Archaeology by the Fourth Nile Cataract: Survey and Excavations on the left bank of the river and on the islands between Amri and Kirbekan, Volume IV.1

Finds, Part 1: The Artefacts

Book cover: Archaeology by the Fourth Nile Cataract: Survey and Excavations on the left bank of the river and on the islands between Amri and Kirbekan, Volume IV.1

Extent: 476 pages

Publisher: Wiley-VCH

Subjects: African Studies, World Archaeology

Series: Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication

Language: English

Hardback (Forthcoming)

(December 2026)

ISBN: 9781805834311

8.07 x 11.46 inches

Price: $152.00

Specialist studies of artefacts recovered during surveys and excavations in Sudan’s Fourth Nile Cataract region, including lithic assemblages, stone tools, small finds, beads, glass, basketry and leather. Detailed catalogues and analyses provide an important record of material culture spanning prehistoric and later periods.


This volume presents detailed specialist studies of the artefacts recovered during the Sudan Archaeological Research Society’s surveys and excavations in the Fourth Nile Cataract region, between Amri and Kirbekan. These activities formed a part of the Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage Project in advance of the innundation of a vast tract of the river valley. The volume is a part of the comprehensive publication of the Society’s archaeological investigations undertaken between 1999 and 2007; it brings together analyses of a diverse range of material spanning from the Palaeolithic up to the recent past, providing an important record of the region’s material culture.

Extensive studies of lithic assemblages and macro-lithic tools are accompanied by analyses of small finds, beads and pendants, glass vessels, basketry, matting, objects of leather, and skin and scarabs. Contributions examine artefact typologies, manufacturing technologies, raw materials and patterns of use, with scientific analysis of glass providing further evidence for connections beyond the Fourth Cataract region. Richly illustrated with drawings, photographs, tables and detailed catalogues, the volume offers an important reference for the study of ancient Sudan and the wider archaeology of the Nile Valley.