Divers Exploring A 2,300-Year-Old Pyramid Have Found The Underwater Tomb Of A Powerful Pharaoh

Although the water looks unappealing, Kristin Romey prepares herself to plunge into the depths. And right above her head, there’s a big clue as to why she’s putting herself through this ordeal. In this part of the north of Sudan, there’s a pyramid — a monument to a long-lost monarch that hints at a kingdom that once held sway over vast swathes of northern Africa. And when Romey and her colleague reach their destination, what they find is truly astonishing.

An underwater tomb

The pair know where they should be heading, too. A man’s tomb lies beneath this pyramid, although he wasn’t just any man; Nastasen was once a pharaoh of Nubia, and he was buried here more than 2,000 years ago. Now Romey — a trained archaeologist — moves down a stairway etched into the rock. All she has for air, should there be an emergency, is a tiny canister.

Barely room to breathe

Waiting for Romey at the base of the stairway is Pearce Paul Creasman — another archaeologist who is working with a grant from National Geographic. He greets his colleague, however, with some words of caution, saying, “It’s really deep today. There’s not going to be any headroom in the first chamber.” Indeed, Creasman himself is already up to his chest in the murky waters.

Investigating chambers no one's seen for centuries

Only weeks earlier, Creasman had first penetrated the flooded tomb of Nastasen. Now, he and Romey will go down into the three chambers together and investigate a sarcophagus that it seems has laid untouched through the centuries. Before the duo reach their goal, though, Creasman shows Romey a metal grate and tells her that she’ll have to squeeze through an opening that small to enter the catacomb.

Exploring Nuri

The tomb that the two archaeologists are exploring lies at Nuri — a site that stretches over nearly 200 acres of land. Nuri is also fairly close to the River Nile’s east bank, which is itself situated some way north of Sudan’s capital Khartoum. And the area is arguably best known for housing around 20 pyramids that were all constructed from 650 B.C. to 300 B.C.