Kandaka — The Sudan Knowledge Platform

The unfinished royal statue at Tombos

The unfinished royal statue at the Tombos quarry, near the Third Nile Cataract in Sudan. Although the original Commons file is titled “Kerma Statue”, its carved details and surrounding boulders match archaeological photographs of Tombos. The king’s identity is uncertain. The camera metadata records 8 June 2016; this is not the upload date. Photograph by MustafaO, reproduced without modification under CC BY-SA 4.0. This historical photograph does not establish present-day conditions or visitor access.

MustafaO · CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons

Ancient Kerma, photographed in 2005

Low walls and building outlines mark part of the archaeological site of ancient Kerma in Sudan, with palm trees beyond. Photographer Lassi dates this image to 2005; the source does not give a capture day or month. Reproduced without alteration under CC BY-SA 4.0. This historical view is not a report on the site’s present condition or visitor access.

Lassi · CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons

Meroe’s pyramids, 2016

Nina R photographed this view of the Meroe pyramids in Sudan on 27 March 2016. Pyramids of different surviving heights and their chapel entrances stretch across the sandy foreground. This is a dated view of the site, not evidence of its present condition or visitor access. Reproduced at a smaller display size without further alteration.

Nina R · CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia Commons

A model of ancient Kerma in the museum

A photographed scale model of ancient Kerma on display in the Kerma Museum in Sudan. The model shows the Deffufa and surrounding buildings, lanes and enclosure walls. Matthias Gehricke took this photograph on 27 December 2018, as recorded in the source and camera metadata. The model presents an interpretation of the ancient city. This dated photograph gives no assurance about current displays or visitor access.

Matthias Gehricke · CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons

The pool courtyard at Khartoum’s Grand Hotel

An undated photograph of the pool courtyard at the Grand Hotel in Khartoum, Sudan, credited to the Commons contributor Grandhotelsudan. A pale building with balconies stands behind the pool and loungers. The capture date is unconfirmed. The image was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons on 26 March 2023. It documents an earlier view and gives no assurance about the hotel’s present condition, services or visitor access.

Grandhotelsudan · CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons

Inside Khartoum Palace: a photograph catalogued to 1936

An interior of the Palace in Khartoum, Sudan, catalogued by the Library of Congress to 1936. Matson Photo Service is credited as photographer. Arches, displayed weapons and a wheeled cannon are visible; the record does not identify the people. The year is a catalogue date, not a verified day of capture. This is the Library’s uncropped digital reproduction, used without further modification. It documents a historical interior, not present-day conditions or visitor access.

Matson Photo Service · G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection · No known restrictions on publication Library of Congress

Omdurman courthouse: a view from 2014

The courthouse in Omdurman, Sudan, photographed in November 2014 according to the source record. The precise day is uncertain: the catalogue gives 24 November, while embedded image metadata gives 26 November. The source credits Noory Taha and identifies the photograph as the uploader’s own work. This unmodified historical image does not establish the building’s current condition or public access.

Noory Taha (credited by the source) · CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons

A Nubian royal statue: a historical close-up

Steve Evans’s historical photograph of a Nubian royal statue in Sudan. Commons associates the statue with Tabo on Argo Island but treats its identification as Natakamani as uncertain. The record gives 24 February 2005; the exact capture date is not independently established. This unmodified photograph does not document present conditions.

Steve Evans · CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia Commons

Al-ʿEkura, Gezira: a view from 2022

Al-ʿEkura in Gezira State, Sudan, photographed on 15 February 2022 by Muwafaq Osman. Houses, trees and sandy streets fill the foreground, with fields beyond. The photographer identifies this as their own work. This unmodified historical photograph does not show current conditions or establish safe access.

Muwafaq Osman (موفق عثمان) · CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons

Hathor chapel at Naqa, 2016

The carved entrance of the Hathor chapel at Naqa, Sudan, photographed by Nina R on 26 March 2016. The columns, arched openings and winged sun-disc decoration match the chapel documented by the Naga excavation team. The source file's title and description incorrectly refer to pyramid reliefs at Meroe; Kandaka has corrected that identification. This photograph records the monument in 2016, not its present condition.

Nina R, via Flickr and Wikimedia Commons; image unmodified · CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia Commons

Decorated Meroitic jar from Nubia

A Meroitic jar with a rounded base and comb-impressed decoration, held by the Finnish Heritage Agency (KM17000:39:119:3). Its catalogue gives a broad date of 300 BCE–400 CE and links it to Nubia, listing both Egypt and Sudan rather than a clear modern-country findspot. The maker and photographic date are unrecorded. This entry uses the actual object photograph, not the accompanying archaeological drawing.

