The pyramids of Meroe are around forty steep-sided royal pyramids built as tombs for the kings, queens and nobility of the Kingdom of Kush, clustered in groups near the ancient city of Meroe on the east bank of the Nile in present day Sudan. Built between roughly 300 BC and 300 AD, after the Kushite royal cemetery shifted south from Napata, they are smaller and steeper than the pyramids of Egypt that inspired them, typically rising in narrow steps to between six and thirty meters, and most are fronted by a small offering chapel decorated with relief carvings. Meroe served as the capital of Kush for several centuries during this period, and the site preserves the largest concentration of pyramids anywhere in the world, outnumbering those of Egypt. Many of the pyramids lost their capstones in the 1830s when the Italian treasure hunter Giuseppe Ferlini demolished dozens of them searching for gold, and the site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
Facts
Partially Attested
Height (m)The pyramids of this necropolis average between 10 and 30 metres tall; 30 m is the height of the tallest known examples, not a single figure for the whole site. Building TypeRoyal pyramid necropolis (tombs for kings, queens and officials) 2 LocationNear Meroe, Sudan, about 200 km northeast of Khartoum 2 Classification
Standing StatusSourced to the subject's own account Building Type
Building Type (category) Connections
Has Building Type
Entity-backed identity for the building-type enum value this building already carries, resolved to an architecture concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The building-type fact itself stays on the building unchanged.
In Style
Over 200 steep-sided Kushite pyramids at the Nubian capital, distinct from and later than Egyptian pyramids.
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Sudan, located there.
Sources
1. Pyramids of Meroe (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationEntity description and the lead of the Wikipedia articleQuote, Entity description and the lead of the Wikipedia article
The pyramids of Meroe are around forty steep-sided royal pyramids built as tombs for the kings, queens and nobility of the Kingdom of Kush, clustered in groups near the ancient city of Meroe on the east bank of the Nile in present day Sudan. Built between roughly 300 BC and 300 AD, after the Kushite royal cemetery shifted south from Napata, they are smaller and steeper than the pyramids of Egypt that inspired them, typically rising in narrow steps to between six and thirty meters, and most are fronted by a small offering chapel decorated with relief carvings. Meroe served as the capital of Kush for several centuries during this period, and the site preserves the largest concentration of pyramids anywhere in the world, outnumbering those of Egypt. Many of the pyramids lost their capstones in the 1830s when the Italian treasure hunter Giuseppe Ferlini demolished dozens of them searching for gold, and the site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationPyramids of Meroe, lead section
The Meroë pyramids date to the later stage of the Kingdom of Kush and were burial places for Kushite monarchs, other members of the royal family, and important officials and dignitaries.
Pyramids of Meroe, Description section
The pyramids average between 10 and 30 metres (33 and 98 ft) in height.
Pyramids of Meroe, lead section, location sentence
They are located in Sudan, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) northeast of Khartoum, near the village of Bagrawiya.
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