Kingdom of Kerma (Ca. 2600 - 1550 B.C.)
Posted on 03/22/2007 12:46:22 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
The Merowe dam is a controversial hydro-electric project -- one of the largest in Africa -- being erected on the Nile's fourth cataract and due to start flooding the valley over more than 100 miles (160 kilometres) within months... One more thing will haunt some archaeologists however when the water covers the area: the thought that sitting under the dam's millions of tons of water and concrete may be a Sudanese Rosetta stone. However unlikely, a discovery similar to that made by the French in northern Egypt in 1799 would help unlock the mystery of Meroitic, one of the world's few undeciphered scripts, which appeared in the area around 25 centuries ago. Ahmed explained that fourth cataract finds have so far made no significant contribution to understanding the Meroitic language. "Unless, of course, there is a Rosetta stone. But if I found it, I wouldn't tell anyone." The stone, a basalt tablet bearing inscriptions, provided the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Kingdom of Kerma (Ca. 2600 - 1550 B.C.)
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An African kingdom on the Nile [ Meroe ]
Al-Ahram Weekly | 8 - 14 June 2006 | unattributed
Posted on 06/09/2006 11:29:36 AM EDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1646278/posts
KERMA Probably the Oldest Complex Society 2000-1600 BC
LOCATION
in present-day Sudan along Dongola Reach, the most productive of the middle Nile area called Nubia in past
ORIGINS
indigenous development
founded largely by control of Nubian trade
SUBSISTENCE
cereals (sorghum, wheat, barley), legumes (beans, peas, lentils), vegetables (cucumbers) herds of sheep, goats, oxen, pigs tree fruits (dates, palm nuts) fish and some wild resources saqia irrigation (oxen-driven water wheel, moves water farther than shaduf)
sacrificial burials in tumuli: many sacrifices of humans accompanied some burials as many as 400 in one burial corridor (largest single sacrificial burial in Old World, along with China)
Artist reconstruction of largest tumulus at Kerma, with cut-away on the right showing the submound brick structure.
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