Sudan National Museum

Commission date c. 1955
Design period 1957-1971
Start of site work:   1962
Completion/inauguration May 28, 1971
Classification Cultural

Owner(s)/patron(s)
National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums “NCAM” (formerly known as the Sudan Antiquities Service), that operates under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities
The museum was formerly under the Department of Education
Architect / Landscape Designers
Alexandre O. Petermuller, Friedrich Hinkel, El Amin Muddathir, and Dar Consult.
Consulting Engineers
Hans Asplund (UNESCO consultant)
Structural: Robert Ayoub; Architectural Supervision: El Sherif Engineering
Building contractor(s):
Stratis Slavos, Mahmoud Bakr Gassim & Sons, Gah el Rasoul Abdallah & Gadu Farah & Co., and Abuelizz Contracting Co.

The Sudan National Museum houses one of the largest archeological collections of Nubian antiquities in the world. This was the first structure in the country specifically designed to serve as a museum, with all prior museums housed in converted buildings. The project is considered a part of the Khartoum Style architecture, a regional interpretation of modernism connected to the Tropical Architecture movement. The museum’s establishment stemmed from a series of events linked to the country’s political history dating back to pre-independence. The story of how the Nubian antiquities became a part of the museum is entwined with the museum's creation. 

The National Museum was first proposed in the 1940s during the final decade of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium. In 1946, Anthony J. Arkell, the Commissioner for Archaeology and Anthropology for Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, published an editorial note in the Sudan Notes and Records Journal proposing the establishment of an independent antiquities museum.  This proposal was based on decades of colonial initiatives aimed at creating a Sudanese archaeological museum, spearheaded by the successive British Governors-General of the country. In his editorial, Anthony J. Arkell presented the museum project as a crucial tool for conservation and education, aimed at disseminating knowledge about Sudan’s ancient heritage. The proposal outlined plans for the museum created by architect W. G. Newtown, known for his work on the nearby Gordon Memorial College. The museum was intended to be constructed on the site of the River Hospital (currently the Ministry of Health) once it was vacated by the Medical Service.  This location was selected because of its proximity to Gordon Memorial College, which was considered beneficial for research activities. However, the implementation of these colonial aspirations after World War II faced obstacles, as the British Administration failed to allocate funds for the museum during the Sudan Government Post-War Development Programme, leading to the project's abandonment at that time.

A new sense of urgency for the Sudan National Museum project emerged after Egypt announced its plans to construct the Aswan High Dam in 1954. The Dam’s reservoir, Lake Nasser, would submerge the homes of 120,000 Nubians at the Egypt-Sudan border, along with ancient temples, churches, and artifacts dating back thousands of years. In response, the governments of Sudan and Egypt appealed to UNESCO in 1959 for financial, technical, and scientific support to protect these endangered antiquities. This request prompted UNESCO to initiate its first International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia in 1960. The campaign involved 22 expeditions, resulting in the discovery of 1,500 new archaeological sites in Sudanese Lower Nubia. The artifacts uncovered in Sudan were allocated to the soon-to-be-constructed Sudan National Museum or distributed to the participating countries, as UNESCO required the finds to be shared equally between Sudan and the foreign expeditions.

In 1956, shortly after independence, the Sudan Antiquities Service (later known as the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums “NCAM”) allocated an area of 31,348 m² along the banks of the Blue Nile for the construction of a museum. The Commissioner of Archaeology communicated the spatial needs for exhibits, storage, administration, and library facilities, totaling a built-up area of 6,090 m². The Ministry of Works was given until December 31, 1957, to vacate the Mogran site, which had been occupied by the Sudan Railway’s Mogren Quays Station.

