UNESCO Ancient Civilizations of Africa (Editor G. Mokhtar)

Ancient Civilizations of Africa
Upstream from Kawa there are no sites of importance until Napata is
reached. Its place in royal ceremonies and religious customs has already
been stressed. The importance of this town derived from its location at the
northern end of the caravan route which skirted the three scarcely navigable
cataracts. All goods from the southern and central parts of the kingdom as
well as from the interior of Africa had to go through Napata. Though
the town site of Napata remains partly unexplored the royal cemeteries
at El-Kurru, Nuri and Gebel Barkal, as well as the temples of Gebel Barkal
and at Sanam, have all been investigated. We can thus assess the importance
of Napata as a royal and religious centre in the earlier period of Kush
history. Until the time of Nastasen the cemeteries around Napata were
used for royal burials, and even afterwards, when the kings were normally
buried at Meroe, some preferred to be interred at Gebel Barkal.
The next important urban centre in the Nile valley was at Dangeil,
5 miles north of Berber, where the remains of brick buildings and walls
were discovered. The site itself seems to lie on an important route leading
from Meroe to the north.
In the Island of Meroe, which corresponds roughly to the modern Butane
plain lying between the Atbara and the Blue Nile, many traces of Meroitic
settlement were found. 51
Although the city of Meroe is mentioned for the first time in the last
quarter of the fifth century before our era in the inscription of Amannateieriko
in the Kawa temple under the name of B.rw.t, the lowest
excavation strata show that a large settlement existed on this site already
in the eighth century. Herodotus, II, 29, calls it a big city and excavations
have confirmed that the town occupied a large area with a central part
surrounded by suburbs and perhaps also by a wall. Apart from being for
many centuries the capital and royal residence, Meroe was one of the main
economic and trade centres of the country, lying at the crossroads of caravan
routes and serving as a river port too. The greater part of the town area,
consisting of many mounds covered with red brick fragments, still awaits its
archaeologists. 52 But the part hitherto excavated and examined is sufficient
to show that Meroe at its height had been an enormous city with all the
attributes of urban life. As such Meroe must be numbered among the most
important monuments of early civilization on the African continent. The
main elements of the excavated parts of the city are the royal city with
palaces, a royal bath and other buildings, and the temple of Amun. In the
vicinity were found the temple of Isis, the Lion temple, the Sun temple,
many pyramids and non-royal cemeteries.
Not far away from Meroe lies the site of Wad ben Naqa, consisting of
ruins of at least two temples. Recent excavations have revealed a large
51. A. M . Ali Hakem, 1972b.
52. The recent excavations (1972-5) have been carried out by the Universities of Calgary
and Khartoum during which numerous new temples have been discovered.
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