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The archaeology and history of the Red Sea area of eastern Sudan during the Medieval period has been receiving increased attention in recent years. This paper reviews the observations of the recent archaeology and landscape surveys and integrates them with the ongoing work undertaken by The Suakin and the Red Sea Project for Archaeological Environmental and Cultural Studies directed by Ahmed Adam and undertaken by the Department of Archaeology, University of Khartoum. To date, important information has been uncovered by the expedition relating to the earliest Medieval occupation and the forms and impact of Islamic trade activity. The majority of the new data come from Suakin, 'Aydhâb (Aidab) and Badi', principal ports along the Sudanese Red Sea coast that played a major role in this trade. Previously, little was known about the area beyond these ports. The work done by the expedition so far lays the foundation for future field seasons to better understand long-term human settlements during the Medieval period of eastern Sudan by integrating archaeological surveys with excavations and oral histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new excavation data and new radiometric dates for Jebel Moya, south-central Sudan. These data suggest revisions to previous chronological understandings of the site. New excavations, initiated in 2017, show a longer, more continuous occupation of the site than has been previously recognised. Archaeozoological and archaeobotanical analyses provide evidence for domesticated taxa. Archaeobotanical evidence is dominated by domesticated sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), radiocarbon dated to c. 2550–2210 BC. Faunal remains include cattle and goat/sheep. A late third-millennium BC date on the human skeleton excavated in the 2017 season also shows that mortuary activity began early in the site's history, contemporary with domesticated faunal and botanical remains. These initial results indicate the long-term association of the site with pastoralism and agriculture and with environmental change. Jebel Moya's continued potential to serve as a chronological and cultural reference point for future studies in south-central Sudan and the eastern Sahel is reinforced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]