Catacomb of Kom El Shoqafa

Like the explorers since more than one hundred and 20 years ago, you will stand in front of the Catacomb of Kom El Shoqafa while you are in complete dazzlement. 

Each one that comes close to this largest burial site dating from the Greco-Roman period stands in full astonishment. That was since its discovery. when a donkey had fallen in a hall that leads to this cemetery. 

Catacomb of Kom El Shoqafa from Inside

Round stairs take you to an underground tomb with three levels. These levels had been carved into the rock. Go down while, with each step, immerse yourself amid rare decorations combined with pharaonic, Greek, and Roman art in exclusive rare designs. You feel as if you are in a magical world combined with the eras in the heart of it. 

Once arriving downstairs, you will meet giant pillars connected by walls carrying a giant dome decorated with special decorations. Then, you will meet a feasting chamber where families of the deceased would sit and gather in respect of their loss.

The same as the Roman people, you will live the history and loam amid the cemetery, including this feating hall. This hall is a “rotunda,” with sofas carved into the rock that take the shape of terraces, in front of a wooden table. 

This hall takes you to corridors full of decorations about the afterlife world. Then, you will meet chambers of the dead, which will take you to other magic, meeting an abundance of statues with a mix of the Pharoanic, Greek, and Roman gods. You are in the heart of complete amazement. 

Statues of this largest Roman Cemetery that dates back to the 2nd century

When wandering, you will find this pharaonic god, Anubis, waiting for the dead with a jar in his left hand that is supposed to contain some liquids that were used during the mummification process, while his right hand is touching the dead. 

A statue you will also meet with the sun disk on the top of his head, and there is a cobra on each side perched atop Anubis’s head, who is dressed in a Roman robe. You are amid a unique world. 

The Egyptian deity of wisdom and knowledge, wearing a double crown and carrying a jar in one hand and a scepter in the other, is located next to the god Anubis.

Serapis, which is a Greek goddess, is also here, stretching her wings on the right recess of the burial chamber. 

Along with the lion-shaped table, you will find Horus. It is the ancient Egyptian god, depicted wearing the double crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt. 

See a statue representing a lady standing with a sun disk above her head. Her hands are raised in prayer. It is Isis, the Pharaonic goddess. 

Meet those statues of a man inside a niche and a woman inside a niche. Both statues were sculpted in the Egyptian way, with some features of Greek art.

An emperor or a ruler wearing a short kilt will meet you here also. He is putting the double crown on his head, holding a necklace with both hands, and presenting it to the sacred bull Serapis. The Greek-Roman god Dionysus is here, as are other mythical gods.

The sarcophagus, chambers, corridors, 39 coffins, 17 statues of the Sphinx, 156 bases and column capitals, and also seven gutters. In addition to nearly 300 statues and artifacts, gathered the whole magic of history on one site.