AMMAN — Amid one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, Sudan’s civil war has brought another devastating consequence: the potential extinction of its cultural heritage. Priceless artefacts, looted from museums and archaeological sites, are now surfacing on eBay, where they risk disappearing into private collections forever.
Since fighting broke out in Khartoum in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, the nation’s cultural landmarks have been left exposed and without surveillance, maintenance, or protection. These sites now stand vulnerable to looting, trafficking, vandalism, and neglect — leaving Sudan’s rich heritage at risk of permanent loss or destruction.
Museums in the crossfire
Since the start of the war, culture preservation organisations have been urgently calling for help to protect the Sudanese heritage, which stands in an extremely vulnerable position as many museums have been caught in the crossfire. Since April 2023, staff members of the National Museum of Sudan and other institutions have been unable to access their premises. Reports from the NGO Heritage for Peace in November 2023 indicated that police forces had withdrawn due to ongoing violence, leaving museums unprotected.
“It is imperative to relocate these artefacts to a secure location, immediately,” urged Heritage for Peace in 2023, warning of what has now become a sad reality – antiquities-smuggling operations have emerged in Sudan.
A Cultural Crisis
Sudan’s civil war has placed its cultural history at the mercy of looters, as highlighted by UNESCO in a statement released in September 2024. The agency raised alarms over reports of mass looting from museums, private collections, and archaeological sites. These stolen artefacts, once housed in Sudan’s most prestigious institutions, are now being sold illegally online, stripping the nation of its historical memory. “This threat to culture has reached an unprecedented level,” UNESCO warned.
Particularly alarming is the looting of the National Museum of Sudan. Recently restored through UNESCO’s efforts and Italy’s funding, the museum contains statues, pottery, and artefacts of immense cultural significance, representing the history of Sudan from the Palaeolithic era through to the Christian and Islamic periods. UNESCO has stressed that the illegal sale or displacement of these cultural items endangers not only the nation’s identity but also its potential for recovery.
Satellite imagery is being now used to assess the damage, tracking threats to World Heritage Sites like Gebel Barkal and the Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe.
In response to the situation, UNESCO said it had implemented emergency measures, securing and packing endangered collections in five museums, inventorying and digitising over 1,700 artefacts. Additionally, UNESCO said a cultural centre in Port Sudan has been established to provide the displaced cultural professionals with a safe place to continue their work.
Attack on Heritage
Officials from the National Museum of Sudan have confirmed that tens of thousands of artefacts have been looted, marking a devastating blow to one of Africa’s most important cultural institutions.
The Museum, which opened its doors in 1971, held one of the most comprehensive collections of Sudanese antiquities. Prehistoric artefacts from the Palaeolithic era, Pharaonic treasures, and Nubian pieces from the famed site of Kerma have been reported stripped from the museum, reported AFP.
Ikhlas Abdel Latif, head of museums at the national antiquities authority, confirmed the scale of the devastation. “The Sudan National Museum has been the subject of major looting. Archaeological objects stored there have been taken and transferred to border areas, particularly South Sudan,” she told AFP.
The South Darfur capital has not been spared as artefacts and exhibitions accessories have been stolen from the museum in Nyala, according to Abdel Latif. "Among the stolen items are artefacts from the ancient Kingdom of Kush, some dating back to 2,500 BCE. Statues, pottery, and other relics from Sudan’s past are now being sold to the highest bidders."
Culture for Sale
Experts have voiced deep concern at the discovery of looted artefacts being offered for sale online. On the auction site eBay, items presented as Egyptian antiquities, which Sudanese media claims were looted from Sudan, are being listed for sale.
AFP saw listings featuring items priced at just a few hundred dollars, but was unable to independently verify the authenticity or origin of the items. A Sudanese archaeologist told AFP that pottery, gold objects and paintings listed for sale appeared to have come from the National Museum in Khartoum – although at least one statuette was an imitation. He said he feared for the larger statues, which "must be handled by specialists in a precise manner" and could be damaged if looters were to lay hands on them.
“These artefacts are our identity, the identity of the Sudanese people,” the National Museum official said. “Can you imagine what it feels like to lose your identity? You lose your existence in this world.”
