Old Dongola

Old Dongola (also attested as Dungulah or Dunkula) is a deserted medieval town and archaeological complex on the east bank of the Nile opposite the Wadi Howar in Sudan's Northern State. It was an important city in medieval Nubia and served as the capital of the Makurian state from roughly the 4th to the 14th century, functioning also as a departure point for caravans west to Darfur and Kordofan. The site contains extensive remains of Christian-period architecture, including medieval churches, a cathedral with a 6 m-wide apse reported in recent excavations, and the so-called Throne Hall of Dongola (a two-storey brick building also referred to as the Mosque Building or Mosque of Abdallah ibn Abi Sarh). Archaeological work at Old Dongola has been led by a Polish team (Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology / University of Warsaw) in a long-term program beginning in 1964. Recent press reports and project notes describe discoveries such as walls of a large medieval cathedral and documentary finds referenced in secondary summaries (including a reported 16th–17th century letter mentioning a legendary king, King Qashqash). These documentary claims are reported in secondary sources and noted by project summaries; primary publication verification is indicated as needed. Reported phenomena: the supplied source set contains no accounts of paranormal activity, hauntings, apparitions, named spirits, or other supernatural phenomena associated with Old Dongola. All provided materials are archaeological, historical, or bibliographic in nature. Local oral traditions or folklore were not present in the supplied excerpts.