Gebel Barkal
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Jebel Barkal or Gebel Barkal () is a
mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...
or large rock outcrop located 400 km north of
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...
, next to Karima in Northern State in
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
, on the
Nile River The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...
, in the region that is sometimes called
Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...
. The jebel is 104 m tall, has a flat top, and came to have religious significance for both ancient Kush and ancient Egyptian occupiers. In 2003, the mountain, together with the extensive archaeological site at its base (ancient
Napata Napata
(2020).
(Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic language, Meroitic ''Napa''; and Ναπάται) was a city of ...
), were named as the center of a
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
. The Jebel Barkal area houses the Jebel Barkal Museum.


History

The earliest occupation of Jebel Barkal was that of the
Kerma culture The Kingdom of Kerma or the Kerma culture was an early civilization centered in Kerma, Sudan. It flourished from around 2500 BC to 1500 BC in ancient Nubia. The Kerma culture was based in the southern part of Nubia, or "Upper Nubia" (in parts of ...
, which was also known as Kush, but this occupation is so far known only from scattered potsherds. Around 1450 BCE, the Egyptian
Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...
Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, (1479–1425 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and milita ...
conquered Barkal and built a fortified settlement (Egyptian ''menenu'') there as the southern limit of the Egyptian empire. The city and region around it came to be called
Napata Napata
(2020).
(Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic language, Meroitic ''Napa''; and Ναπάται) was a city of ...
, and the Egyptian occupation of Jebel Barkal extended through most of the
New Kingdom of Egypt The New Kingdom, also called the Egyptian Empire, refers to ancient Egypt between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC. This period of History of ancient Egypt, ancient Egyptian history covers the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth, ...
. The Egyptians built a complex of temples at the site, centered on a temple to
Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...
of Napata—a local, ram-headed form of the main god of the Egyptian capital city of
Thebes, Egypt Thebes (, , ''Thēbai''), known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset, was an ancient Egyptian city located along the Nile about south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor. Thebes was the main city of the fo ...
. In the last years of the New Kingdom and after its collapse in 1169 BC, there was little construction at Jebel Barkal. Apart from the temples, no trace of this Egyptian settlement has yet been found at the site. Jebel Barkal was the capital city of the
Kingdom of Kush The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian language, Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Akkadian language, Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX Χους or Αἰθιοπία; ''Ecōš''; ''Kūš''), also known as the Kushite Empire, or simply Kush, was an an ...
as it returned to power in the years after 800 BCE as the Dynasty of Napata. The Kushite kings who conquered and ruled over Egypt as the
25th Dynasty The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty, the Kushite Empire, the Black Pharaohs, or the Napatans, after their capital Napata, was the last dynasty of t ...
, including
Kashta Kashta was an 8th century BCE king of the Kingdom of Kush, Kushite Dynasty in ancient Nubia and the successor of Alara of Kush, Alara. His nomen ''k3š-t3'' (transcribed as Kashta, possibly pronounced /kuʔʃi-taʔ/) "of the land of Kush" is ofte ...
, Piankhy (or
Piye Piye (also interpreted as Pankhy or Piankhi; was an ancient Kushite king and founder of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled Egypt from 744–714 BC. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, modern-day Sudan. Name Piye ...
), and
Taharqa Taharqa, also spelled Taharka or Taharqo, Akkadian: ''Tar-qu-ú'', , Manetho's ''Tarakos'', Strabo's ''Tearco''), was a pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and qore (king) of the Kingdom of Kush (present day Sudan) from 690 to 664 BC. ...
, all built, renovated, and expanded monumental structures at the site. After the Kushites were driven out by the
Assyrian conquest of Egypt The Assyrian conquest of Egypt covered a relatively short period of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 673 to 663 BCE. The conquest of Egypt not only placed a land of great cultural prestige under Assyrian rule but also brought the Neo-Assyrian Empire ...
in the mid-7th century BC, they continued to rule Kush with Jebel Barkal and the city of
Meroë Meroë (; also spelled ''Meroe''; Meroitic: ; and ; ) was an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum. Near the site is ...
as the most important urban centers of Kush. Jebel Barkal's palaces and temples continued to be renovated from the 7th-early 3rd centuries BC. Most of the royal pyramid burials of the kings and queens of Kush during this time were built at the site of
Nuri Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile River, Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, Sudan, Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal. History Nuri is the second of three Napatan bur ...
, 9 km to the northeast of Jebel Barkal. In 270 BCE, the location of Kushite royal burials was moved to Meroë, inaugurating the Meroitic period of the
Kingdom of Kush The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian language, Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Akkadian language, Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX Χους or Αἰθιοπία; ''Ecōš''; ''Kūš''), also known as the Kushite Empire, or simply Kush, was an an ...
. Jebel Barkal continued to be an important city of Kush during the Meroitic period. A sequence of palaces were built, most notably by King Natakamani, new temples were built and older temples were renovated. During the 1st century BC - 1st century AD, eight royal pyramid burials were built at Jebel Barkal (rather than at Meroë), for reasons that are not clear, but perhaps reflecting the prominence of one or more families from the city. After the collapse of Kush during the 4th century AD, Jebel Barkal continued to be occupied in the medieval (Christian) period of Nubia, as attested by architectural remains, burials, and burial inscriptions.


