Between the Nile and the Ocean. The bead assemblage from Shenshef in the Eastern Desert...
EGYPT
Between the Nile and the Ocean
The bead assemblage from Shenshef in
the Eastern Desert (4th–6th centuries AD)
Joanna Then-Obłuska
Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw
Abstract: More than 200 beads and pendants were found in seven trash middens excavated at the
4th/5th to the 6th century AD settlement site in Shenshef in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. The site
lies close to the Sudanese border and the Red Sea coast, and about 20 km to the southwest of the
ancient port of Berenike. Although the purpose of the settlement has not been established, excavations provided a wide range of imports from the Mediterranean region and the Indian Ocean.
An overview of the materials and manufacturing techniques applied in the production of the beads
and pendants confirms the short- and long-distance contacts of Shenshef inhabitants. In addition to
the many bead parallels that link the site with the Red Sea ports and the Nile Valley region up to the
First Cataract, the presence of South Indian/Sri Lankan beads at Shenshef is especially meaningful.
They may be proof of the intermediary role played by the Shenshef inhabitants in trading overseas
imports into the Nubian Nile Valley region.
Keywords: beads, pendants, material culture, Indian trade, Red Sea, Eastern Desert, Egypt, Nubia
During the 1997 season the Berenike Project American–Dutch team excavated a few
trenches in the Eastern Desert settlement
at Wadi Shenshef. This settlement, also
known as Hitan Shenshef, is situated in the
extreme southeast of Egypt, 12 km west of
the Red Sea and 21.3 km south-southwest
of the site of Berenike (Gould 1999: 371).
The site comprises approximately 300 structures of various sizes and functions, and at
least 500 tumulus tombs. The settlement
stretches for about 800 m east–west by
almost 300 m north–south (Gould 1999;
Aldsworth 1999; Sidebotham, Hense,
and Nouwens 2008: 360; Sidebotham
2011: 275–276). The purpose of this large
and well-built settlement has yet to be
established.
Excavation of seven trenches, BE97Sch.1 to BE97-Sch.7, in the 4th/5th to
6th century AD refuse middens near the
houses has demonstrated close contacts
between Shenshef, Berenike and many
distant lands. Walnuts, olives, almonds,
and umbrella pine were imported from
the Mediterranean; amphoras came from
the Eastern Mediterranean, mainly Cyprus
and Cilicia (Tomber 1998: 170–179);
black pepper, sorghum, and teak stemmed
from South Asia; a sapphire from Sri
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Lanka was also found. Interestingly, faunal
remains indi-cated a population dependent on herding goats and sheep, but the
Red Sea fish were poorly represented
(Cappers 1999; Van Neer and Ervynck
1999; Sidebotham, Hense, and Nouwens
2008: 363; Sidebotham 2011: 276 and
references therein). What is more, quantities of so-called Eastern Desert Ware
have also been recovered at Shenshef. This
pottery has been associated with a population living in the Eastern Desert. It was
also found at the Red Sea ports (e.g., Barnard 2005–2006; 2008) and Nubian sites,
and is usually ascribed to the Blemmyes
(e.g., Ricke 1967; Strouhal 1984; Barnard
and Magid 2006), a population known
from textual sources (e.g., Dijkstra 2012;
Obłuski 2014).
An important collection of 200 beads,
pendants and their fragments was excavated at the Shenshef settlement and is
presently kept in the Supreme Council of
Antiquities (SCA) storage room at Quft.
While perforated mollusk shells of Red
Sea origin have been described in detail
(Van Neer and Ervynck 1999: Table 24-2,
Pl. 24-3), the pre-sence of beads and pendants made of other materials, including
glass beads from Sri Lanka, was mentioned
only briefly in the excavation reports
(Gould 1999: 375; Francis 2000).
This paper aims at illustrating and
expanding the typology of ancient beads
found around the Indian Ocean between
the 4th and the 6th century AD. This
was the time when the Meroitic Kushite
kingdom in Nubia fell and new kingdoms
emerged: Nobadia in Lower Nubia and
Early Makuria in Upper Nubia. Many bead
types from Shenshef find parallels at contemporary late Roman Red Sea port sites
and post-Meroitic Nubian ones. Therefore, the paper suggests that the Shenshef
dwellers were potential middlemen who
may have traded overseas items between
the Red Sea coast and the inland sites of
Northeast Africa.
