When talking about pyramids, the topic of discussion is likely the iconic structures found across Egypt, in particular the mind-boggling Pyramids of Giza. But travel south along the Nile for a few thousand kilometers and you’ll see the great pyramids of El-Kurru, located in the vast Sudanese desert. Standing tall for over 3,000 years, National Geographic has used drones to newly explore the tops of these little-known pyramids and has just released a video of the explorations, shown below.

Approximately 255 pyramids form the royal cemeteries of the ancient Nubian world, where members of the royal family were buried. With most of the pyramids dating back to about 795 BCE, very little is known about this final resting place of the Nubian royal family. Two wadis (Arabic for valley) separate the area into three distinct parts. The oldest section, centrally sited, dates back to 850 BCE.

Less than a tenth of these tombs have been excavated so far, and for only a small number of those have the identities been revealed of the kings and queens to which they belonged. 

Speaking in the video below, National Geographic Society engineer and drone pilot Alan Turchik explains, “The best part with the helicopter is I can fly over and gain this connection between all the other burial sites, between the pyramid and the temple, and get and understanding of what that is from the air.”

Filmed by National Geographic for a groundbreaking new documentary, footage captured by the drone will form part of the first in-depth investigation of El-Kurru in almost 100 years.

[H/T National Geographic]