A rare pyramid-shaped tomb from the Roman period with a 19-line message has been found in Egypt
Kyiv • UNN
A Roman tomb with ancient Egyptian scenes and a Greek inscription about Pisechtus was discovered in the Dakhla Oasis. A coin of Constantine was found inside.
Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a pyramid-shaped Roman-era tomb in the Dakhla Oasis featuring ancient Egyptian funerary scenes and an inscription in Ancient Greek. The find combines Egyptian, Greek and Roman traditions, reports Ahram Online, writes UNN.
Details
The tomb was built of mud bricks in the Bir al-Shaghala necropolis. Archaeologists believe it may have been intended for the burial of a man and his wife.
One of the main finds was a stone funerary stele bearing a 19-line lament in Ancient Greek. The text is dedicated to a man named Pisecht, who, according to the researchers’ preliminary assessment, may have been a judge. The inscription is dated to the late 3rd–early 4th century AD.
A rare scene of the afterlife was found inside
Fourteen steps lead to the entrance of the tomb. The entrance itself is decorated with hieroglyphic funerary spells, a winged solar disk and depictions of cobras.
Archaeologists also discovered a scene from the seventh hour of "Imi-Duat"—an ancient Egyptian text about a journey through the afterlife. According to the researchers, a similar depiction has been found for the first time among the tombs of this necropolis.
Inside, there is a hall with a vaulted ceiling and two burial chambers, above which a pyramid-shaped structure had been built. They also found an offering table, ceramic vessels and a bronze coin depicting the Roman emperor Constantine.
Researchers believe that the tomb may have been reused at a later date. The finds point to a close interweaving of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman funerary traditions in the Dakhla Oasis.