Divers Discover Something Incredible Inside 2,300-Year-Old Submerged Pyramid
Long before today, pharaohs ruled much of present-day Egypt and Sudan with an iron fist. Many of these pharaohs were buried in impressive pyramids, some of the greatest architectural achievements of all time, that still stand today. These days, many people believe archeologists have learned all there is to know about these ancient civilizations. They are wrong, however.
Not too long ago, over 2,300 years after the pharaohs reigned, archeologist Pearce Creasman and his team decided to explore one of these incredible pyramids, one partially submerged in water. However, they had no idea that the risk and dangerous expedition could lead to one of the most significant historical discoveries ever…
1. Preparing to Plunge Into The Depths
While this incredible story ends with archeologist Pearce Creasman, it all began with his colleague, Kristin Romey (below). For years and years, Romey had searched for the forgotten tomb of Nastasen, a pharaoh of Nubia. She hoped that finding the grave of Nastasen would bring new information to light about the ancient civilization of Kush that once held sway over much of northern Africa.
Finally, she found her answer. Historical texts suggested Nastasen had been buried in an unexplored pyramid on the border of Egypt and Sudan. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a problem. There was an excellent reason that most of the pyramid remained unexplored…
2. Knowing Where To Head
When texts revealed that Nastasen’s tomb sat underneath a pyramid in the Nuri complex, Romey’s heart sank. There was a very good reason why the pyramid remained unexplored: much of it was submerged underwater, due to rising groundwater in northern Sudan. Exploring the tomb would require underwater archeology, a field still in its infancy.
However, despite the challenges, Romey could not help but feel excited when she arrived at Nuri and saw the pyramid under which Nastasen’s tomb hid. While the circumstances were certainly unappealing for Romey and her team, they felt willing to risk it all to reach Nastasen’s tomb!
3. Nastasen’s Submerged Pyramid
For those who do not know, the Nuri site stretches over nearly 200 acres of land. The massive complex of nearly 20 pyramids lies in northern Sudan, not far from the border with Egypt, just off the River Nile’s east bank. All the pyramids were constructed some 2,500 years ago, between 650 and 300 B.C.
The pyramid under which Nastasen’s tomb lies is not the largest in the complex, with a base of just 100 square feet. Even though the pyramid is a mile from the river, it’s still very prone to flooding by groundwater. As a result, most of the pharaoh’s final resting place remains submerged year-round.
4. The Majestic Nuri
As stated, Nastasen’s pyramid is just one of many at Nuri. In fact, it’s not even the most impressive location in the complex! However, no matter the size, all these towering structures display elements of art and architecture unique to Nuri. As a result, the pyramids and other locations in the area were are as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The Kush Kingdom built the pyramids under the shadow of a nearby mountain, Gebel Barker, because they considered it the home of their god, Amon. Under the protection of their god, pharaohs felt safe being buried with their treasures. And Nastasen became one of the wealthiest pharaohs of the Kush Kingdom…
5. Nastasen the Pharaoh
Not much remains known about Nastasen. In fact, we don’t even know who his father truly was! However, archeologists and historians do know that he ruled towards the end of the Kush Kingdom. They also know of his greatest victory: at one point, an Egyptian pharaoh, Khabbash, attacked the Kush. However, things did not end well for Kabbash.
In the end, the Nubian soldiers from Kush defeated the invaders from Egypt. And not only did Nastasen protect his people, but he also captured many fine boats, treasure, and other booty during his victory. Between the lack of information about Nastasen and his incredible wealth, there were plenty of reasons to explore his tomb!
6. A Stone Points the Way
After his win over Khabbash, Nastasen had a 5-foot-high stela – a granite monument – created in his honor. While it was likely once adorned the temple of Amon at Gebel Barkal, near Nuri, the stela later turned up in the city of Dongola, a city in northern Sudan.
This stone has become one of the most famous pieces in Egyptian archeology, as it features the most recent examples of Egyptian hieroglyphs yet discovered. What’s more, the message in the stone celebrates the victory of the black pharaoh and also helped locate his underwater tomb! Like something out of an Indiana Jones movie, this stone pointed archeologists towards a pyramid and underwater tomb…
7. One Main Difference
We can all agree that Nastasen’s pyramid at Nuri resembles its Egyptian counterparts quite closely. However, there is one clear distinction between the building works. You see, while the Egyptian pharaohs were buried in the middle of their pyramids, Kushite kings actually lie underneath theirs. This is why Nastasen’s tomb has remained submerged all this time!
