Objectives
The objectives of the NCAM are to prepare a management and conservation plan for the island with the local population, so that the development of the island improves the living conditions of the population while preserving the cultural and natural wealth of the area.
The immediate aim of this training was to reinforce the practical knowledge of NCAM technicians.
Saï Island is located on the Nile, 800 km north of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. It measures just 12 km from north to south and 5.5 km from east to west. Thanks to its particularly strategic location, the island boasts numerous archaeological sites, bearing witness to the main phases of civilization in the region, with sites dating back to more than 300 millennia BC, followed by the Kerma and Meroe cultures (3500 - 1000 BC), which were succeeded by the kingdoms of the Egyptian dynasties and then Nubia (now independent). In the 6th century AD, the region underwent an important phase of Christianization, and Saï became the seat of a bishopric, of which a few remains remain. The Islamic period is mainly represented by the ruins of an Ottoman fort built on the accumulated remains of earlier periods.
The island continues to be inhabited today, with a population of different groups spread over four main villages. Numerous archaeological excavations and historical studies carried out since the 19th century have revealed the island's special value.
However, there are many threats of cultural degradation and loss, which led the national directorate in charge of heritage conservation (NCAM) to propose a conservation project. This project was selected by the Africa 2009 steering committee for implementation in 2008, by national experts with support from CRAterre.
Following an initial diagnostic phase, a training workshop was organized for 17 heritage professionals from Sudan. This activity made it possible to start improving the state of conservation of the Saï site and its management, while strengthening decision-making capacities at national level, with a better theoretical and practical basis for the 17 participants. The training was led by 6 Sudanese heritage professionals and 2 CRAterre experts, an archaeologist and an architect.
Each training day was divided into two parts: the mornings were devoted to practical activities on site, and the afternoons to theoretical sessions and the drafting of reports on what had been done in the morning.
Results
- 17 site curators involved in training ;
- Some of the conservation work carried out ;
- Familiarization with documentation techniques ;
- Teaching materials available for other training courses.
Partners
La National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM), le Ministère de la Culture, de la Jeunesse et des Sports, l'Université de Khartoum, l'Unité archéologique française permanente au Soudan, Afrique 2009.
