Abstract

Contributed Talk - Splinter Historical

Friday, 25 September 2020, 15:05   (virtual room E)

Astronomical orientation of Apedemak temples, mortuary chapels, and tumuli of the Meroitic period

Tim Karberg
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster/Wilhelm-Foerster-Sternwarte Berlin

For the Meroitic and post-Meroitic civilisation in Sudan, the orientation of several types of buildings towards a south-eastern direction is subject to controversial debate in Nubian Studies. This specific south-eastern orientation can be observed at a special type of temples (“temple with simple room structure”, often attributed to the god Apedemak), mortuary chapels of elite burials, as well as a type of rather simple tumulus graves in use during the late and post-Meroitic period. Some scholars assumed an astronomical background for this orientation. Nevertheless, until now, no systematic archaeo-astronomical investigations were carried out on this subject. This paper will show some preliminary results of a comparative analysis of these types of archaeological record in the context of astronomical implications of their orientation, as well as the potential of further research on the topic.