Historical Summary
The earliest settlement at Jebel Barkal is known only from potsherds. It was of the Kerma culture and date to perhaps 1700 BCE. When the Egyptian New Kingdom conquered this region, then known as Kush, Barkal became the southernmost outpost of the Egyptian empire and the site of a fortified settlement called Napata. During the Egyptian occupation (1500-1070 BCE), a temple to the god Amun was built and expanded, and it remained the focal point of the city for nearly 2000 years. After the collapse of the Egyptian empire, a local kingdom of Kush made Napata its capital city, built a royal palace, and dramatically expanded the temple area. This polity, under the rule of kings Kashta, Piankhy, and their successors, conquered Egypt where they would rule for nearly a century as its 25th Dynasty (ca. 750-664 BCE). Piankhy greatly expanded the Amun temple and his successors would continue to build and enhance the palace and temple area. Royal pyramid burials during this “Napatan” dynasty were built at the nearby sites of El-Kurru and Nuri, even after the Kushites lost control over Egypt in 664 BCE.
Royal statues and other monuments at Barkal were destroyed relatively soon afterwards (see the destroyed statues in the photo), likely by an Egyptian raid ordered by king Psamtek II in 593 BCE. After this destruction, Kushite kings increasingly built at the city of Meroe, 230 km to the southeast. When the location of most royal burials was moved there in about 270 BCE, Meroe would be seen as the capital city of Kush.
During this “Meroitic” period (270 BCE – 350 CE), Barkal continued to be an important city in Kush, with construction of several new royal palaces, royal pyramid burials (see photo below), and repeated renovations of the Amun temple. When the Roman empire conquered Egypt in 31 BCE, it came into conflict with Kush and Roman sources claim that they raided into Kush and destroyed Napata, although little trace of such destruction has been found at the site. The settlement at Jebel Barkal would remain an important part of Kush until the collapse of the empire some time after 300 CE.
In the modern era, Jebel Barkal has been a focus of travelers and archaeologists. Travelers documented monuments that do not survive so well today (like the façade of B 600, shown in the image at right). Major early excavations conducted by the American archaeologist George Reisner on behalf of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Harvard University in 1916-1920. The finds from these excavations were divided between Boston and Khartoum, and many can be viewed on the collections search page of the Museum of Fine Arts website. Work at the site only resumed in the 1970s, when an Italian team directed by Sergio Donadoni began work. They were joined by a project directed by Timothy Kendall initially for the Museum of Fine Arts in 1986 and continued until 2018.
Today there are at least five archaeological projects actively working at Jebel Barkal. Our Jebel Barkal Archaeological Project is working to excavate areas of settlement and to conserve the monumental temple area. A project of the local University of Dongola at Karima conducts regular field schools at the site. Another Sudanese project aims to begin work on the pyramids at Jebel Barkal. An Italian project directed by Emanuele Ciampini continues the work of the Italian excavation with a focus on the area of Meroitic palaces. A second Italian project directed by Maria Concetta Laurenti is working to conserve the beautiful and important Napatan painted reliefs in the temple of Mut.
