Kerma

At http://phys.org/print286438628.html … a lot of archaeological work has been taking place in the region of ancient Kush – upstream from ancient Egypt. Some ionteresting factoids have emerged as in Egypt itself, in the late third millennium, and intermittently during the MK period, droughts were a problem, and lots of people died as a result of low Nile flood levels. It is assumed monsoon rains had periodically failed in what is now Ethiopia (the Abyssinian Highlands) – but how did it affect the kingdom of Kush? Archaeologists enlisted the help of geologists to try and understand what had been going on in the south as from textual evidence a vibrant society had thrived in the south. What was found was that during the period between 2500 and 1500BC (when it was conquered by reinvigorated dynasty 18 pharaohs) that the Nile levels in Kush were still suitable for successful flood water farming (unlike in the north). Archaeological and geological surveys of the Dongola Reach, south of Kerma, have revealed some 450 sites dating from as early as the Neolithic (prior to 3000BC) to the medieval (as late as AD1500), as well as several old river channels.