Picture Day Friday: Western Deffufa in Kerma from Ancient Nubia

This is the Western Deffufa in the town of Kerma from the ancient Nubian world of modern-day Sudan.

Kerma was settled around 2400 BCE. It was a walled city containing religious buildings, large circular dwellings, a palace, a funerary temple, and well-planned roads.

The deffufa is a structure unique to Nubian architecture. The Western Deffufa is a 164 ft by 82 ft mud brick temple surrounded by a boundary wall. It is 59 ft tall and comprises three stories with chambers inside connected by passageways. Religious ceremonies were performed on top of the temple.