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Only a few statues remain, with thousands of priceless artefacts from Nubian and Kushite kingdoms missing
Videos of Sudan's national museum showing empty rooms, piles of rubble and broken artefacts posted on social media after the Sudanese army recaptured the area from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in recent days show the extent of looting of the country's antiquities.
Fears of looting in the museum were first raised in June 2023 and a year later satellite images emerged of trucks loaded with artefacts leaving the building, according to museum officials. But last week, as the RSF were driven out of Khartoum after two years of war, the full extent of the theft became apparent.
A video shared by the Sudan Tribune newspaper showed the museum stripped bare, with only a few large statues remaining, including the seven-tonne statue of King Taharqa, a pharaoh who ruled Egypt and Kush (present-day Sudan) from 690 to 664BC. Others showed ransacked rooms and smashed display cabinets.
The museum held an estimated 100,000 artefacts from thousands of years of the country's history, including the Nubian kingdom, the Kushite empire and through to the Christian and Islamic eras. It held mummies dating from 2500BC, making them among the oldest and archaeologically most important in the world.
Elnzeer Tirab Abaker Haroun, a curator at the Ethnographic Museum in Khartoum, said a specialist team visited the site after the RSF were expelled to assess the damage, which they will be documenting in a report.
"The tragedy was immense," he said. "Most of the museum's rare artefacts, as well as its precious gold and precious stones, have been lost."
The theft includes not only items on public display but those held inside a fortified room, including gold, which it is feared have been smuggled out of the country for sale abroad.
Unesco, the UN's cultural agency, has previously called on art dealers not to trade, import or export artefacts smuggled out of Sudan.
The scale of the damage to the museum and Sudan's heritage has been felt deeply by Sudanese.
"Seeing the Sudan National Museum being looted and destroyed by RSF was one of the most painful crimes … I felt ashamed and angry," said Hala al-Karib, a prominent Sudanese women's rights activist.
As a student, Karib and her friends would walk through the building admiring the artefacts from ancient kingdoms and jokingly posing as if they were themselves the queens depicted.
She first started visiting the museum with her father and, when she became a parent herself, took her own daughter there almost weekly.
"It was very personal; we are proud people and continually inspired by our ancient civilisation – it is the heritage we pass on to our children and grandchildren."
Many view it as a tragedy emblematic of the loss the country has suffered since the war started in 2023 during a power struggle between the army commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF's leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo
Shahenda Suliman, a Sudanese trade unionist, said: "Whilst the human tragedy of this war outweighs everything for me, there's a symbolism there in seeing emptiness where these grand objects once stood that sort of captures the scale of destruction, loss and emptying of the country that we've seen since the war started.
"There are artefacts that have survived every plague, invasion and occupation for millennia, and predate the birth of Christ, that didn't survive this war."
Dallia Mohamed Abdelmoniem, a former journalist displaced from Khartoum by the war, said the loss of the museum's heritage was especially significant as an appreciation of Sudan's ancient history has become more widespread only recently.
She highlighted how the term Kandaka – a title for queens from the ancient kingdom of Kush – was used to describe female activists who participated in the 2018 protest movement that ousted the dictator Omar al-Bashir.
"I don't know how we'll be able to replace these priceless historical artefacts – and if there's a will to do so," said Abdelmoniem.
"The majority of Sudanese have been adversely affected on so many levels by this war, the restoration and return of items of historical, cultural and ancient significance I fear may not be viewed as a priority."
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A Polish-Egyptian archaeological mission completed the next phase of work in the tomb of Pharaoh Shepseskaf, located in the Saqqara necropolis near Cairo. Shepseskaf was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, believed to have ascended the throne after Menkaure died in 2503 BC. Unlike his predecessor, who was interred within a pyramid at Giza, Shepseskaf was buried in a mastaba, a rectangular, flat-roofed tomb known as Mastabat al-Fir'aun, or the "Bench of the Pharaoh."
