Ceramics from the North Church in Old Dongola revisited
2024, 33, Vol. 33, Regular Issue
University of Warsaw, Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology; The National Museum in Warsaw
Publication date
Submission date
Acceptance date
Publishing model
License type
Field
Discipline
Language of publication
Downloads
PDF 2 MB
Number of views:328
Number of downloads:119
Crossref citations:0
Altmetric score:0
Abstract
The paper seeks to reexamine the ceramics unearthed from the North Church in Old Dongola. These findings are placed within the context of the terminal phase of Christianity in the capital of the Kingdom of Makuria. Examples of liturgical implements found in situ inside this Dongolese church provide a rare glimpse into the Nubian Liturgy. The paper incorporates new assessments of the ceramic chronology drawing on the recent findings of the UMMA project. Many vessels recovered in the 1980s are currently housed in the National Museum in Warsaw, presenting a unique and advantageous opportunity for their in-depth study and analysis. Consequently, they offer a fresh perspective on Old Dongola’s Late and Terminal Christian phases.
Bibliography
Archbishop Basilios. (1991a). Eucharistic bread. In A.S. Atiya (ed.), The Coptic encyclopedia III (cols 1062a–1063a). New York: Macmillan. Retrieved from https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/808 (accessed: 13.03.2024)
Archbishop Basilios. (1991b). Liturgical instruments. In A.S. Atiya (ed.), The Coptic encyclopedia V (cols 1469a–1475a). New York: Macmillan. Retrieved from https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1214/ (accessed: 13.03.2024)
Adams, W.Y. (1986). Ceramic industries of medieval Nubia (=Memoirs of the UNESCO Archaeological Survey of Sudanese Nubia 1). Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky
Adams, W.Y. (2002). Meinarti III. The Late and Terminal Christian phases (=Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publications 9). Oxford: Archaeopress
Adams, W.Y. (2009). The churches of Nobadia (=Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publications 17; British Archaeological Reports International Series 2000). Oxford: Archaeopress
Angelozzi, M. and Iob, A. (2012). La cultura materiale di Sonqi Tino. Scienze dell’Antichità, 18, 625–637
Bagińska, D. (2008). Pottery from Banganarti. Season 2006. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 18, 410–425
Bietak, M. and Schwarz, M. (1987). Nagʻ el-Scheima: Eine befestigte christliche Siedlung und andere christliche Denkmäler in Sayala – Nubien I. Die österreichischen Grabungen 1963–1965. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften
Bénazeth, D. (2008). Catalogue général du Musée copte du Caire I. Objets en métal (2nd ed.) (=Mémoires publiés par les membres de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire 119). Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale
Braun, J. (1932). Das christliche Altargerät in seinem Sein und in seiner Entwicklung. Munich: Max Hueber Verlag
Cedro, A. (2014). Oil lamps in the liturgical and common folk practice. The Upper Church at Banganarti – a case study. In B. Żurawski, Kings and pilgrims: St. Raphael Church II at Banganarti, mid-eleventh to mid-eighteenth century (=Nubia 5) (pp. 327–340). Warsaw: Neriton; IKSiO PAN
Cedro, A. (2021). Pottery in its domestic context: Use of ceramic vessels in medieval houses of Banganarti. In B. Żurawski (ed.), Banganarti studies I (=Nubia 7) (pp. 185–241). Warsaw: Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences
Danys, K. (2016). Pottery from Dongola: A stratigraphic assemblage from unit B.I.41. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 25, 761–779
Danys, K. (2018). Introductory remarks on pottery finds from Courtyard A of the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola. In W. Godlewski, D. Dzierzbicka, and A. Łajtar (eds), Dongola 2015–2016. Fieldwork, conservation and site management (=PCMA Excavation Series 5) (pp. 101–106). Warsaw: University of Warsaw Press
