solar chapel
(Fig. 1).
In addition, the recording of the wall with niches in the upper
court was started. All the scenes above the smaller niches were traced as well as the largest, unpublished scene to the south of the sanctuary entrance. During studies in the temple stores eight additional
fragments were identified; they belong to the wall with niches and
their exact location has been established (Fig. 2).
Fig 2. New fragments from the wall with niches.
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Fig. 3. Two new fragments from the east wall of the niche of seven
cows in the royal complex.
Yet another task of the mission was the study of a group of
texts and representations in the royal complex to the south of the
upper court. This season the three versions of Chapter 148 of the
Book of Dead were fully recorded together with loose fragments
from the temple stores (Fig. 3). They were placed in Hatshepsut's
hall of offerings on both sides of the false door, by the entrance to
Tuthmosis I's offering hall and in the niche in the eastern wall of
the vestibule of Hatshepsut's chapel.
A preliminary study of the loose fragments of the unpublished
Ritual of Hours from the ceiling of Hatshepsut's offering hall was
done as well. All the texts were copied. Many fragments were assembled to form larger blocks. During the season it was possible to
ascribe about 30% of the preserved blocks to the hymns of the
particular hours of day and night. Already it is obvious that in the
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future not only the theoretical restoration of the oldest preserved
copy of this important text will be possible, but also the practical
reconstruction of the hall's roof.
The last study completed during the season concerned Greek
graffiti left on the temple walls by pilgrims in Greco-Roman times.
These graffiti had been published by A. Bataille in 1952, but the
present work proved that he omitted a number of important texts.
Altogether Bataille's catalogue could be supplemented with 125 new
texts. In addition, numerous corrections could be introduced to
his readings of the texts. Among the unpublished texts the most
interesting is the Hymn to Amenhotep son of Hapu, on the southern
wall of the Ptolemaic Portico. Another unpublished text from one
of the niches of the upper court dates from the time of Diocletian
and shows that the cult of Amenhotep son of Hapu and Imhotep
did not disappear in the 2nd century AD as Bataille believed, but
survived until the end of the 3rd century.
In some cases Greek inscriptions on loose fragments enable
them to be placed in the walls. This primarily concerns fragments
of the Ptolemaic Portico where, thanks to graffiti, five large fragments could be added to the cornice and column capitals.
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TEMPLE OF TUTHMOSIS III – DEIR EL-BAHARI
REPORT ON THE 1990 SEASON
Jadwiga Lipińska
According to the programme, work concentrated on studying the
broken temple elements stored, since the excavations, in a shed near the
temple of Hatshepsut. Since 1978 a special team has been sent there
regularly to deal with the finds from the ruined temple.1
The main task of this season was to complete the already assembled scenes and to find proof for linking the representations
provisionally attributed together. A special study was undertaken
on fragments of decorated doorways in order to determine their
exact dimensions. This was especially important in cases when
there were no traces left in the ruined building to allow a reconstruction of the plan.
Comparatively few new assembled scenes were registered, as
most of the newly identified parts of the decoration and inscriptions were joined to already registered scenes. In rough estimation,
about 80% of the fragmentary material stored at Deir el-Bahari is
now joined into 501 numbered scenes. 62% of these are now firmly
attributed to particular walls of the temple, in many case allowing
for the complete reconstruction of the iconography of the temple
halls and rooms.
In the Hypostyle Hall the wall decoration is ascertained for the
western, northern and part of the eastern walls; only a few scenes
1
During the 1990 season the mission was headed by Assist. Prof. Jadwiga Lipińska and consisted of: Miss Janina Wiercińska, Mrs. Monika Dolińska and Miss
Joanna Aksamit, archaeologists, Miss Kamila Baturo, archaeologist and documentalist,
and Mr. Stefan Sadowski, photographer. The EA0 assigned two Inspectors: Mr. Reda
All Sultan and Mr. Nur Abd el-Gafer, who greatly facilitated the work and were of
considerable assistance to the Mission. Deep gratitude should also be expressed to
Dr. Muhammad Saghir, Director of the EAO in Luxor and Dr. Muhammad Nasser,
Director of the Gurna Inspectorate.
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Fig. 1. Plan of the temple.
have been attributed to the southern one, probably destroyed earlier, and there is little hope to complete its theoretical reconstruction. The documentation of the reconstructed walls of this hall is
now finished, and a set of original drawings, made to 1:4 scale, is
now reduced to 1:12 for the purposes of publication.
The decoration of the Bark Hall, consisting of two registers on
each wall, is almost fully ascertained, with the exception of its
southwestern corner. The studies resulted in establishing the fact
that except for two normal doorways: one leading into the room
from the Hypostyle Hall and one leading to the vestibule of the
sanctuary, there were two other entrances, one in each of the side
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walls. This feature is unusual and there is no parallel arrangement
known. This Hall has other unusual features, but their interpretation will be possible only after the drawings are completed and
verified during the next season.
The work on the decoration of the main sanctuary is not finished yet, but the drawings of the eastern wall and separate scenes
from other walls will be completed shortly. The work on the reconstruction of wall decoration in a series of long, narrow shrines in
the western part of the temple is under progress. Three of them
(marked D, H, I) have almost been finished, with iconographic
schemes established for all of their walls. For Room G one wall
is still missing, and for rooms E, K and L only single representations
have been attributed. With about 38% of the assembled scenes
still awaiting attribution, there is hope to fill the gaps, and the
work should be much speedier now, as a result of a process of
elimination.
It is planned to complete the first volume of the publication of
the temple decoration soon, and it will contain the reconstruction
and studies on the Hypostyle Hall.
Another field of activity during the 1990 season consisted of
extensive studies on the hieratic graffiti found on fragmentary
columns and walls of the temple. In 1974 Dr. M. Marciniak published
a volume on them, but left for publication countless smaller parts
of the texts. With progress on the piecing together of the wall decoration, it was possible to join many hitherto scattered fragmentary
texts and prepare another volume. Also, a number of the hieratic
texts on broken columns were successfully connected; Mr. M. Barwik, who undertook this task, prepared a complete documentation
of the subject.
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CONSERVATION WORK ON KOM EL-DIKKA
IN ALEXANDRIA IN THE 1989 SEASON
Wojciech Kołątaj
Work conducted in the 1989 season is part of a broader conservation
program undertaken by the PCMA with the Egyptian Antiquities Organization and aimed at preserving and exhibiting a large section of the
ancient city centre of Alexandria, presently located in the centre of the
modern town. The program covers several structures of both private
and public nature, which preserve the urban layout of the 4th-7th centuries AD. However, in cases where archaeological studies have uncovered valuable relics from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD; it is
planned to exhibit these as well, without disturbing in any significant
way the Late Roman and Byzantine systems.
Conservation work is conducted on many sites, in conjunction
with archaeological research as a rule, in order to preserve the uncovered relics of architecture left in situ. The specificity of Alexandria and the scope of our conservation program there1 draws from
two elements. First and foremost, there is the nature of the damages
resulting from extensive salination and humidity of the environment, seismic activity which has frequently destroyed the city in
the past and, finally, many centuries of ransacking in search of building material. Secondly, keeping in mind that in the future the site
will be made accessible to the public, it is necessary to ensure the
safety of visitors.
Basing their judgment on the principles contained in the Venice Charter and taking into account new trends in conservation
reflecting the use of new substances and technologies presented in
1
The conservation mission included: Dr. Wojciech Kołątaj (director), Dr. Jan
Borkowski; architect Mr. Mariusz Karst, Mr. Kazimierz Błaszczyk and archaeologist
Mr. Grzegorz Majcherek.
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publications and at congresses, the competent Egyptian authorities
have accepted and adopted the proposed general premises, of the
program.
In 1989 work concentrated in three areas.
In the Theatre the re-erection of the southern wall of the complex was completed. The wall had fallen during an earthquake in
the 8th century AD and was found lying in undisturbed order. Preserving the original courses of stones and at times lifting whole
sections together with the plaster preserved on its face,2 it was possible to reconstruct this wall and protect it from humidity by introducing insulation layers and properly forming its top to ensure
quick evaporation of rainwater. Missing blocks were replaced by
new ones made to specification from the same kind of stone as the
ancient ones. The place of destroyed bricks, impossible to retrieve
from the debris, was filled with new ones, carefully chosen to fit
into the whole as far as dimensions are concerned. No substances
of any kind, either silicon– or resin-based, were used to reinforce
the surface. To date, experiments with Ahydrosil Z as well as Silak
and the Vacker preparation have shown that instead of attempting
to protect wall surfaces endangered by salt efflorescence, it is necessary to build complete systems for protecting structures from
seasonal dampness.
It was also undertaken to clear, investigate and preserve the last
three sections of the theatre corridor (ambulacrum), left unexplored when the theatre was excavated. Upon clearing two of the sections, measures were taken to protect their arcades and vaulting.
The fissured structure was protected by injections under gravitational pressure of a mixture of hydrated lime, fine-grained sand and
white Portland cement, taken in proportions 10:20:5. Destroyed
bricks were replaced with ancient bricks retrieved from debris during excavations. In places where structural needs required the an2
The plaster was reinforced with a water solution of casein and polyvinyl acetate.
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cient substance to be rebuilt, new ceramic material was used, in size
and resistance properties approaching ancient bricks. Effort was
made to preserve even the tiniest fragments of ancient substance
in situ.
Work in the cisterns proceeded simultaneously. The building
poses a serious safety problem. Having suffered from earthquakes
and stone-robbing in medieval times – some 70% of the eastern
facade and the four buttresses supporting it are gone – the structure
is almost totally disintegrated. Work proceeded section by section,
in trenches up to 7 m deep, with all possible precautions being
taken.
The first task was to ensure the stability of the most endangered northeastern corner of the structure. Stainless steel braces (diam.
20 mm), compressed as required by exerted forces, were used and
appropriate anchors made.3 Only then was it possible to start work
on the three buttresses. The buttresses were rebuilt on original
foundations of the same kind of stone as the ancient substance. The
still existing upper parts of the buttresses, which were deformed
and hanging in the air, were recorded and dismantled. Restoration
was subsequently completed using mortar which both in composition (lime, sand, brick aggregate) and material corresponds to ancient mortar. Parallel to this work we proceeded with the reinforcement of the structure of the inner wall which, unlike the facade, was
bonded in an ash mortar. Also the reconstructed outer face is being
anchored to the mostly original inner face of the wall.
At present the wall is sufficiently protected not to disintegrate
any further. However, more work in this area is planned, including
a reconstruction of the fourth and last buttress.
In the Baths the reconstruction of the foundations of the
southern portico continued. In the future this will enable us to
3
The compression of the monument was done by Dr. Jan Borkowski according
to a method and design of his own invention.
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conduct an anastylosis of the columns of this portico and to protect the extant vaults of the underground service area. As in the
cisterns, work here is conducted in trenches up to 8 m deep under
extremely dangerous conditions. The foundation has been investigated and preserved all along its length, that is, 26 m. The intercolumnia were determined, as well as the position and level of
column bases. About 80 cubic meters of foundation wall was
completed; only a small section will be visible in the underground
service area, but the work was necessitated by the need to prepare
a foundation for the planned anastylosis of columns.
Two column shafts were prepared. One with a section angled
60° to the base requires three pins of stainless steel (diam. 30 mm)
0.40 m long to connect it directly to the bottom part with an accuracy of l-2 mm. The application of epoxy resins does not guarantee
safety in view of the ageing process they undergo. Another three
column shafts were prepared for anastylosis in the northern portico of the baths. One of these received an artificial stone addition to
one-third of its height.
A 9 m high tripod was constructed of 8" steel pipes. In the future
it will serve in the anastylosis of columns in both porticoes
of the baths and in the theatre street portico.
Landscaping the slope surrounding the exposition continued
throughout the season even though the removal of earth by mechanical means in the western part of the kom was stopped. Hopefully,
this work shall start again in the coming season.
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EXCAVATIONS IN ALEXANDRIA IN 1989-90
Grzegorz Majcherek
The Polish-Egyptian Conservation and Archaeological Mission at Kom
el-Dikka, sponsored jointly by the EAO and the PCMA, and directed
by Dr. Wojciech Kołątaj, worked from October 1989 till the end of July
1990. l The multiple tasks of this campaign could not have been
accomplished without the indispensable assistance of the authorities
of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization to whom we wish to express
our thanks. Particular gratitude is due Mrs. Doreya Said, the Director
of the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria, for her constant help
and support.
Beside ongoing archaeological research integrated with the mission's restoration program, excavations were concentrated in the habitation quarter adjoining street R4 on the east (Sector W1N). The objectives of this campaign, which was a continuation of previous seasons,
were twofold: to continue the investigation of Houses G and H, and
to study and verify the stratigraphy and chronology of the area as
worked out on the basis of excavations conducted so far.
The continued occupation of the quarter from the Late Ptolemaic
(c. 2nd-1st centuries BC) to the end of the Byzantine period (end of
the 7th century AD) was fully confirmed. As a result of the present
excavations, substantial remains of Late Roman building G were
cleared and its plan and functions thoroughly studied. Several subsequent chronological phases covering the period from the 4th to 7th century
AD were distinguished; their detailed description will be published
in the final report. Fragments of the Early Roman structure fragmentarily
l
The archaeological research was headed by Grzegorz Majcherek who worked
with a team including: Assist. Prof. Przemysław Gartkiewicz (architect), Assist.
Prof. Barbara Lichocka, Dr. Barbara Tkaczow, Miss Jolanta Jabłonowska, Miss
Iwona Zych (archaeologists) and Mr. Stefan Sadowski (photographer). The
Egyptian Antiquities Organization was represented by Messrs Ala'a ad-Din
Mahrous and Ahmad Mousa.
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preserved underneath were also unearthed. Further research here
is planned for the coming season.
Building G bears a general resemblance to the previously excavated
House H, its plan however appears to be less regular. It was found that
the walls of the building had been largely dismantled in the 8th-10th
centuries AD, when they served as a ready source of material for
the medieval structures built on a higher level. Owing to this, most of
the plan could be traced only approximately in ghost walls. The walls
that have survived are in their majority founded upon entirely new
Fig. 1. Plan of the Late Roman houses G and H in sector W1 N
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foundations, which often have nothing to do with the earlier structures.
The reason for the alteration of the old building plan, dated by coins and
pottery to the turn of the 3rd and 4th century AD, must lie in the degree
of destruction sustained by the Early Roman structures.2 The Late
Roman occupation layer is separated from the earlier layers by a thick
stratum containing ashes, fragments of polychrome plastering and
architectural elements. Reused fragments of architectural decoration
were also found in the foundations (rooms nos 2, 3, 10) and include such
items as drums of engaged Doric columns covered with stucco.3 At the
close of our work, the entire street facade of House G had been cleared,
but its extent into the insula remained undetermined. On the remaining
sides, both on the north and south, the building was separated from
neighboring edifices by narrow alleys (some 1.50-1.70 m wide)
perpendicular to street R4.
The main walls of the house were built in a technique typical of
the period and apparently derived from opus africanum; pillars constructed of large blocks, with spaces in between filled with small irregular stones in an ashy mortar. The western part of House G comprised
four rooms, each provided with a separate entrance, the northernmost
of which (G-8) had been explored already in 1989. The adjacent room
(G-10) is the largest so far uncovered. Only the front wall with its thick
lime plaster coating has been preserved. The debris overlying the latest
clay floor contained numerous colored marble pieces of opus sectile
pavement, which doubtless must have come from the destroyed upper
storey. The finds from the occupation level: sherds of Egyptian Red Slip
ware (A and B), Cypriot Red Slip and amphorae of Egyptian origin as
well as several coins dated to the reign of Heraclius indicate that
2
The destruction of the eastern quarters of Alexandria is usually connected
with the ransacking of the city by the Palmyrenians. Cf. A. Adriani, Repertorio
d'Arte dell'Egitto Greco-Romano, Serie C, I-III, Palermo 1963-66, pp. 209, 211.
3
In general appearance these elements resemble the relics of a Doric style structure
discovered beneath the nearby building of the National Insurance Company,
cf. H. Riad, Vestiges d'un edifice ptolemaique, BSAA 1, 42 (1967).
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the building was destroyed probably around the middle of the 7th
century AD.4 The two rooms located further to the south (G-2 and G-3)
were also substantially damaged. The front wall was dismantled to the
foundations, while the eastern walls have all but completely disappeared. Exploration in room G-13, which is side by side directly with
G-8, uncovered a deep rectangular well. The shaft was cleared down to
a depth of about 6 m, not reaching the bottom, and was found to have
walls constructed of well-fitted dressed stone. Pairs of large blocks protruded from the middle of opposing walls at a point just below the
preserved top and about 2 m down, directly below the first. These blocks
may have served to mount some kind of water-wheel, equipped with
ceramic pots (qawadis) attached with ropes. The proximity of this wall
and a pair of pools discovered in room G-8 obviously indicates a relation between the two water facilities. The finds on the paved floor preserved around the well include coins of Tiberius II and Phocas and
point to the turn of the 6th and 7th century AD as the period of use.
A similar but fragmentarily preserved pavement was cleared in room
G-11. The dating material from the fill contained two well preserved
St Menas ampullae. The remains of a large lavatory were discovered in
the spacious room G-12. An angled section of a conduit ran through
the room and served presumably as a sewage tank, since no outlets
were found. In the southern part of the room the conduit increased
slightly in width and was covered with some large slabs. Two large
blocks pierced with a rounded aperture c. 0.30 m in diameter were
found sub situ. Several coins and a considerable amount of pottery
sherds from the fill point to a surprisingly long period of use, from the
4th to 6th century AD. A small room located in the southeastern corner
of the excavated area initially opened out onto the alley between
houses G and C. In the 5th century some of the walls were replaced and
the room enlarged.
In summary, it appears that in the Late Roman period House G
served needs as complex as the previously investigated House H. The
4
See the review of ceramic material in: G. Majcherek, Polish excavations at Kom
el-Dikka, 1989-1990, Bulletin de Liaison du GIECE, 1991, in press.
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large rooms opening onto the street may have been used as shops, while
the rooms in the back served both as workshops and domestic areas.
Both houses were continuously occupied at least till the middle of the
7th century AD.
