Massive Taharqa statue discovered deep in Sudan - Pictures, inscriptions and an interview
About a week back Heritage Key published a story about the discovery of a massive, one ton, statue of Taharqa that was found deep in Sudan.
Taharqa was a pharaoh of the 25th dynasty of Egypt and came to power ca. 690 BC. The pharaohs of this dynasty were from Nubia – a territory located in modern day Sudan and southern Egypt. When Taharqa came to power, he controlled an empire stretching from Sudan to the Levant.
The Nubian pharaohs tried to incorporate Egyptian culture into their own. They built pyramids in Sudan – even though pyramid building in Egypt hadn’t been practiced in nearly 800 years.
Taharqa’s rule was a high water mark for the 25th dynasty. By the end of his reign a conflict with the Assyrians had forced him to retreat south, back into Nubia – where he died in 664 BC.
Egypt became an Assyrian vassal – eventually gaining independence during the 26th dynasty. Taharqa’s successors were never able to retake Egypt.
In addition to Taharqa’s statue, those of two of his successors - Senkamanisken and Aspelta – were found alongside. These two rulers controlled territory in Sudan, but not Egypt.
The story I wrote a week ago was largely based on a blog entry by Dr. Caroline Rocheleau of the North Carolina Museum of Art. Unfortunately, since it was the holidays, I had to wait a bit until an interview could be arranged.
That wait is now over.
On Thursday morning I interviewed Dr. Julie Anderson of the British Museum, she is co-director for the Dangeil excavations. This project is an archaeological mission of the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums, Sudan. It is also co-directed by Dr. Salah eldin Mohamed Ahmed.
In addition to the interview the team generously released some pictures of the find. Anderson also provided me with a scholarly article, published recently in the journal Sudan & Nubia. It contains a wealth of information including the translation for the inscriptions found on the statues. The journal does not appear to be published electronically so I’m afraid I can’t link to it.
No other statue of a pharaoh has been found further south than Taharqa’s
Dr. Anderson confirmed something that I suspected. No statue of a pharaoh has ever been found further south of Egypt than this one. “That’s one reason it’s so exciting and very interesting,” she said. The discovery was such a surprise that one colleague of Anderson's didn't believe it at first saying that the statues “can’t possibly be (at) Dangeil.”
Dangeil is near the fifth cataract of the Nile River, about 350 kilometres northeast of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. There was a settlement at the time of Taharqa, but little of it has been excavated.
Most of the finds discovered at Dangeil, so far, date to the time of the Kingdom of Meroe (3rd century BC – 3rd century AD).
While this is the furthest south that a pharaoh’s statue has been found, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Dangeil is the southern border of Taharqa’s empire. It’s possible that he controlled territory further up the Nile.
A giant of a statue
The statue of Taharqa is truly monumental. “It’s a symbol of royal power,” said Dr. Anderson, an indicator that Dangeil was an “important royal city.”
It’s made of granite and weighs more than one ton. It stood about 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) when it had its head. In ancient times it was smashed into several pieces on purpose. This was also done to the two other statues.
It’s not known who did this or why. It happened “a long time after Taharqa,” said Anderson.
One idea is that there was a dynastic struggle. A group came to power in Nubia that was determined to eliminate reminders of Taharqa’s reign and that of this successors.
Another possibility is that in 593 BC an Egyptian military force, led by pharaoh Psamtek II, succeeded in reaching Dangeil and decided to damage the statues.
The largest piece of Taharqa's statue is the torso and base. This part of the statue is so heavy that the archaeological team had to use 18 men to move it onto a truck.
“We had trouble moving him a couple hundred meters,” said Anderson. The move was “extremely well planned,” with the team spending eight to nine days figuring out how to accomplish it without the statue (or the movers) getting damaged.
Given the lack of moving equipment the team resorted to “traditional methods.”
In the paper Anderson and Ahmed say that “the back of the statue was first protected with sacking after which a heavy plank of wood was attached to the backpillar. Trenches were dug under the statue to facilitate the attachment of the wood backing,”
The team than rotated the statue so that it rested on this wood. A platform of red-brick and silt was created beneath the statue. “The statue was raised upwards, one brick’s thickness at a time (approximately 80mm), using wooden and iron levers.”
A team of 18 men then brought it to a truck, dragging it over an ancient wall.
Taharqa’s ancient statue movers would have had an even rougher job. The nearest granite quarry is at the third cataract – hundreds of kilometres up the Nile. The trip was “certainly many days” said Anderson, consisting of a river ride and in “some places dragging.”
The construction of the statue and the painstaking effort to move it to Dangeil “demonstrates how powerful he (Taharqa) was.”