Danys, K. (2022). Pottery from the 17th–18th century settlement. A typological study. In A. Obłuski and D. Dzierzbicka (eds), Old Dongola. Development, heritage, archaeology. Fieldwork in 2018–2019. Vol. 2. Material studies (=Polish Publications in Mediterranean Archaeology 6) (pp. 35–156). Leuven–Paris–Bristol, CT: Peeters
Danys-Lasek, K. (2014). Dongola: Pottery from Building B.VI (Site C.01), seasons 2010–2011. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 23/1, 311–321
de Contenson, H. (1966). Aksha I. La basilique chrétienne. Paris: Klincksieck
de Lellis-Danys, K. (forthcoming). Transformations in the socio-economy of an African city: The pottery from Old Dongola in the 14th–18th centuries CE. Turnhout: Brepols
de Lellis-Danys, K. (in preparation). Pottery from Old Dongola in the 14th–18th centuries CE: the typological and chronological assessment
Dzierzbicka, D. and Danys, K. (2021). Radiocarbon dates from the Monastery on Kom H in Old Dongola (Sudan) and the chronology of medieval Nubian pottery. Radiocarbon, 63(2), 439–459
Edwards, D.N. (2016). Among the rocks: A first look at medieval Duweishat, from the archive. In A. Łajtar, A. Obłuski, and I. Zych (eds), Aegyptus et Nubia christiana. The Włodzimierz Godlewski jubilee volume on the occasion of his 70th birthday (pp. 359–380). Warsaw: PCMA UW
Edwards, D.N. (2019). A possible monastery and the ‘Upper Maqs’ at Ukma-Akasha West? Études et Travaux, 32, 53–79
Evans, H.C., Holcomb, M., and Hallman, R. (2001). The arts of Byzantium (=The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 58/4). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Evershed, R.P., van Bergen, P.F., Peakman, T.M., Leigh-Firbank, E.C., Horton, M.C., Edwards, D., Biddle, M., Kjølbye-Biddle B., and Rowley-Conwy, P.A. (1997). Archaeological frankincense. Nature, 390(6661), 667–668
Fourlas, B. (2021). Image and Chalcedonian Eucharistic doctrine: A re-evaluation of the Riha paten, its decoration and its historical context. Byzantinische Zeitschrift, 114(3), 1117–1160
Godlewski, W. (1990). The Northern Church in Old Dongola. Archéologie du Nil moyen, 4, 37–62
Godlewski, W. (1996). Old Dongola, Kom A, 1995. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 7, 115–120
Godlewski, W. (2006). The churches of Dongola, their origin and importance in the general line of development of church architecture in Makuria. In I. Caneva and A. Roccati (eds), Acta Nubica: Proceedings of the X International Conference of Nubian Studies, Rome, 9–14 September 2002 (pp. 263–286). Rome: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Libreria dello Stato
Godlewski, W. (2013). Dongola: Ancient Tungul. Archaeological guide (=PCMA Archaeological Guides 1). Warsaw: PCMA UW
Godlewski, W. (2015a). The architecture of the Central Hall. In W. Godlewski and D. Dzierzbicka (eds), Dongola 2012–2014. Fieldwork, conservation and site management (=PCMA Excavation Series 3) (pp. 15–24). Warsaw: PCMA UW
Godlewski, W. (2015b). Building SWN.B.V: The Church of Raphael. In W. Godlewski and D. Dzierzbicka (eds), Dongola 2012–2014. Fieldwork, conservation and site management (=PCMA Excavation Series 3) (pp. 53–64). Warsaw: PCMA UW
Godlewski, W. (2018a). The Church of Archangel Raphael (SWN.B.V). In W. Godlewski, D. Dzierzbicka, and A. Łajtar (eds), Dongola 2015–2016. Fieldwork, conservation and site management (=PCMA Excavation Series 5) (pp. 115–131). Warsaw: University of Warsaw Press
Godlewski, W. (2018b). The Pillar Church. In W. Godlewski, D. Dzierzbicka, and A. Łajtar (eds), Dongola 2015–2016. Fieldwork, conservation and site management (=PCMA Excavation Series 5) (pp. 155–166). Warsaw: University of Warsaw Press