OVERVIEW OF BEAD MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES
Beads and pendants found at Shenshef
were made of organic (wood, bone,
mollusk shells, ostrich eggshell), inorganic
(carnelian), and man-made materials
(faience, glass), and in this order they
are described below. While glass objects
(n=180) dominated the assemblage, the
remaining materials were found in meager
quantities (n=20).
repertoires of Egypt and Nubia. Still, the
most significant examples come from
the Lower Nubian burial assemblages
at Wadi Qitna, Kalabsha, and the royal
cemetery at Ballaña, and they have been
tentatively associated with the Eastern
Desert population (Then-Obłuska 2016a;
in press b and references).
MOLLUSK SHELL
A group of faunal remains registered from
the Shenshef settlement included 25 perforated mollusk shells (Van Neer and
Ervynck 1999: Table 24-2, Pl. 24-3). The
published photo shows them to be per-
WOOD
One large oblate bead is made of wood
and measures 7.3 mm in diameter and
8.3 mm in length [Fig. 6:3]. Wooden
beads are rarely recognized in the bead
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forated in two ways, either by removing
the shell apex or by making a hole in the
shell body. The shells belong to the
following species: Conus tessulatus (n=8),
Conus sp. (n=3), Dentalium reevei (n=1),
Engina mendicaria (n=2), Mitridae (n=1),
Natica gualteriana (n=1), Nerita albicilla
(n=8), Pyrene testudinaria (n=1) (Van Neer
and Ervynck 1999: Table 24-2, Pl. 24-3).
The mollusk shell objects illustrated here
are a shell of Conus sp. with the apex cut
or ground down and perforated [Fig. 5:5],
and a fragment of Dentalium reevei
[Fig. 6:11]. Mollusk shells of unidentified
species worked into beads were found
as well [Figs 7:20; 9:18].
A similar abundance of perforated Red
Sea mollusk shell species can be observed
at the late 4th to 6th century AD port of
Berenike (Then-Obłuska 2015: Fig. 1).
They are also recorded from post-Meroitic
sites in Lower Nubia (Then-Obłuska in
press b: Fig. 2).
STONE
A few stone beads were found in the Shenshef
assemblage. They were perforated from both
ends. These are a small carnelian bead that
was slightly faceted into a hexagonal bicone
and well polished [Fig. 8:6], and a fragment
of an oblate [Fig. 2:3]. Specimens faceted
similarly to the former are known from
late 4th to 6th century Berenike contexts
(Then-Obłuska 2015: Fig. 3:9,10; 2017a:
Fig. 7:8,9; 2017b: Fig. 2:70).
FAIENCE
Even though faience beads almost disappeared from Egypt in the late Roman
period, they were still to be found in
Nubia. Two small faience beads are blue[Fig. 8:11] or yellow-glazed [Fig. 1:15].
A long tubular bead has a very porous
core and partly washed glaze [Fig. 7:23].
It belongs to one of the most common
bead types found in Nubia between the
Fourth and Sixth Cataracts and dated
from the late Meroitic to the post-Meroitic
periods (e.g., Then-Obłuska 2014: Pl. 2;
2016b: Fig. 1).
One green-glazed faience amulet is
a schematic representation of Bes
[Fig. 10:6]. Its appearance in the late
Roman trash at Shenshef is not a surprise.
Napatan- and Meroitic/Roman-dated Bes
amulets have been found reused at late
Roman sites in Egypt and at post-Meroitic
ones in Nubia (Then-Obłuska 2017b and
references).
