Meteorite NWA 16788 sold at auction in New York, despite protests from Government of Niger.

The planet Mars has been of great interest to planetary scientists for as long as the discipline has existed. The planet has been extensively studied by telescope for centuries, and in recent decades by a series of robotic probes. These probes have taught us a great deal more about the planet than could be determined by remote sensing alone, but are only able to carry a limited amount of instrumentation, which cannot be changed, updated, or repaired once the probe has left Earth. To this end the planned Mars Sample Return program aims to bring samples from the red planet back to Earth, where they can be studied with a full range of laboratory techniques. However, this program is still in its very early stages, with no fixed target on Mars or spaceship design settled upon, and it is by no means settled that the mission will go ahead at all.

Until such time as samples are returned from Mars to Earth, the only way in which terrestrial scientists can gain direct access to material from Mars is by the examination of Martian meteorites, pieces of rock from the surface of the planet Mars which have been ejected into space, usually as a consequence of other large bodies impacting the planet. These can be confirmed as having come from Mars by a distinct mineralogy and the presence of isotope ratios detected on the planet by remote probes and not found elsewhere in the Solar System (this is not peculiar to Mars, each large body in the Solar System has its own unique isotope signature). To date, the Meteoritical Society has confirmed 402 meteorites as being of Martian origin.

The majority of Martian Meteorites have been discovered in desert environments, with 343 (85.3%) coming from the Saharan region (61 from Algeria, 1 from 'Algeria or Mali', 1 from 'Algeria or Mauritania', 4 from 'Algeria or Morocco', 1 from 'Algeria or Western Sahara', 1 from Egypt, 15 from Libya, 13 from Mali, 1 from 'Mali or Mauritania', 1 from 'Mali or Niger', 19 from Mauritania, 184 from Morocco, 1 from Niger, 1 from Nigeria, 1 from Tunisia, 15 from Western Sahara, and 23 from unknown 'Northwest African' countries).

Of the 343 known Martian Meteorites from the Sahara, 184 (53.4%) come from Morocco, with a further 15 (4.4%) from the Western Sahara, a disputed territory occupied by Morocco since 1976. This is not because Morocco is more prone to Martian Meteorite falls than other countries, but rather to a difference in the law. While most countries in the region ban the trade in, and export of, meteorites, Morocco allows a trade by licensed dealers, as long as all meteorites are registered with the Moroccan Geological Survey, and a sample of the material is deposited with them. 

This has led to the development of a successful meteorite market in Morocco (which also has a similar trade in fossils). However, there is also a suspicion that many of the meteorites traded through Morocco might originate in other countries (although, given the willingness of the international meteorite community to trade in meteorites either with no known point of origin, or known to have been smuggled out of countries where their trade is forbidden, this scarcely seems worth the effort).

The unregulated way in which meteorites (including Martian Meteorites) are traded also means that many are held in private collections, rather than by public bodies where they can be accessed by scientists (some private collectors do allow scientists to examine their material, but this is of limited value unless it can be guaranteed that all scientists in the field have, and will continue to have, access).

The largest Martian Meteorite discovered to date is NWA 16788 (North West Africa 16788), with a mass of 24.665 kg. This is not just important because bigger meteorites are more impressive; the body from which this was derived is likely to have been significantly larger, which means that the event which caused it to be ejected from Mars must also have been particularly large, giving scientists a reasonable hope of connecting this meteorite to a specific geographic location on Mars.

NWA 16788, the largest individual Martian meteorite recovered thus far. Franza et al. (2024).

NWA 16778 was (allegedly) discovered on 16 July 2023 near Kefkaf in Niger. It was confirmed as being a Martian Meteorite on the basis of samples sent to the Shanghai Astronomy Museum, with the Meteoritical Society being informed that the meteorite was being held in the collection of the Purple Mountain Observatory in China. However, in 2024 the meteorite appeared in a private collection in Arezzo, Italy. Two small samples of the meteorite were donated to the University of Firenze, and it was loaned to the Italian Space Agency during the 2024 European Researchers’ Night, on 27 September, an event intended to boost public engagement with science.

On 8 July 2025 NWA 16788 was placed on display at the auction house Sotherby's in New York, ahead of a planned auction on 16 July, at which it was predicted to fetch US$2-4 million; it was eventually sold to an anonymous buyer for US$4.3, which is likely to amount to a final cost to the buyer of about US$5.3 million once fees and taxes are taken into account.

