Research of the Nubian archaeological and anthropological expedition of the Research Institute and the Museum of Anthropology of Moscow State University in Central Atbai (2017–2022)
Authors:   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia, Krol Alexei A. ,   Paleoethnology Research Center, Novaja plochad, 12, 5, Moscow, 109012, Russia, Berezina Natalia Y. ,   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia, Chirkova Alina Kh. ,   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia,   Paleoethnology Research Center, Novaja plochad, 12, 5, Moscow, 109012, Russia, Fedorchuk Olga A. ,   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia,   Paleoethnology Research Center, Novaja plochad, 12, 5, Moscow, 109012, Russia,   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Biology, Department of Anthropology, Leninskie Gory, 1(12), Moscow, 119234, Russia, Gordeev Fedor I. ,   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia, Kalinina Olga S. ,   Moscow Institute of Architecture State Academy (MARCHI), Rozhdestvenka, 11, Moscow, 107031, Russia, Tolmacheva Elena G. ,   Russian Orthodox University of st. John the Apostle, Novaja plochad, 12, 3, Moscow, 109012, Russia,   Paleoethnology Research Center, Novaja plochad, 12, 5, Moscow, 109012, Russia
Published: November 2022

Materials and methods. This article is a collective research conducted by the members of the Nubian archaeological and anthropological expedition of the Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. The article outlines the main results of the expedition's work over four field seasons at the Deraheib site, located at the headstream of Wadi al-Allaqi, in the northern part of the Nubian desert (Central Atbai) in the Republic of Sudan. From 2017 to 2022 The Nubian expedition excavated the Northern Fortress, Building 3 (Mosque) at the settlement of Deraheib, the Southern Necropolis; carried out an reconnaissance mission to the Onib ring structure. Results and discussion. Based on the study of the obtained archaeological materials (primarily the analysis of ceramics and textiles), as well as data from written sources, it was established that the medieval part of history of the monument covers the period between the 9th and 12th centuries. The archaeological site of Deraheib can be associated with the city of Al-Allaqi, mentioned in Arabic sources as a gold mining center in the Nubian desert, a trading city that was located on one of the caravan routes connecting the Red Sea port of Aidhab and the city of Aswan. The materials of the excavations of the Northern Fortress made it possible to advance a hypothesis that the building, erected in the 9th century, functioned more like a fortified castle of the local ruler rather than a fortress. The study of Building 3 allows us to say with confidence that it was a Friday mosque, founded at the beginning of the 10th century. Ongoing excavations in the Southern Necropolis have revealed Muslim burials (25 out of 31 investigated burials) and burials that are associated with the population that lived on the territory of Atbai in the Late Antique — Early Medieval period, known from classical sources as Blemmyes. A group of anthropologists obtained important data on the sex and age of the population of Deraheib, traces of daily activities and pathologies reflected in the skeleton. An important direction in the research of the MSU complex expedition is the study of the modern population of Central Atbai, primarily the Bisharin tribe of the Beja tribal union. The article outlines the main directions of these studies and preliminary results.