Chair: Cécilia Populaire
Understanding technologies and defining resources
DATE: 02.09.2022
ROOM: Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, room 3
Understanding technologies and defining resources
From prehistory into the Islamic period, using wood in various manufacturing capacities was common in ancient Sudan. Manufactured wood products were clearly available during the Meroitic period, in different forms and for different purposes. However, no scientific studies have been conducted to determine the species of wood considered to be very important. This presentation focuses on studying wood species during the Meroitic kingdom (based on the SNM collections). According to the results, it is evident that from very ancient times wooden objects in Sudan were made of native trees as well as imported timber. Many species were in use during this era. Ebony wood was widely used, it was used to make cosmetics containers such as kohl tubes, in addition to making some types of furniture, such as chairs. Mahogany was also frequently used for making furniture and bowls. Ebony and mahogany are hard woods which are frequent in Sudan today and are known by their solidity and thickness, making them good for fabrication. Many other species were used, but on a more limited scale: Ficus Sycamore, a softwood, and Doum palm were not usable during the Meroitic kingdom. Softwood species do not grow in Sudan, so such wood products may have been imported from abroad or grew in Sudan during the Meroitic kingdom.
Wood artefacts in the gallery and stores of the Sudan National Museum are important because of their rareness and susceptibility to many deterioration factors. The aim of this study is to specify the reason beyond the wood artefacts, focusing on damage to artefacts and the environment of storage, in order to help identify the areas and historical periods which the artefacts belong to. The other aim of this study is to focus on how to restore some wood artefacts in the Sudan National Museum gallery and stores. The methods used in this study comprise description, practical and experimental approaches, using physical and chemical methods of archaeological restoration, grouting, filling and replacing. It is worth mentioning that dust and dirt are the main factors of deterioration of wood artefacts and string, along with cracking, insects, sand, and mice.
Based on a reconstruction of ecological conditions during the Kushite period, particularly in relation to natural water resources, this presentation will discuss the fundamental role of water management and artificial local water resources in the hinterland of the Nile valley. Whereas crop production in the form of seasonal wadi cultivation could have taken place under natural conditions, any pastoralism required artificial water resources. Thus, it is possible that hafirs were initially invented and erected by local (agro?)pastoral populations and only later were partially enlarged and economically, perhaps also politically, utilised by the Kushite state. It can be suggested that especially large hafirs like at Musawwarat or Basa, were intended to support and intensify wadi cultivation by “supplementary irrigation”. In addition, the erection and maintenance of ancient monumental sites per se required an artificial water surplus, but also often involved the use of further water-intensive technologies, e.g., the production and application of lime mortar and other construction materials such as red or mud brick. In this respect, the relationship between the Nile valley and the hinterland will be discussed with regards to potential raw material sources, places of production, and the delivery of raw material vs. finished products.
The Miseeda church archaeological site is located in the northern Dongola Reach, on the edge of Wadi Farga. The name of the site comes from the name of the modern village located in the vicinity. The site was identified during a survey of the Mahas region between 1991 and 2002 under the direction of Ali Osman and David Edwards. During the survey, as well as the first works of a new project of the University of Warsaw, a number of wells in the close vicinity of the church were recorded and documented. This presentation will discuss the location of the wells and their building techniques. The possible dating of these constructions will be provided by presenting comparable objects showing similar constructions from Kerma and Mussawarat es-Sufra. The archaeological material will be confronted with the early travelers’ records that provide some additional information, helping to better understand local water management.
Bio-based impregnations are already successfully implemented on concrete structures. In order to investigate the possibilities for consolidation of mud brick (adobe) in general and specifically of the church at Miseeda, laboratory tests were carried out in the laboratory at the Technical University in Delft in which adobe blocks from Miseeda were treated with a bio-impregnating agent. Three adobe bricks went through a multistage impregnation process and water erosion test. The first promising results of these test will be presented, as well as plans for further tests and method of implementation on archaeological sites, which can offer new possibilities for the conservation of Nubian monuments.