OSTRICH EGGSHELL
A few ostrich eggshell beads come from
Shenshef [Figs 1:17–19; 2:5, 4:7; 5:4;
8:9; 9:2]. They are cylinder disks and
short cylinders. A few specimens were
also recognized from the Red Sea ports of
Berenike and Marsa Nakari (Then-Obłuska
2015; in press a). Ostrich eggshell beads
are one of the most common materials
used in bead production at Nubian Nile
Valley burial sites of the post-Meroitic
period (e.g., Then-Obłuska 2014: Fig. Pl.3;
2016a: 41).
GLASS
Glass material dominates the bead and
pendant assemblage at Shenshef (n=180).
Glass bead bodies were made using a variety
of techniques (drawing, winding, coiling,
folding, or rod-piercing). Many beads are
monochrome or additionally decorated
BONE
A preserved half of a large globular bead is
most probably made of bone [Fig. 2:16].
The bead was partly perforated and split,
apparently during the drilling process.
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with trails or stripes while others are made
of mosaic glass or metal-in-glass.
Two beads with deeply applied white
trails were most probably made of wound
glass [Figs 7:18; 9:11].
MANDREL-WOUND GLASS BEADS
Single- and multiple-coiled blue ring
beads are rather large in size, measuring
6 mm to almost 9 mm in diameter
[Figs 2:15; 5:9]. Similar beads are present
at the Blemmyan sites of Wadi Qitna, in
the 4th century AD cemeteries (Then-Obłuska 2016a: Fig. 6: P3039) and Bab
Kalabsha (OIM E420351), as well as at
the late Roman Red Sea ports of Berenike
(Then-Obłuska 2015: Fig. 5:7,9) and
Marsa Nakari (Then-Obłuska in press a:
Fig. 3.8).
Other coiled beads are a translucent
purple in color [Fig. 6:4,10] and similar
specimens can be observed in the bead
assemblage of the late Red Sea port of
Marsa Nakari (Then-Obłuska in press a:
Fig. 3.5–6).
Some beads were granular and most
probably shaped in molds [Figs 6:7;
8:2,13]. While in the Meroitic period
granular beads were usually made of
faience (Then-Obłuska 2016c: 699, Fig.
4:7), the post-Meroitic specimens were
made of glass (OIM E19950 Qustul, blue
glass; SJE25/47:42 Serra East; SJE332/9:1
Ashkeit; 333/31:2 Faras).
One black bead body was decorated
with a central white trail [Fig. 9:19], whereas
a large fragment of what is most probably
a mandrel-wound bead is characterized by
a black body decorated with a green wavy
trail [Fig. 1:3].
1
2
3
ROD-PIERCED GLASS BEADS
A large teardrop-shaped pendant in
opaque red may have had a rod-pierced
perforation that is now broken [Fig. 4:5].
While glass and stone teardrop pendants
are well known from Meroitic assemblages
(e.g., Then-Obłuska 2016c), this large
roughly shaped specimen belongs to a redglass type known from other post-Meroitic
sites (e.g., MAN 1980/95/5723 Nag
el-Arab; OIM E20209J Qustul, Q 84-4).
A few beads made of rod-pierced
mosaic cane sections with so-called flower
motifs were recorded. A pattern with
radial “petals” in yellow and green emanating from a yellow center within a red
ring was shaped into two globular beads
[Fig. 6:5,6]. A fragment of a conical bead
was made most probably with similar
mosaic glass [Fig. 4:4]. A similar pattern,
but in tabular shape, was found at the
post-Meroitic Lower Nubian sites of
Wadi Qitna (Then-Obłuska 2016a: Fig. 3:
P3027d), Qustul (Williams 1991b: 143
and 300c; about AD 370/380–410), Serra
East (Then-Obłuska in press b: Fig. 7), and
Ballaña (Williams 1991a: 235, Fig. 48h).
In the latter instance, although published
as Meroitic, the beads relate to the postMeroitic reuse of the grave (Williams
1991b: 401). Egyptian parallels include
specimens from the late Roman sites at
Bagawat in Kharga Oasis (Metropolitan
Oriental Institute Museum University of Chicago (OIM), personal observation.
Scandinavian Joint Expedition (SJE) assemblage, stored in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger,
personal observation.
Museo Arqueológico Nacional (MAN), Madrid, personal observation.
