sudan - the black pharaohs
The Cemetery of El Kurru.
The royal cemetery of El Kurru is full of tumuli and mounds to excite archaeologists. What are of real interest are the wonderful paintings and colours of two tombs, that of Tanwetamani who died in around 635 BC and that of his mother Qalhata. The wall paintings are remarkably well preserved and is a real delight showing a variety of scenes, including the journey to the afterlife.
The first Nubian pyramids were built at the site of el-Kurru, 13km downstream from the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal. The site at el-Kurru contains the tombs of Kashta and his son Piye (Piankhi), five earlier generations, together with Piye's successors Shabaka, Shabatko and Tanutamun, and 14 pyramids of the queens. Taharqa (c.690-664 BC) built his pyramid on the new site at Nuri, but his successor Tanutamun (c.664-656 BC) returned to the site of el-Kurru.
Between 1918 and 1919, American Egyptologist George Reisner conducted excavations at el-Kurru, where at that time only one pyramid remained standing. Reisner discovered low mounds of rubble, under which were the tombs of Piye and his successors of the 25th Dynasty, Shebaka, Shebitku and Tantamani. Their tombs had once been covered by pyramids, but by the early 20th century, they had been entirely removed. Reisner also discovered the tombs of 24 horses and 2 dogs nearby. At Piye's tomb, steps led down into a small part-subterranean rock-cut burial chamber where his body had been placed on a bed atop of a stone bench in the middle of the chamber. Fragments of canopic jars were discovered, along with some shabti figures, suggesting that the body had been embalmed in a typical ancient Egyptian style. There had been a chapel built above the stairway to the burial chamber, but like the pyramid, it too had been completely destroyed. Piye's tomb marked the first of over two hundred pyramids that would be built at three sites in Nubia.
sudan - the black pharaohs
The Cemetery of El Kurru.
The royal cemetery of El Kurru is full of tumuli and mounds to excite archaeologists. What are of real interest are the wonderful paintings and colours of two tombs, that of Tanwetamani who died in around 635 BC and that of his mother Qalhata. The wall paintings are remarkably well preserved and is a real delight showing a variety of scenes, including the journey to the afterlife.
The first Nubian pyramids were built at the site of el-Kurru, 13km downstream from the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal. The site at el-Kurru contains the tombs of Kashta and his son Piye (Piankhi), five earlier generations, together with Piye's successors Shabaka, Shabatko and Tanutamun, and 14 pyramids of the queens. Taharqa (c.690-664 BC) built his pyramid on the new site at Nuri, but his successor Tanutamun (c.664-656 BC) returned to the site of el-Kurru.
Between 1918 and 1919, American Egyptologist George Reisner conducted excavations at el-Kurru, where at that time only one pyramid remained standing. Reisner discovered low mounds of rubble, under which were the tombs of Piye and his successors of the 25th Dynasty, Shebaka, Shebitku and Tantamani. Their tombs had once been covered by pyramids, but by the early 20th century, they had been entirely removed. Reisner also discovered the tombs of 24 horses and 2 dogs nearby. At Piye's tomb, steps led down into a small part-subterranean rock-cut burial chamber where his body had been placed on a bed atop of a stone bench in the middle of the chamber. Fragments of canopic jars were discovered, along with some shabti figures, suggesting that the body had been embalmed in a typical ancient Egyptian style. There had been a chapel built above the stairway to the burial chamber, but like the pyramid, it too had been completely destroyed. Piye's tomb marked the first of over two hundred pyramids that would be built at three sites in Nubia.