Anfushi Necropolis

Anfushi Necropolis sits on the western Anfushi peninsula near Ras el-Tin, and consists of Ptolemaic-era rock-cut tombs dating chiefly from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, somewhat later than the earlier El Shatby burials and showing a more pronounced blending of Egyptian and Greek decorative traditions. The tombs are cut into the peninsula's limestone bedrock and reached by descending staircases into small courtyards surrounded by burial chambers, a plan derived from Greek domestic and funerary architecture but decorated with painted imitation-masonry patterns and Egyptian-style motifs such as winged sun-discs and depictions of Egyptian deities rendered in a Hellenistic painterly style. Several tombs preserve painted wall decoration imitating alabaster and marble panelling, a technique borrowed from Macedonian and wider Hellenistic tomb painting traditions, making Anfushi an important example of how Alexandria's Greek settlers adapted local materials and motifs to their own burial customs. The tombs' combination of geometric painted masonry and Egyptian religious imagery makes Anfushi one of the clearest surviving illustrations of Ptolemaic-period cultural fusion in Alexandria's funerary art. The necropolis was excavated and partially restored in the early-to-mid 20th century, with protective coverings added over the most fragile painted chambers to slow deterioration from humidity and salt exposure common to sites this close to the harbour. Because of the site's exposed coastal position, conservation is an ongoing concern, and only a subset of the excavated tombs is typically open for viewing at any time, with others closed for stabilisation work. There is no curated exhibit path; visitors descend the stairways into the open tomb courtyards in the sequence set by the original excavation.