
2019 drone photo by Kate Rose.
The Jebel Barkal project is moving ahead with plans to go to Sudan for a field season in January and February! In such uncertain times it feels like a victory to have a plan even if we know the project may not go exactly as we expect.
At Jebel Barkal itself, we have two main projects and are still hoping to find funding for a third. One project is starting the conservation of the temple area of the site, excavated over a century ago by George Reisner. This project this year will include:
- continuing construction of concrete barriers to prevent vehicles from driving on sensitive areas of the site
- photogrammetric and conservation documentation of the current condition of two temples (B 600 and B 700)
- a complete survey by Ground Penetrating Radar to help us plan for how to direct water runoff from the occasional but strong rainstorms that affect the site
- beginning of a community engagement project that will help us understand how the community relates to the site that will inform our conservation and site presentation decisions

with the Amun Temple (B 500) behind. 2019 drone photo by Kate Rose.
Our other project is surface clearance of the settlement area of the site, which we started in a small way in 2019 and 2020. We hope to continue this work during the course of the season.
The third project, for which we have almost secured funding, is to begin a program of geomorphology at the site. This will involve drilling a series of boreholes between the site and the Nile (a distance of almost 2 km) and on the other side of the river to identify how the course of the river and smaller channels may have changed. This will be important for us as we begin to evaluate how changes in climate affected the local environment and potentially the growth and decline of the ancient city.
We are moving toward an equal representation of Sudanese and foreign scholars on the team and we are excited to begin our collaboration this season!