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Contributori ..................................................................................... XI
Carta generale della nubia con indicazione dei siti citati nel volume.
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mArco bALdi
Awlib lies in the wadi el-hawad, nearly 3 km to the east of the Nile
and 1 km to the north of Abu erteila2. Archaeological work at Awlib, lasted
from 2001 to 2003 by a team from the Gdansk Archaeological museum,
yielded a religious complex comprising a temple, a close square-plan build-
ing and an outer high altar (Fig. 1).
The temple, oriented Se-Nw, has a rectangular plan sized 46,27 24,23
m and has two entrances: on the eastern short side there is a monumental
gate highlighted by a pylon and preceded by a rectangular-stone paving; on
the southern long side there is a smaller doorway with a red bricks paving
maybe stressed with an arcade, which can be understood from the collapsed
column drums.
The partial preservation of the masonries and the collapsed material
allow the reconstruction of the original perimeter walls, made from adobe,
partly survived, with an external red brick facing. The wall was 125 cm
thick: 60 cm were made of mud bricks and 65 of red ones, which were used
to strengthen some strongly stressed parts of the walls.
According to a well-known meroitic custom, some red bricks show on
one face deep stripes that helped the mortar to adhere.
1
The author would like to express a deep gratitude and indebtedness to dr Agata Sander,
whose generosity and availability were fundamental for the making of this paper.
2
Literature often stressed the link between the two places, because of the supposed
common exploitation of the rich wadi and of a great hafir, ca. 250 m in diameter. See espe-
cially Lenoble 1987: 213.
3 Baldi_Layout 1 08/03/14 11.16 Pagina 50
Fig. 1 Awlib, buildings (drawn by baldi after borcowski & paner 2005: figs. 2, 15).
The bricks were laid in alternate header and stretcher courses, which was
a very common method in the meroitic world; the dimensions of the bricks
slightly change throughout the building, but more ones size 85 170 350
mm. The perimeter walls were then covered with a 2 cm thick limestone
plaster, sometimes painted in polychromy.
The pylon and the columns were instead made of sandstone.
Foundation trenches 150 cm thick, the depth of which is undefinable
until now, were dug to support only the external walls, and filled with local
iron sandstone rubble in the bottom and bigger but irregular slabs in the
upper part. The surface tracts of the foundation materials were laid with
mud mortar, presumably in order to give a stronger bind and to limit the
wash.
The few remains suggest that there was a sandstone floor, whereas there
are no elements on the covering system.
during its life cycle the temple was renovated due to deterioration and
damages. Long tracts of the western and northern walls were especially
heavily damaged, presumably due to the driving rain, and they were re-
paired mainly using red bricks, recovered in a great quantity among the col-
lapsed material3. in some parts one can note the use of reemployed
sandstone blocks from other buildings.
3
They were already a spread finding during the reconnaissance: see paner 1997.
50
3 Baldi_Layout 1 08/03/14 11.16 Pagina 51
The fact that mud bricks were not used to renovate the structure maybe
was due to the driving rains, when adobe, perhaps originally preferred be-
cause cheaper, did not provide an efficient water resistance notwithstanding
the red bricks facade. materials as red bricks and a few sandstone pieces,
that had better water resistance, were therefore preferred for renovations.
it seems that the mud bricks masonry has been strongly affected by the wash
rather than rain, due to the ineffective drainage of the foundations.
At the same time the red bricks tracts seem to have been deteriorated at
the time of the original building and subsequently after having been reno-
vated: the used mud mortar was a very good binder for adobe but unable to
bind burned bricks. The building in fact collapsed mainly outwards, where
there was a higher concentration of red pieces. on the other hand this is a
common structural handicap in contemporary buildings in the area.
however, the southern perimeter wall is better preserved, which is also
due to the fact that it was less exposed to windblown rain from the north.
The adobe core is particularly well preserved, whereas the red bricks facade
suffered more deterioration.
