Archeology and the Nubian Empire

Geoff Emberling of the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago attended an archeological dig in 2006.

He writes in the November/December 2009 issue of ARCHEOLOGY {The Gold of Kush):

"...in the winter of 2006, we recognized how our excavation could contribute to the emerging picture of Kush as a powerful kingdom rather than a remote Egyptian outpost (55)."

I thought we already realized Kush (and Nubia itself) was an independent nation separate from Egypt. In fact, we have already shown Nubia may have been a major--if not the only--influence on the First Dynasty of Egypt.

On page fifty, Emberling writes, "Excavation over the past 75 years at Kerma and over the past 10 years in the fourth Cataract, began to suggest the early Kingdom of Kush was larger than previously believed...Compared to other civilizations of the region, such as Mesopotamia, early Kush controlled a vast area and was able to mass significant military power."

This too we have discussed.

On page 58: "...{W}e were amazed to have the first clear evidence that they {ancient gold miners} were not Egyptian in origin, but had been used earlier by the Kingdom of Kush."

Why the amazement? Nubia was mining gold before the First Dynasty--or so it appears to me.