The 99.6-meter-by-74.4-meter tomb has an underground network of chambers and passageways, including an antechamber and the main burial chamber. Initially excavated in the 1920s, the site provided information that the burial chamber had been looted in ancient times, with only fragments of the royal sarcophagus remaining.
Recent excavations conducted by the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IKŚiO PAN), in collaboration with Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, have focused on a detailed investigation of the burial chamber. The team was able to recover most of the fragments of the destroyed sarcophagus, allowing for partial reconstruction. In addition, they employed advanced 3D scanning technology to create a digital model of the internal structure of the tomb and performed geophysical surveys to map the layout of the processional ramp and its surroundings.
"In the current excavation season, scientists conducted archaeological research in the burial chamber and adjacent rooms, as well as in the chapel located on the eastern side of the mastaba. In turn, conservators managed to collect many fragments of the destroyed royal sarcophagus and begin its reconstruction," stated the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
The "Pharaoh's Mastaba" mission has been supported by donors, entrepreneurs, and Poland's Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW).
The continuation of the project is hoped to uncover more of the hidden areas of Shepseskaf's burial complex and prove invaluable in understanding the whole Saqqara necropolis. With the synergy of advanced technology and archaeological methods, the team hopes to reconstruct the historical and cultural significance of the tomb of this enigmatic pharaoh.
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Fig. 1. Plan of Tombos Cemetery (Highlighting the three main cemetery areas: North, West, and East; Illustrating examples of tumulus and pyramid burial structures).
Fig. 2. Units 6 and 7 in the Northern Cemetery, with detail of burials in the Unit 7 tomb. Photos of pottery from the tomb, including a Nubian style blacktopped redware bowl and the Ushabti of Tahut in situ (prepared by Smith).
Fig. 3. Unit 36, shaft 2 in the Western Cemetery showing burials in the shaft and main chamber. Photos of scarabs from modest burials and one of four canopic jars dedicated to the Lector Priest Hapi, an Egyptian alabaster cosmetic vessel, and silver mounted scarab ring from the main burial chamber (prepared by Smith).
Fig. 4. Unit 27 in the Eastern Cemetery showing the scattered remains of the tumulus and its shaft and side chamber burials. Photo of amulets of Egyptian deities from the tomb, including smaller amulets of the Eye of Horus, Bes, and Pataikos likely associated with Burial 2, and a four high quality amulets likely associated with Burial 1, including a large scarab, two different versions of Isis, and an elaborate Pataikos with a goddess behind him (prepared by Smith).
Table 1. List of entheseal changes analyzed.
Enthesis | Attachment | Biomechanical Function |
---|---|---|
M. supraspinatus/ M. infraspinatus | Greater tubercle of humerus | Arm abduction and rotation |
M. subscapularis | Lesser tubercle of humerus | Arm rotation |
M. teres minor | Greater tubercle of humerus | Arm rotation, adduction, extension |
Common extensors origin | Lateral epicondyle of humerus | Wrist and finger abduction, adduction, extension |
Common flexors origin | Medial epicondyle of humerus | Forearm pronation; wrist flexion and abduction; finger flexion |
M. triceps brachii | Olecranon process of ulna | Forearm extension |
M. brachialis | Coronoid process of ulna | Elbow flexion |
M. biceps brachii | Radial tuberosity | Elbow flexion and forearm supination |
M. brachioradialis | Radial styloid process | Elbow flexion |
M. semimembranosus/ M. semitendinosus/ M. biceps femoris | Ischial tuberosity of os coxae | Hip extension; knee flexion and lateral rotation |
M. gluteus medius | Greater trochanter of femur (anterior aspect) | Hip abduction and medial rotation |
M. gluteus minimus | Greater trochanter of femur (lateral aspect) | Hip abduction and medial rotation |
M. iliopsoas | Lesser trochanter of femur | Hip flexion |
M. gastrocnemius | Femoral condyles | Foot and knee flexion |
M. quadratus femoris | Intertrochanteric crest of femur | Lateral rotation and adduction of thigh |
Patellar ligament | Tibial tuberosity | Leg flexion and extension |
M. popliteus | Medial surface of proximal tibia | Knee rotation and flexion |
Table 2. Qualitative assessment of entheseal changes.
