The aftermath of the Roman frontier in Lower Nubia.

This thesis is not available on this repository until the author agrees to make it public. If you are the author of this thesis and would like to make your work openly available, please contact us: thesis@repository.cam.ac.uk.Cambridge University Library can make a copy of this work available only for the purposes of private study and non-commercial research. Copies should not be shared or saved in any shared facilities. Copyright over the content of these works is with their authors. Theses from the Library collection are considered unpublished works and according to UK legislation quoting from them is not allowed without permission from their author. If you can commit to these terms, please complete the request form which you can find through this link: https://imagingservices.lib.cam.ac.uk/Please note that print copies of theses may be available for consultation in the Cambridge University Library's Manuscript reading room. Admission details are at http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/manuscripts-university-archivesThis dissertation seeks to explore the nature of the occupation of Lower Nubia between the third and sixth centuries A.D. through a study of the material culture of the 'X-group', and the cultural influences exerted thereupon. It draws upon a detailed examination of artefactual evidence and particularly ceramics from published and unpublished sites throughout the study area, with especial reference to unpublished data from the citadel of Qasr Ibrim which both the archaeological and historical records indicate to have been of key importance at this time. The study concludes that the previously assumed homogeneity of 'X-group' material culture cannot be accepted for much of the period under consideration, and that separate cultural traditions can be identified which indicate the settlement of new groups within the area alongside the small pre-existing population. These can now be more successfully linked with historical sources than has previously proved possible, and also provide clear evidence of the mechanisms by which the late Roman administration in Egypt sought to maintain stability in the territory immediately beyond its southern frontier. Ceramics are used extensively in the study in the assessment of the cultural influences present in Lower Nubia, their effect on local production, and their significance. Particularly important is the definition of a previously unrecognised 'post-Meroitic' ceramic assemblage of limited distribution, which is clearly antecedent to the well-known 'X-group' ceramic tradition. Ceramics also provide evidence of dating, and were used in seriation analysis in order to investigate more closely the chronology and sequence of occupation of Lower Nubia