Sudan's land of 'black pharaohs' a trove for archaeologists

03/03/2010

There is not a tourist in sight as the sun sets over sand-swept pyramids at Meroe, but archaeologists say the Nubian Desert of northern Sudan holds mysteries to rival ancient Egypt.

"There is a magic beauty about these sites that is heightened by the privilege of being able to admire them alone, with the pyramids, the dunes and the sun," says Guillemette Andreu, head of antiquities at Paris' Louvre museum.

"It really sets them apart from the Egyptian pyramids, whose beauty is slightly overshadowed by the tourist crowds."

Meroe lies around 200 kilometres (120 miles) northeast of Sudan's capital Khartoum and was the last capital of Kush, also called Nubia, an ancient kingdom centered on the confluence of the Blue Nile, the White Nile and the River Atbara.

Kush was one of the earliest civilisations in the Nile valley and, at first, was dominated by Egypt. The Nubians eventually gained their independence and, at the height of their power, they turned the table on Egypt and conquered it in the 8th century BC.

They occupied the entire Nile valley for a century before being forced back into what is now Sudan.

At the end of March, the Louvre will host its first exhibition on the Meroe dynasty, the last in a line of "black pharaohs" that ruled Kush for more than 1,000 years until the kingdom's demise in 350 AD.

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A few years ago, a team from the Louvre began working at Al-Muweis, about 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Khartoum, which had been untouched for many years.

"It's absolutely amazing what has emerged. There are several temples, a huge palace and houses, in a place where I would never have thought of finding anything," Rilly says.

Swiss archaeologist Mattieu Honeggar recently discovered a site at Wadi Al-Arab, in a corner of the desert area of north Sudan that was inhabited nearly 10,000 years ago, many millennia before the "black pharaohs," and could allow a better understanding of man's transition to a sedentary lifestyle.

This is an amazing find, I hope to learn more about this area, Giza isn't the only place we should focus on, the fact is I am tired of hearing about Giza and what they aren't telling us.

Ohh wow...nice find. I want to go there bad. I have a brand new brush and note pad. There is so much to explore yet it just amazes me. I think the best finds will be under the ice in Antartica.

s&f

Add Note: 4 of the 5 larger structers all seem to have been damage from the same direction....things that make you go hmm

[edit on 6-3-2010 by Grayelf2009]

Add Note: 4 of the 5 larger structers all seem to have been damage from the same direction....things that make you go hmm

I wondered about that myself Grayelf2009, what makes me wonder more it why other sites are ignored for the most part by archaeologists, as I mentioned earlier I am sick of hearing about Giza, as long as Hawass is in control the information is limited.

It's probably due to the direction the prevailing winds are headed from.

These sites aren't ignored by Archaeologists, they're ignored by pop media.

Yes, this is quite a strange situation in Sudan.

I also saw this story a few days ago, and noted in " Statue of Pharaoh Taharqa Discovered " which is speaking to this Kingline of Egypt apposed to the Lower Brothers which alway tend to overshadow it's Upper Borthers.

With such speculations about finds undiscovered as of yet, it will be very interesting to see what they find next.

Ciao

Shane