Výzkum pravěkého osídlení v pohoří Sabaloka v centrálním Súdánu: poznatky z výzkumné sezóny 2017

Abstract

In the autumn of 2017, the exploration of the late prehistoric occupation on the west bank of the Nile at Jebel Sabaloka came to its fifth season. The fieldwork focused on the site of Fox Hill (SBK.W-20), last explored in 2012. Four trenches (no. 21–24) measuring 24 m2 in total (fig. 3) were excavated, all on Terrace 3 of the site (fig. 2). The most significant findings of the field campaign include the following: (1) A large late prehistoric burial ground was uncovered on Terrace 3. Based on the hitherto finds of intact (14 individuals) and disturbed burials and their distribution in Trenches 21 and 22 only, the burial ground appears to have been confined roughly to the southern third of Terrace 3 and to have contained at least several dozen deceased (figs. 4a, 5, 6). The use of shells of Nile bivalves as burial goods was attested (B.5, B.6; figs. 7 and 8); other items serving this function were not detected. Of interest is the presence of stone piles, in some cases carefully built, which covered burials particularly in the eastern part of Trench 22 (fig. 5). Before carrying out AMS 14C analyses, a Late Mesolithic dating can be tentatively put forward for (at least part of) this burial ground based on similarities to the burial ground at the site of Sphinx (e.g. Varadzinová – Varadzin 2017). (2) Terrace 3 had been used for settlement as well, both during the Mesolithic and the Neolithic. Several settlement features were uncovered, of which at least two had shapes reminiscent of those characteristic of storage pits (F.54, F.57 – not dated more precisely so far; fig. 4a). Also, a stratification of settlement layers was detected (fig. 4b). (3) Of utmost significance is the discovery of fragments of what appears to be a stratified sequence of layers of Pleistocene dating (!) (fig. 9). They contained numerous assemblages of lithics with an unusually high representation of vein quartz, tiny cores ca. 1 cm in size used for production of microbladelets possibly by indirect percussion, and other pieces of lithics exhibiting advanced patination. The material has tentatively been assigned to the Late Stone Age. (4) The first of its kind was also a workshop for the production of Neolithic gouges on red rhyolite (fig. 1, 2, 11), detected in the western part of Fox Hill, with finds of raw material, primary shaping waste, finalisation waste, and unfinished as well as finished artefacts. The exploration of the site will continue in 2018.