NYAME AKUMA

NO

-16

May

1980

N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e S o c i e t y of A f r i c a n i s t A r c h a e o l o g i s t s i n America.
E d i t e d by P.L. S h i n n i e and i s s u e d from t h e Department o f Archaeology,
The U n i v e r s i t y of C a l g a r y , Calgazy, A l b e r t a , T2N 1 N 4 , Canada. Typing
and e d i t o r i a l a s s i s t a n c e by Ama O w s u a S h i n n i e .

.........................

The e d i t o r b e g i n s t o wonder
M r . ?Lenses e d i t o r i a l comments on
'Notes t o c o n t r i b u t o r ; on p . 3 of
b i b l i o g r a p h i e s and i n some c a s e s
b e i n g s e n t i n . With t h e hope of
s h e e t on r a t h e r v i v i d l y c o l o u r e d

i f Nyame Akuma i s r e a d ! I n s p i t e o f
t h e l e n g t h of c o n t r i b u t i o n s and t h e
t h e cover long a r t i c l e s with f u l l
un-reproducible f i g u r e s a r e s t i l l
making t h e p o i n t c l e a r e r a s e p a r a t e
p a p e r i s b e i n g s e n t w i t h t h i s number.

The ' c o a t - t r a i l i n g ' comments on t h e u s e of B.P. i n d a t i n g and a

c i t i n g non a v a i l a b l e a u t h o r i t i e s which I hoped would provoke some
d i s c u s s i o n produced o n l y one comment, from D r . Newton o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y
of S c i e n c e and Technology, Kumasi: The r e l e v a n t p a r t of h i s l e t t e r s a y s :
" I n my t e a c h i n g I o f t e n have t o r e f e r t o some p a r t i c u l a r t i m e i n
t h e d i s t a n t p a s t , e . g . when d e a l i n g w i t h such t o p i c s as
e v o l u t i o n , p a l a e o n t o l o g y , and p a s t e v e n t s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h phytogeography. I n some c a s e s I need t o r e f e r t o r e l a t i v e l y r e c e n t
e v e n t s , f o r which radio-carbon d a t e s a r e a v a i l a b l e . I always
r e f e r t o e v e n t s o c c u r r i n g s o many y e a r s w , even when something
approaching a n a b s o l u t e d a t e i s i n v o l v e d . Although we cannot now
abandon t h e Gregorian c a l e n d a r f o r modern d a t i n g , now t h a t it h a s
been shown t h a t t h e whole J e s u s s t o r y i s a myth I p r e f e r t o a v o i d
u s i n g t h e t e r m s B.C. and A.D. when p o s s i b l e . My v o t e i s f o r
s t i c k i n g t o B.P.

It seems t h a t t h e ' r e f e r e n c e s ' a t t h e end of a p a p e r s e r v e two

f u n c t i o n s . These a r e a ) t o s t a t e t h e a u t h o r ' s s o u r c e s of d a t a
used i n p r e p a r i n g t h e p a p e r , and b) t o g u i d e r e a d e r s t o s o u r c e s
of a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n i f t h e y wish t o r e a d f u r t h e r on t h e
t o p i c . F o r t h e f i r s t f u n c t i o n t h e r e i s no r e a s o n why a n a u t h o r
s h o u l d n o t l i s t i t e m s t h a t a r e n o t g e n e r a l l y a v a i l a b l e , and i n d e e d ,
some a u t h o r s even r e f e r t o p r i v a t e l e t t e r s ( u s u a l l y as ' p e r s o n a l
A s a mere s t a t e m e n t of t h e a u t h o r ' s s o u r c e
communication' )
m a t e r i a l t h i s p r a c t i c e i s q u i t e a c c e p t a b l e . However, such
r e f e r e n c e s can c e r t a i n l y be most f r u s t r a t i n g f o r a r e a d e r w i s h i n g
t o u s e t h e r e f e r e n c e l i s t i n i t s o t h e r c a p a c i t y , i . e . as a g u i d e
t o f u r t h e r r e a d i n g . I would a g r e e , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t r e f e r e n c e s t o
m a t e r i a l n o t g e n e r a l l y a v a i l a b l e s h o u l d be a v o i d e d . Perhaps t h i s
s h o u l d be s e e n as a n argument i n f a v o u r of encouraging people t o
p u b l i s h t h e i r r e s u l t s i n p e r i o d i c a l s of wide d i s t r i b u t i o n , i n s t e a d
of a l l o w i n g such d a t a t o s t a g n a t e i n t h e s e s and d e p a r t m e n t a l r e p o r t s " .

P .I,.
1

Shinnie

P a p e r s of Meeting of SAAAM, Calgary 2 1 s t - 22nd A p r i l

1979.

Only two a b s t r a c t s of p a p e r s from t h e Conference have been

r e c e i v e d . If o t h e r s a r e s e n t i n t h e y w i l l be p u b l i s h e d i n a
subsequent number.
HISTORY OF THE !KUNG SAN ENVIRONMENT (BOTSWANA-NAMIBIA)
by D r . Helgren, U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , Davis.
The late-Cenozoic, geomorphic h i s t o r y of t h e northwest K a l a h a r i
( ~ o t s w a n a - ~ a m i b i ai)s being i n v e s t i g a t e d as p a r t of t h e geo-archaeol o g i c a l s t u d i e s accompanying e x c a v a t i o n of t h e #gia r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e
by A.S. Brooks and J .E. Yellen. fgi ( c a . 1 9 4 0 ' ~ ; 2 1 ' ~ ) i s one of
many small pans (ephmeral l a k e s ) l o c a t e d i n t h e broad r e l i c t
channelway n o r t h of t h e Aha H i l l s . The open-air e x c a v a t i o n a l o n g t h e
pan edge i n t e r s e c t e d a v a r i e t y of l a c u s t i n e , f l u v i a l , and c o l l u v i a l
sediments and d i s c o v e r e d evidence of both Middle Stone Age and L a t e
Stone Age s e t t l e m e n t s . fgip e r s i s t s as a n important w a t e r p o i n t f o r
t h e modern :Kung San of t h e Dobe a r e a .
A v e g e t a t i o n mosaic of dense bush and t r e e savannas i s s p r e a d
a c r o s s t h e modern, semi-arid landscape of t h e northwest K a l a h a r i .
However, t h e summer thunderstorms y i e l d almost no s t r e a m f l o w ; t h e
r a i n s s i n k i n t o t h i c k , dune sands o r pond i n pans a l o n g now-calcreted,
r e l i c t r i v e r v a l l e y s . The late-Cenozoic l i t h o - and morphos t r a t i g r a p h i e s i n d i c a t e d i f f e r e n t geomorphic environments, when
s e p a r a t e e p i s o d e s of permanent s t r e a m f l o w , l a r g e l a k e s , and sand dune
a c t i v i t y were c h a r a c t e r i s t i c .

R e l i c t s l o p e forms dominate t h e geomorphology of t h e northwest

The o l d e s t s l o p e s n e a r jgi a r e t h e f l u v i a l l y e r o d e d ,
Kalahari
k a r s t i c t e r r a i n s of t h e Aha H i l l s . T h i s bedrock landscape w a s b u r i e d
by t h i c k v e n e e r s of l o n g i t u d i n a l dunes d e r i v e d from l a t e - ~ e r t i a . r ~ ( ? )
d e f l a t i o n of t h e Ngami-Okavango b a s i n . During a succeeding i n t e r v a l
of geomorphic humidity (lower ~ l e i s t o c e n e ? )t h e rows of dunes were
l o c a l l y breached by s t r e a m s as a f l u v i a l network w a s superimposed on
t h e e o l i a n t e r r a i n s . L a t e r t h e t h i n a l l u v i a l sediments o f t h e s e
streams were c a l c r e t e d as t h e channelways c a r r i e d p r o g r e s s i v e l y l e s s
f l o w , and e v e n t u a l l y t h e dune sands were r e m o b i l i z e d . A r e t u r n . t o
geomorphic humidity i s s i g n a l e d by renewed stream flow and 1 2 t o 20 m
of v a l l e y d i s s e c t i o n ( e a r l y Middle P l e i s t o c e n e ? )
Under l a t e r ,
i n c r e a s i n g geomorphic a r i d i t y 5 t o 1 0 m of a l l u v i a accumulated i n t h e
stream v a l l e y s , which a g a i n were e v e n t u a l l y c a l c r e t e d (Middle
Pleistocene?)

The d e p o s i t s a t f g i , as w e l l as t h e l i m i t e d a l l u v i a l f i l l s a l o n g
t h e middle !Kangwa R i v e r v a l l e y a r e t h i n sedimentary v e n e e r s w i t h i n a
major Middle P l e i s t o c e n e valleyway, A t t h e base of t h e jgi sequence

is a calcreted, fluvial conglomerate, which "downstream" in the

Xangwa valley includes derived Early Stone Age artefacts. At fgi a
layer of uncemented, fluvially cross-bedded sands is above the
conglomerate; thus two separate, episodes with stream flow are
suggested. Above these alluvia is the Zgi Middle Stone Age horizon,
which consists of calcareous, textually diverse, valley floor colluvia.
Apparently floodplain dessication led to discontinuous ponds, which
were proto-types for the modern pans. Settlement around an ephmeral
water resource seems likely. Capping the Middle Stone Age levels at
fgi is a limestone, referable to a valleywide lake. The first Late
Stone Age horizon rests on this limestone, and consists of more valley
floor colluvia. A return to a pan margin setting in a semi-arid
landscape like present seems likely. In the middle of Late Stone Age
time another valley-wide lake appeared as evidenced by a second
limestone. When this lake disappeared pan margin colluvia with Late
Stone Age settlement are again typical. Eventually the pan filled
with dark organic muds, derived from soil erosion and deposited during
limited alluviation of the fgi valley. Still later the pan basin was
eroded (via deflation) and aeolian activity was widespread on the
valley floor. Most recently the fgi margins have been re-colonized by
vegetation. The alluvial fills in the !Kangwa valley provide a paleogeomorphological record compatible with the fgi horizons.

The Significance of notched and denticulated industries among Middle

Palaeolithic/~iddleStone Age technocomplexes by N. Rolland,
University of Victoria.
Middle Palaeolithic and Middle Stone Age (MSA) assemblages from
Western firasia and Africa are penecontemporaneous and share basic
technological and typological characteristics. An important feature,
however, is the presence of inter-assemblage variability within or
between both continents, among either technocomplexes, including
among others, artefact occurrences dominated by denticulated and
notched tools. Outstanding issues are how to (a) describe this
variability objectively and (b) interpret it.

A first difficulty is due to lack of exhaustive, standardized

classificatory systems, enabling detailed comparisons between any
assemblages. The increasing adoption of F. Bordes' quantitative
classificatory system over much of Eurasia and Africa has led to the
identification of several industries dominated by denticulates and
notches. These are, in Eurasia, the Acheulian Tradition Mousterian
type B, some of the Typical Mousterian and, more importantly, the
Denticulate Mousterian (or MD), the latter being also common over
Northeast Africa. Approximate equivalents of MD among classificatory
systems previously used in Subsaharan Africa are probably the ProtoStillbay and the Bembezi variant of the Sangoan. Most of the current

