Enjoy the virtual tour for Kom al-Shuqafa catacombs in Alexandria in 3D

CAIRO - 12 April 2020: The Kom al-Shuqafa catacombs in Alexandria are among the most striking, beautiful, and best-preserved monuments from Egypt’s Roman Period (30 BC–AD 395).

A spiral staircase leads around 20 meters below ground, where sarcophagi decorated with relief garlands of vine leaves, bunches of grapes, and Medusa heads can be seen, as well as loculi (rectangular burial niches carved into the walls used for burials), and small square niches in the walls, where urns containing cremated remains were once placed.

It is also here that some of the best examples of the mixing of Egyptian and Greco-Roman culture can be seen.

The main chamber is decorated with reliefs depicting purely ancient Egyptian scenes, but executed in a Classical art style: funerary rituals are being conducted on the corpse of the god Osiris by the jackal-headed Anubis, who, however, is depicted wearing Classical clothing, as are the falcon-headed Horus and ibis-headed Thoth on either side of him.

Flanking the doorway inside the chamber is a figure of Anubis, but he stands in a naturalistic Classical pose, dressed like a Roman legionary.

Outside the chamber, on either side of the doorway, is a depiction of the Agathodaimon, a serpent protective deity. He guards the chamber, coiled around the scepter of the Greek god Hermes known as the caduceus, while wearing the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.

This Tour is made by the Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities in cooperation with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.

To enjoy the tour, please visit: https://bit.ly/2mumm1E