In the southern wing of House H some remaining layers of Late
Roman date were also explored. Room H-8b turned out to contain
some well-preserved domestic facilities consisting of four containers
set into the floor. Two of these were reused Baetican amphorae, while
the others were bodies of Palestinian amphorae, which were an early
4th century AD version of the widely traded Gaza-type vessels. Some
of the containers had their covers still in situ – limestone slabs with
a funnel hole in the centre closed with stone stoppers. The fill in which
the amphorae were embedded contained a great deal of pottery typical
of the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, including two lamps: one with a relief representation of a sandaled foot, the other with an erotic scene on the discus.
In compliance with the study program concerning Early Roman
structures in the quarter, it was decided to explore the lower layers in
room H-2. A small basin was discovered there, alongside the western
wall. The rest of the room was taken up by a small staircase descending
below the level of the basin and a small-sized well. It would appear that
these facilities belonged to a private bath of the Early Roman villa.
Another deep sounding was dug in the partly explored room H-8a.
About 1.50 m below the 6th century street level, the remains of
a clay floor covering the entire room space was noted. Close to the
blocked entrance a small storage bin constructed of stone was discovered. Further exploration beneath it revealed the presence of a rectangular shaft 6 m deep. Although it was originally built as a well, the
composition of the fill proved that in this period it must have served
as a sewage tank. The clay flooring was laid upon an even layer of burning and ashes. It probably coincided with the destruction and final
abandonment of the Early Roman house, tentatively dated to the late
3rd century AD. Apparently the structure was once more inhabited while
still in ruins, with the aforementioned facilities being the first signs of
renewed occupation. The Early Roman occupation level, comprising
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several lime floors was reached immediately below. The archaeological
context of these layers included a considerable amount of ceramic
material, bearing evidence to a long-lasting habitation in the period
from the 1st to the 3rd century AD. Further exploration revealed a clear
architectural sequence, visible in the walls of the house. Roman structures were built directly on top of the remains of Ptolemaic ones. The
foundations of the Ptolemaic building were reached at a depth of 4.50 m
below the street level, on top of a clay layer some 0.70 m thick. Much
to our surprise the remains of yet another structure came to light under
the deposit of clay. Although it is tempting to see it as the remainder of
the first structure built in the area, its nature as well as precise dating
is yet to be determined.
Particularly important discoveries were made while studying the
urbanistic development of the quarter. The sewage system uncovered
in the alley separating houses H and G, proved the existence of the side
street as early as the Early Roman period. It was presumably much
wider at that time, reaching some 5 m, that is about half the width of
the R4 street.5 Its presence throws new light on the previous findings
and hypotheses concerning additional subdivisions of the great insulae
defined by the basic urban street network.6Another channel was discovered
on street R4 at a depth of 4.80 m. No precise dating material was
available here: however, the level of the channel relative to the uncovered architectural structures indicates that it must have formed part of the
urban sewage system of the Ptolemaic period. Its course along the
facades of the houses presents evidence for the permanence of the
street network of Ptolemaic date, existing in this area in basically
unchanged form till the end of Antiquity.
5
6
An Early Roman street of similar course and dimensions was uncovered
during the 1973 excavations below the Theatre Portico.
M. Rodziewicz, Alexandrie III. Les habitations romaines tardives d'Alexandrie,
Varsovie 1984, pp. 17-33.
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POLISH-EGYPTIAN EXCAVATIONS
AT TELL ATRIB IN 1990
Karol Myśliwiec
The Polish Egyptian archaeological mission sponsored jointly by the
EAO and the PCMA pursued its work on Kom Sidi Youssuf at Tell
Atrib (suburb of Benha) from 1 August until 6 October 1990.1 This
campaign was possible thanks to the efficiency and friendly help of
Dr. Ali El-Khouly (EAO, Cairo) and Mr. Muhammad Abdelhaq (EAO,
Zagazig), to whom we wish to express our deep gratitude.
The program of this campaign comprised:
1) archaeological exploration of the northeastern part of the area,
untouched by excavations so far;
2) reaching the present level of the water table in the parts of the
Ptolemaic town unearthed during previous campaigns (northwest of the excavated area);
3) further exploration of the area's northern zone, where our excavations in the preceding year did not reach deeper than the
upper Byzantine level;
4) survey of deep-lying strata below the present water table level,
using mechanical drilling to probe various parts of the excavated
area.
The northeastern part of the concession, comprising 4 squares
10 x 10 m, was excavated about 1.50 m below the present surface.
1
The mission included the following: Prof. Karol Myśliwiec, Dr. Barbara Ruszczyc, Dr. Aleksandra Krzyżanowska, Miss Anna Południkiewicz, Prof. Waldemar Chmielewski, Mr. Adam Łajtar, Mr. Włodzimierz Bogusz and Miss Iwona
Zych, archaeologists, Mr. Janusz Wałkuski, architect, and Mr. Waldemar Jerke,
photographer. The EAO was represented by two inspectors: Mrs. Somaya
Abu Senna and Mr. Fawzi Abdinaim El-Barbari.
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Beneath a thick layer of black ashes followed by a stratum containing much pottery and brick rubble there were remains of Late
Roman and Byzantine structures. The southern end of the quarter
proved to be a center of lime production. Several large lime kilns were
found on two different levels. Many fragments of painted plaster as
well as fragmentary limestone blocks and terracotta tiles originating from the neighboring baths were found inside the kilns. A thick
layer of lime rubble surrounded the kilns and extended up to the
southern limit of a large mud-brick construction which occupies
the northern end of the quarter. The structure embraces several small
rooms, some of which may have served as storerooms, while others
were probably inhabited. In one of these rooms a pottery deposit
was found together with Late Roman coins and lamps of similar
date. The deposit contained many globular pots and a portable
cooking-stove. A second deposit came to light in another room on
a slightly higher level. This was a set of large Egyptian amphorae
and barrels dating to the Byzantine period.
The extremely rich ceramic material belonging to the archaeological context of this stratum comprises several oil lamps made
of marl clay and decorated on the discus with a stamped pattern of
a frog with spread legs in various stylized versions. The most
sophisticated of these reliefs shows two newborn children attached
to a small circle which most probably should be identified as a picture of the vagina. At the western extremity of the Byzantine quarter there is a deep well built of red bricks. It is incorporated into
a long and wide mud-brick wall constituting the east border of the
Ptolemaic quarter. The well was explored down to a depth of c. 4 m
below its top, water being pumped out while excavations proceeded.
This exploration revealed a long period of use and multiple repairs
made to the well in the Byzantine period.
Owing to the particularly low water table during our excavation season (September-October), we could continue explorations
in the previously unearthed Ptolemaic structures, reaching strata
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corresponding to the second half of the 4th and the beginning of
the 3rd century BC. This early date is confirmed by the pottery and
some small finds, among which two objects, so far unique, deserve
particular attention. These are a terracotta lamp in the form of
a small bowl with a partly contracted rim and an amphora handle
with a round stamp containing just two large Greek letters: ΦΙ
Several pottery wasters found in this stratum prove that the
excavated quarter of Athribis was a center of ceramic production
as early as the end of the Dynastic period and the very beginning of
the Ptolemaic period.
A large deposit of Early Ptolemaic (Ptolemy II and Ptolemy
III) unfired ceramic vessels (Fig. 1) was unearthed below the walls
of room 127, which were dismantled in the course of our work in
order to study the pottery. The discovery of the deposit allowed us
to establish a repertory of ceramic pots which were produced in
the local workshops during the 3rd and in the first half of the 2nd
century BC. Beside the most frequent forms, such as curved rim
Fig. 1. Early Ptolemaic deposit of unfired pottery, found in Room 127.
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bowls and plates with flattened edge, there were also some closed
forms, e.g. painted jugs and globular pots without handles, decorated
with patches suspended from a white band, garlands and geometrical patterns, as well as large-size amphorae.
As far as the identification of local ceramic production is concerned, one of our finds may be considered a genuine sensation,
for it demonstrated that terracotta figurines were fabricated in
these workshops as well. This unique object is a head belonging to
an unfired figurine representing an elderly woman wearing a floral
wreath on her head. Its realistic features and dramatic expression
betray the activity of a local workshop with high artistic aspirations. This head was found beside a fragmentarily preserved kiln in
the Early Ptolemaic stratum.
Another original figurine of slightly later date (possibly late 3rdearly 2nd century BC) came to light in the vicinity of another kiln.
It represented a seated dwarf with an animal tail and a disproportionately large phallus. Two lotus buds decorate his bald head. Several heads belonging to this type have already been found in our
Early Ptolemaic strata but this is the first complete specimen of
what was doubtless a fertility divinity of some kind, perhaps a magical symbol. This terracotta type must also have been produced in
the local workshops at Athribis.
A series of red-brick structures covered with a layer of plain
white or polychrome plaster came to light below the Byzantine strata
in rooms 160-162 (numbers corresponding to the Byzantine level).
The evidence provided by the numismatic material points to the
reign of Ptolemy VI as the date for these constructions. They comprise a long corridor leading to a square basin, which has a wide
inner step and a miniature basin near its northwestern corner. Smaller basins of various shape occur in two groups east of the corridor.
One of these groups is constituted by a pair of oval lavatories, which
recall in shape those found previously a few meters from this place,
close to the northwestern corner of the excavated area. It seems that
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all these structures belonged to a complex of baths built in the mid
2nd century BC. Some erotic figurines and relief fragments were
found inside and beside these structures. Their iconography would
suggest rather a frivolous function for the structure, maybe a "house
of joy". This "recreation center" probably embraced the adjacent
room 159, which was uncovered during previous campaigns and
which is much larger than the workshops found in the southern
part of the Ptolemaic quarter. The walls of this room were decorated with painted plaster. The archaeological context includes ceramic drinking cups with saucers and a few finely painted vessels.
The relatively elevated stratigraphic position of the mid-Ptolemaic structures in this part of the excavated area, as well as the gradual sloping of Ptolemaic and Roman layers eastward and south-
Fig. 2. Terracotta seal with relief decoration. Second half of the
Ptolemaic Period.
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ward imply that at one time there was a natural hill here, occupied
by buildings of a public or official nature. The workshop quarter
was situated further to the south.
Among the important finds of Roman date there is a headless
statue representing a man standing beside a herm, which is crowned with the head of a bearded man wearing a headband. The composition and the modelling of the sculpture betray the rather clumsy hand of a local copyist.
Objects of Ptolemaic and Roman date were found inside some
of the walls, which had to be removed or cleared in order to facilitate further exploration. Among these there is a round terracotta
seal which may be dated to the second half of the Ptolemaic Period
(Fig. 2). Its flat surface bears a sunken relief representing a cupid
riding a dolphin.
The drilling carried out with a hand drill reached a depth of
c 4 m below the lowermost of the excavated strata. An examination
of the core samples demonstrated that this area was in use in the
Late Dynastic Period (probably from the Thirtieth Dynasty on).
There seem to be no artifacts of earlier date in this material. These
early strata contain lots of pottery sherds, and in one of the examined spots there were also fragments of various stone objects (a stonecutting atelier ?).
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MARINA 1990
Wiktor A. Daszewski
The 1990 season of excavations at Marina el-Alamein was carried out
by an archaeological mission sponsored by the PCMA and lasted from
20 February until 22 March.l Work continued in the same area as in
previous seasons, on the site of an ancient settlement where today
a large tourist centre is under construction. Envisioned for a clientele in
the thousands, the modern centre will include, beside a developed living complex consisting of villas, apartment houses and hotels, a yacht
marina located inside the lagoon, the same which in Antiquity must
have served as a harbor for coastal navigation between Alexandria and
Cyrenaica.2
Polish excavations are concentrated on the necropolis in the
southwestern part of the ancient settlement. To the extent allowed
by circumstances the area covered by the ancient city was surveyed
again and the monuments discovered accidentally in the course of construction works in 1986-1987 continued to be recorded.
l
2
Prof. W.A. Daszewski was in charge of the mission, which included Prof. Zofia
Sztetyłło, archaeologist and epigraphist, Dr. Maria Kaczmarek, anthropologist, Mr. Grzegorz Majcherek and Miss Iwona Zych, archaeologists, Mr. Jarosław Dobrowolski, architect and Mr. Stefan Sadowski, photographer. Mr. Kazimierz Błaszczyk participated in the work periodically. Following the excavations Messrs J. Dobrowolski and K. Błaszczyk, working under the terms of an
agreement with the EAO, completed a full anastylosis of one of the tombs
(T 1) and reinforced parts of the others. See J. Dobrowolski, p. 44ff.
The EAO was represented by an inspector, Mr. Ramadan Musa. The mission would like to express its sincere gratitude for help received in the course
of the work to Dr. Ali el-Kholy, Director General of the EAO for the Western
Delta, Mr. Faisal Ashmawy, Director General of the Inspectorate of Marsa
Matruh, and Mr. Ezzat el-Hammahmy, General Inspector of the EAO in
el-Hammam.
For the identification of the ancient centre on the basis of ancient literary
sources, see W.A. Daszewski et alii, MDAIK 46, 1990.
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On the necropolis the mission continued the exploration of
a complex of tombs located closest to the limits of the settlement.
This complex was discovered and partly cleared during the previous seasons. The tombs were constructed on ground level and were
made of dressed limestone blocks. As a rule they took on the form
of large rectangular "boxes", around 2.80 x 2.50 m, equipped with
two, three or four loculi for the dead. Crowning the structures was
a kind of stylobate of two or three steps, constituting a base of sorts
for the architectural monument built on top of the tomb – a massive column in the case of Tomb T 1, a pillar with corner pilasters in
tomb T 1B, and finally a pillar with engaged columns in tomb T 1D.
The capitals which topped the column as well as the pilasters were
of a specific type recalling so-called Nabatean capitals.3
The loculi in the tombs were very much the same in size (about
2 m long, 0.60 m wide and from 0.90 to 1 m high), but they differed
substantially in the number of dead laid to rest in them. This varied
from one to several. During this season three loculi were investigated
thoroughly: the northern loculus of T 1B and the middle and
northern loculi of T 1D. In the loculus of Tomb 1B 13 skeletons
were found. Anthropological examinations identified three males
in the age groups 35-40(1) and 38-47 (2) and two females, 16-18
and 25-55 years old. The remaining skeletons belonged to one newborn and seven children from 18 months to five years of age.
The disposition of human remains in tomb T 1D constitutes
an interesting case. The central loculus, which had been discovered
intact, closed with a slab decorated with a relief representation of
the serpent Agathodaimon (see earlier report), was found to contain
just one skeleton, that of a male 20-30 years old. In contrast, the
adjacent northern loculus (the southern was not investigated this
year) yielded remains of 22 persons including 5 males in the 35-55
age group, 2 females (40-50 years) and 15 children.
3
See W.A. Daszewski, EtTrav 15 (1991).
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Reconstruction work proceeding on Tomb 1 (excavated in the
1987/88 season) uncovered a third loculus beside the two already
known, which had contained 11 and 16 burials respectively. This
new loculus, discovered in the central part of the box-like tomb
structure which served as a proper base for the columnar monument decorating the tomb, was found to contain two skeletons; the
bottom one had been laid in a shallow pit scooped out in bedrock,
while the upper one lay some 0.20 m above the first, on a layer of
sand. It should be assumed that these two burials were the earliest,
the tomb being literally built on top of them.
A similar situation was encountered in tomb T 1B where beside the two side loculi there was a central one, originally just a
trench in bedrock. The box-like structure of the tomb with its
5 m-high monumental pillar was built over this trench burial.
The unidentifiable part of a tomb structure which was discovered
last year joining at an angle the southeastern corner of Tomb 1D,
upon closer investigation turned out to be a part of a different type
of tomb in which the superstructure is connected with an underground burial chamber (Fig. 1). The part discovered at the end
Fig. 1. Tomb T 1GH.
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of the previous season belonged to a monumental entrance which
opened on a vaulted staircase leading to the hypogeum. The gate
which was decorated with dentils and framed with relief pillars, was
constructed of limestone blocks, as were the vault and upper section of the stairs. The lower steps were cut in bedrock. The underground chamber had nine loculi cut in the walls. Eight of the loculi
were intended for burials, while the ninth was a shallow niche for
grave furnishings. At the spot where the staircase opened into the
chamber there was a square ventilation and lighting shaft (1.20 m
to the side) cut from the surface. On ground level, this shaft was
built up with limestone blocks (preserved height 1.20 m) and decorated with pilasters on the inside corners and half-sections of small
Nabatean capitals on the outside. The full length of the tomb from
gateway to the far wall of the chamber is 13 m; the hypogeum measures about 7 x 5.50 m. Particular loculi in the hypogeum contained
from two to six burials. The finest burial was that of a male about
45-55 years of age whose remains had been placed in a rectangular
lead coffin (1.83 m long, 0.34-0.42 m wide, 0.24 m high). Similar
undecorated lead coffins are known from the Hellenistic necropolis of Hadra in Alexandria. The gifts that accompanied the man
buried in the coffin included two terracotta unguentaria and
Fig. 2. Terracotta oil lamp found in Tomb T 1GH.
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a glass bottle of excellent quality set next to the head. The glass receptacle still contained the dried remnants of some substance,
presumably fragrant oils. At head and hip level, large holes had been
ripped out of the coffin cover; apparently the tomb robbers expected to find jewelry on the head or neck and fingers of the buried man.
This violation must have occurred relatively shortly after the
burial itself. Evidence supplied by the finds from particular loculi
– sherds, glass vessels and a terracotta oil lamp (Fig. 2) – indicated
that the tomb was in use from the second half (or end) of the 1st
century BC until the middle of the 1st century AD. After that it was
filled completely with sand and remained untouched till the present day. A definitely more monumental burial structure was discovered in the western part of the necropolis, at some distance from
the settlement. Its aboveground part was excavated in the course of
previous seasons (Fig. 3). Built on a rectangular plan (17.60 x 10.80 m),
the building had an Ionian column portico decorating its northern
seaward facade and a large reception hall in the centre, furnished
with two banquet couches of masonry. The rest of the building
contained storerooms, lodgings and rooms for preparing banquets.
This superstructure was connected integrally with an underground
part. A monumental entrance framed by half columns and
topped with an arch led from the southern end of the banquet hall
to a small vestibule and a monumental staircase 17 m long descending
7 m into the rock. At the end of the steps there was a vertical shaft
(6 x 5.50 m) which functioned as a sort of inner open court. On
the surface the shaft was surrounded by a wall of limestone blocks
which served as protection against sand. A rectangular opening
in the southern side of the shaft led to an underground chamber
measuring 7.25 x 6 m. Inside, the chamber had benches running
along three sides and an altar set in the middle. It would appear
that the chamber was never completed. Only one loculus was found,
cut in the southwestern upper corner of the chamber. Tracing lines
preserved on the ceiling of the chamber indicate where other loculi
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Fig. 3. Funerary monument S 6 in the southwestern part of the necropolis.
were to be cut. Two burials were found in the loculus. Three other
skeletons lay on a heap of debris in the corner of the room and on
the bench nearby.
