Nuri is a place in modernSudan on the west side of theNile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north ofSanam, and 10 km fromJebel Barkal.
Nuri is the second of three Napatan burial sites and the construction of pyramids at Nuri began when there was no longer enough space atEl-Kurru.[1] More than 20 ancient pyramids belonging to Nubian kings and queens are still standing at Nuri, which served as a royal necropolis for the ancient city ofNapata, the first capital of the Nubian Kingdom of Kush. It is probable that, at its apex, 80 or more pyramids stood at Nuri, marking the tombs of royals. The pyramids at Nuri were built over a period of more than three centuries, from circa 670 BCE for the oldest (pyramid ofTaharqa), to around 310 BCE (pyramid of kingNastasen).
Map of Jebel Barkal and Nuri.
The earliest known pyramid (Nu. 1) at Nuri belongs to kingTaharqa which measures 51.75 meters square by 40 or by 50 metres high.[2] The pyramid of Taharqa was situated so that when observed from Jebel Barkal at sunrise on Egyptian New Year's Day, the beginning of the annualflooding of the Nile, the sun would rise from the horizon directly over its point.[3]
Tantamani, successor of Taharqa, was buried atel-Kurru, but all following Napatan kings and many of their queens and children untilNastasen (Nu. 15) (about 315 BC) were buried here, some 80 royals.[4] Thepyramids at Nuri are, in general, smaller than the Egyptian ones and are today often heavily degraded (caused by both humans and nature), but often still contained substantial parts of the funerary equipment of the Kushite rulers who were buried here. During the Christian era, a church was erected here.[5] The church was built at least in part from reused pyramid stones, including several stelae originally coming from the pyramid chapels.
The pyramids were partially excavated byGeorge Reisner in the early 20th century. In 2018, a new archaeological expedition began work at the site, directed byPearce Paul Creasman.[6]
The pyramids of Nuri, together with other buildings in the region around Gebel Barkal, have been placed on the UNESCO list ofWorld Heritage Sites since 2003.[7]
Pyramids of Nuri in 1821Pyramids of Nuri in 1821 (plan). The largest one (Nb. 1) belongs toTaharqa, the others are numbered from West to East.The ruins of the pyramid ofTaharqa, the earliest and largest of the Nuri pyramids, circa 670 BCE.View of the pyramids Nuri 9 (Aramatle-qo), Nuri 8 (Aspelta) and Nuri 7 (Karkamani) (from left to right).
The royal family of Kush was buried in the cemeteries of Nuri andel-Kurru.[8] The King's Mothers were buried in the southern group, but this is not an area exclusively used for the burial of King's Mothers. Most of the King's Wives were buried in the parallel rows just north of Taharqa's tomb. The tombs to the far north were much smaller and may have been built for wives of lesser rank.[9] It was also found byDows Dunham, an experienced archaeologist, that there were references to two other kings in three of the pyramids including King Taharqa. But, if they are buried there, their tombs have yet to be located and excavated.[10]
Nuri 1 – KingTaharqa,[11] the earliest and largest of the Nuri pyramids
Shawabty of KingTaharqa depicted holding two hoes, Nuri pyramid 1. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Numerous artifacts were found in the Nuri tombs, mainly excavated in 1916 by the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition. It is noted that looting was present in all of the pyramids as they were accessible by digging a hole through the ground. Based on objects found within and around the tombs, it is likely that these looters came hundreds of years later. Of what remained, several fragments and completed Napatan red ware pottery were found within several tombs.[10]
Gold flower shaped Diadem, found in the Pyramid of KingTalakhamani (435–431 BCE), Nuri pyramid 16. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Jewelry found on the Mummy of Nubian KingAmaninatakilebte (538–519 BCE), Nuri pyramid 10. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Unfinished granite stela with statue of Osiris found in the chapel of the Pyramid 3 ofSenkamanisken at Nuri
A Shabti, a funerary figure of King Senkamanisken, found in the chapel of the Pyramid 3 at Nuri
Artifacts including large metal tweezers, decorated and inscribed vessels, gold sheaths, and a ewer marked for KingAspelta found in Nuri pyramid 8. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The Sarcophagus of King Aspelta found in Nuri pyramid 8. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
^Timothy Kendall; 2002; Napatan temples: A case study from Gebel Barkal. Gebel Barkal, the Mythological Nubian Origin of Egyptian kingship, and the Formation of the Napatan state; pp. 67–69.
^Compare the list in Derek A. Welsby:The Kingdom of Kush. British Museum Press, London 1996, pp. 207–208ISBN0-7141-0986-X
^Dunham,The Royal Cemeteries of Kush II, Nuri, fig. 216
^Dows Dunham and M. F. Laming Macadam, "Names and Relationships of the Royal Family of Napata",The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 35 (December 1949), pp. 139–149
^Angelika Lohwasser, "Queenship in Kush: Status, Role and Ideology of Royal Women",Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 38 (2001), pp. 61–76
^abcdefghijWelsby, Derek A. (1998).The Kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic Empires. Princeton: Markus Weiner Publishers. p. 207.ISBN1-55876-182-9.
^abcdefghiWelsby, Derek A. (1998).The Kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic Empires. Princeton: Markus Weiner Publishers. p. 208.ISBN1-55876-182-9.
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Nuri 2 – KingAmaniastabarqa[12]
Nuri 3 – KingSenkamanisken[11]
Nuri 4 – KingSiaspiqa[12]_(1).jpg)
Nuri 5 – KingMalonaqen[11]
Nuri 6 – KingAnlamani,[11] son of KingSenkamanisken
Nuri 7 – KingKarkamani[11]
Nuri 8 – KingAspelta,[11] son of KingSenkamanisken and Queen Naparaye_(2).jpg)
Nuri 9 – KingAramatle-qo,[11] son ofAspelta
Nuri 10 – KingAmaninatakilebte[11]
Nuri 11 – KingMalewiebamani[12]
Nuri 12 – KingAmanineteyerike, son of KingMalewiebamani
Nuri 13 – KingHarsiotef[12]
Nuri 14 – KingAkhraten[12]
Nuri 15 – KingNastasen[12].jpg)
Nuri 16 – KingTalakhamani[12].jpg)
Nuri 17 – KingBaskakeren,[12] son of KingMalewiebamani
Nuri 18 – KingAnalmaye[11]
Nuri 19 – KingNasakhma[12]_next_to_standing_pyramid_Nuri_2_of_Amaniastabarqa.jpg)
Nuri 20 – KingAtlanersa,[11] Son ofTaharqa
Nuri 22 – PossiblyAmanimalel, Queen. Wife of KingSenkamanisken
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