Gebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace
New Kingdom-Napatan (1500-500 BCE)·Napatan·🇸🇩 Northern State, Karima, Sudan
About
About Gebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace
Gebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace in Northern State, Karima, Sudan is a New Kingdom-Napatan (1500-500 BCE) temple complex attributed to Napatan. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal citadel 12 × 5 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 18.5469N 31.8122E controls access to Northern State, Karima resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey temple-complex for Northern State, Karima, illustrating Napatan construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Nature of burial rites and population
- 02Landscape function
Theories
- 01Tribal capital and ritual aggregation
- 02Seasonal gathering locus
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1200 BCE
- Period
- New Kingdom-Napatan (1500-500 BCE)
- Culture
- Napatan
- Purpose
- Ceremonial centre and pilgrimage focus with stratified deposits
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c. 1200 BCE
Initial construction of Gebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace main structure
c. 1150 CE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Gebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace
2005–2013
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Gebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
18.5469° N · 31.8122° E · 211 m · 3 mapped features
Gebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace — Main Temple-Complex Feature
dromosPrimary dromos at Gebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace — central chambered cairn with stratified deposits
18.5459° N · 31.8125° EGebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace — Secondary Enclosure
structureAncillary structure at Gebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace — central chambered cairn with stratified deposits
18.5486° N · 31.8139° EGebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace — Outlier Rock Art Panel
enclosureOutlier enclosure panel linked to Gebel Barkal Temple B500 Terrace Annex — Western Terrace ceremonial landscape
18.5468° N · 31.8111° E