Ivison, E.A. (2000). ‘Supplied for the journey to heaven’: A moment of West-East cultural exchange: ceramic chalices front Byzantine graves. Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 24(1), 147–193
Ivison, E.A. (2001). Byzantine ceramic chalices: An addendum. Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 25(1), 216–220
Jakobielski, S. (2001). 35 years of Polish excavations at Old Dongola. A fact file. In S. Jakobielski and P.O. Scholz (eds), Dongola-Studien: 35 Jahre polnischer Forschungen im Zentrum des makuritischen Reiches (=Bibliotheca Nubica et Aethiopica 7) (pp. 1–48). Warsaw: ZAŚ PAN
Jakobielski, S. and Medeksza, S. (1985). The North-West Church in Old Dongola. Nubian Letters, 5, 2–3
Jakobielski, S. and Medeksza, S. (1990). The North-West Church at Old Dongola. In W. Godlewski (ed.), Coptic studies: Acts of the Third International Congress of Coptic Studies, Warsaw, 20–25 August, 1984 (pp. 165–174). Warsaw: PWN
Jakobielski, S. and Ostrasz, A. (1967–1968). Polish excavations at Old Dongola. Second season, December 1965 – February 1966. Kush, 15, 125–142
Kołodziejczyk, K. (1982). Some remarks on the Christian ceramics from Faras. Nubia Christiana, 1, 173–189
Kucharczyk, R. (2016). Glass finds from Areas U and G at the Kom el-Dikka site in Alexandria (excavations in 2012 and 2013). Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 25, 87–103
Łajtar, A. (2015). Wall inscriptions in church SWN.B.V on the Citadel of Dongola. In W. Godlewski and D. Dzierzbicka (eds), Dongola 2012–2014. Fieldwork, conservation and site management (=PCMA Excavation Series 3) (pp. 111–116). Warsaw: PCMA UW
Łajtar, A. and Ochała, G. (2018). Kimeliarches, ‘treasurer’: a so-far unidentified office in the Kingdom of Makuria (with notes on several other offices and titles). In T.A. Bács, Á. Bollók, and T. Vida (eds), Across the Mediterranean – Along the Nile. Studies in Egyptology, Nubiology and Late Antiquity Dedicated to László Török on the Occasion of his 75th Birthday. 2 (pp. 557–573). Budapest: Insitute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Science, Museum of Fine Arts
Łajtar, A. and Zielińska, D. (2016). The northern pastophorium of Nubian churches: Ideology and function (on the basis of inscriptions and paintings). In A. Łajtar, A. Obłuski, and I. Zych (eds), Aegyptus et Nubia christiana. The Włodzimierz Godlewski jubilee volume on the occasion of his 70th birthday (pp. 435–457). Warsaw: PCMA UW
Martens-Czarnecka, M. (2011). The wall paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola (=Nubia 3; Dongola 3; Polish Archaeology in Mediterranean Monograph Series 3). Warsaw: PCMA UW
Michałowski, K. (1964). Polish excavations at Faras, 1962–63. Kush, 12, 195–207
Michałowski, K. (1966). Polish excavations at Old Dongola: First season, November–December 1964. Kush, 14, 289–299
Michel, M. and Rots, V. (2022). Into the light: The effect of UV light on flint tool surfaces, residues and adhesives. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 43, 103479
Mileham, G.S. (1910). Churches in Lower Nubia. Philadelphia: University Museum
Monneret de Villard, U. (1935). La Nubia medioevale I. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale
Obłuski, A. (2021). Introduction. In A. Obłuski and D. Dzierzbicka (eds), Old Dongola: Development, heritage, archaeology. Fieldwork in 2018–2019. Vol. 1. Excavations (=Polish Publications in Mediterranean Archaeology 1) (pp. 1–10). Leuven–Paris–Bristol, CT: Peeters
Obłuski, A. and Dzierzbicka, D. (eds). (2021). Old Dongola: Development, heritage, archaeology. Fieldwork in 2018–2019. Vol. 1. Excavations (=Polish Publications in Mediterranean Archaeology 1). Leuven–Paris–Bristol, CT: Peeters
Obłuski, A. and Dzierzbicka, D. (eds). (2022). Old Dongola: Development, heritage, archaeology. Fieldwork in 2018–2019. Vol. 2. Material studies (=Polish Publications in Mediterranean Archaeology 6). Leuven–Paris–Bristol, CT: Peeters
