The Egyptians occupied Napata and Gebel barkal until the twelfth century B.C., when they withdrew, probably under threat from Nubian peoples to the south and political troubles at home. In the 8th century B.C., Napata was revived and restored and it became the northern capital of the new Nubian kingdom of Kush, whose kings rebuilt and enlarged the temples and made the site their primary coronation center. Gebel Barkal was first observed by people with archaeological interests in the 1820's. Later in the 1860's many important inscribed monuments were unearthed there, of which, the great stela of King Pi(ankh)y, now in the Cairo Museum, is the most famous. Here he recounted his conquest of Egypt about 726 B.C., and it became the inspiration for the opera Aïda, first performed in 1873 (Check). The first scientific excavations were undertaken by Geroge A. Reisner of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Harvard University, and many important monuments from these excavations may be seen in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In 1972, excavations were renewed by an expedition of the University of Rome, which has continued work each season until the present.

During the 1980's and 90's, American archaeologist Timothy Kendall, now attached to the University of Rome expedition, discovered that the religious importance attached to Gebel Barkal by the Egyptians and later by the Kushites was a result of the peculiar shape of the mountain. In silhouette, the mountain has the shape of a royal crown, which is caused not only by its rounded "head" shape but also by its natural pinnacle, which gives the illusion of a royal cobra diadem ("uraeus"). Because of its crown shape, gave rise to the tradition that it was not only the home of the god of kingship but also that it was the source of kingship in the Nile Valley. The Egyptians "discovered" this and came here to re-enact their coronations, and later, in the 8th century BC., the Kushites revived this cult, modelled their own unique crown on the form of Gebel Barkal, and proclaimed themselves in both Egypt and Kush as sons of the great god, heirs of the great imperial pharaohs, and the possessors of the purest original form of kingship. Such beliefs drove the Kushite state for over a millennium.

At least thirteen temples and three palaces were built here throughout the duration of the Kushite kingdom, and beside the mountain on the west many royal pyramid tombs were erected from the sixth to first centuries B.C.