Musawwarat es-Sufra (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: , Meroitic: Aborepi,

Old Egyptian The Egyptian language or Ancient Egyptian ( ) is a dead Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large corpus of surviving texts which were made accessible to the modern world following the deciphe ...

: jbrp, jpbr-ˁnḫ), also known as Al-Musawarat Al-Sufra, is a large Meroitic temple complex in modern Sudan, dating back to the early Meroitic period of the 3rd century BC. It is located in a large basin surrounded by low sandstone hills in the western Butana, 180 km 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 ...

, 20 km north of Naqa and approximately 25 km south-east of the

Nile 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 ...

. Its MGRS coordinates: 36QWD3477214671. With Meroë and Naqa it is known as the Island of Meroe, and was listed as a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 2011. Constructed in sandstone, the main features of the site include the ''Great Enclosure'', the ''Lion Temple of Apedemak'' and the ''Great Reservoir''. Most significant is the number of representations of elephants, suggesting that this animal played an important role at Musawwarat es-Sufra.

Research

The site of Musawwarat es-Sufra was originally mentioned by Linant de Bellefonds in 1822, and then shortly thereafter by Frédéric Cailliaud. The first detailed description of the site was made by Carl Richard Lepsius. Archaeological fieldwork was conducted by the Butana expedition of the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

under the direction of archaeologist Fritz Hintze from 1960 until 1970. The team re-erected the Lion Temple, collapsed in antiquity, and constructed a new roof. These investigations continued after a gap of several decades and are ongoing.UNESCO
Nomination document p.43.

Lion Temple

The Lion Temple is a single-chambered rectangular 14.21 m in length, 9.13 m in width and 4.7 m in height temple with pylon and six columns made of drums. Erected by King Arnekhamani and dedicated to Apedemak the temple bears inscriptions in Egyptian hieroglyphs and representations of elephants and lions on the rear inside wall as well as reliefs of Apedemak depicted as a three-headed god on the outside walls. A 3D model of the Lion Temple can be see
here
An Animation of the Lion Temple 3D model can be vie

File:MusawwaratLionTemple.jpg, Columns in the Lion Temple File:Apedemak temple in Musawwarat es-sufra (11) (33736823760).jpg, Relief of Apedemak

Great Enclosure

The Great Enclosure is the main structure of the site. Much of the large labyrinth-like building complex, which covers approximately 45,000 m², was erected in the third century BC. According to Hintze, "the complicated ground plan of this extensive complex of buildings is without parallel in the entire Nile valley". The maze of

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

s includes three (possible) temples, passages, low walls, preventing any contact with the outside world, about 20 columns, ramps and two reservoirs.Google Books
Sudan: The Bradt Travel Guide p.131-2. There were many sculptures of animals, such as elephants and most of the walls of the complex bear graffiti and masons’ or pilgrims' marks both pictorial and in Meroitic or Greek script. The scheme of the site is, so far, without parallel 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 ...

and ancient Egypt, and there is some debate about the purpose of the buildings, with earlier suggestions including a college, a hospital, and an elephant-training camp. According to the scholar Basil Davidson, at least four

Kushite The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙 𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX grc, Κυς and Κυσι ; cop, ''Ecōš''; he, כּוּשׁ ''Kūš'') was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in wh ...

queens — Amanirenas,

Amanishakheto Amanishakheto was a Kandake of Kush. She seems to have reigned from 10 BC to 1 AD, although most dates of Kushite history before the Middle Ages are very uncertain. In Meroitic hieroglyphs her name is written "Amanikasheto" (''Mniskhte'' or ''( ...

Nawidemak Nawidemak was a Kandake of Kush who ruled either early in the 1st century BC or 1st century AD. She is known from the wall relief of her burial chamber, as well as a gold plaque. She may also have been one of the Kandakes referred to in the New Te ...

and Amanitore — probably spent part of their lives in ''Musawwarat es-Sufra''. File:Great Enclosure in Musawwarat es-sufra (10) (34060507906).jpg, View of the Great Enclosure File:Nubia- 2008- Piramidi Khartoum-2.jpg, An entrance to the Great Enclosure File:Archaeological_Sites_of_the_Island_of_Meroe-114985.jpg, Statue of an elephant File:MusawwaratGreatEnclosureDrawing.jpg, Wall-drawing File:PuecklerMusawwarat.jpg, Graffiti of Prince Pückler-Muskau

Great Reservoir

The Great Reservoir is a Hafir to retain as much as possible of the rainfall of the short, wet season. It is 250 m in diameter and excavated 6.3 m into the ground.

3D Models with laser-scanning

The Zamani Project document cultural heritage sites in 3D to create a record for future generations. The documentation of the Great Enclosure of Musawwarat es-Sufra and the Apedemak (Lion) Temple is based on terrestrial laser-scanning and was carried out in 2009. 3D models, animations, plans and images of some of the temples are online available a
www.zamaniproject.org

References

Literature

* Basil Davidson ''Old Africa Rediscovered'', Gollancz, 1959 * Peter Shinnie ''Meroe'', 1967

External links

The Musawwarat graffiti archive

www.musawwarat.com
Archaeological Mission to Musawwarat es-Sufra: Project website with basic information and current publications * Meroe Gallery
Youtube
3D fly through
Documentary film on archaeological research and conservation at Musawwarat es-Sufra
by Humboldt University, Berlin {{authority control Kingdom of Kush History of Nubia African civilizations Archaeological sites in Sudan World Heritage Sites in Sudan