Artefacts from the X-Group



Museum History Collections Outdoor museum Visitor info. Activities Nubia Interact Resources	Collections > The X Group With the decline of the Meroitic kingdom, around 350 AD, the northern part of Nubia seems to have served as a refuge for Meroites looking for more secure areas. This might have contributed to the appearance of the Ballana culture, which is the phase of Nubian culture most extensively represented in the Nubia Museum. The largest and richest tombs ever found in Nubia were those at Ballana and Qustul, on opposite sides of the Nile. These tombs were covered by large mounds, sometimes reaching 13 meters in height and more than 50 meters in diameter. They are dated between the 3rd and 6th / 7th centuries AD. The objects from these tombs on display in the Nubia Museum were not only found in the burial rooms but also in the mounds covering the tombs. Aside from representing the indigenous art, they also reflect the styles and motifs of the other cultures that settled for differing periods of time in or adjacent to Lower Nubia: Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Coptic and, from the 6th century AD, Byzantine, when Christianity spread into Nubia and became the state religion. Bracelets, Ballana, Nubia Silver diadems, Ballana, Nubia Gaming board, Qustul, Nubia Incense burner, Ballana, Nubia Oil lamp, Ballana, Nubia Oil lamp, Ballana, Nubia