Sennar Capital of Islamic Culture 2017 Project, Preliminary results of archaeological surveys in Sennar East and Sabaloka East

Der Antke Sudan. MittSAG 30, 2019

Archaeological research in Khartoum province, the Shendi reach and the Butana established the general profile of central Sudanese archaeology, especially with regard to the Late Prehistoric and Meroitic periods (Salvatori 2012; Usai 2016; Ahmed 1984; Edwards 1998). Some questions, such as about terminology and regional diversities, still remain and drive the ongoing research in the area forward based on working hypotheses. Within this framework of questions and aims, Al-Neelain University established an archaeological field school in Sabaloka East in 2011. The main goal of the project is to find out the relationship between the archaeological cultures in the Khartoum province and the Shendi area and to understand the dialogue between the Nile and Butana (Nassr 2016a). Sabaloka is an area located north of Khartoum in the region of the 6th Cataract, best known for the rhyolite inlier and the surrounding ring complex of porphyritic microgranite rocks that intruded into the gneissic Basement Complex, through which the Nile cuts its narrow bed (Whiteman 1971). Today, the area is characterized by deep seasonal water channels and flat plains inside the northern ring dykes. The project area lies on the eastern bank of the Nile, starting from the 6th Cataract and extending north to the Hajar Al-Asal villages. As such, it is about 60 km in length with an extent of 10 km on the right bank of the Nile up to the railway connecting Khartoum and Atbara. The primary issue of the project is the investigation of Late Stone Age archaeology, based on site setting and quality and quantity of artifacts, in this corridor between the central Sudan and the Butana region. Its linking character is evidenced from the long history of archaeological research in central Sudan which revealed many Stone Age cultures in a wide chronological range and with particular typological features (Otto 1963; Marks & MohammedAli 1991; Reinhold 2008; Sadig 2012; Salvatore 2012, Suková & Varadzin 2012, Nassr 2015).

Der Antike Sudan, 2019

The Dolní Věstonice Studies, vol. 20 - Mikulov Anthropology Meeting 2014

In the paper to be presented at the Mikulov Anthropology Meeting in August 2014, the field data acquired during two field campaigns of exploration of the prehistoric occupation at Jebel Sabaloka (West Bank) (2011, 2012), interim results of the ongoing analyses, and fresh 14C AMS dates from this region are pooled together to provide an updated overview of the hitherto research and to incorporate the findings into, or confront them with, the well-established, yet still emerging scope of our understanding of the late prehistory of the Middle Nile. A particular attention will be paid to three sites – Fox Hill (SBK.W-20B), Sphinx (SBK.W-60), and Rhyolite Site (SBK.W-58) – that are of a special interest for the understanding of some crucial social, cultural, and economic aspects of the Mesolithic and Neolithic of Central Sudan.

The Dolní Věstonice Studies, vol. 20 - Mikulov Anthropology Meeting 2014, 2014

In the paper to be presented at the Mikulov Anthropology Meeting in August 2014, the field data acquired during two field campaigns of exploration of the prehistoric occupation at Jebel Sabaloka (West Bank) (2011, 2012), interim results of the ongoing analyses, and fresh 14C AMS dates from this region are pooled together to provide an updated overview of the hitherto research and to incorporate the findings into, or confront them with, the well-established, yet still emerging scope of our understanding of the late prehistory of the Middle Nile. A particular attention will be paid to three sites – Fox Hill (SBK.W-20B), Sphinx (SBK.W-60), and Rhyolite Site (SBK.W-58) – that are of a special interest for the understanding of some crucial social, cultural, and economic aspects of the Mesolithic and Neolithic of Central Sudan.

