A New Publication of a Garland Sarcophagus in the Open Museum in the Courtyard of the Temple of Dandara

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Lecturer at Greco-Roman Antiquities Dept, Faculty of Arts, Minia University.

2 Director Dendara Temple

Abstract

This research deals with the publication and study of one of the coffins preserved in the open museum in the courtyard of the Temple of Dendera in Qena. And the decorations that decorate the coffin, such as lotus flower, A head of the bull, and falcons, these are the symbols that were widely used in the decoration of such coffins, due to their relationship to the other world and eternal life. This was from comparing to similar coffins. This sarcophagus is one of the rare coffins found in South Egypt, compared to the Roman coffins that were found in Alexandria. The study also includes many results, most notably the date to which that sarcophagus belongs, which is the third century AD. The most important characteristic of this coffin is its decoration from one longitudinal side only, which made us certain that this coffin was placed inside the burial chamber of one of the tombs, where the decorated side is facing the viewer, in addition, that this coffin is very similar to the coffins of the Roman states. Al-Sharqiya, as is clearly shown in the coffins of the Al-Bayada cemetery in Amrit region in Syria, through which the researcher was able to date that coffin, and identify the similarities and differences with the coffins of the Roman world in general.

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