since this is a nigeria board, i will present the different faces of nigeria. some i will name other i will not because it was not label which person is what. the first one is a actor of yoruba extraction

the government as well as outside organization from europe, america, and especially abu dhabi are seriously preserving the monuments of northern sudan. especially, the tombs inside the pyramids of nuri, meroe, soleb temple, musawarrat es sufra complex, royal bath, and many of that i have not mention nor on this trend. however these pictures are of the restorage works going on in the Royal bath of meroe, northern sudan. the purpose of the bath is still unknown.

i think i mentioned this before, it was a recently discovered ancient city in northern sudan that is very well preserve. it consist of a very large amun temple and the city is about 24 football fields large. however, the article that i have copied will explain it all.


Dangeil, Sudan — Its desolate appearance is uninspiring, says Canadian
archaeologist Julie Anderson, describing the remote site in northern
Africa where she and Salah Mohamed Ahmed, a Sudanese colleague, have
worked for the past several years: "A flat gravelly desert stretches as
far as the eye can see."

Appearances are deceiving, however. Anderson has her sights set on a
place and time about 2,000 years ago when a civilization known as Nubia
flourished here. A huge temple was surrounded by a thriving city at the
juncture of trade routes; it was inhabited by strong warriors known by
the Romans as "the pupil smiters."

"They could put an arrow through your eyes," Anderson says. "We have
found arrowheads, even in the temple."

This never has been a place for the faint of heart, and certainly is not
now. The midday temperature often tops 110 degrees F. The sand, though
studded with treasures such as ancient bread molds, is booby-trapped by
scorpions. Plagued by war, famine and poverty, Sudan skulks in the
shadow of its famous northern neighbor, even though it contains more
pyramids than Egypt.

"The kingdom of Nubia has been overlooked largely due to the
difficulties of access," Anderson says, citing the desert terrain and
lack of roads that characterize the largest country in Africa. Still and
all, the 5-foot-1-inch-tall Anderson eagerly anticipates spending four
months a year here for the next couple of decades, at least.

Having earned her doctorate in 1996 from the University of Toronto at
age 32, she's the youngest head of a mission working in Sudan. Her goal:
to dig out the city of Dangeil, which was occupied and then abandoned in
the latter half of the Meroitic age of the Nubian civilization. Slim
though the chances are, there is the possibility that Anderson will
unearth a Meroitic version of the Rosetta stone: a bilingual record that
would help scholars to decode the mysterious language of the Meroites.

"The Meroitic language eludes us," Anderson says. 'It is one of the only
undeciphered languages in the world. We certainly have information about
these people from Greek and Latin texts, but we can't read their own
language. We have a lot of their writing — on potsherds, stone documents
and columns on temple walls. What we need is a Rosetta stone."

Dangeil was all but ignored by archaeologists until three years ago,
when Anderson came upon the site with Salah M. Ahmed of the National
Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Khartoum. The site was in
danger of encroachment by a village. The archaeologists' timely
discovery could help rewrite the historical significance of the Meroitic
period of Nubian culture, which lasted from the third century B.C. to
the third century A.D.

Dangeil, which means "redbrick rubble" in Nubian, is large: the size of
about 24 football fields, according to Anderson. "It has a fortified
enclosure in the center. Ruins of a large tower are visible on the
southeast corner of the ancient wall, and a monumental entry gate guards
the west side. Several enigmatic mounds of earth, the highest rising
more than 12 feet above the surrounding plain, dot the site. Potsherds,
sandstone pieces and many redbrick fragments lie scattered across the
ground."

Anderson and Ahmed started excavating a mound in the center of the site.
As they dug, they unearthed Meroitic pottery, redbrick architectural
fragments and a number of ceramic bread molds, handmade and fired by the
Nubians. (They were used only once, as the mold was then broken to get
the bread out after baking.) "Bread molds are a dead giveaway for a
temple," Anderson says, adding that bread was a common offering to the
gods and a basic food of priests.

Eventually, their efforts revealed the northern half of a redbrick
temple gate still standing 11 1/2 feet high in some places, and
measuring 111 feet long and 18 feet wide.

"Further excavation brought us into a columned forecourt where six
white-plastered columns studded the interior and a stairwell led up one
end of the pylon," Anderson says. "Eastward, toward the likely location
of the god's sanctuary, we unearthed a second gate and court."

During the Meroitic period, the Nubians worshipped several gods.
Comparisons of the building plan of this temple at Dangeil with those of
other temples in Sudan indicate that Anderson and Ahmed have discovered
an exceptionally large and well-preserved 2,000-year-old temple
dedicated to the god Amun. A ram-headed figure, Amun was the State God,
who conferred the kingship on the Meroitic ruler.

"For some reason, the Meroites abandoned this temple," Anderson says.
"There seems to have been a big fire. You excavate down through the
rubble, and there's a huge layer of fire-blackened roofing. My workmen
and I end up covered head to foot in charcoal dust."

The end of the Meroitic kingdom remains a mystery. Anderson cites a text
from an Axumite king that says he looted the capital city of Meroe,
which is about 90 miles south of Dangeil, and could have bearing on
Dangeil's demise.

"It looks like the place is decayed," Anderson says of Dangeil, "but a
huge fire on my site might indicate some hostilities and pressures that
are causing it to collapse."

