Archaeologists in Sudan Reached the Floor of a Medieval Church Reportedly Larger Than the White House

Under the walled center of Old Dongola, on the banks of the Nile in Sudan, archaeologists have reached the floor of a medieval church that its excavation director says is larger than the White House in Washington. The building is the Great Church of Jesus, and the figures behind that comparison are estimates, because much of the structure still lies underground.

A church the size of a palace

Old Dongola was the capital of the Christian Kingdom of Makuria. The Great Church of Jesus stands inside its walled center. Researchers estimate the building at about 47 meters wide and 57 meters long, with a possible height of up to 21 meters. Those numbers are approximate and not fully verified. Prof. Artur Obłuski of the University of Warsaw’s Center for Mediterranean Archaeology, who directs the excavation, said the church is larger than the White House.

A Polish-Sudanese team detected the building in 2021. The work is funded by the Polish National Science Centre. After the autumn 2024 flood, the team also began conservation work with the Warsaw University of Technology.

What the dig has uncovered

The team has uncovered monumental stairs and large buttresses that support the apse. For the first time, they have also reached a portion of the church’s original flooring. We covered the earlier floor discovery in our first report on the cathedral floor at Old Dongola. The latest details add more about the rest of the complex.

A second church sits on the upper floor of an adjacent structure. Paint residues survive on its walls up to about one meter high, and plaster fragments fill six large shelves. Greek inscriptions appear in the plaster fill and link to Old Testament hymns and prayers. One fragment is part of the prayer of Hannah, written in letters about half a centimeter high.

Researchers are also comparing the finds with wall paintings found in 2023 in a church on the north side. Those paintings are associated with King David and date to the 13th century.

Was it a cathedral?

The cathedral idea is only a possibility. The traditionally accepted cathedral of Old Dongola lies outside the walled center. Obłuski suggests the Great Church may have influenced later regional architecture, and he compares its importance to Hagia Sophia.

The team still needs more evidence on three questions: when the church was founded, where it sat in the religious hierarchy, and how it related to other churches in the city. The source gives no construction date. Digging deeper will also require more funding.

Source: Arkeonews, 7 to 8 November 2026. Image: apse domes of the monumental medieval church at Old Dongola during excavation. Credit: Adrian Chlebowski / PCMA UW.