Pyramids of al-Kurru
The pyramids and tombs south of today's village al-Kurru (also el-Kurru ) in Sudan are the oldest part of the cemetery around the Nubian city of Napata . The cemetery is about 10 kilometers south of its center on Mount Barkal , on the western side of the Nile . There are also remains of an ancient city discovered by the archaeologist George A. Reisner , who excavated the local pyramids. However, the age of the settlement is unknown.
The oldest graves are dated to 860 BC. Dated to the time before the founding of the kingdom of Kush in Nubia . Not all excavated tombs are pyramids. Mastaba developed from simple , early burial mounds in which the first princes were buried : stone blocks above the actual burial chamber. These grave complexes have so far all remained nameless. The first east-west oriented pyramid comes from King Pije (747–716). Near his grave pyramid, the king's favorite horses were standing in separate shaft graves with their heads facing south. A total of 24 horse graves were found. From King Atlanersa (653–643), who was buried in Nuri , the cemetery in al-Kurru was abandoned.
In the middle of the excavation area a pyramid can be seen in a half-demolished state. It is surrounded by several flat mounds of earth and access openings that lead into narrow, seamlessly bricked vaulted chambers. The tombs of King Tanotamun (664–655) and his mother Qalhata are locked because they contain well-preserved murals and hieroglyphic writing .
The pyramids of al-Kurru have been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites together with other buildings in the historic city of Napata and others in the region since 2003 .
List of the tombs of al-Kurru
(tum stands for tumulus - tumulus)
Surname | king | comment |
---|---|---|
Ku Tum 1 | unknown | |
Ku Tum 2 | unknown | |
Ku Tum 4 | unknown | |
Ku Tum 5 | unknown | |
Ku Tum 6 | unknown | |
Ku 1 | unknown | |
Ku 2 | queen | Name unknown |
Ku 3 | Queen Naparye | Consort of Taharqa |
Ku 4 | Queen Chensa | Wife of Pije |
Ku 5 | Queen Qalhata | Wife of Shebitko |
Ku 6 | Queen Arty | |
Ku 7 | queen | Name unknown |
Ku 8 | Kashta | Assignment uncertain |
Ku 9 | unknown | |
Ku 10 | unknown | |
Ku 11 | unknown | |
Ku 12 | unknown | |
Ku 13 | unknown | |
Ku 14 | unknown | |
Ku 15 | Shabaka | |
Ku 16 | Tanotamun | There are still well-preserved wall paintings in the burial chamber |
Ku 17 | Pije | The oldest pyramid |
Ku 18 | Shebitko | |
Ku 19 | ? (no pyramid) | |
Ku 20-23 | ? (no pyramids) | |
Ku 51 | queen | Name unknown |
Ku 52 | Queen Neferukashta | Mastaba |
Ku 53 | unknown | |
Ku 54 | unknown | |
Ku 55 | unknown | |
Ku 61 | queen | Assignment uncertain, maybe mastaba |
Ku 62 | queen | Assignment uncertain, maybe mastaba |
Ku 71 | queen | Name unknown |
Ku 72 | queen | Name unknown |
See also
literature
- Dows Dunham : The Royal Cemeteries of Kush I, El Kurru . Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1950.
- Timothy Kendall: el-Kurru. In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , pp. 421-23.
- Bertha Porter , Rosalind LB Moss , Ethel W. Burney: Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings. VII. Nubia, The Deserts, and outside Egypt. Griffith Institute , Ashmolean Museum , Oxford 1975, pp. 194–198 ( PDF file; 21.6 MB ); Retrieved from The Digital Topographical Bibliography .
Web links
Coordinates: 18 ° 24 ′ 36 ″ N , 31 ° 46 ′ 17 ″ E