Seemingly lost under the folds of giant apricot-coloured dunes, this ancient royal cemetery, with its clusters of narrow pyramids blanketing the sandswept hills, is one of the most spectacular sights in Sudan – and the best thing is that you'll probably have the place largely to yourself. The Meroitic Pharaohs thrived from the 8th century BC until a combination of encroaching desert and maruading Abyssinians put an end to Begrawiya's use as a royal cemetery in AD 350. Some of the tombs' antechambers contain well-preserved hieroglyphics. There are two main groups of pyramids here seperated by several hundred metres of sandy desert. In total there are about 100 pyramids, or remains of pyramids.
Many of the pyramids are missing their tops is thanks to a 19th-century Italian 'archeologist' who thought treasure might be contained within. Rather than going about the laborious task of opening them properly he merely chopped the tops off and, somewhat to the surprise of many people, he did indeed find treasure.
On the opposite side of the road to the main pyramids are the Noble Tombs , a collection of several dozen far smaller pyramids. Entry is free. From these head straight west towards the Nile and you'll come across the Royal City (admission S£50), where the so-called Roman bath is the top attraction. In truth this site is very ramshakle and overgrown and probably only of interest to an archeologist.
