Swiss Archaeologist, Professor Bonnet: Sudan is Sitting on Rich History, Culture & Heritage
13 February, 2016KHARTOUM (SUDANOW ) - The Swiss archaeologist, professor Charles Bonnet, who is heading the Sudanese Swiss and French joint
archaeological mission, has described the Sudan as a vast country with multiples cultures and civilizations, revealing that his mission has unearthed affinities between Nubian, Kordufan, Darfur, Kasala and the Red Sea regions.
He said the team which he leads discovered, two years ago, couples of archaeological towns in Kerma, the first Nubian capital, and the second with an international or African characteristics. He said this was index that lots of work has to be done to unearth the archaeological riches Sudan enjoys and which have not yet been discovered.
He said the most important discoveries of the mission was the Doki Gil which, in the Nubian language, means the Red Hill, and the Dufufa which means the Red Castle where the building were erected in the form of the highly developed architecture, using to this end some of the best known ceramic of the world.
He underlined that the palace which is discovered in Doki Gil, has no equal except the one discovered in Uganda, last century.
In a lecture he delivered at the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) Forum and responding to questions by the audience about which one is more ancient, the Sudanese or the Egyptian civilization, Mr. Bonnet stressed that each of the two countries has its particular culture and civilization and its history. But he said the most outstanding difference is the that Egypt appeared to be covert while the Sudan appeared to be overt at all African countries, with their different cultures a matter that encouraged him to come to the Sudan and work in this field.
He said in the Sudan he learned the culture of coexistence and accepting the other. He said one of the driving forces for him since
coming to the Sudan, decades ago, was the cooperation he found in the country.
He said the discoveries made so far showed that the Sudan is sitting on a rich history, culture and heritage. He underlined that history depends on written records and that anything that was not written would not be considered history. He stressed working on archaeological discoveries requires team work and a re-construction of the history of the Sudan, based on the various
eras.
He said Sudan civilization and culture require tremendous efforts, given the cultural and ethnic diversity of the country, expressing hope that the coming generation would appreciate the greatness of this country and its culture and civilization, thus launching
archaeological research at the different Sudanese regions.
He said he was of the belief that there were many ancient Sudanese kingdoms still buried under the ground.
Professor Bonnet expressed hope that necessary measures would be put in place to protect the discovered archaeological sites before they were open before the public, to introduce the Sudan and its culture to the world and to make use of the tourism proceeds.
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