Abandoned Nubian Villages in Upper Egypt – Material Culture Reviewed by Social Anthropological Field Studies Lilli Zabrana Abstract The following paper focuses on Material Culture of abandoned Nubian Villages in Upper Egypt dated to the turn of the last century emphasizing on the question of their significance as unique witnesses and ephemeral memorials to the first historical Nubian exodus caused by the construction of the early British Dam. The special nature of this project constitutes of the close cooperation with the descendents of the village inhabitants and other Nubians still living in the sourroundings of the affected area which is an essential point for the overall success of the project. This case study aims to provide not only contributions to the scientific community in a variety of fields, but encourages also the Nubian community itself by strengthening the perspective on their unique heritage initiated by the scientific interest of outsiders. Introduction At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the first efforts were made to control the irregular river stream of the Nile to improve and modernize agriculture in Egypt. One of these projects was the establishment of a dam at the first cataract near Aswan. The so‐called British or Low Dam was begun in 1898 and was finished in 1902, creating a lake which flooded the Nile Valley for 225 kilometres and raised the water level 20 metres (Ball 1907: 46). The first dam was intended to retain and regulate the flood waters of the Nile which would be released slowly to ensure the availability of irrigation water downstream (Willcocks 1901: 1–4). The dam submerged the fertile river valley upstream and created a seasonal lake. The Nubians (Kenuzi group) living in the affected territories were forced to move further up the valley slopes or to migrate to new locations south or north of Aswan. As a result of two heightenings of the British Dam in the years 1907‐1912 (Reisner 1910; Firth 1912) and 1929‐1934 (Emery–Kirwan 1935; Emery 1938) the water table elevation was raised overall by an additional 34 m., forming a 320 km long seasonal flood lake extension. Frequently settlements were submerged and rebuilt on higher levels as often as three times before the water stopped rising and reached its highest peak after 1934. Despite of the major population shifts which were made necessary by the early inundations, there was no organized programme of emigration and resettlement at that time (Adams 1977: 653). Besides their villages, the Kenuzi Nubians lost the most fertile lands for agriculture as a result of which a change to other sources of income made accessible through migration of the male villagers to cities increased dramatically and can be revealed in the census figures of the 1920is (Fernea 1973: 36; Callender 2010: 112). The proposal for a much larger dam with a permanent lake was first published in 1948 with the commencement of construction in January 1960, seven kilometres upstream from the British Dam. The lake began to fill in 1964 and in the following years flooded the entire Nile valley south of the new dam for a total distance of 500 kilometres with a raised water level of at least fifty metres. Due to the 1
construction of an electric power station at the west end of the old British Dam in 1964, the water level between the High Dam and the old British Dam was lowered again with daily fluctuations of a few metres depending on the needs of the turbines (Winter 1976: 10). The 7 km long region between the British Dam and the High Dam was therefore the only area of the northern Nubian Kenuzi Group which was drastically changed by the floods, but still not as deeply submerged as the regions south of the High Dam, where the Nile valley was wholly filled up in total (Fig. 1). In the course of the High Dam Project, the Egyptian government forced the Nubians to evacuate the entire area and planned their relocation as early as 1956. In 1960 a social survey of Nubia was carried out by the Ministry of Social Affairs, which had largely a statistical character and was focused on the preparations for the resettlement. Overall 100,000 Nubians were affected by the relocation and were moved between October 18, 1963 and June 27, 1964 (Hopkins–Mehanna 2010: 8). Another problem the Egyptian government was much aware of was the obvious threat to valuable cultural heritage sites from the rising water level. Therefore UNESCO was approached on April 6, 1959 to ask for support in saving the monuments of Nubia. The International Campaign to save the monuments of Nubia (1960‐80) was created which resulted in excavations, recording of sites, recovery of objects and relocation of selected monuments to higher ground (UNESCO 1982; Hinkel 1978: 18). Since 1979 the relocated monuments of the International UNESCO Rescue Campaign are inscribed on the World Heritage List under the title ‘The Nubian monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae’ (UNESCO 1979). In the course of the international rescue campaign joined by various international institutions (Adams 1977: 81–88, Tab. V) and ambitious independent researchers (Grauer 1968; Hohenwart‐Gerlachstein 1979; Wenzel 1972), the focus was laid on Pharaonic and Greco‐roman antiquities, while the cultural heritage of the