Czech work at Wad ban Naqa, Meroe

Radio Praha

With audio and photos.

An archaeological expedition organised by the National Museum has made remarkable finds in the area of Wad ban Naqa – ruins dating back to the Kingdom of Meroe in today’s Sudan. The Náprstek Museum is currently holding talks on the expedition’s progress after the first two seasons, including research at a temple dedicated to Nubian lion gods. They have also been studying a circular structure whose origins have remained a mystery since it was first excavated in the 1950s.

Earlier I spoke to expedition leader Pavel Onderka and asked him to tell me more about Wad ban Naqa.

“The site of Wad ban Naqa is one of the most important archaeological sites in the territory of the ancient Kingdom of Meroe. Most of the structures that are located there, some of them were already archaeologically surveyed in the past. During our second excavation season we focussed mainly on the so-called ‘small temple’, a structure built in either the first century BC or first century AD and continually used as a sacred building until the collapse of the Meroe Kingdom in the fourth century. The temple was likely dedicated to one of the native Nubian lion gods, either Apedemak or Sebiumeker.”