Tomb of one of the most ancient royal pyramids at Meroe reopened :

For the first time in almost one century, the burial chambers of a royal pyramid at Meroe have been re-opened for documentation and archaeological research. The subterranean tomb, constructed sometime in the early 4th century BC for the Great Royal Wife, Queen Khennuwa, is situated about 6 metres below its pyramid. Its burial chambers were completely decorated with well-executed paintings and hieroglyphic texts, many of which are still preserved.

Read more at: archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.jp...

Until the fall of the Meroitic kingdom in the 4th century AD, its rulers were buried in royal necropolises amongst the mountains some kilometres east of the capital. Queen Khennuwa was one of these rulers and her grave, along the entry path into these burial grounds, is one of the earliest pyramids in these necropolises. Close similarities of her tomb decoration to funerary texts of the 25th Dynasty testify to the still strong influence of earlier traditions. The ruined pyramid of Queen Khennuwa at Meroe [Credit: P. Wolf/DAI] Queen Khennuwa's grave chamber has already been excavated by George A. Reisner of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1922. However, he documented the pyramid and its decorated substructure with only a few photographs and hand copies. These have been the only source of information available to scholars for nearly one century. Now, the re-excavation of the remains of the pyramid and the re-opening of its burial chambers allows for a thorough documentation, using state of the art technologies, that will serve as a basis for ongoing and future archaeological research.

Read more at: archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.jp...

What's most striking to me is the fact that all this was once green is now an expanding Sahara,

An annoyance to me is the insistence in calling them the "Black Pharaohs " in an attempt to make Blacks seemed alien to KMT as if most of the other dynasties weren't Black, one never hear the labels White Pharaohs being applied to non Nile valley royals including Greeks or some of the Hyksos kings and maybe some creamy colored Libyans .

our centuries after their ancestors ruled Egypt as the "Black Pharaos" of the 25th Dynasty during the 7th century BC, the Kings and Queens of Meroe created a vast empire south of the 1st Cataract of the Nile in nowadays Sudan.

Read more at: archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.jp...
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Btw another nice find on this blog
Tarkhan Dress is the world’s oldest woven garment

Read more at: archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.jp...
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Some one can make a thread for it.

Things like this are awesome. It really makes you think that the earth you walk on today may have many stories to tell, and lost history found.

I, for one enjoy the 3d scanned virtual tours they make out of all these reentry projects.

originally posted by: Spider879

For the first time in almost one century, the burial chambers of a royal pyramid at Meroe have been re-opened for documentation and archaeological research. The subterranean tomb, constructed sometime in the early 4th century BC for the Great Royal Wife, Queen Khennuwa, is situated about 6 metres below its pyramid. Its burial chambers were completely decorated with well-executed paintings and hieroglyphic texts, many of which are still preserved.

Read more at: archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.jp...

That's exciting, really, and I wish I could go and see it. What I can see of the photos is just lovely! I think this is the queen whose amulets I wanted to investigate more - they seemed more crude than I expected.

What's most striking to me is the fact that all this was once green is now an expanding Sahara,

That area became dry and rocky desert before 5000 BC. In the Queen's time, it would have been desert.

An annoyance to me is the insistence in calling them the "Black Pharaohs " in an attempt to make Blacks seemed alien to KMT as if most of the other dynasties weren't

I think they would be very annoyed at this.

They were Nubians, and the Nubians are darker skinned than the Egyptians of the north. The Nubians are quite proud of their distinction and their heritage and had been so throughout Egypt's history. Whenever the empire's rule got shaky, Nubia revolted and regained their freedom as an independent state. The Medjay, the soldier clan and finest troops in the early dynastic years, were proud of their distinction as not-Egyptian.

