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Archaeologists have uncovered a pyramid-topped mud-brick tomb at Bir al-Shaghala in Egypt’s Dakhla Oasis, including a 19-line Greek elegy in which a son bids farewell to his father. The burial, dating to the late third or early fourth century C.E., is about 1,700 years old and combines Egyptian religious imagery, Greek literary expression and Roman-era objects.
What archaeologists found
The Supreme Council of Antiquities announced the discovery at Bir al-Shaghala, an elite necropolis serving the ancient oasis capital of Mothis. Excavations at the site have continued since 2002.
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The tomb belonged to a man named Pisechtes, also rendered Psychtis, and his wife. Visitors in antiquity descended a 14-step staircase to a sandstone entrance. Protective hieroglyphic spells, a winged sun disk, two cobras and a reed-bundle motif decorated the approach.
Beyond the entrance was a mud-brick hall with a partly collapsed vaulted ceiling. Two burial chambers lay beneath a pyramid-shaped upper section, an architectural form that links the monument to local Egyptian funerary traditions while reflecting the distinctive building practices of the Roman-period oasis.
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The 19-line Greek elegy
A rectangular stone stela set into the southern wall preserves the tomb’s most personal discovery: a Greek poem composed by Pisechtes’ son, Sarapion.
The inscription describes Pisechtes as an “adviser in life” and remembers him for kindness and wisdom. Its direct address culminates in the words “Listen, father!” According to classicist Angelos Chaniotis of the Institute for Advanced Study, the text is “a highly literary and original epigram.” Chaniotis also said that Sarapion asks his father to accept the funerary libations and offerings brought by his grieving children.
The poem matters because it records an individual family’s grief rather than relying solely on a standardized funerary formula. It shows how Greek literary forms could be used to express mourning in an Egyptian community during Roman rule. The inscription may suggest that Pisechtes held a judicial or advisory role, but identifying him as a judge remains an inference rather than a confirmed office.
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The lintel above the entrance depicts the seventh hour of the Amduat. This Egyptian funerary composition describes the sun god Ra’s nightly journey through the underworld and the dangers and transformations encountered before rebirth at dawn.
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The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said this is the first depiction of the Amduat identified at Bir al-Shaghala. Its presence, alongside hieroglyphic protection spells and solar and cobra imagery, demonstrates that Egyptian religious concepts remained central to the tomb’s design even though its memorial poem was written in Greek.
Objects linking the burial to the Roman period
| Find | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Bronze coin bearing Emperor Constantine’s likeness | Material evidence for the burial’s connection to the Roman imperial world |
| Sandstone offering table | A surface for presenting food or ritual offerings |
| Sandstone purification basin | Evidence of cleansing rites associated with funerary practice |
| Pottery | Additional material from the tomb’s burial and ritual activities |
| Stone stela with Greek poem | A family memorial combining personal biography, literary form and ritual mourning |
The coin does not by itself establish when every part of the monument was built, but it places the assemblage within a period when Dakhla communities participated in wider Roman economic and political networks.
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Was the tomb reused?
Archaeologists identified a mud-brick chapel and a four-column funerary shrine in the upper section. Their construction appears to belong to a later phase, raising the possibility that the monument was reused after the original burial.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who was Pisechtes?
The inscription provides the clearest portrait of Pisechtes: he was remembered by his son as kind, wise and an “adviser in life.” The poem’s language indicates that he was important within his family and community, but the surviving evidence does not securely identify his profession or rank.
His family’s choice to commission a Greek epigram while maintaining Egyptian protective and underworld imagery illustrates the cultural environment of the Dakhla Oasis. Greek was used for literary commemoration, Egyptian symbols structured the protection and afterlife imagery, and Roman objects circulated through the same society.
Why the discovery matters
Hisham el-Leithy, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the tomb’s importance lies in its architecture, inscriptions and funerary texts, which illuminate funerary practices and the cultural and religious life of Dakhla during the Roman period.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe find is especially valuable because the evidence operates at several levels at once:
- Personal: Sarapion speaks directly to his dead father and identifies the emotional work of the surviving children.
- Religious: Hieroglyphic spells, solar emblems, cobras, the reed bundle and the Amduat scene invoke Egyptian protection and the underworld journey.
- Literary: The 19-line Greek epigram shows sophisticated poetic commemoration in an oasis community.
- Historical: Constantine’s coin and other objects place the burial within the Roman imperial period.
- Architectural: The staircase, vaulted hall, twin chambers and pyramid-shaped superstructure preserve a distinctive local funerary arrangement.
Together, these elements challenge any simple division between “Greek,” “Egyptian” and “Roman” culture. At Bir al-Shaghala, families could use all three traditions in a single tomb to honor the dead.
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