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Tumuli at Tombos: Innovation, Tradition, and Variability in Nubia during the Early Napatan Period

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Abstract

Excavations at the site of Tombos at the Third Cataract in Sudan have revealed tumulus graves adjacent to Egyptian-style tombs created during the New Kingdom. These tumuli began near the end of Egypt’s imperial control of Nubia (c. 1300 BCE) and continued into the early Napatan/Third Intermediate Period (1069–750 BCE). Thirty-five tumuli from the site are analyzed in terms of superstructure, substructure, artifacts and furniture, and the individuals buried within. The combined datasets of bioarchaeological observations and mortuary practices provide an opportunity to consider the processes of cultural expression in terms of “Nubian revival” within the context of Egyptian colonial “withdrawal.” Through a theoretically informed approach, the complexity of intercultural interactions during these dynamic sociopolitical times is examined, expanding beyond the Egyptian/Nubia binary. The tumulus graves at Tombos are used to demonstrate that a diverse set of practices were used that transcend these categories. Practices are entangled with multidimensional influences that question what is considered local and foreign. With variations showing similarities and differences of structures and practices found in the region during earlier, contemporary, and later periods, an innovative group of practices is revealed.

Résumé

Les fouilles sur le site de Tombos à la troisième cataracte au Soudan ont révélé des tombes à tumulus adjacentes à des tombes de style égyptien créées pendant la période du Nouvel Empire. Ces tumulus commencent vers la fin du contrôle impérial de la Nubie par l’Égypte (vers 1300 BCE) et se poursuivent jusqu’au début de la troisième période intermédiaire napatéenne (1069–750 BCE). Trente-cinq tumulus du site sont analysés en termes de superstructure, sous-structure, artefacts et mobilier, et les individus enterrés à l’intérieur. Les ensembles de données combinés d’observations bioarchéologiques et de pratiques mortuaires offrent l’occasion d’examiner les processus d’expression culturelle en termes de “renouveau nubien” dans le contexte du “retrait” colonial égyptien. Grâce à une approche théoriquement informée, la complexité de l’interaction interculturelle au cours de ces dynamiques les temps sociopolitiques sont examinés, s’étendant au-delà du binaire égyptien/nubien. Les tombes à tumulus de Tombos sont utilisées pour démontrer qu’un ensemble diversifié de pratiques transcendant ces catégories a été utilisé. Les pratiques sont entremêlées d’influences multidimensionnelles qui remettent en question ce qui était considéré comme local et étranger. Avec des variations montrant des similitudes et des différences avec les structures et les pratiques trouvées dans la région au cours des périodes antérieures, contemporaines et ultérieures, un groupe innovant de pratiques est révélé.

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Acknowledgements

Permission to excavate at Tombos was provided by the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) in Sudan and the community of Tombos. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance and hospitality of the people of Tombos. We thank NCAM inspectors El Hassan Ahmed Mohamed and El Tahir Adam Elnour for their collaboration and support and Dr. Sarah Schrader for her bioarchaeological contributions for several tumulus excavations.. Ali Osman M. Salih and David Edwards kindly allowed our work to overlap with the University of Khartoum concession and provided generous suggestions and encouragement. Bruce Williams offered helpful regional examples and Kaitlyn Sanders assisted with Transition Analysis data. Nadejda Reshetnikova provided the excavation plans.

Funding

The excavation of the tumuli at Tombos was primarily funded by the National Science Foundation (BCS-0917815/0917824), National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration, Purdue Alumni Association, and Purdue University Exploratory Research in the Social Science Grant.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Michele R. Buzon

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-3210, USA

    Stuart Tyson Smith

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Buzon, M.R., Smith, S.T. Tumuli at Tombos: Innovation, Tradition, and Variability in Nubia during the Early Napatan Period. Afr Archaeol Rev 40, 621–646 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-023-09524-x

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