Temples

The ruins around Jebel Barkal include at least 13 temples that were built, renovated, and expanded over a period of over 1,500 years. The temples were described for the first time by a series of European explorers beginning in the 1820s. Their drawings and descriptions, particularly those of
Frédéric Cailliaud Frédéric Cailliaud (9 June 1787 – 1 May 1869) was a French naturalist, mineralogist and conchologist. He was born, and died, in Nantes, where he was the curator of the Natural History Museum of Nantes from 1836 to 1869. He travelled in Egypt ...
(1821), Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds (1821), and
Karl Richard Lepsius Karl Richard Lepsius (; 23 December 181010 July 1884) was a German people, Prussian Egyptology, Egyptologist, Linguistics, linguist and modern archaeology, modern archaeologist. He is widely known for his opus magnum ''Denkmäler aus Ägypten ...
(1844), record significant architectural details that have since disappeared. In 1862 five inscriptions from the
Third Intermediate Period The Third Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt began with the death of Pharaoh Ramesses XI in 1077 BC, which ended the New Kingdom, and was eventually followed by the Late Period. Various points are offered as the beginning for the latt ...
were recovered by an Egyptian officer and transported to the
Cairo Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world. It houses over 120, ...
, but not until 1916 were scientific
archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...
excavations performed by a joint expedition of
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
and the Museum of Fine Arts of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
under the direction of George Reisner. From the 1970s, explorations continued by a team from the
University of Rome La Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...
, under the direction of Sergio Donadoni, that was joined by another team from the Boston Museum, in the 1980s, under the direction of Timothy Kendall.


Temple of Amun and Temple of Mut

The larger temples, such as the Temple of Amun, are even today considered sacred to the local population. The carved wall painted chambers of the Temple of Mut are well preserved. File:Jebel Barkal.jpg, The last standing pillars of
Napata Napata
(2020).
(Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic language, Meroitic ''Napa''; and Ναπάται) was a city of ...
's temple of Amun at the foot of Jebel Barkal File:Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region-114686.jpg, Stone statue of a ram File:JebelBarkalMutTemple3.jpg, Lion-headed God Appademak with Pharaoh
Taharqa Taharqa, also spelled Taharka or Taharqo, Akkadian: ''Tar-qu-ú'', , Manetho's ''Tarakos'', Strabo's ''Tearco''), was a pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and qore (king) of the Kingdom of Kush (present day Sudan) from 690 to 664 BC. ...
(right) in the Jebel Barkal Temple of Mut. File:JebelBarkalMutTemple2.jpg, Taharqa, followed by the sistrum shaking queen Takahatenamun in the Jebel Barkal Temple of Mut.


Temple B700 at Jebel Barkal

Temple B700, built by
Atlanersa Atlanersa (also Atlanarsa) was a Kingdom of Kush, Kushite ruler of the Napata#Late Napatan kingdom, Napatan kingdom of Nubia, reigning for about a decade in the mid-7th century BC. He was the successor of Tantamani, the last ruler of the Twenty- ...
and decorated by Senkamanisken, is now largely destroyed."Following their expulsion from Egypt by the Assyrians in 661 BC, the Kushites continued to develop the Barkal sanctuary. Atlanersa and Senkamanisken erected the small Temple B 700, which became a royal mortuary temple." It received the sacred bark of Amun from the nearby B500 on certain cultic occasions, and may have served during the coronation of the kings of the early Napatan period, in the mid 7th century BC. The Temple was decorated by Senkamanisken, where he is shown clubbing enemies. The hieroglyphic inscription on the Temple described the role of the god
Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...
in selecting Sekamanisken as king: File:Ruins of Temple B700 of Jebel Barkal with relief of Senkamanisken clubbing enemies, drawn in 1821.jpg, Ruins of Temple B700 of Jebel Barkal with relief of Senkamanisken clubbing enemies, drawn in 1821 by Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds File:Senkamanisken slaying enemies at Jebel Barkal.jpg, Senkamanisken slaying enemies in front of God
Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...
, at Jebel Barkal (pylon of building B 700, west of the main temple). File:Senkamanisken slaying enemies at Jebel Barkal (detail).jpg, Senkamanisken slaying enemies at Jebel Barkal (detail).


