Camilla Boldrini

 

Heritage diplomacy: Nubian tangible and intangible heritage and international archaeology

 

Abstract: Nubian civilizations, neighbouring the southernmost part of Egypt along the Nile River into Sudan, have remained long overshadowed in academia and public interest by their Egyptian counterpart. The clear bias in research and expertise on Nubia results from a series of ideological positions regarding racial and ethnic identity. These positions historically saw Nubian religious and artistic practises as an offshoot of ancient Egypt. Nevertheless, a growing awareness of the value of archaeological materials in the Nubian region has led to a shift in archaeological and political interest in the region. A push towards these new attitudes was promoted by the international campaigns sponsored by UNESCO for the salvage of Nubian heritage endangered by the construction of large-scale dams in Aswan around the 1960s, at the border between Egypt and Sudan. The project resulted in a series of successes and failures of “heritage diplomacy” that benefitted international partners more than local communities. The political, economic, and mediating roles that material culture assumed in the framework of the UNESCO rescue project can reveal much about lingering ideological narratives surrounding ancient Egypt and Nubia as well as modern Egypt and Sudan. 

  

The Allard Pierson managed to acquire a Nubian artefact excavated in 1917 at the royal cemetery of Nuri, an area currently affected by the construction of dams and in the very heart of the Nubian region. The presence of such objects in European museums reminds us of the relevance of international cooperation in heritage preservation, but also serves to shine a light on the contested and problematic aspects of international intervention in territories such as Egypt and Sudan where neo-imperialist dynamics as well as national interests are intertwined in heritage management. As one of the only few Nubian objects in the Allard Pierson’s collection, the museum has an incredible opportunity to make use of this artefact to give a platform to Nubian struggles and local expertise, open a dialogue on the value and role of archaeology and heritage in identity formation and the responsibilities of heritage preservation practices. 

 

Bio: Camilla Boldrini attended University College Utrecht where she obtained a BA in Anthropology and Art History. While there she developed an interest in colonial heritage and museology. Building on this, she is now attending the MA program Museum Studies at the