Now facing an underwater tomb, archeologist Kristin Romey and her team knew that they faced an incredibly risky adventure. For them to be able to reach the chambers, they would need to begin by digging into the bedrock beneath the structures. Then they would need to dive into the underwater tomb. Thankfully, Romey knew someone that would be able to help…
8. Returning to Nuri
In 2018, Kristin Romey reached out to a colleague who had the required skills to finally break into the pharaoh’s tomb and discover everything that hid inside. That man was Pearce Creasman, a fellow archeologist.
An expert in ancient Egypt and Sudan, Creasman ran an Egyptian research program at the University of Arizona since the ’80s. Not only that, but he happened to have experience in underwater archeology! With Creasman on board, the team looking to explore Nastasen’s underwater tomb also received a grant from National Geographic, who Creasman had worked with before. Now, all that was left was to dive into the tomb and explore! But first, they would need to excavate a way in…
9. Another Reason For Diving Down
While Creasman certainly wanted to learn as much about Nastasen as Romey did, he had other reasons for wanting to dive into the underwater tomb. First, underwater archeology is still a new and developing field. Creasman thought the expedition to Nuri would be the perfect opportunity to try out new techniques he had developed.
Second, the evidence suggested that Nastasen had been one of the final rulers buried at the site. Therefore, Nastasen’s burial spot would help determine the state and condition of other underwater tombs found in the same region. With all these thoughts bubbling inside his head, Creasman hopped on a plane and traveled to Africa…
10. The Tomb’s Entry Point
While setting up in Nuri, Creasman and Romey understood that their first task would be to uncover the stairway down to the tomb. While archeologists in the ’30s had discovered a stairway to beneath the pyramid, they abandoned it after finding the chamber flooded with groundwater. With no idea what lie beyond, they had no idea they were walking away from an underwater tomb!
In the present day, Romey, Creasman, and the rest of the team began digging. It would take them almost a year, but the expedition managed to uncover the staircase. By January 2019, they finally managed to gig up the tomb’s entry point. However, their job was just beginning…
11. A Risky Adventure
In an interview with BBC, Creasman described the digging and noted that his team had dug “as far as [they] could.” Furthermore, even though the staircase had sixty-five steps, the researchers had only “got about 40 stairs down until [they] hit water.”
While they managed to dig out a few more steps, the expedition was quickly turning dangerous. “[We] knew we wouldn’t be able to go any further without putting our heads under,” Creasman said. With nowhere else to go, Creasman, Romey, and the rest of their team knew it was time to bring out the diving equipment and swim into the underwater tomb.
12. The Dangers of Underwater Archeology
As the dive team prepared to swim into the underwater tomb, they could not help but think about the dangers that awaited them. After all, the divers who entered the chambers automatically risked being trapped if the rocks surrounding the opening fell in, or worse, the roof collapsed. So not only were they risking their lives, but they had to be extremely careful not to cause any accident inside the tomb.
To make matters even more complicated, even from the outside, the team could tell that waters inside the underwater tomb were almost too murky. This made the likelihood of accidentally crashing into something even more probable. Believe it or not, these were not the only dangers the team faced…
13. Entering the Tomb
The murky waters and chance of a cave-in made the dive into Nastasen’s underwater tomb incredibly dangerous. To complicate matters even further, given the confined space of the entryway, air tanks would never fit inside the chamber. Instead, the explorers would need to rely on a tube that brought air from the surface directly to their mouths!
Now, the team needed to work on yet another problem: how to enter through the tomb’s right entranceway with all their other equipment. Even without air tanks, they would still need cameras and other archeological tools. This is where Creasman’s training in underwater archeology came in handy. Soon enough, he came up with an idea just crazy enough to work!
14. An Ingenious Plan
While Romey had understood that entering Nastasen’s underwater tomb would be challenging, it turned out far more complicated than she ever anticipated. Between the lack of light and air, abundance of water, and small entranceway, it seemed like an impossible task. Thankfully, Creasman had an idea!
With all the dangers in mind, Creasman decided to use a steel chute, one about the size of a personal television, to bolster the entry space. Now, it was less likely that the entrance would collapse in behind them. Not only that, but while the divers would need to struggle through the chute to gain access to the tomb, it would be easier to pass equipment and items through the shaft. With the chute in place, the morning finally arrived for Creasman and Romey to enter the underwater tomb…
15. Too Deep?
Finally, after years of waiting and searching, the morning arrived for Creasman and Romey to dive into Nastasen’s underwater tomb. However, Creasman, always the first one down to the dive site, did not like what he saw at the tomb entrance on that morning. In fact, when Romey arrived, he almost called the entire dive off!
