Geoarchaeological Methods for Landscape Reconstruction at the Excavation Site of Naga, Central Sudan

摘要

The archaeological excavation site of Naga, remains of a Meroitic city, is located in the semiarid region along the fringe of the north-eastern Sahel and the south-eastern Sahara desert, in central Sudan, 150 km north of Khartoum and 40 km south of the Nile. During its heyday the city was a highly developed central place, with a large population and a booming economy. Naga has been the object of archaeological research for several decades – and of geoscientific investigation since 2008. The first step for the investigation was to select adequate methods that combine the advantages of various subdisciplines and approaches. The study presented employs techniques from terrain modelling, geophysics and environmental analytics to evaluate field data with the aim of a comprehensive landscape reconstruction.