Exhibition. Memories and impressions: 60 years of Swiss archaeology in Sudan
- Diffusion
December 1965, northern Sudan. A team of Swiss archaeologists begins exploring the site of Tabo, marked by two impressive millennia-old royal colossi lying on the ground. Thus begins an extraordinary human and scientific adventure that continues to this day. The outbreak of armed conflict in 2023 led to the temporary suspension of fieldwork, which has given way to laboratory research based on archives and pottery sherds preserved at the University of Geneva.
The exhibition invites visitors to follow in the footsteps of these researchers who, season after season, have brought to light from the sands of Sudan the forgotten history of this region and of the civilisation that flourished there, from Prehistory (the fourth millennium BCE) to the Meroitic period (the fourth century CE). Through around one hundred archival photographs, excavation plans and field notebooks, together with interviews with researchers, the exhibition conveys the living memory of fieldwork, the discoveries accumulated over decades, and the enduring bonds of friendship forged along the way.
Following investigations at Tabo and Akasha, research focused on Kerma, the first capital of the Kingdom of Kush. The ancient city is dominated by its imposing Deffufa, a mud-brick monument rising nearly twenty metres above the surrounding remains.
A few kilometres away, the tens of thousands of graves in the necropolis reveal a material culture of exceptional richness and remarkable funerary traditions. Finally, the nearby site of Doukki Gel lies at the heart of current research, where Egyptian temples stand alongside local architectural traditions. It was also the setting for an extraordinary discovery: the statues of the celebrated Kushite pharaohs who ruled Egypt more than 2,600 years ago.
These fascinating sites offer a new understanding of the history of the Nile Valley across its vast chronological span and geographical extent, prompting a reassessment of the connections between Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa, far removed from the Egyptocentric assumptions that prevailed in the early twentieth century.
This exhibition commemorates sixty years of Swiss archaeological research in Sudan: the work initiated by the Genevan archaeologist Charles Bonnet and his team, as well as that carried forward today by the two current missions:
- the Swiss-French-Sudanese mission of Kerma – Dukki Gel, affiliated to the ARCAN Laboratory, University of Geneva, is today directed by Xavier Droux (UNIGE, ARCAN Laboratory), Séverine Marchi (SFDAS and UMR 8167, France) and Abd el-Hay Abd el-Sawy (NCAM, Sudan);
- the Swiss archaeological mission at Kerma (Sudan), affiliated to the University of Neuchâtel and directed by Matthieu Honegger.
Curated by: Xavier Droux and Aurélie Quirion
Guest curator: Matthieu Honegger
Support and collaboration: Kerma Foundation; ARCAN Laboratory; Geneva Egyptology Society; KDG Kerma – Doukki Gel Association.
Free admission at the University of Geneva Exhibition Hall, 66 Boulevard Carl-Vogt, Geneva. Open Monday to Friday (07:30–19:00) and Sunday (14:00–17:00).
