Archiv des Autors: Julia Budka

ICNS 2026 in Munich: You can now sign up!

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We are pleased to announce that registration for the 16th International Conference for Nubian Studies (ICNS) in Munich, Germany, hosted by LMU Munich from 7th September to 12th September 2026, is now open.

We would like to thank everyone who submitted proposals for oral and poster presentations. We currently have more than 260 presentations scheduled alongside posters which will be displayed throughout the conference. Please be advised that the provisional programme, which is now available on the conference website, is still subject to change.

The main theme of the Munich conference, Multiple Nubias, is linked to the latest research findings of the ERC DiverseNile project. New research is starting to show that ancient Sudan was a lot more diverse than we thought, and that there were actually several different forms of Nubia. This goes against the common idea that Nubia was just one single place in the past. So, we’ve invited in particular sessions and papers to look at different experiences, regional traditions and individual actors – both human and non-human – over the millennia. There will also be four keynote speeches that will look at the main theme of the conference from a diachronic perspective, employing a variety of methodological approaches.

In light of the ongoing situation in Sudan, particular emphasis will be placed on safeguarding and conserving cultural heritage, along with related initiatives and projects.

Please note that it is mandatory for all participants to register for the conference in order gain access. Online registration is now open, for details see https://nubianstudies2026.de/tickets/. Colleagues from Sudan and Egypt are entitled to complimentary tickets (free of charge). Due to the ongoing situation in Sudan, the conference will be a hybrid event.

We’re really looking forward to meeting all of you who are interested in Nubia and Sudan in Munich!

New publication on the contribution of archaeometric techniques to understanding landscape use and social practices in Bronze Age Sudan

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I’m delighted to announce that a new publication is now available in open access. Me and my co-authors – Fabian Dellefant, Giulia D’Ercole, H. Albert Gilg, Rosemarie Klemm and Johannes H. Sterba – show how archaeometric techniques used as part of the DiverseNile Project can be used to investigate human-environment interactions in the Middle Nile during the Bronze Age.

We present case studies from our recent investigation of landscape properties in the MUAFS concession area in northern Sudan, the Attab to Ferka region, and associated material remains. We also included some materials from Sai Island, the main urban site of this region. Our article looks at different ways to combine archaeology and geology, like taking rock samples and studying the composition of sandstones (see also an earlier blog post by Fabian). It also shows how these methods can be used to understand past landscapes and mobility patterns. We’re looking at the material culture, especially ceramics, in a bunch of different ways using a bunch of different scientific methods. We’re combining compositional bulk analysis (INAA) with mineralogical (XRD) and petrographic data via optical microscopy (OM) to check out the physical properties, where the ceramics came from and how they were made (you may want to check out an earlier blog post by Giulia). We’re also using Raman spectroscopy to see what temperatures the ceramics were fired at.

This paper shows how new developments in landscape archaeology and the archaeometry of material culture are helping us to understand the big ecological and social changes that happened in the Bronze Age Middle Nile. We think this combined analytical approach, which we’ve used in the Attab to Ferka region as an example, can also be successfully used in other regions around the world.

Full reference of the new publication:

Julia Budka, Fabian Dellefant, Giulia D’Ercole, H. Albert Gilg, Rosemarie Klemm & Johannes H. Sterba, Investigating human-environment interactions in the Middle Nile: The contribution of archaeometric techniques to understanding landscape use and social practices in Bronze Age Sudan, Egypt and the Levant 35, 2025, 101−134, https://austriaca.at/0xc1aa5572_0x00412ff6.pdf

Forgetting Sudan?

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On the occasion of the publication of the latest issue of the Aegyptiaca journal (no. 9, 2025), I would like to draw attention once again to the current situation in Sudan. This brand-new issue also features my review of William Carruthers‘ splendid book, Flooded Pasts (2022).

For Flooded Pasts, Carruthers did a really thorough review of the archival material produced during the famous UNESCO Nubian campaign. He says it’s clear that the archives we’re talking about are part of a (post)colonial context, where modern Nubian communities and their sites have been ignored in the past. The focus of the archives, archaeological investigations and historical narratives is exclusively on the ancient past, thus giving rise to the necessity of „repeopling Nubia“, the subtitle of the conclusion of the book (pp. 274–283).

One result of the UNESCO campaign in Sudan was the opening of the National Museum in Khartoum on 25 May 1971. Even though its garden had temples from Aksha, Buhen, Semna East and Semna West, the museum and its collection weren’t given World Heritage status (unlike Egypt; check out the reviewed book for more on this, on pp. 239–241). Carruthers (p. 242) rightly puts this in context, pointing out that Sudan at the time was “a state in some degree of turmoil” (p. 242). It’s interesting that on page 241, above the heading “Forgetting Sudan?”, there’s a picture of the Sudan National Museum (Carruthers‘ Fig. 7.1). As with so much of Sudan’s cultural heritage, the museum has suffered destruction and looting in a ‚forgotten‘ war, which has been going on since 2023.

