The Southern Cemetery contains more than 200 graves and includes early phases; initial Meroë royal burials in the 3rd century BCE were placed here before shifting north.
Claim about The Pyramids of Meroë · Stance: supporting
Nomination dossier states the Southern Cemetery contains more than 200 graves; it also notes that when rulers began being buried at Meroë in the 3rd century BCE, they were initially interred in the southern cemetery under pyramids, before the main royal burial ground shifted north.
Site
- The Pyramids of Meroë Shendi, River Nile State, Sudan
Evidence for and against
- Nomination dossier describes Southern Cemetery scale (>200 graves) and early burial types
Other claims about The Pyramids of Meroë
- The nomination dossier provides a component-level coordinate for Meroe 2 (North and South cemeteries).
- Kushite pyramids at Meroë are described as smaller and steeper than Old Kingdom Egyptian pyramids (bases c. 4.5–17.5 m; angles 60°–73°).
- Conservation and visitor infrastructure issues are explicitly noted in the nomination dossier (sandstone fragility, need for conservation, limited interpretation on-site).
- UNESCO decision records inscription on the World Heritage List under criteria (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v).