Anderson often lapses into the present tense when referring to the
2,000-year-old city of Dangeil.

"For me," she says, "it is very much alive."

Julie Anderson is a research associate with the Royal Ontario Museum.
When she's not on site in Dangeil, she works as a landscaper in Ontario,
Canada.

note the similarities:soleb temple northern sudan

note karnak is the largest ancient temple on the planet.

this is the temple of karnak in upper egypt. this was builted by multiple kushite and egyptian pharaohs. notice that the temple resemble the one i showed in northern sudan. the reason for the similiarities is due to the fact that both countries were part of one kingdom during this period. the pharaoh that rule during the period of the construction of soleb was amenhotep3 and his nubian wife queen tiye. they are the parents of akhenaten, and the grand parents of king tut.

the temple of edfu egypt. this temple was dedicated to the god horus, it was builted during the greco-roman period. also, two local ladies strolling by the temple.

The Arch of Trajan in Algeria. constructed in the roman period.[left][/left]

really, that is very interesting madlady. thanks for info.

Helmet mask, Fang; Gabon
Wood, brass hobnails, pigment; H. 14 1/2"

Known as Ngontang (or Ngontanga), this mask variety appeared among the Fang people of southern Cameroon and Gabon shortly before 1920. It represents a spirit of the dead visiting as a young white woman from the world beyond. The mask was used to locate sorcerers–those who misuse spiritual powers–but also performs at feasts, funerals, celebrations of birth, and on the occasion of an important communal decision. Fang interpretation of the four faces on this mask varies from four spirits to four stages of life to four relatives. It should be noted that examples exist with one, two, or three faces. Moreover, many examples bear mask-like faces that are all of the same size. With regards to this mask, the difference in size of the various maskettes adds to the overall interest of the piece

Ife bronze casting of a King, dated around 12th Century

hello, epi. however, to answer your question, according to some scholars the nok culture does not exist presently, but other scholars believe that the present yoruba people is connected to the nok culture,

this statue is from the royal bath in meroe northern sudan. scholars are still debating the purpose and fuction of the royal bath house.

Shield, 19th–20th century
Kenya or Tanzania; Maasai people
Leather, wood, paint, fur
L. 33 1/4 in. (84.5 cm)
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Joseph J. Shapiro, 1972 (1978.412.644)

African shields represent one of the many genres of artifacts that blur the line between utilitarian craft and fine art. This convex, elliptical shield comes from the Maasai, a pastoralist people who live in the grasslands of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. The shield is composed of buffalo hide sewn onto a wooden frame. The handle is attached at the center back of the shield and wrapped with leather strips. The surface of the shield is decorated with large, nearly symmetrical crescents in red, white, and black. The mid-rib bisecting the shield features alternating triangular-shaped motifs and a variety of colors including blue and white. Among the Maasai, red paint was traditionally obtained by mixing earth with blood or the red sap of the solanum campylae fruit. White was derived from local clays, and black from the skins of burnt gourds. Younger warriors were only allowed the use of black, white, or gray on their shields, indicating that the shield illustrated here was probably owned by a proven warrior herder.

Shields remain one of the Maasai warrior's most important tools. They were used in warfare and hunting as well as practice and training. Outside of the warring context, however, shields were used in rites of passage and also functioned as prestige objects and symbols of identification. Maasai society is organized into distinct age and sex grades. Early twentieth-century studies revealed that spear markings and shield designs were once used to differentiate some of these Maasai subgroups and also hinted at a larger, complex lineage identification system. Shield designs are known as sirata, many of which have fallen into disuse and are poorly understood even by the Maasai themselves. Some examples are at least known to survive today: sirata sambu draws upon the markings of a zebra, which have been used as the pattern of the shield mid-rib, and sirata ol ebor indicates the white space that sometimes appears in the center of the shield. The proper right side of this shield features a painted red patch that is probably a sirata el langarbwali. The patch, which may also take the form of a red flowerlike motif, is a badge that signifies great bravery in battle and is only painted with the permission of a high-ranking chief, again suggesting the prestige of this shield's original owner. The intricacy of design and high craftsmanship of Maasai shields extend beyond utilitarianism and convey the sense of honor and status with which their warrior owners were invested

nok art nigeria

leptis magna libya

Leptis magna in libya. this complex was builted during the Roman period around 200bc.

this man is famous mainly in sudan, but is known in upper egypt, ethiopia, eritea, somalia, djibouti, and even in yemen. he is famous for his interesting songs that harken back to the days of the pharaohs, he is northen sudanese and nubian by birth, and he even sings his songs in the nubian language from time to time. his name is muhammed wardi.

distinguished face man from northern sudan

cute little girls posing at the pyramid complex for tourist at nuri northern sudan

pretty girl from south sudan.

cute little girls from northern sudan

a very confident looking woman from northern sudan.

beatiful faces in the sudan east, west, north, and south.

this person needs no introduction alec wek from south sudan. she is from the dinka tribe.

ezeagu, help me find some more artifacts across the continet. i was reluctant to include the al magreb countries, but madlady suggested otherwise.

Nok just reminds me of the Igala, Tiv and Idoma people.


so do you believe that these people are descendants of the nok culture.

nok statues

statues of the nok culture in northern nigeria. this is from museums and private collection alike. the statues is dated between 500bc to 300 bc.