The focus of the Society is the archaeology of Sudan and of Egypt south of the First Nile Cataract. It mounts expeditions to excavate and record threatened sites, organises lectures and seminars, issues a yearly journal entitled Sudan & Nubia and regularly publishes the results of fieldwork by members and non-members working in Sudan.

The Sudan Archaeological Research Society was founded in 1991, and is based in the British Museum in London. Through its various activities, the Society is dedicated to promoting interest in the cultural heritage of Sudan and to raising awareness of the country’s place in history. Membership is open to all.

More on the Society’s history >

Each year, the Society organises a programme of events, including a one-day international colloquium on Recent Archaeological Fieldwork in Sudan. Among the speakers, at least one eminent archaeologist from abroad is invited, and slide-illustrated papers are delivered on work undertaken in Sudan over the previous winter along with others of a more general nature.

In the autumn, immediately after the Society’s Annual General Meeting, an eminent scholar is invited to deliver the Kirwan Memorial Lecture — inaugurated in 2000 in honour of the First President of the Society, Sir Laurence Kirwan (1907-1999), whose interest and involvement in Sudanese archaeology spanned more than 60 years.

Speakers to date have included the Society’s late Honorary President Prof. William Y. Adams (Lexington), Prof. Charles Bonnet (Geneva), Prof. Fred Wendorf (Dallas), Prof. Dietrich Wildung (Berlin), Dr Salah Mohammed Ahmed (National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums, Khartoum), Dr Krzysztof Pluskota (Lund), Prof. Stuart T. Smith (Santa Barbara), Dr Claude Rilly (CNRS), Dr Vincent Rondot (SFDAS), Dr Mahmoud et-Tayeb (Warsaw), Dr Pamela Rose (Austrian Archaeological Institute, Cairo) and Dr Abdelrahman Ali (NCAM, Khartoum).

If finances allow, the Society may disburse small grants in support of suitable projects on the archaeology, culture and history of Sudan. For more information, see the small grants page.

The Society’s activities are only made possible by the generous support of a number of organisations and individuals. Particular thanks go to the Institute for Bioarchaeology, The British Museum and the Society’s own patrons. The British Council in Khartoum continues to provide invaluable logistics and moral support. As always, we receive unstinting cooperation from our colleagues in the National Corporation for Antiquities & Museums. We are enormously grateful to all who have given their time and support.

If you would like to become a patron of the Society, see the information on the membership page, or contact the Honorary Secretary.