This sale has prompted a protest by the Government of Niger, which pointed out that since 1997 Nigerien law has prohibited the unlicensed export of a range of heritage items including 'mineralogical specimens', and that the meteorite appeared to have been illegally trafficked out of the country. Sotherby's has denied any wrong-doing, noting that the legislation in question does not specifically mention meteorites.

Since the meteorite was placed on sale, a number of prominent international scientists have come forward to support the Nigerian Government's position, including palaeontologist's Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh, who has raised concerns about the loss of valuable scientific specimens into the private vaults of oligarchs, and Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago, who believes that the term 'mineralogical specimens' clearly covers meteorites, and that the sale represents a clear breach of international law. Sereno, who has led expeditions to fossil sites in Niger for many years, and who founded the organisation Niger Heritage with the intention of building a museum in the country's capital, Niamey, further went on to point out that the removal of heritage items, cultural or natural, from a country without that country's consent is reflective of a colonial attitude which the world should have moved on from.

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Officials from the Libyan Tourist Police and Antiquities Protection Agency protecting newly discovered rock art in the Jabal al-Hasawna mountains.

Officials from the Libyan Tourist Police and Antiquities Protection Agency are protecting a series of newly discovered rock engravings in the Jabal al-Hasawna mountains. The rock art was discovered by a Libyan citizen who notified the offices of the agency in Sabha, the nearest city. They are currently under investigation by experts from the Fezzan Antiquities Authority, the Archaeology Department at Sabha University, and the Brak Al-Shati Security Directorate, with a view to determining their historical significance, and how they can best be protected.

Newly discovered rock art in the Jabal al-Hasawna mountains of Libya. Libyan Tourist Police and Antiquities Protection Agency.

The new discoveries include artworks in a number of styles previously described from elsewhere in the Sahara, including art attributed to the Buffalo or Large Wild Fauna Period (so called because the art often features Giant Buffalo, Syncerus antiquus, and other extinct African megafauna). This artwork was created between 12 000 and 8000 BC by hunter gatherer populations living in a still green Sahara, and comprises geometric shapes and images of Animals such as Antelope, Aurochs, Buffalo, Fish, Giraffe, Hippopotamus, Ostrich, and Rhinoceros, painted onto wall panels with clay, manganese, iron oxide, and organic dyes. Examples of Buffalo Period rock art are found across Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, and are particularly abundant in the Fezzan Region of southwestern Libya, and around Oued Djerat in the northern part of the Tassili N'Ajjer, Algeria.

Also present is art from the Round Head Period, which was produced by Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter gatherers from about 7550 to about 5050 BC. Round Head art is painted onto or pecked into rock panel surfaces, and depicts Animals such as Antelope and Barbary Sheep alongside stylised Human figures with rounded heads, often engaged in dancing or other ritual activities. The best known examples of Round Head art come from the Tassili Plateau of southern Algeria, over a thousand kilometres to the southwest of the Jabal al-Hasawna, but examples are also known from the Tadrat Akakas of Libya, and the Djado Plateau of Niger. 

Art from the younger Bovidian, or Pastoral Period, has also been reported. This art style first appears around 6000 BC, and persist to about 700 BC (although most dates to between 5200 and 3800 BC), and contains the first examples of Animal-herding (pastoralism), and depicts Human figures with domestic Animals such as Cattle, Sheep, and Goats, as well as wild Animals such as Antelope, Barbary Sheep, Elephant, and Ostrich. Pastoral Period art contains the oldest known examples of domestic scenes, including women and children, in the Sahara, and is thought to have been made by Neolithic pastoralists migrating seasonally with their herds. The first Pastoral Period art was created while the Sahara was still green, while the latest was made in a desert environment. Over the period the wild Animals depicted in this art reflect this changing climate, as do the locations where it was placed, reflecting changing migration routes as the landscape dried. Examples of Pastoral Period art are common in southwestern Libya and the neighbouring Tassili n'Ajjer area of Algeria.

Younger Horse Period art has also been reported in the Jabal al-Hasawna. This style, dated to between 1200 BC and about 1000 AD, depicts people on Horses and in Chariots, and as well as the first people wearing cloths in Saharan rock art. This style is known from the Tassili n'Ajjer area of Algeria.

Camel Period art appears around 1000 BC and continues to the end of the first millennium BC. This style of art depicts the first Camels in the Sahara, but also domestic Animals such as Cattle and Goats. Men in Camel Period art are often armed with swords, spears, and shields. Examples of Camel Period art are known from Libya, Algeria, and Chad.

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Understanding how the Earthen Architecture of southern Algeria is perceived by the people of the region.

