اعادة احياء جبل موية
من اهم المواقع الاثرية جنوبي الجزيرة. تم تنقيبه بواسطة السير هنري ويلكم في بدايات القرن العشرين ثم تمت به بعض الدراسات المتفرقة التي اضافت القليل من المعلومات حول الموقع. منذ سنوات يقوم مايكل براس طالب الدكتوراة بجامعة كوليج لندن بدراسة متعمقة حول الموقع واعادة احيائه وتأريخه وازالة الغموض الذي اكتنفه. في الصفحة التالية معلومات حول دراسة مايكل براس وبعض المعلومات حول الموقع
Revival of Jebel Moya: visit Michael Brass Page: http://www.antiquityofman.com/index.html
Born in July 1977, educated at South African College Schools, Michael Brass obtained his Bachelor of Arts degrees in Archaeology and History from the University of Cape Town. In 1999, he completed his Bachelor of Social Sciences Honours year in Archaeology which is the first year of postgraduate studies in South Africa. He undertook his MA in Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, where he also completing his Ph.D part-time.
He currently working on the site of Jebel Moya, a major site in south-central Sudan.
Jebel Moya, south-central Sudan
By: Michael Brass
Overall, close on 2800 graves were excavated (2792 according to Frank Addison, 2791 from my determinations; 1 grave record was duplicated by Addison), though more were recorded (2883), making it one of the largest British excavations ever undertaken in North-East Africa. My ongoing doctoral work re-examines the excavation records and materials in order to re-construct the nature of social variability. Although there have been previous attempts to make sense of the Jebel Moya material (see my 2009 article below for further details), Rudolf Gerharz relied entirely on Addison's published registrar of graves and Joel Irish re-examined the teeth of selected individuals. The project is the first to return to the original excavation records in order to reconstruct the occupational and soci0-economic history of the site. There are selected photos of artifacts on DigitalEgypt for anyone interested.
My research would not be possible without the support and assistance of the Institute of Archaeology (University College London), the Wellcome Trust and the Duckowrth Laboratory (University of Cambridge). I am grateful to the Institute of Archaeology and the Wellcome Trust for sponsorship and logistical support, and to the Duckworth Laboratory for access to the archival records and other relevant materials.
Update (09/07/2011): I was honoured to present my latest data and thoughts at the 2011 Dymaczewo Conference in Poznan. The programme of speakers is available on the LPNEA website. The text and ppt downloads are available in pdf. Various photographs from the conference are available for viewing too.
Update (17/06/2011): A new Registrar of Graves has been constructed. Errors have been found in the original Registrar constructed by Addison. While attempts to radiocarnon date some of the skeletal remains have been unsuccessful, funding has been secured to date pottery sherds which will be the first radiometric dates obtained from secure androcentric remains. Re-examination of the artifacts in the British Museum and the Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology (Cambridge) is underway.
Update (25/12/2010): The Duckworth Laboratory kindly gave me access to their database on the human skeletal remains. I have combined the necessary information with the excavation records in the spreadsheet in order to draw up a longlist of suitable candidate samples for AMS dating. The list will be narrowed down in the New Year and an attempt made to obtain the first ever direct dates for the site. The dates will also assist in analysing the spatial and temporal distribution of the graves, completing the GIS work underway using ArcGIS.
Update (17/10/2010): I completed the digitisation of the excavation records at the end of September 2010, cross-correlating the information with Frank Addison's Registrar of Graves. A new, more accurate and expanded Registrar has been produced. There are differences between the new numbers and those given by Addison. I gave a talk to the African Archaeology Research Day 2010 conference yesterday, updating the Africanists on the progress of my research and some preliminary ideas. The text and PowerPoint is available for download below and contain revised figures on the number of graves, individuals, and burial orientations and attitudes.
Update (19/09/2010): There are 2883 graves in total. I have exactly 300 graves left to digitise from the excavation cards and cross-correlate with Frank Addison's original and inadequate Registrar of Graves. The information is being inputted into a spreadsheet suitable for subsequent analysis, including spatial analysis using ArcGIS. I am also in the process of requesting permission for the first ever direct radiometric dating of the remaining skeletal materials housed in the Duckworth Laboratory.
Update (07/04/2010): I've made some good progress. I've finished digitising all the cards which I scanned originally. It means I have reconciled the information on the three different sets of excavation card records and Addison's registrar of graves for a third of all the recorded burials. I have information from 2/3 of the different sets of cards on just over another 300 burials.
Conferences
- October 2010. Jebel Moya: Initial re-investigation into the archaeology of south-central Sudan [text and ppt download]. African Archaeology Research Day, Cambridge
- May 2008. Social organisation at Jebel Moya, south-central Sudan, 5th - 1st millennium BC. Sudanese Archaeological Research Society: British Museum, London
- September 2008. Pastoral social organisation at Jebel Moya, south-central Sudan, 5th - 1st millennium BC. Society of Africanist Archaeologists: Frankfurt, Germany.
- 2009. Towards an archaeology of social organisation at Jebel Moya, 5th – 1st millennium BC. Sudan & Nubia 13: 120-125
- Digital Egypt on Jebel Moya
