Mirgissa

thumb|Mirgissa, the ancient Egyptian Fortress in Wadi Halfa territory, before it drowned because of the Egyptian high dam thumb|right|Map of Mirgissa Mirgissa (originally Iken) was a settlement in Northern state, Sudan. Situated at the 2nd cataract in Wadi Halfa, it contained one of the largest fortresses in Nubia. In the time of Thutmose II, 250 to 450 people inhabited the area. The first European explorer was English geologist Sir Henry George Lyons in 1892, and was excavated without Sudanese permission, by the French Egyptologist Jean Vercoutter from 1962 to 1969. In addition to the fort, excavations uncovered the remains of two cities, one of which was fortified, a northern enclosure, two cemeteries, a boat slide, and a port. Construction of the Aswan High Dam caused the disappearance of Mirgissa, which now lies under the waters of Lake Nubia.

==Geography== thumb|right|View of the plain to the northeast. Travelers from the north who reached Abusir had to leave their boats and circumvent the 2nd cataract in order to reach Mirgissa. It was situated from the harbor, where boats from the south could dock in calm waters, the rapids of the cataract preventing them from continuing their journey further north. Its lofty geographic position allowed sentries to observe the movement of troops for miles around.