CAIRO — Flash floods in Sudan have killed more than 100 people and inundated over 100,000 houses across the country this summer, threatening even a famous archaeological site near the capital, Khartoum. A leading archaeologist says the floodwaters have already entered the ancient royal city of the Kushite kings known as the Island of Meroe, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

It’s called the “Island of Meroe” because of its proximity to the Nile River and it was the heartland of the Kingdom of Kush, a major power in the ancient world from the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century. Flash floods have ravaged swaths of Sudan since late July.