classificatory systems appear inadequate for interpreting Middle

~ a l a e o l i t h i c /variability
~~~
in behavioural terms, being essentially
descriptive typologies. Diverse causes such as traditional preferences,
specialized flaking methods adapted to certain raw material properties,
tool function or the direct or indirect influence of ecological
determinants may have been involved. Emphasis on plant processing,
Fsoodworking for the manufacture of tools, weapons, containers, nets,
etc. are the uses most frequently mentioned for denticulates and
notches, based on experimentation and ethnographic observations.
This trend is likely to be more emphasized in temperate, subtropical
or tropical woodland and/or scrub environments. It should not be ruled
out, however, that similar tasks may have been performed by other tool
types nor that distinct ones were done with denticulates and notches.
Findings from this writer's research suggest that patterns
observed for MD industries in Southwestern Europe and the Mediterranean
have a bearing on the interpretation of analogous MSA industries in
Africa. They show that MD assemblages have consistently low frequencies
of regularly retouched tools or implements, that denticulates and
notches tend to be relatively smaller than unretouched flakes - in
contrast with most other implement categories - and that preference for
hard-grained stones is recurrent, all suggesting task specificity and
differential attrition rates, rather than stylistic or traditional
preference. Finally, MD occurrences tend to be correlated with milder,
temperate or subtropical palaeoclimates or zones.
The total sum of these patterns could be diagnostic of an adaptive
process involving increased exploitation and processing of vegetal
materials and the development of more mobile and dispersed local groups,
expressed by higher denticulates and notches frequencies and by
decreased frequencies of other regularly retouched and/or resharpened
implements categories. Preliminary examfnation of similar MSA occurrences provides findings broadly compatible with this hypothesis,

EGYPT
-

DAKHLEH OASIS PROJECT:

1979 SEASON

The second f i e l d s e a s o n was, l i k e t h e f i r s t s e a s o n

i n 1978, o c c u p i e d w i t h a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s u r v e y i n g and
e n v i r o n m e n t a l s t u d i e s i n t h e Dakhleh O a s i s . The t o t a l a r e a
which h a s been i n v e s t i g a t e d now i s 385km2, a l l a t t h e
w e s t e r n end of t h e o a s i s and r e p r e s e n t i n g o v e r o n e - t h i r d
o f t h e a r e a b e i n g s t u d i e d . I t i n c l u d e s t h e e s c a r p m e n t and
immediately a d j o i n i n g l a n d , and a wide c e n t r a l band o f
l a c u s t r i n e - o r i g i n a t e d c l a y s o i l , which t a p e r s o f f i n t o t h e
sand w a s t e s o f t h e S a h a r a i n t h e s o u t h .
A g r e a t advance i n o u r e n v i r o n m e n t a l s t u d i e s was

made w i t h t h e f i e l d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s o f f a u n a l r e m a i n s i n
what a p p e a r t o be b u t c h e r i n g c o n t e x t s a t a c o u p l e o f
Neolithic sites. Elephant, an equid, rhinoceros, h a r t e b e e s t e ,
g a z e l l e , a u r o c h s and o s t r i c h a l l p r o v i d e e v i d e n c e f o r a
l a n d s c a p e w i t h , permanent s u r f a c e w a t e r , g r a s s l a n d s and
l i g h t f o r e s t sometime p r i o r t o 3,000 B.C.
The f a u n a l complex

i s p r o b a b l y i n c o m p l e t e - no p r e d a t o r s o r r o d e n t s were
r e c o r d e d - b u t it i s p e r h a p s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t no d o m e s t i c a t e s
occur.
A much f u l l e r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e P h a r a o n i c

E g y p t i a n s was a l s o r e c o r d e d . M a t e r i a l r e m a i n s now i n c l u d e
c e r a m i c s from t h e A r c h a i c p e r i o d , D y n a s t i e s 111 a n d V I , and
from t h e F i r s t I n t e r m e d i a t e P e r i o d t h r o u g h t h e Middle
Kingdom and i n t o t h e Second I n t e r m e d i a t e P e r i o d . Most o f o u r
i n f o r m a t i o n h e r e comes from cemeteries, a l t h o u g h some o c c u p a t i o n
sites w e r e a l s o t e s t e d
i n c l u d i n g some w i t h p o t t e r y k i l n s .
No m u l t i - p e r i o d s i t e s were found. Although t h e e v i d e n c e i s
much b r o a d e r c h r o n o l o g i c a l l y t h i s s e a s o n , t h e l a t e s i x t h

d y n a s t y r e m a i n s t h e most s t r o n g l y r e p r e s e n t e d p e r i o d o f
a n c i e n t Egyptian a c t i v i t y i n t h e o a s i s . A p a r t i c u l a r l y
i n t e r e s t i n g d i s c o v e r y t h i s s e a s o n i s a s m a l l g r o u p o f hand
made s h e r d s w i t h i n c i s e d d e c o r a t i o n t h a t s t r o n g l y r e s e m b l e s

Pangrave m a t e r i a l .

A s y e t , w e have no a r c h a e o l o g i c a l e v i d e n c e

f o r any N e w Kingdom o r L a t e P e r i o d a c t i v i t y i n Dakhleh,

a l t h o u g h w e have e v e r y e x p e c t a t i o n o f e v e n t u a l l y f i n d i n g it
b e c a u s e of t e x t u a l and p i c t o r i a l e v i d e n c e from t h e N i l e
Valley.
Over h a l f t h e s i t e s r e c o r d e d t h i s s e a s o n d a t e t o t h e
Roman o c c u p a t i o n . There a r e more, b u t s m a l l e r , c e m e t e r i e s t h a n
w e found i n 1978. I n g e n e r a l , t h e f a r m s t e a d s r e c o r d e d t h i s
y e a r , i n g r o u p s o r i n i s o l a t i o n , a r e somewhat l a r g e r and more
complex s t r u c t u r e s , and v e r y few c o l o m b a r i a w e r e n o t e d .
One
major s i t e , Arnheida, was t e s t e d and found t o c o n s i s t o f a
g r e a t number o f b r i c k s t r u c t u r e s , g e n e r a l l y b u r i e d t o t h e
c e i l i n g s o f t h e ground f l o o r . There i s a l a r g e i n d u s t r i a l
area, p o t t e r y k i l n s , and o n e room t e s t e d w a s found t o b e
f i n e l y decorated with w a l l p a i n t i n g s of mythological scenes.
T h i s l a t t e r i s d a t e d t o a b o u t 325 A.D.
Evidence now s u g g e s t s
t h a t o c c u p a t i o n of Dakhleh was g r e a t e r d u r i n g t h e Roman
p e r i o d t h a n even to-day and t h a t p r o b a b l y t h e a e o l i a n sand
d u n e s t h a t c o v e r s o much of t h e s o i l now d i d n o t come down
i n t o t h e o a s i s u n t i l t h e f o u r t h o r f i f t h c e n t u r y A.D.

A.J.

Mills

Royal O n t a r i o Museum

GHANA
More Kintampo C u l t u r e f i n d s i n t h e f o r e s t zone o f Ghana

by

L. E. Newton
(Dept. of BioZogicaZ Sciences,
University of Science & TechnoZogy,
Kwnasi, Ghanu)
Xn August 1979 a f r i e n d and I went f o r a d a y ' s o u t i n g t o t h e
Boahung H i l l s , near Kumasi. We had some e x e r c i s e , i n walking over
t h e h i l l s , and enjoyed a p i c n i c lunch i n p e a c e f u l surroundings.
S e v e r a l months l a t e r I r e a l i s e d t h a t we had a l s o discovered what
appears t o be a h i t h e r t o unrecorded s i t e of t h e Kintampo "Neolit h i c " Culture.
The Boahung H i l l s a r e a g r a n i t e i n s e l b e r g c l u s t e r l y i n g j u s t
west o f t h e main road t o Ofinso, about 11 km n o r t h o f Kumasi. One
o f t h e g r a n i t e domes i s now being q u a r r i e d , and t h e remains o f
e a r l i e r quarrying a c t i v i t y can be seen elsewhere i n t h e h i l l s . Most
of t h e h i l l s have l a r g e expanses of exposed g r a n i t e , on which t h e r e
a r e s o i l pockets of v a r i o u s s i z e s covered w i t h low-growing vegetat i o n . On deeper s o i l t h e r e i s a woodland savanna v e g e t a t i o n , much
of which has been d i s t u r b e d by farming a c t i v i t y . One h i l l , which i s
a l s o t h e h i g h e s t (Nkabin Peak, a l t . 414 m e t r e s ) , h a s dense f o r e s t
on t h e upper s l o p e s , b u t on t h e summit t h e r e i s a s m a l l g r a s s y c l e a r ing. Associated with t h i s c l u s t e r of h i l l s is an i s o l a t e d h i l l e a s t
of t h e road, about one kilometre t o t h e n o r t h - e a s t .
This h i l l , which
i s c a l l e d Buoho, l i e s j u s t behind t h e v i l l a g e of Nkwikwia Boahung,
and has a Roman C a t h o l i c s h r i n e b u i l t on one s i d e of it. The o t h e r
s i d e has a savanna woodland v e g e t a t i o n , though t h i s has a l s o been much
d i s t u r b e d f o r farming i n r e c e n t y e a r s . There i s f a r l e s s exposed rock
on Buoho t h a n on t h e main c l u s t e r of h i l l s . The h i l l s l i e w i t h i n t h e
f o r e s t zone and i n v e g e t a t i o n cover t h e y a r e s i m i l a r t o o t h e r savanna
o u t l i e r s , o c c u r r i n g where t h e s o i l is t o o shallow t o support f o r e s t
vegetation.
I n t h e course o f walking over t h e h i l l s we n o t i c e d a few s t o n e
a r t i f a c t s , which we picked up. Some weathered p o t s h e r d s were a l s o
seen, b u t n o t c o l l e c t e d . A few o v a l g r i n d i n g h o l e s were seen on some
of t h e g r a n i t e exposures. I recognised t h e s e items a s r e p r e s e n t i n g
t h e Kintampo C u l t u r e , b u t assumed t h a t such conspicuous h i l l s , l y i n g
a l o n g s i d e a major road, would have been w e l l known a r c h a e o l o g i c a l l y .
The few c o l l e c t e d items were t h e r e f o r e deposited i n a cupboard and
forgotten.
Five months l a t e r P r o f . John S u t t o n , of t h e Legqn Department of
Archaeology, c a l l e d on me d u r i n g a v i s i t t o Kumasi. I n t h e conversat i o n he mentioned t h a t he had n o t i c e d t h e Boahung H i l l s w h i l s t d r i v i n g
along t h e main road and thought it might be of i n t e r e s t t o v i s i t them.
This jogged my memory and I produced t h e a r t i f a c t s c o l l e c t e d on t h e

d a y ' s p i c n i c o u t i n g . I was a s t o n i s h e d t o l e a r n from P r o f . Sutton

t h a t t h e h i l l s were n o t on r e c o r d a s a Kintampo Culture s i t e . A
check l a t e r i n t h e f i e l d n o t e s compiled by Davies (1972) r e v e a l e d
a s i n g l e e n t r y under t h e name o f t h e v i l l a g e Ntwikwia Boahung.
This r e f e r s t o items i n t h e Legon Department of Archaeology, with
t h e simple n o t e : C e l t s presented i n t h e v i l l a g e . A s i m i l a r n o t e
appears f o r t h e v i l l a g e of Afrancho, which l i e s a s h o r t d i s t a n c e
s o u t h of t h e h i l l s . However, t h e r e i s no mention of t h e h i l l s
themselves.
Although t h e h i l l s were n o t explored thoroughly it seems usef u l t o p u t on record t h e few s u r f a c e f i n d s made s o f a r . These items
have been lodged with t h e Archaeology Department a t Legon.
1 grooved s t o n e . H i l l behind ( n o r t h - e a s t o f ) Ncwikwia Boahung
v i l l a g e . 6' 47' 48" N. 1' 38' 27" W. P r o j e c t i n g from eroded bank
alongside p a t h l e a d i n g through t h e R.C. s h r i n e , l u s t beyond t h e
f i r s t ' s t a t i o n ' of t h e s h r i n e .

4 p o l i s h e d axes. H i l l behind t h e new s t o n e quarry (now being

q u a r r i e d a t t h e b a s e ) , west of t h e road. 6' 47' 2" N. lo 38' 53"W.
I n l o o s e s o i l on e a s t s l o p e of t h e h i l l where v e g e t a t i o n has been
d i s t u r b e d by farming, j u s t below t h e exposed rock dome.
1 ' c i g a r ' . NtabinPeak. 6' 46' 56" N.
lo 39' 3" W. P r o j e c t i n g
from eroded edge of l a r g e s o i l pocket on lower n o r t h s l o p e s , below
t h e f o r e s t margin.

These few f i n d s a r e s t r o n g l y s u g g e s t i v e of a Kintampo Cultrure

s i t e , though I do not r e e a l l s e e i n g any b u r n t daub and I d i d not
examine any of t h e p o t t e r y f o r s i g n s of t h e s t y l e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h
t h e Kintampo Culture. I had v i s i t e d Buoho p r e v i o u s l y t o examine
t h e savanna v e g e t a t i o n , b u t had not noticed any a r t i f a c t s o t h e r
t h a n t h e u b i q u i t o u s s c a t t e r of weathered potsherds. An e x t e n s i v e
s e a r c h i n t h e e n t i r e c l u s t e r o f h i l l s w i l l be necessary t o determine
whether o r not t h e Boahung H i l l s a r e a s i t e o f any s i g n i f i c a n c e .
Reference :
DAVIES, 0. 1972. Ghana F i e l d Notes - P a r t I11 Ashanti
Univ. Ghana Department of Archaeology, Legon.

BRITISH INSTITUTE I N EASTERN AFRICA

N e v i l l e C h i t t i c k , D i r e c t o r of t h e I n s t i t u t e , i s due t o c a r r y o u t
a p i l o t excavation i n t h e o l d q u a r t e r of Mogadishu, c a p i t a l of Somalia,
d u r i n g t h e two weeks preceeding t h e F i r s t I n t e r n a t i o n a l Congress of
Somali S t u d i e s , which is t o t a k e p l a c e from 6 t h t o 1 3 t h J u l y , 1980.
T h i s w i l l be t h e first a r c h a e o l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n of t h e town,
which, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e h i s t o r i c a l s o u r c e s , w a s ( w i t h ~ i l w a )t h e most
important of t h e E a s t African c o a s t i n e a r l i e r I s l a m i c t i m e s .

It i s hoped l a t e r t o c a r r y o u t f u r t h e r work on t h e n o r t h e r n Somali

c o a s t . T h i s would be w i t h t h e a i m of completing t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l
survey and s e l e c t e d e x c a v a t i o n s c a r r i e d o u t t h r e e y e a r s ago.
P e t e r Robertshaw, A s s i s t a n t D i r e c t o r , c a r r i e d o u t a b r i e f archaeol o g i c a l reconnaissance of t h e western s l o p e s of t h e Cherangani H i l l s i n
t h e north-west of t h e country. R o c k - s h e l t e r s , c a i r n s , i r o n - s m e l t i n g
sites and ' S i r i k w a Holes' were found, though s u r f a c e f i n d s i n d i c a t e d
t h a t a l l s i t e s could be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e l a t e r I r o n Age. The r e s u l t s
of t h i s s u r v e y combined w i t h one of t h e e a s t e r n s l o p e s o f M t Elgon some
y e a r s ago a p p e a r t o i n d i c a t e t h a t L a t e r Stone Age and E a r l y I r o n Age
s e t t l e m e n t w a s r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e g r a s s l a n d s of t h e Uasin Gishu P l a t e a u .
P e n e t r a t i o n of t h e f o r e s t e d s l o p e s of t h e Cheranganis and M t Elgon by
iron-working p e o p l e s occurred o n l y i n more r e c e n t centxlriles. S i m i l a r l y
s e t t l e m e n t of t h e more a r i d r e g i o n s below t h e escarpment i n West Pokot
a l s o a p p e a r s t o be of comparatively r e c e n t d a t a .
Another reconnaissance by Dr.Robertshaw w a s aimed a t r e l o c a t i n g
some of t h e Holocene shell-middens excavated by Dr.L.S.B. Leakey but
n o t f u l l y d e s c r i b e d . I n t h e Kanam-Kanjera a r e a t h r e e l a r g e middens
were found, one a p p a r e n t l y excavated by D r . Leakey. L i t t l e a r t e f a c t u a l
m a t e r i a l was e r o d i n g from exposed s e c t i o n s , though s h e r d s of p o s s i b l e
Kansyore ware were found on t h e d i s t u r b e d s u r f a c e of one midden.
F u r t h e r s o u t h n e a r Mbita a n o t h e r shell-midden was r e v e a l e d by a roadc u t t i n g . Here s h e r d s of undoubted Kansyore ware t o g e t h e r w i t h
m i c r o l i t h i c t o o l s were s e e n i n s i t u . Excavation of some of t h e
middens found combined w i t h f u r t h e r survey planned f o r t h e coming
months should c l a r i f y t h e c h r o n o l o g i c a l p o s i t i o n and r e l a t i o n s h i p s
of Kansyore ware. It should a l s o s h o ~
whether o r n o t t h e Lake V i c t o r i a
