Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa

A three-level underground necropolis, the largest Roman-era burial complex in Egypt and one of the strangest archaeological sites anywhere in the country. A spiral staircase winds down 35 metres to reach the deepest chamber, passing through funerary banquet halls (where mourners ate beside the dead), niches for individual urns, and the main burial chamber with carved sarcophagi flanked by columns.

The art is a remarkable hybrid of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman traditions — Anubis as a Roman soldier, Medusa keeping watch over Egyptian-style tomb chambers, traditional pharaonic offering scenes carved in Roman style. The lowest level is permanently flooded; the upper two are accessible. Bring a torch or use phone light for the darker corners. Plan around 90 minutes. About 3 km southwest of the city centre; an easy taxi from downtown.

things to do sight
A story
Kom el-Shoqafa was discovered by accident in 1900 when a donkey grazing above the site fell through the roof of the lower chamber. The catacombs date to the 2nd century AD and contain perhaps the strangest art in the ancient Mediterranean: bas-reliefs depicting Anubis dressed as a Roman legionary, Sobek wearing the armour of a Roman soldier, and the Apis bull standing between Anubis and Horus while making an Egyptian funerary offering. The dead were buried in three superimposed religions at once.