It lies approximately 65 kilometres (40 mi) southwest of Meroe on the western side of the Nile, near the sixth cataract.[1] A number of large tumuli were found at el-Hobagi from the period after the fall of the Meroitic kingdom, but before the Christianization of Nubia. The site, which is dated to the 4th century,[2] is situated near a post-Meroitic cemetery. Grave mounds excavated by a French team revealed an absence of rich gifts, instead containing weapons such as swords, spears, axes, arrows and bows.[3] The dead lay on a bed and were surrounded by numerous vessels.