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8 - Is the Archaeometallurgical Record a Valuable Tool when Considering Meroe within a Trans-Saharan Landscape?

from Part III - Metallurgy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

By
Jane Humphris
Edited by
C. N. Duckworth ,
A. Cuénod  and
D. J. Mattingly
C. N. Duckworth
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
A. Cuénod
Affiliation:
University of Leicester
D. J. Mattingly
Affiliation:
University of Leicester
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Summary

At the height of its political power between c.350 BC and AD 350, the Royal City of Meroe was a cosmopolitan trade hub and a melting pot of external influences. In addition to controlling vast regions of land and ruling through the imposition of Kingship sanctioned by a complex religious system, the sovereigns of the Kingdom of Kush built on the economic success of their predecessors by ensuring a flow of trade goods and exotic items through their capital for hundreds of years. Local industry, providing essential objects such as weapons and tools, as well as luxury items, also played a paramount role at Meroe, with external and local influences visible, notably in the ceramics found at the site. Meroitic material culture and the industrial remains provide key insights into the past interconnectedness of the wider region as well as local traditions and innovations. This chapter examines what the Meroitic material culture and iron technology tells us about Meroe’s place and connections within its immediate and more distant landscapes, and how network analysis can help position it in this geographical framework.

Keywords

MeroeSudanIronslagnetwork analysisKingdom of Kushmaterial culture
Type
Chapter
Information
Mobile Technologies in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond , pp. 259 - 289
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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