Coordinates: 19°36′2.89″N 30°24′35.

03″E

Kerma
Kerma (also known as Dukki Gel) was the capital city of the Kerma Culture,
Kerma
which was located in present-day Sudan at least 5500 years ago.[1][2] Kerma is
one of the largest archaeological sites in ancient Nubia. It has produced decades
of extensive excavations and research, including thousands of graves and tombs
and the residential quarters of the main city surrounding the Western/Lower
Deffufa.

Around 3000 BC, a cultural tradition began around Kerma. It was a large urban
center that was built around a large adobe temple known as the Western
Deffufa.[1]
Kerma ancient city
As a capital city and location of royal burials, it sheds light on the complex
social structure present in this society.

Contents
Settlement periods
Kerma and its artifacts
Kerma's cemetery and royal tombs
Archaeology
Early 20th century
Late 20th century to present Shown within Sudan
Bioarchaeology Location Sudan
See also Region Nubia
References Coordinates 19°36′2.89″N
External links 30°24′35.03″E
Type Settlement
Site notes
Settlement periods
Condition In ruins
Pre-Kerma (c. 3500–2500 BC) NoC-Group culture Phase
Early Kerma (c. 2500–2050 BC) C-Group Phase Ia–Ib
Middle Kerma (c. 2050–1750 BC) C-Group Phase Ib–IIa
Classic Kerma (c. 1750–1580 BC) C-Group Phase IIb–III
Final Kerma (c. 1580–1500 BC) C-Group Phase IIb–III
[3][4]
Late Kerma – ‘New Kingdom’ (c.1500–1100? BC) ‘New Kingdom’

Kerma and its artifacts

By 1700 BC, Kerma was host to a population of at least 10,000 people.[5] Different to those of ancient Egypt in theme and
composition, Kerma's artefacts are characterized by extensive amounts of blue faience, which the Kermans developed techniques to
work with independently of Egypt,[6] and by their work with glazed quartzite and architectural inlays.
[7][8]

Kerma's cemetery and royal tombs

Kerma contains a cemetery with over 30,000 graves. The cemetery shows a general
pattern of larger graves ringed by smaller ones, suggesting social stratification. The
site includes at its southern boundary burial mounds, with four extending upwards of
90 metres (300 feet) in diameter. These are believed to be the graves of the city's
final kings, some of which contain motifs and artwork reflecting Egyptian deities
such as Horus. Generally, influence from Egypt may be observed in numerous
burials, especially with regards to material evidence such as pottery and grave
goods. For example, Second Intermediate Egyptian ceramics from Avaris, such as
Tell el-Yahudiyeh Ware, have been discovered within Kerma burials.[9] In addition,
Statues of pharaohs of the Nubian
artifacts such as scarab seals and amulets are prolific, indicating extensive trade with
Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt
ancient Egypt as well as an exchange of cultural ideas.[9] After the sacking of discovered near Kerma.
Kerma, the cemetery was used to host the kings of the 25th or "Napatan" dynasty of
the Kingdom of Kush from Upper (Southern) Nubia.

Archaeology

Early 20th century

Early archaeology at Kerma started with an Egyptian and Sudanese survey made by George A. Reisner, an American with joint
appointments at Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Reisner later led these two institutions, the so-called
"Harvard-Boston" expedition during three field seasons at Kerma (1913-1916). He worked in Egypt and Sudan for 25 years, 1907-
1932.[10]

As one of the earliest sites to be excavated in this region, Kerma and Reisner’s
contributions to the region’s archaeology are fundamental. A basic chronology of
Kerman culture was established based on the work of Reisner’s Harvard-Boston
expedition (1913-1916); this provided the scaffolding for all other findings in the
region. Reisner’s precise excavation techniques, site reports, and other publications
made later reinterpretation of his results possible.

The Lower/Western Deffufa (a massive tomb structure) was found closer to the
river; the Upper/Eastern Deffufa is a few kilometers away from the river in a
cemetery. Most burials were slightly flexed, lying on their sides. Reisner saw many Illustration from "Excavations at
links to ancient Egyptian culture through architectural techniques and the Kerma" by George A. Reisner,
printed in 1923.
dimensions of the base of the Lower/Western Deffufa (52.3 m × 26.7 m, or 150 ×
100 Egyptian cubits).[10] He assumed it was a fort. He did not conduct further
excavations of the settlement suspected to surround the Lower Def
fuffa.

