See The Lost Pyramids of Sudan
See The Lost Pyramids of Sudan
A
A
A
KHARTOUM - People only know the pyramids in Egypt. But who would have thought if the Sudan also save the beauty that is not less elegant pyramid with the pyramids in Egypt. BBC tried to summarize the beauty of the pyramids in Sudan in the article below. Please check it out..
Along the road going north out of Khartoum, Sudan, our first major stop were the pyramids at Meroe, the capital of the Kushite kingdom from 300 BC (previous capitals included Kerma and Napata). Standing alone in the Sudanese desert for more than 2,000 years, they were built after the Egyptian pyramids and served as tombs for Meroe’s kings and queens. They sit close to the Nile, an important source of water and a trade route to Egypt, linking many of the ancient ruins found in present day Sudan.
The pyramids at Meroe were listed as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2011, but owing to its location in northeastern Sudan – a place that conjures up images of war and economic crisis – it receives very few visitors, usually no more than 10 a day.
Unlike Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza, most of Meroe‘s pyramids are slightly smaller, with steeper sides, narrower bases and adjoining offering temples. They lie in varying states of disrepair due to the plundering of treasure hunters in the 1800s: some stand tall in perfect condition, others are unrecognizable piles of rubble. Their distinctively darker colour is due to the higher iron content in the rocks.
A lonely ticket man greeted us at the entrance to the World Heritage site. We then headed over to the first group of about nine pyramids in the South Cemetery. (Meroe has three cemeteries – North, South and West – within a few kilometres of each other).
Walking among the pyramids, we felt dwarfed by the sheer scale of the surrounding antiquity. We touched the side of a sand blasted rock and it felt warm as its dark colour absorbed the hot desert sun.
We were able to walk or crawl into some of the offering temples that hadn’t been taken over by sand. They were small spaces, only a few metres by a few metres, but inside, there were fascinating wall carvings depicting various scenes of life in the Kushite kingdom – including Queens presiding over their subjects and people worshiping Egyptian gods. In one temple, a carving revealed evidence that the royal buried inside the pyramid was mummified, covered with jewellery and laid to rest in a wooden case.
The pyramids at Meroe are Sudan’s best-preserved pyramids; they have the highest numbers of tombs and are the most extensively excavated by archaeologists. However, as you drive along the Nile, it not uncommon to spot other groups of pyramids or ancient ruins in the distance.
Driving several hundred kilometres up the river towards the city of Dongola, we visited the renowned archaeological site at Kerma, home to the Kingdom of Kerma more than 5,000 years ago. Although they were influenced by the Egyptians, the people of Kerma were a civilisation in their own right, ruling over ancient Nubia before the Kushites arrived and built the pyramids. At Kerma today, you can see the oldest mud brick building in Africa (pictured), a huge tomb surrounded by smaller burial sites.
We had been exploring for about an hour when we saw a small child running towards us, quickly followed by a few more. News of our arrival had obviously spread through the nearby village of Kabushiya. The children brought handmade models of the pyramids carved out of local sandstone, and asked us – in a mix of broken English and Arabic – about where we were from. Their parents arrived with camels to take us from one group of pyramids to the next, and we welcomed the alternative to trudging through the sand in the midday sun.
Are you interested to visit?
Along the road going north out of Khartoum, Sudan, our first major stop were the pyramids at Meroe, the capital of the Kushite kingdom from 300 BC (previous capitals included Kerma and Napata). Standing alone in the Sudanese desert for more than 2,000 years, they were built after the Egyptian pyramids and served as tombs for Meroe’s kings and queens. They sit close to the Nile, an important source of water and a trade route to Egypt, linking many of the ancient ruins found in present day Sudan.
The pyramids at Meroe were listed as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2011, but owing to its location in northeastern Sudan – a place that conjures up images of war and economic crisis – it receives very few visitors, usually no more than 10 a day.
Unlike Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza, most of Meroe‘s pyramids are slightly smaller, with steeper sides, narrower bases and adjoining offering temples. They lie in varying states of disrepair due to the plundering of treasure hunters in the 1800s: some stand tall in perfect condition, others are unrecognizable piles of rubble. Their distinctively darker colour is due to the higher iron content in the rocks.
A lonely ticket man greeted us at the entrance to the World Heritage site. We then headed over to the first group of about nine pyramids in the South Cemetery. (Meroe has three cemeteries – North, South and West – within a few kilometres of each other).
Walking among the pyramids, we felt dwarfed by the sheer scale of the surrounding antiquity. We touched the side of a sand blasted rock and it felt warm as its dark colour absorbed the hot desert sun.
We were able to walk or crawl into some of the offering temples that hadn’t been taken over by sand. They were small spaces, only a few metres by a few metres, but inside, there were fascinating wall carvings depicting various scenes of life in the Kushite kingdom – including Queens presiding over their subjects and people worshiping Egyptian gods. In one temple, a carving revealed evidence that the royal buried inside the pyramid was mummified, covered with jewellery and laid to rest in a wooden case.
The pyramids at Meroe are Sudan’s best-preserved pyramids; they have the highest numbers of tombs and are the most extensively excavated by archaeologists. However, as you drive along the Nile, it not uncommon to spot other groups of pyramids or ancient ruins in the distance.
Driving several hundred kilometres up the river towards the city of Dongola, we visited the renowned archaeological site at Kerma, home to the Kingdom of Kerma more than 5,000 years ago. Although they were influenced by the Egyptians, the people of Kerma were a civilisation in their own right, ruling over ancient Nubia before the Kushites arrived and built the pyramids. At Kerma today, you can see the oldest mud brick building in Africa (pictured), a huge tomb surrounded by smaller burial sites.
We had been exploring for about an hour when we saw a small child running towards us, quickly followed by a few more. News of our arrival had obviously spread through the nearby village of Kabushiya. The children brought handmade models of the pyramids carved out of local sandstone, and asked us – in a mix of broken English and Arabic – about where we were from. Their parents arrived with camels to take us from one group of pyramids to the next, and we welcomed the alternative to trudging through the sand in the midday sun.
Are you interested to visit?
(rnz)
Explore More