The Truth Show BLOG

Very little has been discovered about Nastasen. So, if anyone wanted to know his history, there was little to do other than dive into his tomb. Although that’s easier said than done, as the water level has risen dramatically since the time of Reisner’s expedition.

At least his workers were able to find the staircase that led down into the tomb. After the crew dug out the flight, one of the workers was able to make his way down into the crypt. Once there, he spent his time digging a hole and grabbing shabti — statues that are meant to look after the deceased in the next life.

Nuri Stretches Over 200 Acres Of Desert

The tomb the two archaeologists were exploring is located in Nuri. The site stretches over nearly 200 acres of land and houses around 20 pyramids that were constructed from 650 B.C. to 300 B.C. Nuri is also close to the east of the Nile River, so the pyramids are prone to flooding.

Nastasen’s pyramid base is a 100-foot square that sits on top of a level patch of ground at low elevation. Being a mile from the river, this pyramid is most likely to flood. As a result, the three chambers of the pharaoh’s tomb are submerged in water.

The Pyramids Are The Burial Sites Of The Kushite Royals

The string of 20 pyramids marks the burial grounds of the Kushite royals, the “black pharaohs” who operated as vassals on the southern edges of the Egyptian empire. The pharaohs emerged triumphant during the political chaos that followed the demise of the New Kingdom of Egypt. And from 760 B.C. to 650 B.C., five Kushite pharaohs ruled all of Egypt.

During their rule, the pharaohs built grand structures up and down the Nile River, reviving some of the religious practices of the old Egyptian empire. One such practice was constructing pyramids to bury their kings beneath.

Underwater Archaeologists Were Needed To Explore The Tomb

The pyramids of Nuri remained relatively unexplored throughout history. Since underwater archaeology had yet to be attempted in Sudan, there was no safe way for archaeologists to explore the underbelly of the tombs. The first person to try breaching the burial chambers was George Reisner, an American archaeologist who specialized in ancient Egypt and its buried history.

Reisner was easily able to explore tombs within the Pyramids of Giza, which housed ancient royals. But all he discovered at Nuri was that the pharaohs were buried underground, and that their tombs were flooded.

They Had Their Work Cut Out For Them

On their final dive, Romey and Creasman floated into the third chamber of the tomb, right over Nastasen’s undisturbed resting place. They discussed the upcoming year and the goals they had for the project. The biggest was to somehow get the 2,300-year-old sarcophagus that is submerged underwater to the surface. It’s going to be a challenge, to say the least.

Creasman is optimistic, saying, “I think we finally have the technology to be able to tell the story of Nuri, to fill in the blanks of what happened here. t’s a remarkable point in history that so few know about. It’s a story that deserves to be told.”