The Exploitation of Cultivated and Wild Plants during the Kingdom of Dongola (14th–18th Centuries CE): Archaeobotanical Evidence from Old Dongola, Northern Sudan

Old Dongola in northern Sudan, with a history dating back to the 5th century, was the capital of the Christian Kingdom of Makuria, one of the three medieval Nubian kingdoms. Following the collapse of Makuria in the 14th century, the city underwent significant cultural and social transformations, marked by migration of Arab tribes and the rise of new power structures. during the 16th and 17th centuries, Old Dongola served as the seat of a local ruler under the Funj Sultanate, reflecting its integration into wider Islamic governance. This period saw the emergence of diverse communities, shaped by the interplay of religious conversion, migration, and political changes. Here we present new archaeobotanical findings obtained through the application of a systematic sampling by collecting sediments from each excavated context, and a recovery strategy which combined flotation and dry sieving at the citadel of Old Dongola in northern Sudan. Our archaeobotanical results, spanning the Kingdom of Dongola and the Funj periods (14th–18th centuries), shed light on the development of dietary habits of the inhabitants of the city, which primarily revolved around cereals like sorghum, pearl millet, barley, and wheat, supplemented by crops such as purslane and fruits including watermelon, dates, grapes, and figs. Furthermore, the analysis of plant remains provided insights into the consumption of pulses such as cowpea and grass pea. Importantly, the discovery of imported plants, including tobacco seeds, underscores the significance of Old Dongola in the ancient world’s trade networks. These findings greatly enhance our understanding of subsistence practices and the utilisation of economic and medicinal plants in the region.