“It’s really deep today. There’s not going to be any headroom in the first chamber,” Creasman warned Romey, himself already chest-deep in the murky waters, checking light and depth readings. So, the two began to have one last conversation about whether or not the treasures were truly worth the risks to themselves and their team…
16. Diving In
Thankfully, after a long conversation, Romey convinced Creasman that they could not back out, not after waiting for so long. So, with that, the two archeologists began putting on their dive suits and preparing their equipment. Now, after so many years, they would finally explore the forgotten resting place of one of the last pharaohs of the Kush Kingdom.
With a final wave goodbye and well-wishes from those remaining on the surface, Pearce Creasman, Kristin Romey, and the rest of the team dove into Nastasen’s underwater tomb. What they found inside would blow them all away and change archeology forever…
17. The Secrets of the Underwater Tomb
As archaeologists Creasman and Romey entered Nastasen’s underwater tomb, they could not believe their eyes. “There are three chambers with these beautiful arched ceilings about the size of a small bus,” Creasman said. Exploring this forgotten tomb filled the archeologists with excitement as they moved from one chamber to the next!
“You go in one chamber into the next, [and] its pitch back. And you know you’re in a tomb if your flashlights aren’t on. And it starts revealing the secrets that are held within,” he continued. The secrets Creasman and Romey’s team discovered would make all the dangers worth it…
18. The Sarcophagus
In the third chamber, the team finally found what they were looking for: the final resting place of Nastasen. Romey recalls the moment with expert clarity, more almost a year later: “Swimming through a low, rounded, rock-cut doorway, we [entered] the third chamber. The stone sarcophagus is dimly visible below us—a thrilling sight.”
After all this time, Creasman and Romey finally found their desired treasure! Unfortunately, this was only the silver lining on a darker cloud. Due to the water and weight of the sarcophagus, they would need to wait to open it until they found a way to bring it to to the surface. In fact, they plan on excavating the sarcophagus in 2020. Thankfully, their dive was not fruitless. The team brought plenty of valuable treasures to the surface from the underwater tomb…
19. It Was Worth It
Fortunately, even without Nastasen’s sarcophagus, the incredible struggle to be able to get into the chambers proved worthwhile. Creasman and Romey could not believe the artifacts that managed to survive in the underwater tomb through centuries of flooding! “The gold offerings were still sitting there – these small glass-type statues [that] had been leafed in gold,” Creasman explained. “And while the water destroyed the glass underneath, the little gold flake was still there.”
Creasman, Romey, and the team felt more than pleased with their findings. Even though the opening of the sarcophagus still sat out of their grasp, everyone knew that their efforts were not in vain. After all, they had become the first to enter the underwater tomb of Nastasen! Moreover, the gold was not the only thing the team brought back with them…
20. More Treasures
The small remnants of gold that Creasman and Romey found hinted at a fascinating historical reveal. You see, most tombs in Egypt and Sudan have been raided by thieves. However, the archeologists believe that the water might have prevented thieves from entering Nastansen’s tomb. After all, if someone had been able to enter, they would have taken all the gold with them!
Moreover, the gold was not the only item Creasman and Romey returned to the surface with. Inside Nastansen’s underwater tomb, the team also discovered jewelry and figurines. While this did not surprise the archeologists, as Kushite artisans were among the greatest of their time, it did surprise them to find them in such fantastic condition!
21. Plenty Left To Discover
Without a doubt, there is much more to find in Nastasen’s underwater tomb. Both Creasman and Romey hope that their excavation of the sarcophagus in 2020 will bring new treasures and, even more important, new information.
Both Romey and Creasman have big aspirations for the dig in the coming years. “I think we finally have the technology to be able to tell the story of Nuri – to fill in the blanks of what happened there,” Creasman told National Geographic. “It’s a remarkable point in history that so few know about. And it’s a story that deserves to be told.” But what do we already know about Nastasen and the Kushites?
22. The “Black Pharaohs”
One of the biggest things that separates the Kush pharaohs from the Egyptian pharaohs is their darker skin. As a result, they have earned the nickname “the black pharaohs.” Incredibly, these “black pharaohs” were initially underlings to the Egyptian emperors! However, once the New Kingdom fell apart in 2000 B.C., the Black Pharaohs separated and started their own kingdom.
By 760 B.C., the Kushites had started to take more and more control over the whole of Egypt. Before long, they worked to put their stamp on their territory as well. Looking to their past, the Kush Kingdom began building pyramids. However, to differentiate themselves, they designed them differently. Today, more than 80 royals are interred at Nuri, with about one in four of their graves crowned by pyramids.
23. 2000 B.C.