The eastern part of the shaft has not been explored as yet. One
cannot exclude that another chamber will be found here. The monumental scale of this complex is striking. The fineness of the
superstructure and the dimensions of the underground part contrast
with the unfinished state of the chamber, which was presumably
intended as the main one, lying as it is on the main axis of the tomb.
The total length of this tomb, taking together the superstructure
and the underground part, is 42 m. It is undoubtedly one of the
largest burial complexes of the Early Roman period in Egypt. Presumably, it was constructed in the 1st century AD and existed till
the beginning of the 2nd century AD. At this time, it was apparently
destroyed to some extent, the ruins subsequently serving as a place
for various more or less accidental burials.
Gifts accompanying the burials mentioned in this report were
by custom extremely modest, remaining in contrast with the monumental character of the architectural complexes. Nevertheless, the
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few objects that were recovered are of value for they supply dating
evidence. The box-like tomb structures may be dated on the basis
of some terracotta oil lamps and glass vessels (mainly unguentaria
and balsamaria) to the period from the end of the 1st century BC to
the second half of the 1st century AD. A similar date can be assigned
to hypogeum T 1GH.
The monumental nature of the tombs on the southwestern
necropolis at Marina el-Alamein corresponds to a peak in the development of the ancient town. At present some extensive living complexes are being excavated by the EAO in the area of the settlement.
These are large prosperous houses with inner peristyle courts and
reception halls. The rich architectural decoration of these houses is
executed with great care as are murals, fragments of which have
been preserved in situ.
The first results of anthropological examinations draw an interesting picture of the population of this ancient centre. The sample
collected in the necropolis is constituted by 78 skeletons. The mortality rate of children in the age group of 0-7 years is high (36%),
typical of ancient societies. The mortality rate is almost identical
for men and women in the age groups 20-35 (33%) and over 55
years (2.5% and 1.5%). However, in the age group 35-55 the mortality rate of males was six times that of females. The average age at
death of males was about 40 years, of females around 35. It should
be noted though that the sample is too small to permit any more
general conclusions. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the average number of children borne to the women in this sample was
three to five. Detailed findings concerning the morphological picture as well as pathology will be published separately by Dr. Maria
Kaczmarek.
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THE ACTIVITIES OF THE POLISH-EGYPTIAN
PRESERVATION MISSION
AT MARINA EL-ALAMEIN IN 1988
Włodzimierz Bentkowski
In 1988, under an agreement between the Egyptian Antiquities Organization, the PCMA and the State Ateliers for Conservation of Cultural
Heritage (PKZ), a group of restoration specialists from the Zamość
Division of PKZ, started conservation and restoration work at an ancient site discovered near el-Alamein in northern Egypt.1
Already in the summer and autumn of 1987 most of the discovered monuments were catalogued by a group of conservators from
the PCMA and PKZ, this last group headed by architect G. Zamoyski.
The site is located on the coast about 6 km east of el-Alamein. It
stretches 1200 m east-west along the sea shore and 800 m inward
from the coast. About 30 ancient structures were uncovered on the site.
Preliminary investigations have shown that a settlement had
existed here between the 2nd century BC and the 6th century AD.
Among the structures uncovered so far are residential houses and
public buildings, infrastructure and tombs. The condition of the
ancient substance varies greatly. In most cases it is possible to trace
fragments of walls, floors and fragmentary architectural details. The
state of walls varies depending on the material used (dressed or broken stone, dried brick) and binding agents (limestone and clay mortars).
1
The group included architects Messrs Jan Radzik, Krzysztof Kamiński, constructor Mr. Andrzej Sawecki, conservator Mrs. Urszula Fidecka and the present writer. Working with us were Egyptian archaeologists: Messrs Mohammed Ashmawy, Abdelaziz el-Sayed el-Shennawy and Ezzat el-Hamahmy.
The full report on preservation works in 1988 and the preliminary results
of excavations in 1987-1989 will be published in: Marina el-Alamein, vol. 1,
Archaeological Background and Conservation Problems, Warsaw 1991
(in press).
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In practice, we were limited by our means to a study of just
three of the several discovered structures. We selected the following
monuments: an underground cistern, a residential house and
a monumental tomb. The choice was governed by the relatively good
state of preservation, the most advanced stage of archaeological
research, as well as the different function and architectural form of
these structures.
UNDERGROUND CISTERN (Fig. 1)
The cistern, situated in the southeastern part of the ancient site,
consists of a reservoir excavated in the rock and a partly vaulted
entrance. It is filled with a deep layer of silt sand and the rocky roof
is supported by four extant stone pillars has been damaged by
seismic activity.
The main problem for conservation in this case was to find
a way to consolidate the rock in order to create conditions for completing research and making the site accessible to visitors. A special
system of reinforced concrete binding joists was designed to strengthen
the cistern roof; damaged sections of the roof should be underslung
Fig. 1. Plan of the cistern.
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to this grid. The whole construction can be hidden under
sandy soil such as covers the roof of the cistern already. The conservation program includes reinstallation of several sections of the
corridor vaulting, bracing of the pillars and filling gaps with concrete. These measures will stabilize the structure, making future
research safe.
HOUSE H 9 (Fig. 2)
House no. 9 is located in the central part of the ancient site. It is
rectangular in outline (40 by 24 m), its walls preserved to the
height of c. 2 m. The house has been cleared by Egyptian archaeologists, providing a complex of 14 rooms grouped around a central
courtyard.
The entrance to the building is on the western side. Four stone
steps lead through a door to a vestibule (No. 1). South of it there is
a latrine (No. 2) provided with a channel leading to a sedimentation tank located behind the outer wall of the house. On the northern side of the vestibule there is a storage (?) room (No. 3). Next is
a kind of corridor (No. 4) leading to the courtyard (No. 5), the
central part of which was probably left open.
This court was lined on two sides by a portico and on the third
by a vaulted (?) passage flanked by two pilasters. On the northern
side, three medium-sized rooms (Nos 6, 7, 8) opened onto the court.
In one of them (No. 6) fragments of a ceramic vessel were found
forming part of a 'chimney' system.
On the south the court is flanked by a large hall accessible
through an opening with traces of a door (No. 9). In the next room
(No. 10), which probably had a storage function, the floor was made
of horizontally placed amphorae covered with sand. An opening
closed by a stone slab gave access to two small storage cellars. Next
to hall No. 9 there is a double-track stairway (No. 11) with its lowest
two steps preserved. Next to it is a room (No. 12) situated in the
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southeastern corner of the house. Facing west, one can enter room
No. 13 from the courtyard, while turning east through two
openings one can enter the largest room of the house (No. 14). In
one of these openings traces of a wooden doorframe were preserved. In the other there were remnants of wooden partitioning. The
last space is a longitudinal room accessible from the previous one.
The house was provided with a cistern under the court. Rainwater ran directly from the roof to the cistern. Water from the
courtyard served to flush the latrine or was directed to a container
disguised as a bench near the entrance.
In the course of exploration many architectural details were
found, including column drums, capitals, fragments of a tympanon,
cornices and a frieze with triglyphs and metopes. Of the greatest
interest were remnants of an aedicula – a shallow niche crowned
with a conch and a tympanum supported on either side by two
small columns (Fig. 3).
Fig. 2. House H 9, ground plan.
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Fig. 3. Reconstruction of the aedicula found in House H 9.
The walls of the building were covered with plaster. Some of
the plasterwork was decorated with polychrome panels. Similar
colors (blue, yellow, dark red and black) were found on the gypsum
stucco of the courtyard columns, as well as on the stuccowork present on the remnants of the aedicula. Waterproof plaster lined the
cistern, the latrine channel and the gutter.
Beside preparing a full architectural record of the monument,
our aim was to specify the required reconstruction work. In the
case of House H 9 we decided to limit such work as much as possible. The structure we were dealing with here was only partly uncovered and its plan could not be traced in its entirety. However, some
of the discovered elements needed to be protected and enhanced.
Thus, we suggested such conservation work as was necessary to
enable a clear and proper exposition of the structure in the future.
Beside reinforcing and building up the walls in several places and
making the openings more visible, we proposed a full reconstruction of a column from the portico and of the aedicula which could
be placed in the wall of room No. 14.
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TOMB MONUMENT T 1
The monument discovered in 1987 (see W.A. Daszewski, p. 33ff.
in this volume) is situated in the southwestern corner of the site. It
consists of a pedestal (containing two loculi) and a column with
base and capital. Some 80% of the structure is preserved undamaged. The monument was restored in 1990 (see J. Dobrowolski, p. 44ff.
below).
The three monuments discussed above are only a small part of
those already discovered. All of them require urgent reconstruction work. Leaving them unprotected will lead to their complete
disintegration in the course of just a few years.
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POLISH-EGYPTIAN RESTORATION MISSION
AT MARINA EL-ALAMEIN IN 1990
Jarosław Dobrowolski
The restoration mission1 operated in the complex of tombs excavated
by Prof. Wiktor A. Daszewski,2 dating from the 1st century BC to the
3rd century AD (Fig. 1). All these monuments were built of soft local
limestone and were discovered much destroyed, probably ruined by an
earthquake and then damaged by extensive erosion. As the exposed
stones are subject to further serious damage in the coastal climate of the
site, it was found necessary to reassemble the excavated structures, thus
also enhancing the touristic value of the site. A Polish-Egyptian mission sponsored by the EAO and PCMA was formed to perform the
task.
The main objective of the 1990 season was to reassemble a tomb
registered as T l. The structure was excavated in 1987 and dated
to the 1st century AD. A preliminary design for its restoration was
prepared in 1988 by Dr. W. Bentkowski (see p. 41ff. above).
It was established, both by excavations in 1987 and by additional research occasioned by the restoration works, that the tomb had
the form of a huge squat column resting on a stepped stylobate which
was mounted in turn on a cubic pedestal (Fig. 2). This large base
contained two burial chambers (loculi) with entrances blocked by
stone slabs, inside which multiple burials were found. The central
part formed a stone casket built over a pit hollowed in bedrock.
1
2
From the PCMA: Jarosław Dobrowolski, architect (head of the mission) and
Kazimierz Błaszczyk, building engineer. Representing the EAO were inspectors: Mr. Nader Ramadan Musa and Mr. Muhammad Abdel Hamid el Said.
The photographic record was provided by Mr. Stefan Sadowski, a photographer in the PCMA.
See above, p. 26ff.
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Fig. 1. Location of the restored tomb T l within the complex excavated
by the Polish Mission.
This compartment, which had been sealed by the construction of
the superimposed pillar, was found to contain two skeletons (one
in the pit and one above it). The column was a plain straight shaft,
built of drums approximately 0.30 m high and consisting of four
segments each, with a base and a capital of extremely simplified
form. Lines traced on the upper surface of the capital suggest that a
funerary monument (probably a statue) had once stood upon it,
but no clues as to its form have been found. The column's simple
base and capital were the only decorative elements of the tomb.
The base of the structure and a part of the stylobate were
preserved in situ, although some stones were missing and the
surfaces were badly eroded. The column had fallen and its blocks
were found lying over a neighboring tomb.
In the first stage of restoration, these blocks (stored at the site
since 1987) were gathered together and the drums were assembled
on the ground according to their position recorded during the excavation; missing blocks were then added. Of the two surviving
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Fig. 2. Tomb T1 after restoration.
A – new blocks, R – limestone rubble and mortar,
C – bedrock, D – cardboard separation inserts,
E – empty joints around edges.
quarters of the column's capital one was discovered broken to
pieces and was bound together with polyvinyl acetate in 1987. In
1990 the joints were found to be in satisfactory state and the block
was classified fit for reinstallment; outer cracks were filled with
mortar. Two missing quarters of the capital were supplemented by
blocks cut at the site.3 Meanwhile eroded joints of the base of the
monument were filled in with mortar, loose blocks adjusted and
fixed, missing blocks restored. The interior of the central part of the
base was cleared of the loose sand filling it down to bedrock and
limestone rubble and mortar were put in its place, creating a solid
foundation for the column. To prevent the weight of the column
3
By Messrs T. Kołaczyński and J. Sternak of the PKZ's Polish-Egyptian Islamic
Mission in Cairo.
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from exerting pressure upon the much eroded outer walls, this
concrete core was separated from the stone casing of the stylobate
by board inserts and raked joints. Finally the column was reassembled
using the simple method of wooden scaffolding and a pulley in a
manner probably quite similar to the original construction. All the
original blocks that could be installed were reintroduced into the
structure. Newly added blocks amount to roughly 25% of all the
stones. They were given a slightly different surface finish to distinguish
them from the original ones. Total height of the monument after
reconstruction is approximately 6.2 m, with the column itself
4.22 m high and 1.04 m in diameter.
Apart from this main task, restoration works were performed
on a neighboring tomb T 1A, a much damaged structure originally
comprising four loculi in two levels, of which only the lower part
was preserved. This tomb was protected in its ruined state by filling
in eroded joints, adjusting and fixing loose stones, and supplementing a few missing blocks. A sand-retaining wall was built as a
support for this tomb's foundation; it lies approximately 1 m
higher than the neighboring T l. Some protective work was also
performed on two other tombs, the full restoration of which is
planned for the next season.
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DEIR EL-NAQLUN, 1990
Włodzimierz Godlewski
In the sixth field season in Deir el-Naqlun (October 25 to November
14), a mission from the PCMA1 concentrated work on the excavation
of Hermitage 89 and on a preliminary investigation of the wall surrounding the existing monastic complex of Deir el-Malak Ghubrail.2
HERMITAGE 89
Hermitage 89 lies immediately to the north of Hermitage 25,
which was excavated in the 1989 season. Like the other hermitages,
it was cut in a rocky ridge, which is the eastern edge of a plateau
where the complex of monastic buildings had been built.
This hermitage consists of six units, two of which were constructed entirely of mud brick, stone, bricks and sherds upon
a courtyard in front of the original hermitage complex (Fig. 1). Notwithstanding, the plan of this hermitage does not fall into the same
scheme as that of hermitages 1, 2 and 25 discovered so far. Only
units A.1-2, constituting the core of the hermitage, may be considered similar to the units inhabited by the anchorites. Complex
A.1-2 consists of two units. A large space A.1 (5 x 5.50 m) was
1
2
The mission led by Dr. Włodzimierz Godlewski included: Mr. Tomasz Derda,
papyrologist, Mr. Jarosław Dobrowolski, architect, Mr. Tomasz Górecki, ceramologist, Mr. Piotr Jeute, archaeologist, Mr. Olaf E. Kaper, egyptologist and
arabist, Mr. Adam Łajtar, epigraphist, Mrs. Bożena Mierzejewska, archaeologist, Mr. Bogusław Okupny, photographer, Mr. Muhammad Ahmed Halim,
inspector of the Islamic and Coptic Section of the EAO in the Fayum. We are
greatly indebted to EAO staff in Cairo and Fayum for their constant help
during the season.
J. Dobrowolski, Naqlun – Deir el-Malak Ghubrail: the existing monastic complex, Nubica 1-2, 1990, pp. 161-170.
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Fig. 1. Plan of hermitage 89.
meticulously plastered and equipped with a storage bin cut in the
floor in the southeastern corner, a bench along the western wall and
a bed located just by the doorway. There were also several niches
cut in the walls, the one in the eastern wall doubtless serving as a
prayer niche.
The other room (A.2) was much smaller and remained unplastered. Beside a niche in the eastern wall, it had a spacious niche,
a small room in fact, in the southeastern corner, with a floor raised
about 1 m above the walking level in this room. This niche presumably served as a place for sleeping.
Both the equipment of the larger room and the various changes
made in its interior are evidence for a rather long occupation of
this complex. In the second phase, when the storage bin was filled
in and covered with a floor, when a comfortable bed with a profiled
headrest was added just by the southern wall and a hearth for
cooking meals located in the northwestern corner, the complex
seems to have functioned together with unit B.1, communicating
through an enlarged window previously set in a niche in back of
the storage bin.
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Unit B.1 is small (3.40 x 3 m), cut in rock and carefully plastered with mud and a layer of lime plaster. It had two benches by the
northern and western walls and a prayer niche in the eastern one.
The niche had a painted frame, of which only small fragments have
survived. On the outside there was a band of floral decoration –
a sort of wreath, with possibly palm leaves at the bottom. Inside the
niche there presumably was a cross upon a podium: remnants of
the latter survived as the sole evidence of the composition.
It would appear then that in the second phase of the utilization
of complex A.1-2, unit B.1 served as a sort of oratory. It was visited
often by pilgrims who left numerous Coptic and Arabic graffiti giving
names of visitors sometimes accompanied by their functions
and their places of origin. All of the writings are undoubtedly
Christian and seem to have been made in Late Medieval times.
In the last phase of the hermitage's habitation a small vestibule
B.2 was added in front of unit B.1; the new structure was built upon
the original courtyard.
Hermitage 89 had two other units, which are only just traceable. Unit D in the northern part of the complex was preserved at
barely walking level: the kind of plaster floor in the interior suggests it had been a living space. The walls of unit C were of bricks
and sherds set in mud, the roof was of reeds. Considering the character of the fill in this unit, it must have served as a domestic area,
perhaps a pen: donkeys seem to have been kept here for some time.
A large part of the original courtyard, presumably connected
with the A.1-2 complex as well as possibly with units C and D, and
at one time built over with units B.2 and C, has not been excavated,
especially the southern and southwestern parts. Presumably part of
the courtyard, just as the northern and southern ends of unit D,
had been damaged.
The fill of the rooms of hermitage 89 contained several objects
connected with the dally life of the anchorites. These included fragments of clothes: both thick and thin tunics, and pieces of shoes,
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mainly sandals, with the upper soles decorated very carefully with
impressed geometrical designs. A large portion of the finds are mats,
ropes and baskets which may have been produced in the hermitage
or may have simply been used here, for they were found mainly in
unit C. Numerous wooden objects were either part of the spiritual
life of the hermitage's inhabitants (fragments of crosses) or constituted elements of the equipment: pegs for setting in the upper parts
of walls, pieces of tools.
