Faras (formerly grc, Παχώρας, ''Pakhôras''; la, Pachoras;
Old Nubian
Old Nubian (also called Middle Nubian or Old Nobiin) is an extinct Nubian language, attested in writing from the 8th to the 15th century AD. It is ancestral to modern-day Nobiin and closely related to Dongolawi and Kenzi. It was used throughout ...
: Ⲡⲁⲭⲱⲣⲁⲥ, ''Pakhoras'') was a major city in
Lower Nubia
Lower Nubia is the northernmost part of Nubia, roughly contiguous with the modern Lake Nasser, which submerged the historical region in the 1960s with the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Many ancient Lower Nubian monuments, and all its modern p ...
. The site of the city, on the
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
between modern
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
at
Wadi Halfa Salient
The Wadi Halfa Salient, named after Wadi Halfa, a nearby Sudanese city 22 kilometers south of the border, is a salient of the international border between Egypt and the Sudan along the Nile River to the north. The area is currently controll ...
, was flooded by
Lake Nasser
Lake Nasser ( ar, بحيرة ناصر ', ) is a vast reservoir in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Before construction, Sudan was against the building of Lake Nasser because it would encro ...
in the 1960s and is now permanently underwater. Before this flooding, extensive archaeological work was conducted by a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
archaeological team led by professor
Kazimierz Michałowski
Kazimierz Józef Marian Michałowski (born December 14, 1901 in Tarnopol – January 1, 1981 in Warsaw) was a Polish archaeologist and Egyptologist, art historian, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, professor ordinarius of the Univer ...
.
History
![SNMSetau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/SNMSetau.jpg)
Dating back to the
A-Group
The A-Group culture was an ancient culture that flourished between the First and Second Cataracts of the Nile in Nubia. It lasted from 3800 BC to 3100 BC.
Overview
In 1907, the Egyptologist George A. Reisner first discovered artifacts belong ...
period, the town was a major centre during the
Meroitic period, and was the site of a major temple. During the period of
ancient Egyptian control over
Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
, Faras became an Egyptian administrative centre and, located upriver from
Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel ( ar, أبو سمبل), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about sou ...
, Egyptian cultural influences were prominent.
The city reached its height during the Christian period of Nubia, when Faras was the capital of the ''basiliskos''
Silko of Nobadia
Silko was ruler of the Nubian kingdom of Nobatia. He is known for being the first Nubian king to adopt Christianity
During Silko's reign Nobatia successfully defeated the Blemmyes to the North, and an inscription by Silko at the Temple of Kalab ...
. When Nobatia was absorbed into
Makuria
Makuria (Old Nubian: , ''Dotawo''; gr, Μακουρία, Makouria; ar, المقرة, al-Muqurra) was a Nubian kingdom located in what is today Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt. Makuria originally covered the area along the Nile River from the ...
, it remained the most prominent center in the north, the seat of Nobadia's
eparch
Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on t ...
.
Archaeology
In 1909–1912, research on the site was conducted by a British expedition from the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
headed by
F.Ll. Griffith. Meroitic and Christian cemeteries, as well as Egyptian temples, were uncovered.
At the turn of the 1960s,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
organized the Nubian Salvage Campaign to preserve monuments from the area, which was to be flooded by
Lake Nasser
Lake Nasser ( ar, بحيرة ناصر ', ) is a vast reservoir in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Before construction, Sudan was against the building of Lake Nasser because it would encro ...
. Work in Faras, entrusted to
Professor Kazimierz Michałowski, was carried out from 1960 to 1964 by the
Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw in Cairo, which he had founded (now
).
It turned out that the hill where the mission began excavations concealed a Christian
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
with magnificent wall paintings. The researchers distinguished three main phases of its functioning. The cathedral was founded by bishop Aetios in 620 and then twice rebuilt: by Paulos at the beginning of the 8th century and Petros I at the end of the 10th century. The subsequent buildings were called after these bishops.
The cathedral had been completely filled with sand thanks to which its structure and decoration were well preserved.
These paintings are the best surviving examples of Christian Nubian art and depict portraits of archangels, mainly
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
, various monarchs and bishops of Faras, Christian saints,
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
and a number of Biblical scenes. They were executed in tempera on dry plaster, on several layers dated from the 8th to the 14th century. Of the 169 uncovered paintings, 120 were taken down from the walls. Sixty-six of them were transported to Poland and are today on display in the Polish
National Museum
A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...
in Warsaw, and in
Sudan National Museum
The National Museum of Sudan or Sudan National Museum, abbreviated SNM, is a two-story building constructed in 1955 and established as a museum in 1971.
The building and its surrounding gardens house the largest and most comprehensive Nubian ar ...
in
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
.
In addition, a major pottery workshop was found.
Thanks to the discovery of the List of Bishops of Faras, it was possible to date each episcopate and thus to establish the date of some of the wall paintings.
In the turbulent later years of Christian Nubia, Faras seems to have declined and the administrative centre moved to the more easily defended area of
Qasr Ibrim
Qasr Ibrim ( ar, قصر ابريم; Meroitic: ''Pedeme''; Old Nubian: ''Silimi''; Coptic: ⲡⲣⲓⲙ ''Prim''; Latin: ''Primis'') is an archaeological site in Lower Nubia, located in the modern country of Egypt. The site has a long history o ...
.
See also
*
Coptic Diocese of Faras
*
Faras Gallery at the National Museum in Warsaw
The Professor Kazimierz Michałowski Faras Gallery at the National Museum in Warsaw is a permanent gallery at the National Museum in Warsaw, presenting Nubian early Christian art. The Gallery features a unique collection of wall paintings and arch ...
References
External links
Faras Gallery in the National Museumin Warsaw
Faras - the salvage excavationsPolish excavations at Faras video on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
Description of exhibition on Faras Vienna 2002
{{Authority control
Nubian architecture in Sudan
Archaeological sites in Sudan
Former populated places in Sudan
Kushite cities