Excavations in the spirit of international friendship – Archaeology in Sudan

Humboldt-Universität has been involved in archaeological excavation projects in Sudan for 60 years – starting with Fritz and Ursula Hintze, who made a sensational discovery. The Humboldt Laboratory provides insights into a research collaboration in which equal co-operation was a central theme from the very beginning.

‘Today was the big day!!!’ Ursula Hintze (1918-1989) begins her diary entry from 27 January 1960: “At 12:35, Fritz found excellently preserved reliefs with inscriptions in Egyptian on the S side of the SO temple (…)”, noted the doctor of African studies. Her husband, the Egyptologist Professor Fritz Hintze (1915-1993), led the Humboldt University’s first field research in Sudan from the late 1950s. The archaeological cooperation project in the African republic, which was founded in 1956, was enormously prestigious for the GDR, both academically and in terms of foreign policy. ‘It was so well known that a set of stamps with motifs from Musawwarat was issued,’ says Dr Cornelia Kleinitz, who headed the SUDANARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTION at Humboldt-Universität from 2015 to the end of 2020 and is now researching it as part of her habilitation project.

The special stamps, on which unique temple reliefs from Musawwarat can be seen, are part of the archives of the collection on display in the Humboldt Laboratory.

Science as anti-colonial co-operation

The Sudan Archaeological Collection shows what long-term, international research cooperation can look like. With a few interruptions, the co-operation has existed for over 60 years. The GDR wanted to emphasise its anti-colonial stance with this research project under the label of ‘friendship of nations’, explains Dr Gorch Pieken, Head Curator of the Humboldt Lab. ‘In this respect, people were already very reflective in the 1960s and considered how they could work together with local actors on an equal footing,’ reports Cornelia Kleinitz. Over several generations, professional and private relationships have developed through the cooperation. ‘We are still on site today and work with the grandchildren of the people from back then. I don’t want to romanticise it, but long-term archaeological projects have the potential to be sustainable,’ says the archaeologist.

While other exhibits in the Humboldt Lab’s science exhibition – such as the minerals from Tsumeb in Namibia – have their origins in colonial and exploitative contexts, the Sudan Archaeological Collection is different. The objects came to Berlin on the basis of contracts between the Sudanese Antiquities Administration and the excavation project before 1975. The Sudan Archaeological Collection at Humboldt University does not contain any unique or unusual finds. It primarily serves teaching and research purposes and comprises several hundred archaeological objects, including decorated architectural pieces, parts of temple inventory, vessels, beads, amulets, tools and weapons from ancient Sudan, almost exclusively from Musawwarat es-Sufra.

An early find revealed the origins of the temple

The objects and archival documents from the collection on display in the Humboldt Laboratory provide an insight into the start of research on site. Fritz Hintze’s archaeological field diary documents the excavation and its main results, while Ursula Hintze vividly describes the surrounding events in her personal diary. Her notes show: On the day of the discovery, the mood was euphoric. ‘The diary bears witness to the team’s enthusiasm about this early success of the excavation. It’s a wonderful, important moment,’ says Cornelia Kleinitz. On this ‘big day’, Fritz Hintze found a sandstone block with two so-called royal cartouches, oval, engraved lines enclosing the names of rulers – in this case King Arnekhamani (around 220 BC) – in the lintel of an ancient temple. ‘This solved the mystery of the chronological classification of the temple and its builder,’ explains the archaeologist.

Other relief parts refer to the temple’s patron, the lion-headed god Apedemak. The Apedemak or lion temple of Musawwarat, whose reconstruction was financed by the GDR, is therefore the oldest known building dedicated to this local god and an important part of an ensemble of monumental buildings in the Musawwarat es-Sufra valley. They date from the time of the Kingdom of Kush (8th century BCE to 4th century CE) in northern Sudan. The sacred site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011.

History of science from a women’s perspective

The archival documents selected for the Humboldt Lab’s inaugural exhibition include diaries and photographs by Ursula Hintze. Ursula Hintze developed her photos on site herself – under extreme climatic conditions such as heat and drought. ‘She played a key role in the organisation and documentation of this excavation,’ emphasises Cornelia Kleinitz. The Africanist filmed, photographed, wrote and quickly learnt the local language in order to communicate with the partners.

The example of Mr and Mrs Hintze shows that the merit of women as scientists or co-scientists is often underestimated, says Gorch Pieken. The Humboldt Labor aims to shed light on the role of women researchers – and to critically scrutinise the history of science. ‘The collections consist of many omissions and powerful representations. Certain things are emphasised and marked as important. These are often the scientific achievements of men.’ One could already speak of an ‘academic patriarchy’ that has by no means been overcome. ‘We can also see this, for example, in the fact that the proportion of women among German professors is only 25 per cent,’ says the Head Curator. A fictitious special stamp was created for the exhibition to highlight Ursula Hintze’s role and to honour her in retrospect. It shows the Africanist at work with a hat, sunglasses and her camera in her hand.

Making the collection accessible

After many years in storage, parts of the Sudan Archaeological Collection are now accessible to students, researchers and the public in new work and storage rooms and soon also in an exhibition room in the west wing of the main building of Humboldt University. Shards of a large vessel from a presumed sacrificial site at the Lion Temple are also on display in the Humboldt Laboratory. Today, this pottery is being researched using new questions and methods and can, for example, help to identify indigenous African elements of Cushitic cult practices.

Humboldt-Universität is still involved in Musawwarat es-Sufra today. ‘In recent years, we have focussed on cultural preservation,’ explains Cornelia Kleinitz. Conservation, restoration and protection measures have been carried out and a route has been laid out for visitor groups. ‘Now we just have to put up the information boards.’