The archaeological site of Meroe is on the eastern bank of the Nile River in the present-day Republic of Sudan. Meroe was occupied from about 750 BCE until about 350 CE. Then about 580 CE it became the royal residence and administrative center of the state of Kush. As an archaeological site today it contains the remains of royal palaces, temples, manufacturing areas, and residential areas.
The Kingdom of Kush was established about 1070 BCE when they broke free of Egyptian control. By sometime in the fifth century BCE, Meroe was an important iron-working area. Meroitic iron-workers were among the best in the world. The existence of forests in the area made it possible to develop the smelting furnaces necessary for iron working.
About 300 BCE, the Kingdom of Kush moved its capital from Napata to Meroe, possibly to be closer to the center of iron-working and trade. In addition to iron goods, cotton and jewelry were also important export items. By this time, Kush had developed a trading arrangement with the Greeks via the Red Sea trading ports. The trading networks spread from the Red Sea to both India and China.
With the royal capital in Meroe, both religious and royal monuments were constructed. Meroe is the home of the largest Kushite temple known: a temple similar in layout to the traditional Egyptian Pharaonic Egyptian temples and dedicated to the god Amun. Amun was the state god of both Egypt and Kush. The temple to Amun was initially constructed in the seventh century BCE and then was expanded in the first century CE.
To the east of the town there is a temple to Apedemak, the Nubian lion-god. Archaeologists have dated the construction of this temple to the third century BCE.
Meroe shows a mixture of Egyptian influence, primarily in architecture and iconography, and indigenous features, particularly in the art. The art of Meroe is noted for its sculpture and its distinctive painted pottery.
The Kushites in Meroe also developed their own syllabic writing system which was derived from a selection of twenty-three Egyptian hieroglyphs. While the phonetic values of these signs are currently known, the texts written in Meroitic have not yet been translated. The lack of any surviving languages from the ancient Meroitic has hindered attempts at translation.
At Meroe there was a clear distinction between royalty and the commoners. The royalty lived in two-story stone palaces. The common people lived in small, tightly packed houses built out of sun-dried brick. The common people were engaged in iron smelting, the making of pottery, and other manufacturing activities. The royalty were buried under small pyramids.
This diary was originally posted on Street Prophets