|
The Nubian Salvage Campaign |
The following transcript includes both the text from the captions and a text version of the audio descriptions. NARRATOR: For hundreds of years, our understanding of the history of ancient Kush was hidden under the shifting sands of time. It might have stayed buried, but for the construction of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River in the 1960s. Behind this dam, Lake Nasser was formed, submerging 5,000 square kilometers of land, displacing thousands of people and covering thousands of archaeological sites, evidence of the ancient Nubian past. Coordinated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, known as "UNESCO," archaeologists from around the world came to rapidly excavate as many sites as possible in an effort called the "Nubian Salvage Campaign." DESCRIPTION: Footage shows a massive chamber lined with towering statues of human figures. Found were temples and artifacts documenting not only Egyptian rule in Nubia, but also Nubian rule in Egypt. The materials found in these excavations revealed more clearly than ever before the existence of an African civilization that coexisted with ancient Egypt and outlasted her. DESCRIPTION: Large reliefs of men and women are carved into a sun-baked wall. Archaeologist Steffan Weng.
MAN: This is a culture of its own. It's a great African culture. Every day we learn more and more about this culture, about the people, about their life in ancient times.
|
