Exploring ancient Sudan’s enduring heritage

Ancient and modern met when a group of our Foundation Pathway Resolve students visited Portsmouth’s City Museum to see a special touring exhibition.

They were there to see the British Museum’s Spotlight Loan ‘Ancient Sudan: enduring heritage’, exploring the Kushite Kingdom, one of the largest empires in the ancient world, which flourished in Sudan for over a thousand years.

Portsmouth is one of only three locations in the UK chosen to exhibit this unique exhibition, which is on display until 19 April 2025.

It includes a bronze figurehead of a goddess from 300 BC, a sandstone offering table featuring inscriptions in Meroitic, the indigenous written language of the later Kushite period, and a clay jar decorated with crocodiles from the river Nile.

Visitors learn about the ancient Kingdom of Kush’s skilled craftsmanship, their distinct religious beliefs, and the important role that women played in their society.

The exhibition also explains the efforts of modern Sudanese people to protect their rich heritage, amid an ongoing civil war which has displaced millions of people.

To do this, the Museum team collaborated with Portsmouth’s Sudanese community and the Rural Refugee Network, who support refugees from Sudan and other countries.

Some of the work displayed to support the exhibition has been created by past and present COPC students who have been working with the local Sudanese community. 

“Our students really enjoyed seeing this display,” said lecturer April Wilson. “Some of our young Sudanese students even gave talks about Sudan, for the benefit of the group as well as members of the public who were visiting the museum at the time.”

COPC’s Resolve programme is specially for those aged 16-19 with English as a second language, to help them develop the essential skills needed to progress to a vocational college course or an apprenticeship.