{"id":8,"date":"2021-07-29T20:05:30","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T20:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/jbap\/?page_id=8"},"modified":"2025-07-02T16:01:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T16:01:46","slug":"current-project-and-excavations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/jbap\/research\/current-project-and-excavations\/","title":{"rendered":"Current Project and Excavations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Excavation area on the East Mound with Jebel Barkal in background. Drone photo: Kate Rose, 2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Current research and excavations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n

The Jebel Barkal Archaeological Project (JBAP) began in 2016. Our archaeological research is focused on understanding Jebel Barkal as an ancient city\u2014the \u201clost city\u201d of Napata. Previous work at the site has focused on its pyramids, temples, and palaces<\/a>. Yet despite 200 years of attention from travelers, historians, and archaeologists, there have been no sustained efforts to locate the city that supported the temples and palaces at the site until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our team is also beginning a program of conservation<\/a> of the temple area of the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are doing this work in collaboration with the local community<\/a> in the town of Kareima and the villages of Upper Jebel Barkal (Barkal Fowq) and Lower Jebel Barkal (Barkal Tahet).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Image: Painted chapel wall from the pyramid of Queen Nawidemak at Jebel Barkal. Documented by the Royal Prussian Expedition directed by Richard Lepsius in 1844 but no longer preserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Excavations 2016-2023<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In our first work at the site, we identified a promising area called the \u201cEast Mound\u201d using magnetic gradiometry (read our 2016 article on this below), and subsequently completed a geophysical survey of that area in 2018. We had two short excavation seasons in 2019 and 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"
The East Mound from the top of Jebel Barkal. Photo: Sami Elamin, 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Initial magnetometry results on the East Mound at Jebel Barkal. Image: Gregory Tucker, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Excavation area on the East Mound with palm groves and the Nile River. Drone photo: Sami Elamin, 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The uppermost levels of the East Mound date to the 1st century BCE \/ 1st century CE\u2014the \u201cMeroitic\u201d period when Kush was in conflict with and also traded with Roman Egypt. This level of the city would have been occupied at the same time as the palace of King Natakamani excavated by our Italian colleagues<\/a> working in a different part of the site. It is also contemporary with a group of royal pyramid burials, including several of queens who were sole rulers of Kush. We have also found hints of earlier occupation on the East Mound. Investigations of the city in the Meroitic and earlier periods will be the focus of future seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"
Excavated buildings on the East Mound. Plan: Nadejda Reshetnikova, 2020
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

For a report on the 2016 investigation, please see our publication: “Settlement in the Heartland of Napatan Kush: Preliminary Results of Magnetic Gradiometry at El-Kurru, Jebel Barkal and Sanam<\/a>” in the 2016 volume, Sudan & Nubia<\/em> 20: 50-56.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a full report on the results of of excavation from 2018-23, please see our publication: “Jebel Barkal 2018-2023: New Research on the Napatan and Meroitic City<\/a>” in the 2025 volume, Sudan & Nubia<\/em> 28: 73-98.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Readers might also be interested in the New Scientist<\/a> article related to these excavations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excavations 2025<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

*Coming soon*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Newsletter Signup<\/h3>\n\n\n
Submit a form.<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Current research and excavations The Jebel Barkal Archaeological Project (JBAP) began in 2016. Our archaeological research is focused on understanding Jebel Barkal as an ancient city\u2014the \u201clost city\u201d of Napata. Previous work at the site has focused on its pyramids, temples, and palaces. Yet despite 200 years of attention from travelers, historians, and archaeologists, there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":0,"parent":7,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-8","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/jbap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/jbap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/jbap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/jbap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/jbap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/jbap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1421,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/jbap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions\/1421"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/jbap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/jbap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}