The remains of 16 pyramids and tombs were discovered near the ancient city of Gematon in Sudan. The found buildings are dated to archaeologists 2000 years ago, a period of kingdom called Kush. Pyramid buildings seem to have been popular at the time. Archaeologists believe that they built throughout the period until the fall of the kingdom in the 4th century AD.

Find 16 Pyramid

Derek Welsby (curator of the British Museum in London) and his team have been excavating at Gematon since 1998. As a result, they have discovered 16 pyramids and many other finds.

Welsby said that.

"So far, we have completely excavated 6 made of stone and 10 made of unfired bricks."

The largest pyramid they found in Gematon measures 10,6 meters on the base length and could have a height of approximately 13 meters. Archaeologists believe that the pyramids were built not only by the powerful and wealthy, but also by the others, Welsby said: "It's not just the most powerful burial ground," he said.

In fact, not all tombs have pyramids at the top. Some are covered by a simple rectangular structure called a mastaba, while others are built from a pile of stones called tumuli. For the others, no burial signs have been preserved (something that would be above the burial place itself).

In one of the graves, archaeologists found a sacrificial tablet made of thin bronze. The board depicts a prince or priest offering incense to the god Osiris, the ruler of the underworld. Behind Osiris stands the goddess Isis.

Although the worship of the gods Osiris and Isis originates mainly in Egypt, they seem to have been known in Kush as well as in other parts of the ancient world at the time. According to Welsby, the sacrificial table is a royal sacrifice. Welsby: "It must be someone important and close to the royal family."

The tombs were stolen

Most tombs were looted in antiquity or today. The only tomb with a pyramid on top that has survived intact to this day contained 100 faience beads and skeletal remains of three children, who were buried without further golden treasures. According to Welsby, this is the reason why the robbers avoided this grave.

The Kushite kingdom controlled a large area of ​​Sudan around 800 BC until the 4th century AD. There are many reasons why this kingdom fell apart, Welsby said.

Sueneé: So let's sum it up. Pyramids were discovered in the middle of the burial ground, which had served its purpose for perhaps millennia. Under these pyramids, spaces were discovered that may have been used as a burial place in the past. Most of these places have been robbed, so there is actually no clear evidence that the place was used for burial purposes from the beginning. It's just pure conjecture. The only pyramid that was not stolen contained three skeletons of children and a pair of beads. It has survived to the present day, when it was stolen by contemporary archaeologists.

That they were able to unveil the monolith of the megalithic dimensions of the bathtubs (probably called a technology beyond 2000's ability to fly back), no word about it.