A Cornerstone Laid

Now an abandoned village and a vast archaeological site on desert hills overlooking the Nile in Sudan, between the 5th and the 14th centuries Old Dongola was a capital of a mighty Christian kingdom in Nubia. Excavations that have been carried out by a Polish team since 1964 revealed formidable fortifications, numerous churches, houses, a huge monastery, and remnants of the royal palace, with texts and splendid wall-paintings attesting to the wealth and sophistication of the realm. There is still more waiting to be discovered, so the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (which has just opened a branch in Khartoum) commissioned ARCHiNOS to design and build a house for the expedition. On 26 February 2018, a high-level delegation from the Polish Ministry of Science and the Warsaw University laid the cornerstone for the building. The task is challenging, and also very rewarding, especially that ARCHiNOS personnel has had links with the site for quite a long time.

Photo: ARCHiNOS Director Agnieszka Dobrowolska hands over the concept design of the house to the President of the Warsaw University, as the head of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology’s Cairo Research Centre looks at the cornerstone ready to be laid.