What is Kingdom of Kerma?
The '''Kingdom of Kerma''' was a state in [[Nubia]] from around [[2500 BC]] to about [[1520 BC]]. It was based in the city of [[Kerma]] in Upper Nubia and was a major centre during the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] period of [[Egypt]]. It had a [[wikt:distinct|distinct]] civilization (for example very fine and original [[ceramic]]s have been found). The site of Kerma includes both an extensive town and a cemetery consisting of large [[tumuli]]. Because one can find there much examples of Nubian culture and burial practices at the site, scholars think that the Egyptian statues and other Egyptian objects found at Kerma arrived through trade. In 2003, a Swiss archaeological team working in northern Sudan uncovered one of the most remarkable Egyptological finds in recent years. At the site known as Kerma, near the third cataract of the Nile, archaeologist Charles Bonnet and his team discovered a ditch within a temple from the ancient city of Pnoubs, which contained seven monumental black granite statues. Magnificently sculpted, and in an excellent state of preservation, they portrayed five pharaonic rulers, including [[Taharqa]] and [[Tantamani|Tanoutamon]], the last two [[pharaoh]]s of the 'Nubian' Dynasty, when Egypt was ruled by kings from the lands of modern-day Sudan. For over half a century, the Nubian pharaohs governed a combined kingdom of Egypt and Nubia, with an empire stretching from the Delta to the upper reaches of the Nile.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/870/heritage.htm |title=Digging into Africa's past |access-date=2008-04-27 |archive-date=2007-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111210906/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/870/heritage.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> ==Footnotes== {{Reflist}} ==References== * Bonnet, Charles, ''et al.'' ''The Nubian Pharaohs: Black Kings on the Nile'', AUC Press (February 22, 2007) - {{ISBN|977416010X}} * Bonnet, Charles, ''et al.'', 2005, ''Des Pharaohs venus d'Afrique : La cachette de Kerma''. Citadelles & Mazen