The Awlib temple shared the deeply syncretic nature of most Nubian
religious complexes, which often put up a great mixture of worships and
ceremonies adding to the rituals devoted to the main temple god.
we cannot deduce sure data from the building plan after the collapse of
most of the internal walls, due to the lack of foundations to support them
leaving no way of knowing their original arrangement. The comparison
with several meroitic temples however seems to suggest that the complex
was devoted to Amun, on the grounds of the building size, its breadth-width
ratio, and the presence of internal rooms, partly preserved, along its western
side; one could see a naos flanked by collateral rooms.
The knowledge of the original religious context essentially derives from
the sandstone wall blocks, incised or decorated in relief, that have all col-
lapsed.
An original representation of Amun has been hypothetically deduced
from a top of an atef crown on one block (Sander 2010: 156-57). Although
likely, this view cannot be shared for sure; the atef crown is often worn by
51
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4
For example, see for Apedemak Temple in musawwarat es-Sufra, hintze et al. 1971:
pl. 79 column scene 24, pl. 93 scene 521, pl. 97 scene 623. For Apedemak Temple in Naga,
see Gamer-wallert 1983: 116.
52
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5
Among the most significant cases, for the Naga temples see Kroeper & wildung 2011:
79 (for N200), Zach & Tomandl 2000: 141 ff. (for N500), Trk1997b: 502 (for Temple F);
for Lion Temple in musawwarat es-Sufra, see Trk 2002: 188 ff. See also Kormysheva
2010: 253-54.
6
in the meroitic era similar items are especially known in butana temples. For the sev-
eral samples in meroe see Shinnie & Anderson 2004: 232-34, figs.19, 99, 100; Trk 1997a:
125 (266-1), pl. 91. For Naga, see Kroeper & wildung 2011: 88 ff., figs. 99, 102, 181, 201.
For wad ben Naga, see vercoutter 1962: figs. 4-5. For el-hassa, see rondot & Trk 2010:
fig. 303. For examples in a funerary context, see dunham 1957: fig. 120 n. 21-3-550, fig.
128 n. 21-3-76, fig. 129 n. 21-2-690.
53
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Fig. 4 Awlib, outer altar. (After paner & Kolosowska 2005: 81).
54
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7
Trk 1997a: 111-12, fig. 13a. For a reconstruction of the altar, see hakem 1988: fig. 26.
8
in Sanam the outer altar is not set in axis with the edifice like in other quoted examples,
even if it shares the same orientation, but it is set along the northern side of the temple. one
cannot exclude that this meant an unique function: according to the reliefs on the close side
entrance, the altar was a stop structure for the god statue during the ritual procession (Trk
2002: 133).
55
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9
Nastasen stela, lines 24 ff., in eide et al. 1996: 471 ff.
10
Trk 1997a: 112. Nevertheless, in a subsequent paper, without quoting the idea be-
fore shared he proposed a different theory: the outer altar would have been the place where
the god statue received offering from faithful subjects during the ritual procession (Trk
2002: 242, 274-75).
11
on this theory see Kroeper & Krzyzaniak 1998: 206.
56
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Fig. 6 meroe, Sun Temple, Lower podium, western side. 3rd quarter of the 1st century bc.
(by baldi after hakem 1988: figs. 24, 27, 29).
support this idea. The relief was probably the visible part of a wider scene
that continued on the other sides of the podium, and it would have repre-
sented the rite of the destruction of the enemy; the supposed human sacri-
fice would have been the climax.
A man seated on a throne watches the ritual and seems be its receiver.
his attributes and the overall iconographical context would class him as a
deified non-ruling royal person (Trk 2002: 222-25). According to Trk,
this suggests, in the religious complexes including an outer altar, that there
was a close connection between the altar and the kiosk, from where the god
could watch the altar rituals.
it is however unclear if this interpretation can be given to every temple
that had an outer altar, especially in cases such as the Amon Temple in Naga
and in Awlib, where the altars are very far from the buildings. moreover
one cannot exclude that, when the outer altar was reintroduced by the
12
The possible evidence on human sacrifices in the meroitic temples was reviewed in Zach
2010; although the sources are uncertain, he presents elements only about impalement.
