A large site of Meroitic monuments dates back to the 3rd century BC. Meroe was the captial of the Kingdom of Kush for several centuries. The Kushitic Kingdom of Meroë gave its name to the Island of Meroë. Not an island in the typical sense, the Island of Meroë is a semi-desert landscape in Nubia, the ancient region between the Nile and Atbara rivers in modern Sudan.

The area contains 3 ancient sites (including Meroe, Musawwarat es-Sufra and Naqa) that represent the centre of the Kingdom of Kush, which flourished between 270 BC - 350 AD and whose empire extended from the Mediterranean to the heart of Africa.

Located some 200 kilometres north-east of Khartoum, the archaeological sites of the Island of Meroë is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Northern (23 pyramids) and Southern (10 pyramids) pyramid fields were spatially documented by the Zamani project in March 2013.