Archaeology
Archaeologists uncover ornate Christian frescos in Old Dongola
A team of archaeologists have uncovered a collection of ornate Christian frescos during excavations in Old Dongola.
Old Dongola was the capital of the Nubian kingdom of Makuria, located in the Northern State of Sudan, on the eastern banks of the River Nile.
The Kingdom of Makuria emerged in the 5th century AD following the collapse of the Nubian Kingdom of Kush. Makuria reached its zenith between the 9th and 11th centuries AD, encompassing the territory stretching from the Third Cataract along the Nile River to below Abu Hamad, as well as certain regions of northern Kordofan.
The kingdom underwent a cultural and religious transformations known as “Nubization” to counter the increasing impact of Arabic within the Coptic Church. These reforms involved the adoption of the veneration of deceased rulers, bishops, and local Nubian saints.
Image Credit : University of Warsaw
Archaeologists from the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, have been conducting a research project called “UMMA – Urban Metamorphosis of the community of a Medieval African capital city”.
Excavations have revealed an underground chamber and a complex of vaulted and domed rooms constructed using mudbrick that date from between the 16th to 19th century AD during the period of the Funj Sultanate.
Several of the rooms are decorated with a collection of frescos showing Christian scenes with depictions of Christ, the archangel Michael, Mary, and representations of a Nubian ruler. Accompanying the artwork are inscriptions, one of which mentions King David several times and asks God to protect the city.
According to the archaeologists: “He was one of the last rulers of Christian Makuria, whose reign marks the beginning of the end of the kingdom. For unknown reasons, King David attacked Egypt, which invaded Nubia as part of a retaliatory action and Dongola was conquered for the first time in its history. Perhaps the painting was created when the Mamluk army was approaching the city or was besieging it.”
The room housing the David inscriptions resembles a crypt and is located several metres about the medieval ground level. It is located adjacent to a large, monumental building, which the researchers believe was the Cathedral of Dongola called the Great Church of Jesus, mentioned in historical texts.
The unique paintings have been preserved by conservators under the direction of Magdalena Skarżyńska, MA. The conservation team operated as part of the cooperation between the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw and the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.
Header Image Credit : University of Warsaw
An archaeological survey has identified three clusters of ancient qanats in the Diyala Province of Iraq.
A qanat, also known as a kārīz, is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well over long distances in hot dry climates without losing water to evaporation.
Qanats use a sequence of vertical shafts resembling wells, linked by a gently inclined tunnel that serves as a conduit for channelling water. Qanats efficiently transport substantial volumes of underground water to the surface without requiring pumps.
The water naturally flows downhill by gravity, with the endpoint positioned at a lower level than the origin. When the qanat is still below ground, the water is drawn to the surface via water wells or animal driven Persian wells.
Image Credit : State Board of Antiquities & Heritage
Some Qanats are divided into an underground network of smaller canals known as kariz, functioning similarly to qanats by staying beneath the surface to prevent contamination and evaporation. In certain instances, water from a qanat is stored in a reservoir, usually with nighttime flow reserved for daytime usage.
The technology for qanat’s first emerged in ancient Iran around 3,000-years-ago and slowly spread westward and eastward.
A recent survey within the Diyala Province has discovered three clusters of qanats stretching between the areas of Jalulaa and Kortaba. Initial studies dates the clusters to around AD 1000, a period known as the “Iranian Intermezzo”, when parts of the region were governed by a number of minor Iranian emirates.
The first cluster consists of 25 wells on a linear alignment connected to an adjacent 10 metre deep water channel. The second cluster also has 25 wells and is connected to a 13 km long hand dug channel, while the third cluster consists of 9 wells connected to water canals dug on both sides.
Header Image Credit : State Board of Antiquities & Heritage
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists have discovered a 16,800-year-old Palaeolithic dwelling in the La Garma cave complex, located in the municipality of Ribamontán al Monte in Spain’s Cantabria province.
The La Garma cave complex is a parietal art-bearing paleoanthropological cave system on the southern side of the La Garma Hill.
The cave complex is noted for one of the best preserved floors from the Palaeolithic period, containing more than 4,000 fossils and more than 500 graphical units.
A project led by Pablo Arias and Roberto Ontañón from the University of Cantabria has recently announced the discovery of a Palaeolithic dwelling within the cave system, described as “one of the best preserved Palaeolithic dwellings in the world.”
The dwelling is an oval space and is delimited by an alignment of stone blocks and stalagmites that supported a fixed structure of sticks and skins leaning against the cave wall. The total area of the space is around 5 square metres that centred on a camp fire.
Archaeologists also found vestiges of various daily activities associated with Magdalenian hunters and gatherers at the dwelling, including evidence of stone manufacturing, bone and antler instruments, and the working of fur.
In total, over 4,614 objects have been documented, such as dear, horse and bison bones, 600 pieces of flint, needles and a protoharpoon, shells of marine mollusks, as well as numerous pendants worn by the cave dwelling inhabitants.
Additionally, the researchers also found a number of decorated bones, including a remarkable pierced aurochs phalanx engraved with a depiction of both the animal itself and a human face—a distinctive artefact unique to the European Palaeolithic era.
Due to the national importance of the discovery, the team used innovative non-intrusive techniques in their study of the dwelling. This includes continuous tomography of the soils, 3D cartography, the molecular and genetic analysis of soils and Palaeolithic objects, mass spectrometry, and hyperspectral imaging.
Header Image Credit : University of Cantabria
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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