The eternity of the desert
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine el-Aref)
Following 16 years of closure to the public, the Al-Muzawaka necropolis in Dakhla Oasis will soon be back on the tourists track, reports Nevine El-Aref
Restorers and archaeologists have been working on the Roman necropolis to clean, consolidate and restore the tombs, which are embraced within a rocky, table-top mound. The 300 tombs are gouged out of the rock, all unpainted tombs except for two. These, the tombs of Petosiris and Sadosiris, are certainly the most interesting, with walls vividly- painted with scenes combining ancient Egyptian and Roman deities at one time. The tombs were discovered in 1972 by Egyptian archaeologist Ahmed Fakhry, who because of the paintings called them Al-Muzawaka.
The walls of Petosiris's tomb are painted with fair-haired, Roman- nosed figures in Pharaonic poses, curly-haired angels. On the ceiling is a zodiac with a bearded Janus figure. The owner of the tomb is also featured on the back right-hand corner, standing on a turtle and holding aloft a snake and fish -- a curious amalgam of Egyptian and Graeco-Roman symbols.
The wall paintings of Sadorisis's tomb show the deceased in positions with various deities: before Anubis while his heart is weighed; before Osiris while he is judged; and with Janus looking back on the deceased's life and forward into the hereafter.
Harvesting scenes are depicted in both tombs, as well as some agricultural products of the oasis such as grapes and olives.
While the other tombs in the necropolis are unpainted, they were found still with embalmed corpses.
- Graeco-roman Tombs, An Intact Coffin, Ptolemaic Coins And Whale Bones
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) This month has proved very fruitful for the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). Three of its excavation missions, in Isamilia, Bahariya Oasis and Fayoum have all uncovered distinguished Roman treasures that reveal more...
- More Re Lahun Finds
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) A short summary of the recent finds made near Lahun. It took a couple of minutes for this page to load, but I left it to its own devices and it got there in the end. A large necropolis of 53 rock-hewn tombs of various...
- Graeco-roman Mummies Found In The Fayoum
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) Nevine El-Aref reports about the Graeco-Roman necropolis at Deir Al-Banat in the Faiyum Depression (to the southwest of Cairo). This year the mission located and studied 154 rectangular shaped tombs with rounded corners...
- Daily Photo: Gebel El-muzawaka
The 1st/2nd Century A.D. necropolis of Gebel el-Muzawaka (or Garet el-Mussawaga, the Hill of Paintings), in Dakhleh Oasis, near ancient Amheida, is visually impressive as you drive up to it, and is quite an experience when you get there - not least because...
- Four New Kingdom Tombs On Elephantine
This article is on the four New Kingdom tombs recently discovered by locals on Elephantine island and the owners of those tombs. The engraved and painted walls in the tombs are likely to fill in more on the history of the island and its governance. Photo:...