The archaeological site of Selib 2 in the Dongola Reach: remarks on the 2019 season

Abstract

The paper discusses recent fieldwork at the Meroitic settlement site of Selib 2, a town located on the west bank of the Nile between the Third and Fourth Cataracts, investigated by the Banganarti/Selib Polish Archaeological Mission since 2010. The fieldwork was concentrated on uncovering the earliest occupation strata from the 1st/2nd century CE. Two mud-brick buildings were fully excavated, along with contemporaneous occupational horizons, yielding, among others, unique bell-shaped decorated vessels, a copper plate, and a female clay figurine. Storage jars used as ovens and cooking places were present in all phases and can be considered as a characteristic furnishing of the explored households. Moreover, an archaeological reconnaissance extended the boundaries of the settlement eastward, providing new data for studies of the settlement plan and its various stages of development.

Keywords

• Sudan
• Nubia
• Meroe
• Kush
• settlement
• ovens