Gebel el-Mawta, Ancient necropolis in Siwa Oasis, Egypt.
Gebel el-Mawta is a necropolis on a limestone mountain in Siwa Oasis with dozens of tombs carved directly into the rock faces. The burial chambers contain painted walls with hieroglyphics and figures dating from several centuries of different periods.
Construction of the tombs began in the 26th Dynasty and continued through the Roman period as residents buried their families here over centuries. The mountain's interior became a vast burial network developed gradually through these long periods of use.
The inscriptions and wall paintings show how people here honored their dead and connected to burial practices across Egypt. You can see how local traditions mixed with wider Egyptian customs in the way graves were decorated and arranged.
Multiple tombs are accessible and open for exploration, including notable chambers with impressive wall paintings. It helps to bring a local guide to navigate the different burial areas properly and understand what you are seeing.
Local people recognized the burial site's importance early on and preserved knowledge about the mummies found inside across generations. Archaeologists later discovered that many of these graves were used continuously over thousands of years.
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