15th century BCE – 4th century
Upper Nubia, Nile Valley
Kawa was a major Meroitic settlement near modern Dongola. Its large town and numerous temples indicate a long occupation, while excavations uncovered important Meroitic monuments and inscriptions. The site also contained a temple inscription that preserves the earliest written mention of Meroe under the name B.rw.t, attributed to Aman-nateieriko in the late fifth century BCE.
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The Story
Kawa lay opposite the modern town of Dongola, in a part of the Nile Valley where wider lands allowed more substantial settlement than in the narrower reaches farther upstream. The site developed as an important urban centre within the Kushite world. Its remains suggest a long history and a concentration of religious and monumental activity.
The town contained many temples, and archaeological excavations revealed Meroitic monuments and inscriptions. These remains place Kawa within the network of royal, religious, and administrative sites that connected Upper Nubia with the capitals at Napata and Meroe. The site's position also made it part of the Nile corridor through which people, goods, and political influence moved.
Kawa is particularly significant for the history of Meroe because an inscription in its temple provides the first written mention of the city. The inscription of Aman-nateieriko, placed in the last quarter of the fifth century BCE, records Meroe under the name B.rw.t. This evidence shows that Kawa preserved information about the changing political geography of the Kushite kingdom.
15th century BCE – 4th century
Upper Nubia, Nile Valley
Kawa was a major Meroitic settlement near modern Dongola. Its large town and numerous temples indicate a long occupation, while excavations uncovered important Meroitic monuments and inscriptions. The site also contained a temple inscription that preserves the earliest written mention of Meroe under the name B.rw.t, attributed to Aman-nateieriko in the late fifth century BCE.
Continue exploring
The Story
Kawa lay opposite the modern town of Dongola, in a part of the Nile Valley where wider lands allowed more substantial settlement than in the narrower reaches farther upstream. The site developed as an important urban centre within the Kushite world. Its remains suggest a long history and a concentration of religious and monumental activity.
The town contained many temples, and archaeological excavations revealed Meroitic monuments and inscriptions. These remains place Kawa within the network of royal, religious, and administrative sites that connected Upper Nubia with the capitals at Napata and Meroe. The site's position also made it part of the Nile corridor through which people, goods, and political influence moved.
Kawa is particularly significant for the history of Meroe because an inscription in its temple provides the first written mention of the city. The inscription of Aman-nateieriko, placed in the last quarter of the fifth century BCE, records Meroe under the name B.rw.t. This evidence shows that Kawa preserved information about the changing political geography of the Kushite kingdom.
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