BurialsEarly Burials: A-Group and C-GroupThe A-Group:The A-Group was a culture in Lower Nubia that flourished from about 3100 to 3000 BC1. The A-Group graves included elaborate traces that belonged to rulers, priests, and other high class members of the society. In one of those grave, the diseased was found wrapped in hides accompanied with a fan of ostrich feathers, a leather cap, a wooden bowl, as well as some unidentified items. Graves that belonged to lower classes, on the other hand, were abundantly found.
Most of the A-Group burials, excavated at Sayala and Qustul and elsewhere, were positioned on sub-rectangular or oval pits. In a large cemetery south of Wadi Halfa in Sudan, the grave sizes ranged between 3.54 m2 and 1.62 m2. The A-Group graves, especially those of the rich, were roofed with dried mud and stone slab, which helped to protect the goods inside them. The dead bodies were usually found in a straight position with hands away from the face, which indicated the existence of commonly shared traditions by members of the culture. At El Kadada in Sudan2, goat skeletons were abundantly uncovered inside graves, which indicates that the A-Group had adopted a herding life style.
The most common and astounding find for this culture is pottery. Pottery is usually found placed beyond head of the diseased. The A-grave cemeteries indicate the existence of ritual ceremonies. Breaking pottery and sacrificing animals on top of graves were among the rituals adopted by the A-Group and continued through the ancient history of Nubia. . Jars with black-colored tops and incised decorations, and bowls with cross-hatching decorations and geometric shapes are among the most common types of A-Group pottery. Imported pottery from southern Egypt, Lower Egypt, and Syria was abundantly found in A-Group cemeteries. Although Lower Egyptian artifacts were rarely found in A-Group graves. At Qustul elite graves were excavated in considerable amounts, however; most important was an incense burner found at one grave3. The incise burner has a scene on that depicted two figures one riding on a boat wearing a fake beard typical of that used later by the pharaohs of Kush. Thus dating to 3000 BC a Pharaoh must have, at least, ruled in Lower Nubia. At El Ghaba, Kadero, Sayala, and various other sites in the North Sudan wealthy A-Group cemeteries where excavated likewise where grave goods were found in profound numbers4. The C-Group:
The C-group (2200- 1500 BC)5, contemporary with the Kerma culture in Sudan , settled in Lower Nubia and like the A-Group, our information on the C-Group mainly comes from grave finds. Graves of the C-Group people were unique in building circular superstructures made out of cut masonry and filled with sand and gravel. The C-Group graves also included a mud-brick chapel where deposits of sacrificed animals were found. Most of the burials of the C-Group members were body positioned facing east. In the Middle kingdom the orientation of the diseased head was changed to west. A cylindrical wall built of stones and dried-mud roofed and roofed with hay. During the Second Intermediate period a mud-brick chapel was sometimes added to the northern side of the structure. C-Group Pottery was designed with incised and complex designs that share close similarities with the Khartoum Neolithic pottery. The C-Group period also shows strong influence from the southern culture of Kerma. Black topped and red polished C-Group pottery indicated influences from the earlier Kerma culture. Egyptian pottery was also found in C-Group graves and indicated trade. In 2000 BC Egypt conquered Lower Nubia, and therefore the C-Group. This explains the reason that no weapons were found in C-Group graves.
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