And, you can look at the way they were depicted in the art of the ancient Egyptians - such as this one of Ramses Ii smiting traditional enemies, including Nubians. The text on the wall identifies them as rebels (guy in front) "wretched Asiatics" (the guy in long skirt) and Nubians.

a reply to: Byrd

That area became dry and rocky desert before 5000 BC. In the Queen's time, it would have been desert.

Hmm really?? I thought one of the reasons they migrated further south was because greener pastures I forgot exactly where I read that, will have to look who said that.

They were Nubians, and the Nubians are darker skinned than the Egyptians of the north. The Nubians are quite proud of their distinction and their heritage and had been so throughout Egypt's history. Whenever the empire's rule got shaky, Nubia revolted and regained their freedom as an independent state.

No doubt the bias was a tendency to be very Black perhaps like a Shilluk or a Nuer but they are often depicted as chocolaty also, in any case the 25th dynasty thought of themselves as related to the 11th and 12th dynasties remember the pseudo prophecy of Neferti and the later claim that Shabaka made concerning the so called Shabaka stone.

Btw I know Polish researchers are doing some out standing job in the Sudan, but I am unsure of how Americans will be received given the sometimes touchy political situation between governments.

Although it's nice to see what's down there and to study it, it makes me feel sad that they just keep on digging and disturbing. It just doesn't stop, they want it all.

originally posted by: ckhk3
Although it's nice to see what's down there and to study it, it makes me feel sad that they just keep on digging and disturbing. It just doesn't stop, they want it all.

Yeah I know and I have conflicting feelings on the issue after all in their minds they expected to be left undisturbed for all times and yet I jumped for joy at any new discovery.

originally posted by: Spider879
a reply to: Byrd

That area became dry and rocky desert before 5000 BC. In the Queen's time, it would have been desert.

Hmm really?? I thought one of the reasons they migrated further south was because greener pastures I forgot exactly where I read that, will have to look who said that.

They lived along the Nile, so it was well watered. However, I don't think of "greener pastures" there unless they're along the Nile.

They were Nubians, and the Nubians are darker skinned than the Egyptians of the north. The Nubians are quite proud of their distinction and their heritage and had been so throughout Egypt's history. Whenever the empire's rule got shaky, Nubia revolted and regained their freedom as an independent state.

No doubt the bias was a tendency to be very Black perhaps like a Shilluk or a Nuer but they are often depicted as chocolaty also, in any case the 25th dynasty thought of themselves as related to the 11th and 12th dynasties remember the pseudo prophecy of Neferti and the later claim that Shabaka made concerning the so called Shabaka stone.

Indeed they were the inheritors of the 11th dynasty. This was the end of the First Intermediate Period, and it was a Theban king (from the Luxor area, where a lot of the Nubian culture is still strong in Egypt) who united Egypt. It's believed that the 12th dynasty kings came from the Aswan area, the northern border of Nubia.

Btw I know Polish researchers are doing some out standing job in the Sudan, but I am unsure of how Americans will be received given the sometimes touchy political situation between governments.

The Polish research teams are one of the more prominent dig groups in Egypt. When I was there, we saw them working on the cliffs high above Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, and they had done the bulk of the work on Hatshepsut's temple recently. I think they get the permits because they're good and because there's government money at the university to support the digs (unlike here in the US where professors have to go beg for funds. Plus it's cheaper for them to get to the area than it is for us here in the states.

originally posted by: ckhk3
Although it's nice to see what's down there and to study it, it makes me feel sad that they just keep on digging and disturbing. It just doesn't stop, they want it all.

It's a desire to know the true history.

I'm not so sure the Egyptians would have hated our modern treatment. They are dug up, true, but their bodies are preserved when we find them (which they would have appreciated) and their names are recorded and spoken after all these years of silence. They would feel that this gave their soul energy to live and function again (to become an akh.)

And I suspect (from my own experience) that a lot of the researchers working on these objects do say the occasional blessing for the owner of the artifacts, wishing them "bread and beer and birds and all things good and pure that the gods live on" in the afterlife - for the first time in thousands of years.