The small mounds of Bayuda region

TL;DR

This paper uses satellite imagery to identify and analyze small mounds, likely burial sites, in the Bayuda region along the Nile, including areas affected by the Merowe Dam, providing archaeological insights.

Contribution

It demonstrates the use of Google Maps and satellite imagery to detect archaeological sites in the Bayuda region, especially those impacted by recent dam construction.

Findings

Identification of numerous small mounds as potential burial sites

Documentation of archaeological sites now submerged due to the Merowe Dam

Provision of a pre-dam satellite image of the area

Abstract

The Great Bend of the river Nile contains the Bayuda region with its volcanic core. Along the river, a fertile strip of land has attracting human settlement for thousands of years and is then rich of archaeological sites. The distribution of the sites near the Nile can be detected using Google Maps imagery. We can see many area covered by small mounds, probably burial sites. Some of the archaeological places are currently under the water of the Merowe Dam. With the satellite imagery, we have a portrait of the area close the dam before the closing of its gates.