Pearce Creasman explained the historical importance of the Kushites during an interview with the BBC. “[The Kushites] were on the only corridor across the Sahara where you can pass through the desert in sight of drinking water the whole way, so that put them in a very important position,” he said. “This pre-dates the arrival of the camel.”
After initially rising to power, the Kush Kingdom’s influence regularly waxed and waned. However, as they produced a large part of the region’s gold, the Kushites could never truly be ignored. After leaving Egypt, the Black Pharaohs continued to rule over their desert until the fourth century A.D, when their reign finally came to an end.
24. Not The First
While Pearce Creasman and Kristin Romey were the first to explore the underwater tomb of Nastasen, they were hardly the first archeologists to explore Nuri. One of the earliest to explore the complex was George Reisner, an American archeologist from the 1930s.
Before tackling Nuri, Reisner had already dug at Giza, the home of the iconic Great Pyramid of Egypt. An expert on ancient civilizations of the area, he seemed like the perfect person to lead a dig in the newly discovered Nuri. Still, Reisner could never have predicted that his excavation would end in a serve disappointment for everyone involved…
25. Time to Dig
Reisner traveled to Nuri back in the early 1930s with a singular in mind. You see, he wanted to dig into the burial chambers of another famous Kush pharaoh, Taharqa. Before he arrived, other Egyptologists started to draw up maps of the pyramids at Nuri. Before long, Reisner realized just how difficult this task would be, given the proximity of the pyramids.
Then, after arriving in Nuri, Reisner made another critical discovery, one that would come back to haunt everyone that ever attempted to dig in Nuri. Many of the monuments had filled with groundwater from the nearby Nile River. No one knew it would take until 2019 to start exploring these underwater tombs…
26. The Outcome
Things in Nuri did not turn out as Reisner expected. Despite digging and searching for months, he and his team found nothing of note – at least in Reisner’s mind. In fact, the archeologists didn’t even bother publishing the outcome of his investigation! Unsurprisingly, the knock-on effect was that the site didn’t receive that attention that it might otherwise have received. Unfortunately, there’s another reason why Reisner chose not to publish his studies of Nuri…
It seemed hat Reisner had always considered the Kushite kings not to be the equals of the Egyptians, because of the color of their skin. Not only that, but he also didn’t see their building works as anything other than “imitations” of earlier glories. However, archeologists Romey and Creasman had a very different opinion!
27. Under the Desert
Even though Reisner had never actually published any papers about his expedition at Nuri, his workers did discover the stairway down into Nastasen’s tomb. What’s more, after the group was able to dig the flight out, before finding that the tomb beneath the pyramid had flooded. Before long, Reisner’s team had gone while the tomb disappeared back under the desert. Until Romey and Creaseman showed up on the scene and changed history forever!
While most historical discoveries are made by archeologists like Kristen Romey and Pearce Creaseman, sometimes ordinary people find ancient treasures beyond their wildest fantasies. People like Luciano Faggiano…
28. A Man in Lecce
Luciano Faggiano lived and grew up far away from Nuri, in Lecce, Italy. Leece lacks the tourism of cities like Rome, instead relying on olive oil and ceramics production. As Faggiano grew up, he realized he did not want to work in agriculture or ceramics. Instead, he dreamed of owning his own business, one that might actually help bring tourists to the area!
You see, ever since Faggiano was a little boy, he dreamed of running his own Italian restaurant. While he had to wait many years, Faggiano finally started to realize his ambitions at the age of 60. Little did he know that his dream would lead him on the greatest adventure of his life!
29. Searching For a Broken Pipe
After years of waiting, Faggiano finally managed to achieve his dream: he purchased a building and started constructing his restaurant. However, while redoing the bathroom before opening, Faggiano started having serious water issues. Upon investigation, he discovered that a leaking toilet pipe was causing the problem. As such, the new restaurant owner, along with his sons, started digging up the pipe.
Faggiano felt confident that he could fix the pipe himself. However, in attempting to do so, Faggiano and his sons would find something rather extraordinary. Something even more incredible than what Romey and Creaseman found in the underwater tomb…
30. Trying To Remove It
While following the pipe to find the leak, Fagginao and his sons found something peculiar: a false floor. More curious than ever, they started to dismantle the floor, piece by piece. While removing the floor, the family team had to remove bags and bags of rubble and dirt from the bathroom!
Still, the Faggiano and his sons stayed determined to reach the problem. They couldn’t wait to discover all the secrets hiding beneath the mysterious building. Soon, the Faggiano family cracked through the false floor. With this layer out of the way, Faggiano and his sons made a jaw-dropping discovery. As it turns out, their new building was built on top of an ancient treasure stashed away for centuries.
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