Apart from the pottery, on which below, written documents
constitute the most important finds. Several were found written both
on papyrus and paper, in three languages: Greek, Coptic and Arabic. The Greek and Arabic texts are especially interesting, being of
the nature of contracts and agreements.3 Small pieces of a papyrus
codex in Coptic additionally contain illustrations placed on the
margins of the pages.
The ceramic assemblage from Hermitage 89 falls into two
groups: the pottery from unit C and the pottery from the storage pit in
unit A.1.4 Typologically, these two groups are not homogenous, although
both are the result of the same circumstances, that is both were
deposited as rubbish in two separate spots, but at a similar time. In
both groups domestic vessels, primarily amphorae and cooking pots,
predominate. Storage vessels and tableware are much less frequent.
Among the finds from unit C there stands out a three-handled pithos
with painted decoration, not figural, of the type black and red upon
white (slip). Of interest are also small tableware pieces representing
local imitations of Late Roman wares, made of Nile silt (group K)
and marl clay from the Aswan region (group 0).
The contents of the pit in unit A.1 is much more interesting.
Apart from numerous household pots, it included a group of about
3
4
See papers by Tomasz Derda and Olaf E. Kaper, below, pp. 54ff and 57ff.
The information concerning pottery comes from Mr. Tomasz Górecki, who is
responsible for preparing the ceramic material for publication.
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Fig. 2. Miniature amphora with painted and applied decoration.
40 vessels, handmade of Nile silt, decorated either with ornamental
openwork, impressed or applied patterns, ornaments painted in
white. The most frequently encountered form is an incense burner
(about 10 pieces), next were small storage pots (four objects), small
amphorae (three) (Fig. 2) and chalices (two).
Apart from the pottery there were fragments of unfired vessels
belonging, as far as form and material are concerned, to the same
group; doubtless the vessels must have been produced and decorated in the hermitage or its immediate vicinity. As in unit C, a small
number of tableware objects were found, all imitations of Late
Roman groups K and 0.
The dating of both chronologically coexistent dumps and their
pottery contents is not certain. On the grounds of a few imported
amphorae and a large assemblage of so-called chocolate amphorae
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of Egyptian production, the two deposits from the pit in unit A.1
and unit C may be dated to the end of the 6th and the 7th centuries.
The group of handmade pots should be dated to not earlier than
the middle of the 7th century in view of its similarity to Early Islamic unglazed pottery with openwork decoration. It would seem then
that both deposits date to the beginning of the second half of the
7th century.
The rare finds of pottery from the upper layers of the fill in
units A.1, D and B.1 are similar to the pottery discovered last year
inside Hermitage 25 and can be dated to the 9th-10th centuries.
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EL-NAQLUN 1990: THE GREEK PAPYRI
Tomasz Derda
Hermitage 89, described above by W. Godlewski (see p. 48ff.), was in
use for a relatively long time. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that
only some tiny scraps of papyrus were found in particular rooms and
their identification as Greek is often only hypothetical. In room A.1,
beside the scraps of two other presumably Greek papyri (inv. nos 49
and 90/90), there was a small piece of an account (inv. no. 51/90)
written in chancery cursive of the 6th-7th centuries AD. In room C only
one Greek fragment was found (inv. no. 13/90); it is a piece of another
account written in upright chancery cursive.
Of much greater importance was the contents of the storage pit
in room A.1 which had been filled in and covered with a floor during
a renovation of the hermitage interior in the 7th century (the date
for the renovation is set by the finds, the papyri among them).
Three papyri (inv. nos 87, 96 and 99/90) preserved in many fragments were found in this pit. There is complete certainty that even
the smallest fragments belonged to one of these three. All three
papyri are legal documents.
The first one, inv. no. 87/90 (top and left margin are lost), is
a document, most probably a receipt for the repayment of a loan,
recorded by a notary of the Arsinoite nome; his subscription partly
preserved at the bottom of the document cannot be identified with
the subscriptions known from the other documents from this nome.
The second document, inv. no. 96/90, preserved in two big fragments (bottom with the notary's subscription lost), is also a receipt
for the repayment of a loan; the debtor is a certain Aurelius Makarios son of Jakob, from the village of Alexandrou Nesos in the Arsinoite nome, the creditor is a monk whose name is partly destroyed
by a lacuna his function being called proestos Pyrgou, i.e., the abbot
of a Pyrgos monastery. Although papyrological lexica do not men54
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tion the toponym Pyrgos, the reading seems to be fairly assured.
The document begins with the indiction date (20th Phaophi of the
4th indiction), there is no invocation with the Christ formula.
The third document, inv. no. 99/90, is preserved in many small,
separate fragments. The only part which can be reconstructed at the
moment is the top of the document (the first three lines) containing an invocation with the Christ formula EN ONOMATI TOY
K(YPIO)Y KAI DECΠOTOY I(HCO)Y X(PICTO)Y TOY Θ(EO)Y
(KAI) ΣWTHPOΣ HMWN, "In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
(our) God and Saviour", and the indiction date (15th Mesore of
the 12th indiction). Many small fragments from the middle and
bottom parts of the document seem to suggest that this was also a
notarial document as the two texts described above, constituting
most probably a receipt for the repayment of a loan.
From the archaeological point of view, of greatest importance
is the question of the date of these three papyri. As stated above,
two of them (inv. nos 96 and 99/90) have their headings preserved;
it is significant that there is an invocation with the Christ formula
in the latter, while there is none in the first.
The invocation as an element of legal documents was instituted
by imperial decree of Mauricius; its force was felt in Egypt first in
the year AD 591, and all known legal documents dated after September 591 have the invocation. There were in use, however, four
main versions of the invocation and this is very important for setting a date for a document. First, under Mauricius (591-602) only
the Christ formula was used; under Phocas (602-610) this formula
was replaced by a new one invoking the Holy Trinity; under Heraclius (610-619; 629-641) a major division took place in which the
Upper Egyptian nomes used the Trinitarian formula introduced
under Phocas, while the Lower Egyptian nomes reverted to the formula of Christ that was in use under Mauricius; after the Arab conquest a slightly modified version of the Trinitarian formula was
reestablished in the whole of Egypt (it is difficult to determine
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which version of the formula was in use during the Persian domination in the years 619-629, since we have only a few documents
dated surely to that period).
Papyrus Naqlun inv. no. 99/90 is dated 15th Mesore of the 12th
indiction. This gives two possible dates: 8 September 593 or the
same day in the year 638. We should, however, prefer the first date,
if we assume that the papyri found in the storage pit in room A.1
were written more or less simultaneously. On this assumption
P. Naqlun inv. no. 96/90, dated 20th Phaophi of the 4th indiction,
might be dated either to 17 October 585 (i.e., to the last possible
date before the decree of Mauricius) or, less convincingly, to the
same day 15 years earlier.
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ARABIC PAPYRI AND INSCRIPTIONS
FROM NAQLUN, HERMITAGE 89
Olaf E. Kaper
During the excavations of Hermitage 89 (see above, p. 48ff.) a collection of Arabic texts and inscriptions was found. The following presentation of this find is based only on a preliminary investigation, principally concerned with the dating of the texts and inscriptions, as well as
with the personal and geographical names occurring therein.
N 88/90. Fragment of an Arabic papyrus. This is probably the
oldest Arabic text found in this hermitage. Although papyrus as
writing material continued to be used into the 14th century AD,1
the present document displays a variety of Kufic script which is
characteristic of papyri from the 7th century AD.2 The fragment
measures about 11 x 8.5 cm. On the recto (hor. fibres) only six fragmentary lines survive, including the right margin of the papyrus,
and a part of a Greek numeral (ΣΝ, 250?) above. The first line contains the Basmalla, the remainder of the contents is unclear.
The other Arabic texts are all on paper, and with but one exception these are preserved only as fragments. In all, the paper finds
include around 15 fragments in Arabic. In the order of their registration, these include:
N 36/90. Upper part of a document of 12 x 9 cm in size, possibly a letter. The remains of ten lines are preserved, none complete. Of
these, one line of the text was written along the edge of the paper,
after which the paper was turned 180° and one more line was added
by the same hand.
N 37/90. Small paper fragment (6 x 5 cm.) containing the beginnings of four lines written on both sides in the same hand.
1
A. Grohmann, Einführung und Chrestomatie zur arabischen Papyruskunde,
Bd. I, Prag 1954, pp.3-4.
2
R.G. Khoury, in: Grundriss der Arabischen Philologie, Bd. I, Wiesbaden 1982,
p. 263.
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N 38/90. Four very small paper fragments, one of which shows
remains of the Basmalla.
N 42/90. Small fragment with on the recto the remains of five
lines of a list with accompanying numbers; the verso preserves only
one line on the top, the rest of the paper is empty.
N 43/90. This is a larger fragment, measuring 13.5 x 23.5 cm, of
a contract concerning grain (kamh), signed by four witnesses. The
signatures are preserved as well as parts of the last five lines of the
text itself. The beginning and the end of all the lines have been cut
off.
The contract mentions the town of Fayum, and supplies the date
of Friday, 14 nights before the end of the month Jumada al-akhira
of the year 400 AM (approx. February 5, 1010 AD). The text of the
fourth witness, moreover, seems to give the equivalent sun-date;
the third day of the month Mecheir of the year 3(.)9, possibly the
year 379. Four witnesses signed their names under the contract, three
of them carry the name Muhammad. The first is called Muhammad
b. Mahmud; the second Muhammad b. Ahmed b. Khaled; and the
third Muhammad b. Maher (?).
The contract was later torn up and its verso used for writing a
letter. After writing, the paper was folded down to a size of about
3.5 x 3.5 cm; this text is completely preserved, although the ink has
faded considerably. The addressee of this letter carried the name of
Theodore, likely to be a Christian. The writer begins his letter with
the Basmalla. No toponyms seem to have been contained in the letter, but perhaps the mentioning of the town of Fayum in the contract on the recto gives an indication as to the whereabouts of the
sender of the letter.
N 89/90. (three fragments). One is a small fragment, written on
both sides in two different hands. Its recto has the remains of three
lines, one of which contains the Basmalla. The other two fragments
are even smaller, one of these preserves text on both, sides, written
in two different hands.
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The many Arabic graffiti inscribed on the walls of room B (the
oratory) of Hermitage 89, preserve the names of only five of the
numerous visitors that left a written trace of their presence there.
Their names are: Lutfallah from Fayum town (east wall), John (east
wall), Sulayman (east wall), Abu al-Sakhra, the son of Sulayman
(north wall) and As'ad the son of Saeed, son of Barsuma, son of
Marc (south wall). No dates are preserved in these graffiti, but the
names of Barsuma and Lutfallah mentioned therein suggest a date
much later than the initial period of occupation of the cell. Barsuma becomes a common name only after the death of the saint of
that name in AD 1317, and Lutfallah too seems to be a relatively late
name.
Most of the graffiti are short and contain prayers of the usual
kind as inscribed by Coptic pilgrims. This type of inscription starts
with the formula ya rab arham 'abdak (once ya aghfar li-'abdik) alkhati' ("O Lord, have mercy on (and forgive) your slave, the sinner...") or: adhkur ya rab 'abdak al-khati´ ("Remember, O Lord!, your
slave, the sinner..."). Only one such text on the southern wall is longer
than a few lines. Two graffiti mention the place of origin of the
visitors as Fayum town, leading to the same conclusion that these
texts were inscribed by pilgrims and therefore in the period following the occupation of the hermitage by monks.
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DAKHLEH OASIS PROJECT: RESEARCH
ON THE PETROGLYPHS, 1990
Lech Krzyżaniak
This season1 was a continuation of fieldwork carried out previously. In
1985, a method for recording petroglyphs in the Dakhleh Oasis was
tested2 and in 1988 the first full programme of recording was initiated
in a sample area.3 This area continued to be investigated in 1990.
The investigation of petroglyphs is part of the research of the
Dakhleh Oasis Project (DOP) Expedition organized by the Royal
Ontario Museum in Toronto and directed by Prof. Anthony J. Mills.
He was kind enough to invite a team from the PCMA to join in the
project. Speaking for the petroglyph team, the present author
wishes to express gratitude to Professor Mills for his initiative and
kindness.
The petroglyph research programme in the Dakhleh Oasis comprises the recording of their total in sample areas, improving the
typology and chronology hitherto established for known drawings4
and using them as a source of information for studies of the way in
which human attitudes toward animals developed in the oasis.5 This
1
2
3
4
5
The fieldwork was done by Assist. Prof. Lech Krzyżaniak (Poznań Archaeological Museum) and Dr. Karla M. Kroeper (Egyptian Museum in West Berlin).
See L. Krzyżaniak, K. Kroeper, Report on a reconnaissance season of recording
petroglyphs, December 1985, Journal of the Society of Study of Egyptian Antiquities, vol. XV/4, 1985, pp. 138-139.
L. Krzyżaniak, Dakhleh Oasis Project: interim report on the first season of the
recording of petroglyphs, January-February 1988, Journal of the Society of
Study of Egyptian Antiquities, in press.
H.A. Winkler, Rock Drawings of Southern Upper Egypt II, London 1939.
L. Krzyżaniak, Petroglyphs and the research on the development of the cultural attitude towards animals in the Dakhleh Oasis (Egypt), Sahara, vol. 3, 1990,
pp. 95-97.
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source is to be combined with the evidence yielded by habitation
sites in this area, which are being investigated by a different team
of the DOP.
The aim of the research programme concerning the petroglyphs
at Dakhleh is to record the total of these remains in the sample area
– square E3 – situated in the eastern part of the Oasis. The tested
area covers the better part of one square kilometer and in 1988 some
18 petroglyph sites were found here. In 1990, the team continued
making tracings on transparent film and describing in words these
remains; some were re-photographed as well. Eight sites were fully
recorded during this season (Nos. 61-39/E3/1-8). Also, several other
petroglyph sites were found in the area adjacent to the sample
square; a photographical record was made of most of the finds.
Almost all of the recorded petroglyphs seem to be dated to the
time period between the Early Holocene (8th millennium BC) and
the 3rd millennium BC. The majority depict animals and humans,
sometimes in association. These associations seem to refer to different stages and forms in the development of the human attitude to
animals in this area and turn out to be useful evidence in our studies on this subject. It is worth mentioning that the animal species
depicted in the petroglyphs were identified in the field by the archaeozoologist of the DOP. Some of the petroglyphs clearly constitute prehistoric art of high quality. They are executed using different kinds of engraving and sunk relief; no paintings have been
found.
The recorded petroglyphs can be classified in three groups by
subject and style. The first and most numerous group is composed
of pictures of animals, only seldom in association with humans.
The species depicted were identified as antelopes, giraffes and other
unidentified quadrupeds, ostriches and schematically executed human figures, seldom in association with animals. In one case such
an association shows a scene of giraffe hunting by what appears to be
men with bows, assisted by dogs (Fig. 1). This group of petroglyphs
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Fig. 1. Eastern Dakhleh Oasis, site 61-39/E3-3, petroglyph No. 1. An
engraved scene showing a giraffe hunt with what seems to be
bowmen assisted by dogs.
seems to have many traits in common with a style defined previously
as the Earliest Hunters Style, which has been considered the earliest
in the Oasis.6
The second group of petroglyphs is characterized by depictions of female figures, sometimes richly decorated (Fig. 2), seldom
shown in association with humans or animals. In one such case, a
scene shows an antelope apparently being pulled by a man towards
a schematically depicted female figure (Fig. 3). This group is tra6
Winkler, op. cit., pp. 31-32.
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Fig. 2. Eastern Dakhleh Oasis, site 61-39/E3-2, petroglyph No. 1. An
engraved group of decorated female figures and later (superimposed) sandals.An engraved group of decorated female figures
and later (superimposed) sandals.
ditionally considered as later than the one described above and is
defined as "Early Oasis Dwellers".7
The third and latest group of petroglyphs in the local sequence
is dated to the 3rd millennium BC. Many of them are represented
by small finds excavated from well stratified contents of stone "rings”
– remains of huts dated to the 5th-6th dynasty, judging from the
numerous fragments of Egyptian pottery and seal impressions on
7
Ibid., pp. 27-30.
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Fig. 3. Eastern Dakhleh Oasis, site 61-39/E3-15, petroglyph No. 5.
An engraved and stylized scene, apparently showing an antelope being pulled by a man towards a female figure.
clay found in the same context. The depictions show figures of longhorned cattle, donkeys and bulls in association with men and
scenes of hunting with dogs.
The evidence yielded by petroglyph sites in Eastern Dakhleh
seems therefore to point to different stages and forms in the development of the human attitude toward animals and their exploitation in the Oasis, such as hunting (killing, trapping, capturing) and
husbandry (cattle, donkey). The fieldwork will be continued in 1992.
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OLD DONGOLA 1989-1990
Stefan Jakobielski
In January and February of two consecutive years, 1989 and 1990,
a team from the PCMA conducted respectively the 23rd and 24th
campaign of excavations. 1
Fig. 1. Plan showing sites investigated in 1989-90.
The work was carried out on chosen sites within the limits of
our concession area (Fig. 1) and comprised:
– continuation of excavations in the urban complex on Kom P,
i.e., house PCH.1, conducted by Prof. W. Godlewski.2
1
2
The two expeditions headed by Dr. Stefan Jakobielski comprised: Prof. Włodzimierz
Godlewski 1989, 1990; Dr. Bogdan Żurawski 1989, 1990; architect Mr. Jarosław
Dobrowolski 1989, 1990; Dr. Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka 1990; Dr. Krzysztof
Misiewicz 1989; Mrs. Ida Ryl-Preibisz 1990; conservator Mrs. Ewa Parandowska 1990;
anthropologist Dr. Maria Kaczmarek 1989.
See his reports: Old Dongola 1988-1989. House PCH.1, PAM I (1990), pp. 14-16 and
Old Dongola, House PCH.1, Nubian Letters 13 (Aug. 1989), pp.1-13.
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–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
excavations of city fortifications in the riverside part of
Kom B, commenced in 1990 by W. Godlewski, who described the results in a separate report (below, p. 74);
continuation of excavations of the churches DC/EDC and the
monastic complex DM on Kom D, supervised by the author of
this report. The site has been the object of explorations since
1986; the 1990 season was devoted to restoration and preservation activities;
recording architectural remains on Kom A and C in 1989 was
the responsibility of Mr. J. Dobrowolski;
survey of the cemetery grounds in the eastern part of the concession (1989), combined with excavations of chosen tombs,
conducted by Dr. B. Żurawski;
anthropological material from these graves, as well as those from
Kom D was examined on the spot by Dr. M. Kaczmarek;
archaeological and architectural survey of Kom H, chosen in
1989 as a site for future excavations; Mrs. E. Parandowska was
charged with some emergency conservation work there in 1990.
geophysical survey in the northern part of Kom R, cemeteries
TEQ and RT and on Kom H (continuation of work from the
1988 season, carried out by Dr. K. Misiewicz);
improving the aerial photography method using kites and its
practical implementation in recording the sites in Old Dongola
effected by Dr. B. Żurawski.
