Dows Dunham Recollections of an Egyptologist

Pyramids at Nuri, looking northwest.
Pyramids at Nuri, looking west.
the river where we landed our launch every morning when we came
over from the main camp at Barkal. From here we would ride donkeys,
first through palm trees near the river and then across a belt of sand
dunes to the site. Here stood the large group of pyramids, some sixty in
number, the tombs of the kings and queens of Kush from Taharqa to
Nastasen (ca. 663-308 B.C.). The normal pyramid, as I have mentioned,
had a small chapel on its east face, in front of which was a cut in the
rock and a stair descending to the entrance to the burial place under the
pyramid. Before we could enter the burial chambers therefore, we first
had to locate the stair cut and clear it out, a task that required the labor
of a good many men. For this we employed some hundred or so local
Sudanese laborers working under the supervision of our skilled permanent
staff, with Said Ahmed as head foreman. These local laborers, recruited
from the villages in the region, were quite untrained, without
education, and very superstitious, but they made excellent basket carriers.
They were devout Moslems, dedicated to their local customs and
especially to the veneration of local holy men.
There was a certain large, isolated thorn tree in the neighborhood that
was regarded as sacred. Anything placed under this tree was untouchable,
and it always sheltered a goodly number of objects valuable to
their owners, serving as a primitive bank vault or safe-deposit box.
Just east of one of the largest pyramids at Nuri was a monument to a
local holy man. Known as a “Sheikh,” the monument consisted of a
fairly large pile of stones on which were poles bearing little flags of
colored cloth. The “Sheikh” was a holy place to the local people, and to
tamper with it would have aroused their indignation. Unfortunately, it
stood squarely on top of the stairway to this pyramid and thus prevented
us from entering the burial chambers. Reisner was puzzled as to what
could be done yet dared not interfere with the “Sheikh.” Said Ahmed
reassured him, however. “Leave it to me,” he said. ”Just wait a few days
and work somewhere else for the present.” Shortly thereafter there
came a night with no moonlight, and the following morning we saw
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