Finnish Heritage Agency, Archaeological Object Collection; photographer not named · CC BY 4.0 Finnish Heritage Agency

Hunting trophies in a Khartoum courtyard, early twentieth century

A historical display of hunting trophies in a Khartoum courtyard, dated by the Náprstek Museum to the early twentieth century. The catalogue names Machulka and tentatively identifies Štorch, retaining a question mark; other people and the photographer are unnamed. The image documents historical hunting and collecting, not an endorsement of those practices. No precise capture year or species identification is asserted.

Photographer unknown; National Museum – Náprstek Museum, Bedřich Machulka photographic collection, Af I 808 · CC BY 4.0 National Museum / eSbírky

Man holding a round shield and spear, 1927

The Náprstek Museum catalogue dates this photograph to 1927 and attributes its location to Kordofan, Sudan. The photographer and the subjects’ names are unrecorded. Its historical labels “Nubové” and “Bagirmi” have not been independently resolved and are not treated here as verified community identities or a precise location. Holding these objects does not establish the man's occupation or participation in combat.

Photographer unknown; National Museum – Náprstek Museum, E. St. Vráz photographic collection, Af I 2046 {K-07263} · CC BY 4.0 National Museum / eSbírky

Marabou stork at Khartoum Zoo, 1920s

The Náprstek Museum identifies the bird as a marabou stork at Khartoum Zoo and dates the photograph to the 1920s. The photographer is unrecorded. This historical zoo image does not establish the bird's wild origin, present-day species distribution or the zoo's current condition.

Photographer unknown; National Museum – Náprstek Museum, Bedřich Machulka photographic collection, Af I 99 · CC BY 4.0 National Museum / eSbírky

Meroitic amphora from Nubia

A two-handled Meroitic amphora in the Finnish Heritage Agency collection (KM17000:39:116:2), catalogued broadly to 300 BCE–400 CE. The record associates it with Nubia but lists both Egypt and Sudan, so no precise modern-country findspot is asserted here. The maker and photographic date are unrecorded. This is a museum object photograph, not a view of present-day Sudan.

Finnish Heritage Agency, Archaeological Object Collection; photographer not named · CC BY 4.0 Finnish Heritage Agency

Two men with lion cubs in Khartoum, 1911

The Náprstek Museum identifies this 1911 scene as Bedřich Machulka's assistants with lion cubs in the courtyard of his Khartoum home. The men and photographer are not named in the record. The photograph documents a historical captive-animal setting; it is not evidence of present-day wildlife conditions or an endorsement of keeping wild animals.

Photographer unknown; National Museum – Náprstek Museum, Bedřich Machulka photographic collection, Af I 629 · CC BY 4.0 National Museum / eSbírky

A historical forearm splint, published in 1908

Wellcome identifies this as a reproduction of a photograph published in Robert Grenville Anderson’s 1908 book on medical practices in Kordofan. The individual photographer and exact capture date are not recorded. The image shows a forearm supported by a splint; it is historical documentation, not medical advice or evidence of treatment effectiveness. The image-level record M0005276 is licensed CC BY 4.0.

Photographer unrecorded / Wellcome Collection; reproduced in R. G. Anderson, 1908 · CC BY 4.0 Wellcome Collection

A Sudanese wedding gathering, 2012

Rahma Abdalla identifies this photograph as a traditional Sudanese wedding and dates it to 20 March 2012. The photograph shows women gathered outdoors, several holding large rounded vessels. The source does not identify the village, participants or particular ritual. It illustrates one gathering, not a custom shared by every Sudanese community.

Rahma Abdalla · CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons

Gezira’s fields from space, 1997

NASA’s photograph shows the field patterns of the Gezira Plain in November 1997. Its mission identifier is STS087-717-088. This is the original version, not the contrast-enhanced derivative made in 2013. It records a historical landscape, not current cultivation or irrigation performance.

NASA · Public domain Wikimedia Commons

Meroe from the air, with N5 highlighted, 2001

The full source page identifies B. N. Chagny as photographer and dates the aerial view to 2001. This is an annotated derivative: most of the scene has been darkened to highlight the structure labelled N5 by the source. It is not an unaltered documentary image. The source’s owner credit is retained as written; no new historical identification is inferred.