relocated resident population attracted relatively little attention. Conscious of this situation the Social Research Center of the American University in Cairo initiated a survey to record Nubian culture before the relocation, during the transfer process and after resettlement. The Nubian Ethnological Survey (NES) was financed by the Ford Foundation and was carried out in two phases. In the first phase 1961‐1963 the research focused on livelihood, customs and other aspects of Nubian culture before the relocation. The second phase 1963‐1970 dealt with the process of resettlement in Kom Ombo near Aswan and the adjustments required by the Nubian population. The strategies used in the course of the surveys corresponded with the principles of social anthropology of the late 1950s and 1960s concentrating on ethnographic observed descriptions of social organisation within the villages without a pursued synthesis in mind (Hopkins–Mehanna 2010: 12‐16). The documentation of the Nubian Ethnological Survey had to be very selective considering the large size of the affected area and the restricted time and money which was available. Aware of the lack of appreciation of the almost lost Nubian culture, another international campaign led to the establishment of the Nubian Museum in Aswan, which was finally opened in the year 1997 mostly to accomodate the material uncovered in the course of the rescue campaign. As a result of the resettlement in new areas and persistent emigration in the search for work, as well as general tendencies of modernization the traditional Nubian culture is today more and more irretrievably lost. Addressing the issues of Nubian culture must be therefore named a desideratum of research which demonstrates the significance of the hereafter introduced project. 2
Geographical Research Focus of the Project – Significance of the Sample Settlements A current project under the direction of Pamela Rose of the Austrian Archaeological Institute Cairo Branch examines the structure and organisation of the frontier between Egypt and Nubia in the late antique and early medieval period, through the investigation and documentation of the fortresses of Hisn el‐Bab situated on a high plateau at the east bank of the Nile in the area between the High Dam and the old British Dam. In the course of the examination of the close surroundings, attention was drawn to two abandoned Nubian villages in the immediate vicinity of the fortress (Fig. 2). The traditional adobe structures are still in suprisingly good condition mostly preserved up to the roof contruction. A sounding investigation of early, photographic and cartographic material provided evidence that these houses were not built before 1895 and must have been abandoned in the 1930s prior to the flooding caused by the second heightening of the British Dam (Lyons 1896: 119). As soon as the original roads along the Nile river bank were flooded the remaining villages were cut off from the path network and were accesible only over the high plateau of the nearby desert or by boat (Fig. 3). Due to the difficult access, no largescale scavenging or displacement of deposits for reuse or similar occured after the last inhabitants left the settlements in fear of the rising water. A few carvings in the mudplastered walls, stating name and date provide evidence for occasional visits, but otherwise no industrial waste deposits were observed in these villages. These settlements therefore present the rare case of a very short span of use (35‐40 years, less than one generation) in combination with a planned systematic abandonment without later interferences or adaptations by various reclamation or disturbance processes. Research Strategy and Analytical Methods The project idea aims to carry out a cultural‐anthropological case study focusing on these two villages using an interdisciplinary research strategy with a combination of a variety of methods and techniques of different fields of study. The following section is presenting the three different parts of the project as well as referring to their close interconnection. 1. Settlement analysis/ Building Research The focus concerning the architectural documentation is at first the creation of a base of material for further investigation. In a first test campaign in November 2012 the residential units in the villages were determined and documented by GPS (Fig. 4). This structural survey and the resulting plan material of the villages form the basis for subsequent spatial and functional analysis of any kind. As an example of the significant ideas deduced, gained or even just questioned is the visualization of covered and uncovered areas within the residential units, where the covered ones are subdivided into flat roofs and vaulted rooms (Fig. 5). The mapping made the ratio of 2:1 clear, displaying twice as much flat roofed spaces than vaulted ones. The interpretation of this data needs to be intensified, considering the function of the covered rooms as well as the questions that would lead a builder to decide which rooms would have to be vaulted and which not. Matters of tradition, know‐how, money, time and the like might differ from case to case, but could be elucidated by interviews planned in the connected cultural‐ and social anthropological field study within the local surroundings. 3
