Section française de la Direction des antiquités du Soudan (SFDAS)

Founded in 1967 at the initiative of Jean Vercoutter, the SFDAS was officially created in 1969. It was successively run by André Vila (1969-1975), Francis Geus (1975-1984), Jacques Reinold (1984-2000), Francis Geus (2000-2004), Vincent Rondot (2005-2009), Claude Rilly (2009-2014) and, since September 2014, by Vincent Francigny. In charge of cooperating with the Sudanese Department of Antiquities in its field activities (excavations and prospection), the SFDAS took part in the last rescue operations of the Nubian campaign which preceded the water impoundment in the Aswan dam reservoir. It then pursued the systematic inventory of the sites of the Nile Valley south of the lake. It has also conducted several planned excavations, namely on the sites of Missiminia (Napatan, Meroitic, X-group and Christian necropolis), Kadada (Neolithic, Meroitic and post-Meroitic necropolis), Kadruka (Neolithic funeral mound) and El-Hobagi (post-Meroitic burial mound).