PCMA Seminar: ‘Pot Talks’ series on ceramics from Old Dongola

The next meeting of the “Pot Talks – A multidisciplinary approach to ceramics from the African area and beyond” series will be held in December. At the meeting, a paper about “The ceramics from the Northern Church in Old Dongola, revisited” will be presented by the organizer of this series – Dr. Katarzyna de Lellis-Danys (Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology and National Museum in Warsaw).

Abstract: “The paper will present a re-examination of the ceramics unearthed from one of the latest churches in Old Dongola, namely the Northern Church. They represent a unique assemblage of vessels associated with the liturgy and were found in situ in the church’s space. Their chronology is related to the Late and Terminal Christian phases and indicates one of the latest ceremonial uses of the sacral spaces in Old Dongola. Part of the findings was published by Włodzimierz Godlewski, who excavated the church in 1981. Many of the discussed vessels are currently housed in the National Museum in Warsaw, presenting a unique opportunity for the application of new assessments of the ceramic chronology, drawing from the recent findings of the ERC ‘UMMA’ project, headed by Artur Obłuski. Finally, the presentation of the contextualised ceramics from the Northern Church aims to dialogue with other scholars investigating the Nubian liturgy to embrace an advantageous opportunity for in-depth study and analysis.”

The seminar will be held on Thursday, December 21st at 2 pm (Warsaw Time) – on the Zoom platform. To receive the link, please write to pcma@uw.edu.pl

The “Pot Talks – A multidisciplinary approach to ceramics from the African area and beyond” is a thematic series within the PCMA Seminar. It is organised by Dr. Katarzyna de Lellis-Danys from the Department of African Studies, PCMA UW, and the National Museum in Warsaw. Lectures in this series will include topics related to multidisciplinary ceramic research, which will enable participants to exchange experiences with researchers working in different parts of Africa and beyond. Areas of interest include the social and economic impact of ceramics on ancient populations, archaeometric research and methodology, including data collection and management.

Photo credits: view of the church (PCMA UW/photo A. Ostrasz), ceramics (MNW/public domain).