IFAO

It was in 1974 that Serge Sauneron, then working near the Nubian temple of Wady es-Sebua discovered opposite the temple, on the eastern shore of the Nile an unknown settlement easily identified as a C-group village. It was a fortified agglomeration situated on the edge of a cliff that overlooked the river.

Built on a plateau of Nubian sandstone, the village was protected on its north, east and south sides by a semi-circular enclosure wall, originally three metres in height with a number of loopholes pierced through it: on the western side, the cliff was impassable. Three gates gave access to homes. Built on a slight slope, these houses or huts, generally rectangular and from two to five metres wide, were constructed of upright slabs of sandstone set into the floor, to the height of about one metre and bound with earth mortar or small stones. The floor was made of beaten earth. The layout of the settlement consisted of groups of huts served by a network of small streets radiating out from the main gate on the east.

The villagers possessed a small number of cattle, cows or sheep, and lived by fishing and hunting. This population seems to have been semi-nomadic as the site showed no evidence of permanent activity.