Architecture can be an important source of cultural and social identity, with traditional styles of architecture serving as a form of cultural repository, as well as social spaces reflecting the way in which family divisions are managed by a culture. The architecture of southern Algeria is distinctive, both in the materials it uses and the way in which homes are organised. Traditionally a form of earthen home called a Ksar (plural Ksour) were built alongside palm groves at oases in the desert, making them a key part of how people adapted to living in this harsh environment. 

In a paper published in the journal Open Archaeology on 9 October 2023, Haroune Ben Charif of the Department of Architecture and Industrial Design at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Azeddine Belakehal of the Department of Architecture at the Université de Biskra, and Sami Zerari, also of the Department of Architecture and Industrial Design at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, examine social attitudes to earthen houses in the Gourara Region of southern Algeria, and in particular the capital of the region, Timimoun, where traditional local building styles have started to be replaced by more 'modern' structures, as the area has become an urbanised administrative centre with more people employed in non-traditional roles.

The Gourara Region is bounded by the Grand Erg Occidental to the north, the Touat and Saoura regions to the west, and the Tademaït Plateau to the south and east, and comprises about 100 oases. The area has been continuously inhabited since at least the Neolithic, and is thought to have been settled by several waves of migrants, prior to the arrival of Islam and then, several centuries later, the colonial French.

Timimoun, has long been a cultural and economic hub, and officially became the administrative centre of the region in 2019. Its population has risen sharply in recent decades, from 3000 in 1954 to 20 607 in 2008. The promotion to an official administrative centre was accompanied by significant government investment in infrastructure projects, including housing programs, school facilities, healthcare, and other services, prompting more people to move to the city.

Left: the position of the province of Timimoun; right: the situation of the city of Timimoun in the Gourara region. Ben Charif et al. (2023).

The city of Timimoun began as a group of fortresses, each controlled by a different family or clan. In the fifteenth century these were united by Wali Sidi Moussa, leading to the formation of a market and ksour between the forts. In the twentieth century a colonial village was added to the urban area. Since independence from France urban growth in the eastern part of the city has changed the fabric of the urban area, with modern houses displacing traditional areas of Palm cultivation.

Development of the city of Timimoun. Ben Charif et al. (2023).

The traditional town of Timimoun is known for its distinctive traditional architecture, with a distinctive Gourari house made from earthen blocks, stone, and Palm wood, with an angled entrance and narrow inner courtyard. These houses provide excellent thermal insulation, and are resilient to the desert climate. The distinctiveness of these structures is further enhanced by their distinctive ornamentation, with geometric patterns carved into the clay in places, and a form of plastering on some outer walls involving balls of clay, which increases shading and reduces sun exposure.

Architectural plans of typical configuration of the Gourarian house situated on the path towards the Moulay Ahmed cemetery in the Ksar of Timimoun. Boufeldja Arif in Ben Charif et al. (2023).

This style of architecture remained the predominant one in Timimoun, even being adopted during the colonial period for structures such as the hotels Oasis Rouge and Gourara. However, recent urbanization projects by the Algerian government have introduced more 'modern' manufactured building materials to the region.

Earthen decorative technique adopted in various edifices in the city of Timimoun. (1) Ex-hotel Oasis Rouge built between 1912 and 1917. (2) Hotel Gourara built in the 1970s by the French architect Fernand Pouillon. (3) Recent renovation on the Central post office of Timimoun. Ben Charif et al. (2023).

In the Gourara Region, architecture is not just utilitarian, it is also an expression of local heritage tied to cultural practices such as annual festivals and artforms. This cultural distinctiveness has been recognised by UNESCO, with the Pilgrimage to Sbuâ, and the Ahellil musical genre recognised as being of international cultural importance.

Exterior wall plaster type in Timimoun. Ben Charif et al. (2023).

Homes are more than just buildings, they have deep emotional ties for their inhabitants, reflecting their association with family and culture. The architectural style of the home is tied to this, and people will often have strong emotional feelings, positive of negative, about building styles and or materials. Archaeologist Louise Cook investigated earthen architecture in Turkmenistan and found that it a number of both positive and negatuve perceptions were frequently expressed. On the positive side earthen architecture was seen as an ancient local practice, aesthetically pleasing and easily adaptable, something available to the entire local population without reliance on outside resources, durable, able to cope with the local environment, resilient to natural disasters, recyclable, and symbolic of local culture. On the negative side, it was seen as poor people's housing, weaker than buildings made of more modern materials, easily damaged, unhealthy, and often the housing choice of last resort.

Transformation of the architectural heritage in the Ksar of Timimoun, demonstrating the impact of industrial construction methods on traditional earthen urban fabric. Ben Charif et al. (2023).

