A quick note to alert JBAP website subscribers to newly published research produced by our busy team!
In the latest issue of the Sudan & Nubia journal, we present the results of *five years* of investigation, excavation and conservation at Jebel Barkal.
Key findings from our 2018-23 seasons include:
· The existence of dense urban architecture all around the Napatan palace (established through GPR and excavation).
· The presence of a town outside the monumental area (known from magnetometry and excavation), including during the Napatan period. The town plan has streets and seemingly large apartment blocks but is not based on a grid plan – and there is no town wall.
· There is no evidence of Roman destruction of the town – surprising since the Roman chronicler Strabo wrote about their army “razing it to the ground”!
In addition, we have found out a lot about life in the town:
· Our first investigation into plant and animal use shows that wheat and barley were used rather than sorghum and millet; and suggests that the inhabitants were mostly eating beef (85% of animal remains are cattle bones).
· And a large mass of Meroitic seal impressions provide a window into the town’s civic administration.
So, there is a huge amount of material to digest, all of which contributes to our knowledge of life at Barkal *and* to our understanding of Kushite Sudan as a whole.
We urge you to check it out and share with your community!
You can find the article here.
A final note: anyone interested to learn more about these recent findings – particularly regarding Kush and the Roman World – may wish to attend Geoff Emberling’s talks on the subject in April, in his capacity as 2024/25 Joukowsky Lecturer for the Archaeological Institute of America. See here for more information.
