In 2004 construction was begun on the Merowe High Dam at the Fourth Cataract on the Nile River in northern Sudan. The name refers to a small island on which the dam is built. A major effort in salvage archaeology has been undertaken to preserve remains from the Stone Age to the present. The jar on the stamp is from that effort.
     The map on the stamp shows the Nile River to the left. The red box indicates the area directly effected by the Dam. The other lines associated with the river are not identified, but would seem to be artificial waterways to reduce the flows through the area during construction. The grid system is unmarked. The arrow indicates North.