Initiated in 2020, bioarchaeological excavations at Old Dongola as part of the Urban Metamorphosis of the Community of a Medieval African Capital (UMMA) project have focussed on burials in the area roughly between the Citadel and the monastery on Kom H. Investigation in this area has sought, in part, to identify cemetery use at the transition between occupation of Old Dongola during the Christian period and the subsequent Funj period. While excavations in this area remain in the very early stages of development, a number of distinctly different approaches to Christian period burial have been identified, ranging from multiple interments, shaft, and vaulted burial chamber graves. Such burial type diversity brings into question the nature of cemetery use and burial preferences among the inhabitants of Old Dongola. This presentation focuses on the diversity of such burial types and associated interments identified within the graves excavated to date as part of the UMMA project at Old Dongola.

Burial Variation in the Cemetery of Old Dongola: Initial Insights from the UMMA Project