African Archaeological Review (2026). DOI: 10.1007/s10437-026-09654-y"> a The AEB at Wadi Khashab, courtesy of Piotr Osypiński. b Kite photograph of an AEB, C23 from the CeRDO surveys in central Atbai, courtesy of the Museo Castiglioni. Credit: African Archaeological Review (2026). DOI: 10.1007/s10437-026-09654-y Recent satellite remote sensing surveys have identified 280 stone structures spread across the Atbai desert in Sudan. Twenty of these structures were previously identified by fieldwork or informal surveys, but were not systematically studied as a regional tradition. Now, new research, published in the African Archaeological Review , takes a closer look at the purpose of these monuments and the unique, cattle-centered pastoralist culture behind them. Obscure stone monuments scattered across the desert The remote sensing surveys found numerous circular stone burial monuments, ranging from 5 to 82 meters in diameter, spread across the Atbai Desert between the Nubian Nile and the Red Sea.…