Cult of beauty - Minerva

The Pharaohs of Nubia
Philippa Collins travels through the ancient land of Nubia, where a rich archaeological
heritage has the power to amaze and captivate
Northern Sudan is a place of
immense space, wonderful
sunsets, friendly people
and fascinating archaeology.
Relatively few tourists visit the
region and many people are unaware
of the contribution of this land to
African and Egyptian history.
While the ancient history of northern
Sudan is fascinating, piecing it
together is painstaking work, and
there is a chronic lack of funding for
archaeological excavations. Research
is further hindered by the legacy of
Egypt-centric interpretations, variation
on the names of the pharaohs,
uncertain chronology, different interpretations
of the area covered by
‘Nubia’, and the distinction between
Upper and Lower Nubia. Geographical
boundaries are now so arbitrary that
it is not possible to exactly equate
modern regions to those of ancient
times, and interpretation is complicated
by the use of the name ‘Ethiopia’
by ancient writers when referring to
the area south of Egypt. Some modern
writers still use ‘Ethiopia’ when
discussing the archaeology of this
region. To make matters even more
confusing, much of Egyptian Nubia
was submerged when the Aswan Dam
was built, so today Nubia is generally
accepted to be approximately the area
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Fig 1. The Meroitic
pyramids of Jebel
Barkal, the most intact
in the Sudan. Over 200
pyramids were built
in Nubia from the 7 th
century BC continuing
for nearly 1000 years.
Fig 2. Jebel Barkal
is one of the largest
archaeological
sites in Sudan.
Temples, chapels and
palaces have been
excavated. Here
sunrise illuminates the
pinnacle, interpreted
by some as equivalent
to the uraeus, symbol
of Egyptian kingship.
Fig 3. Temple of the
goddess Mut at the
foot of Jebel Barkal.
Fig 4. Current
excavations at the
foot of Jebel Barkal.
from south of the Aswan Dam to just
south of Khartoum.
During the construction of the
Aswan High Dam in the 1960s and
70s, most international attention was
focused on the temples rescued in
Egypt (see Minerva, May/June, 2010,
pp. 44–46). By contrast, many people
were unaware that large numbers
of Nubian archaeological sites
were also drowned by the formation
of Lake Nasser (known as the
Nubian Lake in Sudan). In the 1960s
UNESCO launched a campaign to save
Nubian monuments, some of which
were moved to new locations near
the original sites, while others were
transported to Khartoum where they
provide a wonderful surprise for visitors
wandering through the grounds
of the National Museum. Similarly,
when a new dam was proposed near
the 4 th Cataract, with work starting
in 2004, the Sudanese Ministry of
Tourism and National Heritage and
National Corporation for Antiquities
and Museums (NCAM) appealed
for international help ‘for rescuing a
piece of Man’s cultural heritage’. The
Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage
Project (MDASP) was supported by
several countries, including Anglo-
German and Polish teams. This work
is being published by the International
Society for Nubian Studies and the
Sudan Archaeological Research Society
[SARS], based at the British Museum. f
The mission of SARS is to ‘promote
interest in the Sudan’s cultural heritage
and raise awareness of its place
in the history of mankind. Most significantly,
the Society mounts expeditions
to excavate and record threatened
sites before they are lost to knowledge
forever’.
Evidence at Kerma indicates settlement
from c. 2500 BC, with the sites
developing into an exceptional religious
complex that is usually interpreted
as the earliest kingdom of Kush.
The massive Deffufa, possibly the oldest
building in Sudan, is found here,
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