Археологичид Нил мөрний эрэг орчмын эртний Донгола хотоос Макурия хаант улсын үеийн томоохон сүм хийдийн суурийг илрүүлэн судалж байна.
Польшийн Варшавын их сургууль болон Суданы Үндэсний эртний олдвор, музейн корпорацын хамтарсан баг эртний Донгола хотын нутаг дэвсгэрт малтлага хийж байна. Судлаачид “Есүсийн агуу сүм” хэмээн нэрлэгддэг байгууламжийн анхны шалыг илрүүлсэн бөгөөд урьдчилсан хэмжилтээр тус сүм нь 47 метр өргөн, 57 метр урттай байсныг тогтоожээ. Мөн тус багийнхан сүрлэг шат болон сүмийн дээд давхарт урьд өмнө нь мэдэгдээгүй байсан жижиг сүмийг олж илрүүлсэн байна.
Экспедицийн удирдагч, профессор Артур Обульскийн үзэж буйгаар, уг сүм нь архитектурын хувьд тухайн бүс нутагтаа төдийгүй Африк тивд томоохон нөлөө үзүүлж байсан байх магадлалтай юм. Олдсон ханын үлдэгдэл 11 метр хүртэл өндөртэй байгаа нь барилгын нийт өндөр 21 метр хүрэх боломжтойг харуулж байна. Энэхүү байгууламж нь АНУ-ын Цагаан ордноос ч том хэмжээтэй байсан хэмээн судлаачид онцолж байна.
Сүмийн дээд давхраас олдсон жижиг сүмийн хэсгээс грек бичээстэй гипс болон будгийн үлдэгдлүүд олджээ. Доктор Агата Дептулагийн мэдээлснээр, эдгээр бичээсүүдийн дунд Хуучин Гэрээнд гардаг Ханнагийн залбирлын хэсэг байж болзошгүй юм. Хэдийгээр хананы чимэглэлүүд бүрэн бүтэн үлдээгүй ч олон тооны будсан гипсэн хэлтэрхий нь тухайн үеийн сүмийн урлагийн бүтээлүүд маш гайхалтай байсныг илтгэж байна.
Донгола дахь малтлагын ажил 1960-аад оноос хойш үргэлжилж байгаа боловч тус улсад үргэлжилж буй зөрчил мөргөлдөөнүүд судалгааны ажилд хүндрэл учруулсаар байна. ЮНЕСКО-гийн тооцоолсноор 2023 оны дөрөвдүгээр сараас хойш Суданы 100 гаруй соёлын дурсгалт газар гэмтэж, сүйдсэн байна. Аз болоход, эртний Донгола хот болон уг сүмийн туурь одоогоор эвдрэл сүйтгэлд өртөөгүй байгаа ч бүс нутгийн түүхэн өв уламжлал эрсдэлтэй хэвээр байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Archaeologists digging at Old Dongola have reached the original floor of the Great Church of Jesus, a cathedral building whose preliminary dimensions are around 47 meters wide and 57 meters long. They have also found a vast staircase and, on an upper level, a smaller church that nobody expected.
Old Dongola sits on the east bank of the Nile in northern Sudan, a deserted Nubian town that was once the core of the Makuria kingdom. The kingdom converted to Christianity in the sixth century CE, and the city flourished until the 14th century CE as a mini-metropolis of churches, monasteries, and grand architecture.
A team from the University of Warsaw in Poland and Sudan’s National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums is now excavating one of the town’s many monumental buildings, the cathedral. The work is only just getting started, yet the early results already hint at a structure of vast proportions.
A Cathedral of Vast Proportions
The staircase was the first big surprise. Some walls near it still stand about 11 meters (36 feet) tall, which suggests the surrounding structure was enormous. The team’s preliminary estimates put the cathedral at around 47 meters (154 feet) wide and 57 meters (187 feet) long, and perhaps as tall as 21 meters (68 feet).
Professor Artur Obłuski, expedition director from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw, did not hide his enthusiasm. According to a statement he emailed to IFLScience:
“This was a building larger than the famous White House in Washington, DC,” and the team is planning to excavate it.
He added that certain buildings, cathedrals included, become trendsetters in the history of architecture, and cited Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul, as one such example. In his view:
“The Great Church of Jesus appears to be a natural candidate for such a role in Nubia, and perhaps even in this part of Africa.”
A Smaller Church Upstairs
Then came the unexpected find. On the upper floor of the cathedral, the archaeologists uncovered a smaller church. Much of this secondary structure has vanished, but they managed to recover fragments of plaster bearing Greek inscriptions and paint.
“We know that the paintings must have been magnificent,” Obłuski explained. “We now have six large shelving units filled with fragments of painted plaster. Unfortunately, very little survives on the walls themselves, unlike in a comparable church associated with King David, we discovered in 2023. That church, dating to the 13th century AD, was also added to the Great Church of Jesus, but on its northern side.”
As for the writing, Dr Agata Deptuła said one of the texts can be identified as a fragment of the Prayer of Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, known from the Old Testament. According to her, the surviving fragments were written in Greek in “a careful book hand, with very small letters only about half a centimeter high.”
Digging Against the Odds
The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw has been excavating Old Dongola since the 1960s. Progress, however, has been slow, not least because Sudan has been in a state of near-continuous conflict since its independence in the 1950s. The latest civil war has made matters worse for the country’s heritage.
UNESCO estimates that more than 100 cultural sites have been damaged, looted, or destroyed since fighting began in April 2023. Old Dongola and its ancient cathedral have so far escaped the violence, but the losses elsewhere in the region show just how much history is at risk.
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