Gebel Ramlah is a region in the Western Desert of southern Egypt that was occupied throughout the African Pastoral Neolithic. Archaeological research has focused primarily on individual burial sites and six pastoral cemeteries, including the earliest known infant cemetery in the world. The Gebel Ramlah cemeteries were active during the Final Neolithic in the fifth millennium BC. Ongoing excavation has uncovered over 200 human burials and elaborate grave goods. Research studies have been done on the pottery, mollusk shells, archaeobotanical remains, and skeletal remains found throughout the sites.
Excavation Archaeological excavation began at Gebel Ramlah in 2001, under the Combined Prehistoric Expedition (CPE) group, which has done archaeological work throughout the south Western Desert in Egypt since the 1970s. CPE was founded by Fred Wendorf, and since his retirement has been directed by Romuald Schild. Both have been involved in archaeological work at Gebel Ramlah and directly associated sites in the region.
Gebel Ramlah was first discovered in 2000 by polish archaeologist Michał Kobusiewicz, and excavation of the first three cemeteries was done in 2001 and 2003. The excavations were led by Kobusiewicz, alongside fellow archaeologists Jacek Kabacinski and Joel D. Irish. These cemeteries were the first Neolithic cemeteries found in the Western Desert, and thus the earliest known in the region. They are known by their site names E-01-2, E-03-1 and E-03-2.
In 2008, the signs of another cemetery were spotted by archaeologist Marta Osypinska. The location was excavated during a 2009 CPE field season, by Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny and Jacek Kabacinski. It was confirmed to be another cemetery, site E-09-4. Two other cemeteries were also excavated during this 2009 field season at Gebel Ramlah, both under the site name E-09-02 (one of these being the unique Gebel Ramlah infant cemetery). These too were discovered and excavated by Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny and Jacek Kabaciński and their CPE team.
Excavation of various individual burial sites and habitation sites from throughout the Neolithic have also been excavated by CPE teams at Gebel Ramlah since its discovery, but research and publication on these sites is limited. One habitation site was excavated alongside the associated cemetery sites in 2001.
Environment Archaeologists working at Gebel Ramlah and other Western Desert sites use a four period system to categorize the human occupations of the region during the African Humid Period. Geological research has found evidence for unique climatic and environmental variations within each of these humid phases, as well as dry periods between them.
Early Neolithic - ca. 9300-6150 BC Middle Neolithic - ca. 6050-5550 BC Late Neolithic - ca. 5500-4650 BC Final Neolithic - ca. 4600-3600 BC
Gebel Ramlah, or "sandy mountain", is located in the south of Egypt's Western Desert, near the Sudanese border. It is a 100 meter high hill, overlooking a playa directly to its south. During the intermittent humid periods of the African Neolithic, the desert playa was filled with water and fostered a lush savanna landscape. Human occupation at Gebel Ramlah revolved around this paleo-lake. Evidence of habitation on the edges of the paleo-lake suggest that human settlements relied on the lake and its resources throughout the Neolithic. These individuals were responsible for the extensive burials of Gebel Ramlah, with all of its known burial and cemetery sites within a kilometer of the lake shore. Dating of some material from the most recent upper levels of settlement areas matches the Final Neolithic timeline of the cemeteries.
Stratigraphic and geologic studies in the Gebel Ramlah playa indicate that around 6050 BC (marking the start of the Middle Neolithic), a major climatic shift left the regional landscape semi-desertified. Bodies of water were shrinking, and vegetation suffered. Therefore, people could no longer rely solely on hunting and intensive gathering for subsistence. It was at this point that pastoralism was likely adopted as a widespread means for subsistence in the playa region. This semi-arid climate continued until the end of the Final Neolithic in the region, at which point intensifying desertification drove inhabitants out.
Early, Middle, and Late Neolithic occupation Archaeology throughout in the Western Desert shows a wide span of Neolithic occupation, such as in Nabta Playa where early occupation dates back to 7500 BC. Nabta Playa is just 20 kilometers northwest of Gebel Ramlah, and findings from the two regions are often compared. At Gebel Ramlah, the earliest known burials have been dated to the late Early Neolithic, around 6500 BC. Burials dated to the Middle and Late Neolithic are scattered throughout the area as well. These are individual burials or sometimes burial clusters, predating the use of large-scale cemeteries in the region.
An extensive lithic refitting was done with a collection of 190 associate lithic artifacts found on the surface near the infant cemetery of site E-09-4. Because all of the flakes and tools produced in this knapping were found together with the core, archaeologists hypothesize that the tools were made for practice or training, not to be used. The tool styles and knapping processes evident in these refits are associated with Late Neolithic technology, designated by extensive flake production and retouched flake tools.
