Naga is a huge archaeological site, one of the largest in the Sudan. It is situated some 170 km to the north-north-east of Khartoum and some 50 km to the east of the main Nile. It is placed in the strategic centre of an extensive network of wadis of the Butana plateau. The first and – until recently – only extensive recording of this site was made in 1843 by the famous Prussian expedition directed by Richard Lepsius. Since this time it is known that Naga comprises several Meroitic temples (Meroe culture/civilization, 4 century BC – 4 century AD), ruins of apparently an urban agglomeration and several burial grounds. It has been often thought that Naga was one of the most important centres of this first civilization of Black Africa.
As a results of five seasons of excavations so far we know now much more of the site than was recorded by Lepsius. The field-work focuses on the temple of the ram god Amon (01), some 100 metres in length. After approaching the temple by a major ramp from the west the Meroites passed through a first alley of ram statues placed on plinths (02) which were followed by the so-called kiosk, a kind of way-station before the main gateway to the temple. After this the second ram alley leads to the main gate of the temple building. Originally statuettes of the king Natakamani (who founded this temple at the beginning of the 1st century AD together with his wife queen Amanitore) stood between the forelegs of the ram but all of these have been broken off and seemed lost in the past. It was then one of the happiest days for the expedition to discover several such statuettes which had been hidden in different parts of the temple in unknown circumstances. There is no question that they represent some of the finest pieces of Meroitic art (03). In a few cases it was possible to find out to which ram statues they had actually belonged originally as it is demonstrated by Professor Dietrich Wildung (04) and Dr Karla Kroeper (05).
Sensational results occurred during the winter season of 1999. It was decided to explore the area of the sanctuary (naos) of the temple where originally the main statue of the god was kept. To the greatest surprise and delight of the excavators a unique, beautifully carved stone altar was found in the centre of this chamber (09). The decoration of the sides of this altar/base includes iconography and names (written in hieroglyphs) of the king Natakamani and his wife Amanitore, founders of this temple (07). A fifth statue of the king Natakamani (08), also originally a part of a ram statue, was discovered in this chamber and is being shown here by a happy Professor Dietrich Wildung (10). In the same temple, in the large hypostyle room another surprise discovery was made: a commemorative stone stela of the queen Amanishaketo who – it is thought – was ruling the Meroites prior to the royal couple Natakamani-Amanitore. This is really a genuine piece of the best Meroitic art (11, 12); its obverse shows a delicate sunk relief of the queen and a goddess who was a partner of the Meroitic lion god Apademak (13). The reverse and sides of the stela show an extensive text written in as yet undeciphered Meroitic writing (14, 15).
During the earlier stage of the Naga project a programme of clearing the Amon temple and small-scale trial testing of another temple dedicated to the Meroitic lion god Apademak was effected. Outer and inner walls of this impressive and rather mysterious temple are covered with reliefs of gods and Meroitic hieroglyphic texts (fig. 12) referring to the founders – the royal couple Natekamani-Amanitore. In other parts of the Naga site the outlines of more temples and other large scale buildings, possibly palaces, have been recorded on the surface of the ground.
The Naga project comprises also an extensive programme of conservation and restoration of architecture and other relics. This part of the project has focussed so far mainly on the Amon temple. Finally, it should be stressed that after excavating so far mostly prehistoric settlement in the Sudan, due to the participation in the Naga project the Poznan archaeologists have now had the first opportunity to gain experience of excavating a large and complex Meroitic site.