Charif et al. set out to assess attitudes to earthen architecture and 'modern' buildings in Timimoun, Algeria, using questionnaires aimed at inhabitants of both the traditional and modern buildings. 

It was found that dwellers in both types of houses found that their homes were healthy and comfortable, with both groups expressing that this was important to them. Both groups also thought that their homes were aesthetically pleasing, although this appeared to be far more important to the inhabitants of earthen houses. Conversely, while both groups thought it was important that homes were resilant to natural disasters, the inhabitants of modern homes placed more importance on the ability of homes to physically resist damage, rather than being easily repaired.

Renovation of a mausoleum during the Sbuâ annual pilgrimage. Charif et al. (2023).

Dwellers in both types of houses reported believing that cheap, low quality building materials were a bad thing, although neither group reported feeing particularly unhappy with the level of comfort provided by their homes. Dwellers in more modern buildings tended to report that autonomy of building design was more important to them. Similarly, all the participants reported that the ability to recycle building materials was important to them; notably dwellers in traditional houses felt that their homes were easily modified, allowing a degree of flexibility to the users which the dwellers in modern houses lacked, while the dwellers in modern houses were concerned by the difficulty in modifying their homes, and the lack of recyclability of the materials involved. 

Dwellers in modern houses tended to report that the modernity of their homes was a desirable feature. However, dwellers in traditional earthen houses did not see a lack of modernity as a drawback. This may be connected to the differing occupations of the dwellers in the two types of home, with dwellers in the more modern buildings tending to be employed in professional and administrative roles, which leave less time for regular building maintenance. 

All the inhabitants of Timimoun reported positive feelings about the types of houses they lived in, although this was more pronounced in the dwellers in more traditional homes. This may reflect a recent perceptual shift towards the desirability of modern housing, driven by social and economic factors, as well as exposure to media in which such homes are portrayed as more desirable. Contrary to Cook's findings, the only 'negative' perception reported about earthen houses was their lack of modernity, which does not seem to be perceived as a great problem. 

The distinctive architecture of the Gourara Region appeared to be valued by all of the respondants, although it was clearly more important to the people dwelling in these traditional homes. Despite this perception, the traditional architectural style is under threat, with modern houses slowly coming to replace traditional earthen ones. Although the traditional houses are perceived as more aesthetically pleasing, the lower maintenance needs of modern houses is apparently becoming more attractive. 

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Understanding the Roman-style forts of Upper Nubia.

The term Upper Nubia is used to identify the area along the banks of the River Nile between the Third Cataract and the confluence of the White and Blue Niles, and the areas of desert and semi-desert that surrounds it. This area is covered by a huge array of defensive structures, mostly dating to the medieval and post-medieval periods; the exact number of these structures is unclear, although it is probably over 300. Some of these structures have been extensively explored by archaeologists, but most have been only briefly surveyed, if at all. As a result of this, the origin of most of these forts is unclear, with estimates based upon surface materials recovered from the sites or just the general shape of the fortifications. 

The largest of these structures, such as Old Dongola and Bakhit, are still the largest structures ever built in this region, but many are much smaller, representing little more than military towers or fortified houses. Among these varied structures, one group stands out for their similarity, a group of small forts with quadrilateral structures resembling Late Roman fortlets. 

In a paper published in the journal Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa on 2 February 2022, Mariusz Drzewiecki of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw, and Aneta Cedro of the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences, examine the origins of these forts and try to understand who built them and why.

Map of the Upper Nubia region of Sudan showing the locations of places mentioned in the text. Black squares mark quadrilateral forts, red squares potential forts. Mariusz Drzewiecki in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

Drzewieki and Cedro were able to identify nine Roman-style forts in Upper Nubia, spanning about 550 km of the Nile Valley. These are presumed to have been built during Late Antiquity (the second to seventh centuries AD), a time of significant political change in the region. By the second century AD the Kushite Kingdom of Meroe was beginning to break apart into smaller states. In the fourth century, when the Axumite King Ezana sent an army to conquer the region. By the fifth-to-sixth centuries the region was divided into three kingdoms, Makuria, with its capital at Dongala, Nobadia, with its capital at Faras, and Alwa, with its capital at Soba, which, by the late sixth century, were at war with one-another, having converted to different branches of Christianity; the Makurians having adopted Melkitism, and the other two kingdoms having converted to Monophysitism.

The quadrilateral fort at the top of Jebel Umm Marrahi. Mariusz Drzewiecki in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

Drzewieki and Cedro consider that three possible explanations for the forts are plausible. 

