Nuri Pyramids: Royal Tombs of Kush Begun by Taharqa

The Nuri pyramids are a royal cemetery of the ancient Kingdom of Kush in northern Sudan, begun around 664 BC with the pyramid of the pharaoh Taharqa. Over the next three centuries, 21 kings and more than 50 queens and princes were buried there in steep-sided pyramids. Today Nuri is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is known for flooded burial chambers that archaeologists explore by diving.

Background: a new royal cemetery

The kings of Kush ruled from Napata, beside the sacred mountain of Jebel Barkal. Earlier rulers, including Piye and Shabaka, were buried at el-Kurru, a cemetery downstream from Napata.

Taharqa, who ruled Egypt and Kush from 690 to 664 BC, chose a new site at Nuri, a short distance from Jebel Barkal. Historians have suggested that the location was chosen for its alignment with the sacred mountain or with the sunrise at particular times of year, but the reason is not certain.

Taharqa’s pyramid

Taharqa’s pyramid, known to archaeologists as Nu 1, is the largest at Nuri. It was enlarged in at least two building phases, and its base measures about 52 metres on each side. Its original height is uncertain, with modern estimates ranging from about 40 to over 60 metres; the eroded structure is much lower today.

Beneath it, a stairway leads to rock-cut chambers, including a burial hall with pillars carved from the living rock. More than 1,000 stone shabtis, small figurines meant to work for the dead king in the afterlife, were found in the tomb. They are now held in museums including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum.

Later burials

After Taharqa, most Kushite kings of the Napatan period were buried at Nuri. Their pyramids are smaller and steeper than the pyramids of Old Kingdom Egypt, with a narrow base and a small chapel on the eastern side for offerings.

Notable tombs include that of Aspelta, who ruled around 600 BC, whose massive granite sarcophagus is now in Boston, and that of Nastasen, the last king buried at Nuri, in the late 4th century BC. After this, royal burials moved south to the pyramids of Meroë, with a few later kings buried at Jebel Barkal.

Excavation and study

The American Egyptologist George Reisner excavated Nuri between 1916 and 1918 for the Harvard University and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Expedition. He numbered the pyramids, recorded their contents and established the order of the kings, though some of his conclusions have since been revised. His results were published by Dows Dunham in 1955.

Many tombs had been robbed in antiquity, but the remaining objects, from gold jewellery to inscribed stone vessels, are a key source for Kushite history and religion.

Underwater archaeology

Over time, rising groundwater has flooded many of the deep burial chambers. Since 2018 a team led by the American archaeologist Pearce Paul Creasman, working with Sudanese authorities, has explored the chambers using divers and pumps. Their work has included the tomb of Nastasen and investigation of Taharqa’s burial.

The flooding threatens the paintings, inscriptions and remaining objects. It has also made Nuri a test case for new methods of archaeology in waterlogged tombs.

Building and burial customs

Kushite pyramids were built with a core of rubble and a facing of cut sandstone blocks, and many have lost their outer casing over the centuries. Most stood over a stairway cut into the ground on the east side, which was filled in after the burial.

The burials combined Egyptian and Nubian traditions. Kings were mummified and placed in nested coffins, with shabtis, amulets, canopic jars and texts from Egyptian funerary books. At the same time, the choice of location, the steep shape of the pyramids and some offerings reflected Kushite customs, such as the practice at el-Kurru of burying the king’s horses nearby.

Myths and facts

A common idea is that Sudan’s pyramids are simple copies of those in Egypt. In fact, Kushite pyramids were built more than 1,800 years after the Great Pyramid, in a different style and with different burial practices, and Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt.

Another misconception is that Nuri was the burial place of all Kushite rulers. Kushite royal cemeteries were spread over several sites, including el-Kurru, Jebel Barkal and Meroë.

Timeline

• 664 BC: Taharqa is buried in the first royal pyramid at Nuri.
• c. 600 BC: Burial of King Aspelta.
• Late 4th century BC: Nastasen, the last king buried at Nuri.
• 1916-1918: George Reisner excavates the cemetery.
• 1955: Dows Dunham publishes the excavation report.
• 2003: Nuri becomes part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• 2018 onward: Divers begin exploring the flooded burial chambers.

Why it matters

Nuri is the burial ground of the kings who ruled the Kingdom of Kush at the height of its power. Its pyramids and tomb contents record Kushite religion and kingship, and the race to study its flooded chambers shows how much African history still lies underground.