Wad ban Naqa
Encyclopedia
Wad ban Naqa is the name of an ancient town of the Kushitic Kingdom
of Meroë
in present-day Sudan. The village lies on the eastern bank of the Nile
, about 80 kilometers upstream of Meroë
and about 40 km southwest of Shendi
. It is not to be confused with the ruins of Naqa
which are also located south-west of the ancient site in the region.
Lepsius (1843) discovered and brought back to the Berlin Museum a barge pedestal depicting King Natakamani
and Amanitore
. It contained Meroitic script and Egyptian hieroglyphs which led to the identification of the phonetic values for the letters of Meroitic cursive script by F. Ll. Griffith (1911). This inscription was later interpreted by scholars to mean "Stay, stay on the great throne, Isis, mistress of the Underworld, like the living sun-disk in the horizon, in that you let your son Natakamani remain on his throne." "Stay, stay on the great throne, Isis, mistress of the Underworld, as does the moon that grows like an egg in traversing heaven. May it give life to your daughter, Amanitore."
South of the palace is a circular building of unknown function, whose walls are still up to 5 m high. There was a temple of Isis
that has now been destroyed. Nearby was small temple with columns with the god Bes carved on them that might have functioned as a divine birth house (mammisi
). It was probably built by Natakamani
and Amanitore (first century AD). There are the remains of several other unexplored temples at the site in addition to the one one dedicated to Isis. New excavations at the site began in 2009 under the direction of the National Museum of the Czech Republic.
Kingdom of Kush
The native name of the Kingdom was likely kaš, recorded in Egyptian as .The name Kash is probably connected to Cush in the Hebrew Bible , son of Ham ....
of Meroë
Meroë
Meroë Meroitic: Medewi or Bedewi; Arabic: and Meruwi) is an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum. Near the site are a group of villages called Bagrawiyah...
in present-day Sudan. The village lies on the eastern bank of the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
, about 80 kilometers upstream of Meroë
Meroë
Meroë Meroitic: Medewi or Bedewi; Arabic: and Meruwi) is an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum. Near the site are a group of villages called Bagrawiyah...
and about 40 km southwest of Shendi
Shendi
Shendi or Shandi is a town in northern Sudan, situated on the east bank of the Nile 150 km northeast of Khartoum. Shandi is also about 45 km southwest of the ancient city of Meroe. Located in the River Nile wilayah, Shandi is the center of the Ja'aliin tribe and an important historic...
. It is not to be confused with the ruins of Naqa
Naqa
Naqa or Naga'a is a ruined ancient city of the Kushitic Kingdom of Meroë in modern-day Sudan. The ancient city lies about 170 kilometers north-east of Khartoum and about 50 kilometers east of the Nile River...
which are also located south-west of the ancient site in the region.
History
The place is so far little explored. The earliest known building on the site is a very large, two story brick palace built by Queen Amanishakhete (first century AD) whose large pyramid in the royal cemetery at Meroe (BEG N 6) contained a hoard of gold jewellery found in the early 19th century by the Italian treasure hunter, Ferlini (NB: several references to this site erroneously identify the pyramid as having been built at Wad ben Naga).Lepsius (1843) discovered and brought back to the Berlin Museum a barge pedestal depicting King Natakamani
Natakamani
Natakamani was a King of Kush who reigned from around or earlier than 1 BC to circa AD 20. Natakamani is the best attested ruler of the Meroitic period. He was born to queen Amanishakheto....
and Amanitore
Amanitore
Amanitore was a Nubian Kandake of the ancient Kushitic Kingdom of Meroë, which also is referred to as Nubia in many ancient sources. An alternate spelling is Kandace, Kandake, or Kentake. In Egyptian hieroglyphics the throne name of Amanitore reads as Merkare...
. It contained Meroitic script and Egyptian hieroglyphs which led to the identification of the phonetic values for the letters of Meroitic cursive script by F. Ll. Griffith (1911). This inscription was later interpreted by scholars to mean "Stay, stay on the great throne, Isis, mistress of the Underworld, like the living sun-disk in the horizon, in that you let your son Natakamani remain on his throne." "Stay, stay on the great throne, Isis, mistress of the Underworld, as does the moon that grows like an egg in traversing heaven. May it give life to your daughter, Amanitore."
South of the palace is a circular building of unknown function, whose walls are still up to 5 m high. There was a temple of Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...
that has now been destroyed. Nearby was small temple with columns with the god Bes carved on them that might have functioned as a divine birth house (mammisi
Mammisi
Mammisi is a term used for a small chapel attached to a larger temple, and associated with the nativity of a god. The word is derived from Coptic. Its usage is attributed to Jean-François Champollion. The most important surviving examples are from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods in Egypt....
). It was probably built by Natakamani
Natakamani
Natakamani was a King of Kush who reigned from around or earlier than 1 BC to circa AD 20. Natakamani is the best attested ruler of the Meroitic period. He was born to queen Amanishakheto....
and Amanitore (first century AD). There are the remains of several other unexplored temples at the site in addition to the one one dedicated to Isis. New excavations at the site began in 2009 under the direction of the National Museum of the Czech Republic.