Abstract
UNESCO’s post-war international campaign, launched in the 1960’s to save the monuments of Nubia from the rising waters of the Aswan High Dam, is often recounted and remembered as a moment when great things were achieved – the international community came together in a spirit of camaraderie and fruitful cooperation, successfully preserving humanity’s collective heritage. But histories are never so neat and linear, more so the histories of Egyptology, a discipline deeply rooted in a colonial and racist past and whose troubled legacy has only very recently been critically examined and questioned. Flooded Pasts offers an alternative to this ‘momentous’ historical event, creating ruptures in the conventional story, and instead presenting us with a narrative that is compelling, multi-faceted and unwavering. Engaging with diverse themes such as colonialism, nationalist aspirations, globalised heritage, and racism (scientific or otherwise), all integral to the way the campaign unfolded and was in fact constituted over two decades, the author does not shy away from asking uncomfortable questions and confronting unsettling ‘facts on the ground’ (p. 16). Central to the book are the Nubians and their long-lasting displacement, forced resettlement and erasure as monuments, archaeology and the erstwhile pristine landscapes of Egypt and Sudan triumphed over people and their livelihoods. Bringing together archival material – including many Arabic sources that incorporate perspectives seldom part of the conversation – the book discusses the campaign’s genealogy and its aftermath. The author questions whether, during a ‘period when archaeology moved from a colonial – and often explicitly racial – science, to a “post”-colonial – and allegedly race-free – one’ (p. 14), the UNESCO campaign was moving in a different direction (or not moving at all).
The introductory chapter presents the reader with a summary of the book’s contents, including a brief look at the history of the UNESCO campaign, the construction of the High Dam, and the objectives of the study, formulated around a rich and diverse archive that decentres the Euro-North American perspective most often seen in other research on similar topics. Particularly important and underpinning the framework on which the research is based is the de-peopled vision of Nubia’s past that the campaign helped mould and the consequences that ensued as a result. Seven chapters follow, each focused on different themes that are seamlessly intertwined with one another.
Chapter 1, entitled ‘The View from the Boat’, looks at the many decades of entanglement of dam constructions with Nubia, beginning with the construction of the first Aswan dam, its subsequent heightening, and the commencement of the first archaeological survey in the region in 1907. As floodwaters began to rise, it was the preservation of the picturesque ruins and pristine landscapes of ancient monuments which could be enjoyed by river tourists from their boats, and which conformed to notions of Egypt ‘as an exhibit’ (p. 39), that took precedence over the living populations inhabiting these areas and their villages earmarked for destruction. Nubians were mostly portrayed as lazy, disconnected from their land, and/or as a continuous source of threat to the much more valued archaeological sites. Scientific racism and colonial mindsets permeated these early archaeological surveys, with excavations in many instances focusing on cemeteries to determine the racial characteristics of ancient groups and confirm the supposed superiority of Nubia’s northern neighbour. The chapter ends in the mid to late 1950s with the formation of a new survey initiative as plans for the construction of the High Dam were beginning to unfold. Nubians once again found themselves excluded from the decision-making process, seen only as objects of ethnological and museological inquiry.
In Chapter 2 the author moves on to the theme of documentation (central to the story of the UNESCO campaign) and the role of the newly created CEDAE (Centre d’étude et de documentation sur l’Ancienne Égypte) in perpetuating ‘forms of knowledge linked to colonial practice’ (p. 68), specifically colonial-era Egyptological norms. The history of CEDAE, its founding, and its early entanglement with the UNESCO campaign is explored, in particular, as to how it defined and collected Egypt’s past, doing so in collaboration with the Egyptian government (which itself had its own Egypto-centric ideas of how Nubia’s past should be presented). As western scholars fought over who had the best tools to archive and document Egypt’s monuments, CEDAE sought to claim ownership and preside over this monumental endeavour. Clearly favouring the documentation of epigraphy and temple architecture, other archaeological features, such as ancient settlements, were mostly neglected. In effect, a particular idea of what CEDAE believed constituted ancient Egypt and Nubia was being formulated and the author demonstrates how this becomes apparent through his critical examination of CEDAE’s index cards, registers and publications. But UNESCO’s campaign was not devoid of mismanagement and lack of agency. Chapter 3 sheds light on the different interests that were at play within the campaign, revealing that the image of accuracy and best practice that the campaign sought to showcase was one that was easily ‘tinkered’ with. Through archival documents, the less tailored stories taking place behind this polished veneer come to life – for example, records reveal the lack of interest, prevalent among many participants, to excavate in Egyptian Nubia as sites were seen to be unprofitable, containing objects of little to no value. Only by being promised future excavation permits at pharaonic sites, agreements were reached that allowed excavations in Nubia to commence. It is no surprise then that objects uncovered during these excavations were in fact regularly discarded, labelled as worthless by both archaeologists and the Egyptian government alike. Colonial-era practices also manifested themselves in other ways, with objects that were deemed valuable removed from the country (in line with UNESCO’s implementation of a ‘new regimen for cultural exchange’) along with the campaign’s paperwork and documentation. More importantly, Egyptian and Sudanese participants faced different forms of prejudice within the campaign, demonstrated by gatekeeping, racialized distinction, and the unfair treatment that was at times directed against non-Western technical assistants and local personnel.
