It lies 250 kilometres (160 mi) northeast of Khartoum in Butana, upstream of Wadi Hawa, near Meroë and the Nile.
Near Basa is a completely decayed temple which was excavated in 1907.
It was built by Amanikhabale and probably dedicated to Apedemak, the lion-headed warrior god worshiped in Nubia by Meroitic peoples.
Some fallen lion sculptures, each weighing two tons, were found by Francis Llewellyn Griffith.
Griffith also excavated a limestone sundial which dates to Roman times.