Meroe was the capital of the Kushite kingdom for centuries - from about 800 BC to 350 AD. Now all that is left of it is pyramids poking up out of the sand (more than 200 of them).
It was a major center of the iron industry and conducted a thriving trade with India and China.
There are legends about Meroe and its rulers. This is Queen Candace, who allegedly repulsed an invasion by Alexander. (The story has no substantiation at all, though, so most believe it didn't happen.)
There have been attempts to excavate at Meroe for many years, the heyday apparently being the 19th and early 20th (as in 1905) centuries. Nowadays, the civil war in the Sudan has precluded much archaeological activity. Still, if they ever achieve peace there in the Sudan, imagine what we might find at the site!
Meroe was the capital of the Kushite kingdom for centuries - from about 800 BC to 350 AD. Now all that is left of it is pyramids poking up out of the sand (more than 200 of them).
It was a major center of the iron industry and conducted a thriving trade with India and China.
There are legends about Meroe and its rulers. This is Queen Candace, who allegedly repulsed an invasion by Alexander. (The story has no substantiation at all, though, so most believe it didn't happen.)
There have been attempts to excavate at Meroe for many years, the heyday apparently being the 19th and early 20th (as in 1905) centuries. Nowadays, the civil war in the Sudan has precluded much archaeological activity. Still, if they ever achieve peace there in the Sudan, imagine what we might find at the site!
That stuff is so cool. It sure does seem like archaeologists never work anywhere comfortable though. That's enough to deter me. I'll let someone else do all the work and then watch their results on television. Comfortable and succinct.
ReplyDeleteMight be nice in the winter, though.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking that it looks like Vegas will when the Lord exacts His revenge - although there won't be any pyramids left standing there...
ReplyDeleteI'm up for a winter trip to somewhere that doesn't see snow!