Pyramids in Merowe, Sudan and Naga Temples

This is the royal necropolis of Merowe, about 230 kilometres north of Khartoum and three kilometres from the River Nile. There are more than 20 pyramids here. The Nubian pyramids have no mortuary inside, and the real tomb is dug in the rock below. It is linked to the outside by an inclined tunnel, with the walls decorated by bas-reliefs showing the King's life and the gods. The tombs were smashed by an Italian explorer, Giuseppe Ferlini, who was looking for treasure in the 1820s.

The Naga Temples and the Musawwarat site are located 130 kilometers north of Khartoum and 30 kilometres east of the River Nile. The 1st century A.D. Apedemak temple has bas relief decorations with the image of God with a lion head, of the Pharoah and of the nobles and several ritual images of the Apedemak God.

The Musawwarat site is about 10 kilometers from Naga and is similarly dedicated to the Apedemak God, who is usually represented by a lion's head on a chap with armour. One temple at Musawwarat was restored by Germans around 1969.