Firstly, the forts could have been built by the Kingdom of Meroe towards the end of its existence; this is supported by the locations of the forts, which span the final area which the Kingdom was able to hold onto before its eventual collapse. 

Secondly, the forts could have been built by one of the successor kingdoms which emerged in the fifth-to-sixth centuries. A number of forts between the Third and Fourth Cataracts (further downstream) are considered to have been built by the Kingdom of Makuria, though these are less regular in form than the Upper Nubian forts, being moulded to the local topography. All of the Roman-style forts lie within the boundaries of the historic Kingdom of Alwa, with the most southerly fort, Jebel Umm Marrahi, being only 50 km to the north of the city of Soba, which has led to the suggestion that the forts might have been built by the Alwans.

Finally, Drzewieki and Cedro hypothesise that the first of the forts could have been built by Meroe, but then integrated into the defence system of one of the later states and used as a template for the construction of more forts along the same lines.

The nine forts are remarkably similar in construction. The largest, Hosh el-Kab, is only four times the size of the smallest, Wad Mukhtar. The corners of the forts are reinforced by bastions, and most were built using a vertical masonry technique absent from other sites in the area, including the Makurian forts. 

The Middle Nile forts. Mariusz Drzewiecki in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

In order to establish who built the forts, Drzewieki and Cedro reason, it would first be necessary to establish precise dates for their construction. Such dates can be obtained from a range archaeological material, but, for the dating of the construction times, only material from the lowest layers within the forts, and the layers immediately beneath their foundations, should be used. Material obtained from the cores of curtain walls or from higher layers within the forts may also prove useful, but their context must be evaluated very carefully.

Vertical masonry in the fort at Mikeisir. Urszula Stępień in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

Examination of material from the lowest layers within the forts can also shed light on the lives of the original occupants of the forts, which in turn may help to understand why the forts were built. Items such as ceramics or organic material can reveal a lot about the daily lives of the people who deposited them, as can presence or absence of luxury items, combined with analysis of any food remains. Were the fortified structures intended to house garrisons, act as storehouses, or as fortified dwellings for whole communities? Were they used over a long period of time, or did their construction relate to some specific threat, after which they were abandoned?

Although the forts are very regular in construction, their distribution is very uneven. As mentioned previously, the southernmost fort, Umm Marrahi, lies only 50 km to the north of the Alwan capital Soba. Three kilometres to the north of this lies the fort of Hosh el-Kab, while 500 m to the east of Hosh el-Kab is the fort of Abu Nafisa. This clustering seems to make it unlikely that all three of these forts were in use at the same time, which prompted  a team from the Polish Academy of Sciences to investigate these sites directly.

The location of Abu Nafisa, Hosh el-Kab and Umm Marrahi. Włodzimierz Rączkowski & Mariusz Drzewiecki in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

The fort at Umm Marrahi was surveyed by the British archaeologist Osbert Crawford in the 1950s, and some test excavations were carried out there by a team from Khartoum University in the 1970s. The Khartoum team recovered pottery fragments from the fort and from a nearby cemetery, which were of similar manufacture. Based upon this, it was calculated that the fort was in use at some time between the Late Meroitic and Early Christian periods, between about 325 and 650 AD. A radiocarbon date was established for a piece of pottery, which placed it at between 675 and 975 AD, with a confidence level of 94%, but this cannot realistically be extrapolated to a construction time for the fort. Further investigations in the area in the 1980s shed no further light upon the age of the fort. Neither of the other forts has been formally investigated, though some speculation about their origin has appeared in research publications about the area, with suggestions including Meroitic, Makurian, and Early Medieval.

The Polish Academy of Sciences team carried out fieldwork at Hosh el-Kab and Abu Nafisa in 2018, and at Umm Marrahi in 2019. Initial surveys of the sites, combined with interviews with local residents established that many of the structures visible within the forts were of much later origin than their construction, often dating to the Islamic Period. Umm Marrahi contains a mosque, and several associated buildings, which was constructed by a local Sufi brotherhood, while Abu Nafisa contains the tomb of an Muslim Holy Man, Sheikh Abu Nafisa.

The only structures that could be confidently associated with the construction of the forts are their walls. With this in mind the Polish team dug two excavation trenches along the insides of walls at each fort, where possible doing so at the sites of gates or the corners of the forts. Before doing this a careful surface survey was carried out, and previous excavations left by looters, or where paths or irrigation channels had been cut, were inspected.

