This void was filled by the emergence of a number of smaller Nubian kingdoms. The most well-known of these successor states was the Kingdom of Dongola, or Makuria, which had its capital in the city of Old Dongola, located on the east bank of the Nile. The modern city of Dongola is situated 80 km Whilst the Kingdom of Dongola may be the most widely known successor of the Kingdom of Kush, its origins are rather obscure.
It has been suggested that during the 8th century AD, Makuria united with its northern neighbor, Nobatia, perhaps under King Merkurios, to form a single state. One of the most distinct features of the Kingdom of Dongola is that it was a Christian Kingdom.
Ten Stunning Yet Little Known Ancient Treasures Across Africa
In , a year-old crypt was discovered in a monastery there. In the crypt, archaeologists discovered the naturally mummified remains of seven males. On the walls of the crypt were inscriptions written in Greek and Sahidic Coptic. These inscriptions included excerpts from the four Gospels, magical names, as well as signs and a prayer given by the Virgin Mary, which were placed there to protect the occupants of the crypt from the forces of evil.
The Ksar of Ain-Ben-Haddou is a fortified city located in the Ouarzazate province along the old caravan trade route between Marrakech and the Sahara. It consists of a group of buildings built entirely of local organic material, and covered by a rich red mud plaster. These buildings, which were mostly houses, were surrounded by high walls.
The defensive function of the walls was reinforced by the construction of corner towers.
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Apart from the domestic buildings, there were also public structures, including a mosque, a caravanserai, a sanctuary of a local saint, and a public square. Thus, the collection of buildings in the Ksar is a unique showcase of the various pre-Saharan earthen construction techniques.
According to local belief, the Ksar was founded in A.
The Ksar and other fortified towns in the area may owe their existence to the presence of the Trans-Saharan Trade Route. Trade goods, including gold, salt, and African slaves passed through these routes beginning in ancient times, and reaching a peak between the 8th century A. With such traffic along the trade route, it would be reasonable for locals to take advantage of the situation and earn a living by providing shelter, food and drink to the travelling merchants.
The presence of such valuable trade goods in their towns, however, would have attracted bandits or raiding nomads. Therefore, defensive walls were necessary to ensure the safety of both the inhabitants of the city and their wealthy customers. Thousands of years ago, humans from the Neolithic age, decorated the walls of rock shelters with paintings of animals and humans at a site called Laas Geel in present day Somalia. Their work would last at least 5, years, and would one day attract the attention of the 21st century. The caves provide a glimpse into the little known history of this part of the world.
Even with the history of political instability, war, natural weathering, and other factors, the paintings have survived intact, retaining their clear outlines and vibrant colors. They are thought to be among the best and oldest preserved rock paintings in Africa. It is comprised of approximately 20 shelters or rock caves made of naturally occurring rock formations of varying size, the largest being ten meters long with a depth of about 5 meters.
These shelters feature polychrome multi-colored painted panels that are considered to be the oldest known rock art in the Horn of Africa, a peninsula in Northeast Africa. It is estimated that there are animal and human representations, as well as numerous tribal marks among the rock art at Laas Geel. Some of the cave paintings are stunningly well preserved as they have been sheltered from the elements by the granite overhangs.
Nabta Playa is a remarkable site composed of hundreds of prehistoric tumuli, stelae, and megalithic structures located in the Nubian Desert, approximately kilometers west of Abu Simbel in southern Egypt.
Ten Stunning Yet Little Known Ancient Treasures Across Africa | Ancient Origins
They are the result of an advanced urban community that arose approximately 11, years ago, and left behind a huge assembly of stones, which have been labelled by scientists as being among the oldest known astronomical alignments of megaliths in the world. Some archaeologists believe that the people of Nabta Playa were the precursor civilization for the first Nile cities that arose in Egypt thousands of years later. Archaeological evidence appears to suggest that the first settlements of people in Nabta Playa arrived between 11, and 9, years ago.
The people who occupied the region at this time were pastoral nomads, who may have set up seasonal camps, moving on again when the water dried up. Around 9, years ago, the settlements became larger and more sophisticated and the people built huts with fire hearths, arranged in straight rows, and started to dig deep walk-in wells, enabling them to have a year-round water supply, thus providing the conditions necessary for permanent settlement. Around 6, years ago, the region saw the arrival of a substantially more complex and advanced society and it was during this period that most of the major megalithic structures were constructed.