57
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meroitic kings after a secular gap, its function had changed with respect to
its original introduction. At the same time, due to the interaction between
the different elements of the sacral complex, the altars role could be
changed according to its specific position: in Kawa and meroe it was set
between the temple and the kiosk, whereas in the two Naga samples the
altar was located behind the kiosk.
in Awlib, where the position of the possible kiosk is yet unknown13, the
picture provided in this paper until now, intentionally focuses on the Kushite
land, finds further elements that allow a comparison with the egyptian
traditions.
The osiris cult suggested by the reliefs on the Sun temple indicates the
possible use of the outer altar for mortuary rituals; nevertheless the great
distance from the temple and its eastward orientation, by virtue of which
the altar moreover turns its back to the building entrance, allow to assume
that the structure was assigned to the solar cult, which is also suggested by
the iconographical programme. This plan reminds some egyptian custom
which in complexes which had open sky altars, that, if oriented eastwards,
could hold offerings to the Sun (see Arnold 2003: 8-9).
it must be noticed that no thesis was suggested for the outer altar in the
Amun Temple in Naga. An evaluation of this altar by excavators would be
very useful because it is the closest known corresponding sample to the
Awlib one, by virtue of its distance from the building, eastward orientation
and imperfect alignment with the edifices axis. it has been instead consid-
ered as auteil solare a similar structure set inside the temple; it is never-
theless oriented westwards and decorated by scenes representing the
egyptian motif of the Union of two Lands, rather than the solar cult (Kroe-
per 2010: 234). in my opinion this role assigned to the Naga inner altar is
therefore probably incorrect.
As regards the Awlib sample, the comparison with the egyptian temple
architecture and the linked rituality indicate a further possibility on the func-
tion of the outer altar. According to a few ptolemaic and roman complexes14,
it could have been a cult terrace, as the final stage of the sacral procession
13
considering the distance of the altar from the temple it is nevertheless very likely
that the possible kiosk was set between two structures, like in Naga Amon Temple.
14
See Arnold 2009: pls. vii for the monthu Temple in medamoud), ix (for the Amunra-
monthu Temple in Karnak), xi (for the monthu Temple in el-Tod).
58
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starting from the temple. This can be confirmed by the unusual setting of
the structure that ascends to the summit, ramp or stairway, which allowed
for direct access coming from the building, and by the long distance from
the edifice, that is sufficient to permit the complete course of the procession.
in this way, the god could turn his eyes away from complex towards a
greater potential public than the few priests who could enter the sacral area.
According to this theory the Awlib outer altar would have been one of the
several versions of contra-temples known in meroitic Nubia.
currently there are no in the meroitic land contra-temples built accord-
ing to the egyptian pattern, as architectural structures set close to the sacral
building and devoted to popular worship. Those who could not visit the
temple were allowed to enter these structures, where they could meet the
god to pray and make offerings15.
in Nubia, the intermediation between the gods and popular worship was
instead accomplished through cult images that were easily visible, in the form
of external reliefs on temple walls16 and royal (Trk 2002: 265 ff.) or divine
statues17. The Awlib altar would have therefore assured a strong impact for
popular worship, because it allowed for a direct contact with the believers.
if this theory corresponds to the truth, there are not elements to say if wor-
shippers were present during the procession, so assuring their attendance,
even if passive, or if they were only visiting the statue later on.
however, it is best to be very careful when suggesting that the Awlib
altar played a similar role, exclusively or sharing the Sun worship, because
it would be the only known case in meroitic Nubia.
An Unclear Building
59
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The outline of the foundations, that supported both internal and external
walls, indicates a central square-plan room18, 10 10 m broad, surrounded
by an ambulatory and by a sequence of rooms aligned along the building
sides. each side presents a rectangular room flanked by two smaller ones,
rectangular too but with opposite axes, and by square-plan corner environ-
ments. This recourse to the same pattern for each visible side, for a total of
ten recognizable rooms, suggests that the vanished part fellow the same
way, giving to the original building a square-plan for a total of sixteen side
rooms.
it is impossible to reconstruct the links between the rooms due to the
collapse of the walls that did not leave a single brick standing. This was
due to both wind and rain erosion, but it is also likely that destruction was
partly caused by the spoliation of material that had to be reemployed and
by excavation of pits for christian burials.
