This museum became part of the frontline between the forces of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the rebel Rapid Support Forces in 2023, and suffered damage and looting.

The Khalifa House was looted along with the Sudan National Museum, the Natural History Museum was burnt out, and the Darfur Museum was destroyed, with experts on the ground estimating that tens of thousands of artefacts had been stolen.

A report by Sudan’s National Corporation of Antiquities and Museums has revealed that artefacts linked to the ancient kingdom of Kush, and displays linked to British general Gordon, have been ransacked during the war.

British Council staff are no longer on the ground in Sudan, but funding from its Living Heritage fund is being provided to Sudanese experts and local communities who have relocated and hidden remaining museum artefacts in order to preserve their cultural heritage.

The work has so far helped safeguard stores from museums linked to the ancient sites of Kerma and Jebel Barkal, the Port Sudan Museum on the coast, and the Unesco site at Meroe, home to 2,300-year-old pyramids.

Cultural heritage is of ‘utmost importance’ during conflict

Despite the ongoing war, there are also ongoing projects to build and protect community museums including at El Obeid, another site linked to a battle in The Mahdist War that drew Britain into Sudan in the 19th century.

Amani Bashir, director of the Sheikan Museum in El Obeid, said that “tangible and intangible cultural heritage in Sudan” remains of “the utmost importance to communities” amid the ongoing conflict.

She added: “All societies are proud of their heritage and it serves as the identity and brand or sign that distinguishes each group from others.

“The other is therefore working hard to preserve it, continue it, and own it for current and future generations.”