Initial note
Naqaa missed opportunity
In September 2002, I attended the Tenth International Conference on Nubian Studies, which was held at the University of Rome La Sapienza. There I listened to a report presented by Carla Kroeber about the archaeological excavation work being carried out by the Egyptian Museum mission in Berlin at the Naqaa site. The report raised many questions that I posed to the introduction of the report and to Brother Hassan Hussein Idris, the current Director General of the Antiquities Authority, who was present at the conference but did not attend this session specifically, perhaps to attend a report in another hall, where the conference sessions were held in the form of panels, each session specializing in a topic of Sudanese antiquities. Truth be told, these questions still remain, as the two responses I received were completely insufficient.
I would like to point out here the fact that the Egyptian Museum in Berlin has been seeking over many years to obtain approval for work at the Naqaa site, but its request, and other missions, has always been met with a negative response. Wildung's last attempt, which was rejected, was in 1990 when I was Director General of National Monuments and Museums. He had submitted the request with the support of Brother Dr. Khader Abdel Karim, head of the Archeology Department at the University of Khartoum at the time.
Here it is necessary to clarify the reasons that necessitated the permanent and repeated refusal by the Antiquities Authority to grant this site specifically to any of the foreign missions. The founding director of the Antiquities Authority, Arkell, confirmed this rejection in the 1940s, recording his point of view that the Naqaa site is considered one of the most scientifically promising sites in Sudan, and since it is located far in the interior of Butana and is naturally protected by the sand that covers most of the buildings there, and since the excavation work there actually consists of two aspects, the first is maintenance and the second is cleaning, he insisted on the necessity of keeping the site in its condition, with a focus on periodic maintenance work for the surface buildings until Sudanese cadres are trained. Qualified in charge. The director who succeeded Arkell, Professor Peter Cheney, affirmed the same position regarding Naqa, as did the last foreign director, Professor Jean Vercottet. The first Sudanese director of the department, Mr. Thabet Hassan Thabet, stressed the necessity of adhering to that point of view, which is the same thing that was emphasized by his successor, Mr. Najm al-Din Mohamed Sharif. Then came my refusal, which I explained to Wildung and to Dr. Khader Abdel Karim, indicating to the latter, in his capacity as head of the Department of Antiquities at the University of Khartoum, that it was necessary to begin seriously thinking about forming a joint Sudanese mission for the Department of Antiquities and the University of Khartoum. Indeed, the Authority has begun preliminary preparations by appointing graduates specialized in various branches of knowledge organically related to archaeological research (survey, geology, botany, chemistry, and architecture) and beginning their theoretical and field training according to a plan to which, along with the trained cadres of the Authority, members of the French unit affiliated with the Authority contributed. The delegation of the Swiss University of Geneva and the French University of Lille also extended a helping hand, gratefully approving the continued training of the Authority’s envoy to the University of Lille, Salah al-Din Mohamed Ahmed, to obtain a degree. Doctorate degree, provided that he is equipped with the necessary capabilities to lead field work according to the latest archaeological research techniques, by practicing field work among members of the University of Geneva delegation working at the Kerma site while preparing for his doctoral thesis. The University of Cologne also graciously agreed to let the interest envoy, Jamal al-Din Muhammad Idris, continue to complete his doctoral thesis, after obtaining a master’s degree from the same university, the material for which he collected through his field work for years with the University of Cologne delegation in Wadi Howar. The Polish mission also welcomed the provision of a doctoral scholarship to Brother Mahmoud Al-Sheikh Al-Tayeb, who led the interest’s mission to excavate the late Meroitic site of Al-Qaddar, with technical assistance provided by the Polish mission. Thus, the General Administration of Antiquities began to qualify cadres who could form, in partnership with specialists at the University of Khartoum, a team capable of announcing the start of work at the Naqaa site.
But water brings what ships do not desire. After my arrest and referral to the so-called public interest, the vast majority of those cadres were liquidated (the number of those referred to the public interest from the authority reached 24), including Jamal Muhammad Idris, in the same week in which he completed training and obtained his doctoral degree. He was on his way back from Germany to Sudan, so he went instead, after being notified of the news of his referral to the public interest, to Libya to work at Nasser University and then to Yemen, where he is still providing his experience and knowledge at one of the universities there, and the same is true for To Brother Mahmoud Al-Sheikh Al-Tayeb, who was also referred to the Public Interest and is still preparing for his doctorate. After completing his studies, he currently works as a field director for the Polish mission in Lebanon.
The question is: Why was permission granted to the Berlin Museum delegation to work on the site immediately after the liquidation of all those cadres? Who is responsible for issuing the license? Was this the result of a conviction that there was no Sudanese staff in the department capable of carrying out the work? If this is the case, does the Antiquities Authority not have a plan that would train such cadres, or does the administration fear that this type of planning would constitute a danger that would lead to mass referrals to the public good again? What are the conditions for that permit? Does the Antiquities Authority carefully monitor the mission’s compliance with the conditions of the permit?
Since I am not familiar with all the details of the permit and the details of the ongoing work, I prefer not to comment at the present time.
D. Osama Abdel-Rahman Elnur
Former Director of the General Administration of Antiquities and National Museums
September 2003