The little collapsed material yielded mud and red bricks, that confirm
that both of them were used in masonry work. The heavy spoliation, does
not allow nevertheless to plausibly understand the original arrangement and
building technique; one cannot even exclude the use of combined mason-
ries, well-known in the meroitic world and found at the Awlib temple too,
after the width of the foundations, 1 m thick, which is unusually the same
for partition and perimeter walls.
Although analogous foundations do not allow for sure to assign the ed-
ifice to an only building phase, nor contemporaneity with the temple, the
symmetric plan shows that the structure was born from a single project, and
therefore all its components are likely to be coeval. At the same time, the
great width of the foundations and the overall size of the edifice suggest a
high social level context.
The plan, which is very singular respect meroitic known palaces19,
does not seem to meet the requirements of a palatial building, such as of-
ficial spaces and a rigid internal differentiation between the rooms. more-
over the hand and wheel-made pottery, sometimes painted, represents the
only manufactured good found inside the perimeter of the structure, and
18
i think it was a room bounded by walls, rather than a court, by virtue of wide foun-
dations which more likely supported masonries rather than column or piers eventually linked
to an arcade.
19
For a recent resume on the topic, see baud 2010: 241 ff.
60
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61
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affinity24 and similar construction dating. The structure in Awlib was prob-
ably a service structure: a warehouse, a kitchen or both. it seems therefore
more likely the comparison with the so-called western palace in Faras (Grif-
fith 1926: 21 ff.), which, despite of its conventional name, was a warehouse.
24
m251-253 is sized 32 32 m.
25
For example, see rilly 2010, especially pp. 151-53.
62
3 Baldi_Layout 1 08/03/14 11.16 Pagina 63
if the iconography comes from the egyptian book of the dead, as men-
tioned above, the stylistic nature of the decorated blocks depicts a long-
lived and little differentiated meroitic tradition. Some details allow however
to give a more limited date range, as negroid facial features and birds that
show a solar disc instead of head, according to a pattern that was unknown
in egyptian art.
At Awlib a singular element is the three-pronged lower end of the was
scepters. it is a very rare solution notwithstanding the recurrent character
of this motif in the Nubian and egyptian temple iconography, where the
lower end is usually two-pronged. The only known three-pronged versions
in a temple context are at Naga, in Amun and Apedemak temples, both built
by Natakamani and Amanitore, and in Sa island, also dated to the meroitic
period26. This gives a significant clue but does not offer a sure dating, be-
cause this representation, even if rare, was made later on other materials
too: for example it appears in a so-called pot-mark on a bronze oil lamp
as grave good of king Takideamani (140-155 Ad) (Sakoutis 2009: fig. 2.2).
A further sandstone architectural fragment displays the lower part of a
cartouche, written in egyptian hieroglyphics, where one can see the last
sign and the partly overlaid one . it is very likely the coronation name
of kandake Amanitore , although the bad preservation of the
cartouche. The full conservation of an only sign, and the few samples that
bear for sure the Amanitore coronation name in egyptian hieroglyphics, do
not allow for a successful paleographic inquiry, nevertheless the comparison
with the other known examples would seem to credibly support this thesis27.
At a later date, when the area certainly lost its sacral role, it was occa-
sionally occupied, as suggested by the remains of hearths at different levels.
during the christian era it was used, like Abu erteila, as a burial area, prob-
ably for nomadic people, as the basic pit tombs, without grave goods and
recurrent orientation of the bodies, would seem to confirm.
The elevation of the area respect to the surrounding plain, affected by
frequent floods, justifies the setting of the religious complex, the later buri-
als and the present dwellings. Nevertheless, the nearby territory was en-
riched by the river Nile, the course of which was closer respect nowadays
26
communication in Sander, forthcoming.
27
See especially the cartouche on an altar found at wad ben Naga (Lepsius 1849-1859:
v, bl. 55).
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and by the wadi el-hawad and seasonal rains, that also feed the hafir. This
allows to not exclude that a settlement was here and that agriculture played
an important role, even if the archaeological researches did not overcome
beyond the sacral area.
reFereNceS
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