middens are r e l a t e d t o t h e ' a q u a l i t h i c ' t r a d i t i o n of t h e S a h e l r e g i o n .

D r . Odak of t h e University of Nairobi writes:

A s p a r t of t h e p r o j e c t " P r e h i s t o r i c Art i n Kenya", from 14th May,

1978 t o 28th August, 1978, with two weeks' i n t e r v a l s during June and
J u l y , I l e d expeditions t o West Kenya with t h e aim of:-

c)

Prospecting f o r new rock art s i t e s .

Recording t h e newly discovered s i t e s , and some of
those a l r e a d y known.
Taking rock and ' p a i n t ' samples f o r a n a l y s i s .
The a r e a s covered were around:h i l l i n K i s i i District.
i i i ) Turbo-Eldoret
i v ) Chelelemuk Malakisi

Notwithstanding t h e e x t e n t of t h e a r e a , t h e l i m i t a t i o n of time
and f u n d s , and l a c k of i n t e n s i t y , t h e expedition revealed p r e v i o u s l y
unknown rock art and o t h e r archaeological s i t e s .

AROUND MT. ELGON

While recording a previously known s i t e a t Kakapeli (0dak 1977),
some prospecting was undertaken i n t h e surrounding a r e a , Two f a c t o r s
emerged:

a)

b)

No comparable rock p a i n t i n g s i t e e x i s t s w i t h i n t h e
Chelelemuk h i l l s with t h e exception of t h e White one
of human s t i c k f i g u r e l o c a t e d t o t h e South Kakapeli
rock p a i n t i n g s . The i n e v i t a b l e conclusion i s t h a t
Kakapeli p a i n t i n g s , being t h e only s p e c t a c u l a r s i t e of
t h e a r e a , was important t o t h e e a r l y l o c a l i n h a b i t a n t s .
Three more s i t e s BCKi , and B C K i i , BCK3 and B C K ~were
discovered c l o s e by, BCKi and BCKii a r e two s h e l t e r s
formed by t h e same g r a n i t i c plutone e a s t of t h e p a i n t i n g s . One of them, BCKi i s l i t t e r e d on t h e surface
with potsherds and grinding s t o n e s . There a r e
evidences of f i r e as w e l l . Examination of t h e s u r f a c e
revealed t h a t l i t t l e o r none of t h e sherds a r e
observable below t h e s u r f a c e . BCK3 i s a s h e l t e r formed
by two adjacent g r a n i t e t o r s . The f l o o r i s eroded and
s h e r d s , apparently from above, a r e abundant on t h e
s u r f a c e . No subsurface p o t t e r y w a s observed.

BCK3 i s an extensive i r o n smelting s i t e with high d e n s i t y of

i r o n s l a g s each of considerable s i z e . It borders Mr.E. Kimunoi's
homestead and extends r i g h t up t o t h e small h i l l o c k t o t h e South-West.
No tuy&e fragment w a s observed, but it i s apparent t h a t t h e i r o n
working continued f o r a considerable time as evidenced by t h e d e n s i t y
of subsurface s t r a t i f i c a t i o n . This promising s i t e r e q u i r e s f u r t h e r
i n v e s t i g a t i o n as it would throw l i g h t i n t o t h e nature of i r o n working
by t h e Teso o r t h e i r predecessors.
V i t h i n t h e same a r e a as Kakapeli and c l o s e t o Kolanya Secondary
school near Chemasire shopping c e n t r e i n Teso D i s t r i c t was discovered
an example of t h e b e s t preserved Bukusu defensive f o r t s , t h e
analogies of which were i n v e s t i g a t e d by S c u l l y i n East Bukusu i n 1969.
I f t h i s f o r t i s t h e work of t h e Bukusu people, it would be evidence
supporting t h e Oral t r a d i t i o n a l a s s e r t i o n concerning t h e movement of
t h e Teso i n t o a formerly Bukusu country.
Kimothon
Kimothon rock p a i n t i n g s i t e r e p o r t e d . 5 ~Wright i n 1961 and
Chaplin, who c a l l s it "Endebess" w a s re-examined and f u r t h e r recorded.
Rock and p a i n t samples were a l s o t a k e n ,
The cave adjacent t o t h e s h e l t e r on t h e w a l l of which a r e
p a i n t i n g s was examined. The concentration of ash i n some of its
s e c t i o n s revealed abundant evidence of f i r e . The e a r l y occupation
by a p a s t o r a l group i s i n evidence everywhere; t h e r e a r e t h i c k
d e p o s i t s of dung and remains of bamboo s t r u c t u r e s smeared with dung.
The f l o o r l e v e l i s recognisable on examination of t h e c u l t u r a l
d e p o s i t whose s t r a t i g r a p h i c arrangement was exposed by cracks on t h e
ground.
Other c u l t u r a l o b j e c t s a l s o demonstrate t h e c a v e ' s e a r l y
occupation. Among t h e s e a r e bone pendants, sewn l e a t h e r , p o s s i b l y
made i n t o shoes o r o b j e c t s such a s ropes, f o s s i l i s e d wood, haematite
stone a p a r e n t l y f o r p a i n t i n g , fashioned bone ( t h a t perhaps served
as t o o l and, f i n a l l y , bored s t o n e a r t e f a c t s whose use and
s i g n i f i c a n c e i s not documented i n archaeological o r ethnographic
l i t e r a t u r e of t h e region. These s t o n e s have been described by
Weatherby. Ssekintu (personal communication), t e l l s me of caves i n
Uganda with similar s t o n e s . However, what t h e y a r e and t h e purpose
they served s t i l l remains a mystery.

Luucho H i l l S i t e
To t h e South East of Kimothon cave, w i t h i n Luucho H i l l s and
overlooking Chwele, Kibabii and Bungoma towns i s a rock l o c a l l y
known as Chemasari. It makes up two s h e l t e r s t h e s m a l l one of
which has n a t u r a l i s t i c p a i n t i n g s analogous t o t h o s e a t Kimothon.

Its b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n i s as follows:Animals :
There a r e t h r e e animals i n white among which t h e one a t t h e
bottom is superimposed upon some e a r l i e r r e d f i g u r e ; t h e l a t t e r a l s o
has t e a t s and long horns and a c i r c l e i s drawn at i t s head. The
l e g s a r e not s e p a r a t e l y shown. The middle f i g u r e i s a l s o drawn over
an e a r l y r e d f i g u r e and i s apparently a domestic c a t t l e .

It has s h o r t horns. The topmost f i g u r e , which i s l e s s

preserved, i s a cow b u t , u n l i k e t h e o t h e r two, it has a prominent
t a i l ; it i s drawn over r e d concentric c i r c l e s which i n t u r n w a s a l s o
drawn over another u n i d e n t i f i a b l e r e d f i g u r e .
A l l t h e animals f a c e E a s t , t h e horns a r e drawn as i f f a c i n g t h e
beholder.
Humans :
There a r e f o u r human f i g u r e s drawn i n r e d and (when f a c i n g t h e
s h e l t e r ) a r e on t h e l e f t of t h e middle animal. The f i g u r e s hold each
o t h e r apparently by t h e hand. The one on t h e l e f t i s a female while
t h e r i g h t one is a male. The two c h i l d r e n i n t h e middle hold each
o t h e r besides holding t h e male and t h e female. Dress i s not c l e a r l y
shown. The female i s drawn without l e g s . On t h e o t h e r hand, a man
i s drawn as a " s t i c k " f i g u r e with hands and l e g s b u t , l i k e t h e
female, has no head.
Painted A r t e f a c t s :
Milk gourd with cover i n r e d , a milk mixing s t i c k i n r e d ,
mortar and p e s t l e i n r e d , a bhang smoking gourd, and a s t r i n g e d
musical instrument which looks l i k e t h e Kalenjin Bukardit.
Non-representation o b j e c t s :
Two concentric c i r c l e s i n r e d , one crossed c i r c l e a l s o i n r e d ,
one c i r c l e i n white, two u n i d e n t i f i a b l e white f i g u r e s a t t a c h e d t o
t h e two l e g s of middle animal ( a drop of white p a i n t i n t h e West and
a figure i n red)

Artefacts within t h e vicinity:

To t h e West of t h e painted s h e l t e r i s a l a r g e s h e l t e r which
was a p p a r e n t l y r e c e n t l y used f o r h a b i t a t i o n o r temporary occupation.
Here was noted a s m a l l t h i n almost whole p o t , a number of p o t s h e r d s ,
evidence of charcoal on t h e f l o o r , smoke s p o t on t h e roof e t c ,

GOT1 CHAKI AREA

N yabigena
The rock engravings a t Goti Chaki i n South Mugirango h a s Seen
r e p o r t e d by Bower. About two k i l o m e t r e s from t h i s s i t e a r e a number
of s i t e s n e a r Nyabigena Primary school. Here a r e e i g h t groups of
engravings covering h a l f an a c r e of l a n d . A t one small a r e a a r e
t h r e e rocks on which a r e ' h o l e s ' and l i n e a r engravings arranged i n a
v a r i e t y of f a s h i o n s . The marks d i f f e r between themselves according
t o s i z e and depth. For i n s t a n c e , at one s i t e t h e r e is a h o l e with
e i g h t grooves r a d i a t i n g from it. This i s joined t o an a d j a c e n t group
of f o u r major grooves arranged around it. Associated with t h e l a t t e r
a r e f i v e l i n e a r e t c h i n g s p a r a l l e l t o t h e grooves. Other m o t i f s
include f i f t e e n minor grooves between two major ones. Dispersed
among t h e l i n e s , h o l e s and l a r g e grooves a r e l a r g e h o l e s o r "cup
marks"

Muoma
About a Kilometre from t h e Nyabigena s i t e s i s an a r e a with
i n t e r e s t i n g engravings on s e p a r a t e s t o n e s s c a t t e r e d over an a r e a of
200 by 400 km. The f a r m on which t h e s e s t o n e s a r e s i t u a t e d i s known
as Mwanja Okanya t o which my a t t e n t i o n w a s k i n d l y drawn by
M r . Ongesa Elkana of K i s i i Teachers College. Most of t h e m o t i f s at
Goti Chaki and Nyabigena a r e represented at Muoma. Here a r e minute
engraved s t r i p e s some of which can p r o p e r l y be s t u d i e d only with a
magnifying g l a s s . There a r e h o l e s of v a r i o u s t y p e s , s i z e s and
arrangements. Within one panel i s a combination of minute s t r i p e s ,
h o l e s , peckings of c o n c e n t r i c c i r c l e s , s i n g l e c i r c l e s and a v a r i e t y
of o t h e r geometric designs.
Careful observation r e v e a l s t h a t t h e panel w a s c a r e f u l l y
prepared before marks were made on them. Unfortunately, t h e K i s i i
s i t e s a r e i n imminent danger of d e s t r u c t i o n s i n c e t h e y a r e s i t u a t e d
i n farmland a r e a s . The s t o n e s on which t h e engravings a r e executed
a r e being q u a r r i e d and t h e s e s i t e s w i l l soon be reached.
TURBO-ELDORET AREA
Two Rockpainting and one s i r i k w a s i t e s , were discovered d u r i n g
t h e e x p e d i t i o n . The f i r s t i s i n Sango Location, Kakamega D i s t r i c t .
The p a i n t i n g s a r e executed on t h e w a l l of one of t h o s e outcrops
c o l l e c t i v e l y known as M i m a h i l l s . ( ~ i e l d - w o r k at t h i s s i t e w a s made
p o s s i b l e by t h e f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e from t h e Japanese M i n i s t r y of
Higher Education through Kyoto U n i v e r s i t y Research Team l e d by
P r o f s . Tomikawa and J . Tanaka f o r which I a m g r a t e f u l ) .

The p a i n t e d s u r f a c e extends from om.to 48 m. with h e i g h t ranging

from 2-4 metres from t h e ground and t h e m o t i f s i n d i f f e r e n t c o l o u r s
a r e unevenly d i s t r i b u t e d , being concentrated i n some s e c t i o n s t o t h e
exclusion of o t h e r s . C e r t a i n p a n e l s have d e s i g n s p a i n t e d only i n
white, whereas o t h e r s a r e mixed. Two l a r g e t r a c e s of r e d p a i n t on
t h e w a l l s r i g h t at t h e f o o t of one of two t r e e s prove t h a t t h e s h e l t e r
w a s red painted e a r l i e r than t h e t r e e s .
The two mature t r e e s belong
t o t h e s p e c i e s , C e l t i s Africana which, according t o t h e government
silviculturist,
is deciduous and t a k e s about 80-100 y e a r s t o reach
m a t u r i t y from t h e time of gemination. Hence t h e r e d p a i n t i n g s must
Since a l l t h e c a s e s of
have been e a r l i e r t h a n 1899 o r 1898 A.D.
s u p e r p a i n t i n g at t h e s i t e have white p a i n t e d on t h e r e d , t h e white
colour must have been l a t e r . The p a i n t i n g at M i m a h i l l s a r e
schematic with some occasional r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of a r t e f a c t s . The
f l o o r of t h e r o c k s h e l t e r w a s a p p a r e n t l y occupied as evidenced by t h e
subsurface occurrence of m i c r o l i t h i c a r t e f a c t s of o b s i d i a n , q u a r t z e t c .
Tapsagoi s i t e :
This s i t e i s s i t u a t e d at a h i l l known as Tapsagoi a few
kilometres from Turbo shopping c e n t r e , The p a i n t i n g s , a l l i n white
a r e s e m i - n a t u r a l i s t i c . The non-representational d e s i g n s a r e analogous
t o t h o s e at M i m a h i l l s , but t h e s i t e d i f f e r s from t h e l a t t e r by i t s
i n c l u s i o n of human f i g u r e s - which is absent at M i m a h i l l s . The
designs i n c l u d e a f i g u r e resembling a s h i e l d .
B o i t ' s farm
Not f a r from Turbo shopping c e n t r e i s M r . B o i t ' s farm where one
of t h e b e s t preserved Sirikwa S t r u c t u r e s and a c a i r n were discovered.
The s h o r t time at our d i s p o s a l prevented u s from examining t h e s e s i t e s
i n detail.
Conclusion:
Although l a c k of funds h a s delayed a n a l y s i s of t h e m a t e r i a l
obtained from t h e f i e l d , t h e t r i p revealed t h a t West Kenya i s an
important r e g i o n f o r rock art and r e l a t e d a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s which s t i l l await discovery and study.

We are currently finishing up articles and manuscripts for

publication concerning the 1977 field season at the Iron Age site of
Jenne-jeno in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali. For those who m e
interested in the results of this first field season, a list of
publications which either have already appeared in print or are at
present in press follows:
"Terracotta statuettes from the Inland Niger Delta (~ali,West
Arts, February 1979: 51-53.
Africa)", African -

" Initial perspectives on prehistoric subsistence in the Inland

Niger Delta (~ali)
" , World Archaeology 11 (1979): 227-243.
"Jenne-jeno : An Ancient African City", Archaeology 33 (1980):
8-14.
"Preliminary results of the 1977 excavations at Jenne-jeno, Mali",
of the Eighth Panafrican Congress of Prehistory and
Proceedings Quaternary Studies, in press.
The Causes and
"Iron Age economy in the Inland Niger Delta", Consequences -of Food Production in Africa (J .D. Clark and
S .A. Brandt , editors) , in press.

Prehistoric Investigations in the Region --*of Jenne (Mali)

To appear as #3 in the series Cambridge Monographs in African
Archaeology, published by British Archaeological Reports. In
press.
We shall be returning to the Inland Niger Delta and Jenne-jeno
beginning in December 1980 for a second eight-month field season
funded by the National Science Foundation. Three archaeology
graduate students will accompany us into the field, which means that
we will have the necessary supervisory personnel to undertake more
extensive controlled stratigraphic excavations than was possible in
1977. Also included in the research plans are several months of
regional survey.
As of August, 1980, our new address will be: Department of
Anthropology, Rice University,Houston,Texas, 77001. Until then,
correspondence reaches us at the Department of Anthropology,
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130.

Roderick J McIntosh
Susan Keech McIntosh

NIGERIA

M r . Bassey-Duke of t h e Nigerian Federal Department of A n t i q u i t i e s

sends t h i s note:

An a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e of g r e a t p o t e n t i a l i n t e r e s t h a s f o r t h e
f i r s t time been r e p o r t e d from Yola i n Gongola S t a t e of Nigeria.

One

t e r r a - c o t t a head i n t h e Nok s t y l e w a s found i n t h e s i t e and w a s

generously presented t o t h e Nigerian Federal Department of A n t i q u i t i e s
by t h e Gongola S t a t e Government.

A cursory examination of t h e s i t e h a s convinced me t h a t excavat i o n s might y i e l d important r e s u l t s as t h e d e p o s i t s i n which t h e head