In January 1957, the museum board appointed architect Alexandre O. Petermuller to design the museum. The Head of the Museums and Monuments Department at UNESCO recommended bringing in a UNESCO architect experienced in museography, leading to Hans Asplund being appointed as the consultant architect for the project. Initially, the museum was intended to showcase both archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, but the ethnographic component was later removed, likely due to the establishment of the Ethnographic Museum in 1956. The foundation stone for the "Sudan Museum" was laid on the 19th of November 1959 by Sayed Ziada Arbab, the Minister of Education for the Republic of Sudan on behalf of General Ibrahim Abboud to coincide with the second anniversary of his military coup. Petermuller submitted the final designs for the museum in June 1960.

UNESCO and the Government of Sudan also enlisted Friedrich Hinkel, an Architect of the German Democratic Republic Academy of Science, to dismantle, transport, and reconstruct the endangered monuments from Nubia to the National Museum. Friedrich Hinkel served as the Architect of the Sudan Antiquities Service to supervise the museum’s completion from 1965 to 1973. He designed the archeological garden and three steel structures that protected the relocated Nubian temples and he worked alongside architect, El Amin Muddathir, in designing the entrance pavilion and boundary wall.

Alexandre Petermuller designed the museum buildings as three interconnected blocks: a two-story museum, a two-story laboratory, and a four-story administrative building that functions as the headquarters for the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM). The main exhibition hall features a rectangular design supported by ten prominent structural columns protruding from the facade, which connect to beams across the roof. This design echoes modernist buildings of that era, such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s S. R. Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology (1956). The entrance to the exhibition hall is centrally located, elevated by a short staircase, and flanked by two statues. Four bays of the facade are fully glazed, adorned with vertical brick-pattern panels, while two side bays feature facades split into glazed and solid walls. These walls are finished with a sandy-brown artificial stone plaster, which reflects the colour traditionally associated with Sudanese mud buildings and is suitable for Khartoum's climate, requiring minimal upkeep. Inside the main exhibition hall, which boasts an approximately 8-meter-high open two-story space divided by two rows of columns, visitors access the upper-floor exhibits via a U-shaped ramp visible through the museum's expansive glass facade. Circular skylights illuminate the exhibition building and are arranged in a 4x10 grid, allowing filtered sunlight into the space. 

The administrative block features shaded walkways and balconies that encircle the structure, linking to staircases on the sides.  Glass block was utilized in some of the windows in the administrative block and the skylights in the museum exhibition, which are known for their thermal insulation properties and adjustable light transmission. Additionally, sun-breakers were installed to provide shade for the upper-floor walkways of the administrative building. 

The entrance pavilion exemplifies modernist design with its horizontal layout and flat roof overhang, which is supported by pilotis and seamlessly integrated into the museum's boundary wall. 

The archaeological garden surrounding the museum blocks is centered around an artificial lake, which serves as a design focal point symbolizing the Nile River; it measures 200 meters in length, 10 meters in width, and has a depth of 80 centimeters. Reassembled Nubian temples have been positioned along the banks of this lake to mirror their original alignment and sequence along the Nile in Nubia. Hinkel created three enclosed portable steel structures to house the Buhen, Kumma, and Semna West temples. He also designed two open protective shelters for a wall from the Aksha temple, the Relief of Jebel Sheikh Suleiman, the Portico of Taharqo in Semna, and the Boat Support. These steel structures are adjustable based on weather conditions, permitting the temples to be exposed for eight months of the year and sheltered during the rainy season. Sunlight shines through skylights in the open-roof shelters and windows in the glass facades, illuminating the interiors of the temples. 

Local Nubian labourers were recruited to dismantle and pack the temples for transport via boat, barge, and Sudan Railways, which ultimately facilitated the transfer of the temples from Wadi Halfa to Khartoum.

Alexandre Petermuller departed from Sudan in 1965 after the October Revolution of 1964 led to the nationalisation of foreign trade and property, prompting a departure of foreign investors. During the construction phase, El Sherif Engineering assumed architectural oversight of the museum from Petermuller’s office. The local contractors involved in the museum's development included Stratis Slavos, Mahmoud Bakr Gassim & Sons, Gah el Rasoul Abdallah & Gadu Farah & Co., and Abuelizz Contracting Co.

