The Antiquities of the Sudan. 315 The upper floor of the fine church there is now used as a mosque. On a ridge between the church and the river are remains of ancient fortification. An obelisk of Piankhi, now at Cairo, the fellow to that at Arab Hag, was found here, but had been probably carried from Jebel Barkal Some Christian inscriptions have been found here (see " Journal of Theological Studies," IV, p. 583).

At Kurru and Zuma (east bank), and Tangasi, 7 to 10 miles from Merowe, are remains of large groups of pyramids Kumi, (B.N. 496), a few of stone, others of mud-brick from which the stone casing has been removed. Tan'*' • On Gimeti Island are traces of a church.

Merowe (north bank) and Abu Dom Sanam (south bank) mark the site of Napata (Nept or Nepita). The old Merowe. city appears to have been on the south bank, and of considerable size [vide p. 222). A few miles from the river on "■''• *" this bank, in low hUls, are the remains of a number of rock-hewn tombs, and 3 or 4 miles up-stream from Abu Dom, '' on the north bank, lie the pjTamids and ruins of the temples of Napata.

Jebel Barkal, 302 feet high, the " Holy Mountain " of the inscriptions, can be seen for many miles round ; on the Jebel plain by the side of the hill are ruins of eight or nine pyramids, and on the rising ground are eight more, varying from ''*'''"''-20 to 60 feet in height. The principal temples are those of Taharka and Piankhi, close to Jebel Barkal. At Nuri, 7J miles from Merowe, Circa on the south bank, are the remains of 35 pyramids, solidly built, and probably of the Middle (?) Empire. At Wadi ?;- l'-Ghazal are the remains of a fine Christian monastery. (B.N. 496-503 ; Cailliaud ; Lepsius.)

A few miles beyond Belal (foot of the 4th Cataract) and on the south bank are the remains of a Coptic church Belal. and fortified monastery.

Opposite Hamdab Island, 6 miles further on, are the ruins of a pyramid. No fvirther remains have been discovered for the next 250 miles or more. There is evidence that Berber was in Berber, the ancient days a starting point, as now, for caravans for Suakin, but there are no ancient remains, as far as is known.

On crossing the Atbara the " Island of Meroe " is entered, and at Bagarawiya, some 45 miles south of the Atbara, Island of three important groups of pyramids, about 100 in all, are reached. These, also called the pyramids of Assur, lie about eroe and 3 miles from the river, and are the tombs of kings and princes of the old capital, which lay somewhere near Shendi. b.c 400 to An important find of jewellery of the Roman period was made here by Signor Ferlini, an Italian doctor, in 1834. (B.N. a.d. 250. 509-513; L. ; CaUliaud ; Ferlini; W.) Since then the tops of many pyramids have been damaged in similar searches. About 29 miles south of Shendi, on the east bank, is the entrance to the Wadi Ban Nagaa, and near it is a village of that name. Three mUes down the river are the ruins of a small ancient Nubian temple.

Twenty-three miles south-east from the railway station of Wadi Ban Nagaa, and situated in a low waterless desert, Nagaa. are the extensive remains of an ancient town. The walls of six temples are still standing, at least in part, and the foundations of several others can be traced. Two of them are connected together by an avenue of rams. One of the temples is almost purely Roman in style, and belongs, perhaps, to the third century a.d. ; others are transitional ; these are in comparatively excellent preservation. (Description by Rev. L. Gwynne ; B.N. 514, 515 ; Cailliaud [elaborate]; and W.). They were also visited by Wurt (1811), Demetrio (1822), Holroyd (1837), and Lepsius.

Twelve miles north-east of Nagaa are the ruins of EI Sufra, also called El Masurat, a group of buildings within walls, El Sufra. of the Roman period, with a Meroitic inscription (C. ; L. ; and Hoskins, and B.N. pp. 515-516). One and a-half miles off are some Christian temples (?) (B.N. p. 515). A road track leads south-east from Shendi otV? Nagaa temples to Soba, and there are, it is reported, old temples on the way.

There are no visible ruins of ancient temples at Khartoum, though it is known that it was the site of a large town Khartoum. (vide p. 228). A colossal Christian (?) stone lamb has been brought here from Soba (W.).

At Soba, believed to be the old capital of the Christian Kingdom of Aiwa, built on the old Ethiopic site of " Sobas," Soba. 13 miles from Khartoum and on the east bank of the Blue Nile, are some remains of granite pillars and of a Christian church, including a decorated base with a large cross carved on it (W.). Little is known about this. There is said to have been a bridge here over the Blue Nile.

Miscellaneous.

At Jebel Geili, 92 miles east from Khartoum, there is a carving in Meroitic style on a huge granite block at the J- Cieili. south-eastern end of the hill, and on a neighbouring rock higher up the hill are the carved outhnes of three horses (dates unknown).

At Koliteb, 113 miles from Tokar, on one of the Kassala roads, there are ancient and rude carvings of men and Koliteb. camels on the rocks (Junker). .

At Jebel Maman, 201 miles from Suakin, on the " Ermenab " route to Kassala, there are some curious old Christian Aiaman. stone ruins and tombs (Schweinfurth ; Z.A.E., 1865, p. 398).

Little or nothing of the old Sennar Kingdom is left. Seunar. At Geteina, on the White Nile, some inscribed bricks and pottery of the Christian period have been found. The.se are now preserved at Khartoum in the Gordon College Museum. 2 T