Kassala

Missione Archeologica at Kassala (Sudan)
of the University of Naples "L'Orientale"

Introduction

Mahal Teglinos (15° 25’ 30’’ N – 36° 26’ 25’’ E) is an archaeological site locate on the eastern bank of the Gash river, near the modern town of Kassala, in southeastern Sudan. The region is a flat semi-arid steppeland with few granitic inselbergs and delimited to the south by the edge of the Ethiopian highland and to the east by the Red Sea hills. The steppe greens seasonally after the the summer rainy season. The rainy season causes also the floods of the Gash river draining from the Ethiopian highland and forming an endoreic delta nort-west of Kassala.
The site is ca. 480 by 250 m and more than 10 ha in extension. The site is located in a narrow valley surrounded by the granitic peaks of the Jebel Taka. Only two passages give access to the site from north and east. Archaeological remains are visibile on the surface of the site which is characterized by dense concentrations of pottery. The surface of the site is cut by gulleys originated by the seasonal rains. The northern sector of the site is endangered by the presence of a small village and the western part of the site was partially destroied by a muslim cemetery.
Except for these limited recent uses, the site was never reused after its abandonement which can be dated on the basis of our present knowldge at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. The ancient use of the site is dated to the 4th millennium BC and continued (perhaps with few gaps) for ca. 3000 years. The more intensive phase of use of the site is dated to the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, when the site was occupied by the Gash Group (ca. 2700-1400 BC) an by the Jebel Mokram Group (ca. 1400-700 BC).
The archaeological remains visibile on the surface include: a) remains of tumulus and stone cairns in the eastern and central sector of the site; b) rectangular stone structures in the central sector of the site; c) rounded stone structures all over the site; d) circular hearths plastered with clay in the western sector of the site.

History, descriptiona and aims of the project

The presence of ancient remains at Mahal Teglinos was recorded in 1917 by J.W. Crowfoot. Crowfoot dated the site to Greek-Roman and Aksumite times. In 1938-1939 the site was visited by L.P. Kirwan who identified it with an Aksumite outpost, probably involved in the contacts between Aksum and Meroe. The other sites of the region were unknown before the researches conducted by the Archaeological Expedition of the “L’Orientale”.
In 1980 the University of Naples "L'Orientale" (formerly Istituto Universitario Orientale) started a research program in the Gash delta avviò un programma di ricerche archeologiche nella regione delta del fiume Gash. The Gash Delta Archaeological Poject directed by Rodolfo Fattovich collaborated since the beginning with the Archaeological Expedition of the Southern Methodist University (Dallas, USA) directed by Anthony E. Marks, which was investigating the region between Gash and Atbara.
When these research programs begun, the Gash delta and the region between Gash and Atbara were almost completelty unexplorated from the archaeological point of view. Thus the first steps of the research programs consisted of an archaeological reconnaissance of the whole area and to the establishment of the cultural sequence of the whole region on the basis of the collected materials. After that, from 1984 onwards, systematic excavations took place at Mahal Teglinos, the main site recorded by the Italian expedition.
At the beginning, the research program in the Gash delta was aimed at verifying some hypotheis on the exchange of cultural features between the Nile valley and the Ethiopian highlands in the late prehistoric and early historic times. Later on, the project was characterized by a more and more multi-disciplinar approach and involved paleobotanists, archaeozoologists, anthropologists, and geoarchaeologists and its aims were the investigation of the ancient peopling in the region, the origins of the food production, the study of the main socio-economic changes, the commercial role of the region in the trade Red Sea and northeastern Africa network.
Actually, both the archaeological and textual data suggest that the Eritran-Sudanese lowlands, where the Gash delta is located, were a part of or, at least a region near the fabulous land Punt. Punt was a region south of Egypt and in dynastic times (III-II millennia BC) many luxury exotic products were imported in Egypt from Punt. Typical products of Punt were frankincense and other aromatic resins, electrum, ebony, ivory, animal skins, monkeys, baboons, and hounds. The products of Punt were usually obtained not only through maritime trade but also through intermediaries along the tracks of northeatern Africa such as the upper Nubian Kerma culture. The archaeological data collected by the Italian expedition in the Gash delta confirm that this region was involved from 2500 to 1400 BC in a network of exchanges with Egypt, Nubia, the Eritrean-Ethiopian highlands, and southern Arabia.
Thus also the research project in the Gash delta contibuted to the studies of the origins and development of the “Erythrean Sea” trade network which intensified in the last twenty years with the increase of the research activities in the southern Red Sea, in the Gulf of Aden, and in the northern Indian Ocean. Also other archaeological expeditions of the Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli (presently Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale") and of the IsMEO (presently IsIAO) in the Egyptian Red Sea coast, in northern Ethiopia, in Yemen, and Oman greatly contibuted to these studies. More specifically the research program in the Gash delta is deeply linked to the Italian Archeological Expeditions of the “L’Orientale” in Egypt at Naqadah, at Mersa Gawasis, and at Aksum in Etiopia.
So far, the Italian Archaeological Expedition in Sudan (Kassala) of the University of Naples “L’Orientale” conducted fifteen field seasons.
From 1980 to 1984 the archaeological reconnaisance of Gash delta and surrounding areas from Jebel Gulsa, on the Eritrean border to Eriba Station, near the northern channel of the river Gash, and from Jebel Tukulabab, ca. 20 km north of Kassala to the Shurab el Gash paleochannel, 35 km south of the town.
From 1981 and more systematically from 1984 to 1995 Mahal Teglinos, the most impèortant site recorded in the reconnaissance was investigated. In 1981 three excavation units were investigated in the central sector of the site. In 1984 two excavation units were investigated in the central sector of the site as well as a tumulus near the northern access to the site. In 1985 the remains of a large necropoleis with monolithic stelae were discovered in the central sector of the site. In 1987 two stratigraphic test-pits were excavated to the sterile in the area of the necropoleis and in the settlement area north of it. In 1988 and 1989 the excavation in the necropoleis in the central sector of the site continued. In 1991 the investigation of the area between the settlement and the necropoleis in the central sector of the site started, a stratigraphic test pit was excavated in the western sector, and a systematic surface collection was conducted in the central sector of the site. In 1992 the investigation of the area between the settlement and the necropoleis in the central sector of the site continued, and and an extensive surface stripping was conducted in the central sector of the site. In 1993 and 1994-1995 a new necropoleis in the western sector of the site was investigated.

