Excerpt
Soon after their re-conquest of Sudan, the British blew up the tomb to prevent it from becoming a rallying point for disaffected Sudanese. The job was given to ‘Monkey Gordon, nephew of the dead general, who completed the job by throwing the Mahdis ashes in the river. Kitchener wanted to use the Mahdis skull as an inkstand, but decency prevailed and the head was buried at Wadi Haifa.