Although public engagement has a long tradition in anthropology, the public role of anthropology is still a largely unorganized and informal specialization, not free from controversies due to the entanglement of science in historical processes and the subjective nature of social phenomena. The paper examines some activities of an engagement nature (social interaction, interest in local culture, education, and social criticism) that resulted from the systematic ethnographic research on the occasion of archaeological work in and around Old Dongola. The paper aims to look for connections between ethnographic research and public engagement and their possible outcomes.