Necropolis of El-Bagawat
The
Necropolis of El-Bagawat, the most ancient Christian necropolis in Egypt,is located3
kilometres
north to Qasr Kharga on the road of the airport.It is one of the earliest and best
preserved Christian cemeteries in the world. Itconsistsmostly of Christian tombs with burial chapels from the
4th, 8th and 10th centuries, but it was used for burials long before this. Most
of the tombs are single rooms, but some are larger and six have domed roofs.
Each chapel once had a wooden door with lintels of wood or stone at the
entrance. The interior walls of some chapels were plastered and painted with
scenes taken from the stories of the Bible, but there are also motifs more
reminiscent of Ancient Egyptian traditions. The result is an elaborate and
unique mixture of styles. Two chapels stand out: the Chapel of Exodus and the
Chapel of Peace. The
first one dates from the 4th century AD and is one of the oldest in the
cemetery. Itsinterior is decorated with scenes from the Old Testament which run in
two circles around the interior of the dome. Some of the scenes are:the Exodus, Noah’s Ark, Jonah and
the whale, and Adam and Eve.In addition to the original paintings there is also
graffiti dating from the ninth century to the present day, including the
scribbling of Turkish soldiers probably being garrisoned there 200 years ago. The
Chapel of Peace is located in the southwest corner of the necropolis andis probably from the 5th or 6th
century. It gets its name from a painting of a woman holding a sceptre and a
cross representing Peace. It also has scenes from the Bible, including New
Testament images such as the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. Vines, peacocks
and allegorical figures, all in Byzantine style and reminiscent of paintings in
the catacombs in Rome, are found in the chapel. Both these chapels and their
tombs had been robbed before excavation. One undisturbed chapel was excavated
by an American team working on the site at the beginning of the 20th century.
Three coffins still remained in the underground chambers. One contained the
remains of a woman accompanied with beads, iron bracelets, bone artefacts and
glass vessels, some presumably intentionally broken during the ritual of burial.
In another coffin were the mummified remains of a woman and a baby and in the
third those of a man (CISS Inventory 2010; Vivian, 1990).
Site coordinates: N 25-28- 549 E 30-33-174
Price (years 2019-2010): 50 EGP (foreigner), 25 EGP (foreigner student), 10 EGP (Egyptian), 5 EGP (Egyptian student).
See the Gallery "Necropolis of El Bagawat".