was found appear t o be i n s i t u , whereas a l l o t h e r f i n d s of Nok

f i g u r i n e s w i t h i n t h e known Nok c u l t u r e a r e a had been found i n a l l u v i a l
d e p o s i t s where t h e a s s o c i a t e d evidence i s of l i m i t e d value.

The

p r e c i s e c h a r a c t e r of t h i s s i t e i s s t i l l unknown but it may prove t o be

p a r t of a v i l l a g e s i t e p o s s i b l y containing i r o n smelting f u r n a c e s .
The thorough e x p l o r a t i o n of t h i s s i t e and i t s excavation i s
expected t o t a k e s e v e r a l weeks and w i l l , it i s hoped, f u r t h e r
i n c r e a s e our knowledge of t h e geographical e x t e n t of t h e Nok c u l t u r e
of Nigeria.

No f o l k memory of any s e t t l e m e n t i n t h i s a r e a of t h e

f i n d h a s however been e s t a b l i s h e d .
The Yola t e r r a - c o t t a head 17.8 cm high r e p r e s e n t s i n my opinion
an e x c e l l e n t l y s c u l p t e d head of an ape i n n a t u r a l i s t i c s t y l e .

This

head h a s many pervading a r t i s t i c s i m i l a r i t i e s with t h e C l a s s i c a l Nok

type t e r r a - c o t t a animal s c u l p t u r e s e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e t r e a t m e n t of t h e
facial features.

T h i s head may w e l l r e p r e s e n t a n o u t l i e r o r a

geographical v a r i a t i o n of t h e C l a s s i c a l s t y l e s known from t h e N0.kJemaa a r e a of Nigeria.

I n essence it may be r e l a t e d t o t h e s u b - s t y l e

known from t h e Katsina-Ala a r e a of Tiv-land.

Archaeological S i t e s i n t h e Cross River Region

by Keith Nicklin
Herefordshire, England
The present w r i t e r conducted ethnographic fieldwork i n t h e Cross
River region of s o u t h e a s t Nigeria and west Cameroun from 1971 t o 1978.
I n t h e course of t h i s research a number of aschaeological s i t e s were
discovered, some of which would appear t o be of major importance.

None

of t h e s i t e s has y e t been surveyed o r excavated by a r c h a e o l o g i s t s , and

s e v e r a l have been badly d i s t u r b e d o r destroyed.

The following n o t e s

a r e presented i n chronological o r d e r of i n v e s t i g a t i o n of s i t e .
ISHIET EKIM
September 1971.

A v i s i t was p a i d t o t h e l a t e Chief Nyong Essien

a t E s h i e t Ekim, near Adadia, approx. 30 km from Uyo.

Ibibio area.

I n a r a i n g u l l y at nearby Ntang beach, depth approx. 1 m, was found

an incomplete r e d p o t t e r y p e d e s t a l bowl, approx. 25 cm i n diameter.

S t r i k i n g i n c i s e d weaving skeuomorph decoration.
p e r f o r a t i o n (probably 2 o r i g i n a l l y ) .

Lug with h o r i z o n t a l

Other sherds and charcoal at

same s i t e , bowl now i n National Museum, Oron.

ASSI-ABANG
November 1971.

A v i s i t w a s p a i d t o Chief Canaan Oqua Otop of

Assi-Abang v i l l a g e , Calabar.

Chief presented 2 l a r g e copper m a n i l l a s

and p a r t of an i r o n spearhead, s a i d t o have been dug r e c e n t l y from a

g r a v e l quarry i n t h e v i l l a g e .
f u r t h e r quarrying.

S i t e subsequently much d i s t u r b e d by

Objects i n National Museum, Oron.

AGWA ' AGUNA

June 1972. AgwafAguna i s a l s o c a l l e d Akunakuna. Followed up Lagos

Daily Times r e p o r t of p r e h i s t o r i c cave near Cross River a t AgwafAguna, i n
what i s now Akamkpa Local Government a r e a . Cave c a l l e d Etan Nki K i m "sounding rock". S i t u a t e d i n limestone rock. Consists of l a r g e c e n t r a l
chamber over 10 m high i n p l a c e s , w i t h s e v e r a l e n t r a n c e s and s i d e g a l l e r i e s . The cave i s used by h u n t e r s . I n t h e cave were broken p o t s of modern
t y p e and r e c e n t h e a r t h s . Floor obscured by t h i c k covering of b a t guano.
UMON

J u l y 1972. V i s i t e d Umon Town, a s e t t l e m e n t on an i s l a n d on t h e

Cross River near I t u . During 1 8 t h and 1 9 t h c e n t u r i e s Umon was a r i c h
e n t r e p o t i n r e s p e c t of t h e Cross River t r a d e , and i t s r i v e r s i d e market
was famous ( v i d e P a r t r i d g e 1905). Upstream bank of i s l a n d eroded t o r e v e a l dark patches approx. 3-5 m deep i n p l a c e s . Second v i s i t paid i n
February 1976. Among o b j e c t s c o l l e c t e d f o r National Museum Oron were an
assortment of human and animal bone fragments, sherds of t r a d i t i o n a l and
European t y p e , a b r a s s bayonet h i l t , and m i n i a t u r e g l a s s s l i p p e r ( ~ i c k l i n
1977). I n t h e uzukpo s h r i n e a t Umon a r e preserved t h e following copper
a l l o y o b j e c t s : b r a c e l e t , s p i r a l m a n i l l a and b e l l of e a s t Nigerian v a r i e t y .

MARIAN ROAD EXTENSION, CALABAR

August 1972. Information of d e s t r u c t i o n of p o t t e r y s h r i n e r e c e i v e d

from John Mayo, t h e n of S.E. S t a t e M i n i s t r y of Works, Calabar, during
c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e Marian Road Extension i n Qua Town. On e i t h e r s i d e of
t h e road were heaps of bulldozed e a r t h r i c h i n reddish-brown s h e r d s .
Some sherds had c o n c e n t r i c c i r c l e , p a r a l l e l l i n e and weaving skeuomorph
i n c i s e d m o t i f s . Many examples of p e d e s t a l bowl bases w i t h i n c i s e d decor a t i o n on e x t e r i o r s u r f a c e , and pot l i d s w i t h c e n t r a l l u g . Specimens
taken t o National Museum Lagos.
"SESTRADE" SUPERMARKET, CALABAR
J u l y 1973. S i t e r e p o r t e d by t h e t h e n S.E. S t a t e M i n i s t r y of I n f o r mation and C u l t u r a l A f f a i r s , Calabar, i n t h e course of c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e
"SESTRADE" Supermarket. Large numbers of p o t s , p o t s h e r d s , and copper
a l l o y m a n i l l a s and b e l l s were assembled i n t h e Ministry o f f i c e i n Calabar.
Metal o b j e c t s handed over t o F e d e r a l Dept. of A n t i q u i t i e s . S i t e b u i l t
upon. Depths of up t o 1.50 m were recorded by t h e M i n i s t r y f o r some o b j e c t s .
IKOT I Y A N
January 1974. I k o t Iyan i s an I b i b i o v i l l a g e i n Asuta Ekpe Clan,
approx. 25 km from Uyo, 3 krn from t h e Uyo-Eket road. The following metal
o b j e c t s were discovered while digging f o r e a r t h t o make t h e mud w a l l s of
a new house, a t a depth of approx. 1 . 5 0 m: 8 i r o n sword and s p e a r b l a d e s ,
1 l a r g e copper a l l o y m a n i l l a , 1 copper a l l o y s p i r a l m a n i l l a . The o b j e c t s
were b e l i e v e d by l o c a l people t o be grave goods. They were l e f t w i t h t h o s e
who had dug them up a s a s e r i o u s d i s p u t e was i n p r o g r e s s .

June 1974. Labourers working on e r o s i o n c o n t r o l n e a r t h e main road

n e a r t h e Methodist Teacher Training College a t Oron discovered some m e t a l
a r t e f a c t s : 3 i r o n swordblades, 4 i r o n s p e a r b l a d e s , and t h e following
copper a l l o y o b j e c t s : 2 s p i r a l m a n i l l a s and a fragment of one, 1 t o r q u e ,
and 1 cfre-perdue c a s t i n g i n t h e form of a s t y l i z e d c a r n i v o r e s k u l l . The
o b j e c t s were s a i d t o have come from t h e grave of an a n c e s t o r c a l l e d Ntuk
Idim Uma. Presented i n February 1976 t o t h e National Museum Oron by Chief
O.U. Akan, t h e Ofong Afaha I b i g h i a t Uya Oron. S i t e destroyed by e r o s i o n
c o n t r o l and l a t e r i t e quarrying.
UYO RAVINE
February 1976. Following t h e main t r a c k i n t o t h e Ravine from t h e
College of Education, Uyo, a f t e r descending a few metres from t h e rubber
p l a n a t i o n , i s an a r e a of s e v e r e g u l l y e r o s i o n and digging f o r sand. Here,
a t depths of around 1 m, and washed i n t o g u l l i e s , were numerous p o t s h e r d s ,
buff o r brown i n c o l o u r , of c o a r s e f a b r i c and t h i c k e r t h a n modern ware.
Ten sherds c o l l e c t e d , i n c l u d i n g r i m s h e r d s decorated w i t h i n c i s e d p a r a l l e l
l i n e s , a r i m sherd w i t h h o r i z o n t a l l y p i e r c e d l u g , and a p e d e s t a l w i t h
decoration i n t h e form of a c r o s s on t h e base. Sherds d e p o s i t e d i n N a t i o n a l
Museum Oron.
AYANGA

August 1976. Like many Ej agham communities, t h e people of S R u n g

Clan i n Ikom L.G.A. s e t t l e d a t t h e i r p r e s e n t v i l l a g e s i t e s w i t h i n l i v i n g
memory only a f t e r migration from s u c c e s s i v e f o r e s t s e t t l e m e n t s . The people
of Nsofang, a S . Etung v i l l a g e on t h e Cross River upstream from Ikom, maint a i n t h a t t h e i r o r i g i n a l s e t t l e m e n t w a s a t Okemaya, n e a r a h i l l c a l l e d
Onughi ( p o s s i b l y what i s shown on maps a s Awai o r Agamdugum peak). From
Okemaya t h e y moved t o t h e following s i t e s , b e f o r e e s t a b l i s h i n g Nsofang:
E s s o r i , Nkutu, Ayanga. Ayanga i s reached by t a k i n g t h e f o r e s t p a t h westwards towards E t a r a , approx. 20 km from Nsofang. A t Ayanga a r e e x t e n s i v e
r u i n s of mud b u i l d i n g s , and p i t s from which c l a y was dug t o make p o t t e r y .
The s i t e i s h e a v i l y overgrown, but p l a n t s p e c i e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h human
s e t t l e m e n t a r e s t i l l v i s i b l e . S e v e r a l a u t h o r s have drawn a t t e n t i o n t o
d e s e r t e d s e t t l e m e n t s i n t h e Ejagham f o r e s t s , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e Oban a r e a
(e.g. Talbot 1912). From t h e incidence of such s i t e s and t h e n a t u r e of t h e
v e g e t a t i o n Rosevear i n f e r s t h a t t h e p o p u l a t i o n of t h i s a r e a was formerly
much higher (1946: 1 1 0 ) . I n a d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e
Calabar-Mamfe road, Harding r e f e r s t o f i n d s of "old potsherds where now
t h e r e were no s i g n s of modern h a b i t a t i o n " (1952: 4 5 ) .
ABIRIBA
A p r i l 1977. The Igbo s e t t l e m e n t of Abiriba i n Imo S t a t e has l o n g
been renowned f o r i t s metal products. I t i n e r a n t smiths from Abiriba f o p
merly s u p p l i e d metal goods t o peoples of t h e Cross River and Niger D e l t a .
I r o n was smelted a t Abiriba u n t i l t h e l a t t e r p a r t of t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y .

S l a g i s s c a t t e r e d on t h e s u r f a c e i n many p a r t s of t h e town, e.g. Obu Esu

Square. Copper a l l o y c a s t i n g was p r a c t i c e d i n Abiriba a t l e a s t u n t i l
t h e 1920s. I r o n was a l s o smelted a t t h e nearby town of Item, where surf a c e s l a g i s a l s o t o be seen. Abiriba and Item blacksmiths today manuf a c t u r e t o o l s and u t e n s i l s from s c r a p i r o n .

September 1977. The people of t h e Agbo v i l l a g e of Adadama i n Obubra

L.G.A. maintain t h a t t h e y o r i g i n a t e d from Ngulungulu i n "Wawa"
N.E.
Igboland. They say t h a t they ousted an indigenous f o l k c a l l e d t h e Ayoruba
from t h e i r s e t t l e m e n t on t h e west bank of t h e Cross River. I n many Adadama s h r i n e s a r e i r o n hoeblades c a l l e d geboku, a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e Ayoruba.
Atani ward was founded f i r s t a t Adadama, followed by Imina ward s i t u a t e d
on t o p of a h i l l . I n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e h i l l t o p s e t t l e m e n t i s a rock
s h e l t e r , and a cave t h e entrance of which has been clocked s i n c e t h e e a r l y
1960s. It i s s a i d t h a t t h e cave and s h e l t e r were formerly occupied, b e f o r e
s e t t l i n g a t Letavol and f i n a l l y t h e p r e s e n t s i t e of Imina. There i s a
s t o n e s h r i n e c a l l e d Ebasetan i n t h e s h e l t e r , and an annual ceremony i s
h e l d Jan/Feb f o r farmland a l l o c a t i o n .

January 1978. Mbakang i s an Ejagham v i l l a g e i n Manyu D i v i s i o n ,

Southwest Province, Cameroun. It i s recognised by t h e Qua people of
Calabar a s an a n c e s t r a l s i t e . There a r e s e v e r a l d e s e r t e d s e t t l e m e n t s i n
t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e p r e s e n t v i l l a g e , and i n t h e p a s t t h e r e was a tendency
f o r t h e s e t o b e s i t u a t e d i n Cfefensible h i l l t o p p o s i t i o n s . Daniel Roth, a
missionary l i v i n g a t Mbakang, r e p o r t e d f i n d i n g potsherds a t depths of
approx. 2-3 m when digging a w e l l for, t h e v i l l a g e . There a r e many s u r f a c e
sherds i n t h i s l o c a l i t y . The p a t h f r o m t h e v i l l a g e t o t h e s a l t s p r i n g has
worn a deep g u l l y , and from t h e s i d e of t h e g u l l y a t a depth of approx. 1
metre t h e a u t h o r excavated fragments of a p o t t e r y bowl. This g r i t t y r e d
ware, decorated w i t h an i n c i s e d weaving skeuomorph m o t i f , resembled some
of t h e r e c e n t l y excavated ware from t h e Qua a r e a of Calabar. Sherds dep o s i t i e d i n National Museum, Oron.

MBAK ITAM

March 1978. A new road c u t t i n g a t Eben Ekpo i n Mbak Itam, 260 m

a f t e r t h e j u n c t i o n of t h e Uyo-Calabar road w i t h I t u r o a d , r e v e a l e d a number
of iron-smelting furnaces (with furnace w a l l s , tw>res and s l a g e a s i l y
i d e n t i f i a b l e ) , potsherds and s t o n e t o o l s . Sections of furnaces c l e a r l y
v i s i b l e i n t h e c u t t i n g b u t eroding q u i c k l y . Stone t o o l s of f l a k e and c o r e
t y p e were made from a l o c a l hard r e d capstone. There were two o t h e r s i t e s
i n Mbak Itam where i r o n working was done i n t h e p a s t : Nkarafang Afa U t i m
and Akpa Utong. Although t h e working of s c r a p i r o n i s remembered i n Mbak
Itam, smelting i s not r e c a l l e d w i t h i n l i v i n g memory. I r o n working seems
t o have d i f f u s e d t o t h i s p a r t o f I b i b i o l a n d v i a t h e s l a v e t r a d e from
Arochukwu. Stone t o o l s and o t h e r specimens deposited i n National Museum,
Oron; some-.furnace m a t e r i a l s c o l l e c t e d f o r TL a n a l y s i s i n U.K.

EYANGA

A p r i l 1978. Throughout t h e Ukelle a r e a of Ogoja L.G.A. lumps of

iron-smelting s l a g can be seen i n s h r i n e s . S l a g was a l s o chewed a s an
o r d e a l i n former times. A l a r g e heap of s l a g , over 3 m h i g h and containi n g plugs of up t o 60 cm wide and 30 cm t h i c k , i s s i t u a t e d a t t h e roads i d e near Eyanga No. 3, near Wanikaade. Iron-smelting i s not known t o
have been p r a c t i c e d w i t h i n l i v i n g memory, though t h e people s a y t h a t t h e
knowledge was brought from t h e I z z i Igbo a r e a t o t h e = s t , whence t h e
Ukelle b e l i e v e t h a t t h e y o r i g i n a t e d . Slag specimens d e p o s i t e d a t National
Museum, Oron.

May 1978. P o t s h e r d s , iron-smelting s l a g and q u a r t z f l a k e t o o l s

were found a t depths of around 1 m on both s i d e s of t h e Ikom-Ogoja road
Specimens deposited i n N a t i o n a l
a t a c u t t i n g near Nkarasi i n Ikom L.G.A.
Museu, Oron.
I n Nyame Akuma No. 1 3 , November 1978, t h e a r c h a e o l o g i s t Graham Connah
s t r e s s e d t h e importance of ethnographic r e s e a ~ c hi n West A f r i c a . I n t h e
p r e s e n t a r t i c l e an ethnographer draws a t t e n t i o n t o t h e urgent need f o r
a r c h a e o l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n . I n t h e Cross River r e g i o n , where economic
development proceeds apace, many of t h e s i t e s w i l l not " s t i l l b e t h e r e f o r
