The project focuses on documenting and safeguarding the  living heritage of the ancestral descendants of Hillat Dongola, a village left abandoned in the 20th century. This community stands as an important element of the archaeological site of Old Dongola, situated in Sudan’s Northern Province, an area earmarked for potential registration on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Old Dongola serves as an influential illustration of a lived-in environment that persisted for approximately 1300 years, spanning from the 6th to the 19th centuries CE. However, the heritage is threatened by Sudan’s conflict-driven migration, which compromises the site’s preservation. 

The National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM)’s project objectives are multifaceted: documenting oral histories from the adjacent community, fostering the knowledge exchange recorded with residents, and preserving this heritage for future generations. This involves imparting training on enduring construction methods still prevalent in the area, promoting traditional crafts for economic empowerment, transforming the area into a tourist attraction, and initiating the training of local tourism guides (already underway) to lead visitors through the site. The project will also create opportunities for locals to maintain their ancestors’ houses, utilising the site as a local marketplace for vending souvenirs and other locally crafted goods.