Methodology

The research program has a multi-disciplinary approach and involves archaeological, paliniological, geomorphological, geo-archaeological, , paleobothanical and paleozoological researches in order to point out the environmental context of the sites and its chnges through time. The archaeological settlement pattern resulting from the archaeological reconnaissance was compared with the soil maps of the region and the paleoenvironmental model. The analysis of the satellite imagery and of the aerial photos pointed out several paleochannels of the Gash riverwest of its present course. The data collected in the field suggested the dating of the paleochannels.

Results

A) Territorial Studies

143 sites were recorded in the archaeological reconnaissance. The result of the study of the collected materials was the reconstruction of the previously unknown cultural history of the region from the 6th millennium BC to the 18th century AD.
In the 6th and 5th millennia BC the region was inhabited by the people of the Amm Adam Group. This culture was characterized by a typical ceramic production named “knobbed ware”. the The development of the Atbai Ceramic Tradition, characterized by pottery with typical scraped surfaces (“scraped ware”) started in the 5th millennium BC and continued up to the 1st millennium AD. In the framework of this cultural tradition several phases were distinguished (Saroba, in the 5th and 4th millennia BC; Kassala, from the 4th to the 1st millennium BC; Taka, from the late 1st millennium BC to the 1st millennium AD). Each phase was characterized by different archaeological cultures.
The phase of Saroba included the Malawiya Group, whose sites were scattered between tha Atbara and Shurab el Gash. These sites can be ascribed to hunter-gatheres exploiting the savana and river ressources.
The phase of Kassala included the Butana Group (from the early 4th to the early 3rd millennium BC), the Gash Group (ca. 2700-1400 BC), and the Jebel Mokram Group (ca. 1400-500 BC). The Butana Group sites were mainly located along the Atbara and in the western part of the steppe region and they might be ascribed to the first cattle herers of the region. The Gash Group sites were located in the Gash deltaand in the Shurab el Gash area and can be ascribed to farmers and herders. The Jebel Mokram Group sites wrere scattered in the steppe between the Jebel Mokram and the Atbara and might be ascribed with agro-pastoral people with an incrweasing emphasis on cattle herding.
The phase of Taka included the Hagiz Group (ca. 500 BC-AD 300) with sited in the steppe between Gash and Atbara and a pastoral subsistence system.
The last phases of the peopling of the region are represented by the Khatmya Group (ca. AD 300-800) in the Kassala region, by some post-Meroitic remains (ca. AD 350-500) in the north-western sector, near Jebel Ofreik, by some Christian remains (ca. AD 500-1500) in the northern Gash delta, and by the Gergaf Group (ca. AD 1500-1800), whose sites are scattered in the steppe between Kassala and Khashm el Girba.
The study of these cultures suggests that:
1. The peopling of the region was characterized by an high degree of continuity from the 5th millennium BC to the 1st millennium AD;
2. An agropastoral subsistence developed from the 4th millennium BC and was characterized by an increasing emphasis on the pastoral component starting at least from the very beginning of the in the 1st millennium BC;
3. In the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, the region was involved in an exchange network with Egypt, Nubia, and the southern Red Sea coastal regions;
4. Hierarchic societies arose in the region in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC;
5. Starting from the early 1st millennium BC, the region became marginal and was included time by time in the Ethiopian or Nubian-Sudanese egemony.