Besides a structural analysis of the settlement a basic building documentation of selected representative housing units is planned. To apply non‐destructive methods and to minimize the field stay on‐site, 3D‐Data will be produced with a FARO Laser Scan. The 3D‐Data will be processed after the fieldwork to 2D floor plans and sections. The Laser Scan Data will be combined with photogrammetric documentation to ensure a detailed reproduction of reality in the plans. In the second year of fieldwork the produced plans will be corrected and completed in detail on‐site in view of the objects. Furthermore similar abandoned and modern inhabited Nubian villages will be surveyed in neighbourhood areas to identify specifics or similarities concerning the settlement in general, functional or spatial use of certain structures and building techniques in detail. An architectural evaluation of the resulting data will conclude the research. As architectural core issues are the questions determined as to what exactly defines the architecture of Nubian houses and settlements at the beginning of the last century and furthermore to trace the origin of this special combination of unique architectural design and sophisticated mudbrick building technique (Fig. 6). Besides this architectural focus the archaeological context also has to be considered. Mudbrick architecture is transferred into archaeological contexts as soon as no regular use and repair is carried out. Simple weathering combined with aerodynamic processes produce visible archaeological layers in specific areas of the structure. As soon as it is abandoned a mudbrick structure slowly declines and finally collapses. The abandoned Nubian villages near Hisn el‐Bab offer the rare opportunity to study different decay stages and their transformation into archaeological context. 2. Archaeology/ Find Material The archaeological research focuses on the find material visible on the surface. Within the residential units which were selected for a detailed building documentation, the visible find material will be mapped with GIS‐based data entries in the existing GPS plan of the village (Fig. 7). A rough statistical recording will also cover public spaces in and around the villages with the aim of visualizing, for example, areas used to deposit waste. The controlled surface recording and mapping of find material considering distribution, diversity and density in specified areas will form the data base for further hypotheses. The data gathering will be analysed with regard to the question as to what was left in a settlement which was systematically abandoned and why. A central issue is the matter of the extent to which the material assemblages of the abandoned site reflect the occupation conditions. Furthermore it is to be questioned if the location of surface material allows any deduction regarding a functional analysis of the area in which it is found in. Since it is doubtful if the find location can be certainly distinguished as a primary or secondary deposit in any case, the possible conclusions have to be accurately evaluated. Selected find material will be studied in greater depth, leading to important issues of local or imported productions, trade relationships and cultural influences. Frequently trade‐ and corporate brandmarks state the origin of the product, which can be often dated precisely. A large number of porcelain factory stamps prove high quality imports from Great Britain, France, Belgium and Germany dating to the period of 1870‐1900 (Fig. 8). Further questions arise as to where and why the high quality porcelain was purchased and to what extent it would represent an object for decorative purposes, a status symbol or an everyday object. 4
After drawing conclusions through archaeological interpretation, these questions will be cross‐checked in the frame of the cultural‐ and social anthropological part of the project through interviews with the local inhabitants in the immediate vicinity. 3. Cultural‐ and Social Anthropology/Personal Interviews Cultural‐ and social anthropological field studies in the few remaining Nubian settlements in nearby surroundings will complete and cross‐check the study covering questions of traditional oral knowledge. The focus will be firstly on the inhabitants of the investigated villages regarding details related to the abandonment process and their resettlement. A sounding investigation provided information about the whereabouts of the resettled inhabitants. Some of the inhabitants moved into the villages nearby which were not threatened by flooding. The aim of the cultural‐ and anthropological field studies is to track some of these inhabitants still living or their descendants and to consult them with focussed questions about the resettlement process as well as to inquire the meaning of the abandoned villages as present memorials of their traumatic past. Secondly information about daily routine organisation will be gathered through personal interviews with local inhabitants. Besides these primary questions, a main issue of the project is the discussion of questions arising in the course of the architectural examination of the buildings, their inventories and the find material throughout the settlement. The