Wall paintings of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus with Bishop Marianos of Pakhôras and Martha, Queen Mother of Makuria, from the Cathedral of Faras, Lower Nubia, northern Sudan, on the border with Egypt, 11th century.

Faras was an important center in the Christian Kingdom of Nobatia, and was absorbed by the kingdom of Makuria in the 7th century. The cathedral of Faras was originally founded in 620 AD, and remained an important Christian religious center for centuries to come.

It was home to some of the most well preserved Nubian murals ever excavated, numbering 169 paintings in all, but the archaeological site was flooded by Lake Nasser in the 1960’s and is now permanently underwater.

Before the flooding, a Polish team of archaeologists led by professor Kazimierz Michałowski carried out emergency excavations.

120 murals were salvaged, with 66 of them being transported to Poland where they are now on display in the Polish National Museum in Warsaw, while others are housed in the National Museum of Sudan in Khartoum.