Quick answer
The Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa are a multi-level rock-cut tomb complex of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD in Alexandria, famous for blending Egyptian gods with Greek and Roman dress and architecture. A spiral staircase leads down to a banqueting hall and a carved main tomb, and a visit takes 45 minutes to an hour.
What are the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa?
They are the largest known Roman-era burial complex in Egypt, cut into the bedrock on several levels, and they show better than anywhere else how Egyptian religion was absorbed and reinterpreted by Alexandria's Greek-speaking population. The tomb probably began as a private family burial place in the 1st century AD and grew into a communal catacomb with hundreds of loculi, the shelf-like niches for bodies, over the following generations.
It lay forgotten until 1900, when, according to the well-loved story, a donkey pulling a cart broke through the ground and fell into the shaft. The Arabic name means "mound of shards", from the broken pottery that littered the hill above.
What will you see on the way down?
The visit follows the original route: down a spiral staircase, through a rotunda and banqueting hall, then deeper to the main tomb.
- The spiral staircase: it winds around a circular shaft, down which bodies were lowered on ropes. Light falls from the opening above.
- The rotunda: a round hall with a central well, where mourners gathered. Several heads found here, including a fine portrait of a Roman-era man, are now in museums.
- The triclinium: a funerary banqueting room with three stone couches cut from the rock, where families shared a meal in honour of the dead on the day of burial and on anniversaries, a Roman custom.
- The main tomb: down another flight of steps, a little temple facade with two columns, a winged sun disc and a pair of bearded serpents wearing the double crown of Egypt. Below them is the lowest level, which is flooded with groundwater and closed.
Why is the art so unusual?
Because Egyptian gods appear in Roman form, and Roman people appear in Egyptian form, often in the same frame. Look for these details:
- Anubis as a soldier: beside the inner doorway the jackal-headed god of embalming wears the armour and cloak of a Roman legionary, holding a spear. Read our guide to Anubis for his traditional role.
- Statues of the tomb owners: a man and a woman stand in niches in stiff Egyptian poses, but with Roman-style portrait heads.
- The burial chamber reliefs: a mummy lies on a lion-shaped bier, attended by Anubis, Thoth and Horus, exactly as in a pharaonic tomb, yet carved in a softer Graeco-Roman style. The scenes are explained in our mummification guide.
- Medusa heads: Greek protective symbols carved on shields above the doorway, sharing space with Egyptian sun discs.
For the wider story of how Egypt changed under Rome, see Roman Egypt.
What is the Hall of Caracalla?
It is a separate set of chambers, reached through a break in the wall, where excavators found bones of horses and humans together. It was linked to the massacre of young Alexandrians ordered by the emperor Caracalla in AD 215, which gave it its name, but this connection is a theory rather than a proven fact. Nearby, the painted Tomb of Tigrane, moved here from another part of the city, preserves coloured scenes of Egyptian gods in a Roman style, a useful contrast with the bare carved stone of the main tomb.
How long do you need, and what should you know before you go down?
Allow 45 minutes to an hour, and expect around a hundred steps, low light and humid air. The descent is straightforward, with handrails, but there is no lift, so it is not suitable for wheelchairs, and anyone with knee problems should take it slowly. It stays cool underground year round, which makes it a good midday visit in summer. Bags may need to be left at the entrance, and photography rules have changed in the past; at the time of writing phone photography is generally allowed, but check at the gate.
Outside, the garden displays sarcophagi, statues and the reconstructed facades of other Alexandrian tombs while you wait for the rest of your group.
How do you get there?
The catacombs are in the working-class Karmouz district in the south-west of the city, about 15 minutes by car from Raml Station. Most people pair them with Pompey's Pillar and the Serapeum, an easy 10-minute walk away through busy streets, so you can see both in about two hours. Buy tickets at the gate and check the current price on egymonuments.gov.eg. They are one of the three sights we would never skip in Alexandria, along with Qaitbay and the Bibliotheca, and they appear on our Ultimate Egypt itinerary.
Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa: FAQs
How old are the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa?
They date mainly from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, when Egypt was a Roman province, and were extended over several generations.
Are the catacombs scary or claustrophobic?
Not usually. The passages are lit and the main halls are spacious, but the lowest areas are dim and humid. Most visitors, including children, are comfortable.
Can you take photos in Kom el-Shoqafa?
At the time of writing phone photography is generally permitted, but rules change and some sites charge for camera use, so check at the ticket office.
Why does Anubis wear Roman armour?
Alexandria's population mixed Egyptian beliefs with Greek and Roman culture. Showing the protector god as a legionary made him a guardian in a form Roman-era Alexandrians recognised.
Is Kom el-Shoqafa close to Pompey's Pillar?
Yes, about 500 metres apart, a 10-minute walk, so the two are almost always visited together.
