Once again, we had to postpone the plans for the last season of fieldwork in Sudan. For obvious reasons, we must also prepare for the fact that in the future excavations will require us to take special precautions. However, we hope that soon universal vaccinations and the growing awareness of hygiene rules will allow the continuation of studies on the prehistory of Nubia.
Important changes have also taken place in Sudan itself since our last stay in 2018. We followed the reports of peaceful political changes with joy and fear for the safety of our friends. We are constantly proud of the wisdom of the Sudanese!
We were also anxious to observe the effects of the great flood that struck the Nile Valley in late summer 2020. Its effects will certainly be felt next summer, when the malaria activity intensifies …
However, we do not give up and despite the quarantine we are working on publishing the results of our research. Reviewers evaluate our two important articles – one on the discovery and discussion of the behavior of the Affad aurochs, and the second – on the issues of the final determination of the periodization of the Affad Basin formation. Articles in Archaeologia Polona and PAM have appeared in print, as well as a chapter in the book which is the aftermath of the meeting in Paris, Not only corridor…. We are also working on the final form of a monograph devoted to the complete presentation of the results of our research on the Pleistocene stage of settlement in the Affad Basin.
We also think about the future – we plan further works and perfect ideas. Just a few days ago, we received a positive NCN decision to finance our next project! Under the leadership of Piotr, we will focus on biological and cultural markers indicating the directions of animal and human migration at the beginning of the Holocene and earlier. In addition to the age-old migration corridor along the Nile, we will also look at the W-E route along the Sahel sub-Saharan belt. So we’ll be discovering the ultra-discreet ‘footprints’ at our Pan-African intersection at Southern Dongola Reach! There would be no such idea without research at Affad.