The Upper/Eastern Deffufa was located amidst thousands of low, round graves, with
clear stylistic differences between the northern, middle, and southern parts of the
cemetery. The most elaborate tombs were found in the southern part of the cemetery.
Reisner assumed that the large, quadrangular deffufa structures were funerary
chapels associated with the largest mound graves, not tombs themselves.[11] He
interpreted these based on his knowledge ofancient Egyptian funerary practices, and
since many of the grave goods found were Egyptian, he had no reason to think The Western Deffufa
otherwise.

George A. Reisner fit this archaeology into his understanding of ancient life along the Nile, assuming that Kerma was a satellite city
of the ancient Egyptians. It was not until the late twentieth century that excavations by Charles Bonnet and the University of Geneva
confirmed that this was not the case. They instead uncovered a vast independent urban complex that ruled most of the Third Cataract
for centuries.

Late 20th century to present

For decades after Reisner’s excavations, his dismissal of the site as an Egyptian satellite fortified city was accepted. “The patient and
diligent work of Bonnet and his colleagues unearthed the foundations of numerous houses, workshops, and palaces, proving that as
early as 2000 BC Kerma was a large urban center, presumably the capital city and a burial ground of the kings of Kush”.[12] From
1977 to 2003, Bonnet and an international team of scholars excavated at Kerma.

Bonnet’s Swiss team has excavated the following types of sites at Kerma: ancient town, princely tomb, temple,
residential/administrative buildings, Napatan buildlings, Napatan potter
’s workshop, Meroitic cemeteries, fortifications, and Neolithic
grain pits and huts. Among many other unique finds, Bonnet uncovered a bronze forge in the Kerma main city. “It is within the walls
of the religious center that a bronze workshop was built. The workshop consisted of multiple forges and the artisans’ techniques
[13]
appear to have been quite elaborate. There is no comparable discovery in Egypt or in Sudan to help us interpret these remains”

In 2003, black granite statues of pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt were discovered near Kerma by Charles Bonnet and
his archaeological team.[14][15][16]

Bioarchaeology
Mortuary practice in Kerma varied over time, and this is visible in the archaeological record. The large cemetery, around the
Upper/Eastern Deffufa is arranged with older graves in the north and more recent (and complex) graves and tombs in the southern
part. “In the Early Kerma period, 2500-2050 BC, burials are marked by a low, circular superstructure of slabs of black sandstone,
stuck into the ground in concentric circles. White quartz pebbles reinforce the structure”.[17] Smaller burials are found surrounding
the larger tombs of important individuals. Tombs progress from simple mounds to Egyptian-inspired pyramid complexes. This
transition does not begin until long after pyramids are out of fashion in Egypt.

Bonnet notes that sacrificial victims appear and become increasingly common in the Middle Kerma period. Because burial chambers
can be easily entered, I would question the likelihood of the sacrifice of a wife and/or child when a man dies, without any
ethnohistorical evidence to support this in this culture. In fact Buzon and Judd[18] question this assumption by analyzing traumata
and indicators of skeletal stress in these “sacrificial victims.”

Most remains are found in a lightly contracted or contracted position on their sides. Because of the arid desert climate, natural
mummification is very common. Without the normal processes of decomposition to skeletonize the body, soft tissues, hairs, and
organic grave goods are still often found (e.g., textiles, feathers, leather, fingernails). Grave goods include faience beads, cattle skulls,
and pottery. Skeletal collections, like other archaeological evidence, continue to be re-examined and re-interpreted as new research
questions arise. Two recent studies highlight the kinds of questions that bioarchaeologists are asking of the skeletal material
excavated from Kerma.

Kendall[10] suggests that large tombs in the Upper Deffufa contained the bodies of dozens or hundreds of sacrificed victims. A later
bioarchaeological examination of “sacrificed” individuals from these contexts[18] showed no significant differences between the
skeletal stress markers of sacrificed versus non-sacrificed individuals. They drew samples from the “sacrificial corridors” and
interments outside of the large tumuli corridors. Accompanying individuals in the tumuli at Kerma are interpreted as wives sacrificed
upon the death of the husband, but the bioarchaeological evidence does not support this archaeological conclusion. A prior study
noted no difference in the frequency of traumaticinjury.

