Some Remarks on the First Research Season in Soba (Sudan)

Abstract

The visible archaeological sites were always important in Sudan. Being an integral part of the local “mystical geography”, they were usually ambivalent but honoured and protected places. Many of those sites were linked with taboos and magical rites, or they gave rise to legends or beliefs in spirits and hidden treasures. However, the meaning of such
spaces was never fixed and could be turned into completely different interpretation. This dynamic is particularly visible in urban centres, where because of rapid urbanization processes
every empty piece of land is urgently needed. This is exactly what happens in Soba, long famous for the remains of the medieval capital of Nubia, today a rapidly developing
suburban area of Khartoum. This presentation aims to discuss the very first findings of the research on the Soba archeological site from the ethnographic perspective. The paper represents an effort to understand the shifting interpretations of the Soba archaeological site, or, in other words, an attempt to answer how the meaning of this spot is differentiating in an urban setting. The ongoing ethnographic research is linked with the archaeological project “Soba – the Heart of Kingdom of Alwa”.