The modern Al Oshara village, to highlight the real danger which menaces the archaeological sites of the area, is laying above a large Mesolithic and Early Neolithic site (10-S-4). Walking among the village houses we collected a large amount of sherds (Figs. 13a-13b) while many ancient pottery fragments have been noticed embedded in the wall plaster and in the wall mud-bricks.

The most interesting sites are those dating to the Early Holocene (Khartoum Mesolithic). In two cases, 10-U-34 and 10-X-6, their dimension exceeds 10 ha.

10-X-6 is a long mound (Figs. 14-15) placed on an ancient Nile river bank. On the site surface it is possible to see traces of fireplaces with animal bones concentrations and activity areas covered with by-products of stone and bone tools manufacture.

Among the bone tools we can mention the presence of harpoons (Fig. 16) used for fishing and among the chipped stone tools mainly flint scrapers and flint and quartz backed pieces (lunates) (Fig. 17). The pottery is made adding large quantities of quartz temper and is usually decorated with incised (Wavy Line) or impressed (Dotted Wavy Line) motives (Fig. 18).
The other Khartoum Mesolithic site mentioned above, 10-U-34, is located several km far from the Nile, close to the Jebel Baroka (Fig. 19).
In contrast with site10-X-6, where we also collected materials dating to the Neolithic, at site 10-U-34 only Khartoum Mesolithic pottery, in association with grinding stones and sandstone rings have been found. Neolithic settlements (10-X-3, 10-X-4, 10-S-4) have been located only along the Nile, while in the Jebel area we discovered quartz workshops almost surely dating to the Neolithic period (10-U-11A and B, 10-U-19).
The lithic workshops production is characterised by microlithism (Fig. 20) and by the use as raw material of locally available small quartz pebbles.
The use of this kind of raw material seems to be an intentional cultural orientation because in the same deposits it is possible to find much better raw material. The tools we collected in the workshop areas are mainly lunates and perforators typical of the Neolithic production.
In the workshop concentrations we provided systematic collections according to a grid of 1x1 m to allow further statistical analysis.
At the 10-U-19 workshop we located a tethering stone (Fig. 21-22), the first stone of this kind ever noticed in Central Sudan.
We are confident to find also in the Jebel area Neolithic settlements if they are not covered by the alluvial deposits of the wadi Baroka and Abu Ashem.

The Jebel terraces are of particular interest because traces of Palaeolithic frequentation are there preserved. Indeed, we located in the area hand axes in Nubian black sandstone, levalloisian cores and flakes dating to the Middle Palaeolithic, and bifacial points typical of the Late Palaeolithic (10-U-25) (Figs. 23-24-25-26). This kind of lithic industries reminds us the materials found many years ago at Khor Abu Anga by A.J. Arkell.

Two of the most interesting Palaeolithic sites were located on middle Jebel terraces while a third one along the south-western slopes of the same terraces.

Among the 2001 findings in the Jebel area we have to mention three Khartoum Mesolithic sites. One of those seems to have been almost completely destroyed by erosion and the pottery collected is strongly abraded. The lithic industry is characterised by well done lunates and backed pieces (Fig. 27).


The other two Mesolithic sites, while strongly affected by erosion processes, have some thin anthropic deposit preserved inside circular stone structures which could be the remnants of ancient huts (Fig. 28). The few pottery fragments collected are clearly decorated with a serrated dotted rocker stamp pattern.
Another Mesolithic site was located on the 400 m terrace, along the edge of a natural basin. At this place pottery fragments, lithic tools and debitage, grindstones and animal bones were gathered. Unfortunately even here erosion has destroyed most of the anthropic deposit except some area protected by large stones. As in the other sites of the area the pottery is decorated with a serrated dotted rocker stamp pattern.
A very interesting site, a possibly Christian cemetery was located at the foot of the eastern slope of the Jebel (Fig. 29).

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