Isadora Cemetery
This is one of the tombs shaped like houses, known as burial houses, built in the style of Greek houses. At that time, this house represented a new style of tomb architecture previously unknown in Egypt. The house is made of baked mud bricks, has a dark color, and is painted white both inside and out.
Architecture and Access
The entrance to the house is located on the side. It is reached via an almost vertical staircase in front of the entrance. At the four corners are altars topped with pyramid-shaped crowns. This is the typical style found before temples in Tuna al-Jabal.
Layout
The house consists of two rooms. The first is a reception room, which has a niche or recessed area within the side wall, rectangular in shape, located opposite the entrance.
Tomb Chamber
Two nearly identical niches lead to the tomb chamber, where on the east wall lies a lion-shaped burial bed. This style has been known in Egypt since the New Kingdom and was also used during the Roman period. It is represented here by the relief sculpture in the Kom el-Shuqafa Cemetery.
Special Features
The bed has two spiral columns on its sides and rises above it. The bed is vaulted, with a large basin occupying its space. On the right side, there are astronomical drawings.
Historical Significance
This house is particularly significant because the artist engraved a long lamentation in Greek on both sides of the inner door that leads from the entrance hall to the tomb chamber—a unique feature among tomb buildings.
The Story of Isadora
In the inscription, the father commemorates his daughter Isadora, who died in the prime of her youth by drowning. He expressed the pain he felt when visiting her grave and offering sacrifices. In his eulogy, he wrote: “Farewell, my child. You are now a mermaid.”
Preservation Status
Isadora was mummified and buried in this cemetery, and her mother still resides in this house to this day.