Wad Ben Naga Report I: An Introduction to the Site

The National Museum of the Czech Republic became involved in the archaeological fieldwork in the Republic of the Sudan in 2007, when the author of the present volume joined the Canadian-Sudanese mission working in the Royal City of Meroe. Two years later, the National Museum launched its own excavations in the Republic of the Sudan. After the consultations with the Sudanese National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums, the site of Wad Ben Naga was chosen to be  archaeologically explored by the Czech team. During the first excavation season, the National Museum’s Archaeological Expedition to Wad Ben Naga focused primarily on the structures located in the eastern part of Central Wad Ben Naga. In recent years, the focus of the Expedition has shifted to the as yet unexplored western part of Central Wad Ben Naga, namely to the so-called Typhonium, a temple dedicated to the cult of the goddess Mut. The present publication sums up the current state of knowledge of the site’s history and development and the outcomes of the first 10 excavation seasons carried out at the site between 2009 and 2015. It is the first in the series which shall publish final reports on excavations, studies on relevant topics of Meroitic archaeology, or relevant museum collections and archival materials.