I am delighted to announce the next DiverseNile seminar, which will take place before the summer break.

Ahmed Nassr will be speaking on the topic of: „Middle Paleolithic and Neolithic landscape use variabilities in central Sudan, view from recent discoveries in Northern Butana“. Ahmed is an Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism and Archaeology at the College of Arts at the University of Ha’il in Saudi Arabia.

He specialises in Palaeolithic and Neolithic Sudan and has conducted a wide range of surveys and excavations in various regions of Sudan.

Ahmed kindly wrote an abstract highlighting the content of his upcoming lecture, which I am happy to share here:

“During July 2022 we carried out an archaeological survey in northern Butana (NB) in the area so called Dihaira in the Atbara/Nile triangle. The survey covered the area south of Edamr about 40 km into the fringes of the Butana 80 km in the south, and 20 km east of the Nile to the western margin of Atbara paleo-lake about 60 km. Multiple methods applied including desktop archaeological exploration, landscape ground survey, systematic survey, and test excavations.

The concession is adjacent to two major prehistoric sites (Atbara and Butana), which are of significant importance for understanding human adaptation, cultural evolution and mobility within the central Sudan region. Building on the results of our previous fieldwork in Atbara and the Middle Nile, the NB project was established to understand the range of landscape units exploited by Middle Stone Age (MSA) groups and subsequent prehistoric inhabitants, and to explore the relationship between the hinterland of Butana and the riverine zone.

This lecture tries to present the outcomes of the inaugural survey of the first season, which recorded ninety new archaeological sites. These sites found in variable landscapes, and encompass high-density concentrations of stone artifacts, burial sites, and stratified contexts spanning various periods from Middle Paleolithic, Early and late Neolithic, and Meroitic. The data collected from site surfaces, surface cleaning of MSA sites, excavation of terminal Neolithic sites supported by comprehensive classification and C14 dating.”

Don’t miss this opportunity to find out about a very promising field project in Sudan!