About the Lecture:
Kush was the dominant political power in the Middle Nile region of northern Sudan for over 2000 years (ca. 2000 BCE – 300 CE). Our understanding of this extensive ancient empire has long been constrained by the long legacy of focus on monumental remains (palaces, temples, pyramids) at the expense of investigation of settlements that would broaden our understanding of Kushite economy and social identities.
A joint project of the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Sudan and the University of Michigan has begun work on a newly discovered area of settlement at Jebel Barkal (ancient Napata), one of the major cities of Kush (and a UNESCO World Heritage site). This talk will present the results of our first seasons of work on Meroitic levels of settlement at the site, contemporary with the Roman occupation of Egypt (1st century BCE – 1st century CE).
About the Lecturer:
Dr. Geoff Emberling is an archaeologist and museum curator who has worked extensively on ancient cultures of North Africa and the Middle East. His research has focused on identities, urbanism and empires in Mesopotamia and in Nubia. He has directed projects in northern Sudan over the past 15 years and his team is just beginning its work at Jebel Barkal, the “pure mountain” of the ancient Egyptians and capital city of ancient Kush.