Destroyed front of the Sudan National Museum, 15 May 2025 (photo: National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums.

The current conflict in Sudan shows just how closely linked archaeology is to the society around it. The archaeology of Sudan is closely tied to the history of colonialism, and it’s been affected by different forms of exploitation and manipulation by governments and powerful groups who have used it to push their own national agendas.  It’s clear that this is just as true today as it was in the past.

At the time of writing, Carruthers said that discussing the future of the Nubians was a tricky topic (p. 283). The war in Sudan has been going on since 2023 and has affected millions of people all over the country.  This also shows why we should be interested in creating Nubian histories. It’s not just the institutions involved in the so-called Nubian campaign or archaeologists working in Sudan who should be interested, but everyone on a global level. There are new versions about the Nubian presence in Egypt, Sudan, the United States and other places that are still to be written! And these are anything but marginal.

As we said a few weeks ago at the UNESCO conference in Berlin, we’re never going to give up on Sudan! But we also need more people to talk about Sudan, to care about the Sudanese people and to help protect their rich cultural heritage.

With the festive season here in Europe and another awful war going on just next door, we should remember that millions of Sudanese people have lost everything and are struggling to survive. Sudan is the biggest humanitarian crisis of 2025, and we’re really hoping things will change in 2026.

Upcoming DiverseNile Seminar: Unravelling Ancient Nubian Beauty

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I am delighted to announce the next DiverseNile seminar!

Fatima Siddig, a Sudanese PhD student funded by a DAAD Hilde Domin scholarship and based in Münster, will present her recent research on Nov. 25.

The title of her lecture is: Unravelling Ancient Nubian Beauty: A Multi-Analytical Approach: Chemical and Archaeological Study of Kushite Cosmetics

Fatima is one of a new generation of Sudanese scholars applying interdisciplinary methods to their work, and she is truly the future of Sudanese archaeology. In light of the ongoing war in Sudan, I am both proud and grateful that Fatima is able to conduct her vital research here in Germany. Don’t miss her presentation!

First article by DiverseNile available in Arabic

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I am delighted to announce the first translation of a DiverseNile article into Arabic. Our dear friend and colleague, Elhassan Ahmed, translated the recent article entitled ‚Reconstructing Contact Space Biographies‘. You can find the full article here.

To kill two birds with one stone – making important texts more accessible to Arabic-speaking colleagues, but also alleviating the financial hardship of at least some Sudanese colleagues – the Sudan Cultural Emergency and Relief Fund (SCERF) of the International Society for Nubian Studies has launched a translation initiative. All articles translated to date can be found here: https://nubianstudies.org/maqalat/

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Collegium Aegyptium for their considerable financial support, which has made the translation of our article a reality.

Next DiverseNile Seminar: Napatan Funerary Amulets

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I am delighted to announce the upcoming DiverseNile seminar!

Our next speaker is Victoria Arroyo, a PhD candidate in Egyptology at the University of Münster, who has received a scholarship from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).

She will be talking about her PhD thesis and the title of her lecture is: ‚Funerary Amulets in the Nile Valley‘. Cultural and Social Interactions Between Kush and Egypt in the Napatan period (c. 750–270 BCE).

I’m really looking forward to this, which promises to offer an updated perspective on the use of funerary amulets during the Napatan era.

New publication: Perspectives on the post-colonial period in the Attab to Ferka region

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Within the DiverseNile project, we focus on developments and dynamics in the Bronze Age, particularly in the Late Bronze Age. The collapse of the Late Bronze Age is also a key consideration here, and I have recently revisited Post New Kingdom evidence from the MUAFS concession.

I am delighted that a publication is now available. In this new article (Budka 2025), I have attempted to shed new light on an old topic. In recent decades, the concept of a ‘Dark Age’ in ancient Sudan at the beginning of the first millennium BCE has increasingly been questioned within Nubian archaeology. This is primarily due to new archaeological discoveries at urban sites such as Tombos and Amara West, as well as new theoretical approaches that have emerged since the post-colonial shift. My recently published study aims to demonstrate that remote sensing, surveying and excavations in the Attab to Ferka region of Sudan have also yielded significant evidence of sustained habitation following the termination of Egyptian colonial rule over Nubia. Studies of settlement patterns and pottery, in particular, enrich our understanding of people’s lives between 1070 and 750 BCE, allowing us to shed light on dynamic processes, local forms of resilience and innovation.