Pyramids

Jebel Barkal served as a royal cemetery during the Meroitic Kingdom. The earliest burials date back to the 3rd century BC. *Bar. 1 King from the middle of the 1st century BCE *Bar. 2 King Teriqas (c. 29–25 BCE) *Bar. 4 Queen Amanirenas ? (1st century BCE) *Bar. 6 Queen Nawidemak (1st century BCE) *Bar. 7 King Sabrakamani? (3rd century BCE) *Bar. 9 King or Queen of the early 2nd century CE *Bar. 11 King Aktisanes (3rd century BCE) *Bar. 14 King Aryamani (3rd century BCE) *Bar. 15 King Kash ..erj Imen (3rd century BCE) File:Jebel Barkal and the pyramids (1) (34297326260).jpg, Pyramids, next to Jebel Barkal File:Pyramids at Jebel Barkal in 1821.jpg, Pyramids at Jebel Barkal in 1821 File:Pyramids Bar North.jpg, Pyramids of Jebel Barkal today Image:Barkal pyramids south.jpg, Pyramids in the southern group


History of Excavation of the Site

Napata’s urban remains have not yet been significantly excavated, but rubble heaps indicate that the area was probably home to major settlement in antiquity. There are no traces of a pre-Egyptian settlement, though this may change as more is uncovered at the site. The earliest buildings found at Napata date from the middle of the
eighteenth Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...
. The first archaeologist to work at the site was George A. Reisner who worked there from 1916-1920 and excavated a number of buildings. His first excavation at Napata was a large Meroitic structure (Named “B 100”) that dated to the first century CE. At first, Reisner assumed this to be an “administrative building”, though it is now known to have been a palace.


Artifacts in Museums

File:Colossal statue of King Aspelta MFA.jpg, Colossal statue of King
Aspelta Aspelta was a ruler of the kingdom of Kush (c. 600 – c. 580 BCE). More is known about him and his reign than most of the rulers of Kush. He left several stelae carved with accounts of his reign. Family Aspelta was the son of Senkamanisken and Q ...
from the Temple of Amun, Jebel Barkal.
Boston Museum of Fine Arts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. File:Stele of Piye (complete).jpg, The Stele of Piye was discovered in Jebel Barkal.
Cairo Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world. It houses over 120, ...
File:Stele of the Dream by Tantamani, Jebel Barkal, Sudan.jpg, The Stele of
Tantamani Tantamani ( Meroitic: 𐦛𐦴𐦛𐦲𐦡𐦲, , Neo-Assyrian: , ), also known as Tanutamun or Tanwetamani (d. 653 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Kush located in Northern Sudan, and the last pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. ...
.
Cairo Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world. It houses over 120, ...
File:Exhibition Nubia, Land of the Black Pharaohs – Golden Bracelet found in the tomb of a member of the Royal Family in Gebel Barkal.jpg, Golden Bracelet found in the tomb of a member of the Royal Family in Gebel Barkal.
Meroitic period Meroitic may refer to: * things related to the city and kingdom of Meroë in pre-Islamic Sudan * Meroitic alphabet * Meroitic language {{Disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
, 250-100 BCE File:Stand for a boat shrine of Amun-Re 3.jpg, Barque stand from Temple B700 showing
Atlanersa Atlanersa (also Atlanarsa) was a Kingdom of Kush, Kushite ruler of the Napata#Late Napatan kingdom, Napatan kingdom of Nubia, reigning for about a decade in the mid-7th century BC. He was the successor of Tantamani, the last ruler of the Twenty- ...
holding up the heavens, now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston File:Djed amulet, Gebel Barkal, 25th Dynasty. Ânkh-Djed-Ouas (British Museum, EA 54412).jpg, Djed amulet, Gebel Barkal,
25th Dynasty The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty, the Kushite Empire, the Black Pharaohs, or the Napatans, after their capital Napata, was the last dynasty of t ...
. Ânkh-Djed-Ouas (British Museum, EA 54412)


See also

*
List of World Heritage Sites in Africa The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 147 World Heritage Sites in Africa. These sites are located in 46 countries (also called "Sovereign state, state parties"). Selection of World Heritag ...
* Nubian pyramids * Pyramids at El-Kurru * Pyramids of Jebel Barkal * Pyramids of Meroë * Pyramids of Nuri * Sedeinga pyramids


References


Sources

* * *


External links


Website of the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums Archaeological Mission at Jebel Barkal



UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region

Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region
UNESCO collection on Google Arts and Culture

{{Authority control Barkal Archaeological sites in Sudan History of Nubia World Heritage Sites in Sudan Northern State (Sudan) Pyramids in Sudan