paneling were made of marble, and the homes had drainage
systems and even brick ovens. In palaces, the kings dedicated
thrones to the gods, including Mahrem, Meder, Beder, and
Astar, and inscribed them with narratives of war.
Th e architecture of more common domestic buildings
varied. Remains have been found of small round huts made of
clay, with cone-shaped thatched roofs. Th atch may have been
the most common roofi ng material, and it may even have
been used on palaces and the homes of the wealthy. Other
dwellings were rectangular with roofs supported by beams.
Because only fragments of ruins have been found (except for
foundations, which are more extensive), archaeologists have
to make inferences from limited evidence about these and
other matters.
THE PYRAMIDS OF NUBIA
Th e region called Nubia lay in the Nile River valley south of
ancient Egypt. Most of what was Nubia is in modern-day Su-
dan, and a small portion lies in modern Egypt. Th e earliest
inhabitants of the region were nomads, but by the beginning
of the Dynastic Period of ancient Egypt (2920 b.c.e.), Nubia
was an important trading center that provided Egypt with
gold, ebony, ivory, exotic animals, and slaves.
As trade with Egypt increased, the region’s power grew,
but during the Middle Kingdom (2040–1640 b.c.e.) Egypt
expanded into Nubia, which the Egyptians called Kush. Th e
region remained politically disorganized until the fi rst in a
series of three kingdoms was established. Th e fi rst, called the
kingdom of Kerma, lasted from about 2400 to 1500 b.c.e.
Kerma’s kings accumulated enough power to build large
walls, tombs, and other structures. During the New King-
dom, Egypt expanded farther into Nubia and built a new
capital at Napata, which lasted from 1000 to 300 b.c.e. and
was powerful enough to conquer Egypt, with its kings ruling
Egypt as the Twenty-Fift h Dynasty (770–712 b.c.e.). Aft er the
Egyptians pulled out of Nubia, its capital centered on Meroë,
which lasted from about 300 b.c.e. to 300 c.e.
In modern times a team of Swiss archaeologists excavat-
ed Kerma, the oldest African civilization other than Egypt.
Th ey found remains of a temple built of mud brick in about
2000 b.c.e. and funerary temple built in about 1600 b.c.e. Th e
researchers have discovered tombs that were essentially man-
made hills some 100 feet wide and 50 feet tall. Inside excava-
tors discovered numerous skeletons, suggesting that when a
ruler died he took a number of his followers with him into
the aft erlife. In one royal tomb were found the skulls of 4,500
cattle that analysis showed were brought from throughout the
kingdom. Surrounding the city were monumental walls, with
at least a two-mile stretch of military fortifi cations.
It was during the period when Napata was the center of
the Nubian region that builders embarked on a program of
pyramid building. Th is program continued into the Meroitic
Period, beginning in 590 b.c.e., when the capital was Meroë.
At three sites in the region are some 223 pyramids that func-
tioned as tombs for royalty. Th e earliest ones were built at a site
called el-Kurru, and they include the tombs of King Kashta,
his son Piye (who assumed control of most of Egypt), three of
his son’s successors (Shebaka, Shebitku, and Tantamani), and
14 queens. Unlike the practice of the Egyptians, who built
much larger pyramids for kings than for queens, the Nubian
pyramids for queens are only slightly smaller than those built
for kings. Th e pyramid of Piye has been removed, but its foun-
dation trench has been found, as well as 19 steps leading to a
burial chamber cut into the bedrock below and covered with
a corbelled masonry roof. (In a corbelled roof the masonry is
set in courses, or layered rows, so that each course overhangs
the previous one, forming a false vault or arch.) Th e tomb of
Piye’s successor, Shebaka, has a vaulted ceiling.
Later pyramids were built at Nuri aft er Taharqa, one of
the last kings of the Twenty-Fift h Dynasty, moved there. His
pyramid is much larger than the others, measuring about 170
feet square at the base and rising to as much as 160 feet high.
Th is pyramid has the distinction of having been built in two
stages. Th e fi rst stage was covered with smooth sandstone.
Over it was built a second, larger pyramid, but the earlier-
phase portion projects out above the ruins of the later phase.
Th e whole was surrounded by a nearby wall. Th e underground
chambers of Taharqa’s pyramid are elaborate. Th e pyramid is
entered by an eastern trench, with three steps down to a door
with a molded frame and a cavetto cornice (a concave mold-
ing shaped like a quarter circle). Th rough the doorway is a
tunnel that opened into a large chamber with six large pil-
lars. Th e pillars separated the burial chamber into a central
nave and two side aisles, and each of these three segments
has a vaulted ceiling. In addition to Taharqa, some 21 kings
were entombed at Nuri, along with some 52 queens and royal
princes. Th e pyramids for these rulers were built according to
a consistent plan, and they were all larger than the pyramids
at el-Kurru. Each has a chapel on the east side, along with a
stela (a decorated stone slab) and relief decorations showing
the king before the gods.
Th e largest Nubian pyramid site is at Meroë, located
about 60 miles north of Khartoum. At this site, at least 40
kings and queens were buried over a period of about 600 years
until 350 c.e. Th e site at Meroë, sometimes characterized as
the largest archaeological site in the world, is divided into the
South Cemetery, the North Cemetery, and the West Cem-
etery; the North Cemetery was built when the South became
too crowded, and the West Cemetery was built for less impor-
tant royal persons. Th e pyramids, made of sandstone, range
in height from about 30 to 100 feet. Stripes of raised masonry
framed each triangular side of the face the pyramids where
they came together, and the corners of the upper fourth of the
pyramids were rounded. As usual, a chapel was built against
the eastern side. Th e early Meroitic pyramids were stepped,
but those built later in the period were smooth, with wedge-
shaped casing blocks positioned along each course. Th e core
of these later pyramids tended to be poorly built with rubble.
Th e Nubian pyramids diff er markedly from those of an-
cient Egypt, though the pyramids of the pharaohs probablyarchitecture: Africa 55