B. N. Chagny; source owner credit: Francis Geius / SFDAS mission; annotated derivative uploaded by Sven-steffen arndt · CC BY-SA 1.0 Wikimedia Commons

The Western Deffufa at Kerma, 2009

Walter Callens photographed the Western Deffufa at ancient Kerma on 26 March 2009. This version is a narrow panoramic crop supplied by Wikimedia Commons; it does not show the monument’s full height. The crop is disclosed rather than presented as the complete original photograph. No further cropping or reconstruction has been applied.

Walter Callens · CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia Commons

Tools photographed in a Khartoum museum, date unrecorded

The Museum of Ethnography’s record 0344.0004 attributes this photograph to James Hornell. It identifies the tools with Dongola province and places the photograph in a museum in Khartoum. The collection acquired it in 1939; that is not a verified capture date. The source marks the image public domain. This is a historical display, not a current museum installation.

James Hornell / Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm · Public domain Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm

A caretaker at the Khalifa’s House, around 1936

The catalogue identifies the man as the caretaker of the Khalifa’s House in Omdurman; his personal name is not supplied. The older caption’s generalisation about Mahdist followers is not adopted here as a factual identification. Matson Photo Service; Library of Congress, dated [1936]. The date is approximate. This historical image does not describe current conditions. The Library records no known restrictions on publication; that is not a declaration of public-domain status.

Matson Photo Service / Library of Congress · No known restrictions on publication Library of Congress

A Nile steamer at Khartoum, around 1936

The catalogue locates this Nile steamer at Khartoum. The photograph shows its decks, funnel and wake; it does not provide a vessel name, which is therefore not inferred here. Matson Photo Service; Library of Congress, dated [1936]. The date is approximate. This historical image does not describe current conditions. The Library records no known restrictions on publication; that is not a declaration of public-domain status.

Matson Photo Service / Library of Congress · No known restrictions on publication Library of Congress

A pyramid chapel at Meroe, 2019

Ahmed Amir photographed this architectural detail at the Meroe pyramids in Bajrawiya on 14 April 2019. The image shows a chapel façade and part of a pyramid, rather than a panorama of the whole site. No individual tomb number is assigned here, and the photograph does not establish present conservation conditions.

Ahmed Amir · CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons

A stork at Khartoum Zoo, around 1936

The Library of Congress catalogue identifies this as a photograph at Khartoum Zoo. A stork stands in the foreground, with trees and a figure behind it. Matson Photo Service; Library of Congress, dated [1936]. The date is approximate. This historical image does not describe current conditions. The Library records no known restrictions on publication; that is not a declaration of public-domain status.

Matson Photo Service / Library of Congress · No known restrictions on publication Library of Congress

A tree near Khartoum, published in 1906

This photograph by James Douglas appeared in New Egypt in 1906, captioned “Gordon’s Tree, Near Khartoum”. The publication year is not a verified capture date. The historical caption is retained as source context, not independent proof of the tree’s identity or survival today. Digitised by the Travelers in the Middle East Archive (TIMEA).

James Douglas / TIMEA · CC BY-SA 2.5 Wikimedia Commons

Birds at Khartoum Zoo, around 1936

The catalogue locates these birds at Khartoum Zoo. Several long-legged birds stand on grass, with trees and fencing behind them. An uncertain species label in the historical caption is not repeated as a verified modern identification. Matson Photo Service; Library of Congress, dated [1936]. The date is approximate. This historical image does not describe current conditions. The Library records no known restrictions on publication; that is not a declaration of public-domain status.

Matson Photo Service / Library of Congress · No known restrictions on publication Library of Congress

Cattle in a Gezira field, 2008

Bertramz photographed this field in November 2008. The source locates it in Gezira, about 50 kilometres north of Kosti, and identifies the crop as sorghum. Cattle stand among the cut stalks. The photograph does not establish current farming conditions or the identities of the people shown.

Bertramz · CC BY 3.0 Wikimedia Commons

Faris village, Gezira, 2011

A view of Faris village in Gezira State, photographed on 14 July 2011 by Abd al-Qadir Mudawi Muhammad. The capture date is distinct from the 2014 upload date. This is an earlier view of the village, not evidence of present conditions.

