Sudan war threatens Meroe pyramids as preservation work halts

More than 200 ancient pyramids at Meroe in northern Sudan are being left exposed to decay as the country's war continues and preservation work remains suspended. The site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies about 200 kilometres north of Khartoum and is one of the country's best-known archaeological locations. Officials and site workers say the lack of security has made routine conservation impossible.

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Archaeologist Mahmoud Suleiman said the site may face a disaster and that collapses are possible. He said the more than three-year conflict has prevented experts from carrying out basic maintenance. Guard Mustafa Ahmed said windblown sand and encroaching vegetation are speeding up deterioration, while stones have already begun to fall from some structures.

Antiquities inspector Mohamed Mubarak said salt released from accumulated sand is attacking the fragile stone and eroding ancient inscriptions. The pyramids at Meroe were built between 800 BC and 350 AD as tombs for rulers of the Kingdom of Kush. The site contains more than 200 narrow, steep-sided pyramids, making it one of the largest concentrations of such monuments in Africa.

The current damage is being linked not only to the fighting but also to climate change, the dispersal of Sudan's archaeological workforce and the halt of foreign missions. Those factors have left the site without the regular care needed to slow natural decay. The warning over Meroe adds to wider concern about Sudan's cultural heritage during the war, which began in April 2023.

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UNESCO has said more than 100 cultural sites have been damaged and at least 22 museums looted or destroyed since the conflict started. That makes the condition of Meroe part of a broader pattern of heritage loss, with experts warning that once structural damage begins at fragile ancient sites, recovery can be difficult and costly. Meroe is significant not only for Sudan but for the wider history of the Kingdom of Kush and the archaeological record of the Nile Valley.

The site's pyramids are narrower and steeper than those in Egypt, and their inscriptions and stonework are considered especially vulnerable to weathering. With preservation work halted, the immediate risk is that environmental exposure will continue unchecked while the conflict limits access for specialists. What remains unclear is how long the site can withstand the current conditions without intervention and whether any conservation work can resume safely.

The warnings from staff and inspectors suggest the damage is already advancing, but the full extent has not been formally assessed during the war. For now, the main factors to watch are security conditions, the return of archaeological teams and whether any emergency protection measures can be put in place.

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