The refurbishing process, including dismantling and reassembling the dome, enabled archaeologists to unveil its four original façades, said Atef El-Dabah, supervisor of the Supreme Council of Antiquities' (SCA) technical office.
The façades were only once visible in a photo in D’escription de l’Egypte, the book produced during Napoleon Bonaparte’s military expedition to Egypt in 1798 which captured the Egyptian culture and civilization.
At its previous location, the dome had suffered from negligence and leakage of subterranean water, which affected its foundation.
An all-Egyptian team from the SCA, in collaboration with the Engineering Authority of the Armed Force, conducted the renovation and relocation processes.
The operation, financed by the council, took three months to complete, said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the SCA.
“The project was meant to preserve one of Egypt’s Islamic shrines for future generations,” said Waziri.
The dome was registered on Egypt’s antiquities list in 1951. It dates to the Ottoman period and was built in 1757 by Badawiya Shahine to be the burial place of her daughter Rokaya Dodo who died at an early age.
The dome was built on four columns connected with a mastaba made of stone. In the middle of the mastaba a marble tile is decorated with text of prayers to the deceased. The walls of the dome are decorated with Quranic verses.
Short link: