Egyptian Dreams

[wysingm]

Mysterious Church and Palace Discovered in Sudan

April 22, 2008

Mysterious church and palace from the beginning of the 1st millennium A.D. discovered by Polish archaeologists in Sudan

At the beginning of this year, archaeologists from Warsaw University, headed by Dr Bogdan Żurawski discovered the remains of an Early Christian church and an even older palace. "During research in the area of Selib, a village located on the right bank of the Nile, between the 4th and 3rd cataract, the remains of a building erected on the plan of a huge rectangle were found. It soon turned out that this was one of the most unique churches found in the area of ancient Nubia, that is modern Sudan" - Dr Zuzanna Wygnańska, editor of "Archewieści Centrum Archeologii Śródziemnomorskiej" (Archaeo-new from the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology) informed. Thanks to geophysical research and aerial photographs made from a kite, it was possible to establish that a circular building eight metres in diameter made from red brick was adjacent to the main building.

"This is extremely interesting, as the only known buildings in Nubia to be built on the plan of a circle are ovens for baking bread, bricks and lime. All doubts as to whether the building was a church disappeared when a stone reliquary, fragment of altar construction and oil lamps were found" - Wygnańska noted.

The remains of the church in Selib According to Dr Żurawski, the church in Selib is the most mysterious church building in Nubia. It is not only surrounded by a perfect rectangle, but also stands on a two metre podium or some earlier building, the purpose of which has not yet been established.

As Dr. Wygnańska emphasises, this was not the only important discovery of the season. "Work on a site located 1 km from the church in Selib brought an even greater surprise, when a 900 square metre building was discovered" - she informed. At first, archaeologists spotted the outline of walls protruding on the surface. They were not visible until a sand dune shifted. Everything suggests that this was a palace and what is more, it is one of the few known palaces from the Meroic period, i.e. a civilisation which ruled ancient Nubia between 300 B.C. and 350 A.D.

Fragments of pottery were scattered on the site's surface. "I will never forget my first impression, when I was walking on a carpet of broken pottery, under the layer of shells, it was difficult to see the sand" - Dr Żurawski relates. These were not ordinary shells, but fine, luxury vessels, which were only used in the richest homes belonging to the strict elite.

Archaeologists presume that these are specimens of the finest pottery ever to be produced in the Nile Valley. A dwelling quarter spreads outside the palace. Its size suggests that in ancient times, Selib was one of the most important administrative centres of the Meroic kingdom, the seat of a governor or local ruler. As a result, it is difficult to overestimate the value of this discovery. This is the first such find in the region, which was considered to be outside of the Meroe kings' rule. - Source

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[Mandi]

I haven't done anything academic in a super long time and what little i have done at the university level was actually predominantly in another area of study. I have seen the word podium used in a book i am reading to describe something and i thought because it was in a description of a temple of which that it is a temple is only one of several theories though it appears to be the strongest of them by far. My question is, is for example 'podium' a typical word choice to use in archaeology when something is lifted up or built on top of something that apparently causes the structure of relevance to not be ground level? Because when i think podium i think of presidential candidates yes they are raised higher but not just in the matter of physical height and position but also in the level of momentary importance, because they are going to say or do something that will in some small way affect alot of people. It is a bid for attention that provides a physical lift as well as a lift of importance to whatever or who ever is on the podium. I thought when i came across it for that reason that it seemed a bit 'loaded.' going by my understanding of the word. But now i see it used again and i am wondering if it is a standard usage and if i am just academically out of touch and though i am happy to admit ignorance to an understanding of egypt and nubia.... I must say i scored an 800 on my english portion of the sats. I grew up surrounded by professors and students of harvard mit and boston uni, all living with me sharing a kitchen and bathrooms etc.... I have an exceptional vocabulary. Just little academic experience. Is this a standard usage and was my assumption that it was a loaded word wrong? Are there other words of such a nature? ummm What are they? If it is standard.... i don't want to misjudge a text in such a way ever again.Sorry i know you wanted to talk about the church. And this is rather off topic. my apologies....I will understand if you respond with a great deal of annoyance. I very well might as well if someone went so off topic.
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Women who seek to be equal to men lack ambition.

[Chrismackint]

[Mandi]

I am not sure as i am merely a beginning student.... But in my boo0k it did talk about a round very very old temple. The location was in Kerma. This structure i do believe was much older than the one being discussed here. I think this one would have been not so much from the Kerma period but rather from either the period just before the ummm for lack of a better term, 'nubian renaisance' which seemed to have been the Meroitic period when the leaders moved from the second cataract to Meroe. It is possible maybe even likely and many do believe that there was some sort of political upheaval.... But in this era and even to some very minor degree right before it, there seems to have been massive structures being built in Nubia.

As i understand it though, this 'temple' if it is the one i read about in my book i need to check my information on this point, is still open to interpretation as to what it was. Though it does seem the temple theory is by far the most popular... But i could be write wrong.... I need to check my source again and compare....

Hope some of this is helpful at the very least.
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Women who seek to be equal to men lack ambition.