عبدالقادر مضوي محمد · CC BY-SA 3.0 Wikimedia Commons

Inside an Omdurman market shed, around 1936

The catalogue identifies this as a market shed in Omdurman. Baskets and containers fill the foreground, with people gathered beneath the roof. Personal identities are not supplied by the record. Matson Photo Service; Library of Congress, dated [1936]. The date is approximate. This historical image does not describe current conditions. The Library records no known restrictions on publication; that is not a declaration of public-domain status.

Matson Photo Service / Library of Congress · No known restrictions on publication Library of Congress

Khartoum across the Blue Nile, around 1936

The catalogue identifies the far-bank building as the palace in Khartoum and describes one vessel as General Gordon’s riverboat. That vessel identification is attributed to the historical catalogue rather than independently established from the photograph. Matson Photo Service; Library of Congress, dated [1936]. The date is approximate. This historical image does not describe current conditions. The Library records no known restrictions on publication; that is not a declaration of public-domain status.

Matson Photo Service / Library of Congress · No known restrictions on publication Library of Congress

Khartoum’s main mosque, around 1936

The catalogue identifies this building as Khartoum’s main mosque. Two minarets rise above the façade, with trees and people along the street in front. Matson Photo Service; Library of Congress, dated [1936]. The date is approximate. This historical image does not describe current conditions. The Library records no known restrictions on publication; that is not a declaration of public-domain status.

Matson Photo Service / Library of Congress · No known restrictions on publication Library of Congress

Nile boats near Khartoum, 1956

The Touring Club Italiano collection dates this photograph to 1956 and identifies the location as the confluence area near Khartoum. The photographer is not recorded. It shows moored sailing boats and the opposite riverbank; it should not be read as a description of present river traffic.

Photographer unrecorded / Touring Club Italiano · CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons

Nubian pyramids in Sudan, 2016

Nina R photographed these Nubian pyramids in Sudan on 26 March 2016. Stone courses, entrances and steep pyramid sides are visible. The source provides the country and date but no monument numbers; none are inferred here. This historical photograph is not a statement about present access or conservation.

Nina R · CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia Commons

Omdurman’s main mosque, around 1936

The catalogue identifies this street view as Omdurman’s main mosque. Its brick façade and minaret face a street used by pedestrians and animals. Matson Photo Service; Library of Congress, dated [1936]. The date is approximate. This historical image does not describe current conditions. The Library records no known restrictions on publication; that is not a declaration of public-domain status.

Matson Photo Service / Library of Congress · No known restrictions on publication Library of Congress

Omdurman’s onion market, around 1936

The catalogue identifies this scene as Omdurman’s onion market. Traders sit among piles of produce and woven shelters. The photograph records a market scene, not the names or incomes of the people shown. Matson Photo Service; Library of Congress, dated [1936]. The date is approximate. This historical image does not describe current conditions. The Library records no known restrictions on publication; that is not a declaration of public-domain status.

Matson Photo Service / Library of Congress · No known restrictions on publication Library of Congress

Reliefs in the relocated Semna temple, 2019

Matthias Gehricke photographed these reliefs on 1 January 2019. The source identifies them as part of the relocated Semna temple at the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum. The carving, surface wear and later marks remain visible. This dated museum view is not evidence of the temple’s current condition.

Matthias Gehricke · CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons

Sudan’s desert from orbit, 1993

NASA’s STS-55 mission photographed this desert terrain in Sudan on 6 May 1993. The archival identifier is STS055-09-010; the National Archives record is 23258606. This is an orbital film photograph, not a current satellite map. Its dark tones and original frame are retained.

NASA / Johnson Space Center; NARA · Public domain Wikimedia Commons

View from Jebel Barkal, 1984

A view from Jebel Barkal near Karima, Sudan, photographed by Maurice Chédel on 14 March 1984. Archaeological remains lie below the mountain, with buildings, cultivated land and the Nile beyond. The source identifies the Amun temple at the mountain’s foot. This is a scan of a historical slide, reproduced without further alteration; it does not show present conditions.

Maurice Chédel · Public domain Wikimedia Commons

Omdurman market, 2009

Photographed on 14 August 2009. An everyday market scene in Omdurman, Sudan, with clothing, baskets and household goods. This unmodified historical photograph does not show current conditions.

Petr Adam Dohnálek · CC BY-SA 3.0 CZ Wikimedia Commons

Sudan National Museum entrance, 2013

Photographed on 12 February 2013 in Khartoum, Sudan. The entrance and its Arabic and English sign are visible. This unmodified historical photograph does not establish the museum’s present condition or whether it is open to visitors.

David Stanley · CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia Commons