Sudan: ancient treasures
9 September 2004 – 9 January 2005
Room 5
Exhibition closed
The ancient sites of Sudan are among the great
monuments of Africa, and were home to the most powerful state in
the Nile Valley, which briefly overwhelmed the Egypt of the
Pharaohs.
Using the fruits of recent archaeological
research, this major exhibition leads the visitor through the
fascinating history of the country from the early Stone Age to the
nineteenth century AD, including the medieval Christian and the
Islamic periods. Many great objects have been lent by the Sudan
National Museum in Khartoum, some never before seen outside
Sudan.
Western interest in the ancient monuments of
Sudan dates back to the early nineteenth century when travellers
first ventured far to the south of Aswan, Egypt. They were amazed
at the superbly preserved buildings and undertook detailed drawings
and measurements of all they saw.
Serious archaeological investigations began a
century later. Stimulated by the dams built at Aswan, northern
Nubia is one of the best known areas archaeologically in the world.
Further south much remains to be done.
This year the Sudan National Museum in
Khartoum, one of Africa’s first museums, celebrates its centenary.
Housing one of the finest collections of archaeological material
from the Nile Valley it is the source of all the objects featured
in this exhibition.
Today more than thirty archaeological teams
from around the world work in conjunction with the Sudan’s National
Corporation for Antiquities. By 2008 the completed Merowe dam will
have created a reservoir of 170 kilometres in length.
The British Museum is making a significant
contribution to work on the Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage
Project. It is also involved in important excavations near
Dongola.