 Tombs in the northern limestone cliffs of el-ʿArag | ||
| el-ʿArag · العرج | ||
| Governorate | Maṭrūḥ | |
|---|---|---|
| height | −37 m | |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
| location | ||
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El-'Arag (also el-Areg, Arabic:العرج, al-ʿAraǧ, „the ascending one, the limping one“) Is an abandoned depression and archaeological site in the area of Darb Siwa about 120 kilometers from the city Siwa and about 30 kilometers from the valley el-Baḥrein away.
getting there
El-ʿArag is about 1 kilometer from Darb Siwa in an easterly direction. In parts the subsoil consists of soft sand. It is hardly possible to travel there without an all-terrain four-wheel drive vehicle and the associated driving skills.
For the formalities for such a trip, refer to the information in the article about the Darb Siwa approach.
background
This oasis is probably the most impressive on Darb Siwa. In the sandy desert, limestone mountains loom up in various places. The extension of the oasis is about 15 kilometers from north to south and about seven kilometers from east to west. In the past there were several sources here, but they have now dried up. Only a few palm trees still indicate these sources. The greatest source was ʿAin kabīr, in Sivish Titafurt.
The name takes el-ʿArag probably takes on one Camel train Reference.
How el-Baḥrein this oasis was inhabited at least from Greco-Roman times to Christian times. The cemetery from this period can still be visited today. Most of the dead were mummified and buried on a bed with turned legs. The rock graves were usually used for several burials.
The valley and its burial ground have been visited by European travelers since the beginning of the 19th century. Be among the earliest travelers Frédéric Cailliaud (1787–1869) and Jean Raymond Pacho (1794–1829) who founded the oasis in 1819[1] and 1826[2] visited without giving a description of the ancient sites. Visited in 1874 Gerhard Rohlfs (1831-1896) and described a grave. In addition to the graves, Rohlfs also reports on the foundations of a round temple with a diameter of twenty feet, which, however, was not found by anyone after him. In 1896 the British officer Wilfred Edgar Jennings-Bramly (1871–1960) visited the oases along the Darb Siwa; his research was published by Anthony de Cosson only 41 years later. Visited in early January 1900 Georg Steindorff (1861–1951) el-Arag and Sitra and published photos and described two graves. In August 1938 the local graves of Ahmed Fakhry (1905–1973) examined and published a year later. In 1983 Klaus Peter Kuhlmann carried out new examinations in the oases on Darb Siwa.
Every now and then, locals try their luck to find treasures here. Ahmed Fakhry reports that grave robbers were found in 1965 Alexandria got hold of. The found two mummies and other objects can be seen today in the Museum of Alexandria.
Tourist Attractions
The main attraction is the cemetery (necropolis), which is located about two kilometers west of the ʿAin kabīr spring. The graves were dug in two isolated rock ridges, the valley enclosed by them opens to the east.
Most of the graves are simple rectangular niches that are about head height. And only a few graves have grave decorations. These are almost exclusively in the southern rock. Some of the graves were closed with doors, one grave was walled up. Ahmed Fakhry counted 42 graves, but assumed that more were blown in the sand. Klaus P. Kuhlmann gives 86 graves.
The graves are dated by Ahmed Fakhry to the second between the first and second centuries AD. In Christian times, the graves were used as accommodation by hermits. There are some inscriptions in red from this period, but they have no religious reference.
Two graves stand out because of their representation. On the one hand, there is a grave with two childlike, naive depictions in red on the left wall, the front depiction of which is already visible from the outside. The front illustration shows a man who strikes a fatal blow with an ax against a cattle that is tied to a palm tree. The ax was misinterpreted by Rohlfs as a Christian cross. Further back is the depiction of a man with an animal, probably also a cow, and a Libyan inscription. The representations probably come from the second century AD.
In the second grave there are two rooms one behind the other on the right. In the front room is the representation of Osiris and Anubis. The door between the two chambers is crowned with sacred snakes, the right post shows the remains of a goddess. In the back room you can see Groove between two cattle. The grave probably dates from Greek times.
More graves with scenes were found by Kuhlmann. In the tomb walled with composite stones there are various representations of gods such as a goddess with cow horns and a sun disk and Osiris accompanied by Thoth and a lion-headed goddess. In the sand he found a small grave with a depiction of watch dogs.
literature
- : Three months in the Libyan desert. Cassel: Fisherman, 1875, P. 194 f., Fig. 14 (p. 195). Reprint Cologne: Heinrich Barth Institute, 1996, ISBN 978-3-927688-10-0 .
- : Through the Libyan desert to the Amonsoasis. Bielefeld [et al.]: Velhagen & Klasing, 1904, Land and people: monographs on geography; 19th, Pp. 135–137, Fig. 91 [p. 122], 92 [p. 123].
- : Notes on the Baḥrēn, Nuwemisah, and el-Aʿreg Oases in the Libyan Dessert. In:Journal of Egyptian Archeology (JEA), ISSN0075-4234, Vol.23 (1937), Pp. 227 f., Plate XXIV (entire article pp. 226–229).
- : The tombs of El-Aʿreg Oasis in the Libyan Desert. In:Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte (ASAE), ISSN1687-1510, Vol.39 (1939), Pp. 609–619, three plates.
- : Siwa Oasis. Cairo: The American Univ. in Cairo Pr., 1973, The oases of Egypt; 1, ISBN 978-977-424-123-9 (Reprint), pp. 138-142.
- : The Ammoneion: Archeology, History and Cult Practice of the Oracle of Siwa. Mainz: from Zabern, 1988, Archaeological publications; 75, ISBN 978-3-8053-0819-9 , Pp. 88-90, plates 43.c, d, 44 f., 46.a-c, 47.a-c.
