The question of Anna: radiocarbon dating of a person believed to have been Saint Anna of Tungul (Old Dongola)
2025, 34, No. 1
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Abstract
The so-called hermitage or sanctuary of Anna, located in Room H.B.2.2 of Building H.B.2, is a part of the broader monastic complex on Kom H, which functioned from around the 6th/7th to the 13th or early 14th centuries CE. This burial represents one of the most unique contexts identified to date at Tungul, the capital of Makuria, from no later than the 6th to 14th centuries CE. Epigraphic evidence suggests the name “Anna” for the individual buried in the south room of the sanctuary. The dating of this burial has so far remained speculative, placed only within the broader chronology of structural developments in this part of the site. AMS radiocarbon dating of femur collagen from this individual places the life of this proposed “saint” in the 12th–14th centuries CE. This result calls for a re-evaluation of the epigraphic and associated archaeological evidence, which had previously placed the life of Anna in the 11th century CE.
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