B) Archaeological Excavations

The archaeological excavations at Mahal Teglinos showed that the main site of the region was used perhaps with some gaps from the 5th millennium BC to the first centuries AD.
The earliest traces of use of the site are represented by some Early Khartoum-like sherds going back to the Saroba phase. The following phase is represented by the remains of a settlement with perishble structures in the central sector of the site and is ascribable to the Butana Group (la te 4th-early 3rd millennium BC).
The main phase of use of the site took place at the time of the Gash Group (ca. 2700-1400 BC). In mid-3rd millennium BC the central part of the site was characterized by a settlement with perishable and mudbrick structures. Some tombs with the body in a tightly contracted posture discovered south of the settlement can be ascribed to this phase as well. From the late 3rd millennium BC and in the first centuries of the 2nd millennium BC a great necropoleis with monolithic stelae and bodies laying on the back in extended poasture and sometimes with contracted legs occupied the central sector of the site. The settlment area north of it was used as well. Around mid-2nd century AD the great necropoleis in the central sector of the site was abandoned and the settlement extended there with large circular or rounded structures and, in its western part, with suqare mudbrick structures. Perhaps, at that time the western necropoleis whose tombs were characterized by extended bodies on a sidie or on the back with grave good such as personal ornaments and vessels, started.
Just after the mid-2nd millennium BC the site was settled by the Jebel Mokram Group. at that time the settlement was located in the western sector of the site, while the central and eastern sector were used for funerary purposes. Almost a part of the tumulus on the surface of the central and eastern sector of the site can be ascribed to the Jebel Mokram Group. Other tumulus are later and can be dated to the first centuries AD.

Problems related to the cultural heritage management

The sites in the Gash delta represent an important heritage for the Sudan, because they document the history and the special adaptative features of one of the few regions outside the Nile valley which have been more sistematically studied.
Despite the low demographic concentration, the remains in the region are endangered by the expansion of the cultivated land and by the constructuion of irrigation systems. In the case of Mahal Teglinos, the site is endangered by the expansion of the village near its northern edge and by the small Islamic cemetery in its central-western sector. The Italian Archaeological Expedition at Kassala of the “L’Orientale” supported the Sudanese Authorities in promoting plans for the preservation of the ancient remains at Mahal Teglinos. The archaeological maps of the sites elaborated after the survey represent useful tools for Sudan Corporation for Antiquities and Museum to preserve and manage the cultural heritage of the region. Finally, on request of Sudanese Authorities the Expedition conducted reconnaissance and survey of sites of the region endangered by modern activities.

Collaborators

Bruno Castiello (L'Orientale), archaeologist (1984)
Mauro Cremaschi (Università di Milano), geoarchaeologist (1989)
Mauro Coltorti (Università di Urbino), geomorphologist (1984)
Livio Crescenzi (Soprintendenza Archeologica per il Lazio, Roma), surface surveyor (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)
Adelina D’Alessandro (L'Orientale), archaeologist (1982)
Crisitina Damiani (L'Orientale), illustrator (1982, 1984)
Silvio Durante (Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana), geomorphologist (1980)
Rodolfo Fattovich (L'Orientale), archaeologist and director of the Expedition (1980 (two seasons), 1982, 1984, 1985 (two seasons), 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995)
Patrice Lenoble (Unité Française del Sudan Antiquities Service), archaeologist (1984)
Mahi el-Din Abdalla Zarrong (University of Khartoum), archaeologist (1982)
Andrea Manzo (L'Orientale), archaeologist (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)
Edoardo Pardini (Università degli Studi di Firenze), physical anthropologist (1981)
Cinzia Perlingieri (L'Orientale), archaeologist (1989, 1993, 1994, 1995)
Marcello Piperno (formerly Museo Preistorico Etnografico “L. Pigorini”, Roma, now Università di Roma “La Sapienza”), palethnologist (1980, 1981, 1982)
Mario Polia (Centro Studi Ligabue, Venezia), surface surveyor (1985)
Maria Teresa Preziosi (L'Orientale), archaeologist (1989)
Karim Sadr (Southern Methodist University, Dallas), archaeologist (1982, 1984)
Aminata Sackho (Institut Française d’Archéologie Orientale, Cairo (1992, 1993, 1994)
Donatella Usai (L'Orientale), archaeologist (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994)
Silvana Vitagliano (Istituto Italiano di Paletnologia Umana), archaeologist (1985, 1987, 1988)

The Sudan Corporation for Antiquities and Museums di Karthoum was represented by Eltayeb Khalifa Mohammed Al-Amin (1980), Gamaal Eldin Mohammed Idris (1981, 1982), Abdallah Mohammed Abdallah (1984, 1985), Mohammed Taha Mohammed (1985), Said Ahmed Kamair (1987), Mahmud El Sheik El Tayeb (1988), Omeram Ali (1991, 1994, 1995).

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