The Sedeinga pyramids are a group of at least 80 small pyramids near Sedeinga,

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 ...

, built ca. 1 BCE. They were discovered between 2009 and 2012 and date to the time of the

Kingdom of Kush The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian language, Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Akkadian language, Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX grc, Κυς and Κυσι ; cop, ''Ecōš''; he, כּוּשׁ ''Kūš'') was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, ce ...

, an ancient kingdom 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 ...

. They range in size from about to wide.

Location

The Sedeinga pyramid site is located in northern Sudan on the west bank of the

Nile River The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , 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 the longest rive ...

. It lies roughly 60 miles (100 km) north of the Nile's

third cataract The Cataracts of the Nile are shallow lengths (or whitewater rapids) of the Nile river, between Khartoum and Aswan, where the surface of the water is broken by many small boulders and stones jutting out of the river bed, as well as many rocky ...

, and northwest of

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 ...

, the Meroitic period capital of the Kingdom of Kush, where similar pyramids have been found. Isolated from the greater part of Kush, Sedeinga is found alone in the desert along an ancient trade route. This route connected the Kingdom of Kush directly with

Middle Egypt Middle Egypt () is the section of land between Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta) and Upper Egypt, stretching upstream from Asyut in the south to Memphis in the north. At the time, Ancient Egypt was divided into Lower and Upper Egypt, though Middle E ...

, suggesting that Sedeinga may have been a trade settlement. Located not far from the Egyptian border, Sedeinga would have had first access to the goods brought by Egyptian traders, which might explain the origin of the wealth demonstrated in the burial pyramids.Powell, Erica A. "Miniature Pyramids of Sudan." Archaeology. Archaeology, July & Aug. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.

Pyramids

The pyramid site consists of thousands of burial chambers including the bases of at least 80 small pyramids dating to late Meroitic period of the Kingdom of Kush. The pyramids were constructed of stone block over a round masonry chamber symbolic of the older Kush tradition of earthen burial mounds. Unlike the pyramids found in the Kush capital of Meroë, which were reserved for royalty, the Sedeinga Pyramids were constructed mainly for wealthy citizens. While it was considered sacrilegious for anyone but royalty to be buried in this manner during the early Meroitic period, with the passing of time and the isolation of Sedeinga from Meroë, the tradition extended to the wealthy. The Sedeinga pyramids also exhibited a greater Egyptian influence than their counterparts in Meroë, typified by capstones depicting birds or lotuses emerging from solar discs. While excavation of the Sedeinga pyramid site is not complete, there are indications that it may contain more Kush pyramids than any site discovered as of yet.

Artifacts

In April 2018, archeologists announced the discovery of a large number of stone funerary inscriptions in the Sedeinga

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

. The stone inscriptions constitute the largest collection of texts ever discovered written in Meroitic, which one of the oldest known

writing systems of Africa The writing systems of Africa refer to the current and historical practice of writing systems on the African continent, both indigenous and those introduced. Today, the Latin script is commonly encountered across Africa, especially in the Western ...

. Many of the artifacts unearthed at the Sedeinga site are in remarkably good condition, with some

steles A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek language, Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ...

conserving their blue pigment. One particularly notable find was a chapel

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

with a representation of the Egyptian goddess

Maat Maat or Maʽat ( Egyptian: mꜣꜥt /ˈmuʀʕat/, Coptic: ⲙⲉⲓ) refers to the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Ma'at was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regul ...

. The lintel was noteworthy for being the first known representation of Maat with distinctive features from traditional Egyptian types. Numerous Sedeinga artifacts were dedicated to high-ranking women, emphasizing the fact that Nubia was a

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's Lineage (anthropology), lineage – and which can in ...

society.

References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in Sudan 2009 archaeological discoveries 2010 archaeological discoveries 2011 archaeological discoveries 2012 archaeological discoveries

Location

Pyramids

Artifacts

See also

References