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Museum of Art, Accession No. 31.8.6,
4th–7th centuries AD), Gurob in the
Fayum (Petrie Museum, UC58113, late
Roman), and the port of Berenike (Then-Obłuska 2015: Fig. 5:37, 4th to 6th centuries AD). Similar yellow and green
beads, with red centers, come from the late
Meroitic contexts at Karanog in Nubia
(Woolley and Randall-MacIver 1910:
Pl. 40:7906). The Shenshef assemblage
provides similar examples of the mosaic
motif, but with blue, instead of green
“petals” [Fig. 2:6].
A mosaic-cane section with purple
and white radial stripes atop a red-onyellow layer was rod-pierced and shaped
into a tabular bead [Fig. 5:11]. A similar
motif but with red-on-white centers can
be observed in a tabular bead from late
Berenike (Then-Obłuska 2015: Fig. 5:38)
and a globular one from Wadi Qitna
(Then-Obłuska 2016a: Fig. 7: P3044b).
Pear-shaped ‘date beads’ are characterized by a green or striped body with
a yellow stripe added at the larger end.
These beads, either with a green body
and yellow stripe [Figs 5:1; 8:18] or
with a striped yellow and purple body
with a yellow stripe [Fig. 6:1], were
found at Shenshef. Made with a variety
of techniques, these ‘date beads’ were
common finds in Egypt and Nubia, but
they seldom occurred elsewhere (e.g.,
Lankton 2003: 58; Then-Obłuska 2015,
Berenike; Kucharczyk 2011: 66, Fig. 8:9,
folded ‘date bead’ from Alexandria, layer
dated to the 2nd–3rd century AD; Francis
2002b: 15, Fig. 1; Arveiller-Dulong and
Nenna 2011: 176; Spaer 2001: 102, 111–
112, Cat. 160a–c, 161, early 2nd century AD; Winter 2013: 19, Fig. 3:2 for late
Roman and Byzantine period examples).
A biconical bead is made of yellow
and green striped mosaic glass [Fig. 8:4].
Bicone striped beads, also in other colors,
were very common in Roman Egypt
(Arveiller-Dulong and Nenna 2011: 176).
A white-banded red bead is made of
a mosaic strip most probably rod-pierced
and folded around a rod [Fig. 9:17],
resulting in a seam that is discernible next
to the larger perforation (Then-Obłuska
2015: Fig. 5:33, late Berenike).
MANDREL-FORMED
GLASS BEADS
A fragment of a long cylinder bead was
made by folding a banded mosaic strip
consisting of a blue central band bordered
at both ends by red, white, and yellow
[Fig. 2:12]. Another long bead seems to
be made of double-folded mosaic cane
sections [Fig. 5:10]. The banded mosaic
pattern is white-blue-white on a red background.
A large conical, slightly faceted bead
was made of mosaic glass in black and
white [Fig. 3:1]. No parallel has yet been
found. Two long dark blue beads were
slightly faceted [Figs 3:9; 9:16].
DRAWN AND SEGMENTED
GLASS BEADS
The beads from Shenshef also included
drawn glass tubes that were most probably
segmented in molds and broken up into
single-segment and double-segment
beads (n=46). Such molds were found
in Alexandria in both early Roman and
late Roman/early Byzantine contexts
(Kucharczyk 2011; Rodziewicz 1984).
Colors of the segmented beads include
a monochrome opaque red (n=3), translucent dark blue (n=22), translucent
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dominate this type, but yellow (n=8),
orange (n=7), red (n=6), white (n=2),
and black (n=1) are also present in smaller
quantities. Additionally, one black bead
is decorated with stripes in white and red
[Fig. 1:14].
Drawn and rounded beads in similar
colors have been associated with a Sri
Lankan origin (Francis 2000; 2002a).
Monochrome drawn and rounded beads
were macroscopically analyzed at the
Red Sea ports of Quseir, Berenike, and
Marsa Nakari and found to stem from
a Sri Lankan location (Francis 2000; Then-Obłuska 2015: Fig. 4:31–41; in press a).
