Researching the Kush (You need to register for free to view this news item.)

The kingdom of the Kush, lasting about five centuries, and gone by the 16th century BC, is yielding up some very interesting archaeological information in the region soon to be drowned out by the new Merowe Dam. This may be the last season that artifacts can be removed along the stretch of the Nile above the dam. Many archaeologists are converging to collect what they can.

Being unearthed and salvaged are residential regions and places where Kushites processed gold. Grave goods and the extent of the gold operations indicate that in its heyday Kush extended from the first cataract to well beyond the fourth, and that there was contact on their part with Egypt to the north.