Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

MDASP - FOURTH CATARACT

SUDAN


The dam, which is located about 26 km
upstream from the pyramids of Nuri, will
flood a strip of about 170 km upstream
from Merowe. The lake formed immedia-
tely behind the dam will be approximately
4 km wide. A reassessment of the situation
in view of progress on the dam's construc-
tion, carried out in 2003 by the Gdansk
expedition, demonstrated intensified lo-
oting of ancient cemetery sites in the en-

dangered region, adding to the direct threat
posed by engineering work in the area.1
The first step in the Centre's involve-
ment in the international rescue project was
a survey and follow-up salvage operation on
the islands of Saffi and Uli within the
NCAM concession, undertaken at the spec-
ific invitation of NCAM. With Bogdan Zu-
rawski taking upon himself the preliminary
organization of the project, two teams from


Fig. 1. Map of the Fourth cataract region showing areas where PCMA expeditions worked in 2003
and 2004 (Drawing M. Puszkarski)
1 Cf. H.Paner, Z. Borcowski, "Gdansk Archaeological Museum Expedition. A summary of eight seasons' work at the
Fourth Cataract", GAMAR 4 (2004), 89f.

322