Focusing on the campaign’s work in Sudan, Chapter 4 highlights the different ways in which Sudanese Nubia was treated and presented compared to its northern neighbour. Interestingly, contrary to claims that Egyptian Nubia was devoid of sites in need of excavation, the (colonial-era) view of Sudan was that it was an archaeological terra incognita awaiting exploration, with archaeologists scrambling for concessions. Against this backdrop, Sudanese officials in a post-independent Sudan aspired to create for the country an archaeological identity separate from that of Egypt, utilising the country’s archaeology and the UNESCO campaign to gain for itself a place amongst the globalised world. While in Egypt, the UNESCO campaign regarded actual archaeological work and survey as less important to the preservation of ancient monuments, in Sudan much more interest was vested in conducting large-scale archaeological surveys, often entangled with the many developmental programs that were being implemented across the country. The chapter also explores how the documentation, indexing and paperwork related to the campaign in Sudan manifested itself differently from the way it did in Egypt, resulting in different forms of knowledge being created. Most of this documentation was similarly taken out of the country leaving one to question the campaign’s regard for Sudan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Sudanese Nubians once again found themselves on the sidelines, forced to move to resettlement areas further south, while the archaeological remains they had historically been entangled with were perceived to exist ‘within an otherwise barren desert’ (p. 146).
With Chapter 5, entitled ‘Peopling Nubia’, themes of mobility, displacement, and the hidden lives of those affected by the campaign are examined. While the UNESCO campaign was keen on promoting an image of people’s mobility during this period, different types of mobility were clearly at play – types that were accepted and sanctioned within the campaign’s framework (i.e., the displacement of the Nubian population) and mobilities, such as Nubians relocating to Cairo in search of work opportunities, that were not regarded with the same enthusiasm. ‘The Journey of History / Rihlat al-Tarikh’ was how the Nubian migration at that time was broadcast to the world, a displacement that was portrayed as an opportunity for the upward social mobility of the Nubian population who would now have access to better education and health services and become worthy citizens. In the face of this violence and tone-deaf rhetoric, several mediums were used by Nubians to bring their perspectives to the fore including various literary works and novels narrating their lived experiences and the effect of the High Dam on their economic, social and cultural life. Other forms of mobility, such as the mobile workforce that settled at the township built to house workers employed at Abu Simbel, exhibited the social tensions associated with these schemes. Colonial-era norms were evident in the hierarchical divisions, segregated living spaces and a general discriminatory attitude that characterised this new settlement, echoing long established archaeological practices.
Geopolitical considerations were also integral to how the campaign unfolded, and in Chapter 6 the relationship of the campaign to the Non-Aligned Movement and other Cold War politics and strategizing are examined in a way that adds complexity to otherwise overly simplistic binary explanations. India was one of the countries that contributed to the Nubia campaign, hoping to utilise the opportunity of excavating in Nubia to gain global and regional influence by attaining a strong international archaeological position post-independence. Racial politics employed by the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India), to garner support for the excavations, claimed that archaeological work in Nubia would be used to establish a possible link between the early Dravidians of south India and the ancient Nubians, thereby asserting the past greatness of post-partition India. And it would not be the only time that racial politics played a significant role in the campaign.
The afterlives of the Nubia campaign are many and with Chapter 7, the author delves into the traces of the campaign today, including its long-lasting effect and violence on the Nubian people, the unequal treatment Sudan received throughout the campaign, how the campaign shaped our perception of what constitutes heritage, and how the concept of World Heritage continues to be instrumentalized by various governments for their own self-interest. While UNESCO was keen to promote the idea that it stood for universalism and anti-racism, the traces it left behind strongly challenge this idealised image. In a conference organised by UNESCO in 1974, entitled ‘Peopling of Ancient Egypt’, the deployment of race and racialized language was rife. Viewpoints openly argued that Egyptians were a white race who could not possibly be considered African – resonating strongly with the present-day anti-black racism that has been unabashedly displayed amongst the non-scholarly and (supposed) scholarly community in Egypt. Had the Nubia campaign left behind traces of universalism and anti-racism in its wake, or had the opposite been allowed to happen?
Ending on a more positive note, however, Carruthers makes sure to speak to the efforts of a Nubian remaking, with Nubians bringing their culture to life in an attempt to overcome the disconnect and social alienation between their past and present lives created by the Nubia campaign. Archives themselves have the potential to offer other stories – ‘pre-flood’ stories that acknowledge and enliven rather than erase the histories of the Nubian populations. Unpacking the multitude of layers that form the UNESCO campaign’s historiography, Carruthers presents a narrative that is interesting, thought-provoking and truthful. Modernization policies came hand in hand with the forced displacement of Nubians almost sixty years ago with little in the way of reckoning by the institutions and people complicit in this troubled past. Today, as one witnesses the violence being inflicted upon modern-day Cairo (also under the guise of the state’s modernization and developmental projects), with certain histories deemed insignificant and cursorily erased (e.g., the Maspero historic neighbourhood; Cairo’s City of the Dead), and others being cheaply promoted with pomp (e.g., the mummy parade; the sphinx avenue celebrations), Flooded Pasts could not be a more timely contribution.
