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In the 4th century BC – 4th century AD, the southern neighbor of the Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt was the kingdom of Kush which became a natural link between the Medi-terranean world and Africa. After the name of its main economic and political center, Meroe, the Kushite state of that time is often refereed to in historiography as Meroitic Kingdom. Un-like in Greek and Roman Egypt rich with textual material, archaeology has always played a crucial role in the study of Meroitic civilization. The paper analysis data on the stratigraphy of a Meroitic temple complex excavated in 2014–2017 by a joint Russian-Italian mission headed by E. Kormysheva and E. Fantusati at Abu Erteila near Meroe. The reconstructed history of the complex corresponds to the fate of other temples unearthed on the territory of the Island of Meroe. The main temple at Abu Erteila was built in the 1st century AD by prom-inent Meroitic rulers Natakamani, Amanitore, and their heir Sorkaror. In the course of the 2nd century AD, the structure came into decline and its territory was inhabited by squatters. The temple was partly dismantled, its building materials were utilized in a residential area that developed to the south. Despite the cult was later resumed, the temple building contin-ued deteriorating. After the collapse of the ceiling, the structure was finally abandoned. Its main rooms were probably reused as a dumping area. During the Post-Meroitic period, the territory around the temple ruins may have been turned into a burial ground. Later, an ex-tensive multi-period necropolis developed on Kom II which remained in use as a burial ground until at least 16th–17th century AD

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Kingdom · Temple · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classics · History