Nubian Pyramids — More Than Egypt Built

Egypt has 138 pyramids. Sudan has over 200. The Nubian pyramids of Meroe, Nuri, and El-Kurru are steeper, smaller, and built over a longer period than their Egyptian counterparts — the last ones were completed in the 4th century CE, nearly three thousand years after the first Egyptian pyramid was built. They are the physical record of a civilization that looked at the greatest architectural achievement in the ancient world and said: we can do that, and we will keep doing it. The Nubian pyramids were largely unknown to the Western world until the 19th century — when a European adventurer blew the tops off many of them looking for treasure. Most of what remained was not excavated seriously until the 20th century.

These signs carry the steep Meroitic pyramid silhouette, the funerary chapel, the offering table, and the skyline of a civilization that built more pyramids than Egypt and received less credit than any other.