By the middle of the second millennium BCE, the revival of Pharaonic power in Egypt saw renewed Egyptian military activity in Lower Nubia. The New Kingdom Pharaoh Tuthmosis I (1504-1492) penetrated south of the Third Cataract, establishing garrisons at Sai and Tombos . The Egyptians are believed to have conquered Kerma (capital of Kush) during this period, although later campaigns in the Dongola Reach under Tuthmosis III bear witness to the continued resistance of the Kushites/Nubians to the invaders.

During the later XVIIIth and XIXth Dynasties, Lower and Middle Nubia, areas north of the Third Cataract were governed by an Egyptian Viceroy. Major settlements and/or temples south of the Second Cataract were located at Sesibi, Soleb, Sedeinga, Sai and Amara West.  Whether there existed comparable sites south of the Third Cataract still remains uncertain. It seems likely that more direct Egyptian 'colonial' rule was restricted to areas north of the Cataract, although recent excavations at Kerma have located a substantial New Kingdom temple and other structures north of the Kerma metropolis.

Further work at Tombos has also shown that the cemetery there continued to be used into the Ramesside period see  see Tombos excavations 2000

Few New Kingdom sites have yet been identified in the Mahas region.  At the southern end of the Third Cataract, at Tombos there are several XVIIIth Dynasty inscriptions    Another small group of minor inscriptions is also known from Sabu, near Kajbar. A few new inscriptions have recently been located at Jebel Wahaba, just to the north of Sabu and also at Iraw, opposite Fogo, on the east bank of the Nile c.15km north of Tombos.  The only major Egyptian foundations in the Mahas region were probably those at Sesibi and Soleb

Sesibi town

Founded in the XVIIIth Dynasty, Sesibi marks the southernmost of the series of major New Kingdom centres in Lower and Middle Nubia.  The temples of the site were built by Amenophis IV (Akhenaten) although whether the first enclosure was built during his reign remains uncertain - an earlier foundation is possible. The 'townsite' is represented by an rectangular enclosure covering some 6 hectares, although much of this was devoted to the temples and storage facilities and no traces of any buildings were found over significant areas of the site. As an 'urban' centre, it was of a very modest size.
Eroded walls of excavated buildings in the townsite.
 

The New Kingdom cemetery

A large cemetery to the west of the town site was part-excavated during 1936/7 by the Egypt Exploration Society. Unfortunately this part of the project has yet to be published. Many of the excavated tombs are still visible, several with substantial mudbrick superstructures (see below). It remains unclear whether any XXVth Dynasty/Napatan graves were found.

The nature of the tomb chambers remains unknown, although, as they were cut into alluvial clays rather than bedrock they were probably not very elaborate. The only substantial New Kingdom cemetery known further south of here lies at Tombos where one large XVIIIth Dynasty tomb has been investigated by the project.  (A UCLA-based project is continuing to work at that site).

Soleb The Temple of Soleb - built during the reign of Amenophis III.  An XVIIIth Dynasty cemetery west of the temple has also been excavated, but there is little evidence for a major settlement associated with the temple.

During the brief period of Kushite rule in Egypt (Dynasty XXV -- 712-657 BCE), Lower and Middle Nubia formed the essential link between the Kushite heartlands and Egypt - the Nubian 'corridor' across the Sahara.  While major settlements existed south of the Third Cataract, at Kerma, Tabu (Argo island) and Kawa, occupation of areas north of the cataract seem to have been on a more limited scale, reflecting the harsh environment and limited agricultural potential of the north.  The primary purpose of most sites in Middle and Lower Nubia seems likely to have been to assist and protect communications along the river.

Cemeteries and occupation sites on both sides of the Nile at Tombos (at the south end of the Third Cataract) may reflect its key location as a jumping-off point for transport heading north through the cataract.  The granite quarries at Tombos were also used during this period.

During recent survey work at Sesibi, significant quantities of Dynasty XXV/Napatan pottery were found on the spoil heaps of the 1930s excavations, indicating a late phase of occupation, apparently not recognised by the original excavators. However, such late occupation may not have been substantial. It may perhaps be associated with an enigmatic structure, clearly of 'late' date, excavated at the southeast corner of the site.
 

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