i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n 1 0 o r 20 y e a r s ' time" (idem: 1 4 ) . S i t e s such a s Mbak
I t a m and Mrarasi a r e being i r r e v o c a b l y damaged a s major highways a r e b u i l t .
It should be noted t h a t Nkarasi i s w i t h i n t h e a r e a o f d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e
Cross River monoliths ( A l l i s o n 1968). Many a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s have been
discovered and a t l e a s t p a r t l y destroyed i n t h e course of c o n s t r u c t i o n
work i n Calabar s i n c e 1976 ( ~ k p o1977). Although some f i n e examples of
e l a b o r a t e l y decorated and anthropomorphic t e r r a c o t t a ware have been preserved a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Calabar, a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h has s c a r c e l y
begun i n t h i s h i s t o r i c town.
Acknowledgements
Fieldwork was conducted i n t h e employment of t h e Nigerian F e d e r a l
Department of A n t i q u i t i e s , under whose auspices t h e author made o f f i c i a l
visits t o Cameroun i n 1974 and 1977-78. The author i s g r a t e f u l t o t h e
many people who provided various kinds o f h e l p , i n c l u d i n g M r . Abu S. Edet
( ~ a t i o n a Museum,
l
o r o n ) , Mrs. V i o l e t t a Fkpo ( c u l t u r a l Centre Board, Calab a r ) and M s . J i l l Salmons.
References Cited
A l l i s o n , P.A. 1968. Cross River Monoliths, Fed. Dept. of A n t i q u i t i e s
Lagos.
Ekpo , V. I . 1977. " ~ e wArchaeological M a t e r i a l s from Calabar ,
Nigeria. " Niaer. Fld. 42: 4.
Harding, H . J . M . 1952. "A Short History of t h e Bamenda Cross River
Calabar Scheme up t o May 1949." Farm & F o r e s t 11.

ANAMBRA
STATE

SKETCH MAP OF CROSS

RIVER STATE SHOWING
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

Nicklin, K.

1977

"European Replicas of T r a d i t i o n a l African A r t Objects

i n t h e i r C u l t u r a l Contexts," Baessler-Archiv. 25

P a r t r i d g e , C.L.
1905

Cross River Natives.

Hutchinson, London.

Rosevear, D.R. "A Tour of t h e A f i River F o r e s t Reserve", Farm and

1946
F o r e s t 2.
Talbot, P.A.
1912

I n t h e Shadow of t h e Bush.

Heinemann, London.

SOUTH AFRICA
The following note has been received from M r . M.L. Wilson of
t h e South A.frican Museum:
M r . Martin H a l l h a s been appointed t h e new Chief Archaeologist
at t h e South African Museum and w i l l t a k e up h i s d u t i e s i n October
1980. He plans t o continue t h e research i n t h e Agulhas r e g i o n
i n i t i a t e d by Frank Schweitzer.

Mrs Margaret Avery w a s awarded t h e degree of D.Phi1. by t h e

University of Stellenbosch i n December 1979. She i s t h e f i r s t
woman i n South Africa t o be awarded a d o c t o r a t e i n Archaeology.
The t i t l e of h e r t h e s i s (D.M. Avery 1979) i s Upper P l e i s t o c e n e and
Holocene palaeoenvironrnents i n t h e southern Cape: t h e micromammalian
evidence from archaeological s i t e s .
The South African Museum's a n t i c i p a t e d move i n t o temporary
premises during r e b u i l d i n g operations has been delayed u n t i l l a t e r
i n 1980. Researchers wishing t o examine t h e Archaeology Department's
study c o l l e c t i o n s t h e next 2-3 y e a r s a r e asked t o make p r i o r arrangements t o do t h i s .

The following r e p o r t has been received from t h e Department of

Archaeology, University of Cape Tom. The author i s not s t a t e d ,
INTERIM REPORT ON EXCAVATIONS AT ROOIELS CAVE.
H i s t o r y of Archaeological Research a t Rooiels
On Monday, December 26th, 1921, M r . A.D. Divine a r r i v e d at t h e
main cave a t Rooiels accompanied by M r . P. van d e r Byl. He obtained
shovels from t h e Rev. M r . C.E.S. B u l l of Dioscesan College who was
occupying t h e small cave d i r e c t l y below. On Wednesday, 28th December
M r . Divine dug i n t h e East s i d e of t h e cave reaching 7 f e e t a t t h e
f r o n t and 6 f e e t towards t h e back. He l a t e r r e t u r n e d t o t h e cave on
Sunday 8 t h January, 1922 l a t e i n t h e afternoon and continued
excavation on t h e Monday. He d e s c r i b e s reaching bedrock a t t h e back
of t h e cave at a depth of 5 ' 6 " , but not reaching t h e bottom of t h e
deposit at t h e f r o n t .
On Tuesday, 10th January a human s k e l e t o n w a s found at a depth
of 3'6" with " a l a r g e grave s t o n e over t h e s k u l l " . Other human
remains were excavated l a t e r on i n t h e week t h a t amounted t o a t o t a l
of twelve s k e l e t o n s . The o t h e r remains noted included: t h e s k e l e t o n s
of s e v e r a l of " t h e l a r g e r c a t s " , a g r e a t d e a l of "sea bamboo", a
number of bone bodkins, o r awls, g r i n d e r s and pounders, p a i n t
p a l e t t e s , r i b s c r a p e r s , w-ooden "spikes", "a l a r g e p o r t i o n of an
ornamented pot" and a l a r g e number of "big grooved stones" t h a t were
suggested as being grave s t o n e s . M r . Divine terminated h i s work a t
t h e cave on Sunday 15th January, having e i t h e r removed o r d i s t u r b e d
an estimated 40 cubic metres of d e p o s i t . A t one p o i n t a depth of
14'8" i s recorded as having been reached i n t h i s search f o r human
skeletons.

M r . Divine was succeeded i n t h i s search i n t h e cave by Mr.K.H.

Barnard from t h e South African Museum on Monday, 30th January 1922.
Ehrnard excavated t h e remainder of t h e d e p o s i t i n t h e e a s t e r n h a l f
of t h e cave down t o bedrock and t h e n s t a r t e d on t h e western s i d e at
t h e back of t h e cave. He l e f t a baulk down t h e c e n t r e of t h e cave,
estimated a t a metre wide and an a r e a at t h e f r o n t of t h e cave,
except f o r a t r e n c h running east/west through t o t h e w a l l of t h e
cave on t h e western s i d e . The d e p o s i t l e f t , however, d i d remain
untouched but was r i d d l e d with t u n n e l s , presumably t o s e e i f any
s k e l e t o n s had been missed.
A r e s u l t of t h e s e depredations i n t o what was, and s t i l l i s ,
an i n c r e d i b l y r i c h s i t e i s t h a t very l i t t l e of t h e c a v e ' s d e p o s i t
remains i n s i t u . Thus, i n s p i t e of t h e f a c t t h a t t h e cave has been
known i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e s i n c e 1929 ( ~ o o d w i n& van R i e t Lowe; 1929,
261) and t h e f a c t t h a t many s k e l e t o n s were found it h a s remained

something of a blank on t h e archaeological map of Southern Africa

s i n c e t h e c u l t u r a l m a t e r i a l i s " t y p i c a l of t h e midden sites of t h e
south c o a s t , but not d e f i n i t e l y a s s o c i a t e d with any p a r t i c u l a r
i n d u s t r i a l group" (1bid: 261)

. The present r e s e a r c h is designed t o throw some l i g h t on t h e

confusion t h a t exists within t h e cave, and t o attempt t o work out t h e
s t r a t i g r a p h y and chronology so t h a t our understanding of p r e h i s t o r i c
use of t h i s p a r t of F a l s e Bay may be placed within t h e spectrum of
A t t h e same time
o t h e r known sequences i n c o a s t a l Southern Africa.
a comparative study of c o a s t a l middens i s being undertaken i n o r d e r
t h a t some c l e a r e r i d e a of resource u t i l i z a t i o n from Rooiels t o
Kleinmond may be worked o u t .
A s p a r t of t h i s research h e l p h a s a l r e a d y come from t h e Zoology
Dept., U . C . T . who have very k i n d l y done t r a n s e c t s of t h e i n t e r t i d a l
zone at a number of rocky shores c l o s e t o t h e midden and cave samples
s o t h a t a s t a t i s t i c a l count might be a v a i l a b l e of t h e present-day
d i s t r i b u t i o n of s h e l l - f i s h s p e c i e s .
.-

The Excavation at Rooiels Cave, 1979

Due t o t h e rough nature of t h e excavation r e p o r t s and p l a n s
f i l e d i n 1922 we were forced t o do a number of t e s t excavations t o
sample t h e d e p o s i t i n t h e cave. I n i t i a l excavation began a t t h e
f r o n t of t h e d e p o s i t at t h e cave mouth i n squares b l , b2, and b3.
Square b3 was taken down t o 60 cm. The d e p o s i t i n t h i s square was
l o o s e l y s t r u c t u r e d l i g h t - g r e y matrix with many s h e l l s . From t h e
poor s t r u c t u r e and t h e p o s i t i o n of t h e s h e l l s it was obviously a
d i s t u r b e d a r e a and work was then extended i n t o square a l . Again t h e
loose s t r u c t u r e i n d i c a t e d d i s t u r b e d d e p o s i t and square A 1 w a s opened
up. This square seemed t o be l e s s l o o s e l y s t r u c t u r e d but we were
s t i l l u n c e r t a i n as t o i t s degree of disturbance so we expanded i n t o
squares A2 and A 3 without reaching any conclusions.
Square B2 was then opened up and taken down t o 70 cm. before
c l e a r s t r a t i g r a p h i c p a t t e r n i n g became e v i d e n t . From t h i s square it
was noted t h a t t h e northern t h i r d was very l o o s e l y s t r u c t u r e d and
was obviously a t r e n c h . The remainder of t h e d e p o s i t below 22 cm
was t i g h t l y s t r u c t u r e d and s t r a t i f i e d i n c l e a r u n i t s . What we
appeared t o have picked up w a s Barnard's t r e n c h running east/west
towards t h e s i d e of t h e cave and we were a b l e t o s e e t h e t r u n c a t i o n
of t h e strata where t h e t r e n c h had been dug.
Ve opened up square B3 t o extend t h e excavation but much of
t h i s square appears t o have been d i s t u r b e d by t h e t u n n e l l i n g of t h e
d e p o s i t mentioned above(a piece of sawn wood was picked up a t a
depth of 42 cm. - a c l e a r i n d i c a t i o n of disturbance) i n t h e southe a s t e r n s e c t i o n of t h e square.

M a t e r i a l Excavated

A l l d e p o s i t excavated w a s s i e v e d through a 4 mm, mesh s c r e e n .

BY f a r t h e g- r e a t e s t bulk of t h e m a t e r i a l c o l l e c t e d from t h e s c r e e n s

w a s s h e l l . The limpet s p e c i e s included: P a t e l l a a r g e n v i l l e i ,

P , o c u l u s , P . g r a n a t i n a , P. c o c h l e a r , P. t a b u l a r i s , P . g r a n u l a r i s ,
P. l o n g i c o s t a , P barbara. Other s h e l l f i s h s p e c i e s were Turbo
c i d a r i s and T. sarmaticus, as w e l l as Oxystele s i n e n s i s and 0 . T i g r i n a .
The mussels were lower i n frequency and included Perna perna and a few
Choromytilus m e r i d i o n a l i s . These s p e c i e s were most probably food
r e s o u r c e s . Other s h e l l f i s h s p e c i e s included P a t e l l a compressa,
Crepidula p o r c e l l a n a , Aulacomaya a t e r , e t c . but t h e s e were of very
low count o r of small s i z e and were probably brought i n on t h e backs
of l a r g e r s h e l l s o r with seaweed.

The next most common food resource appears t o have been f i s h .

From cursoryecamination at l e a s t two s p e c i e s are p r e s e n t : white
mussel-cracker and h o t t e n t o t s f i s h . Several c r a y f i s h mandibles were
excavated, but t h e s e appear t o be low i n number.
Mammalian bone was a l s o somewhat r e s t r i c t e d . From t h e d i s t u r b e d
l a y e r s came t h e bones of Hippopotamus amphibius, s e a l , small antelope
( c f ~ e ~ h i c e r u and
s ) a very l a r g e bovid, probably Syncerus.
Bird remains, while not abundant, were evident i n most l e v e l s .
Penguin and Cormorant seem t o be t h e most common s p e c i e s .

-.

The only r e p t i l e s as y e t i d e n t i f i e d a r e t o r t o i s e , but t h e s e

a r e i n extremely low numbers.
No t e r r e s t r i a l b o t a n i c a l specimens were found, however two
s p e c i e s of seaweed were excavated: sea-bamboo, and a small p i e c e as
yet unidentified.
The c u l t u r a l remains a r e both l i m i t e d i n numbers and t y p e s ,
Other t h a n t h a t described from t h e o r i g i n a l excavations i n 1922
mentioned above, we found s e v e r a l more small bone p o i n t s o r a w l s , a
few f l a k e d s t o n e implements made from s i l c r e t e and q u a r t z : s c r a p e r s ,
o u t i l s e c a i l l e e s and one adze. S e v e r a l p i e c e s of r e d ochre and two
g r i n d i n g s t o n e s and p a l e t t e s were a l s o e x t r a c t e d , mostly from t h e
disturbed deposit.
P o t t e r y i s extremely r a r e at t h e s i t e . Me found only one
sherd i n s i t u on t o p of t h e undisturbed l e v e l s i n B3, u n i t 2. Other
sherds were found on t o p of t h e t a l u S dump of t h e previous excavations.
O s t r i c h egg-shell i s a l s o p r e s e n t , but r a r e . S e v e r a l beads
were found, and one p i e c e of decorated s h e l l . A ground s h e l l
fragment w a s a l s o picked up i n t h e undisturbed l a y e r s , as w e l l as a
few Donax s e r r a s c r a p e r s .

Conclusions
From our p r e s e n t knowledge, p r i o r t o d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s being done
on t h e excavated samples, we can g i v e a broad p i c t u r e of resource
e x p l o i t a t i o n of t h e former p r e h i s t o r i c i n h a b i t a n t s of t h e cave.
The cave i s n i c e l y s i t u a t e d on t h e ecotone of two systems:
a ) marine o r c o a s t a l , and b) t e r r e s t r i a l . The m a j o r i t y of t h e food
appears t o have been e x t r a c t e d from t h e c o a s t a l a r e a as marine animals
c o n s t i t u t e d t h e l a r g e s t proportion of t h e d i e t .
I n d i c a t i o n of such a q u a t i c mammals as Hippo suggest t h e v l e i
below t h e cave may have been somewhat g r a s s i e r t h a n t h e p r e s e n t t o
allow them t o g r a z e , but t h e d e t a i l e d b o t a n i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e
v l e i s t i l l remains t o be done and w i l l give u s a g r e a t e r c o n t r o l
over p o t e n t i a l mammalian h a b i t a t s once it i s completed.
The low frequency of t o o l s i s not s u r p r i s i n g as t h i s i s
c o n s i s t e n t with caves i n similar p o s i t i o n s along t h e c o a s t . It
would appear t h a t few f i n i s h e d t o o l s were-needed i n t h e e x p l o i t a t i o n
of marine r e s o u r c e s , s i n c e t h e l a r g e s t p r o p o r t i o n were gathered o r
scavenged, r a t h e r than hunted,
Once t h e d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s i s completed a frequency d i s t r i b u t i o n
from t h e v a r i o u s l e v e l s through time can be p l o t t e d t o s e e i f any major
s h i f t s i n r e s o u r c e s can be recognized.
REFERENCES
Barnard, K . H .
1922

Unpublished Report on Excavations at Rooiels Cave,

S. African Museum.

Divine, A.D.
1922

Unpublished Report on Excavations a t Rooiels Cave,

S . African Museum.

Goodwin, A . J . H .

& van R i e t Lowe, C .

South Africa"
VOL

27.

"The Stone Age C u l t u r e s of

Annals of t h e S ~ f r i c a nMuseum,

D r . van Zinderen Bakker of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of t h e Orange Free S t a t e

sends t h i s news:

D r . L. S c o t t r e c e n t l y r e t u r n e d from a v i s i t of seven months

t o t h e Paleo-environmental Laboratory, U n i v e r s i t y of Arizona, Tucson,
where he c o l l a b o r a t e d with D r . Vera Markgraf on p o l l e n a n a l y s i s of
l a k e and s p r i n g d e p o s i t s from Colorado and Argentina. He a l s o completed
a t h e s i s e n t i t l e d : "Late Quaternary P o l l e n A n a l y t i c a l S t u d i e s i n t h e
Transvaal (south ~ f r i c a ) " ,which provides p o l l e n r e c o r d s of about t h e
last 35,000 y e a r s .
D r . J.A. Coetzee will a t t e n d t h e Vth I n t e r n a t i o n a l P a l y n o l o g i c a l
Conference i n Cambridge 29-6 J u l y , 1980 as chairman of t h e African
