While there is substantial public awareness of the civilization of Ancient Egypt, it has gone largely unrecognized that an equally rich cultural heritage, in the form of many thousands of archaeological sites, survives to the south of Egypt in modern-day Sudan. Upstanding monuments include temples, churches, palaces and innumerable pyramids. This is particularly unfortunate in view of the increasingly serious threats now posed to the sites by modern development, in particular by the construction of new irrigation and building schemes. The pace of development promises to have an equally devastating effect on the contemporary cultures of Sudan as populations are displaced because of the desertification of the sub-Saharan belt and of dam construction in the Nile Valley.
Ethnographical studies are also, therefore, of prime importance.
Through a series of lectures, newsletters, and an annual seminar on recent fieldwork, the Society hopes to promote interest in the ancient and medieval cultures, and in the traditional cultures, of Sudan and to publicise the danger to Sudan's heritage. In addition the Society acts as a fund-raising body to allow it to participate directly in archaeological and ethnographical expeditions and to support other appropriate projects. Anyone who is interested in joining the Society or who would like further information please contact The Hon. The Sudan Archaeological Research Society. Admission is free.