Pantagathus Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 A team of archaeologists has discovered a huge ancient gold processing centre and a graveyard along the River Nile in northern Sudan. They were part of the 4,000-year-old Kush, or Nubian, kingdom. The scholars say the finds show the empire was much bigger than previously thought and rivalled ancient Egypt. The archaeologists are racing to dig up the Hosh el-Geruf area, some 225 miles from the capital, Khartoum, before the Merowe dam floods the area next year. The dam is due to create a lake 100 miles long and two miles wide, forcing some 50,000 people from their homes. Tribute "Nubia was renowned for its gold deposits," said Geoff Emberling, from the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, according to National Geographic News. "Even today, panning for gold is a traditional activity in the area," said his colleague, Bruce Williams. Ancient Egypt conquered Kush some 3,000 years ago and took "hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds of gold each year" in tribute, Mr Emberling said. The new discoveries show that ancient Kush extended for up to 750 miles along the River Nile. Near the gold processing centre, the archaeologists found some 90 graves. "We found one laughably tiny gold bead in the burials, but that was the only gold we found," Mr Emberling said. "It seems certain that the gold was not used locally. Very likely the gold was for the benefit of the ruler and his circle in Kerma," 225 miles upstream from Hosh el-Geruf. BBC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Another related piece: "Archaeologists explore lost kingdom on the Nile On the periphery of history in antiquity, there was a land known as Kush. Overshadowed by Egypt, to the north, it was a place of uncharted breadth and depth far up the Nile, a mystery verging on myth. One thing the Egyptians did know and recorded: Kush had gold. Scholars have come to learn that there was more to the culture of Kush than was previously suspected. From deciphered Egyptian documents and modern archaeological research, it is now known that for five centuries in the second millennium B.C., the kingdom of Kush flourished with the political and military prowess to maintain some control over a wide territory in Africa"... http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/19/news/nile.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rameses the Great Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Up until the early 1800s, the Egyptians sought to control Sudan for its gold mines. Interesting read, thanks Pantagathus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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