Furthermore, South Indian or Sri Lankan
provenance for one yellow bead from
Quseir has been confirmed by laboratory
analysis (Then-Obłuska and Dussubieux
2016). Interestingly, drawn and rounded
beads appear at many post-Meroitic
Nile Valley sites (Then-Obłuska 2016a;
2016b; 2016d; in press b), and a study
of the chemical composition of the
specimens found in Lower Nubia has
also indicated their South Indian/Sri
Lankan provenance (Then-Obłuska and
Wagner 2017).
and opaque green and turquoise (n=15),
opaque yellow (n=2), white (n=1),
translucent purple (n=1), and black (n=2)
[Figs 1:1,16,20; 2:1,2,10,11,14; 3:8;
4:1,8,9,12,13,16–25,26–29; 5:7,12,15;
6:2,9; 7:1,2,5,16,17; 8:8,10,15; 9:7,13,15;
10:3,4]. Monochrome segmented beads
in green, blue and red are the most common glass objects at post-Meroitic Nubian
sites (Then-Obłuska in press b).
One bead is made of two glass layers
with gold foil in between [Fig. 5:2]. Four
single-segment drawn glass beads are made
of two transparent glass layers with or
without silver foil between them [Figs 4:3;
7:19,22; 9:8].
DRAWN AND ROUNDED
GLASS BEADS
Drawn glass tubes could be cut into
sections and then heat-rounded in some
container. These types are associated
with the Indo-Pacific bead tradition
(Francis 2002a). Drawn and rounded
beads comprise one-third of the Shenshef
assemblage
(n=69)
[Figs 1:2,4–
12,13?,21–29; 2:7–9,13; 3:4,5,10–
16;
4:6,10,11,14,15,30–33;
5:6,8;
7:3,4,10–13;
8:3,5,7,14,16,17,19–21;
9:3,6,10,12,14,20–24; 10:1,2]. They measure from 1.5 to 7.0 mm in diameter. Green
(n=29) and blue-green (n=15) beads
MODERN BEADS
Two beads in opaque red [Fig. 3:3] and light
blue [Fig. 5:14] are modern intrusions.
Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 1, recorded by locus and PB number
1–3
4–14
15
16
17–19
20–29
–
–
–
–
–
–
BE97-SH.01/002/PB002
BE97-SH.01/004/PB004
BE97-SH.01/004/PB004
BE97-SH.01/004/PB004
BE97-SH.01/004/PB004
BE97-SH.01/005/PB005
Glass
Glass
Faience
Glass
Ostrich eggshell
Glass
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Fig. 1. Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 1, recorded by locus and PB number
( for a description, see opposite page)
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Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 1 (continued), recorded by locus and
PB number
1–2
3
4
5
6
7–12
13–15
16
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
BE97-SH.01/005/PB005
BE97-SH.01/005/PB005
BE97-SH.01/005/PB005
BE97-SH.01/005/PB005
BE97-SH.01/005/PB005
BE97-SH.01/006/PB006
BE97-SH.01/007/PB007
BE97-SH.01/007/PB007
Glass
Carnelian
Glass
Ostrich eggshell
Glass
Glass
Glass
Bone
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Fig. 2. Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 1, recorded by locus and PB number
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Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 1 (continued), recorded by locus and
PB number
1–7
8–9
10
11–16
–
–
–
–
BE97-SH.01/008/PB009
BE97-SH.01/012/PB012
BE97-SH.01/003/PB003
BE97-SH.01/baulk clean/PB008
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
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Fig. 3. Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 1, recorded by locus and PB number
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Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash Nos 1(continued) and 2, recorded by locus and
PB number
1–6
7
–
–
BE97-SH.01/ baulk clean/PB008
BE97-SH.01/baulk clean/PB008
8–11 – BE97-SH.02/001/PB001
12–34 – BE97-SH.02/003/PB003
Glass
Ostrich eggshell
Glass
Glass
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Fig. 4. Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash Nos 1 and 2, recorded by locus and PB number
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Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 2 (continued), recorded by locus and
PB number
1 – BE97-SH.02/003/PB003
2 – BE97-SH.02/003/PB003
3 – BE97-SH.02/003/PB003
