Museum unveils exhibit on ancient Nubia

The University Museum unveiled an extensive 300-piece exhibition called "Ancient Nubia: Egypt's Rival in Africa" last month. The collection traces the 3500-year history of Nubia, an ancient civilization which was located between modern day Egypt and the Republic of the Sudan. The relics have not been displayed for at least fifteen years, according to Egyptian Section Curator David O'Connor. The collection is owned by the University Museum and most of the 7000 artifacts were unearthed in a 1907 excavation by David MacIver and Leonard Woolley, former curator and assistant curator of the Egyptian Section of the University Museum respectively. After an additional excavation in 1961 and a small exchange with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the University owns one of the most important collections of ancient Nubian art and archaeology in the U.S., according to O'Connor, an Asian and Middle Eastern Studies professor. The exhibition will run at the University Museum for a year after which it will go on tour around the country. The seven-museum travelling schedule has already been booked and there are 20 museums on the waiting list. The University Museum is trying to heighten interest and awareness in the ancient Nubian civilization in the Delaware Valley with this year-long exhibition, O'Connor added. By letting it travel, however, the Museum also hopes that other parts of the country can enjoy the high quality of the collection, according to O'Connor. "The exhibition's final spread will therefore be a wide one," O'Connor said. The exhibit is designed to demonstrate that ancient Egypt was not the only important Nile River-based civilization. The absence of pyramidal structures in Ancient Nubia often leads people to believe that Nubia was inferior to Egyptian civilization, O'Connor said. But he said the exhibit demonstrates that Nubia was similar to Egypt in social complexity. Much of the earlier Nubian architecture lacked the scale of the Egyptian pyramids. O'Connor said the civilizations differed in the way they chose to "manifest grandeur." The artifacts are testament to the high volume of interaction between Egypt and Nubia. There are parallels in the style of the artwork and there is evidence of trade and political liaisons between Egypt and Nubia. O'Connor said he encourages University students to take this unique opportunity to look at the collection. "[Students should see this] because it is about a hidden culture that very few people know about that, in its way, was just as important as ancient Egypt," O'Connor said. "It is a hidden treasure of the Museum that has not been seen in years and can only be seen for a year before it goes travelling." University Museum spokesperson Pam Kosty also said she encourages students to attend and said the exhibit is free for members of the University community with a PennCard.

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