Getting ready to leave for France this afternoon – I am very happy to be able to participate at a round table colloquium, organized by a team of young French researchers and held at Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille 3 (HALMA-IPEL UMR 8164), the main cooperation partner of AcrossBorders, on September 5 and 6. Lille has an outstanding history in researching Ancient Sudan including archaeological fieldwork – Didier Devauchelle holds the concession for Sai Island and has supported our project from the very beginning.
The upcoming meeting (entitled Savoir-faire et techniques au Soudan ancient) promises presentations of young researchers (both doctoral students and Post-doc researchers) working in Ancient Sudan, covering an intriguing range of topics from Prehistory to Medieval times with a focus on materials and technology. The main sessions will be dedicated to architecture; faience, textiles and metallurgic processes; pottery and economic resources. One has to congratulate the colleagues to have managed assembling a group of distinguished chair persons: Charles Bonnet, Abdelrahman Ali Mohammed, Marie Millet, Claude Rilly and Vincent Rondot are all well known archaeologists in leading positions directing current projects in Sudan.
Looking forward meeting new and familiar faces and to fruitful discussions about Ancient Sudan! Without doubt there will be fresh input to my own research and for AcrossBorders. Last but not least I will be able to speak with current French collaborators working at Sai Island and maybe also with possible future ones of the young generation.
Just very briefly a great “Thank you” to all in Lille – the organisers, the lecturers, the chairpersons, the audience, to all colleagues and especially to Didier Devauchelle and Abdelrahman Ali Mohammed! I really enjoyed the meeting and learned a lot – very impressed of the papers and the open discussion! Lots of prospects for the ongoing and future Sudan archaeology!