4 – BE97-SH.02/003/PB003
5 – BE97-SH.02/003/PB003
6–11 – BE97-SH.02/004/PB005
12–13 – BE97-SH.02/005/PB006
14–16 – BE97-SH.02/006/PB007
Glass
Gold-in-glass
Glass
Ostrich eggshell
Mollusk shell
Glass
Glass
Glass
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Fig. 5. Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 2, recorded by locus and PB number
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Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 3, recorded by locus and PB number
1–2
3
4–10
11
–
–
–
–
BE97-SH.03/001/PB001
BE97-SH.03/001/PB001
BE97-SH.03/002/PB002
BE97-SH.03/002/PB002
Glass
Wood
Glass
Mollusk shell
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Fig. 6. Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 3, recorded by locus and PB number
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Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 3 (continued), recorded by locus and
PB number
1–9
10–19
20
21–22
23
–
–
–
–
–
BE97-SH.03/002/PB002
BE97-SH.03/003/PB003
BE97-SH.03/003/PB003
BE97-SH.03/003/PB003
BE97-SH.03/003/PB003
Glass
Glass
Mollusk shell
Glass
Faience
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Fig. 7. Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 3, recorded by locus and PB number
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Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash Nos 3 (continued) and 4, recorded by locus and
PB number
1
– BE97-SH.03/003/PB003
2–5 – BE97-SH.04/001/PB001
6
– BE97-SH.04/001/PB001
7
– BE97-SH.04/001/PB001
8
– BE97-SH.04/002/PB002
9
– BE97-SH.04/002/PB002
10 – BE97-SH.04/004/PB004
11 – BE97-SH.04/005/PB005
12 – BE97-SH.04/005/PB005
13 – BE97-SH.04/006/PB006
14–15 – BE97-SH.04/006/PB006
16–18 – BE97-SH.04/006/PB008
19–22 – BE97-SH.04/007/PB009
Glass
Glass
Carnelian
Glass
Glass
Ostrich eggshell
Glass
Faience
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
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Fig. 8. Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash Nos 3 and 4, recorded by locus and PB number
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Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash Nos 4 (continued) to 6, recorded by locus and
PB number
1
2
3
– BE97-SH.04/010/PB010
– BE97-SH.04/010/PB010
– BE97-SH.04/010/PB010
Glass
Ostrich eggshell
Glass
4–8
9–10
11–13
14–17
18
19–21
22–23
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
BE97-SH.05/001/PB001
BE97-SH.05/001/PB002
BE97-SH.05/001/PB002
BE97-SH.05/002/PB003
BE97-SH.05/002/PB003
BE97-SH.05/003/PB004
BE97-SH.05/004/PB005
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Mollusk shell
Glass
Glass
24
–
BE97-SH.06/001/PB001 Glass
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Fig. 9. Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash Nos 4 to 6, recorded by locus and PB number
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Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 7, recorded by locus and PB number
1 –
2–5 –
6 –
7 –
BE97-SH.07/001/PB001
BE97-SH.07/002/PB003
BE97-SH.07/002/PB003
BE97-SH.07/003/PB004
Glass
Glass
Faience
Glass
Fig. 10. Beads and pendants from Shenshef Trash No. 7, recorded by locus and PB number
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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
-Obłuska in press b). Ostrich eggshell
beads dominated the post-Meroitic bead
assemblages in Lower Nubia (Then-Obłuska 2014: Pl. 3; 2016), but some
specimens are also recorded at the late Red
Sea ports of Berenike and Marsa Nakari.
The few faience objects from Shenshef
belong to a Nubian bead repertoire.
A reused Napatan or early Roman/Meroitic
pendant in the form of the god Bes, a type
usually made of faience or glazed bone, is
one of the most widely recognized amulets
at post-Meroitic and late Roman sites.
Many of the Shenshef bead types were
also found in the Nubian Nile Valley and,
in particular, in graves from the royal
Nobadian and Blemmyan cemeteries.