The fort at Umm Marrahi showing the location of archaeological trenches. Mariusz Drzewiecki in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

Before any excavation work was undertaken, a geophysical survey was carried out at each fort, in order to better understand the organisation and state of preservation of the buildings within them. At Abu Nasifa, an area of 7400 m² was surveyed, with the southeastern corner being excluded from the survey in order to avoid disturbing the tomb of the Holy Man. At Hosh el-Kab an area of 13 300 m² was surveyed, excluding only an area where the site had clearly been damaged beyond the usefulness of such surveys by modern irrigation work. At Umm Marrahi an area of only 1600 m² was surveyed, as the bedrock was exposed in many places at this fort.

The fort of Abu Nasifa is the closest of the three sites to the Nile, and has clearly been flooded on several occasions since it was in use. Both the excavations and the geophysical survey carried out here uncovered massive alluvial deposits, with little archaeological evidence from the time of the fort's use remaining. However, the remains of a settlement pre-dating the fort were uncovered, and a number of potentially datable fragments of charcoal collected, potentially providing a maximum age for the fort.

The fort at Abu Nafisa fort showing the location of the archaeological trenches. Mariusz Drzewiecki in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

The walls of Abu Nafisa were worn down to their foundation, although it was possible to confirm that these walls were made using a vertical masonry technique. Most of the material collected here came from the surface or upper layers within the trenches, and could be dated to the Funj period (1504-1821 AD). However, a few fragments of older pottery and some beads were recovered from the lowest layers of the fort settlement, these being referable to the post-Merotic/Christian transition period (fifth-to-sixth centuries).

Samples of pottery associated with the beginning of the forts at Abu Nafisa (a)–(c) and Hosh el-Kab (d)–(f). Aneta Cedro in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

The largest of the forts surveyed was Hosh el-Kab, which is also distinctive in having thirteen bastions strengthening its corners and curtain walls. It is close to Abu Nafisa, but further from the river, towards the edge of the desert. The site was badly damaged in 2013-4, when a 10 m wide irrigation trench was cut through it. The walls remain to a height of about 70 cm, and are made of irregular stones, bound with mortar, with no signs of vertical masonry ever having been present. 

The fort at Hosh el-Kab with the remains of a church shown by an arrow. Mariusz Drzewiecki in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

Geophysical surveys within Hosh el-Kab suggested that most of the buildings that had stood there were made from mud bricks. As with Abu Nafisa, most of the material found within the fort was close to the surface, and dates from the Funj period or later. Some pottery fragments dating to the post-Merotic/Christian transition period were found in the deeper layers of the trenches, and in the area around a former church within the fort.

The fort at Hosh el-Kab in 2018. Mariusz Drzewiecki in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

Unlike Abu Nafisa and Hosh el-Kab, the fort at Umm Marrahi is located on top of a hill, and contains numerous stone-built buildings, although investigation of these suggests that all are quite recent in origin. The fort is built directly onto the bedrock, which is still very close to the surface at the centre of the fort. Around the walls, however, a sediment layer was present, up to 1.4 m in depth. Excavations produced material dating to the early Holocene, post-Meroitic, early Christian, Funj and modern eras, with the earliest layers within the walls yielding fragments of cooking and storage vessels, as well as pieces of thin, black-burnished handmade bowls of post-Meroitic origin. No pottery of Merotic origin was found anywhere within the fort, which Drzewieki and Cedro take as evidence that the fort post dates the Kingdom of Meroe.

A total of 22 organic samples were recovered during the excavations, of which 19 yielded radiocarbon dates. The earliest of these dates are from the first half of the fifth century AD, roughly 70 years after the Axumite King Ezana's invasion of the area. Based upon the dates recovered, the most likely origin of all the forts was in the late sixth or early seventh century AD.

The best dated site is Abu Nafisa, the construction of which can be placed between 561 and 574 AD, based upon both material from below the fort and material from the lowest level within the fort. Hosh al-Kab is probably slightly younger, with the lowest layers here dated to between 571 and 604 AD. Umm Marrahi is the least well constrained, but was probably built between 536 and 564 AD. All of these dates are around 200 years after the fall of Meroe, ruling out a Meroitic origin of the forts.

At Hosh el-Kab and Umm Marrahi, the forts appear to have remained in use into the Early Christian era, but then to have been abandoned until the Funj period, with no material dating from the Classic and Late Christian periods present. Abu Nafisa appears to have been abandoned earlier, with no Early Christian material present. 

