El Tuweina - Inventory of a residence in the the desert
Final Report Abstract
The structure of El Tuweina in the Bayuda Desert (Sudan) was discovered in 2013 during a survey by the University of Münster and excavated in 2017-19. The project 'El Tuweina - Inventory of a Residence in the Desert' aims to analyse the excavation documentation and finds and to produce a final publication. El Tuweina is an ensemble of three interconnected architectural units that have both residential character and suggest some form of storage. The storage facilities available are larger than that required by the inhabitants of the residential units, and numerous and diverse cooking installations (hearths, ovens and grills) have been documented in the rooms and courtyards. This suggests that the structure had a central function for the surrounding area, as evidenced by the density of small sites in the vicinity of El Tuweina. The presence of painted plaster in some of the rooms, together with evidence of imports from the Nile Valley (from Meroe and the Jebel Barkal region), suggests that this was a chieftain's residence. The animal bones show a high percentage of neonates and young animals, with an above-average number of cattle, considering that this is an arid region. This is another indication of an elite household. Plant remains indicate the use of sorghum, but also wild plants. The structure was used in two phases, with a rebuilding in between. Radiocarbon dating and the pottery finds date these to the 2nd-4th centuries AD. After what was probably an organised abandonment, there was a period of reuse (squatter occupation). The ceramic material contains some imports from the Meroitic region, but above all it shows the distinct appearance of a Bayuda cultural complex. El Tuweina, as one of the most important sites with permanent architecture, could thus also represent the centre of a politically independent unit that existed on the fringes of the Meroitic state but outside its direct control.
Publications
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Sudantag Berlin, 24.06.2023, Antike Lebensweisen im Sudan / Lifeways in ancient Sudan: El Tuweina – Archaeology and interpretation
Tim Karberg & Jana Eger-Karberg
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„El Tuweina. A settlement site in the central Bayuda.” In: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference for Nubian Studies. Kush XX (2023), 605- 614.
Eger-Karberg, J. & Karberg, T.
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Pottery and small finds from Tuweina: A rare dataset of stratified material remains from the Bayuda 13th International Conference for Meroitic Studies, 9.-13. September 2024, Münster Nowotnick e.a.: El-Tuweina: Evolution and function of a regional centre in the Bayuda
Ulrike Nowotnick, Saskia Büchner & Angelika Lohwasser
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“Toy or token? Cattle-Figurines from El Tuweina / Sudan.” In: Tarasenko, M., Morenz, L., Baines, J. (eds.), “Niemand kann alleine kämpfen / Nobody can struggle alone / Ніхто не може боротися наодинці“. An Egyptological Volume on behalf of Ukraine. Berlin (2024), 205-214.
Lohwasser, A.
