Visitors to the Kom Al-Shoqafa Catacombs and Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria will find more than ancient stone and silent ruins this week.
Electronic ticketing machines now greet guests at the entrances, while teams of restorers in white gowns and gloves carefully piece together scattered blocks of history. Around them, workers in yellow helmets prepare expansive open-air display areas where newly conserved artefacts will soon be exhibited on platforms.
These scenes of activity are part of a nationwide strategy by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to develop services, improve accessibility for visitors with disabilities, and bring a fresh, interactive dimension to Alexandria’s most iconic archaeological sites.
At Kom Al-Shoqafa, one of the most renowned necropolises of the Graeco-Roman era, conservation efforts are giving new life to the unique blend of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman motifs carved deep underground. Above ground, freshly restored artefacts are being installed on raised platforms, turning the courtyards into an open-air museum.
Multilingual signage and improved pathways are guiding visitors through the site, while new protective structures shield its most vulnerable features, such as the burial shaft of the main catacomb.
Over at Pompey’s Pillar and the Serapeum, the ancient acropolis of Alexandria, the vision is equally ambitious. Egypt’s tallest surviving Roman monument now rises over a site where walking routes are being upgraded, visitor services expanded, and surrounding spaces integrated with the city’s modern urban fabric.
These improvements are designed to enhance the cultural and educational experience while offering visitors a more seamless journey through Alexandria’s layered past.
Accessibility has been placed at the heart of the development project. Ramps, adapted pathways, and updated visitor facilities are being planned to meet international standards for inclusive tourism, ensuring that all guests, regardless of mobility, can engage fully with the sites.
The revitalisation of Kom Al-Shoqafa and Pompey’s Pillar marks more than a facelift; it signals a shift in how Egypt presents its heritage. By blending conservation, accessibility, and storytelling, Alexandria’s most celebrated sites are being transformed into open-air museums and places where history is not only remembered but experienced.
Soon, every visitor will walk through these ancient grounds with a clearer direction, deeper context, and a more personal connection to the city once known as the cultural heart of the Mediterranean.
Deputy Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Yomna Al-Bahar and Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Mohamed Ismail Khaled embarked on a tour of both sites to inspect the work achieved.
At Kom Al-Shoqafa and Pompey’s Pillar, they examined the ongoing restoration work, improved visitor pathways, and newly designed open-air displays where artefacts are being placed on stone platforms.
At the Roman Theatre, they reviewed preparations for an open museum of underwater antiquities and a new entrance gate linking the site directly to the bustling Safia Zaghloul Street, an effort to better weave the ancient ruins into the fabric of the modern city.
Khaled praised the scope of the work already underway, emphasising that such projects “reflect the state’s commitment to safeguarding Alexandria’s cultural legacy while enhancing its standing as a world-class cultural and tourism destination.”
He also urged the teams to accelerate the improvements, including upgraded signage in multiple languages, better accessibility routes for visitors with disabilities, and improved protective structures over fragile monuments such as the Catacombs’ main burial shaft.
Kom Al-Shoqafa, whose name means “Mound of Shards”, is one of Alexandria’s most extraordinary archaeological treasures. Discovered by chance in 1900, the site dates back to the late first century CE and remained in use until the fourth century.
Beneath the surface, a spiral staircase leads into a labyrinth of chambers that blend Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artistic traditions. Reliefs of Pharaonic gods mingle with Graeco-Roman motifs, while banquet halls and family tombs offer a window into funerary practices that bridged cultures in the ancient city.
Above ground, the site now features reconstructed tombs from other parts of Alexandria such as the Tigrane, Wardian, and Salvago tombs, providing visitors with a rare collection of funerary art in different styles.
A major milestone in preserving the site came with the groundwater lowering project carried out in collaboration with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Authority for Potable Water and Sewerage (NAPWAS) with a USAID grant of $5.7 million and inaugurated in 2019 by former minister of tourism and antiquities Khaled El-Enany to protect the fragile catacombs from rising water levels.
For decades, seepage threatened the underground chambers, eroding carvings and destabilising the rock. The project successfully diverted and reduced the groundwater, creating a safe environment for both the monuments and visitors. This intervention was a turning point, allowing conservationists to stabilise the catacombs and paving the way for today’s comprehensive site development.
Meanwhile, Egyptian restorers have completed a comprehensive reconstruction and conservation project for tombs 989 and 990 in the catacombs.
Nearby the Pompey’s Pillar and the Serapeum stand as the acropolis of ancient Alexandria. The colossal column, hewn from Aswan red granite in the third century CE, rises 27 metres into the sky and remains the tallest surviving Roman triumphal column in the world.
Erected in honour of the emperor Diocletian, it once stood amidst the grand Serapeum, a temple complex dedicated to the Graeco-Egyptian god Serapis. For centuries, it was a symbol of Alexandria’s status as a crossroads of faith, culture, and imperial power. The surrounding site preserves remnants of the temple and monuments that once crowned the city’s high ground overlooking the Mediterranean.
At Kom Al-Dikka, the Roman Theatre also offers a glimpse into everyday life in ancient Alexandria. Since the 1960s, joint Egyptian-Polish excavations have uncovered a wealth of remains spanning the Hellenistic to Islamic periods, including a rare Roman auditorium, lecture halls, residential quarters, baths, cisterns, colonnaded streets, and the famed “Villa of the Birds” with its intricate mosaic floors.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 4 September, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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