The purpose of this project is to make available the full corpus of evidence recovered from the 2001-2007 excavation of three discrete Nubian cemeteries at Hierakonpolis, Egypt in a volume entitled: The Nubian Cemeteries at Hierakonpolis: Exploring cultural identity in Middle Kingdom Egypt, edited by White Levy grant recipient Dr. Renee Friedman.
Site HK27C is a unique example of C-Group Nubian funerary activity over 100km into Egyptian territory dating to the Middle Kingdom and into the Second Intermediate Period (2055-1700BC). While this foreign group may have entered initially in the employ of the local governor in the 11th Dynasty, duringthe latter part of this time period, Egypt built and subsequently lost an empire in Lower Nubia and state ideology vilified its inhabitants. Excavated in 2001, 2003 and 2007, 60 graves were uncovered. All but the most plundered provided clear evidence for the Nubian cultural affiliation of their owners, preserving (among other aspects) the distinctive architectural feature of a tumulus around the burial shaft; the characteristic ritual practice of placing grave goods externally around the superstructure; and the preserved remnants of traditional leather garments, jewellery, hairstyles, and tattoos. The finds show that, at least in death, the inhabitants proudly displayed their cultural links, although Egyptian traits become more evident with time. Recognizable phases of activity in this cemetery, the northernmost long-term occurrence of this culture, allow a diachronic view of its development as its inhabitants negotiated their role within a changing Egyptian society.
The other two cemeteries belong to the Pan Grave culture, presumed to be mercenaries who were brought in to defend Egypt from its southern neighbors during the troubled times of the Second Intermediate Period. Although Pan Grave cemeteries are well attested throughout Upper Egypt, many aspects of this culture are still poorly understood. Limited excavations in 2001 uncovered 6 graves at HK21A and 11 graves at HK47 along with significant quantities of well-preserved material culture. Its study will enhance our knowledge of the funerary practices and life activities of this under-researched group.
Study of these distinct cemeteries, all from the same geographic place, affords an unparalleled opportunity to contrast and compare them and examine the cultural traits they felt necessary and able to express at least in death. Beyond assessing the reasons for their presence (as mercenaries, hunters, entertainers, leather workers?), the study addresses questions regarding their biocultural relationships, identities (both in what they owned and what they did), inequalities based on gender, age, and other socially-constructed attributes, and permits an exploration of the evidence for acculturation/assimilation to and by the dominant Egyptian culture. Overall, the project’s aim is to publish what we have learned about the ‘place’ of these people, both at Hierakonpolis and within the Egyptian state, and to make available full descriptions of the sites, artifacts, and osteological material recovered for other researchers and interested parties.