Together with the glass parallels, their
presence at Shenshef would indicate
a strong connection of the site with the Red
Sea ports and, to some extent, with postMeroitic Nubia.
Other archaeological artifacts linking
the Red Sea ports, the Eastern Desert
(Shenshef included) and the Nubian Nile
Valley comprise sherds of handmade pottery
called Eastern Desert Ware (see above).
They were associated with a population
from the Eastern Desert and Lower Nubia.
The archaeological evidence for longdistance imports is abundant in general
lists created for both the Meroitic and
post-Meroitic periods in Nubia (e.g.,
Török 1988; 1989); they, however, do not
mention Asian finds. Still, in tracing the
overseas trade contacts, black pepper of
Indian origin could be of high significance.
Pepper was uncovered both in Berenike and
at Wadi Shenshef (Cappers 1998; 1999;
2006). A find of one Indian peppercorn in
the Nile Valley has been confirmed from
Trash middens at the late antique settlement of Shenshef in the Eastern Desert,
about 23 km from the Roman Red Sea port
of Berenike, provided a rich bead assemblage that is dominated by glass. While
70 drawn and rounded glass specimens
are most probably of South Indian or Sri
Lankan provenance, the remaining glass
beads can be associated with the Egyptian
and Eastern Mediterranean tradition. They
all find parallels at contemporary sites in the
Nubian Nile Valley and at Red Sea coastal
sites. A similar domination of glass beads,
with a comparable share of drawn and
rounded ones, can be observed only at the
4th to 6th century AD Red Sea port sites
of Berenike and Marsa Nakari (e.g., Then-Obłuska 2015; 2017a; in press a). However, the green, blue-green and orange
colors of the drawn and rounded beads at
Shenshef are found not only at the Red Sea
port sites, but also at the Lower Nubian Nile
Valley sites, dated to between the 4th and
6th century AD (Then-Obłuska 2016a;
in press b). Furthermore, such drawn
beads with rounded ends accompanied
the typical early Makurian beads at the
el-Zuma and el-Detti tumuli cemeteries,
which are dated to the second half of the
5th and first half of the 6th century AD
(Then-Obłuska 2016b; 2016d; 2017c).
A few beads from Shenshef represented
organic materials (wood, mollusk shells,
ostrich eggshell, bone), stone, not to
mention faience. Interestingly, many of
them have also been documented in the
Nubian Nile Valley. Some wooden beads
were recorded in the Blemmyan and
royal Nobadian tombs, where they were
tentatively associated with the beadwork
of the Eastern Desert dwellers (Then743
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Qasr Ibrim in Nubia (Cappers 2006: 117).
Furthermore, a Coptic letter from Moses
to the phylarchos of Nobadia, Tantani,
dated to about AD 450 and found at Qasr
Ibrim, suggests a transport of pepper to
Philae (Egypt) from Nubia. This stands in
contrast to the expected direct transport
from one of the Roman Red Sea ports to
Philae (Obłuski 2014). This letter may
be an indication that Nobadia was also
involved in trading Asian goods into the
Nile Valley.
Although proof of Nubian contact
with Asia is scarce, the drawn and rounded
glass bead imports in Nubia provide the
main evidence for this link in the postMeroitic period. This is supported by other
finds of imported beads from the Asian
region, namely the ‘etched’ carnelian beads
found in the Fourth Cataract region (Then-
-Obłuska 2013; in press b). The presence
of South Asian glass beads in Nubia may
derive from contacts with the Egyptian
Red Sea ports via the middlemen living
at Shenshef, thus making the site a significant link in the overseas trade.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Iwona Zych and
Steven E. Sidebotham, co-directors of the
Berenike Project (Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw/University of Delaware), for making
the study possible. Many thanks go to
Willeke Z. Wendrich, former co-director
of Berenike Project, and Hans Barnard
for access to the online Berenike database.
The comparative study was possible
thanks to a National Science Centre
grant DEC-2013/09/D/HS3/04508.
Dr. Joanna Then-Obłuska
Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw
00-497 Warsaw, Poland, ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28
j.then-obluska@uw.edu.pl
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