Manu Ampim - Merowe Dam Excerpt

Prof. Manu Ampim

12/31/07

Kushite ruler from Meroe Pyramid field at Bagraweya (near Meroe )

INTRODUCTION

In August 2007, I visited the Sudan for two weeks to conduct field research near the Merowe Dam area in the country’s northern region. My mission was a mini-research survey to record and document the archaeological sites and villages that will be flooded when the dam is completed in the upcoming months. The Merowe Dam is being constructed near the Fourth Cataract and, once completed in 2008, will inundate one of the most significant archaeological regions in the world. This area was an extension of one of the important political centers of the powerful ancient African civilization of Kush , and it was part of an extensive trading network and centralized kingship 4,500 years ago. My other goal of this Sudanese tour was to visit the major temple and pyramid sites, from the capital area of Khartoum down to the northern region of Merowe . [1] I was joined by my Sudanese colleague, Sarwat, who came from Germany to give me invaluable assistance with negotiating domestic transportation, obtaining the required entry permits, and meeting with government officials. Sarwat’s in-depth knowledge of Sudanese culture and his government contacts were keys to my productive tour.

Archaeological map (large view) Author and Sudanese colleague Sarwat

MEROWE DAM PROJECT

The Merowe Dam (also called the Hamdab Dam) is a $1.7 billion project and it is the largest dam project ever constructed in the Sudan . The official goal of this project is to create 1250 megawatts of hydroelectricity for the country and thereby almost double the nation’s energy output. The project is near completion and will create a 170 kilometer (108 mile) long lake, and displace an estimated 70,000 people. Also, recent research surveys suggest that there are literally thousands of new archaeological sites that have not been investigated, and unfortunately the vast majority of them will be submerged under the new lake before there will be any major excavations or recording of the artifacts.

Merowe Dam signs are in three languages: Arabic, English, and Chinese

Merowe Dam construction work

Two rows of energy transmission lines

The dam project is a major international effort with engineering, management, and construction support from China , Germany , and France . Also Arab financial institutions, including the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Saudi Fund for Development, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and the Kuwaiti Fund for Economical Development, are providing $871 million dollars in project financing. The Export-Import Bank of China and the Chinese government are providing an additional $520 million. Further, Chinese construction companies including China International Water and Electric Corporation are involved in the Merowe project. [2] Indeed, in our visit to the site and walk through the main construction area we were able to see many thousands of workers and even a change in work shifts, and it appears that about 10% of the construction workers are Chinese foreigners.

The Merowe Dam project could benefit many of the Sudanese people, but it has also raised major concerns among the local Sudanese and the international community, because of the environmental, archaeological, and social impact that it will have.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SALVAGE EFFORT

The engineering work on the Merowe Dam began in June 2003, but before this time the Sudanese government had already made an international appeal to all experts and institutions specialized in archaeology, history, ethnology, preservation and related fields to contribute to the rescue of sites endangered by the construction of the dam. The appeal was made by Hassan Idriss, Director General of the National Corporation for Antiquities & Museums (NCAM). Idriss indicated in his appeal that under a 1999 antiquities ordinance that the incentive for the participating institutions would be the right to own a representative portion of the artifacts discovered. [3] In cooperation with NCAM’s effort of saving the Merowe area sites and artifacts is the Sudanese government Merowe Dam Project / Dams Implementation Unit. [4]

This government appeal “for the rescuing of a piece of man’s cultural heritage” was responded to by archaeological teams from Poland , Britain , France , Germany , Italy , Hungary , and the United States . Among the principle archaeological missions are the British Museum Sudan Archaeological Research Society (SARS), University of Chicago Oriental Institute, Humboldt University Nubian Expedition ( Germany ), French Archaeological Section, and the Gdansk Archaeological Museum Expedition ( Poland ).

In the past few years important discoveries have been made above the 4^th Cataract, such as the Oriental Institute team’s early 2007 discovery of a gold-producing center at a remote site called Hosh el-Geruf. The team reported finding more than 55 grinding stones made of gneiss that were used to crush and grind ore to recover the precious metal. The ground ore was likely washed with water to separate the gold flakes. This organized gold production is estimated to have flourished sometime between 2000 and 1500 BCE, during a classical period of the kingdom of Kush.[5] This new gold discovery has now compelled researchers to alter their conclusions regarding the extent of Kushite influence, which was thought to stretch only from Kerma (which was the seat of the Kushite kingdom at the 3^rd Cataract) north to the 1^st Cataract. The Hosh el-Geruf discovery has now made it clear that the influence of Kush during the Kerma era extended hundreds of miles farther up the Nile beyond the 4^th Cataract.

Hassan Ahmed Ali pans for gold in al-Widay village Large broken grindstones were found at Hosh el-Geruf

One of the 90 graves of a cemetery found at Al-Widay. Many of the tomb objects are thought to be produced of materials from the Kerma region to the north. (Excavation work of the Oriental Institute).

Near Hosh el-Geruf is the site of Al-Widay, where a cemetery with 90 burials of local people were found, and among the artifacts were pottery vessels, beads, and other items that appear to be made in the center of the kingdom, in Kerma, some 225 miles downstream to the north. Dr. Bruce Williams, co-leader of the Oriental Institute’s expedition indicated, “Finds of Kerma materials at the Fourth Cataract was one of the major surprises of the salvage effort, and they suggest the leaders of Kush were able to expand their influence much further than was previously known.”[6] Gil Stein, Director of the Institute, added: “This work is extremely exciting because it can give us our first look at the economic organization of this very important, but little known ancient African state.” He continued, “Until now, virtually all that we have known about Kush came from the historical records of their Egyptian neighbors, and from limited explorations of monumental architecture at the Kushite capital city Kerma. The Oriental Institute excavations at Hosh el-Guruf [sic] will allow scholars to understand the rural sources of the riches of Kush.”[7]

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*PART 2 of this report is Racial Identity in the Sudan / Back to Essays Page

THE VANISHING EVIDENCE OF CLASSICAL AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS: