Finding Sustainability in the Desert: Conservation of the Archaeological Site of Dangeil, Sudan, and Its Associated Collections

An extreme environment poses challenges, and forces one to implement solutions that require mixing state-of-the-art techniques with local knowledge and resources, to achieve results that are appropriate, effective, and sustainable in the long term. This is the case at Dangeil, Sudan, site of a first-century CE Kushite temple and cemeteries. Archaeological excavation and conservation were initiated in 2000 by the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM), Sudan, in cooperation with the British Museum. This paper presents the methodological approach applied at Dangeil as an example of effective sustainable conservation. Key aspects have been sourcing and use of local materials, a capacity-building programme and knowledge diffusion through the local community. A robust social and economic relationship with the community has provided the support crucial to ensure the success of the project thus far, and its long-term sustainability. Following the construction of a protective site shelter, on-going work aims to open an interpretation centre on-site and a museum in a nearby town, where finds from excavations (including a well-preserved Kushite wall painting, detached in 2018) will be displayed. Given the isolation of Sudan and remoteness of Dangeil, ‘going local’ has been both a necessity and a virtue. Co-operation between the international missions, the NCAM and local communities will further increase protection for this endangered heritage.