This suggests that all the forts were only in use for a short period of time, and that Abu Nafisa was abandoned quite soon after its construction. This may relate to the site's vulnerability to flooding; considerable amounts of alluvial sediment were found within the walls of the fort, and the site was inundated during the floods which hit Sudan in 2019. If this was also the case in the sixth century, then it is quite possible that the fort was abandoned in favour of the dryer site at Hosh el-Kab, which would also explain why the two sites were so close together. This larger fort was at the edge of the water in 2019, suggesting that its builders had taken the likely extent of flooding into account when building it.

Google Earth images of Abu Nafisa and Hosh el-Kab during the flood of 2019. Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

While vertical masonry was used at Abu Nafisa, it is absent at Hosh el-Kab and Umm Marrahi. If Abu Nafissa does predate Hosh el-Kab, this may indicate that Umm Marrahi was built at roughly the same time as the latter; since it was only half the side of Hosh el-Kab it may have been an auxiliary post intended to work in conjunction with the main fort in some way. Whatever the precise relationship between the forts, they clearly point towards the area being a site of strategic importance in the second half of the sixth century AD.

The material recovered from the lower layers within the forts was remarkably uniform across all three sites, with the smallest civil sites in the Middle Nile Valley producing a much more varied range of material, including luxury items and goods brought in from long distances away, all of which were missing from the forts.

The geophysical survey carried out at Hosh el-Kab found traces of mud-brick buildings along the southern and parts of the northern walls of the city, as well as free-standing buildings, including a church, throughout the enclosed area. This was confirmed by a small trench on the northern wall, which uncovered the remnants of a mud-brick structure. Early Christian pottery and other material were found in the area around the church. 

Most of the original structures within Umm Marrahi appear to have been demolished in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty first centuries, to make way for newer construction. The buildings of Abu Nafisa appear to have been almost totally eroded away by the action of repeated flooding, although a few places may show the remains of stone floors of buildings.

Pottery is the most common material at all three sites, with a total of 1554 fragments collected in total. The distribution of this pottery was not even; Abu Nafisa, having apparently been used only briefly and then subjected to repeated flooding events, unsurprisingly yielded little pottery. Hosh el-Kab had apparently been the subject of numerous excavations in the post-medieval and modern periods, during which much material had been removed, probably for construction purposes in local villages. Umm Marrahi became a centre of religious activity in more recent times, and as such had been relatively undisturbed by local villagers. Excavations here yielded a range of pottery from different periods. However, none of the sites was completely excavated, and it is likely that the discovered pottery represents only a fraction of the total amount present.

The most distinctive feature of the pottery from the lowest layers at Umm Marrahi is that none of it is wheel-made. All of the pottery is hand made, and though it can be divided into coarse ware with thick walls and crude outer surfaces, and finer ware with smoother surfaces, the difference between the two appears to be purely functional. The finer ware, which is usually covered by a slip, generally black in colour, and burnished or polished, and occasionally decorated, is used exclusively for the production of small bowls or dishes. The cruder pottery, which lacked any slip or burnishing, and often preserved the fingerprints of its makers, was used for making larger bowls.

Black-polished bowls from the earliest phase of the Umm Marrahi fort. Aneta Cedro in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

One distinctive group of larger bowls have a shallow, open shape with vertical or steeply sloping walls. The upper parts of these walls are typically thicker, and have a pattern of fingerprints or diagonal cuts along their rims. Fragments of these bowls were found at Umm Marrahi, Abu Nafisa, and Hosh el-Kab, and are also known from Soba. Some of these bowls have soot on their outsides, suggesting that they may have been used for cooking. Fragments of a type of bowl known as a doka, used for the baking of flatbread, were also found, as were pieces of what appear to be storage vessels, including short, wide-mouthed bottles, plain neckless jars, and 'beer jars' which have globular bodies and slender necks.

Examples of coarse ware pottery from the earliest phase of the Umm Marrahi fort. Aneta Cedro in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

A lot of the pottery from the lowest layers at Umm Marrahi is very similar to pottery previously recovered from the city of Soba. Notable example of this are the presence the black slip-ware and of a type of thin-walled bowl with carinated (ridged) walls and either a black or red slip. Examples of this sort of bowl, with both black and red slips, have also been recovered from Soba.

Examples of bowls from the Umm Marrahi fort (left) and their parallels from Soba (right). Aneta Cedro and Ewa Czyżewska-Zalewska in Drzewieki & Cedro (2022).

While the lowest layers at Umm Marrahi produced only hand-made pottery, the higher layers did produce wheel-made pottery. All of this could be dated to the Early Christian period, although some of it was clearly inspired by Late Roman patterns. Again, this was similar to material found at Soba, and likely to have been made in the same workshops.

