Francesca Iannarilli, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

Preserving a site between war and distance: excavation, conservation and valorisation works by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Sudan at Jebel Barkal.

 The Italian Archaeological Mission in Sudan has been working at the UNESCO site of Jebel Barkal for 50 years, and for the last 13 years has been sponsored by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. The excavation of the site (which dates to the Meroitic period, particularly between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC) has always been accompanied by the restoration of the structures (a royal palace and a series of associated buildings) as well as the conservation and archaeometric analysis of the materials. However, the political situation in the country has become increasingly unstable in recent years, leading to the armed conflict that has been raging for the past year and a half in the capital, Khartoum, and several other Sudanese regions, making it impossible to continue the mission and the fieldwork. How is it possible to maintain a presence on the ground and a contact with local people in such a complex period? What are the critical issues and opportunities for archaeology in the Southern Mediterranean and Central Africa at such a difficult time? These and other issues will be explored in the light of some of the actions that are being attempted-