n° 17 -septembre 2007 ● ARCHÉONIL 133 The Ritual Use of Mortuary Pottery in Ancient Nubia. Some interpretational thoughts on the rituals and symbolism behind the mortuary ceramics of the Ancient Nubian C-Group
Uffe Steffensen, Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies (ToRS), Carsten Niebuhr, Department, University of Copenhagen
This article1 is dedicated to the memory of our dear colleague Francis Geus whose contributions to Nubian Archaeology were significant. With his excavations of archaeological sites at Saï Island, at el-Multaga, and el Kadada (Geus & Lecointe 2003; Geus 1995; 1996), and the publications of the material from these sites, Francis Geus brought our knowledge of the ancient history of Sudan many steps forward. In two articles (‘ Burial Customs in The Upper Nile: An Overview’ and ‘ Funerary Culture’), both published by the British Museum, Geus provided us with a wide chronological overview of the funerary customs in Ancient Nubia and Sudan and offered some interpretative thoughts on the funerary practices of this region (Geus 1991: 2004). In a paper dealing with the distinctions between remains of the rituals and the actual furnishing of the grave during the time of the A-Group Hans-Åke Nordström followed up on Geus’ ideas (Nordström 2006). Dedicated to the Memory of Francis Geus.
1. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Hierakonpolis Expedition and Dr. Renée Friedman who has kindly provided me with pictures and field notes from Cemtery HK27, Hierakonpolis as well as her essential comments on this paper. Furthermore, I am very grateful to Professor Hans-Åke Nordström for his criticism and remarks on this paper and for providing me with the detailed information of A-Group Cemetery SAS-6-G-18. I am deeply grateful to Lecturer Bo Dahl Hermansen, to Lecturer Tine Bagh, to Associated Professor Stephen Lumsden, to Dr. Theol. Joshua Sabih, and to Professor Peder Mortensen whose thorough comments and criticism on my theoretical work were fundamental for this paper. I would like to address my thanks to my friends and fellows at the Carsten Niebuhr Department, Ph. D. Rune Nyord, Monica T. Lauridsen, and MA. Mette Gregersen for their comments on the issue dealt with in this article. I am very thankful to Professor Marla Berns who has kindly provided me with her original photo of Ancestral wiiso-vessels from north-eastern Nigeria. Finally, I would like to thank 3D animator Tom Westermann for his visual editing of the illustration used in this paper.
