Two Years into the War in Sudan.. Difficulty Tracking the Fate of Stolen Artifacts

SadaNews - Majestic and unique, the colossal statue of King Taharqa, who ruled the ancient Kingdom of Kush for over two decades, stands alone in the courtyard of the National Museum of Sudan in Khartoum. It is no longer surrounded by admiring visitors or contemplative researchers, but rather by the ruins of other statues and shattered display case glass, in a scene that silently narrates the tragedy of an entire nation. Two years after the official announcement of the museum's looting, the search continues for tens of thousands of artifacts that vanished into the darkness of war, some of which have started to sporadically appear in neighboring countries like Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan.

Rawda Idris, a representative of the Sudanese Public Prosecution in the Committee for the Protection of Museums and Archaeological Sites, summarizes the magnitude of the catastrophe with a painful statement: "Only the large or heavy artifacts from the National Museum have remained; otherwise, nothing has survived."

At the museum's entrance, the garden that once hosted rare trees and a miniature model of the Nile River has transformed into a barren courtyard filled with dry grass, guarded by silent statues of Kushite war deities, while the ceiling bears traces of treacherous shelling. Hatim Al-Nour, the former director of the Sudanese Antiquities and Museums Authority, describes the lost heritage saying to Agence France-Presse that the National Museum once "contained more than 500,000 pieces covering a vast timeline that shaped the deep history of the Sudanese identity."

In March of the past year, the museum's employees set foot on its grounds for the first time in two years, after the army regained control over the center of the capital. The shock exceeded all imagination, as they were astonished by the extent of the destruction that included priceless exhibits. The major tragedy was the "Room of Gold," which, according to Ikhlas Abdel-Latif, the director of museums at the Sudanese Antiquities Authority, housed "invaluable artifacts... pure gold pieces of 24-carat quality, some of which are nearly 8,000 years old."

Abdel-Latif, who also heads the unit for monitoring stolen artifacts, confirms that this room was "completely robbed." She explains that the missing treasure included unique jewelry belonging to members of the ruling families of the Kushite civilization, along with their gilded tools and statues adorned with precious metals. These treasures belong to a civilization that flourished concurrently with the Roman civilization, with the cities of Nubia and Meroë in northern Sudan as its capitals, and which is no less rich than ancient Egyptian civilization, despite being less globally known.

A War Crime Against History

War broke out between the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by his former deputy Muhammad Hamdan Daglo, in April 2023, dividing the country and resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and millions of displaced persons. In the midst of this tragedy, the Sudanese government directly accused the Rapid Support Forces of "destroying artifacts and possessions that chronicle Sudanese civilization spanning 7,000 years," considering it a "war crime," which the Rapid Support Forces firmly deny.

Ikhlas Abdel-Latif had confirmed in June 2023 that the Rapid Support Forces had taken control of the National Museum. Earlier this year, she revealed to local media that the museum's possessions were transported by large trucks through Omdurman to western Sudan, and from there to the borders of South Sudan.

This systematic looting prompted UNESCO at the end of last year to launch a global appeal, urging the public to refrain from trading in artifacts, emphasizing the importance of the museum's contents which included "important archaeological pieces and statues of significant historical and material value."

A Race to Recover Stolen Memory

In the face of this destruction, Sudanese authorities have begun a race against time. A responsible source in the Antiquities Authority confirmed to Agence France-Presse that there is close cooperation with neighboring countries to monitor and recover artifacts trafficked across borders. Abdel-Latif notes that particularly Kushite funerary statues are experiencing "great popularity in the illegal market because they are beautifully shaped and small enough to be easily carried."

However, the fate of the most precious pieces remains shrouded in mystery. None of the items from the Room of Gold or funerary statues have appeared in public auctions or parallel market routes to date. Abdel-Latif believes that the majority of the trading is done secretly and within narrow circles, affirming that the Sudanese government, in cooperation with Interpol and UNESCO, is "monitoring all markets."

Interpol has confirmed to Agence France-Presse its involvement in tracking down stolen Sudanese antiquities, without revealing details about ongoing operations. However, the fruits of these efforts have begun to manifest, as Rawda Idris reported the arrest of a group of individuals in the Nile River State in northern Sudan, "including foreigners in possession of artifacts," adding that "investigations are ongoing to determine from which museum those artifacts were taken." Two sources from the Antiquities Authority also revealed a notable incident in which a group that crossed the border into Egypt contacted Khartoum, offering to return stolen artifacts for monetary compensation.

Destruction Across Geography

The tragedy of the National Museum of Sudan is not an isolated incident. Destruction has spread to cultural heritage across all war zones. Idris laments: "More than 20 museums in Sudan have been looted, in Khartoum, Al-Jazira, and Darfur." She adds, "We still do not know the extent of the damage in areas yet to be liberated." The National Authority for Antiquities and Museums estimates the losses that have been accounted for so far at "110 million US dollars."

In Omdurman, on the opposite bank of the Nile, the walls of the Khalifa's House Museum bear the scars of bullets and artillery shells, while its 18th-century artifacts have been shattered. Hatim Al-Nour affirms that "the Ali Dinara Museum in El Fasher has also been destroyed, which is the largest museum in the Darfur region," in addition to the Geneina and Nyala museums in the same region.

The Nyala Museum in South Darfur witnessed "fierce fighting" in its vicinity, according to a local source, who continues, "The area has become completely destroyed, and no one can move in it except members of the Rapid Support Forces." Ikhlas Abdel-Latif confirms that the museum has turned into a "military barracks," in a representation that encapsulates the fate of Sudanese cultural heritage in wartime; the memory of a nation crushed under the feet of fighters.

Source: AFP