Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Sudan was once home to a powerful ancient civilization. Today the ancient kingdom of Nubia is almost forgotten by history and neglected by archaeology because marvels of ancient Egypt are in focus, but those who conduct excavations in Sudan can be greatly rewarded.
Archaeologists have unearthed tombs, steles, and lintels at the archaeological site of Sedeinga, a place that is known for being home to the ruins of the Egyptian temple of Queen Tiye, the royal wife of Amenhotep III.
Ancient Pyramids Discovered in Sudan Necropolis. Credit: Photo copyright Vincent Francigny/SEDAU
The necropolis of Sedeinga stretches across more than twenty-five hectares and is home to the vestiges of at least eighty brick pyramids and over a hundred tombs, dating from the kingdoms of Napata and Meroe (seventh-century BCE-fourth century CE).
Great City Of Napata Was An Important Ancient Capital
As mentioned earlier on Ancient Pages, the ancient great city of Napata in the kingdom of Kush became a capital of a significant part of the ancient world and the Egyptian custom of royal burial under pyramids was introduced into Kush. The people of Napata, at the time, were culturally Egyptianized.
Unfortunately, there is little historical information about the people who lived in the kingdoms of Napata and Meroe, a fact that makes it difficult to date the necropolis of Sedeinga.
City ruins of Napata. About 300 years later, Napata became the capital of an independent Nubian kingdom, the Kingdom of Kush.
However, researchers have been able to determine that most of the pyramids and tombs are buildings dating from the era of the Napata kingdom that was later adjusted by the Meroitics. These adjustments were thus made five centuries after the initial building on the site, which the Meroitics supplemented with new chapels built out of brick and sandstone blocks on the western side of the pyramids, and which were intended for the worship of the deceased. This practice was particular to the Napatans and Meroitics, who veritably revered the monuments of the past, unlike their Egyptian neighbors.
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Chapel Lintel Representing Maat, The Egyptian Goddess Of Order, Equity, And Peace
Archaeologists working at the site have made several intriguing finds. Pieces of decorated sandstone, such as steles as well as lintels and door surrounds have been discovered at the surface, providing magnificent examples of Meroitic funerary art.
One of the most extraordinary finds is a chapel lintel representing Maat, the Egyptian goddess of order, equity, and peace. This is the first extant representation of this goddess depicting her with African characteristics.
Goddess Maat was a very important Egyptian deity.
It is also worth mentioning that in 20017, archaeologists discovered a stele in the name of a Lady Maliwarase. The stele sets out her kinship with the notables of Nubia (in the north of the kingdom of Meroe): she was the sister of two grand priests of Amon, and one of her sons held the position of governor of Faras, a large city bordering the second cataract of the Nile.
Stele in the name of Lady Maliwarase. Credit: © Claude Rilly / Sedeinga archaeological mission
The archaeologists have also unearthed a lintel inscribed with four lines of text describing the owner of the sepulcher, another great lady, Adatalabe. She hailed from an illustrious lineage that included a royal prince, a member of the reigning family of Meroe. These two steles written for high-ranking women are not isolated examples in Sedeinga. In Meroitic society, it was indeed women who embodied the prestige of a family and passed on its heritage.
It's very possible this tradition is based on the belief in the goddess Maat. As previously discussed on Ancient Pages, there is evidence that ancient Egyptian women had the same rights as men, and the reasons this was the case can be found in Egyptian cosmology and the worship of goddess Maat.
The ancient Kingdom of Nubia remains neglected by archaeologists, but recent discoveries clearly show this region of the world is of great historical and mythological importance.
Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com
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