Ancient Meroe

Everyone knows something about the wonders of ancient Egypt. Very few people know anything at all about the civilization of Meroe which flourished from the sixth century BC to the beginning of fourth century AD, just a little further down the Nile in the country now known as Sudan.

Although Meroe had a rich and distinctive culture of its own and played a vital role in the cultural development of the whole African continent it has been largely forgotten, mainly because its language still remains a mystery.

The Meroites were one of the first African civilizations to develop the technology of iron working and they had a rich heritage of art and architecture, which only really came to light during excavations in the last century.

The ruins of their lost cities now rise from the desert with only the occasional visitor to disturb their peace.

I’m not a great photographer but to the right you can see some photos I took two years ago when I revisited the sites

To the left you can see an engraving of the Lion headed god Apedemek with the body of a snake rising from a lotus on the side of the Lion temple.