An archaeological discovery in Sudan: a child’s skeleton and jars buried under the Gedaref Hills

Listen to the article. The audio text is automated, generated by an automated system

It was only a fragment of pottery stuck under the dirt, but an attempt to lift it led an archaeological team to an unexpected discovery in eastern Sudan: buried pottery jars, the remains of a child’s skeleton who was likely buried in a squatting position, and burial mounds extending over wide areas, in an area whose archaeological history is still unknown.

In Al-Maribia, in Al-Fashqa locality in Gedaref State, the story began with a passing observation during a field survey for a training purpose, carried out by archaeology students at Gedaref University in cooperation with the state’s Department of Antiquities, before a piece of pottery opened a door to a past that may extend back thousands of years. Initial evidence indicates the possibility of the finds dating back to the Neolithic Age, between about 5000 and 3000 BC, but researchers are cautious about concluding this date before completing the necessary studies and excavations.

The team was not planning to excavate the tombs. The goal was to train archeology students for field work, but one of them noticed a piece of pottery visible under the dirt, and tried to lift it, discovering that it was fixed in place. As the dirt surrounding it was removed, the outlines of the crater of a buried jar began to appear, prompting him to inform the supervisors.

Dr. Hanan Al-Sheikh Hajo, the archaeologist participating in the work, said in testimony to Al Arabiya.net that the team stopped the excavation and determined the location using the Global Positioning System (GPS), then returned the next day to carry out a limited rescue excavation, after it became clear that what appeared was not just an ordinary pottery shard, but rather part of a buried vessel.

The excavation resulted in the appearance of a jar in the first layer, while a large part of a second jar extended into the lower layer, forcing the team to remove another layer to save it. There, a third jar appeared, and the researchers found themselves faced with a discovery that went beyond what was expected from a training mission.

But the digging stopped at a depth of about 20 centimetres, after removing two layers of soil, for fear that going deeper would lead to the discovery of additional antiquities that would exceed the team’s capabilities. Hanan Al-Sheikh Hajo explained that what happened was a rescue excavation aimed at dealing with the antiquities that appeared during the survey, and not an integrated archaeological excavation exploring the cemetery with all its contents.

It wasn't just the pottery jars that stopped the team. Human skeletal remains were also found, including parts of a child’s skeleton. Researchers noticed that his femur bone points toward the ribs, an indication that the body was likely buried in a squatting position.

This observation opens a window into the burial methods of the ancient inhabitants of the region, but it does not, on its own, provide definitive answers about their funerary rituals or the nature of the relationship between pottery and human remains. This requires studying the skeleton in its archaeological context, and comparing the finds with the results of other excavations.

Hanan Al-Sheikh Hajo said that the burial mounds in the area are large and extensive, and that the site that witnessed excavation is only one of many sites. The survey revealed burial mounds in three sites, while actual work was limited to one of them.

These data mean that the discovery may be part of a broader archaeological scope, and not just an individual cemetery. However, determining the extent of this range, the number of burials, and the nature of their contents remains subject to more comprehensive field surveys and specialized excavations.

The shape of the jars and the archaeological context suggest that the site dates back to the Neolithic period, within an estimated time range between about 5000 and 3000 BC. But this conclusion is still preliminary, and does not represent a final history of the site.

The researcher explained that confirming the date requires studying pottery and comparing it with known archaeological models, examining skeletal remains, and analyzing burial mounds, as well as conducting additional excavations, including excavating another burial ground to verify the contents of the first tomb and compare the results.

The current estimates are based, according to her, on archaeological contexts and previous excavation results, but arriving at a more accurate picture requires the completion of scientific work. It is not yet possible to determine the number of those buried, the nature of the funeral rituals, or whether the urns were directly related to the burial process, before their full context is revealed.

These questions are even more important because the team did not dig deeply, nor did they explore the entire vault. The priority was to save the apparent finds, within the limits of available capabilities, not to risk damaging other antiquities or to initiate excavation beyond his capacity.

Hanan Al-Sheikh Hajo classified Gedaref State as one of the areas rich in archaeological sites that did not receive the survey and excavation work it deserved. She indicated that a foreign mission conducted a survey of the area and other sites in 2010, but the excavations were not completed at the site that witnessed the current discovery, according to her testimony.

She believed that the recent excavation could represent a starting point towards broader scientific interest, although it was experimental and limited, and was not carried out according to the scope of integrated archaeological excavation. The sites revealed by the survey work, and the extensive burial mounds, raise the need for an organized research program that sets priorities and allows researchers to study the region more comprehensively.

The experience also reveals the limits of archaeological work in light of the lack of capabilities, as the team was forced to stop digging at a limited depth, after indications emerged that other antiquities might exist. Therefore, completing the research does not depend on the presence of finds alone, but rather requires equipment, resources and expertise that allow for exploration, documentation and examination according to scientific standards.

In Al-Maribiah, three pottery jars, bone remains and burial mounds still contain more questions than answers. The child's structure and burial position may be the beginning of understanding some of the rituals of the ancient inhabitants of the region, while future excavations may reveal broader details related to the history of human settlement in eastern Sudan.

But what is certain so far is that the pottery shard was not the end of the story, but rather the beginning. As for what is hidden in the cemeteries extending under the soil of Al-Muraibah, it will not be revealed by speculation, but rather by deeper excavations and scientific evidence capable of transforming possibilities into facts, and rewriting pages of Sudan’s history that have not yet found their way to the light.