Committee f o r Palynology. She w i l l a l s o d e l i v e r a paper on h e r s t u d i e s
of t h e Late Cainozoic p o l l e n sequences of t h e S.W. Cape.
SUDAN

F o u i l l e s 5 Sedeinga de l a Mission ~ r c h 6 o l o g i q u eFranqaise

p a r J , Leclant
.-

Au cours du mois de Novembre 1979, l a Mission Archzologique

F r a n ~ a i s e(SEDAU)a men6 une seconde campagne s u r l e s i t e de Sedeinga,
en Nubie soudanaise, en a v a l de l a I I I e C a t a r a c t e . Sous l a d i r e c t i o n
du P r o f . Jean L e c l a n t , l a mission comprenait Mlle Catherine Berger,
A s s i s t a n t e de recherches s p 6 c i a l i s t e du C .N.R.S., e t M . Audran
Labrousse, A r c h i t e c t e au Centre de Recherches Arch6010giques du C .N .R .S
Dans 1' immense n6cropole m6roitique , l e s premi&es i n v e s t i g a t i o n s
ont p o r t 6 sur d e s v e s t i g e s s i t u s s dans l a zone Nord, ceux d e p l y s i e u r s
pyramides en briques c r u e s d ' environ une d i e a i n e de m&es de c o t e .
C e r t a i n e s comportaient s u r l e u r f a c e E s t une longue d e s c e n d e r i e s .
Dans l ' u n e (I T 1 ) , l a descenderie a b o u t i s s a i t
une chambre t a i l l 6 e
dan l e bed-rock, de 3 m. de l a r g e u r e t 4 m . de longueur. Dans l e s
tombes I T 2 , I T 3 e t I T 6 , l a s g p u l t u r e g t a i t r 6 d u i t e 2 une simple
tombe-sabot
Tout ce s e c t e u r de l a ngcropole a 6 t 6 l ' o b j e t d'un
pillage radical.

La SEDAU a 6galement poursuivi l e s recherches men6es dans l e

s e c t e u r du Gebel Gorgod p a r l a mission M . S. G i o r g i n i . Mme ~ 6 o n e
Allard-Huard , s p 6 c i a l i s t e de gravures r u p e s t r e s , a r e v i s i t s en
d z t a i l l a s t a t i o n dgcouverte nagu&e d a m l e v a s t e c i r q u e du Gebel
Gorgod ( s t a t i o n A ) . E l l e a t r a v a i l l g 6galement 2 l a s t a t i o n B, en
a r r i & e de Handikka. E l l e a e n f i n pu s u i v r e 5 p a r t i r du N i l ,
depuis l e s premi&es maisons du v i l l a g e de Gorgod, une p i s t e
jallonn6e de nornbreuses gravures r u p e s t r e s ( s t a t i o n c ) . La grande
m a j o r i t 6 d e s gravures e s t du niveau bovidien; e l l e s conservent
cependant quelques 616ments de l a faune (6lgphants e t p e t i t s
hippoPotames) e t des traits c u l t u r e l s du niveau d e s c h a s s e u r s .

SURVEY OF NORTHERN BUTANA

From January 3 r d t h r o u g h January 13th, '19k30, a reconnaissance sut'vey
o f t h e N o r t h ~ r nButana i n Sudan was u n d ~ r t a k e nb y an i n t e r n a t i o n a l qroup
sponsored m a i n l y b y t h e Department o f Archacoloyy, K h a r t o m U n i v e r s i t y ,
w i t h a d d i t i o n a l s u p p o r t from Southern Methodist U n i v e r s i t y and N o r t h
Texas S t a t e U n i v e r s i ty.

Thc surv ey b r i e f l y covered t h e w e s t e r q e j g e ,

t h c~e n t e r , a n d t h e easturn n:argin ( t h e A t b a r a ) o f t h e Butana, i n o r d e r

t o c v a l u a t e t h e p o t ~ ni ta 1 f o r a l o n g - t e r r ~ s t u d y ~f pre-Meroi t i c c i ~ t1u r a l

d ~ v e l o p m e n t i n t h i s l a r g e , a r c h a e o l o g i c a l l y unC.?ovn (trea.

Results,

b r i o f l y d e s c r i b e d below, c l e a r l y j u s t i f y such a s t u d y and p o i n t t o t h e

p o s s i b l e s i q n i f i c a n c e of t h e Rutana a s a cu1tur.al b a r r i e r between t h e
e a s t e r n Sudan and t h e N i l o t i c area f o r much o f l a t e r p r e - h i s t o r y .

The survey v i s it e d knawn, b u t unexcavated. s i t e s on b a t h t h e w e s t e r n

and e a s t e r n margins o f t h e Butana, as well as c a r r y i n g o u t a d d i t i o n a l
f;urvcy f o r undiscovered s i t e s .

On t h e western margin, t h e s i t e of

5haqadud was o f p a r t i c u l a r inlportance and has v a s t p o t e n t i a l , n o t o n l y

f o r e l u c i d a t i n q t h e e a r l y u t i l i z a t i a n o f t h a t area of t h e Butana, b u t
also f o r brinrjing

(1

f r e s h view t o t h e " T J i l o t i c " Khartoum M e s o l i t h i c dnd

Neal~thic.
The s i t e a t Shaqadud, sorrle t h i r t y m i l e s e a s t of t h e N i l e near t h e

well o f Naga, was f i r s t r e p o r t e d by t h e c l a s s i c a l a r c h a e o l o g i s t O t t o

i n 1963.

On t h o b a s i c o f 5 1 ~ r f a survcy,
c~
he r e p o r t c d t h e presence o f

ceramic sherds b e a r i n g b o t h Khartoum M e s o l i t h i c and N e o l i t h i c d e s i g n

motifs.

The present survey spent several hours a t the s i t e and located an

area well in excess of 140 sq. m. where an undisturbed midden of

Fame

4 . 5 rn. depth was present.

Erosional cuts a l o n g one edge provided a good

view Of the stratigraphy.

The lowest nretcr o t deposit has only unbur-

nished Wavy Line motif sherds, which equdte w i t h t h e e a r l i e s t of the

Khartoum Mesolithic.

The occupation was inten:ive,

factual remains in the erosional c u t .

not an option.
employed, fishing was --

as judged by n r t i -

Whatever the adaptive strat.egy

Fragments of fdunal remains indicate

good preservation which may help solve t h i s problern.

The loose, dry

nature of the midden i s coniparable t o Pre-Dynastic middens in Upper

Egypt and, therefore, promises the recovery'-of s i g n i f i c a n t faunal and
f l o r a l materials.
The next two meters of deposits contain both typical unburnished
Dotted Wavy Line ~ o t t e r yand typical burnished Khartoum Neolithic sherds.
Their exact r e l a t i v e stratigraphy could not be determined without excavation.

A few bones of Bos

-- were seen in the erosional c u t , suggesting

one aspect of adaptation.

Many grinrli,iy stones were a l s o present.

Combined, i t appears probable that

;1

m i x e d herd i ng-gdthering econony was

htl i 1-19 prdc t ired.

:tie

top

:. 5

meters c o n t a i n ~ dp o t t e r y so f a r unknnwn along the N i l e .

A n1lrnbc3ro f --hos bones were seer!

asscrc i;i ted w i t h :hi s p t t e r y .

I t is

por,sible t h a t t h i s pottery represents an occupation h h i c h would f i l l the

gap between the Khartoum Neolithic a n d the provincial Meroitic occupdtions known alonq the Nile.
From even such a brief survey, i t i s c l e a r that Shaqadud has the
potential of c l a r i f y i n g a number o f problems relating t o Nilotic

prehistory.

Of major s i g n i f i c a n c e i s t h a t i t i s a d e e p l y s t r a t i f i e d

s i t e which c o u l d v e r i f y t h e proposed sequence o f t h e Khartoum M e s o l i t h i c

and N e o l i t h i c ( p a r t i c u l a r l y r e g a r d i n g d e s i g n m o t i f s ) i n Sudan, t h e range
of cumornic a d a p t a t i o n s of b o t h t h e Khartou111 Mesol it h i c and N e o l i t h i c
( c e r t a i n l y f i s ' l i n g was n o t p r a c t i s e d a t Shaqadud!),

as w e l l as perhaps

f i l l i n g a ternpvral gap between t h e Khsrtouni N e o l i t h i c and t h e M e r o i t i c

o c c u p a t i o n s o f t h i s area o f t h e Sudan.

P, b r i e f , h a l f - d a y reconnaissance was made t o t h e M a y l a s e s Sawad, n o r t h e a s t o f Shaqddud, on t h e Shendi/Adu D e l e i g t r a c k .

This feature i s a shallow

p l a y a w i t h t h r e e l o w t e r r a c e s a t t h e s o u t h e r n end.

(The t o t a l e l e v a t i o n a l

d i f f e r e n c e i s no more t h a n 1.5 t o 2.5 m. ) .

The two l o w e s t t e r r a c e s a r e

l i t t e r e d w i t h c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of chipped s t o n e a r t i f a c t s , s m a l l sherds, and

fragnientary g r i n d i n g stones.

The t o o l s and d e s i g n m o t i f s on t h e sherds

p o i n t t o L a t e Khartoum Meso'Fithic occupations, s i n c e a number o f sherds

had D o t t e d Wavy L i n e m o t i f s .

A1 though no e x c a v a t i o n s were undertaken, a

f a i r amount o f t h e q u a r t z d e b i tage was unweathered and t h e chance f o r in

s i t - u d e p o s i t s seems good.

The qurvey t h e n went eastward t o t h e Atbara R i v e r j u s t n o r t h o f

K h a s h e l Girba.

T h i s area had been surveyed f o r one month i n 1967 by

D r . J o e l S h i n e r o f Southern M e t h o d i s t U n i v e r s i t y .

s i t e s were l o c a t e d and some even b r i e f l y t e s t e d .

A t t h a t t i m e numerous
Unfortunately, D r . Shiner

was unable t o c o n t i n u e work t h e r e , and no o t h e r work has been undertaken

there for the past fourteen years.

T h a t survey, however, amply documented

r i c h p r e h i s t o r i c occupations, r a n g i n g from kcheulean t h r o u g h ca. 1,000 B.C.

(Shiner,

e t al.,

The P r e h i s t o r y and Geology o f Northern Sudan, P a r t -.2,

f i n a l r e p o r t t o t h e N a t i o n a l Science Foundation, G r a n t Number GS1192, 1971 ).

I n t h a t report, twenty-two s i t e s were briefly described.

On the basis of

these, Dr. Shiner recoqnized the following groupings:

1)

El Hagiz Group:

r,3.

1,000 B . C . ,

based on one radiocarbon date.

A single s i t e with finely decorated pottery arid possible mud-wall

s t r u c t ~ ~ r e slocated
,
on the "steppe" a . 1 2 miles e a s t of the
Athara River.
But.ana Group:

c,3.

2,500 !3.C.,

based on a single radiocarbon date.

Numerous s i t e s , rich i n brushed pottery, ground stone, pol ishcd

stone, and chipped stone.
" t e l l s " (one being 5

ni.

Sites range from small camps to actual

high and ca. 101) rn. i n diameter).

.\

Sites

occur adjacent t o the Atbara and as f a r as twelve miles back froin

the river.
Saroba Group: undated.

Small mounds near the Atbara and scattered

s i t e s on the steppe, a11 rich in Khartoum Horizon-Style pottery,

chipped stone, b u t lacking ground stone.

One s i t e n e a r t h e Atbara

has an abundance of fish and small marnnial remains.

Late Pre-Ceramic: undated.

A series of s i t e s lacking pottery, b u t

having a small flake/bladelet technology.

and contain anin~al bme.

I\ nmbcr are i n

. ; l t ~

Typologically, t h e w are no gaod ~ndlcgues

i n the rest of the Sudan.

Acheulean:

Nurnerous A~heuleanl o c ~ili~ e wcur

s
eroding from the

highrr terraces o f t h e Atbarit River.

Many contain a r t i f a c t s and

bone, but o n l y a few are in pr'imry context.

Based on these prel iininary d a t a , our survey revisited a number o f the
more promising s i t e s and i n i t i a t e d some additional survey.

After one day,

i t was clear that many more s i t e s e x i s t than were reported, b u t t h a t , with

one o ~ nssion,
i

t h e b a s i c qroupings proposed by S h i n e r a r c p r o h a h l y a c c u r a t e .

There i s a s e r i e s o f s i t e s w i t h a t h i c k r e d d i s h p o t t e r y and r i c h
ground and chipped s t o n e assemblages which a r e found fronl t h e edge o f t h e
Atbara t o a t l e a s t t w e l v e m i l e s i n t o t h e steppe t o t h e e a s t .

These seen

f.o r e p r e s e n t d separate o c c u p a t i o n , the dates o f c\ihir:h were n o t d e t e t w i n e d .

The survey dlscl l o c a t e d two a d d i t i o n a l pr-e-cerainic s i t e s w i t h in s i t u

n l t c > r i a l s i n the process of d e f l a t i o n ,
aritelope hrjnes.

i n c l u d i n g f i s h , ttlephant and l a r g e

As w i t h t h r ! known p r e - c e ~ a m i cs i t e s , these, too, a r e

nedr t h e Atbara f l o o d p l a i n .

A l a r q e nurnbpr o f q u e s t i o n s a r e posed by t h i s dense c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f

s i t e s ? l o n g and s i g n i f i c a n t l y back from t h e Atbara.

Some may be summarized

as f o l l o w s :

1)

While t h e Acheulean a r t i f a c t s hdve a crude "Sangoan" appearance,

i s t h i s due t o t h e l a r g e r i v e r cobbles

utilized, or i s this

r e a l l y a geoqraphic o u t l i n e r o f t h e "Sangodn"?

2) What, a r e t h e dates and a f f i l i a t i o n s o f t h e pre-ceramic o c c u p a t i o n s ?

They s h o ~no s i m i l a r i t y t o N i l o t i c m a t e r i a l 5 , b u t [nay he t h e anc e s t r a l form o f t h e Saroba Group.

What i s t h e degree o f a d a p t i v e

v a r i a h i l ~ t y , and why a r e t h e y r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e r i v c r i n e marqin?

3)

What i s t h e c o n n e c t i o n between t h e Saroba Group and t h e Khartouml i k e r r ~ d t e r i a l i n t h e C e n t r a l Rutana?

What was t h e n a t u r e o f t h e

a d a p t i v e p a t t e r n , s i n c e f i s h i n g c o u l d n o t have been c a r r i e d o u t
from a l l s i t e s ?

Is i t p o s s i b l e t h a t t h i s group r e p r e s e n t s t h e

e a r l i e s t m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f t h e present-day p a t t e r n of seasonal
s h i f t s f r o m t h e Atbara i n t o t h e Butana and back?

4)

What accounts f o r the apparent massive increase i n p o p u l a t i o n

d e n s i t y d u r i n g the Butana Group occupation?
(tells)?

Why the l a r g e mounds

What were the economic and s o c i a l f a c t o r s i n v o l v e d ?

Is

t h i s group indigenous o r a western extension o f some unknown

E t h i o p i a n development?
The questions a r e never ending.
t o answer a l l o f them.

Even a very l o n g p r o j e c t i s u n l i k e l y

However, t h e r e should be s u f f i c i e n t data a v a i l a b l e

t o begin b u i l d i n g an understanding of t h i s l i t t l e - k n o w n area which might,

d u r i n g c e r t a i n periods, have seen v e r y impressive and complex c u l t u r a l
development.

Plans a r e now underway t o secure funding f o r t h i s work, which

i s planned t o begin i n the w i n t e r o f 1981.

Anthony Marks, SMU

Abbas Mohamid A l i , U of Khartoum
T. R. Hays, NTSU
Yousef Elarnin, U o f Khartoum

GENEVA UNIVERSITY EXCAVATIONS I N THE SUDAN

Report on t h e 1979-1980 Season
The U n i v e r s i t y of Geneva's a r c h e o l o g i c a l mission i n t h e Sudan
took up i t s work once a g a i n t h i s w i n t e r . S e v e r a l work s i t e s were
developed i n t h e a n c i e n t c i t y of Kerma and i t s c e m e t e r i e s .
Consequently, new d i s c o v e r i e s complete t h e o b s e r v a t i o n s a l r e a d y made
d u r i n g t h e p a s t y e a r s . I n t h e c i t y ' s north-western a r e a , houses
s i t u a t e d on a s m a l l s t r e e t were unearthed. These l a t e s t d i s c o v e r i e s
prove t h a t i n Middle Kerma (about 2050-1750 B C ) s p a c i o u s l i v i n g
q u a r t e r s e x i s t e d , c o n t a i n i n g two o r t h r e e b i g rooms d i s p o s e d around
a c o u r t y a r d . Secondary brickwork housed s m a l l l i v e s t o c k w h i l e cows
were k e p t on t h e o u t s k i r t s of t h e c i t y o r , i n c a s e of w a r , behind t h e
enclosure w a l l .

..

We continued work on t h e western D e f f u f a . T h i s l a r g e e d i f i c e ,

which marks t h e c e n t e r of t h e c i t y , was probably a temple. Additions
t o t h e e a s t e r n s i d e of t h i s monument have been re-examined.
Under
t h e f l o o r of a c h a p e l , which had a c e i l i n g supported by a s e r i e s of
wooden p i l l a r s , t h e remains of a former room were uncovered. The
bottom p a r t of t h e w a l l s and t h e f l o o r of t h i s room, e n t i r e l y p a i n t e d
i n r e d o c h r e , have been preserved. Other remains r e l a t e d t o t h e s e
l e v e l s of occupation may i n d i c a t e t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of t h e p l a c e of
worship with i t s storerooms. T h i s compound d a t e s from C l a s s i c Kerma
(1750-1450 B .C .) but c o v e r s v e s t i g e s of more a n c i e n t d w e l l i n g s and
p u b l i c monuments which w i l l have t o be dug up p r o g r e s s i v e l y . S e v e r a l
l a y e r s of a s h and c h a r c o a l r e v e a l e d by t h e s t r a t i g r a p h y show t h a t
