Overview

In 2020 and 2021 the Research Group on Storage in Ancient Egypt and Sudan organised two online workshops focusing on earthen storage buildings in ancient Egypt and Nubia. Following these two meetings, the nine contributions of this volume present often unpublished case studies (from the IVth millennium BCE to the Greco-Roman Period), as well as issues and perspectives of current research. They are authored by archaeologists working in Egypt, Sudan and Western Africa as well as architects specialised in earthen architecture. The interdisciplinary approach adopted to investigate storage strategies along the ancient Nile Valley effectively address the subject’s complexity and the socioeconomic issues involved, which not only pertain to the ancient world but are also relevant to modern-day societies. Throughout the volume, functional and technical analysis of the architectural and archaeological remains helps understand how specific layouts, building materials and techniques were employed in the past to create suitable conditions for short-, medium- and long-term storage. Ethnographic and ethnoarchaeological comparisons with West African vernacular traditions are used as a fruitful line of research for better understand of building practices, storage strategies and possible volumes of archaeological remains. Furthermore, extending the scope of the research to other geographical areas shows how different human groups may have used similar responses to overcome similar technical problems. Ancient and traditional practices and know-how, on the other hand, proved effective in a contemporary onion storehouse project in Senegal to find sustainable, low-cost solutions to protection and development of local products. The volume also include the preliminary results of an experimental archaeology project which led to the construction of a mud-brick silo – according to ancient Egyptian techniques – and further ensiling. The issue is highly topical since these ancient earthen facilities offer valuable information for the current debates on sustainable strategies for foodstuff storage.

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Adeline Bats holds a PhD in Egyptology from the University of Paris Sorbonne and is an associate researcher at the UMR 8167 Orient & Mediterranean. She has been field archaeologist of the archaeological mission of Ayn Sukhna (Ifao/UMR 8167) since 2014 and is also a member of the archaeological mission of Ouadi el-Jarf (Ifao/UMR 8167) and the Swiss-Franco-Sudanese mission of Kerma-Dukki Gel. Her PhD thesis, defended in 2019 under the direction of Pierre Tallet and Juan Carlos Moreno García, focuses on the role played by cereals in the Pharaonic society, in human and animal nutrition, and as means of payment. Along with Nadia Licitra, she founded in 2019 the Research Group on Storage in Ancient Egypt and Sudan. Nadia Licitra is an archaeologist, post-doc fellow of CRAterre (AE&CC/ENSAG/UGA) and associated member of UMR 8167 Orient & Méditerranée of CNRS. She obtained her PhD degree in Egyptology in 2014 (Paris-Sorbonne University) and has been Head of the mission of the Treasury of Shabaqo in Karnak (UMR 8167/CFEETK) since 2008. She has participated and continues to be involved in several archaeological missions in Italy, Egypt and Sudan. Her research focuses mainly on building techniques and materials of Nile Valley earthen architecture and storage architecture. Along with Adeline Bats, she founded in 2019 the Research Group on Storage in Ancient Egypt and Sudan.

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