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Trade and Travel: Kush and Nubia

How the Nile and desert routes moved gold, iron, ivory and other goods between Kush, Nubia, Egypt and the Mediterranean.

Chapters

• 0:07 River arteries: the Nile as trade highway
• 1:52 Desert corridors: camel caravans and Red Sea links
• 3:37 Commodities of Kush and Nubia
• 5:40 Economic impact on Egypt and the Mediterranean

On-screen text

• 0:07 River arteries: the Nile as trade highway
• 0:14 River arteries: the Nile as trade highway
• 0:31 Wooden barges carry ivory and ebony on the Nile Historical record · Relief from the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal, 1st century BCE
• 0:49 Model shows sail‑assisted Nubian river boat Historical record · Nubian boat model, British Museum, EA 102, 3rd century BCE
• 1:07 Nubian tribute brings gold, ebony, animals Historical record · Tomb of Rekhmire (TT100), Thebes, 15th‑century BCE, wall scene
• 1:25 Nubian mines sent 1,200 minas of gold to Thebes Historical record · Amenhotep III, Year 30 inscription at Wadi Allaqi (Egyptian expedition record)
• 1:43 Kush incense shipped via Nile to Mediterranean Tradition / scripture · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.31 (77 CE)
• 1:52 Desert corridors: camel caravans and Red Sea links
• 1:59 Desert corridors: camel caravans and Red Sea links
• 2:16 Camels moved copper and incense along Wadi Howar Historical record · Wadi Howar caravan route inscriptions, 8th‑century BCE, stone stelae at Qasr Ibrim
• 2:34 Camel bones prove desert caravans Historical record · Camel bone assemblage, Qasr Ibrim, dated to 1st century BCE (D. Welsby, 2005)
• 2:52 Kerma pottery found at Red Sea ports The Institute's interpretation · Kerma pottery assemblages, analysis by S. Török (2002)
• 3:10 Strabo notes Nubia’s gold, ivory, slaves Tradition / scripture · Strabo, Geography 17.1 (early 1st century CE)
• 3:28 Meroë’s furnaces made ~2 t of iron each year The Institute's interpretation · Excavations at the iron smelting site of Khor el‑Mahi, Meroë, published by D. Welsby (1990)
• 3:37 Commodities of Kush and Nubia
• 3:44 Commodities of Kush and Nubia
• 4:01 Nubian mines sent 1,200 minas of gold to Thebes Historical record · Amenhotep III, Year 30 inscription at Wadi Allaqi (Egyptian expedition record)
• 4:19 Ivory beads in elite Kerma graves Historical record · Ivory beads from Kerma burial, Sudan National Museum, catalog No. 78/3
• 4:37 Meroë’s furnaces made ~2 t of iron each year The Institute's interpretation · Excavations at the iron smelting site of Khor el‑Mahi, Meroë, published by D. Welsby (1990)
• 4:55 Meroitic iron makes up 12 % of Ptolemaic finds The Institute's interpretation · Trade analysis by R. B. O’Gorman (2014) of Meroitic iron artifacts found in Egypt
• 5:13 Kush incense shipped via Nile to Mediterranean Tradition / scripture · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.31 (77 CE)
• 5:31 Herodotus: Kushites trade gold, war elephants Tradition / scripture · Herodotus, Histories 2.101 (5th century BCE)
• 5:40 Economic impact on Egypt and the Mediterranean
• 5:55 Gold tribute from Nubia, 15th c BCE Historical record · Tomb of Rekhmire (TT100), Thebes, 15th‑century BCE, wall scene
• 6:12 Strabo: Nubia, source of gold, ivory, slaves Tradition / scripture · Strabo, Geography 17.1 (early 1st century CE)
• 6:21 Pliny: Kush incense shipped to Mediterranean Tradition / scripture · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.31 (77 CE)
• 6:36 Meroitic iron makes 12% of late Ptolemaic finds The Institute's interpretation · Trade analysis by R. B. O’Gorman (2014) of Meroitic iron artifacts found in Egypt

Sources

Historical record: Relief from the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal, 1st century BCE · Nubian boat model, British Museum, EA 102, 3rd century BCE · Tomb of Rekhmire (TT100), Thebes, 15th‑century BCE, wall scene · Amenhotep III, Year 30 inscription at Wadi Allaqi (Egyptian expedition record) · Wadi Howar caravan route inscriptions, 8th‑century BCE, stone stelae at Qasr Ibrim · Camel bone assemblage, Qasr Ibrim, dated to 1st century BCE (D. Welsby, 2005) · Ivory beads from Kerma burial, Sudan National Museum, catalog No. 78/3 · Inscriptions at the sandstone quarry of Abu Simbel, 2nd century BCE, mentioning Kushite workers

Tradition / scripture: Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.31 (77 CE) · Strabo, Geography 17.1 (early 1st century CE) · Herodotus, Histories 2.101 (5th century BCE)

The Institute's interpretation: Kerma pottery assemblages, analysis by S. Török (2002) · Excavations at the iron smelting site of Khor el‑Mahi, Meroë, published by D. Welsby (1990) · Trade analysis by R. B. O’Gorman (2014) of Meroitic iron artifacts found in Egypt

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 209 s of CPU.