KOM B
Salvage excavations undertaken in 1988 on a low hill to the north
of the urban agglomeration of Old Dongola, on the southern outskirts of the present village of el-Ghaddar, revealed the remains of
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Fig. 2. Churches on Kom D and the remains of monastic complex
DM.
two superimposed churches designated as DC and EDC 3 and
a monastic complex DM (Fig. 2). Archaeological explorations of
both sites were terminated in 1989 and the 1990 season was devoted to preservation and restoration activities. The work, supervised
by Mr. J. Dobrowolski, included reinforcing sections of preserved
paving of bricks, terracotta tiles and stone slabs, marking the position of missing granite column bases and church walls, partial reconstruction of these.
The area of the monastic complex suffered extensive damage,
both through rebuilding and intentional levelling as well as
through flooding. Ever since the Post-Classical period (12th century)
this particular spot served as the source of mud and sebbakh. The
devastation is so extensive that even deciphering the complete plan
of the monastic complex turned out to be impossible. Some chro3
The results of these works were published preliminarily by J. Dobrowolski,
Church on Kom D in Old Dongola, Nubian Letters 9 (1987), pp. 1-5, id., On the
first church on Site D in Old Dongola, Nubian Letters 11 (1988), pp.1-6, id.,
Kościół na Komie D w Starej Dongoli, Kwartalnik Architektury i Urbanistyki
3/1988, pp. 217-231.
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nological observations were made and four habitation phases of
the complex distinguished (Fig. 2).
The earliest phase (7th century?) is represented by a massive
mud-brick wall, one meter thick and running E-W, which confined
the inhabited area of the settlement on the north. This wall was
later used as a foundation for the outer northern wall of the Monastery. From the next phase (7th-8th century) only a few structures have
remained, including a wall constituting the southern limit of the
area of the later rooms 4 and 5, the southwest corner of the room
west of locus 11, fragment of walls to the west and south of rooms
13 and 14, as well as traces of Building 18.
Evidence of a monastery having been erected here comes from
the third phase, i.e., the beginning of the Classical Christian Period,
the 8th-9th centuries. There is the refectory room (1) preserved only
on the level of the stone slab paving; it is provided with some typical
round benches used during meals. Adjoining the refectory on the
east there was an unit composed of a vestibule(?) – 2, 2a, presumably subdivided into two parts by a wide arcade doorway. Preceding the entrance to the refectory building was a kind of small courtyard, possibly of earlier date. West of the refectory building, which
was freestanding at the time, there were two cells (rooms 3 and 9)
with their own yards (loci 4-5 and 8). The construction technique
here is similar to the refectory walls, i.e., mud brick on a rough
stone foundation. More to the west there was another yard (loci
6-7), which was presumably domestic in function. Although most
of its original surface has disappeared In consequence of later
levelling works, part of its equipment has survived in the form of
a covered drain built of red brick and stones, which runs across the
northern wall. Roughly the same period saw further building activity – the erection of rooms 11, 12 and 13 as well as extensive rebuilding of yard 6-1-7 and rooms 14, 16 and 17, but there is no
indication as to the function of this part of the complex.
By the end of the Classical Christian Period the monastery
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tory appears to have been used for some time following this disaster, but by the 12th century the area seems definitely abandoned.
There can be no doubt that the DC Church, which most probably
served previously as a monastic church, continued in use for a time.
The grounds north and east of the church were used as a common
cemetery. Some trial pits made here in 1989 dated the levelling of
the cemetery, as of the entire area of Kom D, to the Late Christian
Period, prior to the 14th century. Later still the DC Church was
dismantled and building material removed to other sites.
KOMS A AND C
In 1989 some preliminary studies were made on Kom A, the
urban centre of Old Dongola encircled by massive city walls. Building A.1, which is the only building on the Kom preserved above
present ground level, appears to be a residential structure dating to
the Post-Christian Period. Excavations were restricted to surface
clearing and some trial pits dug in spots significant for distinguishing
subsequent phases in the construction of the edifice, which was
apparently erected in place of an earlier Christian structure (Fig. 3).
The building technique of the oldest part of this edifice corresponds to solutions applied in Dongola in the Christian period in
such buildings as the Royal Audience Hall converted into a mosque
and churches of Classic Christian date. The continuity of build-
Fig. 3. Sketch plan of House A.1, showing particular phases of construction.
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ing traditions would suggest that the structure in question
originates from the earliest period of Islamic rule in Dongola.
Dobrowolski, who examined building A.1, concentrated his
attention on the characteristic shape of the corner entrance towergate. Analogous, although much later, are three gates in houses located in the area of the abandoned village (Kom C) further to the
south, also measured in the course of the 1989 season. The gate
belonging to House C.3 (18th century?) possessed a kind of machicolation – a round opening in the roof above the wide passage permitting an
attack from above on the enemy attempting to force the entrance.
In the western part of the abandoned village a large storied
house C.1 (23 x 25m) was examined and measured. It belonged to
a known and meritorious Dongolan family, the Suar ad-Dahab.
Investigation of the building technique, spatial layout and interior
equipment partly preserved in House C.1 brought new and interesting material for the study of the development of Post-Christian
residential architecture in Nubia.
SURVEY OF THE CEMETERY AREAS
The survey covered three cemeteries: TEQ east of the northernmost part of Dongola town, TWH west of Kom H and TSJ lying
close to the North Church (NC). The main goal was to fill out the
chronological sequence of grave types known from Dongola, suggested by the earlier examinations of burial sites TEE, TNH TDC
and RT (Fig. 1).
Some of the graves excavated in the 1989 season deserve special
attention. TEQ.1.7 is a more than 2 m deep slot-like trench roofed
over with mud brick, containing a body shrouded in linen. Remnants of a rectangular mud-brick superstructure (mastaba) were still
distinguishable on the surface. The dating of the grave to the Early
Christian Period was confirmed by C 14 dating (second half of
the 7th century).
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Fig. 4. Kom H and Cemetery TWH. Preliminary inventory of extant
structures.
Classic Christian tombs (burial chamber built of mud brick
and barrel-vaulted, accessible by a small entrance from the shaft on its
western side) are best represented by Tombs TSJ-1, -24 and TEQ.1.3.
The latter served as a grave for ten individuals (men, women and
children), buried most probably at one time.
A sand dune accumulated on the western slope of Kom H has
protected the tomb superstructures belonging to the THW cemetery. Twelve tombs were found here. They were made up of both fired
and dried mud brick, coated with hard lime-and-gravel plaster.
Originally, all twelve had superstructures in the form of mastabas
shaped as crosses. All had lamp-boxes on the western side (Fig. 4).
Curiously enough, bodies were buried in simple rectangular
4
The C14 sample gave a date of AD 860±40 years.
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trenches covered with sand, not in burial chambers of any
kind. The excavated section of this cemetery can be dated to
the first half of the 10th century. 5
KOM H
In order to prepare the site for further methodical excavations,
in 1989 we conducted a survey of Kom H located in the eastern part
of the concession area. This large kom measuring some 100 m in
diameter and encircled by cemeteries appears to form an isolated
settlement, presumably a monastic complex fortified with a mudbrick enclosure wall, the whole built not later than the Classical
Christian Period (Fig. 4). A detailed inventory of remains visible
on the surface suggests that some of the buildings are preserved up
to the vaults of the upper storeys, while red brick structures seem
to have been dismantled down to the foundations. Murals and numerous graffiti of the Late Christian Period were observed on the
walls of Unit S. Mrs. E. Parandowska, chief conservator of the
National Museum in Warsaw, carried out emergency conservation
work on this material in order to stop further decay of the painted
and inscribed plaster.6
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY
Dr. K. Misiewicz from the Institute of History of Material Culture of the Polish Academy of Science continued in 1989 a geophysical survey of the area of our concession commenced in 1988. The
main objective was to locate kilns on sites R and S alongside the
Nile, presently covered by a sand-dune strip. A total of about 27,000
square meters (that is, about 30,000 measuring points) was survey5
A C14 sample from Tomb TWH.4 gave a date of AD 930±40 years.
6
The work and the results will be discussed in a separate report following the
next campaign, in which we plan to subject Building S to methodical archaeological investigation.
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ed using the magnetic method. Magnetic anomalies were measured
with two proton magnetometers PMP-5 of high sensitivity with a
regular 1 m grid. Extant anomalies of the magnetic field suggest
the presence of various objects underground, objects which when
made of certain materials would disturb the natural magnetic
value of the soil.
It has been observed that the remanent effect resulting from
burning (red-brick, slag, ashes) gives a very strong magnetic reading
between 40 and 150 gamma. This phenomenon permitted nine clusters of kilns to be located very precisely regardless of their being 0.5
to 1.8 m below the surf ace. These results were confirmed archaeologically on site R.6. Here a trial pit 2 x 6 m was dug in a dune where
no traces of any kind of human activity were to be observed on the
surface. Upon removing 1.6 m of overlying dune, the tops of the
walls of two kilns of red-brick appeared, their inner surface covered
heavily with slag. Since they are of a different construction than the
already known Dongolan kilns nearby, they appear to have had
a different function. The site can be dated to the later Classic
Christian period (10th-11th century).
On the site of cemetery TEQ the magnetic method was instrumental in establishing individual concentrations of tombs and the
extent of the burial ground. The results were extremely helpful in
this case for the surface here has suffered extensive erosion and no
tomb superstructures are to be seen.
Some clearing was done on the site of the Rock Tombs (RT) in
the north end of the concession area in order to verify the observations made on the basis of a geophysical survey conducted in 1988.
It is certain at present that no other rock tombs existed here beside
two imposing monuments RT.1 and 2, excavated in 1971 and 1981
respectively and dated back to the very beginning of the Christian
Period in Dongola.7
7
S. Jakobielski, Polish excavations at Old Dongola 1978/79-1982 [in:] M. Krause
(ed.), Nubische Studien, Mainz 1986, p. 308ff.
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THE OLD DONGOLA FORTIFICATIONS
Włodzimierz Godlewski
Preliminary investigations of the city fortifications located on the northwestern slope of Kom A were the prime objective of the mission during
the 1990 season in Old Dongola.1
Relics of mud-brick walls have been observed on the surface
around the perimeter of Kom A in an archaeological context suggestive of the late medieval period, most probably following the
fall of the Nubian kingdom. In the course of removing deposits
accumulated on the slope of Kom A it was found that post-Christian layers lay immediately on top of the remains of structures from
the 6th-7th centuries. It would appear then that the structures in
this area underwent total destruction sometime in the 13th-14th
century with some of them being dismantled down to bedrock and
the entire slope being exposed to erosion by wind and precipitation.
A massive mud-brick wall 3.1 m wide was found to run a straight
course from the northwest to the southeast for over 32 m. The northern end of it adjoined a rock outcrop now largely eroded away,
which must have been significantly higher at the time when the
defenses were built and must have been of strategic importance as
the northernmost point of Kom A. At the other end, the wall, which
is preserved only in foundations not exceeding 0.7 m in height at
any point and often destroyed down to bedrock, disappears entirely and seems to have no relation with the stone wail built nearby.
Excavations cleared a roughly triangular area west of the mudbrick wall which clearly served as its northeastern boundary. The
structures identified there all touch upon the mud-brick wall. They
1
The excavations on Kom A were headed by the present writer with the help of
Mr. Jarosław Dobrowolski (architect). For the results, see also W. Godlewski,
The fortifications of Old Dongola. Report on the 1990 season, Archéologie du
Nil Moyen, 5, 1991, in print.
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seem to have been constructed simultaneously with the wall and
appear to be connected with it in a functional, if not structural
sense. They obviously constitute part of an architectural project,
strategic in nature. It consists of a network of mud-brick walls forming units which were subsequently filled in with debris in order to
create a flat building site.
Both the rampart wall and the platform structure are dated
mainly on the grounds of pottery recovered during the excavations.
The entire assemblage belongs without exception to the early period and should be dated in all probability to the 6th-7th century
AD.
East of the northern end of the rampart wall, just off the rocky
outcrop constituting its termination, two circular mud-brick structures filled with gravel were cleared. Both were on bedrock level, at
a distance of 1 m from one another. The southern structure was
round, roughly 0.80-0.95 m in diameter, with a slightly flattened
eastern side. It consisted of upended mud-bricks laid directly upon
bedrock; the surviving remains are some 0.4 m high. On the east
there was an opening (9 x 14.5 cm.). Outside it, the rock was hollowed out in a 0.4 m long, narrow channel, the width of which matched
the opening. This furnace was found filled with alternating layers
of iron ore and charcoal. It would appear that the smelting
process in this structure had been abandoned at an early stage.
A C14 dating of the charcoal -from the southern furnace narrows
the date to the very beginning of the 6th century (AD 510).2 In this
respect the Dongolan structures, only the second of their type to be
known from the area of the Sudan, are later than the furnaces uncovered in Meroe. 3
2
The dating was carried out by Prof. M. Pazdur from the C14 Laboratory of
Gliwice Polytechnic (Gd.-5753).
3
P.L. Shinnie, F.J. Kense, Meroitic iron working, Meroitica 6, 1982, pp. 17-28;
R. Tylecote, Metal working at Meroe, Sudan, Meroitica 6, 1982, pp. 29-42.
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The rocky outcrop which terminated the northern end of the
wide mud-brick wall appears to have had a stone structure reinforcing it on the east and south. The structure or rather its foundations
were constructed without the use of mortar, directly upon the sloping rock surface. The material used was a rosy granite and included
numerous shattered column drum fragments, capitals and
bases. Only the exterior face of the wall was laid in straight courses.
The mentioned granite foundation structure obviously served as
the foundation or lower part of a spacious tower which must have
once stood upon the rocky eminence, doubtless forming part of
the fortification system mentioned earlier. The entire assemblage
of architectural decoration fragments recovered from the relics of
the granite foundation structure appears to be homogenous as far
as material is concerned, as well as in style and chronology. One
may easily conclude that they all originated from some monumental
building which suffered a violent and presumably intentional
destruction. Considering the evidence of church building in Dongola presently available, one may suppose that the architectural granite fragments came from a basilica destroyed by Arab troops during their raid on Dongola in AD 652.4 This may have been the Church
of the Stone Pavement I.5
In the eastern part of the excavated sector, where surface relics
of mud-brick walls were considered as post-Christian at first, investigations reached bedrock, revealing structures belonging to four
different stages in the construction of city fortifications. The limited area covered by the excavations precludes as yet a detailed
characteristic of particular levels.
Undoubtedly the oldest structure is a massive tower which must
have constituted a corner of the extensive fortification system of
4
W. Godlewski, The Cruciform Church site in Old Dongola. Sequence of buildings
from the 6th to the 18th century, Nubica I/II, 1990, pp. 523-524.
5
Ibidem, pp. 519-523.
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Dongola. Only the western facade of this structure has been cleared
so far and even that not along its entire length, so not much may be
said of its plan. It would appear that the tower was an elongated
structure with a rounded northern end, which projected well
beyond the line of the walls. It cannot be excluded that it had once
been part of a gateway. The tower was founded on bedrock. Mud
brick was used to construct the core, while the exterior was faced
with large irregular stone blocks with smaller rock chips filling the
spaces in between. The tower was evidently a structure of considerable height for the preserved relics of the mud-brick core rise to
a height of 6.75 m, while the stone facing, which was doubtless the
object of plunder in modern times, reaches 5.1 m at the most.
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NEA PAPHOS 1990 REPORT
Wiktor A. Daszewski
Another season of excavations in Nea Paphos by a mission sponsored
by the PCMA started on 3 September and ended on 5 October 1990.
Work progressed in all three of the sectors covered by the mission's
investigations, that is, in the so-called Villa of Theseus, the so-called
House of Aion and the Late Hellenistic house (Fig. 1).1
In the area of the Villa of Theseus, that is, the Late Roman residential structure, investigations focused on the northern end of the
eastern wing. In this part of the villa Roman walls have all but totally disappeared making the plan of the residence difficult to follow.
On the other hand the earlier structures are quite clearly visible.
Large segments of walls cleared in previous seasons were found
grouped on either side of a longitudinal street of Hellenistic date.
They formed rows of rectangular rooms, the axes of which ran at
right angles to the axis of the street. Particular rooms were equipped with drainage channels which emptied into the main sewer
running down the street below its surface. At the time that the Villa
of Theseus was built this street had disappeared completely under
new constructions and the earlier walls were used in part as foundations for partition walls inside the villa. Some of the rooms, both
1
The mission comprised: Prof. Wiktor A. Daszewski, Prof. Zofia Sztetyłło, Dr.
Evdoxia Papuci-Władyka, Mr. Henryk Meyza, archaeologists, Dr. Stanisław
Medeksza, architect and Mr. Bogusław Okupny, photographer. Participating
on a volunteer basis were students from the Institute of Archaeology of Warsaw University and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, as well as foreign
students from Cyprus, the United States and Great Britain. The mission
wishes to express heartfelt thanks to the authorities of the Antiquities Department of Cyprus for their friendly aid in the course of the work, as well as for
help in the reconstruction and anastylosis of the monuments. We are especially grateful to Dr. A. Papageorghiou, Director of the Antiquities Department,
and to Dr. D. Michaelides, the archaeologist in charge of the Paphos district.
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Fig. 1. Plan of the Polish excavations.
VT – Villa of Theseus, HA – House of Aion, HH – Hellenistic
House.
on the eastern and western side of the street, still had great pithoi
sunk in the ground. The content of two such pithoi on the western
side of the street was investigated in a previous season, but did not
supply any conclusive dating evidence. Investigations were continued
this year, the object being a large terracotta container sunk into the
ground near the outer wall of a room on the eastern side of the
street. The results were very interesting. It turned out that the container
was a kind of cylinder without bottom. Its flat floor, some 0.50 m
below the preserved top of the container, was made of potsherds
set flat in a layer of clay and bearing evidence of burning. Inside the
container, in a fill of rather homogenous grey silty soil mixed with
ashes there was a pottery deposit including plates, cups, bowls, kitchen
pots, fragments of Megarian bowls, a stamped Rhodian amphora
and three terracotta oil lamps. The entire group can be dated to the
period from the end of the 3rd to the early 1st century BC. The
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stamp on the amphora belongs to Diodotos, dated to 210-175 BC.
