Black pharaoh trove uncovered

BBC, Nairobi ^ | Monday, 20 January, 2003, 17:47 GMT | By Ishbel Matheson

[vannrox]

Black pharaoh trove uncovered

The Nubian kings ruled 2,500 years ago

Monday, 20 January, 2003, 17:47 GMT
By Ishbel Matheson

A team of French and Swiss archaeologists working in the Nile Valley have uncovered ancient statues described as sculptural masterpieces in northern Sudan.

The archaeologists from the University of Geneva discovered a pit full of large monuments and finely carved statues of the Nubian kings known as the black pharaohs.

The Swiss head of the archaeological expedition told the BBC that the find was of worldwide importance.

The black pharaohs, as they were known, ruled over a mighty empire stretching along the Nile Valley 2,500 years ago.

Breathtaking

The pit, which was full of ancient monuments, is located between some ruined temples on the banks of the Nile.

It had not been opened for over 2,000 years.

Inside, the archaeologists made a breathtaking discovery.

The statues of the black pharaohs are highly polished, finely carved and made of granite.

The name of the king is engraved on the back and on the feet of each sculpture.

The head of the expedition, Charles Bonnet, described them as very beautiful.

He told the BBC they were sculptural masterpieces.

They were important not just for the history of Sudan but also for world art.

Savagely destroyed

The Nubians were powerful and wealthy kings who controlled large territories along the Nile.

Their land was known as the Kingdom of Kush.

They controlled the valuable trade routes along the river but were eventually conquered by their neighbours from the north.

The ancient Egyptians made the pit into which the monuments and statues were piled.

Many of the sculptures were savagely destroyed, with smashed heads and broken feet.

Professor Bonnet says that this shows that the Egyptians were not content with simply conquering Kush.

They also wanted to obliterate the memory of the black pharaohs and their unique culture from the face of the earth.

[vannrox]

Very Cool.

[battlegearboat]

Kool

[DoughtyOne]

I'd like to see more on this. Thanks for the post.

[xsmommy]

wow. definitely cool!

[artifactual]

Very cool- you get the best stuff on this page.

[balrog666]

The black pharaohs, as they were known...

As they were known by whom? Why use "pharaoh" when they weren't Egyptian and almost certainly had their own language as well as culture?

[joesnuffy]

Nuwaubians

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Neville Brothers ?

[Lady Jag]

The first African civilization after Egypt was built by an Egyptianized people who lived between the Nile River's first and third cataracts and spoke Nilo-Saharan languages. This region around the first cataract, called Nubia, had been conquered and colonized by Egypt in the fourth millenium BC. Because of this, Egyptian civilization diffused southward and a new African kingdom was built up in the floodplain around the Nile's third cataract: the Kush. Their capital city was Kerma and it served as the major trading center for goods travelling north from the southern regions of Africa.    Kush attained its greatest power and cultural energy between 1700 and 1500 BC during the Third Intermediate period in Egypt. The domination of Egypt by the Hyksos allowed Kush to come out from under the hegemony of Egypt and flower as a culture; this period ended, however, when the New Kingdom kings, having thrown the Hyksos out of Egypt, reconquered Kush and brought it under Egyptian colonial rule.    However, when the New Kingdom collapsed in 1000 BC, Kush again arose as a major power by conquering all of Nubia. The conquest of upper Nubia, which had been in the hands of the Egyptians since the fourth millenium, gave to Kush wealthy gold mines.    Following the reassertion of Kushite independence in 1000 BC, the Kushites moved their capital city farther up the Nile to Napata. The Kushites by and large considered themselves to be Egyptians and the proper inheritors of the pharoanic titles and tradition. They organized their society along Egyptian lines, assumed all the Egyptian royal titles, and their architecture and art was based on Egyptian architectural and artistic models. Their pyramids were smaller and steeper and they introduced other innovations as well, but the Napatan culture does not on the surface appear much different than Egyptian culture.    The Kushites even invaded and conquered Egypt in a magnificent irony of history. The Napatan kings formed the twenty-fifth pharaonic dyansty in the eighth century; this dynasty came to an end with the Assyrian invasion of Egypt in the seventh century BC.    The Assyrians, and later the Persians, forced the Kushites to retreat farther south. This retreat south eventually closed off much of the contact that the Kushites had with Egypt, the Middle East, and Europe. When Napata was conquered in 591, the Kushites moved their capital to Meroe right in the heart of the Kushite kingdom. Because of their relative isolation from the Egyptian world, the Meroitic empire turned its attention to the sub-Saharan world. For most of its prosperous life, the Meroitic empire served as the middle term in the trade of African goods to northern Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. While it still continued the cultural traditions of pharoanic Egypt, the Meroites developed newer forms of culture and art because of their isolation from the northern kingdoms.    Many of these innovations occurred in the realm of government. Unlike pharoanic Egypt, the king ruled through a customary law that was established and interpreted by priests. The king was also elected, but he was elected from the royal family. As in Egypt, descent was reckoned through the mother's line. Eventually, however, this descent model produced a series of monarchs who were women, an innovation not seen in any other major civilization.    The Kushite religion closely resembled Egyptian religion. It was polytheistic and contained all the major Egyptian gods. Amon was the principal god, but as in Egyptian religion, Meroitic religion involved regional gods which were served as principal gods in their region. There are some non-Egyptian gods, such as a lion warrior god, which the Meroites probably derived from southern African cultures, but these gods were few.    The Meroitic Empire thrived throughout the last half of the first millenium BC. After three centuries of decline, it was finally defeated by the Nuba people. It's commercial importance was repalced by Aksum to the east. Richard Hooker

Civilizations in Africa

[IncPen]

Any talk of reparations?

[IncPen]

Any talk of reparations?

[happygrl]

Nubian civilization predated the Egyptians.

This is significant.

[Clock King]

Excellent statement. Black people don't need mythology to make us "feel" better. We already have a rich and varied history and culture. Stick to the truth and build for the future.

[Pagey]

The black pharaohs, as they were known, ruled over a mighty empire stretching along the Nile Valley 2,500 years ago.

Wow, this is interesting.I guess they were forced to move to the 'other regions' of what is now Central Africa.I bet Zahi Hawass is going out of his mind about right now.LOL

[Fiddlstix]

Bump

[SunkenCiv]

Not a ping, just adding the contact 'fo.

Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

[gortklattu]

They must be from the Pyramids in Yummamma.

[gortklattu]

They must be from the Pyramids in Yummamma.

[SunkenCiv]

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The Black Pharaohs: Egypt's Nubian Rulers by Robert G. Morkot paperback Current News slightly older FR topic, same source

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[Billthedrill]

...but the Napatan culture does not on the surface appear much different than Egyptian culture.

With one exception. Their hieroglyphics reflect not the Egyptian spoken language as passed down through the Coptic Christian masses (a very strange set of events, but that's another thread), but their own. Which means that we cannot quite read these hieroglyphics, yet. Which is one reason the Nubian culture has been draped in shadow for all this time. Not racism, but simple and frustrating ignorance.

What I'd hope for out of this find is a clue to this translation, another Rosetta stone even, although if they'd have found it straight away we'd have heard by now. But a clue would be nice.