Jebel Qisi — Unfinished Meroitic Quarry Pyramid Hill
Meroitic (200 BCE quarry hill with unfinished pyramid trench 27 m)·Meroitic quarrymen·🇸🇩 River Nile State, Shendi Reach, Jebel Qisi hill 20 km north of Meroe, quarry hill, Sudan
About
About Jebel Qisi — Unfinished Meroitic Quarry Pyramid Hill
Jebel Qisi surveyed by Bradley 1984, unfinished Meroe pyramid 27 m. Recorded context — Period: Meroitic (200 BCE quarry hill with unfinished pyramid trench 27 m); Culture: Meroitic quarrymen; Field status: unexcavated; Materials: sandstone quarry face; Condition: trench — preserved.
Why it mattersKey Meroitic quarrymen pyramid with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Collapse cause
- 02Astronomical alignment
Theories
- 01Ceremonial centre
- 02Seasonal gathering
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 200 BCE trench
- Period
- Meroitic (200 BCE quarry hill with unfinished pyramid trench 27 m)
- Culture
- Meroitic quarrymen
- Purpose
- Unfinished pyramid foundation trench (27 m square, 2 m deep) on hilltop quarry — Meroitic aborted pyramid linked to Meroe 20 km
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1958
- Excavation
- Unexcavated
c. 200 BCE trench
Initial construction / first occupation at Jebel Qisi — Unfinished Meroitic Quarry Pyramid Hill
c. 200 CE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Jebel Qisi — Unfinished Meroitic Quarry Pyramid Hill
1920 excavation
Modern rediscovery and scientific excavation of Jebel Qisi — Unfinished Meroitic Quarry Pyramid Hill
On the ground
Structures & features
17.0840° N · 33.8170° E · 340 m · 3 mapped features
- Jebel Qisi — Unfinished Meroitic Quarry Pyramid Hill — Principal Pyramidpyramidpyramid at Jebel Qisi — Unfinished Meroitic Quarry Pyramid Hill — hydraulic feature17.0839° N · 33.8164° E
- Jebel Qisi — Unfinished Meroitic Quarry Pyramid Hill — Chamber Annex 2chamberchamber at Jebel Qisi — Unfinished Meroitic Quarry Pyramid Hill — hydraulic feature17.0842° N · 33.8166° E
- Jebel Qisi — Unfinished Meroitic Quarry Pyramid Hill — Southern Causewaycausewaycauseway at Jebel Qisi — Unfinished Meroitic Quarry Pyramid Hill — primary structure17.0847° N · 33.8183° E