By the same token there can be no further doubt concerning the
dating of the dwellings on either side of the street the later Hellenistic
period.
Within the House of Aion work proceeded to the northeast of
rooms discovered so far, particularly in the vicinity of rooms 7 and
8. The debris inside room 7 included many bits of painted plasters
from the walls and ceiling. The decoration was figural, vegetal and
geometric; the figural parts were of outstanding quality. Substantial fragments of the decoration were pieced together from preserved bits in the course of the season; an example of this work is
a male figure in the dress of a kitharodos, perhaps a representation
of Apollo (Fig. 2). Excavations were carried out to the north of this
room, on the other side of its northern wall. Two other rooms were
found to be adjacent to it. Their floors were on a much higher level
and they were separated by a N-S wall without foundation. They
can be dated quite precisely by numerous coins and pottery of the
second and third quarters of the 4th century AD. In the northwestern part a stratigraphical trench reached bedrock at little over
2.10 m below the preserved tops of the walls. It was found that the
earliest habitations belonged to the Ptolemaic period, presumably
the beginning of the 2nd century BC. These Hellenistic structures
subsequently served as foundation for the northern wall of room 7.
Nevertheless, the area must have been occupied at an even earlier
date, even before anything was built here. Sherds lying immediately
upon bedrock are proof of it: fragments of a black-figured Attic
vase and a hydria of the White Painted VII type and perhaps also
White Painted II. The most interesting find from the trench was
a terracotta oil lamp discus from the middle of the 1st century AD,
decorated with a very rare representation of the nymph Amaltheia
nursing a small Zeus.
The trench east of room 8 of the House of Aion uncovered
a large part of yet another room lying on a level some 0.50 m higher
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Fig. 2. House of Aion, Room 7.
Reconstructed fragment of painted wall decoration.
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Fig. 3. Plan of the Hellenistic House.
than the rest of the house. This newly discovered room had a plain
mosaic floor, similar to that in room 8. It was made up of large
tesserae measuring about 2x2 and 2.5 x 2.5 cm.
The greatest effort was concentrated upon continued excavations of the so-called Hellenistic House (Fig. 3), which lies immediately to the south of the Villa of Theseus. The building represents
a type of house with a central peristyle court around which the main
reception and household rooms were planned together with
presumed lodgings. The northern wing of this structure was
destroyed completely when the later villa was constructed, the latter
being located on a slightly lower level. Owing to the insignificant
differences in the original elevation of the area and the leveling work
that took place, the stratigraphic sequence of archaeological layers
was turned upside down with Hellenistic layers connected with the
construction and occupation of the Hellenistic house being found
above the Late Roman levels in the Villa of Theseus.
The previous seasons saw the clearing of the entire eastern wing
of the peristyle (that is, its preserved part) and some of the rooms
adjoining it. The rooms in the northern part of the wing were
found to differ from those in the other end. The northern rooms all
had traces of fine mural decoration consisting of painting in the
so-called structural style, which corresponds to the First Pompeian
Style. The rooms in the southeastern corner of the portico were of
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a totally different character, having some connection with the use
of water as the waterproof floor and drain in one of the rooms
would suggest. The room next to it on the east was a latrine of fair
size indicating that it was intended for a number of users at a time.
The latest excavations continued the investigations of the western wing of the peristyle begun last year. What became apparent
was the fact that the Ionian column portico of the eastern and
southern wings was completely different, both in size and nature,
from the western one. New fragments of columns and pillars were
discovered there. The capitals represented the specific variety of the
Corinthian order that is typical of regions which came under Ptolemaic influence. One such capital of large size (top span is 1 m) was
discovered last year and this season supplied new fragments. The
stylobate of the western colonnade is wider than that of the eastern
one and draws from the size of the columns themselves. A sounding made in the middle part of the western stylobate brought some
surprising results. It demonstrated that the stylobate did not have
any foundations, at least in this section.
Opening off the western portico was a large room (no. 10) more
of which was uncovered this year. Us dimensions 11 x 6.50 m show
it to have been a reception hall with an axis that is perpendicular to
the portico. A wide entrance with a span of 3.10 m opens out on
the portico. The mosaic floor in this room is made up of irregular
chips of a creamish-white limestone and of black basalt(?). The decorative motif is extremely simple: a thin, about 10 cm wide black
band running parallel to the room's walls on a uniform whitish
ground. The materials used (irregular bits of stone) as well as the
technique, coloring and design place this mosaic among Hellenistic floors known from other regions of the Mediterranean, especially
from the nearby Cyrenaica and from Greece proper. The Paphos
mosaic should be considered a work of the 2nd century BC.
Traces of stucco relief pillars are visible on the preserved parts
of the walls of room no. 10, while the fill yielded many fragments
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of painted plaster. The designs included red and black bands, green
and yellow lines. A much richer wall decoration, and much better
preserved as well, was found in room no. 11. Three subsequent layers of plastering were recorded on its walls, the paintings being done
in the al secco technique. On the two earlier layers of plaster the
decoration took on form of large rectangular fields of uniform color, alternately red and black. Their sides as well as the corner of the
room were emphasized by vertical bands of either red or green
color. White and red bands separated the fields from each other.
The latest layer of plastering was a whitish plaster with a red line
running about 0.30 m above floor level.
The ceramic material accompanying the relics of architecture
indicated that the building, constructed in the later Hellenistic
period, continued in use right down to perhaps the second half of
the 1st century AD, when it was destroyed in an earthquake. The
ruins served subsequently as a ready source of building material,
an activity which apparently continued up to the middle of the 2nd
century AD, as indicated by ceramic evidence from the fill of the
dismantled walls. It was at this time that the Villa of Theseus
started taking shape; many fragments of architectural details
found previously reused in the walls of the Roman residence can
now be surely traced to this Hellenistic House.
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PALMYRA
Michał Gawlikowski
This was the third consecutive season spent in the downtown area of
ancient Palmyra, to the north of the Great Colonnade and halfway
between the Tetrapylon and the Funerary Temple. We continued
work in two neighboring blocks, one of them residential and the other
public in character, the latter being occupied by a secular basilica
converted into a church. Besides, we have started comprehensive
investigations in the Arab Castle high on the hill northwest of the ruins.1
We decided to continue this year the excavations of the house
partly cleared in 1988 (Fig. 1).2 The entrance opened to the east into
the street giving access on its other side further north to the Byzantine churches, while the street on the western side of the house passed close to the Great Colonnade, along the basilica excavated last
year. In 1988 we were able to clear about 400 m2 of the surface of
the house, i.e., the northern and western wings opening into the
centre courtyard. Upon clearing the other dependencies of this
courtyard, it was found that originally it had been linked to the
adjoining peristyle court the columns of which still stand further
1
The mission included, beside the present writer, Dr. Maria Krogulska, Messrs
Grzegorz Majcherek and Janusz Byliński, all archaeologists, and two architects, Messrs Marek Barański and Jan Kempa. We have met, while in Palmyra,
with the most efficient and generous help of our friends of many years, whose
collaboration has proved as precious as always. It is for me a pleasure to
acknowledge their part in the success of our mission. Mr. Khaled As'ad, Director of Antiquities in Palmyra, was with us as often as he could afford and let us
feel his support at all times; his associates Ahmad and Ali Taha assisted us
daily in the field, sharing our labors and smoothing our way throughout.
Needless to say, there is no forgetting the friendly support of Dr. Ali Abu Assaf,
Director General of Antiquities, and of Dr. Adnan Bounni, Director of Excavations, who have made our project possible.
2
See PAM I, 1990, p. 37-40.
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Fig. l. Plan of the house after the 1990 season. Younger walls are shaded.
to the south; once this was cleared too, we found that several passages led into yet another colonnaded courtyard. One should
count the total surface of the house well over 1200 m2, of which
nearly 900 m2 have been excavated already.
It was established, as a result of the former season that this
house was built in the later half of the 2nd century AD, and was
used without interruption, but not unchanged, down to the 8th or
even early 9th century, when it was finally deserted. The stucco
decoration dating back to the foundation of the house collapsed
only then, covering with its debris an accumulation layer including
pottery, glass and coins, all confirming a late date for the abandonment.
We can add now more evidence to the same effect. The original
house, no doubt the residence of a very affluent family, underwent
over time a series of partitions, apparently between relatives, as the
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resulting units continued to share a common courtyard and an
entrance from the street. One of the latest occupants signed his name
on a floor in Kufic script as (probably) Hassan. This determination
of the continuity of urban life in this part of Palmyra appears to be
the most important result of our research so far.
The northern courtyard (loc. 13) measured originally c. 10 by
14 m. It opened to the north and to the west into separate porticoes
of three columns each, giving access to several rooms (loci 1-11).
The details of this arrangement were described in my first report.
This time we excavated the court itself and its dependencies on the
eastern and southern sides. Two columns on the northern side were
found fallen and one of them was re-erected. To the south, there
was a single room 5 by 6 m (loc. 12), accessible from the courtyard
and from the adjoining western porch (loc. 10) until the latter passage was blocked. More Islamic evidence were found in the fill
close to the floor of this room, while much higher there were
elements of two stucco cornices once adorning the walls at two
different levels.
The original courtyard had no other dependencies and extended east right to the street wall. The entrance was through a narrow
corridor (loc. 16), in line with room 12 just described. Immediately
to the right and left of the street door, there were two passages: one
narrow in the corner of the courtyard, probably meant to serve
a future eastern wing, the other, 1.40 m wide, leading south into the
main part of the house through room 17.
The eastern wing was not added until the Islamic period. It consists of two rooms set higher than the original floors, but even with
two platforms marking this later level in the courtyard. Room 15
had two doors from inside and a door opening into the street, while
the original entrance was blocked at its inner end and transformed
into a shop. The new entrance was abandoned in its turn and still
another opened in the adjoining room 14. A shallow basin appearing
on the present surface marks this last access to the house, above
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a typically Ummayad red-painted plaster floor. The former vestibule, room 15, was then transformed into a stable, as suggested by
a manger near the blocked street door.
In the middle of the courtyard (loc. 13), a sewage collector was
found, cut into the rock and corbel-vaulted, now filled with clay. It
was joined by an open drain coming from the northeastern corner
of the courtyard, where there was a well 4.50 m deep, set into
a platform which had blocked one of the intercolumnia of the northern portico. This well, as the one of the same depth within the
western portico, collected underground water at a surprisingly high
water table level.
The courtyard neighboring to the south (loc. 22) commanded
a reception suite. It was entirely paved, though not at one time, and
four of its columns were still standing on its eastern side, bearing
the architraves. The restoration team of the Palmyra Museum, now
ably headed by Mr. Ali Saleh Taha, has reinforced them, replaced
the capital on the fourth standing column, and erected the one surviving column on the southern side. The peristyle is irregular, due
to the oblique course of the wall dividing this court from the dependencies of the one described above. It is not clear why this aberration arose, leading the architect to leave unfinished the northernmost column engaged in this wall which was built around it. Close
by, there is another well, 8 m deep, going certainly back to the 2nd
century; it is provided with a monolithic basin above the pavement.
There are two reception rooms on the western side of this
courtyard. The huge room 20, measuring 8.00 by 5.50 m, opened
under the colonnade and was provided with niches and symmetrical
doors right and left, leading to the neighboring rooms. The stucco
fragments found there are clearly the most elaborate of the whole
house and include many interesting motifs such as olive trees, vine
scrolls, human heads (destroyed by iconoclasts) and parts of armor
(Fig. 2). The room was used into Islamic times, as the rest of the
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Fig. 2. Stucco fragment from Room 20.
house, and coin finds tend to place the blocking of the side doors
in the beginning of the 7th century. The parallel room 19 is smaller,
but it was preceded by a porch of two columns, later walled in front
and equipped with a tannur. The eastern wing of this part of the
house still awaits excavation.
We also conducted this year a limited program of stratigraphic
investigation behind the apse of the basilica excavated in 1989. The
results are interesting: it appears that the apse was not part of the
original 2nd century building, as was thought earlier because of the
style of the decoration of its arch, but that it was built especially for
the church, while borrowing the voussoirs and the imposts of the
arch from another monument. Pottery evidence points to the 4th
century as the date of the church and this is confirmed by a coin of
Constantius II as Caesar (324-337), found on the floor upon which
the apse was erected. For this purpose, the shops lining the street
alongside the original basilica were dismantled, their doors blocked, and the whole sector transformed first into two, then into one
big room accessible from the porch in front of the church. The
dependency of the church was destroyed and filled up in the late 6th
or early 7th century, but the aisle itself survived until the 8th century,
as described in my 1989 report.
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It is very tempting to link the transformation of an earlier hall
of probably commercial use into a church with the inscription3
relating the restoration in 328 of the portico in front of the building
by a city official called Flavius Diogenes. If this association is correct, this text would mark the installation (impossible before 324)
of the first church in Palmyra, which would have been the see of
Bishop Marinus mentioned as one of the Fathers present at the
Council of Nicaea.
3
J. Cantineau, Inventaire des inscriptions de Palmyre, vol. III, 27.
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THE ARAB CASTLE IN PALMYRA
Janusz Byliński
The investigations of the Arab Castle began this year1 after a preliminary prospection in 1989 which yielded encouraging results. The season
was devoted to surveying and measuring the castle in order to prepare
detailed plans and sections. Some limited clearing work was carried out,
recovering evidence useful in establishing the date of the castle.
The castle was built on a rocky hill overlooking ancient Palmyra from the northwest. The building stands on an outcrop of rock
at the top of the hill, falling steeply both to the southwest and
southeast. The location of the stronghold on this irregular surface
inevitably determined its plan and internal arrangement. The whole
structure is surrounded by a moat, which was cut in the rock and
made deeper by an embankment supported by a retaining wall.
The construction of the castle is commonly ascribed to the Druze
emir Fakhr ed-Din Ibn Ma'an (1595-1634), but after last year's prospection it became obvious that at least two phases of construction
could be discerned in the building, and that the pottery sherds
found in several spots inside date back to the medieval period (13th14th century). Further research this year fully confirmed this assumption. The castle underwent a number of extensions, reconstructions and repairs while in use. The earliest stronghold was roughly
triangular in shape and remains the core of the building as it is seen
today. New segments were added at least twice, and some of the
earliest towers were engulfed. Doors and windows were closed by
new walls, passages closed, and some of the machicolations, stripped of their original function, became level with new courts. In some
1
The group working in the castle included Messrs Janusz Byliński, arabist and
archaeologist, Jan Kempa, architect, and Ahmad Tana representing the Palmyra Museum.
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towers new doors were pierced to facilitate communication with
the new segments. Although, there is nothing that could help say
how much time passed between these consecutive phases of construction, two different kinds of fabric can be easily distinguished:
irregularly hewn stones laid in courses leveled with mortar (almost
exclusive in the earliest phase), and regular blocks (at least some of
them may have come from dismantled tombs or city walls), prevalent in the later phase. The exact delineation of the different phases
has been left for the next season when appropriate soundings will
be made.
Pottery samples were collected both inside the castle and on the
slopes of the hill. Both sets of finds are homogenous, containing
sherds of glazed vessels characteristic of the late 13th and 14th
century and some pieces that might date back to the early 13th.
Unfortunately, the fragments collected are too small to allow a full
assessment of shapes and designs. Nonetheless, the variety of types
is striking, although all of them seem to be Syrian products and no
imported ware has yet been found. On the other hand, a number of
clay pipes found all in one room of the castle are evident proof of
occupation in the Ottoman period.
Measurements taken during this season are sufficient to draw
a plan of the castle's perimeter and of the rooms and halls on the
two floors of the northern part. Levels have been established and
marked in the whole structure. Some architectural elements were
cleared as, for instance, the flight of stairs leading to the central
segment of the southern part and an outer draining channel parallel
to the southeastern wall in the corridor leading to a large hall in the
northwestern corner of the castle.
It is this hall that was chosen for a fuller excavation this season,
mainly in view of the installations it contained, which were likely to
determine its function and its relations to other parts of the
castle. The floor was covered with a thick layer of dust, rubbish and
animal dung, only an outline of two circular structures being vis92
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ible on the surface. At first glance they seemed to be related to the
processing and storage of food. Eventually, we uncovered a circular
stone enclosure with a grooved stone in the center, which in all probability was a grain mill; it is in the southern corner of the hall. In
the eastern corner we cleared the fill from a sunken circular silo and
from another half-circular silo contiguous to it. Both containers
were set within a roughly quadrangular structure made of stone,
red baked bricks, mud-bricks and some reused parts of basalt grinding stones. The structure was partly destroyed. Under the highest
floor there is another, on which the mill was built, and which was
laid on top of a fill of crushed mortar, pebbles and rubbish (including pottery sherds) used for leveling the irregularly sloping bedrock.
The two containers just mentioned were built lowest down, on an
irregularly surfaced foundation made of several layers of lime
mortar. This foundation is visible in the corridor adjacent to the
mill, the floor of which is on the lower level.
The layer of animal dung and rubbish above the floor associated with the mill contained pottery sherds, clay pipes, fragments of
cloth and leather shoes, wooden spoons and numerous fragments
of broken grinding stones. Many sherds certainly belong to the
13th-14th century, but a fragment of an underglaze-painted, frit-body
vessel of the Raqqa type may date back to the early 13th century.
Excavations were conducted also in the walled terrace of tower
VII (part of the earliest structure, now inside the castle), where an
arched imprint in the wall plaster suggested a possible place of
worship. The dust and rubble removed, it became clear that the
terrace had been resurfaced after blocking the stairca-
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THE THIRD SEASON OF EXCAVATIONS
IN NORTHEAST SYRIA, 1990
Piotr Bieliński
In 1988 a team from the PCMA started excavating two sites situated
within the Hassake Eastern Dam Reservoir Area. One of these was Tell
Djassa al-Gharbi, the other Tell Abu- Hafur.1 Our explorations in
this region were part of the International Salvage Program of
the Hasake Dams Area, which is organized and supervised by the
Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums. In 1990
the third season of these excavations took place. We wish to
express here our gratitude to the Directorate General of Antiquities for the help and constant support offered us throughout
the campaign. In particular we owe sincere thanks to Dr. Adnan
Bounni, Director of Excavations, Mr. Jean Simon Lazar, Director
of Antiquities in Hasake, Mr. Hussein Youssuf who was working
with us as a representative of the Directorate, and finally Dr. Antoine Suleiman.
