Kerma, the ancient civilization of Sudan

In a reddish desert, very close to the third cataract of the Nile, the ruins of the Kerma kingdom rise.Known in ancient sources like Kush, it was the most powerful cloud kingdom during the second millennium to.C.that put in check the power of Egypt.

The investigations that archaeologist George Reisner made from 1913 brought to light an authentic civilization of remarkable complexity.The material culture produced by the site showed that the kingdom was culturally differentiated from the Egyptians.Numerous royal tombs were found with jewelry made of gold and amethyst, a rich funeral furniture taraceado with inlays of giraffes and elephants, as well as statues in granitic stone such as those that represented the Egyptian governor Djafaihapi and his wife Sennuwy.

Charles Bonnet continued the archaeological work in the 70s.Their excavations revealed about 30000 tombs that make Kerma's necropolis not only one of the largest in antiquity, but a cultural and ethnic crucible in which Egyptian, Saharan, Saharan influences, of populations of southern Sudan and theDarfur area.