Queen Amanishakheti’s Pyramid and Jewellery

The jewels of the Queen of Meroe, the Kandaka Amani Shakheti, which were plundered by Ferlini

After the signing of the peace treaty between the Kingdom of Meroe and the Roman Empire, there seemed to be no change in the Kingdom of Meroe. In the first century AD, the kingdom flourished thanks to its maintenance, if not friendly relations, then at least good neighborly relations and trade exchange with the most powerful power in the world at that time - the Roman Empire. The Kushite embassy, ​​which traveled to Egypt to sign the treaty with Augustus, had left an inscription on its way back on the walls of the Dikka Temple. The inscription was definitely dated to the seventeenth year of the reign of Augustus (i.e. the year 12/13 BC). Therefore, we have reliable evidence to determine the period of Amani Shakheti’s rule. The inscription was written in Greek by a writer named Garbucrates, which may indicate the presence of some Greeks in the service of the Kandaka (the king’s mother in Kush), whom the inscription called Ekyria Basilissa. The Russian researcher Khvostov believes that the Kushite embassy of Augustus traveled to the island of Samos to meet him there. However, Augustus was not in Samos that year, which may indicate that the talk is about two different embassies. The German researcher Vinik dates the accession of Amani Shakheti to the throne of Meroe to the year 15 BC. Contrary to what Arkle said, who established the event in the year 12 BC. In this last case, the Kandaka sent the embassy immediately upon her accession to the throne, and the ambassadors succeeded in carrying out the mission and returned directly in the same year. The German researcher Hentza believes that the period of Amani-Shakhty’s rule extended for 29 years (41-12 BC), which Vinik demonstrated to be incorrect......

The wonderful treasures that were contained inside the Kandaka Amani Shakheti pyramid indicate the extent of the wealth that the Kingdom of Meroe enjoyed during its reign...

It is necessary to mention the doctor working in the Italian administration, Dr. Ferlini, who arrived at the royal pyramids in Meroe, was not much different in his style of dealing with ancient tombs from contemporary or ancient thieves. One of the pyramids, which was the best in terms of preserving its shape, was the pyramid of Queen Amani Shakheti (Al-Bajrawiyya 6), which was literally demolished by Ferlini, whose destructive works culminated in the discovery of many gold and silver artistic masterpieces and other metals. Part of it later arrived in Munich and another in Berlin. Hence, Ferlini actually plundered the only surviving burial place of a Meroitic queen until that period. Before that, Ferlini and his companion Stefani had, with less success (for him), destroyed four other pyramids. Traces of their "activities" were also left behind in Ouadbanga. Fortunately for scientific research, no one after them attempted “archaeological excavation” in Sudan until the end of the nineteenth century.

Click on the image to visit the Amani Shakheti jewelry gallery