Always full of surprises. An Amun temple complex on the Upper Nile emerges from the sand

Dangeil was an important religious and political centre in the Kingdom of Kush, situated close to the Nile in what is now central Sudan. Archaeological excavations conducted since 2000, under the auspices of the Sudanese National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums, have uncovered a large, previously unknown 1st century AD temple of the god Amun, with brick walls and fine decorated stone wall-panels. Altars, ram statues and colourful architectural fragments are helping to establish an image of the ancient sacred landscape and many discoveries at Dangeil are throwing unexpected light on African history from antiquity into the medieval period and later.

About the speaker:

Dr Julie Anderson is responsible for curating the Sudanese and Nubian collections of the British Museum. Excavating at numerous sites in Egypt and Sudan since 1987. Since 1997, she has co-directed archaeological excavations in Sudan together with the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) in the Berber-Abidiya region. Her current fieldwork concentrates upon the site of Dangeil (3rd century BC – 4th century AD), located 350km north of Khartoum, where excavation of a large Amun temple is underway. Currently, she is the Honorary Secretary for the International Society for Nubian Studies and for the Sudan Archaeological Research Society.