Burials

X-Group

The end of the Meroitic period was not spontaneous, it was rather gradual and is most evident in the shift of building materials from more durable to more perishable ones.

Mound of a Nobatian King, Ballana. source: W. B. Emery, Nubian Treasure. London; 1948. Source: Wildung, Dietrich. Sudan: Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile.

The post Meroitic period, which starts approximately after 400 CE, witnessed the reemergence of a new culture in Lower and Upper Nubia labeled as the X-Group; the culture is associated with the Nobadian tribes that originated from the northeastern portion of the Libyan desert. The X-Group culture shares strong similarities with the older Kerma culture. This is most evident in burial traditions where X-Group rulers were buried in tumuli structures, just like the rulers of Kerma in the past. At Ballana and Qustol in Lower Nubia, and at el-Hobagi, Jebel Adda, Jebel Quisi, and Meroe in Sudan X-Group tumuli were located in large numbers, however; most of those in Sudan have not yet been excavated. The size of the tumuli vary to a great degree. In Ballana the largest of the tumuli measured 77 feet in diameter and 12 meters high.¹

Bowl, cup, and Bowl. All made of bronze. Courtesy of the SFDAS and the Khartoum National Museum. Source: Wildung, Dietrich. Sudan: Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile.

Niche cut pits was the common norm of burial used by the local population . Although in many burials the diceased persons were buried with an extended body position, the X-Group largely favored a contracted body position. The funerary goods also continued to accompany tombs, although less richer than those in the Meroitic period.

The tradition of mummification continued to function among the high-class members of the population. Most funerary goods included unique pottery usually polished red and with distinctively little designs. However many pots were designed in a style closely related to the Kushite-Napatan and Roman styles of art. Other metal and bronze weapons like spears and arrows were also found.

Human sacrifices were especially abundant in X-Group tumuli. Animal sacrifices were also found including dogs, camels, and horses. With the Christianization of Nubia in the fourth century human and animal sacrifices largely disappeared and burials were usually done in simple pits.

• ^{1. W. B. Emery, and L. P. Kirwan, The Royal Tombs of Ballana and Qustul, 2 vols, (Cairo, 1938).}