The construction work on the main museum, which included the foundations and external structure of the three connected blocks, was finished by 1962. However, financial constraints imposed by the government delayed the project's completion. Work resumed with numerous challenges after 1967, as Jaafar Nimery, the President of Sudan at the time, urged that the museum be completed by May 1971 to coincide with the second anniversary of the May Revolution. To meet this timeline, the remaining project budget was decreased from £200,000 to £70,000, and originally proposed materials were substituted with locally sourced options. For instance, marble from the Red Sea Hills replaced imported marble from Italy, and local wood was used instead of imported timber for interior finishes. Additionally, the seven-meter-high aluminum sunbreakers designed for the northern facade were deemed unnecessary and removed.

The National Museum was officially inaugurated on May 28, 1971. It housed an extensive archaeological collection from important sites representing various eras, including the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods, as well as A-Group culture, C-Group culture, the Kerma Culture, the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, the New Kingdom of Egypt, Napata, Meroë, X-Group culture, medieval Makuria, and the Islamic period.

During the 1970s, artist Kamala Ishaq created murals along the interior walls of the museum's entrance, drawing inspiration from the museum's collection and depicting the timeline from prehistory to the Christian period. Additionally, another artist, Musa Al-Khalifa, designed a mural representing the Napata and Meroë periods at the entrance. In 1985, the Central Bank of Sudan released a 50 Sudanese pound banknote, showcasing the entrance pavilion of the Sudan National Museum alongside the columns from the Faras Cathedral that were transported to Khartoum as part of UNESCO’s Nubian Campaign.

The only notable addition to the museum occurred when the government tasked Dar Consult with designing the "New Sudan National Museum Wing: Islamic Hall," intended to exhibit Sudanese Islamic Heritage. The design received approval in 2005 with Dan Fodio Co. as the contractor, and construction commenced in the late 2000s under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport. However, due to funding shortages and structural challenges, the building framework remained incomplete for a decade. It was eventually inaugurated on June 27, 2022, after being converted into an extension of the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) to house laboratories and a storeroom. The transformation was funded by the ALIPH Foundation, which provided a €400,000 grant to support NCAM’s Sudan Archaeological Heritage Protection Project (SAHPP).

Since the museum has not undergone a comprehensive restoration since 1971, the overall condition of its buildings significantly declined over the years. In some areas, the facade plaster deteriorated due to corrosion. The steel structures in the garden, which house the largest exhibits, present a considerable challenge as their degradation negatively impacts the temples they are meant to protect. The steel has become weathered, and several glass panels within the structure were damaged. Additionally, birds have taken to nesting on top of the temples, leaving their droppings on them. The movable steel structures have remained closed since 1974, following advice from a UNESCO consultant who warned that UV light could harm the painted displays.

The museum had begun its first complete rehabilitation since its inauguration in 2022, with plans to reopen by mid-2023. However, the project was halted due to armed conflict that erupted in April 2023, given the museum's proximity to the battlefield in central Khartoum. On May 18, 2023, the Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab (CHML) and the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI) published a report confirming that the Sudan National Museum had suffered damage from the war. Specifically, the damages impacted the structure housing the Temple of Buhen and another that contained a section of the wall from the Temple of Aksha, and they occurred between April 17 and 20. In early June 2023, soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia shared an unofficial video filmed in the museum's bioarchaeology laboratory, showing ancient mummified remains. Following this, the RSF's media issued an official video statement denying any damage, using the museum entrance as the backdrop. By March 2025, photographs and videos on social media showed extensive damage to the National Museum. The glazed facade had mostly shattered, suffering severe damage. In some areas, the roofs covering the temple shelters were broken. Months earlier, news outlets reported that the museum’s invaluable collection had been looted, further compounding the devastation of the war. The full extent of the damage to the National Museum remains uncertain.