Traumatic injury is viewed through the lens of modern traumatic injury patterns. “Many aspects of the Kerma injury pattern were
comparable to clinical [modern] observations: males experienced a higher frequency of trauma, the middle-aged group exhibited the
most trauma, the oldest age cohort revealed the least amount of accumulated injuries, a small group experienced multiple trauma and
fractures occurred more frequently than dislocations or muscle pulls”. Parry fractures (often occur when an individual is fending off a
blow from an attacker) are common. These do not necessarily result from assault, however, and Judd does acknowledge this. She
does not use the same parsing strategy when considering Colles' fractures (of the wrist, usually occur when falling onto one’s hands)
[19]
may result from being pushed from a height rather than interpersonal violence, and this is not acknowledged.

See also
African empires
Nubian architecture
Jebel Barkal

References
1. Emberling, Geoff (2011). Nubia: Ancient Kingdoms of Africa. New York: Institute for the Study of the Ancient World.
p. 8. ISBN 978-0-615-48102-9.
2. Bonnet, Charles (2003).The Nubian Pharaohs. New York: The American University in Cairo Press. pp. 16–26.
ISBN 978-977-416-010-3.
3. Edwards, David N. (2004).The Nubian Past: An Archaeology of the Sudan(https://books.google.com/books?id=3z-y
DRgxn5MC). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-20087-0.
4. Bonnet, Charles (2007).Les fouilles archéologiques de Kerma (Soudan): rapport préliminaire sur les campagnes de
2005-2006 et 2006-2007(https://books.google.com/books?id=WmnW oQEACAAJ). Musée d'art et d'histoire. pp. 1–
53. ISBN 978-2-915306-27-9.
5. "The Story of Africa" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/3chapter4.shtml).
www.bbc.co.uk. BBC World Service.
6. Julian Henderson, The Science & Archaeology of Materials, London: ROutledge 200: 54)
7. W SS, 'Glazed Faience Tiles found at Kerma in the Sudan,' Museum of the Fine Arts, V
ol.LX:322, Boston 1962, p.
136
8. Peter Lacovara, 'Nubian Faience', in ed. Florence D Friendman, Gifts of the Nile - Ancient Egyptian Faience,
London: Thames & Hudson, 1998, 46-49)
9. De Mola, Paul J. "Interrelations of Kerma and Pharaonic Egypt"(http://www.ancient.eu/article/487/). Ancient History
Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
10. Kendall, T (1996). Kerma and the Kingdom of Kush, 2500-1500 BC: the archaeological discovery of an ancient
Nubian empire. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. p. 126.
ISBN 0965600106.
11. Reisner, G. A. (1923). Excavations at Kerma,Parts 1-3. Harvard African Studies(Vol. 5). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press.
12. Grzymski, K. (2008). Book review: The Nubian pharaohs: Black kings on the Nile. American Journal of Archaeology,
Online Publications: Book Review. Retrieved from "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20141105144009/htt
p://www.ajaonline.org/sites/default/files/04_Grzymski.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original (http://www.ajaonline.org/
sites/default/files/04_Grzymski.pdf)(PDF) on 2014-11-05. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
13. Eisa, K. A. (1999). Le mobilier et les coutumes funéraires koushites a l’époque méroïtique. Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz., translation by SenseOfHumerus.
14. Bonnet, Charles (2006).The Nubian Pharaohs. New York: The American University in Cairo Press. pp. 74–100.
ISBN 978-977-416-010-3.
15. Digging into Africa's past(http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/870/heritage.htm)
16. Bonnet, C., & Valbelle, D. (2006). The Nubianpharaohs : Black kings on the Nile. Cairo; New Y
ork: American
University in Cairo Press.
17. Bonnet, C.(1992). Excavations at the Nubian royal town of Kerma: 1975–91. Antiquity
, 66(252), 611–625.
18. Buzon, M. R., & Judd, M. A. (2008). Investigating health at Kerma: Sacrificial versus nonsacrificial individuals.
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 136(1), 93–99.
19. Judd, M. (2004). Trauma in the city of Kerma: ancient versus modern injury patterns.International Journal of
Osteoarchaeology, 14(1), 34–51. doi:10.1002/oa.711
External links
Kerma website Official website of the Swiss archeological mission to Sudan (Mission archéologique suisse au
Soudan)
Kerma Culture A museum gallery at theUniversity of Chicago Oriental Institute

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