The American magazine Archaeology has included the discovery of paintings from Old Dongola in Sudan by an expedition of the Centre for Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw (UW) among the ten most important achievements of archaeology in 2023.

It will be recalled that the UW archaeologists discovered unique paintings depicting holy figures and King David, one of the last Macurite rulers, in a hitherto unrecognised site in Old Dongola. The research was conducted under a European Research Council (ERC) grant.

Old Dongola is an archaeological site located in present-day Sudan, on the site of the city of Tungul, the Old Nubian capital of Makuria, a powerful medieval African state. 

Archaeologists from the UW made the discovery during the exploration of houses dating from the Funj period (16th to 19th century AD). The paintings found show the Virgin Mary, two figures of Christ, as well as a scene depicting the triad: Christ, the archangel Michael and the Nubian king David.