A Cylindrical Conundrum

Perhaps the most intriguing of all discoveries made in the rich royal tombs of the Napatan rulers at Nuri in Sudan was a series of elaborately decorated gold cylinders. These mysterious objects came from the pyramids of both the kings and queens, first appearing in the tomb of King Senkamanisken (c.640-620 BC), and continuing up to the reign of King Nastasen (c.335-310 BC) near the end of the Napatan Period. Although most of these burials had been plundered, they still contained many treasures, including the gold cylinders, when they were excavated by the Harvard University–Museum of Fine Arts Expedition in 1916. Dows Dunham, who assisted George Reisner in his excavations at Nuri, would la