Exhibit 1
According to Graffiti as devotion along the Nile: El-kurru, Suda (n.d.), Pictured above is a ram: a highly significant in ancient Kush as the animal of the Kushite form of the god Amun, whose temple was in nearby Napata (modern Jebel Barkal). Amun of Napata was ram-headed and the processional entrance to his temple was lined with pairs of carved stone rams. By contrast, Amun of Karnak (in Egypt) was human-headed. The ram depicted here wears the double crown of Amun. The body of this ram is decorated with hatch marks, probably meant to indicate fleece. The forelegs are outlined and the back legs indicated with multiple vertical lines. The chest extends past the head; the lines here are fainter and may indicate a proportional mistake by the carver, which was “fixed” by carving the rest of the body more deeply once the head was added. Alternatively, this extended area of carving could be meant to indicate an object in proximity to the ram. The illustration was most likely made by finger indents, sticks, bones, or even shapely rocks in order to carve into the stone. The illustration serves a religious purpose, it is believed.
Exhibit 2
According to Graffiti as devotion along the Nile: El-kurru, Suda (n.d.), Pictured above are two small, horned cattle heads with narrow, elongated noses and human eyes. The heads are surrounded by four tiny, hoofed feet. A small square shape to the right may represent an altar or an offering table, albeit without a spout. It may also represent an enclosure. The supernatural character of these beings comes from their combination of human and animal characteristics and from the frontal representation of their faces. Slightly demonic frontal faces also appear in Meroitic painted pottery. The combination of human and animal imagery suggests that these represent supernatural creatures, but we do not know how they fit into Kushite ideas of the spiritual world.
Exhibit 3
According to Graffiti as devotion along the Nile: El-kurru, Suda (n.d.), pictured above is this horse which is depicted in mid-gallop with deeply incised lines. It is outlined with careful attention to detail, and three small, curved lines on the upper body may indicate a rider, although this figure would have been carved very shallowly since no other traces remain.
References
Graffiti as devotion along the Nile: El-kurru, Sudan. Graffiti as Devotion | Graffito T11. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2022, from https://exhibitions.kelsey.lsa.umich.edu/graffiti-el-kurru/zoom_t11.php
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