3,500-Year-Old Burial Discovered in Sudan

KERMA, SUDAN—Phys.org reports that a Kerma culture burial radiocarbon dated to between 1775 and 1609 B.C. has been discovered in Sudan’s Bayuda Desert, in what was once ancient Nubia, by a team of researchers including Monika Badura and Henryk Paner of the Gdańsk Archaeological Museum. The grave contained the skeletal remains of a robust man who stood about five feet, four inches tall. He had flattened lumbar vertebrae and changes in his left ankle, indicating that he had performed intense physical labor. Thickening of the skull suggests he had experienced malnutrition, disease, or trauma. Two vessels made of clay were also recovered from the grave. The first was a bowl placed upside-down, similar to other bowls recovered from burials of the Kerma period. Such bowls may represent an “emptying of life” from the vessel and the body, the researchers explained. The second, unusual vessel was decorated with a black stripe and contained traces of a fire, animal bones, coprolites, and insect remains that may reflect a burial ceremony that included lighting a fire and feasting, Paner explained. Eighty-two faience disk-shaped beads, likely obtained through Nubia’s trade networks, were found near the neck of the deceased. To read about excavations at the Nubian capital of Kerma, go to "A Nubian Kingdom Rises."