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Crafts and Makers: Kush and Nubia

A ten‑minute look at the artisans of ancient Kush and Nubia, revealing their metalwork, weaving, pottery, and the scribes who recorded their world.

Chapters

• 0:07 Foundations of Nubian Craft
• 1:16 Metalworking in Kush
• 3:19 Writing and Administration
• 4:28 Everyday Life and Trade

On-screen text

• 0:07 Foundations of Nubian Craft
• 0:14 Foundations of Nubian Craft
• 0:31 Kerma storage jars with geometric incisions Historical record · Kerma Museum, Pottery Collection, 2018 excavation
• 0:49 Painted pottery with red slip from Beg. N 12 Historical record · University of Khartoum excavation report, 2020, Tomb of Beg. N 12
• 1:07 Kerma loom fragments suggest elite textiles The Institute's interpretation · R. B. O’Connor, “Weaving in Ancient Nubia”, Journal of African Archaeology 2015
• 1:16 Metalworking in Kush
• 1:23 Metalworking in Kush
• 1:40 Bronze casting at Jebel Barkal Historical record · Jebel Barkal Temple relief, 1st century BC
• 1:58 Bronze priest with stylus from Meroë Historical record · British Museum, Bronze statue of a priest, 1st century BC
• 2:16 Iron hammer from Meroë workshop Historical record · Louvre, Iron hammer from Meroë, 1st century AD
• 2:34 Granulated gold necklace from Natakamani’s tomb Historical record · Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gold Necklace, 1st century AD
• 2:52 Strabo’s note on Meroë’s ironworkers The Institute's interpretation · Strabo, Geography 17.3
• 3:10 Pliny’s record of Nubian iron export Historical record · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.28
• 3:19 Writing and Administration
• 3:26 Writing and Administration
• 3:43 Karanog inscription naming a palace scribe Historical record · Karanog inscription K‑1, 3rd century AD
• 4:01 Meroitic tablet naming crafts Historical record · Meroitic Lexicon (Meroitic script tablet, 2nd century AD)
• 4:19 Administrative tablet tracking grain Historical record · Nubian Museum, Meroitic administrative tablet, 3rd century AD
• 4:28 Everyday Life and Trade
• 4:43 Iron hammer, Meroë workshop, 1st c. AD Historical record · Louvre, Iron hammer from Meroë, 1st century AD
• 4:50 Nubian laborers moving stone, 13th c. BC Historical record · Egyptian New Kingdom relief at Abu Simbel, 13th century BC
• 5:07 Gold necklace, Natakamani tomb, 1st c. AD Historical record · Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gold Necklace, 1st century AD
• 5:55 Strabo: Meroë, city of ironworkers The Institute's interpretation · Strabo, Geography 17.3

Sources

Historical record: Kerma Museum, Pottery Collection, 2018 excavation · University of Khartoum excavation report, 2020, Tomb of Beg. N 12 · Jebel Barkal Temple relief, 1st century BC · British Museum, Bronze statue of a priest, 1st century BC · Louvre, Iron hammer from Meroë, 1st century AD · Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gold Necklace, 1st century AD · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.28 · Karanog inscription K‑1, 3rd century AD · Meroitic Lexicon (Meroitic script tablet, 2nd century AD) · Nubian Museum, Meroitic administrative tablet, 3rd century AD · Egyptian New Kingdom relief at Abu Simbel, 13th century BC

The Institute's interpretation: R. B. O’Connor, “Weaving in Ancient Nubia”, Journal of African Archaeology 2015 · Strabo, Geography 17.3

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 107 s of CPU.