A key characteristic of the JBAP team is its diversity and emphasis on equality.
Over the past five years, we have ensured that each research and managerial position on the project is held jointly by a Sudanese scholar and an international scholar. This pragmatic and, for Sudan, so far unique decision demonstrates our conceptualisation of Sudanese and foreign colleagues as equal partners in planning and implementing the excavation and conservation work.
However this Spring season, the excavations have been implemented wholly by Sudanese team members in regular consultation with international staff, particularly Tim Skuldbøl (Director of Excavations). We’d love to reconnect you with those you know and introduce those you don’t!
As a global collective, we are incredibly proud of the team and what they are achieving this season, particularly as they are working in extreme weather conditions and under constant pressure from the ongoing conflict, which has resulted in security concerns as well as an almost total lack of water and electricity.
The core team
Tohamy Abulgasim, JBAP’s Co-Director of Community Engagement and Researcher at the University of Cambridge, is this season’s Field Director. Tohamy is supported on site by Sami Elamin, Jebel Barkal’s Resident Manager, and remotely by Geoff Emberling and Tim Skuldbøl.
Rehab Khider is a senior inspector from the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) with significant experience in archaeological projects throughout Sudan. Rehab is currently focused on ceramics and small finds recording and analysis. She is working alongside Abdul Raouf Mohamed Jubara, from the Ministry of Tourism’s Deba office, who has also contributed to numerous heritage projects across the country.
Mohamed Ahmed Abass serves as a Senior Technician and Programmer at NCAM. His role within our team involves photographing archaeological finds and making 3D models of our trenches with Sami Elamin.
Loai Shams Al Ulla is an NCAM inspector and has worked with numerous archaeological projects across Sudan. He is currently responsible for Trench 2 (more on this trench in our next post!), working together with Hassan Ahmed Faki, a trainee at the Jebel Barkal office, and fellow NCAM inspector Yassin Ibrahim.
Ahmed El Amin, widely known as “Sukary,” is a senior NCAM inspector and the curator of the Jebel Barkal Museum. He is working in Trench 1 (our original trench) alongside Osman Mohamed Khafalla, who is an excavation specialist affiliated with the Ministry of Tourism’s office in Karima.
All members of our team are of course working in very close collaboration with 14 local employees: Omer Elrashid, Issam Osman Awad, Issam Abbas, Mohamed Jabir, Hosam Ahmed Musa, Amir Mobarak, Omer Ahmed Omer, Mohamed Monzil, Motwakil Elwassela, Mustafe Elwassela, Haytham Jamal El Deun, El Sheikh Mohamed, Rabe’e Omer and Ahmed Salah. Many of these employees have been working with JBAP for several years now and bring a sophisticated and important set of skills to the excavation.
Our trainees
Nahid Abdlrahman Ibrahim and Fadwa Abduljaleel Mohamed, both from Dongola University, are currently trainees based at the Jebel Barkal office. Nusiba Ahmed Jaknon, from the University of Neelain, is also participating as a trainee. All three have academic backgrounds in archaeology and are now gaining hands-on experience in excavation methods as part of their professional development.
Once again we’re super proud of our amazing, tenacious and dedicated team, and hope you’ll join us in congratulating them on a superb season!
