Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab Rapid Report: Damage to the Sudan National Museum (18 May 2023)

In this report the Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab (CHML) with Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI) confirmed damage to the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum. Among other collections, the museum maintains an extensive collection of Nubian artifacts and architectural elements. On 26 April 2023, the Director of the Sudan Natural History Museum expressed concerns about looting at the Sudan National Museum. Using high-resolution satellite imagery, CHML analysts identified damage to two structures on the museum’s campus: a structure containing the ancient Egyptian Temple of Buhen (right image, yellow arrow) and another structure containing a section of wall from the ancient Egyptian Temple of Aksha (right image, orange arrow). CHML analysts determined that the damage to these structures occurred between 17 April 2023 and 20 April 2023. Imagery details indicate fire damage surrounding the structures and impacts to both structures’ roofs. This damage corresponds to similar fire-related damage within a 0.5 km radius of the museum that occurred within the same time span. 

Cite this report: Gunter-Bassett, M., Bassett, H. F., Hanson, K., Welsh, W., Fitzgerald, K., Maher, A., Aronson, J., Cil, D., Averyt, K., Carroll, C., Wegener, C., and Daniels, B. I. (2023) Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab Rapid Report: Damage to the Sudan National Museum (18 May 2023). Virginia Museum of Natural History, Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab; University of Maryland, Center for International Development and Conflict Management; Penn Museum, Penn Cultural Heritage Center; and Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative. DOI: 10.25573/data.22963304.