During archaeological digging over the course of 3 years, an international team of scientists discovered a large number of small pyramids, as well as numerous rocky graves in the Sedeinga, Sudan.
Archaeologists were amazed by the unusual density of the pyramids - at least 35 small pyramids, tightly surrounded by other graves, found in an area the size of a basketball court.
According to initial estimates, the pyramids were built around 2000 years ago during the Kingdom of Kush, which reigned from 1070 BC to 350 AD. At that time, it bordered Egypt, which strongly influenced its architecture.
Vincent Franchini, archaeologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, explains: "The density of the built pyramids is huge. Since their construction was going on for hundreds of years, they were building more and more, until they started to fill in all the places that were still available at the cemetery."
It is thought that the tops of the pyramids were covered with ritual stones, which were carved with images of a bird or lotus on a solar disk.
The sizes of the pyramids vary from 23 ft (7 m) on the longest side to a pyramid of only 29.5″ (75 cm) on one side, most likely used for the burial of a child. A pyramid with an usual rounded shape also arouses interest.
The graves around the pyramids were most likely plundered back in ancient times. Despite this, archaeologists have been able to find human remains and a few artifacts. One of the most fascinating discoveries made during the digging was an altar in one of the pyramids.
It is believed that its function was to appease the goddess Isis, patroness of motherhood, and the jackal-headed god Anubis, who accompanied the souls of the dead in the darkness of the afterlife.
