Nubian architecture
Early Nubian architecture consisted of speos, structures derived from the carving of rock, an innovation of the A-Group culture (c. 3800-3100 BCE), as seen in the Sofala Cave rock-cut temple.
[1] Much later rock-cut tombs include the burial chambers of the Kushite monarchs at El Kurru, dating from 860-650 BC.
Later, during the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt (circa 1650 to 1550 BCE), an adobe chapel was placed to the north of the grave.
It was a walled city containing a religious building, large circular dwelling, a palace, and well laid out roads.
The walls are decorated with portraiture of animal in color schemes of red, blue, yellow, and black and stone-laid floors.
A pathway running along the diameter is laid with mud walls, supporting the above mound.
The pathway goes to a chamber with a Nubian vault and a wooden door where the king is buried.
This conquest brought about the Napatan Phase of Nubian history, the birth of the Kingdom of Kush.
Originally constructed in the 15th century under Pharaoh Thutmose III, it was later reconstructed and modified by Kushite rulers during the 25th dynasty.
The Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal consisted of a pylon with entrance gates, courtyards, hypostyle halls, and a sanctuary, as well as storage rooms and, most likely, living quarters and kitchens.
The temple, as well as the entire complex, was oriented facing East in order to signify the importance of the rising sun.
The main entrance, pylon, and first courtyard, which contained ten columns, was constructed by Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep IV.
[10] The largest expansion occurred under Kushite ruler Piye (753-723 BCE), who gave the temple its final length of roughly 150 meters.
Finally, Piye added a long hypostyle hall with 50 columns made of bricks and sandstone.
Other additions to the temple by Kushite rulers included renovations of chapels, altars and the main sanctuary.
Overall, the architecture of the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal had a significant Kushite influence during the 25th dynasty.
Psamtik II of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt sacked the region in 593 BCE, destroying all Nubian statues in B500.
[citation needed] Nuri was another important pyramid site, 6 miles northeast of Jebel Barkal.
Besides typically recognized differences such as size and age, both of which the Gizeh pyramids exceed those in Meroe, the Sudanese structures have a much steeper incline, oriented to face between the North East and South, and were constructed with different organization.
[14][16] The Meroitic pyramids contain burial chambers which were dug into the ground, and after the owner’s death, the superstructure was constructed.
[16] This order of operations is unlike that in Egypt, where nobility often participated in the design and construction of their own pyramid and were placed in a burial chamber after death.
In terms of construction, the remnants of cedar wood poles found in the center of stone shafts indicate the use of shaduf to lift each block.
This is due to many factors, such as the lack of written records associated with the sites, poor preservation of inscriptions, difficulty with stratigraphic dating, and chronological gaps in nobility.
[17] George Andrew Reisner, an American archeologist, created the basic framework for the dating of each pyramid based on his excavation in 1923.
[18] The ancient Nubians established a system of geometry including early versions of sun clocks.
The structures are of sun dried bricks, same as present day Sudan, except for an arch.
The mudbrick structure was revived by Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy after rediscovering the technique in the Nubian village of Abu al-Riche.
The technology is advocated by environmentalist as environmentally friendly and sustainable, since it makes use of pure earth without the need of timber.
Ibn Abi Sarh was a Muslim leader who tried to conquer all Nubia in the 8th century AD.
A treaty called the Baqt shaped Egyptian-Nubian relations for six centuries and permitted the construction of a mosque in the Nubian capital of Old Dongola for Muslim travelers.
