Abstrakt:

Dr Mohamed Osman is a co-director of the Sudanese Archaeological Mission at Jebel Barkal and an assistant at IMOC PAS.

During the talk, some of the recent discoveries of the Sudanese Archaeological Mission of the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums at Jebel Barkal will be presented. Jebel Barkal is one of the most important archaeological sites in Sudan. Since the 1920s, the archaeological work done there unearthed many temple complexes, which date back to the middle of the 18th dynasty and continue through the Kushite and Meroitic periods. The site of Jebel Barkal, the southernmost residence of the god Amun, was an important cult centre for the Egyptians throughout the time of their domination over Kush. The ancient Kushites were significantly influenced by Egyptian religious beliefs and integrated them into their religion, for instance, a concept of divine kingship. In Egypt, the structures called "Birth Houses" or Mammisi were strictly associated with this concept and were either a part of the temple or were separate buildings that belonged to the temple complex. The walls of these relatively small structures were usually decorated with scenes of the divine birth of the king and the associated mythology which was deeply connected to the cult of Isis and Horus. Examples of such Mammisi scenes can be found in Deir el-Bahari, Edfu, Philea, and Dendereh. 

In 2014, a Meroitic period Kiosk was discovered at the northern side of the main axis of the Amun Temple at Jebel Barkal. This sandstone structure dating back to the 2nd century AD was expected to be connected with a bigger structure. Indeed, during the 2014-2015 season, the team of the Sudanese Archaeological Mission at Jebel Barkal uncovered a significant structure in the temple area, directly behind the Kiosk. The archaeological work was concentrated at what was identified later as the Mammisi temple of Jebel Barkal.