The campaign started on September 22 and lasted until November 6. This was our last season of digging since the water from the
Khabur began filling the Hasake Eastern Dam basin on the day we
finished excavations and by now both sites have been covered by
the waters of the new lake. The mission was composed of four
archaeologists headed by Dr. Maria Krogulska at the beginning of
the season and later on by the present writer. 2
TELL DJASSA AL-GHARBI
The investigations on this site were carried out in four separate
sectors. Two of these: the so called step trench (squares A-J) and
1
2
See PAM 1, 1990, pp. 17-25.
The members of the staff were: Mrs. Dorota Bielińska and Messrs Andrzej Reiche,
Rafał Koliński and Tomasz Skierniewski. For the last week we were aided by Dr. Franciszek M. Stępniowski who was a member of this team in the 1988 season as well.
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-
Fig. 1. Tell Djassa el-Gharbi. Plan of the site.
trench K-L (squares K-L), situated on the northern slope of the tell,
were already the object of explorations during previous seasons.
(Fig. 1) The two new trenches (squares M-N-0 and sounding P)
were opened in the eastern part of the site.
Within the long step trench (squares A-J) this year's main effort centered on further exploring layer II. In this layer, which is of
Early Dynastic III date, we continued the exploration of some mudbrick structures discovered last year. The eastern architectural unit,
called Building I, was the object of our particular interest. (Fig. 2)
There, inside a large room with two false arches (locus 5), some
limited soundings were dug. It was established that originally this
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room was nearly 4 m high and that it was rebuilt at least once.
A thick deposit (0.80 m) of floors and accumulated debris suggests
that this room was in use over a long period of time. Another room,
most probably also belonging to the same Building I, was excavated this year south of locus 5. This new room, labeled locus 6, was
very similar to the adjoining locus 5. It was of similar dimensions
and had two intersecting arches arranged similarly. It seems now
quite evident that the part of Building I described above must be at
least partly contemporary with the huge platform of mud brick
exposed already in 1968 on the northern slope of the tell. The results of a careful examination which took place during this season
suggest that this large platform, over 10 m wide, was not a homogenous structure, but that it was composed of at least three parts.
(Fig. 2) It seems also that the innermost part of the platform may be
slightly younger than the rest of it. The inner face of the platform
was found this year near the northern limits of trench K-L and
another fragment of this strange structure was unearthed in a small
sounding on the eastern slope of the mound (trench P). The remains discovered there have confirmed the supposition that the platform protected not only the northern slope of the tell, but the eastern
one as well. It seems that this structure as a whole had a rather
irregular character and was composed of several separate segments
made of mud bricks and loose clay.
During this season layer I was exposed in the small trench K-L,
running parallel to the main step trench. (Fig. 1) Fragments of two
large rooms with clay benches, storage jars and fireplaces were
found there. At least three main phases of development could be
observed here, closely corresponding to the earlier stages of layer I as
distinguished within the main step trench. These stages are representative of the late phase of the Early Dynastic III period. Structures
belonging to the same stages of layer I were discovered also in the
new trench M-N-0, located on the eastern slope of the tell (Fig. 3).
They consisted of the remains of at least three separate dwelling
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Fig. 2. Step trench (squares A-E). Constructions of Layer II.
Fig. 3. Layer I house found in squares M-0.
units. The largest fragment excavated within this trench measured
c. 7 x 5m and consisted of four rooms. The rooms contained numerous domestic installations such as: fireplaces, querns, mortars, a storage jar, tannur and small basin. The exterior walls of this house
were constructed of two rows of large mud bricks, while the partition walls were much thinner. The walls (preserved to a height of
c. 1.20 m) were reinforced with internal buttresses and plastered
with a thick layer of white plaster. Of the other dwellings not much
can be said as only small sections were exposed within the boundaries
of this sector.
In the same M-N-0 trench, just below the lowest floors of
houses belonging to layer I we found the top of layer II with fragments of the upper parts of an arched mud-brick structure. It closely resembled buildings discovered in layer II of the step trench A-J.
Last year Layer III was found only in the main step trench, where
its top was reached immediately beneath the foundations of
arched structures belonging to layer II. Our information about this
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layer and its dating in particular was fairly sketchy. To gain more
data, during the 1990 season we opened a larger sounding within
the main step trench. The architectural remains of layer III exposed
there consisted of fragments of two rooms with numerous adjacent
floors. What was even more important was the pottery found in
these rooms for it helped solve the question of the dating of layer
III. Like both the lower levels of Layer I and the whole of layer II,
also layer III turned out to be of Early Dynastic III date. We were
not so lucky with the dating of the lowermost occupational layer
found on Tell Djassa al-Gharbi, i.e., Layer IV. In spite of our efforts
(sounding in the northern part of step trench A-J), this layer did
not yield any diagnostic potsherds which would have allowed us to
set a more precise date than the Early Dynastic period in general.
This last season of excavations was important for a more complete understanding of the character of the 3rd millennium BC
settlements on Tell Djassa al-Gharbi. The remains discovered in layer
II can be considered as particularly interesting. Such elements as
the substantial platform and buildings composed of tightly packed
arched structures are considerably different from the architecture
of other later 3rd millennium BC settlements excavated in this part
of Syria. The function of the platform, as well as that of the arched
structures, will certainly need further clarification. It is to be noted,
however, that similar arched structures have been found on Tell
Abu Hadjarat within the same Hassake Eastern Dam Basin3 and
on Tell 'Atij where a large platform was also uncovered. 4
3
Personal communication by Dr. Antoine Suleiman.
4
` campagne de fouilles a` Tell
M. Fortin, Rapport préliminaire sur la premiere
'Atij, Syria 65 (1988), pp. 139-71; idem, Rapport préliminaire sur la seconde
campagne de fouilles a``Tell 'Atij, Syria 67 (1990), pp. 219-250.
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–
TELL ABU HAFUR
On Tell Abu- Hafur the explorations were carried out in all three
sectors begun in 1989. The first, designated Area A, is situated on
the southeastern slope of the main mound. During this season our
investigations within Area A were rather limited. In this sector,
where last year a habitation quarter composed of at least five separate dwelling houses was unearthed, this year we made only some
minor soundings, verifying some architectural elements and taking
some additional measurements. In most parts of this sector we succeeded in uncovering the architectural remains of layer A, which
like the three upper layers discovered here before, also represents
the Early Dynastic III period. Within Area A we also excavated a
fragment of a small lane which existed there in periods represented
by layers 3 and 4. This lane was set perpendicularly to both streets
cleared in this sector in 1989. This year's investigations in Area A
confirmed the continuity of occupation in this part of the site
during most of the Early Dynastic period.
In the other sector, the long step trench set on the northern
slope of Tell Abu- Hafur (Area B), our efforts centered on two problems. The first was continued exploration and more precise dating
of structures discovered in layer VI of this trench. The second task
was the further investigation of a huge mud-brick wall found
within layer VIII of this trench. To achieve the first of our aims we
extended the step trench to a width of more than 5 m, making it
possible to clear a larger part of the structures belonging to layer
VI. Some more small rooms belonging to the same structure were
discovered, but what was more important was the diagnostic pottery material discovered in them. It is now absolutely clear that layer
VI in Area B of Tell Abu- Hafur belongs to the period of ED III
occupation at the site. The substantial mud-brick wall of layer VIII
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ern side of Area B and two others on its southern side. Each of the
trenches measured c. 3 x 2 m. Within three of them the topmost
remains of this huge wall were discovered. It would seem that this
wall which is at least 6 m wide and c. 10 m high protected the ED
III settlement on Tell Abu- Hafur against flooding from the nearby
wadi, as the remains of this wall were found only on the slope on
the northern side of the tell.
The third sector of Tell Abu- Hafur subjected to exploration was
the small mound called Tell Abu- Hafur East. The aim of this
season's explorations was to study further the stratigraphical sequence established there last year, when numerous remains of the
Mitanni period were found. For this purpose, three small soundings
were made on the western slope of Tell Abu- Hafur East. Some fragments of a fortification wall erected on foundations made of stone
blocks were unearthed. The wall itself was constructed of mud bricks.
These fortifications represent a 2nd millennium BC occupation of
the site and can be attributed to the Mitannian period. In a layer
overlying this, some remains of a Neo Assyrian structure were
found, most probably also of a defensive nature. This discovery has
extended the stratigraphical sequence of the site, since in the previous year we did not find any layers which could be dated to
a period later than the 2nd millennium BC.
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NEMRIK 9
Stefan Karol Kozłowski
In the years 1985-1989 an expedition of Warsaw University directed by
the present author conducted extensive archaeological research on Nemrik 9, a site in northern Iraq (Dohuk district) lying some 50 km northwest of Mosul. The investigations were sponsored by the PCMA and
the Iraqi Service of Antiquities to whom we owe many thanks for their
help and support. The present report covers not only fieldwork, but
also some lab analyses. as well as detailed studies, either published already or currently in print.
The site or at least its later phases date to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. It is a large multi-phase settlement covering a maximum area
of 2.5-3 hectares.1 It lies on the Tigris, just 2.5 km from the modern
river bed, on the second terrace some 65-70 m above the present
level of the river. The terrace itself is cut by numerous wadis flowing generally from the north to the Tigris and gathering water from
the not too distant highlands of the Kurdish Mountains. The
Nemrik site lies on a sort of peninsular terrace confined on the east
and west by wadis.
CHRONOLOGY
The dating of the Nemrik site is based on a long series of C14
analyses conducted in the Gliwice Laboratory by M. Pazdur. Disregarding dates that are aberrations, the beginnings of the settlement
should be put at the close of the 9th millennium b.c. and its end in
the middle of the 7th millennium.
1
For a full description of the site and contour map, see: S.K. Kozłowski, K. Szymczak,
Preneolithic site Nemrik 9 [in:] Researches on the Antiquities of Saddam Dam
Basin Project, Bagdad 1987; S.K. Kozłowski (ed.), Nemrik 9. Pre-pottery
Neolithic Site in Iraq. General Report – Seasons 1985-1986, Warsaw 1990.
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STRATIGRAPHY 2
Generally, the stratigraphy of the Nemrik site should be divided into two main layers differing from each other in terms of lithology and in genetics to an extent. The lower part of the profile,
directly on top of clayey virgin soil with mole holes is made up of
loess-like deposits, mainly of aeolian origin.
In these formations three occupational levels can be distinguished, marked by the occurrence of objects (flint, stone, less frequently bone and clay), charcoal and ashes, animal bones and shells,
architecture and burials, as well as clay floors covering more or less
continuously the space between the houses.
The upper part of the profile is made up of a thick layer of
stone evidently of anthropogenic nature. It constitutes the remains
of a stone pavements between the houses, repeatedly repaved. This
layer contained the same kinds of finds as described above for the
lower part of the profile, with the exception of clay floors. It is possible to distinguish two settlement phases in this upper layer.
SETTLEMENT PHASES
It is clear from the above that five settlement phases have been
distinguished. Separating the phases are periods when obviously
there was no permanent settlement on Nemrik.
The first three phases which are less well known can be dated
from the close of the 9th to the end of the 8th millennium, the last
two (IV and V) to the end of the 8th and the first half of the 7th
millennium. The latter two also provided most of the small finds as
well as architecture and burials to mention the layout of an early
Neolithic village.
2
S.K. Kozłowski, Nemrik 9, a Pre-pottery Neolithic Site in Northern Iraq,
Paléorient 15/1, 1989 and S.K. Kozłowski, op. cit.
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ARCHITECTURE 3
All in all over 20 architectural objects were discovered and investigated completely or in part. They were sunk as a rule into the
surface currently in use, sometimes to a depth of as much as 2 m, at
other times much less.
In the first four settlement phases the structures were as a rule
round or oval, mostly of a dwelling nature (particularly structures
Fig. 1. Nemrik 9, phase IV.
3
S.K. Kozłowski, A. Kempisty, Architecture of the Pre-pottery Neolithic Site in
Nemrik 9, Northern Iraq, World Archaeology 21, No. 8, 1990; S.K. Kozłowski
(ed.), Nemrik 9, Pre-pottery Neolithic Site in Northern Iraq. House 1, 1 A and 1 B,
Warsaw, in press.
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with a diameter of 5 m or more), sometimes tombs or domestic
areas. The fifth phase features subrectangular houses. In the earlier
phases the prevailing structures are small and built in the pisé technique. In phase III we find walls constructed of large cigar-like mud
bricks dried in the sun. The structures are larger now, reaching
7-8 m in diameter.
In many houses some interior "architecture" has survived in
the form of benches, pits and post holes with massive pillars in the
pisé technique appearing in phase IV, a feature that is unique in the
entire region. Clay plaster is common and in phase V floors are
painted red. No hearths or door openings have been found.
OTHER OBJECTS
A large refuse pit is connected with phase V.
BURIALS
In the earlier phases the dead were buried in graves located
among the houses. In phase III mass burials were made under
house floors, but also in between the houses. In phase IV or V,
a small burial ground was used in the southern part of the village.
The inhumations are almost all contracted and lying on one side.
Partial burials were encountered as well.
SETTLEMENT LAYOUT (Figs 1 and 2)
The thoroughness of the investigations of phases IV and V permitted an almost complete, if not fully complete reconstruction of
the layout of the settlement, a fact that is unprecedented in the research on this region to date.
In both phases a large percentage of the space was paved with
broken stone pebbles. Large stone objects such as grinders, mortars, polishing slabs etc. were located on these pavements. A few
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houses, circular in phase IV and rectangular in phase V, were sunk
into these pavements. At the southern end of the site there was a
small burial ground and in phase V a large refuse pit was located in
the centre of the settlement.
It would appear that in the last two phases of the settlement it
consisted of no more than a few buildings. In each of the houses
the space on the clay benches, regarded as beds, was barely enough
for ten people. Therefore, there is reason to believe that the Early
Neolithic population of the village did not exceed several dozen in
the last two phases.
Fig. 2. Nemrik 9, phase V.
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FLINT INDUSTRY4
The flint industry is extremely numerous and features singleplatform cores for obtaining bladelets by the pressure technique.
These bladelets were frequently sectioned. The main raw material
was a local tertiary flint; imported obsidian is encountered rarely
as is a chocolate-coloured flint which was imported in the form of
ready blades used subsequently in the production of sickle-blades.
Among the retouched tools retouched blades predominate together with perforators, retouched flakes and end-scrapers, all forms
making up the Near Eastern standard of the time. Rare picks are
distinctive as well as rather more frequent tanged points, both rhomboid and leaf-shaped. These two groups and backed bladelets as well
set the industry apart, entitling it to be called Nemrikian. El Khiam
points are infrequent. What is more important still is the fact that
this industry practically does not undergo any evolution over 1500
radiocarbon years. Therefore, in northern Iraq, we do not observe a
clear bipartite cultural sequence such as the classic Levantine sequence (Sultanian – Tahunian).
GROUND STONE INDUSTRY5
The Nemrik collection of ground and pecked stone implements
is extremely rich (more than 3000 objects) and varied. It consists of
grinders, mortars, polishing slabs, polished axes, various pounders,
stone "pegs", bolas, "maceheads", flint choppers etc. some rare
stone vessels and finally jewellery. Being as it is so rich and varied,
the assemblage permits a reconstruction of a full model of this
industry for the whole region.
4
S.K. Kozłowski, K. Szymczak, Flint industry from House 1-1A-1B at the Prepottery Neolithic site in Nemrik 9, Northern Iraq, Paléorient 15/1, 1989.
5
R.F. Mazurowski, Ground and Pecked Stone Industry in the Pre-pottery
Neolithic of Northern Iraq, Warsaw, in press.
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It also develops in time, the process being clearly visible upon
analysis of particular settlement phases. As a result the regional
model mentioned earlier is enriched by the factor of variability in
time. This in turn allows for the verification of the debatable dating
of Iraqi sites, for instance, a significant rejuvenation of the
Jarmo sequence or suggestions of a mixed, multi-phase character
of the assemblages from Zawi Chemi-Shanidar.
BONE OBJECTS
Bone objects are rare and fairly standard (awls, perforators,
chisels). The needles are distinctive – flat and equipped with a large
hole and an oblique engraved ornament.
CLAY OBJECTS
The so-called tokens are small, handmade and weakly fired objects taking on geometrical shapes, such as pancakes which are the
most numerous, cones, balls and rarely cylinders. Accompanying
these there are rare animal figurines (boar and pig, ram, cattle?).
OBJECTS OF ART
Deserving special attention are about 20 pieces of stone sculpture, originating from at least phase III or even phase II of the settlement at Nemrik. The objects include small (up to 20cm in length)
representations of bird heads, a snake, an unidentified mammal,
a lioness, buffalo hoof, and finally a male head and a figure of a woman.
All are homogeneous in style and technique and of high artistic
standard. The technique comprised piquetage modeling of
a pebble using a flint tool for details, and finally very precise polishing.
The only Near Eastern analogies for the Nemrik series is the
sculpture of the Natufians, which is, however, earlier. In most cases
the sculptures are damaged and only in one we can be fairly sure
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that the piece has survived in almost original form and place (the
floor of a burnt house 2A). It would appear that these were household deities.
DATA ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMY
The original landscape of Nemrik as well as the economy of its
inhabitants can be fairly precisely reconstructed on the basis of several factors: the analyses presently being completed on pollen, dendrology, plant macroelements, malacology; comparative data obtained in interviews of eldest members of the local community, analyses
of the remains of the original landscape; Layard's descriptions, and
finally geomorphological and pedological data.
It has already been noted that the settlement was located between the highlands and the valley of the great river, on a flat terrace
cut by wadi. It appears highly feasible that it was located purposefully at the junction of two or even three biotopes: the steppe (the
terrace), the forest (the highlands) and perhaps even the river valley, although water quite certainly came from the nearby streams.
Thus, it can be said that the site was surrounded by what
amounted to a steppe parkland with clumps of trees including
poplars/willows and ashes. Tamarisks were among the trees which
grew in the river valley, while the highlands were covered with
a sparse mixed oak forest.