Dr. Anderson has a working theory about what the statue was doing at the site. She believes that there was a temple to the god Amun there during Taharqa’s time. It would have been nearby or underneath where a Meroe temple stands today.
Taharqa’s statue would have been inside this temple along with Senkamanisken and Aspelta. I asked her if there are more royal statues waiting to be found at the site, “I’m certain of it,” she said. There are, “more kings between Taharqa and Aspelta.”
Indeed there are three rulers between Taharqa and Aspelta who don't have a statue discovered at Dangeil –Tanwetamani, Atlanersa and Anlamani.
Inscriptions
On Taharqa’s belt these words are inscribed:
The perfect god Taharqo son of Amun-Re
The statue’s backpillar also contains a partial inscription-
‘The Perfect God, ‘Lord of the Two Lands, Lord of Action... King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nefertum-Khu-Re’, son of Re’, Taharqo, [beloved] of Re’-Harakhty who resides in Ms (the inscription here is gone) forever
“The inscription is broken following the Ms,” said Anderson and Ahmed in their paper.
“But finishes with ‘forever’. ‘Given all life, stability and dominion like Re’ likely preceded the ‘forever’.”
The “perfect god” and “lord of the two lands” are common usage for a pharaoh of Egypt. “Ms” may be part of the ancient name for Dangeil.
The statue of Senkamanisken has an interesting inscription on its back-pillar.
‘The perfect God, Lord of the Two Lands, Lord of Action, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Se-kheper-en-re, son of Re’, Senkamani[sken …’
This inscription is a perfect example of why you should not believe everything that you read. By the reign of Senkamanisken the Nubians had lost control of Egypt.
“Kushite kings still used standard titles,” said Anderson. “They’re actually king of Sudan.”
Future work
“I will probably be there (at Dangeil) until I die,” said Dr. Anderson. “There is work for generations to come.”
For good reason to. The site’s size is the equivalent of “24 football fields” and archaeologists have barely scratched the surface of the remains that date to Taharqa and his successors. Anderson's hoping to find the head of the Taharqa statue in future seasons (the next one is in October).
“We may never recover it,” she said. “That I'm afraid will come down to luck.”
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This is a very interesting article and a wonderful discovery. However, it is a pity it was written in such poor English.
"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Just heard - and apparently it's old news, but still - that Will Smith is to play Taharqa in a movie named (or with working title) 'The
LostLast Pharoah'. The film is supposed to be about the battles between Taharqa and Assyrian leader Esarhaddon. IMDB says the film is set for 2010, so then it should be 'in production' now, yet no much info on the web. If anybody knows more... . (Personally, I think Will Smith would make a splendid warrior king most likely with some sense of humor! ;))* Excuse me the error. Lost pharoah, last army, ... it all gets a bit confusing after a while! ;) That and I was convinced Cleopatra was the last pharaoh.
Thx Ann, the film sounds as if it holds promise. Smith is best known for his comedy roles but he's also taken on more serious movies such as Ali and I am Legend. A Taharqa who cracked the odd joke would be interesting to :)
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley
Mr. Owen Jarus,
I (and several other people of AfriKan Descent) find it quite odd that alot of people of European ancestry such as yourself make outlandish efforts to "distinguish" ancient Egyptian and Nubian peoples from one another. When in reality the tribal difference bewteen the two consisted mostly on culture and deity worship. There are heiroglyphcis that prove this. Kemetians (KMT, Egypt, or "Land of the Blacks") did not view "color" as a reference point on whether one tribe (or group of people) are inferior to another. Europeans introduced that. The only reference in regards to differentiating "race" of people are drawings of Semities on pyramid inner chambers. In essence, Kemetians (Egyptians) and Nubians were 'ALL' people of color....not "Black". This point was proven in the story of Moses (an Israelite/Hebrew) how pharoah (an egyptian) took him in and raised him as one of his 'OWN' in royalty. You could not tell them apart. WHY? Because they were technically ALL the same people (descendants of Ham who's seed populated the continent of AfriKa).
My point is this : Continue to do the great journalism of reporting great archaeological artifacts of the past and present. But the divide and conquered activity of separating AfriKans of our glorious past in the fertile ground of North AfiKa by European enthusiasts such as you is not necessary. Ancient Egyptians were AfriKans before the Assyrian invasion in 500 + b.c. and Alexander the Great? in 326 b.c. That is one reason there has been no great discovery of European presence there before the Ptolemy dynasty. So for the respect of history it would be fair game to just report excavation discoveries instead strategically using insinuating subliminal remarks to ease the minds of a certain group of people.
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