Panorama of Jebel Barkal and pyramids from the south. Image: Gregory Tucker, 2018
Occupying more than 100 hectares along the Nile in northern Sudan, Jebel Barkal is an extraordinary archaeological site preserving the remains of a capital city of ancient Kush: one of Africa’s earliest and most important empires. In Arabic, “Jebel Barkal” means “Holy Mountain,” and the site formed around a tall, dramatic sandstone outcrop that was sacred to ancient Kushites and Egyptians. At the base of this mountain was a succession of settlements, now covered by desert sands and sediment from the annual Nile flood. It was an important city in ancient Kush for more than 1000 years (800 BCE – 300 CE) and was also the southernmost outpost of the Egyptian empire when it had conquered Kush (1500-1069 BCE). In addition to the ancient city, the site is also home to the ruins of pyramid tombs, temples, and palaces. Because of its exceptional historical importance, Jebel Barkal is at the center of a UNESCO World Heritage area.
Currently, excavations of the Jebel Barkal Archaeological Project (JBAP) are directed by archaeologists Geoff Emberling of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan and El-Hassan Ahmed Mohamed of the National Corporation of Antiquities and Museums (NCAM), Sudan. Conservation is directed by conservators Suzanne Davis, also of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, and Mustafa El-Sharif, of NCAM. Our project is an international collaboration involving scholars, staff, and students from Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It also engages a range of communities that have connections to the site, including residents of the nearby city of Kareima and the villages of Upper and Lower Jebel Barkal.
We invite you to explore this website to learn more about our work, and we welcome media inquiries. To learn how you can support our work, please contact project co-director Geoff Emberling.
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Latest Posts
- We’re Ramping Up Our Game! Fresh Funding Boosts Our Mission – And Not a Moment Too SoonOn 12 December, the University of Michigan’s Kelsey Museum of Archaeology made an extremely exciting announcement: they have received an astonishingly generous $1.15M gift from the prominent businessman and U-M alumnus, Steve Klinsky. This extraordinary donation will fund five of Michigan’s archaeological missions across Africa, Asia, and North America – and excitingly for us, includes… Read more: We’re Ramping Up Our Game! Fresh Funding Boosts Our Mission – And Not a Moment Too Soon
- Ground Penetrating Radar at Jebel BarkalAs the civil war in Sudan continues, we are continuing to try to support colleagues in their efforts to protect sites and provide educational opportunities to people in surrounding towns and villages. Our team is also continuing what research we can–much of this involves analysis of data that we have collected. Today, we are announcing… Read more: Ground Penetrating Radar at Jebel Barkal
- Thanks for supporting archaeologists in SudanHello everyone, I wanted to thank you all for supporting our archaeological colleagues working at Jebel Barkal during this very difficult time in Sudan. We were able to raise just over $4000 and I have now sent it all to help our colleagues. The interim manager of Jebel Barkal, Sami Elamin, asked me to pass… Read more: Thanks for supporting archaeologists in Sudan
- Looting of Sudan National MuseumHi everyone, As readers of this blog will know, the civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces militia (RSF) has been going on for over a year. The RSF have controlled most of Khartoum for most of the war, including the area of the Sudan National Museum.… Read more: Looting of Sudan National Museum
- Appeal for assistance for SudanHello everyone, It has been awhile since we’ve posted on the Jebel Barkal blog. We’ve been busy and I’ll write more about what we’ve been doing in the coming weeks. But for now, I would like to ask for financial help for our colleagues in Sudan. As you may know, the civil war in Sudan… Read more: Appeal for assistance for Sudan
