Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Sudan Dams Appeal

Subject: Sudan Dams Appeal
Vincent Rondot
Former Director of French Unit/SFDAS
President, International Society for Nubian Studies


Paris, 2 February 2012

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the International Society for Nubian Studies and its staff, please accept our best wishes for the New Year 2012.

We would have preferred doing so under more auspicious circumstances. Indeed, the government of Sudan has maintained its decision to build a dam at Kajbar and, amongst the various hydro-electric projects currently underway, this is undeniably the project with the most disastrous consequences for the archaeological and historic heritage of the Sudan.

As the President of the Society, I was asked to forward the attached message received from the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM); an appeal of our Sudanese colleagues for a salvage and study campaign before the construction of two dams, the first between Kajbar and the Third Cataract (Mahas country); and the second at Shereiq (Fifth Cataract).

Following the salvage operations required by the construction of the Fourth Cataract dam, the present communication is a new appeal by the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums to the international community for the documentation, study and preservation where possible, within a time frame that remains unknown.  The letter from Salah Mohamed Ahmed, Director of the Excavations and Fieldwork at NCAM already presents certain measures that will be taken.

He also mentions the generous offer made by our colleagues at the British Museum to host a first information and consultation meeting on 15 May 2012. I would be grateful if you could let us know whether you will be attending.

It seemed essential to me to distribute this letter as far and wide as possible, evidently to institutions and specialists of Sudan archaeology but also to institutions and archaeologists working in Egypt. I thank you in
advance for your wide distribution of this message.

The letter from NCAM can be found on:
http://preservethemiddlenile.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/ncam-dams-appeal2.jpg

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