Works performed in Abasseya 1 – Sector A
The first objective was to finish digging the base of the building. The structure is divided in fourteen rooms; twelve of them had been dig on the first campaign (Abasseya 2000). These last two, excavated in this second campaign, have not given new information to understand the use of the building. The stratigraphic sequence shows two periods of utilization.
A first meroitic occupation (see the report of the last campaign) where the remains were identify as the base of a building, being difficult to get the actual shape of the building or its use. The materials found were mud brick, stone and redbrick, with walls painted or covered by plaster. We cannot tell the number of rooms or the internal distribution of the building, because what we look at are the remains of the subdivision of the understructure, built for reinforce the building, avoiding the destruction of the angles caused by the own weight of the walls.
In the second phase, the same building was used as a graveyard. Five mounds have been found, four in the first season of excavation and one in the second. The mounds, identified by KA and a number, have been dig using parts of the walls of the building, so we deduce that the building was earlier. The last mound, KA 5, was found in this season. It showed substantial differences from the previous tombs, not only because it is a multiple mound (two bodies were found), but also because of the orientation of the rests. The bodies were orientated East to West. Their bad status of conservation would lead us to think that it could be due to the localization of the site in a busy conjunction of the town.
Finding these tombs encouraged us to reevaluate the way of guiding the excavation in this area. The skeletons on the first season of excavation were found near the northern wall, so a trench was dig next to that wall. That trnchwas going to give not only more information about this meroitic building (in relation with sectors B and C), but also was going to establish the limit of the area that was used as a necropolis. The trench had a length of 10 meters and a width of two. We were not able to find any relationship with the sectors B and C of the Abasseya site. No tombs have been found outside the perimeter of the original building.
Protection of Abasseya 1 – Sector A
In order to preserve the findings in this sector, once the excavation was finished the site has been protected by building around it a 30 cm. tall mud brick wall. The surrounding wall has been filled with sand, covering the remains of the old building. It was agreed with the Sudan Antiquities inspector that this kind of protection is the most suitable way to preserve the remains, according to their characteristics, until a campaign of restoration would be developed in the future. The last steps have been painting the wall with white paint to avoid accidents on the neighborhood and to identify the place setting a big panel with the name of the site and of the archeological expedition in English and Arabic.
Works performed in Abasseya 1 – Sector B
The purpose of digging in this sector was to obtain as much information as we could, considering the restricted schedule and weather conditions. The survey done during the first season (Abasseya 2000 campaign), allowed us to put the limits of the remains in an area of 25 x 30 meters. In the 2003 campaign the limits were extended to an area of 30 x 41 meters. In order to do an effective use of time and resources, three squares areas of excavation (S1, S2, and S3) were created following the remains that could be seen still on surface. As a result a new structure has been found. Like the one in Abasseya sector 1, this one is a building “in podium”. Clearing all the area has allowed us to draw a very accurate map of the structure’s base.
· Square 1 (S1) was located on the southwest angle of the site where a lot of column blocks “drums” could be observed.
· Square 2 (S2) was located on the east side of the site where the access of the building towards the sections A and C of Abasseya could have been placed.
· Square 3 (S3) was located on the west side of the site to find the boundaries of the building.
In S1 the circulation level of the building has been found. The “drums” and bases of columns have been cleaned, numbered and consolidated because they were cover with a decorated plaster. They have been covered with sand for protection.
In S2 the circulation level has been found as well. The access to the building has been found, it consists of a ramp built with big blocks of local sandstone. The end of the ramp ends in three grades built, also, with sandstone blocks. Two of these grades are in very good shape. The grades are closed in both sides by big stone blocks. There is a big block, covered in plaster, that is facing down. Among the objects that were found there is a head of a stone lion that still shows some of the yellow plaster that covered it. This lion head was found next to the south face of the graders. It has been also found a bowl of ceramic RW in the north side next to the ramp and above the circulation level.
S3 have been open as a result of the superficial clearing that was done on that area and that showed another access for the building from the west side. In S3 only a survey has been done to identify and confirm this secondary access. Neither of the two strats identified, nor the strat of destruction and the one of debris have been removed.
The kind of construction allows us to identify the building as meroitic. Like in Abasseya section A, only the funding level has been preserved until today. Because it was a “podium” like building, these remains are found as high as one meter over the original circulation level. The strat of debris have given us good information of how would have been the building. The pieces of plaster that were found showed us that the walls were painted with red, blue and yellow. These walls were built with bricks and were covered by the plaster. The columns and parts of the tiles were built with sandstone. The columns were also decorated. None of the column bases have been found in there original place. All of them have been found in the debris strat, which is outside of the walls that closed the building.
The walls of the “podium” were constructed mixing red bricks and mud bricks. There were two closing walls, an external and an internal. The external combine red bricks and mud bricks which are covered with plaster. the internal is just mud brick. The inner portion it is built also with mud bricks, but its conservation is very irregular. The western entrance follows the method of building the “podium”, giving some uniformity to the building. However the eastern entrance is more monumental, because it uses stone. The lateral walls of the ramp were built with sandstone. In the north side, a first row of redbrick was use in order to correct the original soil level. Over this row the sandstone blocks will be sitting. In the southern side of the ramp entrance the sandstone blocks are laying direct over the geological level.
On a first sight, everything could point that this building was a small temple, but finding a second entrance makes us to reevaluate that proposition, bringing the idea that maybe it was a small palace. It is possible to think that the three sections of the site were related, working together at the same time for the local cult. It’s vicinity to the holy mountain of Barkal encourage this hypothesis. We outline that this place stayed as a place of cult during the Meroitic kingdom, after Napata lost its role as a the capital city of the kingdom. By all means, these are not urbanstic buildings that could make us think in the old Napata capital, instead these are structures for a kind of cult.
Protection of Abasseya 1 – Sector B
Once this season was finished the site was closed with a metallic fence of 1.5 meters high. The site area includes all the remains that can be observed on surface. Like Abasseya – Sector A, a big sign have been set to identify the area as an archeological site. The structures that have been found have been partially covered with sand for protection.
In S1 the drums and bases of columns have been identified and covered with sand. The podium of the building has been kept partially covered with the original debris. On the uncovered part the plaster have been consolidated. The inner part of the wall has been filled with sand to avoid its destruction.
In S2, the top level of the ramp and the old circulation level have been covered with sand to protected the sandstone blocks.
Because S3 was only partially dig only the top part of the mudbrick walls were covered with sand.
Material from the Abasseya campaign 2003
The archeological material that have been found plus the remains from the first campaign have been kept in the museum of Kareima. All these materials have been cleaned, identified and enlisted. The outstanding pieces have been draw and photographed as well as the ceramic shapes and colored plaster fragments.
