This photograph was taken at the West Cemetery of Meroë in Sudan, home to a group of Nubian pyramids built in the heartland of the Kingdom of Kush. Although part of the Island of Meroë UNESCO World Heritage Site, this cluster of tombs is located a couple of kilometres away from any ticket booth or signage. Indeed, these pyramids are unmarked and located off the highway. Because there are no official bus stops here, I had to ask the driver of the public bus to let us off. After wandering around and photographing the complex from the ground, I sent my drone up and snapped this photo of my partner standing in the middle of the tombs. I’m not a superstitious person, but I had an unnerving feeling surrounded by these millennia-old structures, seemingly abandoned on the banks of the Nile.
The image was chosen as the winner of the CWA Photo of the Year 2023 Competition (sponsored by Ace Cultural Tours). See the runners-up here.
Text & image: Nickolas Warner Please send your images to cwa@world-archaeology.com. They must be high resolution (300 dpi) and in landscape format, ideally 20cm high by 30cm wide.
