150 x 115 mm. A view looking across the mihrab towards the shell pocked tomb of the Mahdi. This damage was done during the bombardment of September 1st, the day before the battle, with howitzers firing 50lb shells using the new high explosive 'Lyddite'. The tomb, a beehive shaped building decorated inside in green and chocolate brown, was erected by the Khalifa. Around the tomb itself were protective railings taken from the Austrian Mission Church. Kitchener realising the potency of the tomb as an object of veneration among the Sudanese, ordered its destruction and the throwing of the Mahdi's bones into the Nile. This demolition was undertaken by Major W.S. Gordon, General Gordon's nephew. Kitchener later ordered the Mahdi's head to be buried at Wadi Halfa. The tomb itself has since been rebuilt and many Sudanese believe it to still contain the Mahdi's remains. The photograph is stuck on to an album page entitled 'Omdurman'.