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Archaeologists on site after excavations revealed several miniature pyramids in Sedeinga in Sudan. Source: Vincent Francigny / SEDAU

The Mystery of the Miniature Pyramids of Sedeinga in Sudan

From the iconic pyramids of Egypt to the lesser-known discoveries in Sudan, a journey through ancient history unveils intriguing mysteries. While Egypt's pyramid monuments loom large, Sudan's...
Banganarti site in 2014.       Source: Albertinese/CC BY-SA 4.0

The Raphaelion, the Ancient Christian Faith Center of Banganarti

Banganarti, a famous archaeological site on the eastern bank of the Nile, is one of the most popular sites in Sudan. Within this site is the Raphaelion, a church that dates back to the 7th century AD...
Images of the Christogram tattoo on the dorsal (top) side of the right foot. Picture was taken with a full spectrum camera and digital enhanced using ImageJ software with a DStretch plugin. Source: Kari A. Guilbault/PCMA UW

Medieval Christogram Tattoo Found in Sudan Reveals Deep Christianity

Nubia, the region that consists of modern-day Egypt and Sudan, has yielded a rather surprising find – a Christogram tattoo has been unearthed on the body of a person dating back 1,300 years. This...
Warriors of the Kingdom of Kush. Source: Horticulture / Adobe Stock.

Secrets of the Kushite Empire and How They Took Over Egypt (Video)

The Kushite takeover of Egypt is a story that is often overlooked in history books. Most of what we know about the kingdom of Kush comes from the perspective of the Egyptians , who wrote everything...
Pyramids of Sudan. Source: zampe238 / Adobe Stock.

Explore the Waters Below Sudan’s Desert Pyramids (Video)

Deep in the desert sands of northern Sudan lies the ancient site of Nuri , home to more than 20 pyramids and the final resting place of Sudan's greatest pharaohs. These pyramids were the primary...
Scene with King David (Adrian Chlebowski/Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw)

Hidden Medieval Rooms Found in Sudan Contain Rare Nubian Christian Art

Archaeologists have uncovered a spectacular discovery in Dongola , Sudan – a series of hidden rooms beneath a medieval monastery featuring stunning Christian art unlike anything seen before in Nubian...
A set of bone tools thought to have been used for bleeding cows.	Source: M.Osypinska/PAP

New Evidence Suggests Masai Practice of Bleeding Cows May Go Back 7,000 Years

Excavations in a 7,000-year-old cemetery in Sudan have uncovered bone tools that were probably used to bleed cows. This may be the earliest evidence of a practice that is still prevalent among the...
Old ruined Ottoman harbor of Suakin, Sudan. Source: robnaw/AdobeStock

The Forgotten Ghost Town of Suakin: A Journey Into Its Thriving Past

Once a thriving port filled with bustling commerce and stunning architecture, the abandoned town of Suakin, Sudan now sits as a crumbling remnant of its past. This town was once known as one of the...
From Pagan To Christian To Islam, Religious Wars In Ancient Sudan

From Pagan To Christian To Islam, Religious Wars In Ancient Sudan

A change in religion more often than not, leads to bloodshed and war as gods hold on to their powers, and their priests and kings and queens take up arms to defend them. The history of Sudan has seen...
Locals on camels near Meroe pyramids, Sudan (Matyas Rehak/ Adobe Stock)

Secrets in The Sands Of Sudan: The Kushite Kings’ Pyramids

After the decline of Egypt’s New Kingdom, the Kings of Kush established the 25th Dynasty by expanding their territory to include Egypt, and ruled as the Black Pharaohs for at least a hundred years...
The Three Niles And Cataract Settlements Of Ancient Sudan

The Three Niles And Cataract Settlements Of Ancient Sudan

On January 1, 1956, after centuries of foreign rule, Sudan finally gained its independence from Great Britain, three years after independence was granted to Egypt on June 18, 1953, and today the...
The ancient city of Kerma, Sudan.