Orton, C. and Hughes, M. (2013). Pottery in archaeology (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Phillips, J. (2003). An overview of the ceramics. In B. Żurawski, Survey and excavations between Old Dongola and Ez-Zuma (=Nubia 2; Southern Dongola Reach Survey 1) (pp. 387–437). Warsaw: Neriton
Pluskota, K. (2005). Amphorae from Old Dongola. Evolution of local products (exploration of kiln R1 F). Gdańsk Archaeological Museum African Reports, 3, 227–232
Pluskota, K. (2010). The pottery from Old Dongola – selected questions. In W. Godlewski and A. Łajtar (eds), Between the cataracts: Proceedings of the 11th Conference for Nubian Studies, Warsaw University, 27 August – 2 September 2006, II.1. Session papers (=PAM Supplement Series 2.2/1) (pp. 255–262). Warsaw: Warsaw University Press
Shinnie, P.L. and Chittick, H.N. (1961). Ghazali, a monastery in the northern Sudan (=Sudan Antiquities Service Occasional Papers 5). Khartoum: Sudan Antiquities Service
Skibo, J.M. (2013). Understanding pottery function. New York: Springer New York
Sulikowska, A. and Mierzejewska, B. (2014). Exhibition Room VI. Wall paintings from Faras Cathedral. In B. Mierzejewska, The Professor Kazimierz Michałowski Faras Gallery: Guidebook (pp. 106–197). Warsaw: National Museum
van Moorsel, P., Jacquet, J., and Schneider, H.D. (1975). The central church of Abdallah Nirqi. Leiden: Brill
Vantini, G. (1975). Oriental sources concerning Nubia. Heidelberg: Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaft
Welsby, D.A. (2002). Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia: Pagans, Christians and Muslims in the Middle Nile. London: British Museum Press
Wipszycka, E. (2004). Church treasures of Byzantine Egypt. Journal of Juristic Papyrology, 34, 127–139
Wyżgoł, M. (2017). A decorated bronze censer from the Cathedral in Old Dongola. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 26/1, 773–786
Zielińska, D. (2015). The painted decoration of Building SWN.B.V (Royal Church) on the Citadel: State of research. In W. Godlewski and D. Dzierzbicka (eds), Dongola 2012–2014. Fieldwork, conservation and site management (=PCMA Excavation Series 3) (pp. 103–110). Warsaw: PCMA UW
Żurawski, B. (2003). History of archaeological research within the Southern Dongola Reach (1966–2003). In B. Żurawski, Survey and excavations between Old Dongola and Ez-Zuma (=Nubia 2; Southern Dongola Reach Survey 1) (pp. 79–104). Warsaw: Neriton
Other articles from the issue
- Late Bronze Age ThessalyMagnesiaDemetriasarchaeomalacologyarchaeobotanyzooarchaeology
Mycenaean Pefkakia Excavation Project: preliminary report on archaeological research conducted in 2023
Bartłomiej Lis, Anthi Batziou, Łukasz Miechowicz, Piotr Zeman, Dominika Kofel-Lubczyńska, Rena Veropoulidou, Dimitris Agnousiotis, Vassiliki Tzevelekidi
- PisidiaBalama CastleMiddle Byzantine periodByzantine churchfortification
Archaeological survey at Balama Byzantine Castle in Pisidia (southwest Turkey): a preliminary report
Hüseyin Metin, Abdulhadi Durukan
- Nea PaphosCyprusHellenistic periodHellenistic potterypottery productionarchaeometric pottery analysismacroscopic pottery analysisColor-Coated Ware
Nea Paphos as a center of pottery production in the Hellenistic period: the contribution of Polish research in Maloutena and the Agora
Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka
Similar publications
30.12.2023
TyreByzantinemarbleschurchchanceldecorationByzantine marble fragments rediscovered in a Tyre cistern
Hany Kahwagi-Janho
28.02.2016
SudanSouthern Dongola ReachLate Pleistocene occupationsurveyLevallois Tradition epigones in the Middle Nile Valley: survey in the Affad Basin
Marta Osypińska, Piotr Osypiński
31.12.2025
TungulOld DongolaKom HSanctuary of Annaburial chronologyMakuriaNubiaChristianitymonasticismmedieval SudanThe question of Anna: radiocarbon dating of a person believed to have been Saint Anna of Tungul (Old Dongola)
Robert J. Stark, Robert Mahler, Artur Obłuski