Sedeinga Queens Pyramid Field
Sedeinga · Sedeinga Pyramid Cemetery · Pyramids of Sedeinga · Queens' Pyramid Field
Napatan period (700–300 BCE, peak 600–400 BCE queens field)·Kushite (Napatan, Egyptianised queens of 25th Dynasty)·🇸🇩 Northern State, west bank Nile 60 km north of Dongola, 15 km north of Soleb, desert plain, Sudan
About
About Sedeinga Queens Pyramid Field
Napatan queens' necropolis (700–300 BCE) with 35 steep sandstone pyramids 6–10 m base, 12 m high with eastern chapel and descendry to pillared burial chamber, for 25th Dynasty queens and Kushite elite (Tiye of Tiye temple nearby). Temple of Queen Tiye (Amenhotep III) within field 500 m north. Excavated Lepsius 1844 mention, then Berger French mission 1970s, and recent SEDEINGA CNRS mission (Rilly, Francigny). Heartland of Napatan queen mother (kandake) burials with inscribed lintels and Meroitic revival later.
Why it mattersOnly dedicated queens' pyramid field in Kush; shows kandake queen mother power; Tiye Temple association links New Kingdom to Napatan reuse.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why queens separate from kings at el-Kurru/Nuri/Jebel Barkal
- 02Chronology of early vs late Napatan queen pyramids
Theories
- 01Sedeinga as queen mother necropolis mirroring Egyptian Valley of Queens segregated concept
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.700–300 BCE queens' pyramids built successively
- Period
- Napatan period (700–300 BCE, peak 600–400 BCE queens field)
- Culture
- Kushite (Napatan, Egyptianised queens of 25th Dynasty)
- Purpose
- Royal queens' pyramid cemetery for Napatan kandake queen mothers — adjacent to Tiye temple of Amenhotep III
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.700–300 BCE queens' pyramids built successively
Initial construction / foundation
c. 1200–600 BCE
Major use phase and refurbishment
20th century
Modern archaeological survey and excavation
On the ground
Structures & features
20.6500° N · 30.3200° E · 215 m · 3 mapped features
Sedeinga queens cluster
pyramid35 steep queens pyramids with chapels
20.6500° N · 30.3200° ETemple of Queen Tiye
templeAmenhotep III Tiye temple colonnade 500 m north
20.6510° N · 30.3210° EKandake queen chamber
chamberPillared burial chamber with painted ceiling under pyramid
20.6502° N · 30.3203° E