The Archaeological Survey of Nubia Season 2 (1908-9) : Report on the Human Remains

The Archaeological Survey of Nubia was one of the earliest and most extensive studies of the population of ancient Nubia. Beginning in 1907 in southern Egypt, the excavations ran for four seasons and involved the excavation of 151 cemeteries. Publication of the first season’s work included an in-depth anatomical study of the cemetery populations found; this was not however replicated in future years. Until recently, it was assumed that any records for these later years produced by the anatomists in charge, Sir Grafton Elliot Smith and Dr Douglas Derry, were lost.

This volume reconstructs the anatomical studies carried out for one of those missing seasons – season two (1908-09) – using newly discovered records, alongside archival records and the scant surviving human remains themselves. An introduction to the Archaeological Survey of Nubia season two excavations is given, alongside discussion of the source materials identified and the limitations these bring for researchers today. Following this, there is a full burial catalogue of the thirty-eight cemeteries where human remains were excavated. Data on the physical and pathological traits observed in each cemetery population are presented, and the detailed anatomical measurements taken by Smith and Derry are recorded as Appendices.