Graves, small huts or stone-lined sleeping places from antiquity and the Middle Ages: the "Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary" archaeological project being undertaken at the University of Münster’s Institute of Egyptology and Coptology is now putting its data online, gathered between 2009 and 2016 during field research in Sudan. Academics, as well as anyone in the general public who is interested, can use a browser-based geoinformation system (WebGIS) to take a look at the findings.
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| Squares lined with stones and filled with gravel, and with mats or palm leaves as a bed, served as sleeping places in the Bayuda Desert in Sudan. The large number of dots shows the high frequency of these beds [Credit: Münster University/W.A.D.I.; screenshot] |
A comprehensive field inspection, as well as aerial surveys of the riverbank areas of the dried-up Wadi Abu Dom river system in the Bayuda Desert in Sudan – rivers which only sporadically contain water – were all carried out as part of the "Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary" research project. In doing so, the team of twelve mapped all the structures of cultural and historical relevance visible on the surface of the terrain. All archaeological findings are shown as geospatial point data and area data in Web GIS and arranged by category. In addition, users can access further information for all the findings, and, in many cases, photos too.
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| Anyone interested can take a look at various pictures, including rock formations which, as can be seen in this photo, depict cattle [Credit: Münster University/W.A.D.I.; screenshot] |
Not only academics, but also non-specialists who are interested can temporarily upload their own data into the application and compare them with those from the "Wadi Abu Dom Itinerary" project. This is a fast, uncomplicated way of seeing whether, and in what form, the relevant archaeological findings have already been recorded by the Münster team of researchers. "In addition to an easy link-up with research projects both at home and abroad", says Angelika Lohwasser, "what we’re hoping for is public involvement. Anyone anywhere in the world who is interested, who has visited Sudan as a tourist or who is exploring these remote areas with the aid of programmes such as Google Earth, can compare any structures they have found which might be of archaeological relevance with the results gathered by the specialists. If they are not sure about something, they can contact us and – in the sense of ‘people’s science’, in the best sense of the term – help us to complete our picture of the cultural history of Sudan."
Source: University of Münster [May 24, 2018]