The Meroe Pyramids in Sudan

Peaceful, nearly deserted: the pyramids at Meroe, 200km north of Khartoum, have languished in relative obscurity for centuries. When the stolen treasures from the pyramids were presented to 19th century European society, these exquisitely worked gold bracelets, necklaces and armlets, hailing from a wholly unfamiliar civilisation, were dismissed as fakes. They were eventually rehomed to the Egyptian Museums in Berlin and Munich.

But the people behind their construction formed one of the oldest continuous civilisations in the world, living in the region of Nubia around the Nile Valley for millennia. The Kushite empire, which was established in Nubia, was conquered by the Ancient Egyptian empire. At around 700BC a dynasty of pharaohs with Nubian heritage popularly known as the ‘black pharaohs’ reigned in Egypt.

When the Egyptian empire collapsed, the Kushite kingdom endured. From 700BC, they built pyramids as funerary monuments for their rulers, and then for hundreds of years afterwards – until the empire ended in the 4th century AD. This long period of construction led to hundreds of structures. There were three Kushite Kingdoms in Sudan where you can find the remains of royal burial grounds: the earliest was at Kerma, then Napata, and then at Meroe.

“People always get confused,” Carla explains, “There are two archaeological sites in the Meroe area – the Meroe Pyramids and the Meroe city ruins.” The Kushite Kingdom of Meroe is situated right on the banks of the Nile, but their royal cemeteries are 5km inland. Both are UNESCO-listed. “The Romans thought of Meroe as an island – it was very green between the rivers. In 2,300BC that city became the capital of the Meroe kingdom – it lasted for a very long time and they kept on building pyramids.” The pyramids are around 30m high, steep sided, and mostly built with local sandstone. They were also constructed very close together, and their tombs hid treasure.

How do you eat a Toblerone? The tan ridge of pyramids, with their chewed-off tops, can be seen from Meroe tented camp 2.5km northeast. At sunset, the sun lowers directly behind them, highlighting their crumbled edges. In the 1830s, the Italian grave robber Ferlini ate into the pyramids from the top down, thinking they hid treasure inside. “Wrong!” says Carla. Unlike Egyptian pyramids, Sudanese pyramids hide their treasures underneath. This didn’t stop some of the biggest pyramids from being ruined or destroyed, including the burial place of Amanishakheto, a powerful queen. It was her tomb that contained extraordinary treasure “Probably the roof of the tomb collapsed at some point, so they reached the treasure,” says Carla. “Ferlini opened the box… and he found amazing jewellery and gold.”

There is no question, Carla thinks, of returning the Meroe Pyramids’ treasures to Sudan at the moment – the National Museum in Khartoum, though wonderful, has experienced a number of high-profile thefts of its antiquities. The ongoing war complicates things further.

Whilst Meroe’s gold is abroad, the country still has a surfeit of wonderful archaeological sites. Meroe is the latest of the royal burial sites in Sudan along the River Nile; others are even older. You can visit Naga and Mussawarat, near the royal city of Meroe: at Naga, there are beautifully decorated temples dedicated to Kushite gods, reached down avenues of carved statues of rams. At Mussawarat, nearby, are further temples decorated with fantastic carved elephants. North along the river are even earlier sites; pyramids stand under the shadow of a large mesa called Jebel Barkal, which was considered a holy mountain. There are ruins and tombs – including the pyramids of el-Kurru and the Nuri Pyramids – found in the kingdom of Napata, near the modern-day town of Karima. This was the origin city of the Nubians who became known as the black pharaohs.

If you want to see what many of the Sudanese pyramids looked like when they were still standing, you can look at early 19th-century engravings made by French geographer Frederic Cailliaud. The engravings are given life with a few people or camels illustrated in the foreground.

“You know how many, many times I’ve been completely alone at Meroe?” Carla asks. “It’s such a large area, it’s never crowded.” The site used to get around 150,000 visitors a year; this is now 15,000.

Not all Sudan’s historic sites have been well maintained. Until recently, you could simply walk up to the pyramids at Meroe from anywhere; it’s now one of the rare archaeological sites in Sudan with a designated entrance and walkway. Other sites might have a caretaker, but rubbish – including plastic litter blown in by the wind – straggles on the dunes. There are no bathrooms. Meroe city is being damaged by increasingly severe flooding from the Nile, which is exacerbated by climate change; Nuri’s burial chambers have experienced flooding with recent changes in the local water table.

“People who come here are astonished by how many archaeology sites there are – but what strikes them most is the welcome they get from the people,” says Carla. “Wherever you go – if you go to the market, everyone greets you – I’m astonished every time how welcoming they are. I hope what they are going through now won’t change this. I’m not worried about the sites as they are in the north, but I am worried this war may change the soul, the beautiful soul of the Sudanese people.”

Visitors to Sudan can help its population – many live in desperate poverty. Children in remote areas stop their schooling early when schools are too far away to reach on foot. After a certain age, girls and boys are taught in separate classrooms, but where there are limited classrooms available, these go to boys by default. The girls who cannot travel further for school inevitably leave education.

A few hundred metres away from the Meroe Pyramids is a tiny school which serves three villages. A small NGO founded by ITC Sudan called Amici del Sudan, ‘Friends of Sudan’, funds the construction of new classrooms in tiny village schools like this. In wartime, the charity has pivoted to supporting overwhelmed hospitals.

Carla and I talk about how disconcerting it is to speak about archaeology as one of the country’s worst wars continues. “No, please do write about it,” Carla says.

The war is underrepresented in western media. As our newspapers cycle and fill with other news, we shouldn’t forget about Sudan.

The sun sets over the pyramids again at Meroe Camp. “There are 44 pyramids still standing which you can actually count,” says Carla, “but numbers are not so important – the sand may cover the pyramid and reveal another one.” The sand settles, the landscape shifts – like a giant rolling over in her sleep, dreaming of peace.

Tours to see Sudan’s historic sites are best conducted in small groups. In a small group you get the benefit of fantastic local guides. The season for tours starts in October, after the heat of summer (May – September) and the dust storms subside. There are opportunities to stay in desert camps – including wild camps. Whilst the Meroe Pyramids are a highlight, there are also a number of other extraordinary ancient sites to visit in Sudan, never far from the Nile.