This exhibition catalogue includes entries and essays by over fifty leading scholars covering the last 200,000 years. More than 320 objects, drawn from the Sudan National Museum collection, are described and illustrated in colour, ranging from Palaeolithic stone tools, Pharaonic statues and Christian wall paintings to armour of the early Islamic period. Many of these little-known treasures have never been exhibited previously, others are on display for the first time outside Sudan. Most are recent discoveries and, importantly, have an accurate provenance as they come from archaeological excavations. Key items highlight the contrast between the world views of many Sudanese cultures: from the demonstrations of worldly power of the Kerma kings, accompanied to their deaths by 400 sacrificed persons, to the humble graves of Christian rulers; from the grandiose temples built by the Egyptian pharaohs to the churches and mosques of later periods.