Some of the pottery items found at Umm Marrahi showed signs of repair, including items which would normally have been considered to have been of low value, such as course bowls and storage jars, but which were apparently worth having their lives extended here. Also found were two potsherds which had been polished and cut into circular shapes, which Drzewieki and Cedro take as evidence that they had been used as spindles, thus providing evidence of yarn production.

The excavations carried out at Umm Marrahi by a team from Khartoum University in the 1970s also uncovered ceramics, including two complete vessels, a small bowl and a cooking pot. All of this pottery conformed to the same types recorded by the Polish team. Evidence of the repair of pottery was also present in this sample.

The pottery from Umm Marrahi is remarkably functional, with no examples of 'luxury' items, or anything else that might be used to denote social status. Even the best made bowls, while well executed, are strictly functional in form, and were probably made at local workshops. No amphorae, or other objects which might be associated with long-distance trade were found.

After pottery, the most common finds at the sites were Animal remains, comprising a collection of 562 bones, teeth, and fragments. The majority of the material from the lowest layers can be assigned to Sheep and/or Goats, with a smaller amount of Cattle remains. Also present were pieces of bone from a Rodent and a Hippopotamus. Notably absent were the remains of any non-consumed domestic Animals (such as Dogs, Cats, Donkeys, or Camels), or bones from parts of Animals not typically consumed (such as the phalanges), suggesting that all the Animal remains originally came to the site as meat for consumption, not live Animals.

The preponderance of Sheep/Goat remains, particularly in comparison to the number of Cattle remains, is puzzling, as at other sites in the area, including Soba and Makurian sites, the reverse is true, with Cattle remains being the most abundant. At Soba, the remains of Pigs are also quite common, but these are absent at the forts.

A very small number of other items were uncovered at the forts, including nine beads, eleven stone tools (grinding stones and pestles), and a piece of copper. The complete lack of luxury goods at the sites suggests that the inhabitants were not members of a ruling or wealthy class. The uniform nature of the pottery implies that everyone present was using essentially the same utensils, storage spaces, and goods, while the preserved remains of the original buildings at Hosh el-Kab reveals that living spaces were arranged according to a regular plan.

This does not necessarily imply that all of the residents were of equal status. The fortified nature of the buildings makes it likely that these were military outposts, where rank would probably be clearly recognised, even if the materials used by all ranks were strictly functional. The one problem with this interpretation is that no weapons have been found at the site, which would normally be expected from a garrison fort, although most weapons known from post-Meroitic Nubia are known from burial sites, so this is perhaps not as remarkable as it would be elsewhere in the world.

Part of the problem with interpreting the purpose of the forts is that the political situation in Upper Nubia in the sixth century is poorly understood. The Byzantine scholar and historian John of Ephesus (c.507-c.588 AD) records that in the latter part of the sixth century the kingdoms of the Middle Nile were starting to convert to Christianity, as well as frequently fighting amongst themselves. Little is directly recorded about Alwa or its neighbouring states, but a line of forts between Alwa and Makuria probably implies that the two states were at least close to conflict with one-another. There was also a potential for conflict with Beja nomads inhabiting the Eastern Desert, as well as various nomadic groups crossing the Bayuda Desert.

The King of Alwa is known to have been baptised into the Monophysite branch of Christianity in 580, by the Byzantine missionary Bishop Longinus, who had travelled from Nobadia for the event. Some correspondence between the two monarchs survives, and suggests that the conversion was part of the forging of an alliance against the Makurians, although what this dispute was about, when it started, and how long it lasted, are all unclear.

The Kingdom of Alwa may have reached as far as the Fourth Cataract in the sixth century, with the last of the nine forts being at El-Ar, just upriver of that cataract. This is a huge area, including all of the central part of the former state of Meroe. However, by the end of the sixth century the Kingdom of Makuria is known to have reached to the Fifth Cataract, presumably at the the expense of the Alwans. Some of the forts in this region, such as Mikeisir, were abandoned at this time, while others, such as El-Ar, were modified and used for other purposes, while forts in the Makurian style, such as Karmel and Ras el Gezira, were erected. 

How long this conflict lasted is unclear, though the forts at  Hosh el-Kab and Umm Marrahi clearly remained in use into the Early Christian period. By the middle of the seventh century the Kingdom od Nobadia had fallen to an Islamic Arab army under Abdallāh ibn Sa΄d ibn Abī Sar, which had marched up the Nile and was now threatening Makuria, possibly lessening that state's enthusiasm for war with Alwa.

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