Empty Cell | Mean Entheseal Changes Score |
---|---|
Very High | +2 |
High | 1.5–2 |
Low | 1–1.5 |
Very Low | <1 |
Table 3. Demographic distribution of tombos sample.
Empty Cell | Western | Northern | Eastern | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | ||
Young | 9 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 52 |
Middle | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 27 |
Old | 4 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 26 |
Total | 44 | 32 | 34 | 110 |
Table 4. Entheseal changes mean scores.
Empty Cell | Left | p-value | F | Right | p-value | F | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Western | Northern | Eastern | Western | Northern | Eastern | |||||
M. supraspinatus/ M. infraspinatus | 1.280 | 0.580 | 0.930 | 0.481 | 0.742 | 1.570 | 0.730 | 1.270 | 0.609 | 0.501 |
M. subscapularis | 2.000 | 0.800 | 1.040 | 0.059 | 3.003 | 1.430 | 1.360 | 1.480 | 0.792 | 0.234 |
M. teres minor | 1.440 | 0.750 | 0.700 | 0.327 | 1.141 | 1.150 | 1.880 | 0.940 | 0.073 | 2.761 |
Common extensors origin | 2.090 | 1.330 | 1.800 | 0.378 | 0.988 | 1.610 | 2.000 | 1.740 | 0.297 | 1.239 |
Common flexors origin | 1.360 | 0.600 | 0.830 | 0.089 | 2.507 | 1.000 | 0.790 | 1.110 | 0.232 | 1.502 |
M. triceps brachii | 1.500 | 0.770 | 1.090 | 0.083 | 2.567 | 2.000 | 1.250 | 1.000 | 0.003 | 6.144 |
M. brachialis | 2.140 | 1.410 | 1.330 | 0.017 | 3.582 | 1.630 | 1.450 | 1.180 | 0.405 | 0.915 |
M. biceps brachii | 1.620 | 2.000 | 1.030 | 0.010 | 4.943 | 1.720 | 1.890 | 1.260 | 0.152 | 1.934 |
M. brachioradialis | 1.700 | 1.210 | 0.960 | 0.131 | 2.103 | 1.730 | 1.330 | 1.190 | 0.758 | 0.279 |
M. semimembranosus/ M. semitendinosus/ M. biceps femoris | 2.740 | 2.180 | 2.260 | 0.848 | 0.165 | 2.910 | 1.940 | 2.030 | 0.453 | 0.800 |
M. gluteus medius | 1.800 | 1.110 | 1.270 | 0.454 | 0.801 | 1.570 | 1.160 | 1.600 | 0.498 | 0.705 |
M. gluteus minimus | 1.820 | 1.120 | 1.460 | 0.362 | 0.525 | 2.260 | 1.220 | 1.190 | 0.027 | 3.824 |
M. iliopsoas | 1.170 | 1.000 | 1.030 | 0.979 | 0.021 | 1.300 | 0.890 | 1.070 | 0.847 | 0.166 |
M. gastrocnemius | 1.430 | 1.070 | 1.280 | 0.869 | 0.140 | 1.200 | 0.790 | 1.160 | 0.646 | 0.441 |
M. quadratus femoris | 1.470 | 0.780 | 1.130 | 0.271 | 1.334 | 1.960 | 0.830 | 1.110 | 0.002 | 6.915 |
Patellar ligament | 1.940 | 0.700 | 1.520 | 0.040 | 3.450 | 1.950 | 1.000 | 1.540 | 0.124 | 2.161 |
M. popliteus | 0.940 | 0.330 | 0.540 | 0.045 | 3.317 | 0.920 | 0.500 | 0.560 | 0.156 | 1.916 |
Fig. 5. Upper body average score categories by cemetery area.
Fig. 6. Lower body average score categories by cemetery area.
Fig. 7. Upper body average entheseal score by body position.
Fig. 8. Lower body average entheseal score by body position.
Supplementary Data 1.
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