Rapporteur
Mai Abusalih and Dalia Omer

Relevant Archives
UNESCO Digital Library
National Corporation of Antiquities and Museums (NCAM), Khartoum, Sudan
French Archaeological Unit of Sudan Antiquities Service (SFDAS), Khartoum, Sudan
New York Public Library, Schomburg Center, NY, USA
Sudan Memory Online Archive

Resources
Abdelrahman Ali Mohamed and Geoff Emberling, The Sudan National Museum and national heritage in Sudan 1, in National Museums in Africa, pp. 38-55. Routledge, 2021.
Ahmed Hussein Abdelrahman Adam, Museums in the Sudan: History, Current situation and challenges, Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin e, V. 28 (2017): 103-113.
Claude Rilly, The Sudan National Museum in Khartoum: An Illustrated Guide for Visitors, French Unit in The National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Sudan (SFDAS), 2013).
El Amin Muddathir (architect), phone interview with Mai Abusalih, December 24, 2022.
Friedrich Walter Hinkel, Progress report on the removal of endangered monuments from Sudanese Nubia, 1968.
Friedrich W. Hinkel, Exodus from Nubia. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2022.
Gunter-Bassett, M., H. F. Bassett, K. Hanson, W. Welsh, K. Fitzgerald, A. Maher, J. Aronson et al. "Cultural heritage monitoring lab rapid report: Damage to the Sudan National Museum, May 18, 2023)." Smithsonian cultural rescue initiative. Link.
Imogen Thurbon, Kamala Ishaq at Sudan National Museum, Women’s Literacy Sudan Blog, March 23, 2022. Link.
Marc-Ervin Bundi, Museums, Memory and Meaning: Politics of Identity and Representation in Sudanese Archaeological Museums, PhD thesis, Neuchâtel et Berlin, 2019.
Michael Mallinson (architect), email correspondence with Mai Abusalih.
Middle East Eye. “RSF Loots National Museum of Sudan, says report.” September 2nd, 2024. Middle East Eye. Link.
Negm el Den Mohamed Sherif, A short guide to the Antiquities Garden, Sudan National Museum [microform], Antiquities Service, Ministry of Education, Democratic Republic of the Sudan, New York Public Library, 1977.
Noureldin ElRagig (Culture and Heritage Commission of the Africa Union of Architects chair), email correspondence with Mai Abusalih.
Reuters, Sudan fighters take over Khartoum museum, director says, June, 2023. Link.
Roaa Taj Elsir, Sudan National Museum Rehabilitation Project [Arabic], Sudanese Mornings on Sudania 24 TV [YouTube], August 2, 2022. Link.
Salah O. Alsadig, Sudanese Studies in Archeology, Folklore, and History [Arabic], Dar Azza Publishing. 2006.
Section Française de la Direction des Antiquités du Soudan, facebook post, June 27, 2022. Link.
Shadia Abdrabo (curator at Sudan National Museum), phone interview with Mai Abusalih, April 1, 2023.
Siegfried Richter, Sudanesisches Nationalmuseum Khartoum, Neue Museumskunde 18, no. 3 (1975): 210-223.
Taysir Elhadi (French Archeological Unit of Sudan Antiquities Service), email correspondence with Mai Abusalih.
Torgny Säve-Söderbergh, Temples and Tombs of Ancient Nubia: the international rescue campaign at Abu Simbel, Philae and other sites, Thames and Hudson, 1987.
UNESCO, Launching of the Project for Rehabilitating the Sudanese National Museum in Khartoum, Sudan, December 10, 2018. Link.
UNESCO, International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, 2020. Link.
UNESCO, Tender Announcement: Protecting and Promoting the Sudanese Cultural Heritage in a Social Development Perspective: Rehabilitating the Sudan National Museum, October 10, 2021. Link.
Vittorino Veronese, Report Of The Director-General On The Activities Of The Organization In 1958, Communicated To Member States And The Executive Board In Accordance With Article VI.3(B) Of The Constitution, UNESCO, General Conference 11th, 1960. Link.
Zeinab Mohammed Salih and Jason Burke, Sudan officials fear for historical artefacts threatened by fighting, June 5, 2023. The Guardian. Link.