Historical archaeology in the Southern Sudan

Archaeological research in the southern Sudan has been stifled by decades
of civil war. The only large scale surveys in the region were carried
out by the British Institute in Eastern Africa during the late 1970s and early
1980s and while these were highly successful in terms of locating a large
number of sites with a broad geographical and temporal range, they have
posed many more questions than they answered. Since the general peace accord
in 2005, the British Institute in Eastern Africa has attempted to revive
archaeological work in the Southern Sudan. Dr Paul Lane conducted a survey
of slave trading zariba in 2006 and 2007/8? and in late 2009 a BIEA
team was able to undertake an extensive archaeological impact assessment
along the fringes of the Nile south of Juba. This paper reports on the results
of this assessment, particularly the finding and survey of a number of semifortified
village sites and the large Laboré Fort constructed by Emin Pasha in
the late 19th century.