p o l i t i c a l t r o u b l e s occured i n t h i s p a r t of t h e c i t y . Holes l e f t by
t h e p o l e s of l i g h t c o n s t r u c t i o n s made of wood and r e e d s can be
observed. They may belong t o t h e p e r i o d s of d e s t r u c t i o n which seem
t o have followed t h e w a r s conducted by t h e k i n g s of Kush.
The c i t y could thence be r e o r g a n i z e d w i t h o t h e r b u i l d i n g s made
of unbaked b r i c k s . These remains have been observed up t o 2,5O m e t e r s
i n depth.
The e x c a v a t i o n s i n t h e tombs of Middle Kerma were continued i n
t h e e a s t e r n n e c r o p o l i s . C e r t a i n f u n e r a l r i t e s have now been proven.
For example, it i s known t h a t l i v e g o a t s o r sheep were p l a c e d in.
l e a t h e r bags next t o t h e d e c e a s e d ' s bed. I n two tombs, t h e remains
of a s a c r i f i c e d a d o l e s c e n t were found. A r i c h v a r i e t y of ceramic
i l l u s t r a t e s once a g a i n t h e q u a l i t y of t h e craftsmen. A f t e r a t r a c t o r
passed o v e r t h e ground i n t h e e a s t e r n cemetery s o as t o p r o v i d e new
farm l a n d , a n emergency work s i t e had t o be s e t u p , because tombs of
Ancient Kerma (about 2500-2050 B .C ) were unearthed. The dead were
d r e s s e d i n l e a t h e r c l o t h i n g , i n one c a s e d e c o r a t e d w i t h beads made
of bones.

W
e a l s o had t o i n t e r v e n e v e r y r a p i d l y when houses were c o n s t r u c t e d
i n t h e modern town. A p a r t of t h e m e r o i t i c cemetery h a s been e x c a v a t e d .
T h i s r a t h e r poor area h a s n e v e r t h e l e s s f u r n i s h e d v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g
a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n . The n e c r o p o l i s a p p e a r s t o be v e r y v a s t
f o r we found approximately 800 m e t e r s f u r t h e r n o r t h a n important s e r i e s
of m e r o i t i c b u r i a l s i t e s . Judging from t h e f u r n i s h i n g s of t h e s e tombs,
t h e y must d a t e from t h e 2nd t o t h e 4 t h c e n t u r i e s A..D. Thus, we a r e
d e a l i n g with a r e l a t i v e l y l a t e r p e r i o d and it can be assumed t h a t t h e
cemetery expanded from s o u t h t o n o r t h .

It i s i n t h e remains of t h e a n c i e n t c i t y t h a t we u n e a r t h e d t h e
chambers of t h e s e tombs d a t i n g from t h e end of t h e m e r o i t i c p e r i o d .
One of t h e b u r i a l chambers, c a r e f u l l y v a u l t e d , p o s s e s s e s a s p e c i a l
arrangement. On t h e descending passage t o t h e tomb, an amphora w a s
smashed at t h e time of t h e f u n e r a l ceremony, perhaps d u r i n g a banquet,
f o r c e r t a i n fragments of t h e broken v a s e were p u t i n t o t h e c l o s i n g
w a l l of t h e e n t r a n c e . I n s p i t e of e x t e n s i v e l o o t i n g , it i s s t i l l
p o s s i b l e t o r e c o n s t i t u t e t h e p o s i t i o n of t h e deceased woman. Her
jewels, s c a r a b b r a c e l e t s , s i l v e r r i n g s , a n k l e t s and p e a r l n e c k l a c e s ,
a r e p a r t of q u a l i t y f i n e r y . Other ceramic'wares complete t h i s
discovery.
The last weeks of t h e mission were devoted t o t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of
a s c i e n t i f i c f i l m f o r t h e Swiss t e l e v i s i o n network. Mr.Pierre Barde,
producer, considered t h a t a p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e Kerma c i v i l i z a t i o n was
an e x c e l l e n t occasion t o i n c r e a s e t h e p u b l i c ' s awareness of t h e
Sudanese p a s t . T h i s f i l m i s b e i n g co-produced by t h e community of
French-speaking t e l e v i s i o n networks.
C h a r l e s Bonnet

BRITISH INSTITUTE KN EASTERN AFRICA

P e t e r Robertshaw (BIEA) , John Mack (BM), G e r r i t Dimmendaal
U n i v e r s i t y of ~ e i d e n ,) Dick Grove (cambridge U ) , P a u l Harvey
Cambridge U ) , Andrew Mawson (cambridge U . ) , Amum Tor ( ~ u d a n
A n t i q u i t i e s s e r v i c e ) , and Serge Tornay ( u n i v e r s i t y of ~ a n t e r r e )w r i t e :

The t h i r d e x p e d i t i o n t o t h e Southern Sudan by t h e B r i t i s h

I n s t i t u t e took p l a c e between January and March 1980. The o r i g i n a l
aim of t h e e x p e d i t i o n w a s t o i n v e s t i g a t e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s
r e l a t e d t o t h e former overflow channel between Lake Turkana and t h e
N i l e , t o g e t h e r w i t h l i n g u i s t i c and a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h on t h e
p r e s e n t i n h a b i t a n t s of t h e a r e a . However due t o t h e e x c e p t i o n a l l y
bad drought and poor s t a t e of r o a d s it was n o t p o s s i b l e t o work a t
t h e overflow channel. Therefore more widespread survey and excavat i o n w a s c a r r i e d out i n Eastern Equatoria.

For t h e f i r s t two weeks t h e team centred i t s e l f on t h e v i l l a g e of

Mogoth, about 50 kms north of Kapoeta. The most i n t e r e s t i n g archaeol o g i c a l occurrence sampled i n t h i s a r e a w a s l o c a t e d on t h e s l o p e s of
t h e i s o l a t e d massif of J e b e l Kathangor. This mountain r i s e s a b r u p t l y
from v a s t g r a s s y p l a i n s studded with a c a c i a t r e e s which support
numerous herds of game during t h e wet season. Modern s e t t l e m e n t
c l u s t e r s i n t h e v a l l e y s of t h e mountain, though due t o t h e drought t h e
people had trekked t o t h e Boma p l a t e a u s i n c e l o c a l water s u p p l i e s were
exhausted at t h e time of t h e survey. The s i t e i n v e s t i g a t e d w a s a n ashmound covering an a r e a of about 2,000 square metres, though d e f l a t i o n
and burrowing h a s d i s t u r b e d some of t h e d e p o s i t s . Our s m a l l t e s t
excavation yielded ash d e p o s i t s with no d i s c e r n i b l e s t r a t i g r a p h y t o a
depth of 1.1 m. P o t t e r y from t h e excavation and s u r f a c e c o l l e c t i o n s
appears t o belong t o t h e Turkwell t r a d i t i o n a s c r i b e d by Lynch and
Robbins ( ~ o u r n a lof African H i s t o r y , XX 20(1979), t o e a r l y e a s t e r n
N i l o t i c speakers. I n t e r e s t i n g l y l o c a l informants i d e n t i f i e d t h e
p o t t e r y as t h e handiwork of t h e Murle, who now l i v e f u r t h e r north
a f t e r being d i s p l a c e d by t h e Toposa i n t h e n i n e t e e n t h century. Only
s m a l l q u a n t i t i e s of bone were recovered from t h e excavation, though
domestic s t o c k may be r e p r e s e n t e d . Other ceramic L a t e r Stone Age
occurrences i n t h e r e g i o n were a l s o sampled.
To provide information r e l e v a n t t o t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l evidence
t h e a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s concentrated t h e i r e f f o r t s on t h e c o l l e c t i o n of
Toposan o r a l t r a d i t i o n s and t h e s t u d y of m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e i n i t s s o c i a l
s e t t i n g . Serge Tornay stayed i n t h e Kapoeta a r e a f o r t h e remainder of
t h e e x p e d i t i o n working on r h t e r - t r i b a l r e l a t i o n s , high l i g h t e d d u r i n g
our f i e l d season by numerous c o n f l i c t s over s c a r c e g r a z i n g and water.
The l i n g u i s t (G.D. ) attempted t o t r a c e t h e o r i g i n s of items of
m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e through loanward s t u d y a s w e l l as c o l l e c t i n g d a t a f o r
comparison with h i s work on Turkana.
From t h e drought r e g i o n s around Kapoeta t h e team moved t o t h e
better-watered s l o p e s of t h e Imatong Mountains n e a r T o r i t . Survey work
i n t h i s a r e a produced what i s thought t o be t h e first p a i n t e d rocks h e l t e r t o be discovered i n t h e southern r e g i o n . The p a i n t i n g s
comprised a hump-backed cow painted i n n a t u r a l i s t i c s t y l e i n black and
a s e r i e s of schematised p a i n t i n g s i n white thought t o r e p r e s e n t e i t h e r
c a t t l e o r scorpions. Unfortunately t h e p a u c i t y of d e p o s i t precluded
excavation i n t h i s s h e l t e r . However excavations were undertaken a t
t h e s i t e of Itohom ( 4 1 0 ' ~ ; 3 2 0 5 0 ' ~ ) ,a r o c k s h e l t e r measuring about
20 m x 1 0 m . and l o c a t e d on t h e ecotone between t h e n o r t h - e a s t f a c e
of t h e Imatong Mountains with i t s s t e e p , wooded s l o p e s and t h e more
open p l a i n s with s c a t t e r e d a c a c i a woodland and t a l l grass. The s h e l t e r
i s formed by an enormous boulder which has toppled onto s m a l l e r
supporting boulders. Archaeological m a t e r i a l was obtained t o a depth
of about 40 cms. from a 2 x 3 m t e s t t r e n c h . The s t r a t i g r a p h y spans a
s e r i e s of occupations s t r e t c h i n g from r e c e n t u s e by Lango p o t t e r s
through t o ceramic L a t e r Stone Age r e s t i n g upon a bedrock of decayed

i r o n s t o n e . A grave under t h e remains of a s t o n e c a i r n was a l s o

r e v e a l e d d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e of excavation. The body w a s b u r i e d i n a
c o n t r a c t e d p o s i t i o n , a p r a c t i c e unknown t o t h e p r e s e n t i n h a b i t a n t s
of t h e a r e a . Although t h e f i n d s from Itohom await a n a l y s i s , some
preliminaxy o b s e r v a t i o n s can be made upon t h e L a t e r Stone Age m a t e r i a l .
The s t o n e a r t e f a c t assemblage a p p e a r s t o be dominated by small,
unretouched f l a k e s s t r u c k almost e n t i r e l y from q u a r t z . The p o t t e r y i s
c h a r a c t e r i s e d by comb-impressions on t h i n - w a l l e d v e s s e l s w i t h t a p e r e d
r i m s , while occasional sherds a r e decorated with t h i n , h o r i z o n t a l
i n c i s e d l i n e s . T h i s p o t t e r y seems t o belong t o a L a t e r S t o n e Age
ceramic t r a d i t i o n widespread i n t h e s o u t h e r n Sudan ( s e e Nyame Akuma 1 4 ;
52-56), which w a s a l s o sampled d u r i n g t h e 1980 s e a s o n a t Lulubo ( s e e
b e l o n ) . Faunal remains recovered from Itohom and elsewhere w i l l shed
l i g h t on t h e economy of t h e makers of t h i s p o t t e r y .
Archaeological survey around Itohom a l s o r e v e a l e d a number of
o t h e r s h e l t e r s and open s i t e s , amongst them p l a c e s i d e n t i f i e d i n o r a l
t r a d i t i o n as of h i s t o r i c a l importance. Heaps of i r o n s l a g were noted
at one s i t e w h i l e a n o t h e r i s r e p u t e d t o i n c l u d e t h e b u r i a l p l a c e of
t h e e a r l y Latuka rain-makers (hobok)
Many h i l l s i d e s h e l d remains
of t e r r a c e d s e t t l e m e n t s d a t e d t o t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y by l o c a l
informants. Two i r o n - s m e l t i n g f u r n a c e s belonging t o t h e same p e r i o d
were a l s o s e e n and examples of i r o n t o o l s d a t i n g t o t h a t t i m e were
c o l l e c t e d by t h e ethnographers.

E x t e n s i v e r e c o r d s of o r a l t r a d i t i o n s and t h e c u l t u r a l background
which p e r m i t s i t s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n were made around t h e Imatong Mountains
by J.M. and G.D. O f p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t i s t h e d i s c o v e r y t h a t t h e
Lango, who occupy t h e Imatong an4 Dongatona r a n g e s , one s e c t i o n of
whom a r e r e l a t e d t o t h e Lango of Uganda, p r e s e r v e a n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y Latukan d i a l e c t no l o n g e r i n t e l l i g i b l e t o t h e Latuko p r o p e r .
Latuko i s an E a s t e r n N i l o t i c language w h i l s t both o r a l t r a d i t i o n and
a b r i e f d i a l e c t survey i n d i c a t e t h a t many s e c t i o n s of t h e Lango a r e
i n f a c t of Western N i l o t i c background.
John Mack a l s o attempted t o r e c o n s t r u c t former t r a d e l i n k s
amongst t h e peoples of E a s t e r n E q u a t o r i a and t o document contemporary
ones. From t h i s it h a s been p o s s i b l e t o e s t a b l i s h a n eastward movement of iron-working t e c h n i q u e s from t h e N i l e through t h e Latuka and
Lango a r e a and u l t i m a t e l y r e a c h i n g t o t h e Toposa, although archaeolog i c a l evidence f o r iron-working is l a c k i n g i n t h e Toposa r e g i o n . An
i n f l u e n c e from n o r t h e r n Uganda h a s a l s o been suggested i n b r i e f
i n t e r v i e w s w i t h Didinga i n f o r m a n t s .
A f t e r completing excavation and survey around Itohom t h e
a r c h a e o l o g i s t s r e c o n n o i t r e d a l o n g t h e e a s t bank of t h e N i l e about
100 kms both n o r t h and s o u t h of J u b a . I n t h e t s e t s e - i n f e s t e d woodl a n d s t o t h e s o u t h a c c e s s t o t h e banks of t h e r i v e r was d i f f i c u l t .

However at Makedo Rapids a t e r r a c e w a s d i s c o v e r e d a t a h e i g h t of

approximately 5 metres above t h e p r e s e n t r i v e r l e v e l from which were
e r o d i n g a few c o a r s e , undecorated p o t s h e r d s . A lower t e r r a c e a t about
2 metres y i e l d e d abundant evidence f o r L a t e r I r o n Age occupation
i n c l u d i n g t r a c e s of i r o n - s m e l t i n g a c t i v i t y . Northwards from Juba no
evidence of r i v e r - t e r r a c i n g o r a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s could be found.
However, s o u t h - e a s t of Juba numerous s i t e s were recorded away from t h e
immediate v i c i n i t y of t h e r i v e r i t s e l f . These c o n s i s t e d of t h e s t o n e
f o u n d a t i o n s of former h u t s and g r a n a r i e s . Such s t o n e f e a t u r e s a r e
s t i l l i n c o r p o r a t e d i n many modern s e t t l e m e n t s of t h e B a r i p e o p l e ,
though t h e s t a t e of p r e s e r v a t i o n of some of t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s
suggests a considerable a n t i q u i t y f o r these f e a t u r e s .
The f i n a l a r e a of a r c h a e o l o g i c a l survey w a s i n t h e Luluba H i l l s
where a number of s h e l t e r s were d i s c o v e r e d . One of t h e s e , Lulubo
( b 0 3 7 ' ~ ;3 1 5 6 ' ~ ) , was t e s t e d . As at Itohom t h e s i t e i s formed by a
v e r y l a r g e g r a n i t e - p o r p h y r y boulder and i s s i t u a t e d a t t h e base of t h e
Luluba H i l l s l o o k i n g e a s t over t h e p l a i n s of a c a c i a woodland and
e l e p h a n t grass. The d e p o s i t s w i t h i n t h e s h e l t e r were extremely
compacted and composed t o a l a r g e e x t e n t of decomposing r o c k w i t h t h e
r e s u l t t h a t bone was n o t preserved.
Bedrock was reached a t a d e p t h
of 90 cms, D e p o s i t s of t h e L a t e r I r o n Age w i t h c o r d - r o u l e t t e d p o t t e r y
o v e r l a y evidence of L a t e r Stone Age occupation, s i m i l a r i n c h a r a c t e r
t o t h a t from Itohom. Small q u a r t z a r t e f a c t s and comb-impressed
p o t t e r y predominate.
I n f o r m a t i o n on p o t t e r y manufacture, f u n e r a r y p r a c t i c e s , and a n
unusual ochre-making p r o c e s s , t h e f i n i s h e d product o f which i s
t r a d e d t o t h e Mandari was c o l l e c t e d amongst t h e Luluba people. Oral
t r a d i t i o n s i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e Luluba, who speak a C e n t r a l Sudanic
language c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o Mom, comprise a number of c l a n s from
d i f f e r e n t a r e a s who s e t t l e d i n t h e a r e a now known as t h e Luluba H i l l s
