Meroë was an ancient city in the Kushite Kingdom, and the sheer number of its still-standing pyramids indicate that it was a massive city, once bustling with traders and everyday inhabitants. (And, most obviously, a booming tradition of masonry.)

Archaeologists have identified that the numerous pyramid structures are very clearly in the Nubian style. The structures’ sharp angles and relatively narrow footprints carry all the hallmarks of the former Kushite Kingdom, meaning Meroë was a pinnacle location in one of history’s greatest and least-understood civilizations.

The kingdom stretched throughout this region in ancient times. But now, little more than the dusty pyramids standing solemnly in the desert remain of the city and, by proxy, of the Kushites it belonged to. But with more than 200 of them to mark the location, they are quite enough to astound visitors and historians alike.