The fauna differed in each of these zones. In the steppe zone
there were chiefly antelopes and gazelles, as well as equids, the river
valley had boars among others, while in the highlands there lived
fauna of the mixed forest including deer, boars, beavers, bison,
aurochs, bears and wild goats. Lions and Indian buffalo were also
to be found in the district. There were fish in the river, crawfish and
turtles in the streams.
The animals mentioned above (without the fish) constituted
the mainstay of an intensive hunting economy of the Nemrik
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dwellers. Even though domestic animals such as sheep, goats,
cattle and pigs were known to these people since at least phase III,
they never seemed to be prevalent in the diet.
Hunting and the beginnings of husbandry were accompanied
by a gathering economy (seeds of wild grain, lentils, vetch, shells of
Helix salomonica and Unio tigridis among others). There is no
such certainty as far as cultivation of grain is concerned, although
pollen analyses seem to answer this question, at least for the later
phases. Almost no evidence of fishing was observed.
This data, the source for which are as yet incomplete analyses,
shows the Nemrik environment to have been extremely rich and
used in an optimal fashion with the economy taking advantage of
all the available resources. At the same time it initiated a neolithization process that was most probably contemporary to the one in
the Levant.
CONCLUSIONS
The importance of the Nemrik site for learning about a significant part of the prehistory of the Near East at a turning point in its
development cannot be overestimated. Thanks to fieldwork (more
than eleven months in the field when summed up), it was possible
to gather extensive data, permitting the conclusions to be well
grounded, even if not in harmony with textbook elaborations.
Foremost, there is the well dated and clear stratigraphical sequence which in many details differs from sequences known from
the Levant and the Zagros. It has turned out that the phenomenon
of Pre-Pottery Neolithic is far more complex than previously
thought with various local solutions to be considered (for instance,
the Nemrik flint industry lasting throughout the history of the settlement in unchanged form, a different sequence of the architecture,
different architectural details, on original art, partly local
ground stone industry etc.). The layout of the settlement was found
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to be different from what was known on the subject from Jericho
soundings. As a matter of fact, in view of the Nemrik finds, many
sites considered typical should be re-dated or at least their homogeneity put in doubt. This is a sobering reflection to realize once
again that we are still far from understanding the phenomenon of
the Early Neolithic in the Near East.
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LA REPRISE DES FOUILLES A M’LEFAAT
(SAISON 1989/1990)
Stefan Karol Kozłowski, Kazimierz Kuźma
et Karol Szymczak
Ce site déjà classique, identifié et sondé en 1954 par R. Braidwood
(Braidwood 1954, Dittlemore 1983), est situé à 35 km à l'Est de
Mossoul et à 90 km au Sud-Est de Nemrik (voir, p. 105). II a été
récemment l'objet d’une fouille de sauvetage, occasionnée par les
travaux de l’autoroute voisine et menée en 1984 par M. Matti Baba
Altun du Departement des Antiquités de Mossoul. A notre tour,
ayant achevé la fouille de Nemrik, nous avons repris le chantier
en 1989.1
LE SITE
Le petit tell de M'lefaat, aujourd’hui fortement réduit et perturbé par des travaux industriels, repose sur des dépôts loessiques
et des graviers tertiaires accumulés sur la rive droite de la rivière
Khazir, affluent du Grand Zab. II n’a que 2 à 3 m de haut, et 90 m
environ de diamètre, culminant à 13.50-14 m au-dessus de la rivière. Les travaux de l’autoroute ont totalement détruit les zones
nord et centre du tell, primitivement presque circulaire, et décapé
plusieurs dizaines de centimètres de la partie sud. Des constructions de l’époque assyrienne, ainsi que de la dernière guerre mondiale, ont également endommagé le site.
LA STRATIGRAPHIE
La partie méridionale du tell exhibe deux niveaux d’argile rapportée, chaque fois en une couche étendue, d’une quinzaine de
1
Membres de la mission: Stefan K. Kozłowski (directeur), Kazimierz Kuźma,
Karol Szymczak et Jolanta Kamińska.
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centimètres d'épaisseur au maximum, interprétée comme la surface d’une place de village, autour de laquelle plusieurs maisons
ont pu être dégagées. La couche argileuse inférieure est recouverte
par un dépôt de terre grise, alors que la couche argileuse supérieure, creusée de petites fosses rondes ou ovales, utilisées comme
foyers, épouse le relief du tell et présente la même morphologie.
On y distingue des structures consistant en des pierres fichées
dans l’argile et des dallages isolés, recouverts par un niveau très
érodé contenant peu de silex, mais où des outils lourds en pierre,
plus on moins en place, sont assez abondants.
Les maisons répérées aux deux niveaux, entourant la place centrale, sont circulaires ou ovales, enfoncées dans les couches inférieures. Elles ont été comblées par les terres en provenance des
couches érodées du sommet du tell. Le matériel archéologique
y est souvent très menu et dut être récupéré par tamisage à l’eau.
A l’état actuelde nos recherches, la stratigraphie du site peut
se résumer par le tableau suivant:
Structures d’habitat
Sol d’argile
Couche supérieure
1 2 3 - - - - -
supérieur
Couche inférieure
1A-3A 4 5 6 7 8?
inférieur
LA CHRONOLOGIE
Quatre datations absolues ont pu être obtenues, gràce à M.F.
Pazdur du laboratoire de Gliwice, que je remercie pour son obligeance.
La plus ancienne (12 760 ± 660 b.p. – Gd 4483) provient des
charbons de bois recueillis parmi les matériaux de remplissage de
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la maison 4 (phase ancienne du site). Cette datation est probablement trop élevée.
La datation suivante, obtenue également à partir des charhons
de bois de la phase ancienne, cette fois de la maison 3A, indique
10 290 ± 180 b.p. – Gd 6149.
Les dates Gd 6150 (10 890 ± 140 b.p.) et Gd 4465 (10 850 ±
200 b.p.) ont été obtenues à partir des charbons recueillis dans
des foyers au fond des petites fosses rondes de la couche argileuse
supérieure.
L’occupation du site de M'lefaat est ainsi située au cours du
e
9 millénaire avant J.-C., avant celle de Nemrik. L’intérêt de ce site
consiste donc à illustrer la séquence culturelle du Nord iraquien
à l’aube des temps épi-paléolithiques et au début du Néolithique,
à l’époque où la tradition natoufienne se développe en Palestine
et celle de Shanidar dans le Zagros, l’une et l’autre totalement
différentes de ce qu'on trouve à M’lefaat. Encore une autre tradition
est signalée par Watkins à l’Ouest de l’Iraq, à Qermez Dare.
L’ARCHITECTURE
A ce jour, 10 maisons circulaires ont été identifiées, dont deux
maisons superposées 1 et 1A dégagées par R. Braidwood dans le
secteur nord du tell. La première mesurait 2.7 m à 3.5 m de diamètre et s’integrait dans la couche argileuse supérieure. Les fouilles
iraquiennes de 1984 ont livré 4 maisons sur deux niveaux (maisons 5, 6, 7 dans la couche inférieure, et la maison 2, plus grande,
dans la couche supérieure), toujours dans le secteur septentrional.
Nos fouilles de 1989 et 1990 ont mis au jour 5 nouvelles maisons :
maison 3 dans la couche supérieure et les maisons 3A, 4 et 8 dans
la couche inférieure, la position stratigraphtque de la maison 8 demeurant incertaine; elles se trouvent toutes à la limite sud-est du
tell. Nous ne donnons ici qu’une brève description de quelquesunes de ces structures.
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La maison 3 est ovale, large de 7.8 m et de 6.2 m. Les murs
sont en pisé, épais de 40 cm ou plus, conservés sur 70 cm de haut.
A l’intérieur, nous avons relevé deux niveaux successifs du sol,
des banquettes, des traces d’enduit sur les parois.
La maison 4, à moitié conservée, était circulaire, avec le diamètre de 6 m environ. Les murs atteignent 75 cm de haut avec une
épaisseur de 45 cm et portent aussi des traces d'enduit. Un seul
niveau du sol présente au milieu une banquette en pisé, concave,
haute de 10 cm.
La maison 8 est de forme ovale, 4 m sur 4.7 m. Ses murs n’ont
que 10 à 16 cm d’épaisseur, atteignant la hauteur de 1.40 m; ils
sont construits en briques crues façonnées à la main, en forme de
cigares allant jusqu’à 70 cm de long. Deux banquettes diamètralement opposées (nord et sud) garnissaient l’interieur; sur l’une
d'elles était fixée une meule.
L’INDUSTRIE LITHIQUE
Les silex décrits ici ont été recoltés en 1989 dans le remplissage
des maisons 3 et 4 (sans tamisage). Ils sont au nombre de 583 pièces,
ce qui est modeste pour un site iraquien de cette période. L’étude
des matériaux de 1990, recueillis au cours du tamisage systématique à l’eau, n'est pas encore terminée.
Les éclats dominent, faisant 61.7% de l’ensemble; la plupart
sont corticaux ou sub-corticaux. Les lamelles, représentant 23.7%
de la collection, sont le plus souvent très petites, régulières, intentionnellement sectionnées; leur morphométrie rappelle fortement
les lamelles de Nemrik. Il y a aussi 7.5% d’outils retouchés et 5.7%
de nucléus.
La plupart de nucléus sont coniques, avec un seul plan de
frappe, ayant produit des lamelles régulières. II en existe d'autres,
non coniques avec également un plan de frappe, globuleux ou discoïdes. Tous ressemblent de près ceux de Nemrik, tout en étant
beaucoup plus petits.
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L'outillage est surtout composé des lames et d’éclats retouchés
(70% d’outils). On remarquera quelques pièces denticulées et des
raclettes avec retouche dorsale ou ventrale. Les lames peuvent être
retouchées avec grand soin ou au contraire d’une façon irrégulière; certaines portent des traces d’utilisation. Parmi les armatures microlithiques (15% de l’outillage), il y a des lamelles à bord
abattu, à base oblique et retouche ventrale, ainsi que des microlamelles retouchées. Mentionnons enfin de rares perçoirs, des grattoirs courts et une troncature retouchée.
Les fouilles de 1990, comme les anciennes recherches américaines, ont également apporté des pointes d’el-Khiam, des triangles allongés à base concave, des lamelles à dos avec troncature
retouchée et des lamelles à bord abattu.
L'industrie de M’lefaat ressemble beaucoup à celle de Nemrik:
même morphologie et la façon d’exploitation des nucléus, même
morphométrie, même technique de fractionnement des lamelles,
le répertoire similaire de l’outillage. Les différences consistent
principalement en pauvreté numérique des silex à M’lefaat, comparée à leur abondance à Nemrik. Proportionnellement, à M’leffat
il y a plus de lames que d’éclats, et les armatures y sont plus nombreuses, alors que manquent les pointes et les piques, caractéristiques pour Nemrik; ces disparités suggèrent un mode de vie
différent.
Nous avons en outre retrouvé plusieurs dizaines de gros outils
en roches locales diverses, comme il y en a aussi à Nemrik: grandes
meules de grès rosé, broyeurs ronds ou ovales, mortiers en calcaire et pilons cylindriques façonnés à partir des galets. Citons encore quelques bolas de silex, plusieurs boules perforées et hachettes
polies en roche verte.
LA FAUNE
La fouille a rendu en abondance des restes d’animaux, généralement bien conservées, mais déterminées à ce jour seulement en
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partie. Pour les mammifères, une gazelle et un carnivore ont été
identifiés; en revanche, il y a de nombreux os d’oiseaux et des poissons d’assez grande taille. Des moules et des éscargots complètent
cette liste provisoire qui évoque plutôt l’économie d’un village de
chasseurs et de pêcheurs. De nombreuses graines recueillies par
flottement indiquent la pratique de la cueillette.
CONCLUSIONS
1. M’lefaat est un village du 9e millénaire av. J.-C. Du point de
vue chronologique et économique, c’est un village épi-paléolithique, contemporain du Natoufien du Levant et de Shanidar
dans le Zagros. Par rapport à Nemrik, il est plus ancien, et peutêtre précurseur.
2. II s’agit d’un village véritable, occupé à deux reprises par une
population sédentaire pendant des périodes assez longues (mais
encore mal déterminées).
3. Pour la phase plus récente au moins, on est en droit de parier d’une place centrale recouverte d’une couche d’argile, entourée des maisons circulaires, munies de banquettes. Les murs de
ces maisons étaient en pisé ou en brique crue. Quelques trous de
poteaux ont été observés pendant les fouilles iraquiennes.
Contemporaines des maisons natoufiennes en pierre, ces habitations semblent les plus anciennes constructions connues en pisé et en
brique crue. Elles ressemblent de près aux maisons de Nemrik.
Des meules, des mortiers, des foyers enfoncés, ainsi que des
aires de galets étaient installés sur la place centrale.
4. L’industrie lithique en silex représente la phase la plus ancienne connue à ce jour de l’horizon mésopotamien. Les grattoirs
denticulés, les lamelles retouchées, la manière de débitage, ne différent guère du matériel de Nemrik. Il convient de signaler la rareté des points d’el-Khiam et 1’abondance des pointes et lamelles
à bord abattu, connues à Nemrik (en compagnie des “pointes de
Nemrik”) depuis la fin du 9e millénaire. Il semble bien y avoir
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une filiation entre les industries lithiques de M’lefaat et de Nemrik,
tant en silex qu’en d’autres roches.
5. Le Proche Orient a connu, au cours du 9e et du 8e millénaires, trois grandes traditions culturelles:
- la tradition du Levant, avec le Khamien qui succède au Natoufien;
- la tradition mésopotamienne, avec les industries de M’lefaat auxquelles succède le Nemrikien, et avec un prolongement possible
vers l’horizon de Jarmo;
- la tradition du Zagros, bien représentée à Zawi Chemi.
6. A partir de la seconde moitié du 9e millénaire av. J.-C. existent
déjà en Mesopotamie certains traits technologiques et morphologiques que l’on retrouvera dans le PPN du Levant (brique, industrie microlithique en silex avec les pointes de Khiam).
II est désormais raisonnable de supposer qu’un certain nombre
d’éléments constitutifs du PPN du Levant, surtout l’architerture
d’argile, tirent leur origine de la province mésopotamienne.
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THE FIRST SEASON OF EXCAVATIONS
IN HATRA, IRAQ
Michał Gawlikowski
Following the kind invitation of Dr. Moayed Saeed Damerji, Director
General of Antiquities and Heritage, an archaeological mission worked in Hatra from March 10 to April 14, 1990.1 We found there very
favorable conditions of work and rest, and most of all the efficient,
friendly cooperation of our Iraqi colleagues, Sd. Manhal Jaber in Mosul and Sd. Hikmat Bashir el-Aswad in Hatra itself. It is our pleasant
duty to acknowledge their very valuable help and to thank them most
cordially for all they have done. We also extend these thanks to the
appointed Representative of the Directorate General, Sd. Mohammad
Ahmad Baud, who assisted us daily in our work.
As settled with the Directorate General during my previous visit
to Iraq, the activities of the mission were to include the recording and
study of the defense walls of Hatra on one hand, and on the other, soundings in the main temple court in search of traces of the original settlement. However, during the first days of our stay we found what seemed to be the line of the oldest walls of Hatra, halfway between the great
temple and the walls standing on the southern side of the city.Accordingly,
I requested permission to check these observations through digging.
I can say now that our expectations have been fully confirmed.
Meanwhile our recording of the standing walls started at the
southeastern corner of the fortifications and went along the eastern
front for about 500 m up to the East Gate, recently restored. The main
features of this imposing defensive system can be studied already from
this sample, but we intend to proceed further with the recording.
The defenses are built in depth for about 30 m, beginning with
an earthen wall and ditch, and including the main wall with towers
1
The mission included Messrs Janusz Byliński and Tomasz Herbich (both archaeologists), Adam Dolot (architect) and the present writer.
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and parallel inner wall, both in mud brick on stone foundations
and both over 3 m thick. The original height of the walls can be
estimated at 10 m, judging from the remains of steps leading to the
top and allowing for a protective parapet along the walk. We have
assured ourselves of this and some other points through several
soundings on the inside of the wall. It is known from published
inscriptions that both the northern and eastern gates were built by
Lord Nasru, who is also certainly responsible for the whole rampart. This enterprise took place about AD 140, i.e., shortly after the
same Lord Nasru had completed the temenos wall by AD 138, and
before AD 152, when the wall was already in use (see inscriptions
H 272 and H 336). Later additions to the rampart, consisting mainly of
massive stone towers intended for housing catapults, seem to have been
executed after the unsuccessful siege by Septimius Severus in AD
198/199. The wall was subsequently repaired and reinforced until it
finally confronted the Sassanian troops of Ardashir in AD 240.
The question immediately arises where is the wall, which had
resisted Emperor Trajan in AD 117. Hatra was at the time "neither
big nor rich" as Cassius Dio says, hardly a fitting description of the
magnificent city of barely twenty years later.
With this question in mind, we explored the walled area and
noticed a clear straight line dividing the low ground to the south
from the maze of small tells marking the densely built quarters
around the Great Temple. This line runs about 230 m from the south
wall and about 320 m from the temenos, meeting on the east a wadi
which runs in front of the Great Temple. All tombs on the southern
side are to be found beyond this line which represents, as we supposed, a trace of the defenses of the 1st century Hatra.
We opened several trenches along the line of the supposed early
wall and found it immediately (Fig. 1). It was built in a straight line
seven or more bricks deep, i.e., about 3 m, on rubble foundations.
Our trenches made it possible to follow the wall for about 200 m of
its length. The preserved height varies from one to six bricks above
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Fig. 1. The localization and course of the 1st century defense wall.
the base. The wall was dismantled in antiquity and houses were built
on top of it. Later on it was subject to heavy erosion which has
caused it to disappear entirely.
Close to the wadi the wall turns at a right angle to the north.
The corner was reinforced by a massive tower of mud brick on a
base of good ashlar masonry some 6.6 m wide on the southern side
and projecting on either side for 3.5 m from the face of the wall.
While not dated exactly, this structure is in fact the oldest extant
monument of Hatra, marking the limits of the archaic city in the
1st century AD. The extension of these defenses on the other sides
cannot be traced with equal assurance on the ground.
We consider the results of this season as highly encouraging
and hope to continue our research in Hatra in the future. We would
like to spend the next season excavating the South Gate and recording the remaining parts of the cleared rampart. If accepted, this
project would eventually provide us with data for a comprehensive
publication of the Hatra defenses.
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© PCMA 2008 – digital reprint
PAM II [= Reports 1989-1990]