Royal Kerma

Kerma, north of the Great Bend of the Nile in the Dongola basin, was the fortified capital of a formidable state that spread north into Ta-Seti and south into the Fourth Cataract. It reached its peak during the Egyptian Second Intermediate period and the last phase of the C-Group culture. The city is well-known for its advanced urbanistic features, palace, imposing tower-like temples (the so-called deffufas), cemeteries with massive multi-burial tumuli (mounds), funerary bucrania (cattle skulls) in great numbers, and sophisticated art and crafts (pottery, furniture, accessories, wall paintings). The Eastern Cemetery of Kerma spread over at least 200 acres. A massive monument known as Tumulus K III (ca. 295 ft in diameter) consisted of a large corridor across a circle, a main chamber where a Kerman king was once laid on an ornate bed, and multiple compartments containing over 100 sacrificial burials. The mound was made of loose earth, mudbrick, sand and strewn pebbles. Numerous bucrania were deposited outside these burial tumuli, along the south side; their sometimes large numbers are thought to reflect royal tribute from other areas. Other important sites of Kerman culture include Sai to the north, and nearby Doukki Gel, which succeeded Kerma itself. Scan the red QR code nearby to see pictures from the city of Kerma.