Gebel Adda

On the east bank of the Nile 292 km upriver from Philae. Very much like Qasr Ibrim, a citadel perched on a promontory high above the Nile. Graves in the nearby cemetery indicate occupation at least from Meroitic to post-Christian times. Arabic documents, as well as a huge, cathedral-like church, make it clear that this was a place of major importance in Christian times; it was quite probably the residence of the last Kings of Dotawo, in the 15th century. However, excavation was so limited that very little was learned through archaeology. The excavations, carried out from 1963 to 1966 by a team of young volunteers from the American Research Center in Egypt, are still largely unpublished.

Sources: for the citadel, Millet 1964 and Millet 1967, 58-63; for the churches; Clarke 1912, 73-5; Deichmann and Grossmann 1988, 53-6.

(Contributed by William Y. Adams.)