Final Neolithic occupation It is thought that the Bunat El Asnan people of the Gebel Ramlah region were trans-huming pastoralists. During the wet season they traveled to uplands where they could graze their cattle, while during the dry season they lived in permanent settlements on the paleo-lake. These individuals were some of the last to inhabit the Western Desert before drought and desertification finally intensified enough to drive them out. Some travelled up the Nile into northern Africa, potentially setting the stage for Ancient Egyptian civilizations. There are cultural elements found in the Final Neolithic of Gebel Ramlah which overlap with or are potential precursors for Ancient Egyptian elements, such as astronomical knowledge and the production of amulets. Additionally, it has been argued that the evidence for passive burial conservation in Gebel Ramlah cemeteries could be a precursor for Ancient Egyptian mummification, perhaps being based in similar protective beliefs.
Cemeteries and burial practices
E-01-2, E-03-1 and E-03-2 The first three Final Neolithic cemetery sites discovered at Gebel Ramlah were excavated in 2001 and 2003, and are known by their site names E-01-2, E-03-1 and E-03-2. These cemeteries, all very similar, are within a few meters of one another. Altogether they contain 69 individuals, some buried individually and some in group graves. There are more than double the number of women than there are men, possibly because as herders men were more likely to die far from the settlement protecting their animals. Additionally, 22% of the individuals are children, including neonates. Archaeologists have interpreted these cemeteries as being used by extended families, those Final Neolithic trans-humanist groups with settlements on the edges of the paleo-lake. It is hypothesized that group graves within the cemeteries were used by direct family units. The diversity of individuals throughout the cemeteries indicates a lack of social differentiation. There was no bias between men, women, and children in terms of quantity and quality of associated grave goods. All burials are tightly clustered, with each cemetery being under ten meters across.
A specific burial style was employed in these cemeteries. Individuals were placed on their right side facing south, with the knees bent and the hands positioned over the face. They were buried in oval pits, and outlines within the pits indicate that they were once lined with some sort of woven, basket-like material. In some instances, secondary inhumations are present in the cemeteries as well, where disarticulated skeletal remains were brought in from elsewhere and placed in a common grave. 896 artifacts and grave goods were found associated with the burials. These include flint and agate tools, stone objects, abundant and diverse jewelry items (beads, bracelets, pendants, amulets), sheets of mica, stone palettes, bone tools and needles, shells, pottery (including intricate caliciform beakers), ochre, and ochre containers.
The close proximity of burials throughout the cemeteries meant that older remains were often disturbed when new individuals were being buried. In these cases, some remains were found to be disturbed or incomplete. However, there is also compelling evidence of attempts to preserve the skeletal remains within these disturbed burials. For example, there are individuals whose teeth were found backwards, out of order, and even carefully placed in an eye socket or nasal cavity. They were likely put back into the older, skeletonized skulls after being upset in later grave-digging. In another case, an individual's own radius and ulna were inserted between their humerus and bracelets, to keep the jewelry in place after apparent disruption. These instances show an effort to ensure that remains and burial features were kept complete and together, likely indicated a significance of the human body's integrity in and after death.
The remains of one male individual in this cemetery group showed signs of great physical strain that indicates bending and lifting heavy objects. This type of skeletal stress is different than what results from herding, and thus what is typically seen in the remains of pastoralist Gebel Ramlah men. Archaeologists theorize that this individual may have taken part in the construction of Saharan megalithic structures erected nearby during the Final Neolithic.
E-09-4 Around 600 meters from the previously described cemeteries, cemetery E-09-4 was discovered in 2008. Artifacts clustered on the surface were indicative of established Gebel Ramlah Final Neolithic burial practices, including a stone palette, red ochre, and modified shells from the Red Sea. Further research and excavation in 2009 showed that the cemetery was extremely poorly preserved. Although no human bones preserved, the presence of said burial-related artifacts and remnants of ovular grave pits allowed two graves to be confirmed, with likely evidence for multiple others.
E-09-02 Site E-09-02 is a burial complex containing two cemeteries, both discovered by archaeologists in 2009. The larger of the two was used for the majority of adults, juveniles, and children older than three. The second, however, was an exclusively "infant" cemetery. Most of these individuals were newborns who died during or shortly after birth, though any children under three were also buried here. These cemeteries were likely used simultaneously by one Gebel Ramlah group, as burial practices were similar and radiocarbon dating shows use at the same time (between 4500 and 4300 BC). The infant cemetery has been the main focus of publication on site E-09-02. There are various cases around the world of early infant inhumation, but the presence of an entire cemetery set aside for infants, this early, is unique.