The Catacombe of Kom el Shoqafa is a historical archaeological site located in Alexandria , Egypt, and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.
The necropolis consists of a series of Alexandrian tombs, statues and archaeological objects of the Pharaonic funeral cult with Hellenistic and early Imperial Roman
influences. Due to the time period, many of the features of the
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa merge Roman, Greek and Egyptian cultural
points; some statues are Egyptian in style, yet bear Roman clothes and
hair style whilst other features share a similar style. A circular
staircase, which was often used to transport deceased bodies down the
middle of it, leads down into the tombs that were tunneled into the
bedrock during the age of the Antonine
emperors (2nd century AD). The facility was then used as a burial
chamber from the 2nd century to the 4th century, before being
rediscovered in 1900 when a donkey accidentally fell into the access
shaft. To date, three sarcophagi
have been found, along with other human and animal remains which were
added later. It is believed that the catacombs were only intended for a
single family, but it is unclear why the site was expanded in order to
house numerous other individuals. The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa is,
according to some lists, also one of the seven medieval wonders of the world.
One of the more gruesome features of the catacombs is the so called
Hall of Caracalla. According to tradition, this is a mass burial chamber
for the humans and animals massacred by order of the Emperor Caracalla
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