International Society for Nubian Studies

The International Society for Nubian Studies (ISNS) is a scholarly membership organization dedicated to the archaeology and history of Nubia and Sudan. It was founded in 1972 in Warsaw, Poland, in the wake of the international salvage campaign launched by UNESCO in the early 1960s to rescue the monuments of Lower Nubia from flooding caused by the Aswan High Dam and the creation of Lake Nasser. That campaign brought together scholars from more than 25 countries and revealed the richness and cultural diversity of Nubian civilization, giving rise to modern Nubiology. The Society provides a focus for those interested in the archaeology and history of Nubia and Sudan and seeks to promote awareness of the rich cultural heritage of the region. Nubia extends from modern Aswan in Egypt to south of Khartoum in Sudan, and for thousands of years served as a corridor of contact linking the Mediterranean, Egypt and central Africa. ISNS maintains an official website at nubianstudies.org, which hosts information about the Society, member and project blogs, and news of research conducted in the Middle Nile Valley. Featured projects include the Abasseya Project, the Old Dongola Expedition and the Soba Expedition, reflecting the Society's role as a hub for archaeological fieldwork and scholarship in the region.

Modern Nubiology was born in the early 1960s, when an international salvage campaign was launched by UNESCO to save the monuments of Lower Nubia being flooded by the construction of the Aswan High Dam and the creation of Lake Nasser. This campaign brought together scholars from over 25 countries from around the world and revealed the richness and cultural diversity of Nubian civilisation. Attention had briefly focused on Nubia at the turn of the 20th century with the construction of the Aswan Dam and its subsequent raising in 1908, but the scale of the 1960s campaign transformed the field. Founded in 1972 in Warsaw, Poland, the International Society for Nubian Studies provides a focus for those interested in the archaeology and history of Nubia and Sudan, and seeks to promote awareness of the rich cultural heritage of this region. Nubia extends from modern Aswan, Egypt, to south of Khartoum, Sudan, and for thousands of years served as a corridor of contact linking the Mediterranean, Egypt and central Africa. The Society has since become a hub for archaeological research in the Middle Nile Valley, with members conducting fieldwork at sites such as Abasseya, Old Dongola and Soba. Its website hosts member and project blogs and news of ongoing research, and it organizes events and conferences that bring together scholars of Nubian studies internationally.

• 1972

  Founded in Warsaw, Poland.

• 1960

  UNESCO salvage campaign launched, giving rise to modern Nubiology.

An international scholarly society and focal point for the archaeology and history of Nubia and Sudan.

• Abasseya Project

  Archaeological project at the Abasseya site, a Meroitic religious complex dated to the second century BC near Jebel Barkal.

• Old Dongola Expedition

  Expedition at Dongola on the eastern bank of the Nile, capital of the kingdom of Makuria.

• Soba Expedition

  Expedition at Soba, capital of the Kingdom of Alwa on the Blue Nile.

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