The Al Khiday Cemetery in Central Sudan and its “Classic/Late Meroitic” Period Graves

Donatella Usai · Sandro Salvatori · Tina Jakob

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Ancient Egypt and Archaeology Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies

Abstract

The first millennium BC in Sudan sees the birth of the Kushite (Napatan and then Meroitic) Kingdom. Royal cities, cemeteries and centres of religious power have attracted archaeologists and historians while peripheral areas have only rarely seen any systematic investigations. This lack of research provides difficulties in interpreting the limited evidence of the Napatan and Meroitic periods located on the White and Blue Niles and limits our comprehension of the role of this region within the political, economic and cultural framework of the kingdom. Recently, a multiphase cemetery was discovered at the site of Al Khiday 2, on the west bank of the White Nile, which was also used by a small group that is thought to be closely related to the Meroitic. The graves excavated have produced a bio-archaeological sample that is presented here with detailed descriptions of the funerary practices, including different types of grave structures, grave goods, burial position and orientation of the inhumations, as well as an overview of the anthropological analysis of this population. These findings are placed within the wider context of Meroitic studies by providing comparisons with contemporaneous sites, highlighting the possible elements of contiguity with that world, as well as providing some reflection on future research directions.

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References

1983Symbols in Action. Ethnoarchaeological Studies of Material Culture 1999Diet and the aetiology of dental calculus 2004The Nubian Past: An Archaeology of the Sudan 2011Mesolithic Site Formation and Palaeoenvironment Along the White Nile (Central Sudan)1994Fontes historiae Nubiorum 2014The Southern Frontier of the Meroitic State: The View from Jebel Moya 2014Bone diagenesis at the micro-scale: Bone alteration patterns during multiple burial phases at Al Khiday (Khartoum, Sudan) between the Early Holocene and the II century AD 1998Gabati : a Meroitic, post-Meroitic and medieval cemetery in central Sudan

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