Meroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension
Meroitic (300 BCE-350 CE)·Meroitic·🇸🇩 River Nile, Meroe, Sudan
About
About Meroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension
Meroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension in River Nile, Meroe, Sudan is a Meroitic (300 BCE-350 CE) pyramid attributed to Meroitic. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal chamber 8 × 4 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 16.9392N 33.7651E controls access to River Nile, Meroe resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey pyramid for River Nile, Meroe, illustrating Meroitic construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology and phasing of construction episodes
- 02Function in regional settlement hierarchy
Theories
- 01Ancestral burial reuse over centuries
- 02Astronomical alignment hypothesis
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. 100 BCE
- Period
- Meroitic (300 BCE-350 CE)
- Culture
- Meroitic
- Purpose
- Platform mound with ceremonial structure and burial
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c. 100 BCE
Initial construction of Meroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension main structure
c. 892 CE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Meroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension
1976–2021
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Meroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
16.9392° N · 33.7651° E · 366 m · 3 mapped features
Meroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension — Main Pyramid Feature
rock artPrimary rock art at Meroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension — central chambered cairn with stratified deposits
16.9412° N · 33.7641° EMeroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension — Secondary Enclosure
hydraulicAncillary hydraulic at Meroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension — burial gallery with stratified deposits
16.9391° N · 33.7647° EMeroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension — Outlier Rock Art Panel
necropolisOutlier necropolis panel linked to Meroe North Pyramid Field N12 Annex — Southern Extension ceremonial landscape
16.9389° N · 33.7652° E