observation of patterns, form, meaning and use of structures and artifacts as well as their institutional setting will be implemented in this study. The overall focus of the cultural‐ and social anthropological research in this project is therefore to answer a compilation of focussed questions and to contrast the given replies with the results of the architectural and archaeological research carried out in the abandoned villages. The targeted aim furthermore is the consideration of oral traditional knowledge in the inference process of the study emphasising on cultural formation processes and their transformation to archaeological records. Summary of Aims and Research Objectives The presented project aims to carry out a cultural‐anthropological case study focusing on two abandoned Nubian villages. A functional and structural analysis of the villages will provide a knowledge base for Nubian settlement architecture which reflects the social framework and interaction of the community within (Fig. 9). Besides a general settlement analysis the architectural study will focus on a detailed building documentation of selected residential units emphasising building technique and decoration systems which are both considered as unique in particular for Nubian house architecture (El‐Hakim 1993). The archaeological documentation of immovable and related movable cultural remains and deposits will be analysed with regard to the questions as to what was left in a settlement which was systematically abandoned and why. A core issue is the crucial question of whether the material assemblages of the abandoned site accurately reflect the occupation conditions. Furthermore cultural‐ and social anthropological field studies in the few still inhabited Nubian settlements in the immediate vicinity will complete and cross‐check the study covering questions of traditional oral knowledge. 5
Through the interdisciplinary research strategy and the combination of a variety of methods, standard interpretations may be reflected upon and questioned. By the mutual correction of recorded interpretations, the evaluation of the diverse data will produce an outstanding documentation, but above all will be a very important contribution to the discussion of cultural formation processes and their transformation into the archaeological record (Schiffer 1996) as well as bringing insights into the debate on context interpretation of material culture. Abandonment and post‐abandonment behaviour and its effect on the formation of archaeological records has rarely been studied and has not yet received enough acknowledgment in archaeological fieldwork (Cameron – Tomka 1993; David –Kramer 2001: 106. 110). In the proposed case study formation processes and the archaeological inferences can be evaluated through research strategies of Archaeology, Building Research and Cultural‐ and Social Anthropology covering the wide range of movable, immovable and intangible cultural heritage. Moreover the documentation of the abandoned Nubian villages in the immediate vicinity of the fortress of Hisn el‐Bab represents a significant addition to the ongoing Project of the Austrian Archaeological Institute considering the investigation of a cultural landscape which includes cultural remains from different periods of history without neglecting historically sensitive periods of contemporary history. The two preserved abandoned villages near the fortress represent unique witnesses to the first historical Nubian exodus caused by the construction of the early British Dam and are therefore valuable ephemeral memorials. Without constant care the durability of the mudbrick architecture is limited wherefore a detailed documentation as soon as possible is required. The project aims to not make any modifications within the site, neither in terms of excavation or cleaning of certain areas, nor in form of collecting find material or such like. Instead of conservation procedures, for this site it is much more likely to pursue a longterm monitoring and observation project focusing on the different decay stages and their transformation into archaeological context. It shall be emphasised that the close cooperation with the descendents of the village inhabitants and other Nubians still living in the sourroundings of the affected area contributes to the special nature of this project and will be essential for meaningful results and the overall success of the project. The scientific interest of outsiders on the Material culture of Nubian settlements probably also strengthens the insiders view on traditional values and their self‐awareness as unique culture. Therefore this project has not only great significance for the scientific community in a variety of fields and method discussions, but last, and perhaps most important to the Nubian community itself, remembering and appreciating the way of living before the traumatic years of resettlement and loss of their homeland. 6
Bibliography: Adams 1977 Ball 1907 W.Y. Adams, Nubia, Corridor to Africa (London 1977) 653 J. Ball, A Description of the First or Aswan Cataract of the Nile (Cairo 1907). Callender 2010 C. Callender, The Kenuz, in: N.S. Hopkins – S.R. Mehanna (Ed.), Nubian Encounters, The Story of the Nubian Ethnological Survey 1961‐1964 (Kairo 2010).