This new understanding of the resilience of communities after the collapse of colonial Nubia under Egyptian rule enables a more nuanced interpretation of the development of the Napatan Empire and challenges the conventional concept of secondary states.

The Attab to Ferka case study shows that marginalised regions and communities made a significant contribution to cultural dynamics and achievements in Sudan during the first millennium BCE.

I’m very much looking forward to receiving feedback on this discussion and my theory!

Reference

Budka, J. 2025. The End of the Egyptian New Kingdom in Colonial Nubia: New Perspectives on Sociocultural Transformations in the Middle Nile. Humans. 2025; 5(4):26. https://doi.org/10.3390/humans5040026

Archaeology in the Gezira Reach: Forthcoming DiverseNile Seminar

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As the summer season draws to a close, it is also the case that the short hiatus from the DiverseNile Seminar is coming to an end. It is with great pleasure that I announce the forthcoming DiverseNile Seminar, scheduled to take place on 2 September, presented by Mohammed Alfatih Hayati.

Mohammed is currently employed as an Assistant Professor in Archaeology at the Department of Archaeology of the University of Khartoum in Sudan. His particular area of expertise is the Later prehistory (Mesolithic-Neolithic) of Sudan. Mohammed was awarded his PhD in Archaeology from the University of Khartoum in 2016. He is a member of numerous archaeological field projects in Sudan.

The subject of Mohammed’s presentation is „Archaeology in the Gezira Reach. Current State and Future Challenges“. In the context of the ongoing war in Sudan, it is imperative to consider the impact on both the Sudanese people and the nation’s substantial cultural heritage and rich archaeological sites. Current assessments and future challenges pertaining to significant archaeological regions, such as the Gezira, must be addressed in order to formulate effective strategies for the preservation and protection of these invaluable assets.

I’m very grateful to Mohammed for speaking in our Seminar Series and I’m excited to hear his update about archaeology in the Gezira Reach. I hope many of you will be able to join!

Fuelled with inspiration: back from SAfA 2025

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Conferences often provide plenty of new ideas and social and scientific encounters, as well as fresh input. This was exactly the case last week when the DiverseNile team participated in the SAfA 2025 conference.

The 27th biennial meeting of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA 2025) took place at the University of the Algarve in Faro, Portugal, from 21 to 26 July 2025. The venue was lovely, Faro is a beautiful place to visit in the summer. The meeting was a great success thanks to the excellent organisation and rich programme, which included excellent keynote speakers and a highly inspiring plenary event.

Alongside Elena Garcea and Giulia D’Ercole, I organised a session titled „Investigating settlements versus cemeteries. Competing or complementing interests? A View from Sudan“.

We considered this session to be relevant for the following reasons:

Firstly, there are some general aspects to consider. Throughout history, research in Sudan has clearly focused more on burials than on settlements. Cemeteries are considered the most significant social units, providing vital insights for archaeological interpretation and the reconstruction of social, economic, and gender patterns. Ideal case studies are those that include both settlements and cemeteries, although these are often not contemporary with each other.

Furthermore, there are also some personal reasons for organising this session. The three of us have worked on Sai Island and developed a longue durée approach that considers both settlements and tombs. My current DiverseNile project clearly links to this, combining an assessment of domestic and mortuary sites (building on what we have already done during the AcrossBorders project on Sai Island).

Me introducing the theme of the session (photo: H. Aglan).

During our session, an impressive line-up of speakers (including our Sudanese friends and colleagues Ahmed Nassr and Mohamed Bashir) presented the various methodological and theoretical aspects, as well as the challenges and opportunities, of this field of study. Drawing on case studies from different regions of ancient Sudan, particularly the Middle Nile Valley, the Jezira plain and the hinterlands, the subject was explored in depth.

Case studies from the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Meroitic, Post-Meroitic and Medieval periods were presented. We also discussed social patterns and cultural behaviours throughout history. This allowed us to link the assessment of settlement patterns with burial customs.

I am particularly pleased that Hassan Aglan discussed the relevance of the Kerma cemeteries within the MUAFS concession (highlightening our work at GiE 003), and that Chloe Ward presented innovative ideas regarding settlement patterns within the same area.

To conclude, our perspective on the topic is informed by observations from various periods and regions of Sudan. The session addressed the past, present and future of investigating settlements and cemeteries, an area in which much remains to be done.

We would like to thank all of our speakers, all participants and the organisers of SAfA 2025 again for now. Personally, I am already looking forward to the next meeting in 2027.