From the 19th of January to the 2nd of March, 2007, the Hungarian Sudani Archaeological Project (HSAP) arranged its second season in Sudan. As we have not got the possibility to work on our former concessional area, a new piece of land was surveyed, kindly offered by the NCAM. The area occupies sixteen cubic kilometres along the eastern bank of the Nile by the 4th cataract. Among the recovered sites, we could register nineteen prehistoric occurrences, grouped in five sectors. The time-range of these sites stretches from Acheulean times to the Khartoum Neolithic. The majority of the occurrences recognized as surface sites, with no clear cultural markers. At three spots more throughout investigations were undertaken. HSAP 072, a complex of sites bearing material from the Acheulean to post-Meroitic times, offered two workshops, belonging to the MSA period. On the top of a jebel near to the river we found an extensive occupational horizon, most possibly of Khartoum Neolithic age. As the evaluation of the collected material is in progress now, we can present only a brief account sketching the cultural frames of the surveyed area. We hope that these frames are impressive enough to discuss about their shape.

Nyame Akuma, 2017

It is widely accepted that the general picture of Late Prehistoric archaeology in Sudan is interpreted from central and northern Sudan, as well as a few lights from western and eastern Sudan. Terminology of Late Prehistory from the Paleolithic Age to the beginning of Bronze Age have been used, such as Epipaleolithic, Pre-ceramic, Mesolithic, Early Neolithic, Early Khartoum and Shaheinab culture (Arkell 1949b, 1953, Wendorf 1986, Krzyżaniak 1992, Sadig 2012, Usai 2016).The current research focuses on the characteristics of these taxonomies, with evidence mainly drawn from central and northern Sudan. The EDAR (Stone Age Archaeological Research Project in Eastern Desert of Lower Atbara River) was established to uncover the transition elements among these horizons with a perspective from eastern part of Sudan and how it relates to the general Sudan prehistory, as well as paying attention to the relationship between the eastern Sudan and the archaeology southern/eastern Africa. The EDAR Project centers its attention on the Stone Age archaeology in the Eastern desert of Lower Atbara River, Sudan. The project was established in 2016 by the University of Neelain to map Stone Age sites in this area. In early 2017, another joint project between the University of Neelain, the University of Wroclaw (Poland), and NCAM (National Cooperation of Antiquities & Museum was undertaken in the eastern part of the Lower Atbara river desert and focusing only on Paleolithic sites. The aim of both projects was to clarify specific questions on the Stone Age archaeology in Sudan, such as the Early Paleolithic expansion out of Africa, the chronological and cultural transition from Early to Late Stone Age, and the reconstruction of Paleo-environment of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The first field season was undertaken by the University of Neelain in late 2016 and it was funded by the Sudanese Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR). It was a combination of archaeological survey, GIS mapping of the sites, surface collection of artifacts and test excavations. In the first season we identified 133 archaeological sites, yielding a variety of archaeological material, from Early Paleolithic to the Medieval period. This article attempts to shed light only on the Late Prehistoric archaeology from this first season, including sites’ settings and artifact variation, and first impressions about the area which is considered significant for Sudan’s Late Prehistoric archaeology.

Sudan & Nubia, 2020

The paper presents results of a second season of Paleolithic survey in the Agig area, the Red Sea region of the Sudan. The fieldwork recorded several Stone Age sites in the study area containing tool types referable to the Acheulean and MSA technocomplexes. The emerging evidence suggests that hominins increased their survival chances in the study area by exploiting diverse landscapes.

article about Post Medieval settlement in the third cataract region written by David N Edwards and Intisar Soghayroun elzein, published in a book titled The archaeology of Nubian Frontier

Based on the agreement between the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums and the General Secretariat of Sennar Capital of Islamic Culture 2017, a team from the NCAM1 and the General Department of Tourism and Antiquities in Sennar State has implemented the first part of the first stage of the project for survey and archaeological excavation of the area between Wad el-Haddad in Aljazeera state until Sennar (the old city), a distance of about 30km in length. Survey of the strip of land on the western bank of the Blue Nile between the Wad Medani to Sennar highway and the river and the area of Jebel Moya was undertaken from 7th-17th June 2015. The aim of this project is to register and document the archeological sites in this area and also includes conducting archaeological excavations. It is hoped that these activities will provide students and re¬searchers with information on the history of the area from prehistoric to modern times.