In a lecture at the Canadian Institute of
Archaeology in Cairo last month, Krzys GRZYMSKI of
the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) described the use
of modern technology to uncover the origins and
topography, history and development of Meroe, an
African kingdom which developed along the upper
reaches of the Nile about 200km north of Khartoum
between 800 BC and 350 AD. “We began our
operations in October 1999, and ancient Meroe is slowly
coming to light,” GRZYMSKI said. “We first carried out
a comprehensive survey of the area, and we are doing our
work slowly and thoroughly. There is probably no greater
danger to the preservation of an ancient site than hasty
excavations, and much of our first season was spent
walking over the entire area and recording surface
material.” This exercise produced a number of
surprises, which included errors in earlier published
plans of various buildings, numerous unrecorded
inscriptions, some graffiti, and many beautifully carved
blocks. “Perhaps the most exciting discovery was a stone
block bearing the name of King Anlamani (c. 620-600
BC), one of the earliest datable objects ever found at
Meroe,” GRZYMSKI said.
The UNESCO operations sponsored by the
Egyptian and Sudanese governments in the 1960s,
when the High Dam in Aswæn was destined to
inundate all of Nubia, did not include Meroe because
it did not fall into the threatened area. Those salvage
operations did, however, revive interest in the ancient
capital city of Kush, and excavations were resumed in
1965 under the directorship of Peter SHINNIE. At first
these were on behalf of the University of Khartoum,
and later in a joint mission with Canada’s University of
Calgary. Domestic and industrial areas were unearthed,
several iron-smelting furnaces discovered. Also located
were temples dedicated to Isis and the Nubian lion-god
Apedemak. Excavations revealed what appeared to be
part of a processional avenue leading to a large temple.
Also found was a prison, so-called because
HERODOTUS, in the sixth century BC, alluded to
prisoners kept in chains of gold.
Although new light is being cast on Meroe,
mysteries remain. And it is with a view to drawing back
the veil of uncertainty on the African kingdom that
Krzys GRZYMSKI and co-director ©Alî ©UÚmæn are
proceeding to excavate two areas of the ancient city:
mound M 712, which was identified, but not
excavated, by John GARSTANG, and parts of the
Amun temple, the largest building in the city of Meroe
which was never adequately studied.
Modern archaeological surveys are not limited
to observing the structures visible on the surface.
“Thanks to technological developments, it is now possible
to identify structures hidden underground by means of a
geophysical survey,” GRZYMSKI said. Several different
techniques are being used, including a magnetic survey
based on identifying anomalies in the ground and a
resistivity survey, which detects differences in the
electrical resistivity of the soil. Power-point
presentations greatly facilitate understanding, but
magnetic maps are not for the lay public. GRZYMSKI
had to point to part of the area known as the “royal
city” (which revealed a large rectangular structure which
is possibly a palace), a double row of circles near the
city’s southern gate which was at first thought to be a
monumental colonnade but was later identified as
brick-lined pits filled with rich soil brought up from the
Nile’s banks. “Our magnetic map revealed the existence
of similar tree pits at the southern gate,” GRZYMSKI
said, adding that, “this avenue of verdant trees would
have been an impressive sight.”
The project is called the Meroitic revival and
the aim of the team, in contrast to earlier archaeologists
who concentrated exclusively on excavations, is site
preservation and conservation. Meroe lies within the
rain belt, and during the July-September rainy season its
soft Nubian sandstone buildings are exposed to serious
water erosion, a hazard unknown further north. It is a
seriously threatened area. “Prior to excavations, and on
the recommendation of our conservators, we set about
trimming trees and removing some of the spoil heaps left
by previous excavators,” GRZYMSKI said. “This not
only makes the site more attractive to visitors but helps to
redirect the flow of water away from endangered
structures, and moreover it keeps goats from climbing on
and destroying the remaining walls.”
Meroe has become a popular tourist
destination, largely because the sight of archaeologists
at work is ever a tourist attraction, and also because
there are not many alternatives within reach of
Khartoum which is only a couple of hours away by car.
“We have had to take the increased flow of Sudanese and
foreign visitors into account and provide facilities for
them,” GRZYMSKI said. Nubiology is now a
recognised discipline. “The study of Nubia extends
beyond the Nilotic sites in Egyptian and Sudanese
Nubia, into the Eastern Desert as far as the Red Sea
coast, and across the Western Desert to include the
oases,” GRZYMSKI explained. (Jill KAMIL, “An
African kingdom on the Nile”, Al-Ahram Weekly du 8
juin 2006).
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http://www.egyptologues.net/pdf/bia/bia33.pdf