It is considered to be the height of human occupation at Nabta Playa. Over several thousand years of habitation, the people of Nabta Playa constructed numerous megalithic monuments, including stone circles, underground tombs, huge stone slabs, and rows of stelae, which extend over about 2, meters.
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The megalithic monuments are among some of the oldest in the world, pre-dating Stonehenge by thousands of years. For privacy reasons, she has previously written on Ancient Origins under the pen name April Holloway, but is now choosing to use her real name, Joanna Gillan. The name "adams calender" is a cheap marketing ploy by the author of a totally nonsensical book that has no place on this Website.
Register to become part of our active community, get updates, receive a monthly newsletter, and enjoy the benefits and rewards of our member point system OR just post your comment below as a Guest. By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings.
Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. Skip to main content. The incredible Senegambian Stone Circles It is amazing that the Senegambian Stone Circles are not more well-known considering there are more than 1, of them spread over an area that is km wide and km in length in the countries of Gambia and Senegal in West Africa.
I love to learn the history from the past..
RalphG wrote on 5 November, - Great article - lots of places I had never heard of. However, I find the timing of the following statement highly unlikely. C Pereira wrote on 10 November, - You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. Notify me when new comments are posted. Replies to my comment. More information about text formats. Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
Enormous Building Containing Ancient Treasures Discovered In Egypt
Lines and paragraphs break automatically. Leave this field blank. Related Articles on Ancient-Origins. The town is known for the nearby stone ruins, which was inscribed as a World In , Ferdinand Philippe, son of King Louis-Philippe of France, commanded a military expedition with the intention of conquering eastern Algeria. Near the border of Mauretania , he came across the That bone knife has now found to be the oldest of its type to It is officially known as the Holy Monastery of the God The 4,year-old tomb is the next in a string of rare discoveries at the Saqqara pyramid complex in Egypt.
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Greek mythology and human origins. If it survived the fire, it could have been brought to Carthage by the Vandals after their Sack of Rome in , as mentioned by Procopius in the 6th century. Lost at sea in the Battle of Dan-no-ura in the Genpei War. Llywelyn's coronet Legend — The coronet of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd , the last king of Wales , it was seized along with other holy artifacts at the end of the Conquest of Wales by Edward I , in , was taken to London, and kept with the crown jewels in Westminster Abbey until they were stolen in It was not present in the inventory taken during the destruction of the crown jewels by Oliver Cromwell in , and remains unaccounted for.
Occurred during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. The treasure would be composed of "carved silver, gold jewelry, pearls and stones of value, Chinese porcelain, rich fabrics, paintings and perhaps , pesos". At present, said treasure has not been found nor identified.
Scepter of Dagobert Confirmed planche in: Oak Island money pit Legend — A possible treasure trove located in a large hole on an island off the coast of Nova Scotia , Canada. Lost after the American Civil War. Tokugawa's buried treasure Legend circa — A legendary treasure allegedly buried in Mount Akagi by the Tokugawa shogunate disputed. The money was believed to fund the purchase of weapons for the Boer Commandos.
The funds went missing. Believed to have been buried or hidden somewhere in South Africa or taken by Kruger to Switzerland. Stolen from Dublin Castle in Looted during World War II. Named for General Tomoyuki Yamashita. It was lost when the Japanese ship Awa Maru was hit by a torpedo and sank in April Patiala Necklace Confirmed circa The Patiala Necklace A necklace containing 2, diamonds including the world's seventh largest diamond, the carat "De Beers".
Some diamonds later recovered. Placed in the National Maritime Museum in London in and stolen in Tucker's Cross Confirmed — Emerald-studded gold cross, discovered in a shipwreck in and stolen from a museum in Bermuda in Kennedy International Airport in December Dubbed the "heist of the century". Considered priceless artefacts [21] This list is incomplete ; you can help by expanding it. The Tale of the Heike.
History of the Conquest of Mexico. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Archived from the original on 15 January Retrieved 17 July Oak Island's Money Pit". Retrieved August 14, Retrieved 16 October Retrieved 26 November Retrieved 15 October America's Secret Recovery of Yamashita's Gold. Retrieved 4 November The New York Times. Ivory Coast's Crown Jewels Stolen".