Four Roman tombs unearthed at Dakhla Oasis

The team of excavators working at Al Dakhla oasis in the New Valley have recently rediscovered four Roman tombs in good condition one of which was found to retain its dome, making it the only of its kind across the country.

The late archaeologist Ahmed Fakhri was the first to draw the attention to this archaeological site.

Some of the residents of Ezbet Bashandi village, where the tombs were found, have been actually living in the archaeological tombs.

According to archaeologist Sayed Yamani one of those tombs ,built with sand stone, had no mural paintings and inscriptions. But the door does bear funerary scenes.

He said that the latest of such tombs belongs to Sheikh Bashandi, a pious man who dwelled the area during the Ottoman Age. He was buried in the archeological tomb, which is the only one in Egypt to have a dome.

The dome was perhaps retained till date because in a later stage a mud dome was moulded on top of the original rock dome.

As such the tomb bears a combination of Roman and Islamic features.

Preliminary studies conducted by researchers indicate that the houses of Ezbet Bashandi are built on a Roman cemetery a matter which made it necessary to resume excavations on a larger scale.

However, a report to this effect has been referred to the Minister of Culture Faruk Hosni for the allocation of an extra budget.