Institute of Classical and Byzantine Archaeology Nubian Collection

The Nubian Collection consists predominantly of ceramic finds from the Christian Nubian period from the Sudanese Nile Valley

The Nubian Collection of Heidelberg University is an archaeological teaching and research collection that emerged from the German rescue excavations and surveys in the Sudanese Nile Valley from 1967 to 1969. It consists predominantly of ceramic finds from the Christian Nubian period, recovered during international rescue excavations after the construction of the Aswan High Dam had made the flooding of large parts of the ancient cultural landscape along the upper Nile foreseeable. The investigations were carried out as part of the campaign coordinated by UNESCO to save the Nubian cultural landscape. Most of the collection comes from the fortress of Kulb; further finds derive from surveys in Sunnarti, Turmukki, and Tangur. The work was directed by the Heidelberg New Testament scholar and Christian archaeologist Erich Dinkler. The collection provides a representative overview of Nubian ceramics from the 7th to the 14th century and thus offers insights into the material culture of a Christian society.