i n t h e e a r l y nineteenth century.
I n c o n c l u s i o n , t h i s y e a r ' s e x p e d i t i o n h a s added c o n s i d e r a b l y t o
o u r knowledge of t h e archaeology and anthropology of t h i s l i t t l e known
c o r n e r of t h e Sudan. J.M. and P.R. hope t o e d i t a volume i n t h e n e a r
f u t u r e i n c o r p o r a t i n g t h e r e s u l t s of a l l t h r e e e x p e d i t i o n s t o t h e Sudan
by t h e B r i t i s h I n s t i t u t e .
We would l i k e t o thank a l l t h o s e government and t r a d i t i o n a l
a u t h o r i t i e s who, t o g e t h e r with v a r i o u s p r i v a t e o r g a n i s a t i o n s , gave
s o generously of t h e i r time and h o s p i t a l i t y .

FRANCO-SUDANESE RESEARCH IN THE SUDAN (1975-1979)

by
Francis Geus
This is the first report concerning the field work of the French
Archaeological Research Unit attached to the Sudan Antiquities Service
to be published in Nyame Akuma. Therefore it represents a summary for
four years of activities.
Since January 1976 the Unit has been working at Abudiya, near
Abri and at el Kadada (Taragma), north of Shendi.
1. ABUDIYA
Abudiya (1) is situated on the right bank of the Nile, south of
the town of Abri, in the Northern Province. The work covered two campaigns, from January to March, in 1976 and 1978. It is part of the
archaeological survey south of Dal, which was undertaken since 1970 at
the request of Sayed Negm-ed-Din Mohammed Sherif, General Director for
Antiquities and National Museums. During the first season over two
hundred archaeological spots were recorded and, in 1978, some of them
were tested. The remains include settlements and cemeteries. The
settlements belong mainly to the Neolithic and to the pre-Kerma cultures (2), the cemeteries to the post-Pharaonic cultures. Most of the
graves excavated were completely empty, and the most interesting results of the two campaigns came from the settlement remains, unfortunately much eroded, whose study is now in progress (3).

El Kadada is situated approximately 15 kilometers north of Shendi,

on the right bank of the Nile, in the district of Taragma. The site
was absolutely unknown before its discovery by Sid Ahmed Kameir, Antiquities Inspector for the Shendi area, and by myself in March 1976, as
we were visiting a new agricultural project, the Kabushiya Pump Scheme,
which was at that time under preparation. In fact it is situated in
the actual heart of the project, where the pump, the starting point of
the main canal and the staff buildings were being constructed.
1)

The local
This is the name used on the 1:250.000 map (NF-36-M).
people call it zbud (transcription from Dr. Herman Bell, Institute
for African and Asian Studies - Khartoum University).

2)

I mean here by pre-Kmma the cultures which developed in this part

of Nubia prior to the classical Kerma, as it was analysed by B.
Gratien (1977).

3)

Geus 1976, Geus 1977a, Geus 1977b, Geus 1979.

As soon as we arrived in the area, we realised that it was an important archaeological site : some trenches dug for buildings had been
cutting through graves, and a large occupation mound had been disturbed and partly destroyed by bulldozers. Extensive areas had also been
flattened for the laying out of buildings. We succeeded in halting
the work under progress and we hurried back to Khartoum, where it was
decided that rescue work would have to start immediately.
The first campaign covered the whole of April 1976 (1). It was
quite dramatic, as we were working at the same time as the bulldozers,
and did not have any experience of the site. Nevertheless the results
were so striking that we easily obtained from the Shendi authorities
the authorisation to protect the site for another 10 months. This
allowed a second campaign of 3,5 months during the winter 1976-77 : it
was entirely devoted to the excavation of the main mound. As soon as
we stopped our work, in February 1977, the mound was finally destroyed
in front of our eyes.
Meanwhile we had realised that the destroyed area was not the
only archaeological one. The site was very extensive and traces of
human occupation were to be found in many places. A new campaign was
planned for October 1978, when the irrigation ~rojectwas supposed to
be finished. Unfortunately the bulldozers had just come back and once
again we had to use most of our time for rescue work. As destruction
was now occuring everywhere, we were granted money and necessary authorisations to protect the archaeological areas with fences for a total length of more than 2 kilometers.
The material we found during the first campaign was entirely of
Neolithic type ( 2 ) , except for two small pots, clearly Meroitic, which
were coming from another site (3). But when we started the work again,
at the beginning of the second campaign, it appeared that the mound in
squares 12-22 had been used intensively as a burial ground by the
Meroites. On the other hand it was also covering Neolithic graves as
well as a number of unidentified burials and a complete Muslim cemetery.
This gives an idea of the problems which arose during the excavations,
as we would find, going from top to bottom, in the most extreme cases,
the following remains :

1)

Geus 1976, Geus 1977b, Geus & Reinold 1979. The French Unit publishes every year a "Rapport Annuel d1Activit6"which is distributed free of charge. So far three have been issued (1975-1976;
1976-1977; 1977-1978) and a new one is scheduled for December 1979.
Anyone interested may send his address to the French Archaeological
Research Unit, Sudan Antiquities Service, P.O. Box 178, Khartoum.

2)

Cf. infra.

3)

Square 30. The site has been divided into squares measuring 50/50 m.

Neolithic occupation debris cut by Neolithic and post-Neolithic

burials, and disturbed on the surface by bulldozers;
Muslim burials;
Neolithic pot-burials, of infants and small children;
Neolithic burials, set up over each other, cut by Neolithic and
later burials;
Meroitic and pre-Meroitic burials of various types, sometimes
cutting each other, in many cases plundered;
to which may be added, at different levels, unidentified burials.

The wealth of the burial deposits, both in Neolithic and Meroitic graves,
although fascinating, contributed largely to add to the complexity of
the dig.
The Neolithic remains
So far Neolithic remains have been found in three areas :

- in squares 12-22, near the river, which have been destroyed by

the main canal;

in squares 75-76-85-86, where trenches had been dug for the construction of small buildings, but which we succeeded to preserve;
in and around square 107, in the area of Meroitic tumuli.

As the excavations have just been started in square 107, only the
two first areas are going to be mentioned here. They provided us with
three main types of remains : - pot burials;
- pit burials;
- occupation debris.
Pot burials : They are very common in squares 12-22. Some pots are .
quite big and generally they are decorated. They contain the skeleton
of an infant or of a small child, in most cases disturbed, as well as
offerings, which may also be put outside the pot. These include beads,
shells, pots and ostrich eggs.
Pit burials : In both areas superimposed burials seem to have been a
general rule. Although the shape of the grave is not always very clear,
many burial pits were found to be circular or subcircular. The skeletons are in very poor conditions. All of them are more or less contracted, but the orientations differ from burial to burial. Some bear
traces of red ochre, and some personnal adornments like :
- beads of bone, carnelian stone, amazonite;
- nose or lip plugs;
- ivory anklets.
Sometimes the remains of what may have been a mat are found under the
burial.
In most cases the funerary deposits are important, including :
- pottery, decorated and undecorated;
- ostrich.,eggs ;
- Unio shells, some with serrated edges;
- polished hard stone palettes, axes, mace-heads, perforated

discs;
sandstone palettes, lower grindstones and upper grindstones;
bones;
voluntary broken quartz pebbles and chert flakes;
clay and sandstone figurines.
All these being sometimes organised as complex deposits.

Settlement : Few words only may be said about the settlement situated
in squares 12-22, as all the material collected from the occupation
debris through sieving is still kept in thousands of small bags. It
includes quartz, chert and sandstone fragments, as well as pottery
sherds and bones. The study will be started as soon as the work on
the graves, which requires fresher memory of the excavations, is
finished. Some of the most fragile and typical objects have been
isolated during the sieving. They include shell hooks, bone harpoons
and beads, some of them unfinished, as well as shells from well known
types of snails. On the other hand the microlithic industry is apparently quite poor, the finished tools being very few compared to the
extensive flaking.
Conclusion : It would be premature to propose definite conclusions
about a culture so far unknown, and whose contribution to the cultural
development in the Nile valley has certainly been of great importance.
The finds from el Kadada are quite different from the ~eolithic
material published by Arkell in Early Khartoum and esh Shaheinab.
Gouges are totally absent, the microlithic industry is quite poor and
polished finished tools are common. Yet both include amazonite beads,
Unio shells with serrated edges, shell hooks, and bone harpoons. As
far as pottery is concerned it seems to be much more related to what
is presented as possibZy o f protodynastic date in the same publications.
On the other hand it shows many affinities with the A-Group and C-Group
pottery of lower Nubia and it belongs certainly to the C-Horizon, as
defined by Trigger (1).
Nevertheless, in order to avoid confusions, we decided to give up
Arkell's terminology, as it could imply direct cultural relations with
Egypt, use of metal and drastic changes in the Neolithic development
of the central Sudan. This development has to be considered as a whole,
and el Kadada definitely belongs to it. Therefore the el Kadada remains are described as ~eolithic. So far, unfortunately, no C14 date
could be obtained from the samples collected.
The Meroitic graves
Up to now no trace of a Meroitic settlement has been found, but we
know that around el Kadada, in different places, mounds covered with
red bricks could be observed until recently. In fact the last of these
mounds was destroyed in 1976, just before our discovery of the site.
1)

Trigger 1976 : 53.

The Meroitic cemetery is very extensive, as graves are found

everywhere on the site. It includes graves of various shapes, some of
which may be dated back to the Napatan period. No trace of any superstructure was found during the second campaign but, last winter, a low
circular mound was excavated, which revealed to be associated with a
Meroitic burial of the cave type.
Our information about the meroitic graves is still incomplete and
too many types are still unique. So far we can recognise two clear
groups :
a) In the first one the grave contains a contracted body, lying on
its left side, head to the south, accompanied by few objects, like
potteries, bronze bowls or bronze rings. Generally the burials
are not plundered;
b) in the second one the burial is much larger : in a cave, which is
sometimes closed with blocks of stone, the body is lying on its
back, most often head to the south. It is accompanied by many
objects including : - many red wheelmade pots, the biggest being
organised in parallel rows following the
direction of the body;
- black hand-made pots;
- bronze objects : decorated spoon, bowls,
rings ;
- iron objects : arrow and spear heads, anklets and finger rings;
- glass objects, unfortunately in very bad
condition;
- archer's looses, in polished hard stone.

Conclusion : Although el Kadada is situated in the heart of the Meroitic kingdom, the Meroitic graves are the first to be excavated outside
Meroe where, except for some units found by Garstang and unpublished (I),
only the royal and high rank burials have been excavated. Therefore
the Kadada graves add considerably to our knowledge of burial traditions
and material culture in the Meroitic times and show the importance and
wealth of the communities settled near the river in this specific area.

1)

Nevertheless, according to Vercoutter, two turnuli have been excavated

in Wad Ben Naga. They were plundered and provided only late Meroitic
sherds (Vercoutter 1962 : 277-278).

REFERENCES

B.S.F.E.

Bulletin de la SociSte Franqaise d'Egyptologie.

C.R.I.P.E.L.

Cahier de Recherches de llInstitut de Papyrologie et

dlEgyptologie de Lille.

Geus, F.

1976

Service des Antiquit& du Soudan, Section

Franqaise de Recherche Arch6ologique,
Rapport Annuel d'Activit6 1975-1976,
Khartoum.

Geus, F.

1977a

Service des Antiquit& du Soudan, Section

Franqaise de Recherche Arch6ologique,
Rapport Annuel d1Activit6 1976-1977,
Khartoum.

Geus, F.

1977b

Dgcouvertes R6centes au Soudan. La fouille

d'el Kadada, dans B.S.F.E. 79 : 7-21.

Geus, F.

1979

Service des Antiquit& du Soudan, Section

Franqaise de Recherche ArchGologique,
Rapport Annuel d1Activit6 1977-1978,
Khartoum.

Geus, F. et
Reinold, J.

1979

Fouille de sauvetage 2 el Radada (Soudan),

I. La campagne d'avril 1976, dans C.R.I.P.E.L.
5 : 7-158.

Gratien, B.

1977

Les cultures Kerma, essai de classification,

Lille.

Trigger, B.

1976

Nubia under the Pharaohs, Londres.

Vercoutter, J.

1962

Un palais des "Candaces" contemporain

dlAuguste,Fouille 5 Wad Ben Naga 19581960, d a m Syria XXXIX : 263-299.

-.

~ e o l i t h i cp o t s from e l Kadada ( s c a l e 1 : 2 ) .

Notice of P u b l i c a t i o n s
Palaeoecology of A f r i c a
E d i t e d by E.M. van Zinderen Bakker S r and J . A .

Coetzee.

The a i m of t h i s sequence, which s t a r t e d i n 1966, i s t o g i v e a n

o v e r a l l review of t h e g e o l o g i c a l , c l i m a t o l o g i c a l and b i o l o g i c a l
h i s t o r y of A f r i c a . The first 9 i s s u e s c o n t a i n a t o t a l of n e a r l y
300 r e p o r t s and c o n t r i b u t i o n s on a wide v a r i e t y of d i s c i p l i n e s ,
such as: geology, oceanography, c l i m a t o l o g y , p a l a e o n t o l o g y ,
geomorphology, pedology, archaeology, d a t i n g t e c h n i q u e s , palynology,
biology e t c .
Volume 1 -

3 a r e o u t of p r i n t .

Volume 1 0 h a s come out i n September 1978. It is p r i m a r i l y

concerned w i t h new r e s e a r c h c a r r i e d o u t i n Southern A f r i c a ,
and c o n t a i n s 20 c o n t r i b u t i o n s ($20.50)

Volume 11 h a s been i s s u e d i n March 1979. T h i s i s c h i e f l y

devoted t o Northern and E a s t e r n A f r i c a . Among t h e 23 r e p o r t s
a r e some on t h e paLaeoclimates and palaeolimnology of t h e
Sahara and E t h i o p i a , t h e p r e h i s t o r y of Middle Egypt and A l g e r i a ,
t h e g l a c i a t i o n s of E a s t A f r i c a n mountains, marine micropalaeontology , e t c ($20.50)

Volume 1 2 c o n t a i n i n g t h e proceedings of t h e Symposium on

"The Sahara and surrounding Seas", h e l d at Mainz from 1-4
A p r i l , 1979, w i l l be i s s u e d b e f o r e t h e middle of t h i s y e a r .

Volume 13. Authors i n t e r e s t e d i n s u b m i t t i n g manuscripts f o r

t h i s volume, which w i l l be mostly d e a l i n g w i t h c e n t r a l and
n o r t h e r n A f r i c a , should c o n t a c t t h e e d i t o r s o r t h e p u b l i s h e r
( d e a d l i n e 1 October, 1980).

Volume 14 w i l l c o n t a i n t h e proceedings of 1981 SASQUA

Conference t o be h e l d i n P r e t o r i a i n May, 1981.

The E d i t o r s : D r s . J . A .
U n i v e r s i t y of t h e O.F.S.,

Coetzee and E.M. van Zinderen Bakker,

Bloemfontein, South A f r i c a .

The P u b l i s h e r : M r . A .A. Balkema, P .O. Box

Rotterdam, t h e Netherlands.

1675, NL 3000 BR,