 Burial chapel in Abū el-ʿAuwāf | ||
| Abū el-ʿAuwāf · أبو العواف | ||
| Governorate | Maṭrūḥ | |
|---|---|---|
| height | −8 m | |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
| location | ||
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Abu el-Auwaf (also Abu el-Awwaf, Arabic:أبو العواف, Abū al-ʿAuwāf) is an archaeological site in the southeast of the city Siwa east of the Birkat ez-Zeitūn salt lake.
background
Abū el-ʿAuwāf is the cemetery from wealthy landowners ez-timeun from Greco-Roman times.
Georg Steindorff (1861–1951) had eleven local people dig in this cemetery between January 5th and 8th, 1900. The high groundwater had already destroyed part of the grave equipment, especially the wooden objects. The Egyptian Egyptologist Ahmed Fakhry (1905–1973) visited the cemetery in 1938.
The cemetery was examined again in March 2009 by Michael Heinzelmann and his excavation team from the University of Cologne.
getting there
For the journey you can take the asphalt road from Siwa over the Zeitūn lake to ʿAin āfī to use. The rest of the way to the ancient cemetery has to be covered on slopes.
The cemetery has to be explored on foot.
Tourist Attractions
Abū el-ʿAuwāf is an extended one 1 necropolis(29 ° 10 ′ 15 ″ N.25 ° 48 ′ 12 ″ E). The rock graves are mostly laid out in low limestone hills. There are both rectangular grave pits and burial chambers built into the rock. The entrances to the burial chambers mostly had a hollow. The burial chambers were occasionally clad with limestone blocks. In front of the burial chambers are small courtyards.
The corpses were buried in plaster coffins that were painted, gilded or covered with glass mosaics. The decoration with rosettes and figures of gods followed Egyptian custom. In addition, these coffins were placed in wooden boxes. The grave goods such as wine jugs, ceramic pots and glass vessels were of Greek origin. Fakhry suggests the late Greek period as a date.
Four graves stand out: they have their own monumental burial chapel made of carefully assembled limestone blocks that were erected over rock graves. They are dated to Ptolemaic times. These chapels are undecorated. Its walls were later decorated with graffiti by Arab travelers.
The 2 largest of these chapels(29 ° 10 ′ 12 ″ N.25 ° 48 ′ 13 ″ E) measures about 9.20 × 8.70 meters outside. The only building decorations are pilasters at the corners of the building. The entrance in the north leads to an approximately 8 × 5.5 meter large vestibule, at the back of which there are three approximately 2 meter wide and 1.7 meter deep rooms for burials.
The other three chapels consist of two rooms one behind the other and are about 6 meters wide and 8 to 10 meters long.
kitchen
There are restaurants in the nearby town Siwa. There is also a small rest area in Abū Schurūf at the source lake.
accommodation
Accommodation is available in the nearby town Siwa.
trips
The visit to the archaeological site can be combined with the ʿAin Qureishat, Abū Schurūf, ez-timeun and ʿAin āfī connect.
literature
- : Through the Libyan desert to the Amonsoasis. Bielefeld [et al.]: Velhagen & Klasing, 1904, Land and people: monographs on geography; 19th, P. 132 f., Figs. 85–87 on p. 114–117.
- : Siwa Oasis. Cairo: The American Univ. in Cairo Pr., 1973, The oases of Egypt; 1, ISBN 978-977-424-123-9 (Reprint), p. 132, fig. 33 f. To p. 133 f. (In English).
- : Investigations into the settlement structure of the Siwa oasis in Hellenistic-Roman times: preliminary report on a first research campaign at Birket Zaytun 2009. In:Cologne and Bonn Archaeologica (Cuba), ISSN2191-6136, Vol.1 (2011), Pp. 65-76, in particular pp. 73 f, PDF.