Cameron – Tomka 1993 David – Kramer 2001 El‐Hakim 1993 N.David – C. Kramer, Ethnoarchaeology in Action (Cambridge 2001). O. El‐Hakim, Nubian Architecture, The Egyptian Vernacular Experience (Kairo 1993). Emery 1938 Emery – Kirwan 1935 Firth 1912 Grauer 1968 C.M. Cameron – S.A. Tomka (Eds.), Abandonment of settlements and regions: Ethnoarchaeological & archaeological approaches (Cambridge 1993). W. B. Emery, The Royal Tombs of Ballana and Qustul (Cairo 1938). W. B. Emery – L. Kirwan, The Excavations and Survey between Wadi es‐Sebua and Adindan (Cairo 1935), W. B. Emery, The Royal Tombs of Ballana and Qustul (Cairo 1938). C.M. Firth, The Archaeological Survey of Nubia, Report for 1908‐1909 (Cairo 1912). A. Grauer, Die Architektur und Wandmalerei der Nubier behandelt nach dem ethnographischen Befund vor der Aussiedlung 1963/64 (Freiburg/Breisgau 1968). Hinkel 1978 F.W. Hinkel, Auszug aus Nubien (1978). Hohenwart‐Gerlachstein 1979 A. Hohenwart‐Gerlachstein, Nubienforschungen, Acta Ethnologica et Linguistica 45 (Wien 1979). Hopkins – Mehanna 2010 N.S. Hopkins – S.R. Mehanna (Ed.), Nubian Encounters, The Story of the Nubian Ethnological Survey 1961‐1964 (Kairo 2010) Lyons 1896 H.G. Lyons, A report on the island and temples of Philae (London 1896). Reisner 1910 G.A. Reisner, The Archaeological Survey of Nubia, Report for 1907‐
1908 (Cairo 1910). Schiffer 1996 M.B. Schiffer, Formation Processes of the Archaeological Record (Salt Lake City 1996). 7
UNESCO 1979 UNESCO 1982 Wenzel 1972 Willcocks 1901 Winter 1976 UNESCO Archive, Consideration of Nominations to the World Heritage List, 03COM XII.46; http://whc.unesco.org/archive/1979/cc‐
79‐conf003‐13e.pdf UNESCO (Ed.), Nubia, A triumph of international solidarity (Paris 1982). M. Wenzel, House decoration in Nubia (London 1972). W. Willcocks, The Nile Reservoir Dam at Assuan and after (London 1901). E. Winter, Die Tempel von Philae und das Problem ihrer Rettung, Antike Welt 3, 1976, 10. Fig. 1 Satellite Image of the region between British and High Dam 8
Fig. 2 View from the abandoned Nubian Village Bab to the fortress Hisn el‐Bab on top of the high plateau Fig. 3 Abandoned Village Bab on the East Bank of the Nile 9
Fig. 4 Plan of the Settlement with coloured housing units 10
Fig. 5 Plan of the Settlement with coloured covered and uncovered areas 11
Fig. 6 Specific design and developed building technique of Nubian house architecture Fig. 7 Notable concentration of metal objects within a room 12
Fig. 8 Example of numerous Porcelain factory stamps found within the village, Company located in Sarreguemines, France Fig. 9 View from the fortress Hisn el‐Bab to the abandoned Nubian village 13