Introduction
Our starting point is that photographs are not simply an image of something – they are the result of very specific circumstances. And archaeology is not simply about uncovering humanity’s past. It is a discipline deeply rooted in European colonialism. Looking at early 20th century photographs from Jebel Moya is also looking at complexities of colonial encounters. In many ways, photographs were used to shape and reinforce dominant narratives.
The site
Jebel Moya, located in Sudan, was excavated by Henry Wellcome between 1911 and 1914. At that time, Sudan was under British control through a condominium government. Henry Wellcome, the pharmaceutical magnate, poured lots of money into this project. The materials, including photographs, are now held at Wellcome Collection’s archives although material relating to Jebel Moya has its own complex history of curation and dispersal. Now known to be a large-scale agro-pastoral cemetery, Jebel Moya fell out of academic discourse and interest for a number of years. As of 2024, the lifespan of Jebel Moya is known to be from c. 5000 BCE to 100 CE. Current excavations have yielded new skeletal data, the second oldest domesticated sorghum in the world, traces of non-mortuary activity, data on ceramics and their manufacture, and a re-assessment of material culture, including figurines.
The photographs
Henry Wellcome commissioned a set of photographs that present a carefully curated image of Jebel Moya. Taken during the 1911–1914 seasons of excavation, the Jebel Moya photographs are situated at a crucial and fast-changing juncture of photography and we explore this, and the photographers, in detail in our paper.
We looked at how photographs were edited and retouched by applying gouache. When re-photographed, the result added depth, shadow and contrast.
We also looked at how photographs were made – that is the careful staging not just in terms of adding depth and scale, but also in terms of creating scenes. Photographs that appear to show archaeology are the result of artifice. Indeed, nearly all the photographs we looked at had strong elements of staging in their creation.
Human beings are used to create a sense of scale, but they are also used to reinforce colonial ideologies. Wellcome’s narrative regarding Jebel Moya was grounded in the idea of philanthropy – he saw himself as the saviour of many a native. In his view, he did not simply provide employment, he “civilized” people and “bettered” their lives. And he loved to broadcast his “beneficence”.
Archives are never neutral. We looked at how the archive was constructed - what was considered important? There is an overwhelming focus on the minutiae of a project, down to the pegs and nails required for setting up tents. But there are deafeningly loud silences. Who are the Sudanese workers? Who are the leaders at Jebel Moya? Who are the people? We looked at how photographs were labelled and we found a pointed lack of interest in acknowledging local dynamics. The camera ultimately captured instances of local power that the colonial mindset refused to acknowledge.
Final thoughts
Photographs are not exclusively visual; they are a culturally constructed way of seeing. Photographs of labour, intended to show off Wellcome’s beneficence, show asymmetric power relations. We also see a focus on order, exemplifying Wellcome’s idea of progress and bringing civilization to unruly natives. In many ways, the neatly ordered lines of Sudanese people are incidental to the photograph—they become part of the imperial structure of order, discipline, and labour.
Ultimately, the site was excavated by Sudanese hands. The House of Boulders was built using Sudanese labour. Black bodies were put in the service of Henry Wellcome, so that he may achieve a place among science’s greatest. There was no attempt to understand local dynamics or acknowledge that alternate structures of power existed within Sudan and outside the colonial administration.
These photographs, and the rest of the contemporary archive, show a very distilled version of Sudan, one that focuses on order and uniformity rather than its complexity. As the Jebel Moya Project delves deeper in time into the history of Jebel Moya, so too does our pursuit of engaging with the complexities of Sudan in the present.
Where do we go from here? Right now, Sudan is facing a brutal war that remains largely invisible to the wider world. Further fieldwork in Sudan must wait. Archaeologists have a social responsibility to communities in the present. Returning to Sudan must be done on Sudanese terms, putting Sudanese safety and well-being at the forefront. We must all aid in reconstruction - we cannot simply visit and carry on as "normal".
Our focus should be on the mass displacement of people, one of the largest crises in recent history. The Global North has seen Sudanese (and African) lives as disposable. But this is not simply something that happened “in the past”, as this paper shows. It is also happening now, in the present - and many of the people featured in these photographs live in the memory of their descendants. The difference, perhaps, is that the Sudanese are now documenting their own experiences – unflinchingly. What kind of history are we creating for the near future?