Fig. 1: Glazed ceramic crown fragment (W284) |
The Egypt
Centre has several of these objects from the sanctuary, namely EC401, W284, and
W285. W284, which is depicted in plate 10.1 of Garstang’s 1911 publication, is
perhaps the most interesting of the three. It is made of glazed ceramic on red
brick. The glaze is coloured yellow, light blue, and black (fig. 1). The object
seems to be a fragment of headdress decorated in relief, as noted by the
Wellcome flimsy slip (13608).
In fact, it seems to closely resemble the vulture-cap commonly worn by
goddesses. What was the object used for and what did it originally look like?
The brick itself is quite thin, perhaps indicating that it was used as a
decorative tile.
EC401 and
W285 are quite similar to each other. Both are formed of a matrix of red brick
with a blue/green glaze on the front. EC401 shows the upper part of a shrine,
which is decorated on top with two double-feathered plumes fronted with
sun-discs. Below this is a frieze consisting of at least eight uraei (fig. 2).
W285 depicts four uraei facing to the left, each with a solar-disc atop their
heads (fig. 3). As with W284 discussed previously, what were these objects used
for? Both objects are only a few centimetres thick, indicating that they were likely
plaques or tile inlays. Given that they were all found underneath the floor of
the sanctuaries of the temple, it is possible that they represent foundation
deposits. Foundation deposits, which were chosen to symbolically ensure the
effectiveness and longevity of the building, are well attested at temple sites
in both Egypt and Nubia (Pope 2014, 23–25). Many of them do take the form of
faience plaques or other similar objects.
Fig: Glazed plaque (EC401) |
Fig. 3: Glazed plaque (W285) |
Another
interesting object from Meroe (EC402) is described in its Wellcome slip (13608)
as a “fragment in blue glaze faience with layers of leaves in relief” (fig. 4).
This fragment was purchased by Wellcome in 1922 from the MacGregor collection
(lot 1321). Unfortunately, the exact details of where this was found at Meroe
is not recorded. Based on parallels, it seems that this object was part of a
particular type of faience vessel common during the Roman Period. A complete
example of one can be found in the Louvre (E 22585). A detailed
study of these vessels was conducted by Marie-Dominique Nenna and Merwatte Seif
el-Din in 2000.
In 1997,
László Török published a two-volume on Garstang’s excavations of Meroe. Several
years ago, the Egypt Centre Curator, Carolyn Graves-Brown, recognised a
familiar faience object while looking through this publication. Plate 168
depicts a small faience head of a deity with lion’s head, who can perhaps be
identified as Apedemak (Žabkar, 1975). At the time
of Török’s publication, the present whereabouts of this object was unknown.
However, this object (EC451) is currently on display in the House of Life at
the Egypt Centre, although it has suffered damage to the face area since the
archival image was taken at the time of excavation. This head, which measures
just 3cm in height, has a hole in the top of its head, presumably for the
insertion of a headdress (fig. 5). The object was excavated in spot M 943, one
of the rooms of a house erected over the ruins of complex M 296-942-948 (Török
1997 I, 205).
Fig. 5: Head of lion-headed statue. EC451 on the left and Török pl. 168 on the right) |
The final
object is a turquoise-glazed faience wall inlay in the form of a sꜣ-symbol,
which measures almost 20cm in height (EC403). The object was previously broken
into several pieces before being restored (fig. 6). Looking through the
archival photos of Garstang’s excavation reveals that this was one of many
inlays used to decorate the area designated M 195
(fig. 7). Excavations of the area in 1912 revealed an extensive water sanctuary
complex, which was dedicated to the local god Apedemak (Török 1997 I, 63–91). During
the excavations, Garstang and his team discovered a cache of statues on the
floor of the basin, some of which were later presented to Wellcome. One in
particular, which is now in the Petrie Museum (UC8964), is a sandstone statue
of a boy holding an aulos (double-pipe). This was previously published by Dixon
and Wachsmann in 1964.
Fig. 6: Glazed sꜣ-symbol from the water sanctuary (EC403) |
Fig. 7: Archival photo of the baths with two sꜣ-symbols still in-situ (Török pl. 32) |
While the
objects presented here are all rather small and fragmentary, they present an
important link between excavation, archival, and museum research.
Bibliography:
Dixon, D. M. and K.
P. Wachsmann (1964) A sandstone statue of an auletes from Meroë. Kush 12, 119–125.
Garstang, J. (1911)
Meroë, the city of
the Ethiopians: being an account of a first season’s excavations on the site,
1909–1910. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Nenna, M.-D. and Merwatte Seif
el-Din (2000) La vaisselle en faïence d’époque gréco-romaine: catalogue du
Musée gréco-romain d’Alexandrie. Études alexandrines 4. Cairo: Institut français
d’archéologie orientale.
Pope, J. (2014) The double
kingdom under Taharqo: studies in the history of Kush and Egypt, c. 690–664 BC.
Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 69. Leiden; Boston: Brill.
Sotheby, Wilkinson,
and Hodge (1922) Catalogue of the
MacGregor Collection of Egyptian Antiquities. London: Davy.
Török, L. (1997) Meroe City, an ancient African capital: John
Garstang’s excavations in the Sudan. Egypt Exploration Society, Occasional
Publications 12, 2 vols. London: Egypt Exploration Society.
Žabkar, L. V. (1975) Apedemak
Lion God of Meroe: a study in Egyptian-Meroitic syncretism. Warminster:
Aris and Phillips.
Great post tthankyou
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