Basa (variation: Jabal Basa) is a village in

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. It lies northeast of

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

Butana The Butana (Arabic: البطانة, ''Buṭāna''), historically called the Island of Meroë, is the region between the Atbara and the Nile in the Sudan. South of Khartoum it is bordered by the Blue Nile and in the east by Lake Tana in Ethiopia. ...

, upstream of Wadi Hawa, near

Meroë Meroë (; also spelled ''Meroe''; Meroitic: or ; ar, مرواه, translit=Meruwah and ar, مروي, translit=Meruwi, label=none; grc, Μερόη, translit=Meróē) was an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east ...

and the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

. Near Basa is a completely decayed temple which was excavated in 1907. It was built by

Amanikhabale Amanikhabale (also transliterated Astabarqaman) was a King of Kush Kush or Cush may refer to: Bible * Cush (Bible), two people and one or more places in the Hebrew Bible Places * Kush (mountain), a mountain near Kalat, Pakistan Balochistan * ...

and probably dedicated to

Apedemak Apedemak or Apademak was a major deity in the Ancient Nubian Pantheon. Often depicted as a figure with a male human torso and a lion head, Apedemak was a war god worshiped by the Kingdom of Kush#Move to Meroë, Meroitic peoples inhabiting Nubia. ...

, the

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

-headed warrior god worshiped in

Nubia Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...

by Meroitic peoples. Some fallen lion sculptures, each weighing two tons, were found by

Francis Llewellyn Griffith Francis Llewellyn Griffith (27 May 1862 – 14 March 1934) was an eminent British Egyptologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life and education F. Ll. Griffith was born in Brighton on 27 May 1862 where his father, Rev. Dr. ...

. In 1970, five of the lion sculptures were recovered and placed at the entrance of the

National Museum of Sudan The National Museum of Sudan or Sudan National Museum, abbreviated SNM, is a two-story building constructed in 1955 and established as a museum in 1971. The building and its surrounding gardens house the largest and most comprehensive Nubian ar ...

, as were two stone frog sculptures. Griffith also excavated a limestone sundial which dates to Roman times. Abdel Rahman Ali Mohammad and Julie R. Anderson, ''Highlights from the Sudan National Museum'', The Sudan National Museum 2013, p.80-82

References

* Hinkel, F. W. (1978). ''Auszug aus Nubien'' ("Extract from Nubia"). Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. (in German) {{coord, 16.699778, 33.983411, display=title Populated places in River Nile (state) Archaeological sites in Sudan Nubian architecture in Sudan Kingdom of Kush Populated places established in the 1st century BC 1st-century BC establishments