Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa

This is the largest Roman cemetery in Egypt known so far. The architecture adopts the architectural style of the Egyptian Pharaoh period and the Greek style. The tomb consists of three layers of tombs with a depth of 35 meters. The ground floor is about 20 meters below the street, flooded by underground water seepage and inaccessible, but the upper area that can be visited is impressive enough. The tombs were built in the 2nd century AD, probably belonged to a family, and later developed into a cemetery with a capacity of 300 bodies. The dark spiral staircase in the tomb was the passageway for transporting the dead back then, where people used ropes to lower the dead bodies down the circular axis. The central patio can be used for lighting and ventilation. Go down to the 1st floor, and you will reach the rotunda after passing the corridor. The dining room on the left is where the mourners eat, and the stairs in front lead down to the main tomb on the 2nd floor. The reliefs on the inner wall of the tomb are rare in the world: the holy snake guarding the gate wears a red and white crown representing Upper and Lower Egypt, holding the pine cone scepter of the Greek god of wine Dionysus and the double serpent wand of Hermes, the messenger of Zeus. Wearing the round shield of the Greek banshee Medusa, Anubis, the patron saint of the Egyptian cemetery standing in the tomb, is dressed as a Roman legion. These peculiar reliefs made the burial chamber famous. Go through two paths from the reception room and enter a U-shaped aisle. There is a cave at the corner of the aisle, which is where the coffin of the owner of the tomb is buried.