The Forgotten Kingdom of Kerma and Its Incredible Deffufas

The Kingdom of Kerma was an ancient civilization that existed between 2500 BC and 1500 BC, located in what is today the northern part of Sudan. This kingdom was the first Nubian state, and its...
A landscape view of qubba tombs, a type of Islamic burial tomb or shrine, around an area known as Jebel Maman. (Costanzo et al. / CC-BY 4.0)

A ‘Galaxy’ of Islamic Burials Exhibits An “As Above, So Below” Concept

Sudanese Islamic burial sites are not randomly located as was traditionally believed. Quite the opposite. Thanks to satellite technology , it has been discovered that contrary to the belief that...
Ancient Nubian Super Church Changes Our Understanding of History

Ancient Nubian Super Church Changes Our Understanding of History

Sometimes archaeology demands that history be revised. Recent discoveries in Old Dongola, in modern-day Sudan , appear to have unearthed the need to reappraise the entire history of the Nubian church...
Archival photograph showing a double burial from the Jebel Sahaba cemetery in Sudan, with pencils marking the position of associated lithic artifacts. Source: Wendorf Archives of the British Museum/Scientific Reports

Jebel Sahaba Shines Light on Horrors of Earliest Human Warfare

13,400 years ago individuals were engaged in armed conflict on the east bank of the Nile in what is now northern Sudan. A fresh analysis of human remains from the prehistoric cemetery of Jebel Sahaba...
Reconstruction of the Homo erectus Turkana Boy from the Nariokotome, Kenya site, exhibited in the Neanderthal Museum in Erkrath, Germany.

Large Cache of Stone Tools Used by Homo Erectus Unearthed in Sudan

Polish archaeologists exploring an ancient gold mine in Sudan in the eastern Sahara Desert struck an entirely different kind of “gold.” Acting on a rumor, they found hundreds of stone tools that were...
The flooding is threatening the Al-Bajrawiya archaeological site, home to almost two hundred Sudanese pyramids and the ancient burial site of the Kingdom of Kush. Source: zampe238 Adobe Stock

Worst River Nile Flooding in Over a Century Threatens Sudanese Pyramids

The mysterious pyramids of Sudan that have stood for centuries are now threatened by floods. The River Nile has burst its banks and it has already killed many people in the African country. Rising...
Archaeological site Jabal Maragha in Sudan has been destroyed by industrial-scale looting. Illustrative image from Jebel Bakal across the Sudanese desert with the pyramids. Source: Frank / Adobe Stock

Industrial-Scale Looting Destroys Ancient Sudanese Site

A 2000-year-old historic site has been destroyed in Sudan by illegal treasure hunters using construction-sized excavators to search for buried gold. In Sudan many of the country’s archaeological...
Egyptian mummies with tattoo of Archangel Michael

Scans Reveal Archangel Michael Tattoo on Mummy's Thigh

In 2014, a team of scientists in London carried out high-tech scanning on eight Egyptian mummies from the British Museum, uncovering fascinating information about them, including the revelation that...
A niche in the wall of Nastasen's third burial chamber

Desert Diver Discovers Submerged Treasure Beneath 2,300-Year-Old Kushite Pyramid

A team of archaeologists ‘diving’ in the sweltering deserts of northern Sudan, once the land of Nubia, have discovered artifacts and ‘gold leaf’ in a 2,300-year-old submerged tomb belonging to a...
13,000-year-old Saharan remains

13,000-year-old Saharan Remains Tell Of First Known Homo Sapiens War In Africa

In 2014, a fresh analysis on a set of human remains dating back 13,000 years, which were found on the east bank of the Nile in northern Sudan , suggested the individuals were victims of an intergroup...
A man marrying a deceased woman in China

Ghost Marriages: Love For the Living and the Deceased

The tradition of the ghost marriage is one that supposedly stretches back to the first imperial dynasty of China: the Qin Dynasty, dating from the years 221 BC – 206 BC. The most comprehensive early...
The funerary chapel surround, depicting the goddess Maat. Image:© Vincent Francigny / Sedeinga archaeological mission/ CNRS. Right: Aerial view at Nubian pyramids Meroe

Ancient Nubia: The Melting Pot of Egypt and Black Africa

The archaeological site of Sedeinga is located in Sudan, a hundred kilometers to the north of the third cataract of the Nile, on the river's western shore. Known especially for being home to the...
Head of the statue discovered at the site of Dangeil in Sudan.

2,600-Year-Old Statue Identified as Vengeful Kush Ruler

Almost a decade ago archaeologists exploring a ruined temple dedicated to the Egyptian god Amun, near the Nile River in modern day Sudan, found a 2,600-year-old statue, but his identity remained...

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