Kerma and the Kingdom of Kush, 2500-1500 B.C.: The Archaeological Discovery of an Ancient Nubian EmpireNational Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1997 - 126 pages This book chronicles one of the twentieth century's greatest discoveries in African archaeology. In 1913, in the northern Sudanese village of Kerma on the east bank of the Nile, G. A. Reisner identified the remains of an ancient city with colossal architecture & spectacular royal tombs. Misinterpreted as a far-flung Egyptian trading colony, Kerma mystified scholars for decades until new research & renewed excavations by C. Bonnet revealed it to be the capital of the early Nubian kingdom of Kush, mentioned intermittently in Egyptian texts. Dating from about 2,500 B.C. Kerma established control of the river & overland trade routes linking central Africa with Egypt. Ultimately threatening Egypt, it was overthrown by the pharaohs about 1500 B.C. Detailing its discovery, this fascinating book describes the city & its palaces, temples & tombs as known through excavations to 1995. Written to accompany an exhibition of Kerma's pottery, jewelry, & artifacts, this book includes a catalog of the exhibition & many photographs, in color & black & white, documenting the archaeological site & its art. To order, call (202) 786-2147. |
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Amun archaeological archéologique de l'Université archéologiques de Kerma Arts Aswan B.C. Context Bibliography black-topped red polished Bonnet Boston Brooklyn Museum Buhen buried C-Group Classic Kerma Period cm MFA corridor Courtesy debris deceased desert diam Dunham Dynasty XII Early Kerma Period Egypt Egyptian Department photograph excavations exhibition faience Field number Figure fouilles archéologiques Fourth Cataract funerary Gebel Barkal Geneva Genève au Soudan Gratien grave of royal Harkhuf Hyksos ibid inscriptions Ivory bed inlay Kamose Kendall Kerma cemetery Kerma Culture Kerma graves Kerma kings Kerma pottery Kerma Soudan king of Kush Kushite l'Université de Genève Lacovara Late Classic Kerma Lower Deffufa Lower Nubia meters MFA Egyptian Department Mid-Classic Kerma Period Middle Kerma Period Middle Kingdom Mission archéologique mud-brick Napata Nile NMAfA palace pharaohs probably Reisner river royal tomb K X rulers Second Cataract South Cemetery stela subsidiary grave Sudan suggests Thutmose III tumuli Upper Nubia Vercoutter walls