Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (5.1993(1994))

In the floor close to the southern wall there was a rectangu-
lar space which attracted attention by the different arrangement of
paving tiles. The 1.05 by 0.60 m rectangle marked the location of
a shaft leading to a burial chamber. The quadrangular shaft was cut
70 cm into bedrock and covered with a semi-barrel vault of
redbrick. In the middle part of the vault some "moving bricks"
were used, which had no mortar between them to allow their easy
removal. The arched entrance in the eastern wall of the shaft (30
cm wide) led to the chamber which was located below a doorway
from room 2 to room 5. The opening was blocked with bricks and
sealed with the sign of the cross made with a finger in the wet
mortar (Fig. 2).
Inside the barrel-vaulted burial chamber (2.13 x 0.80 m;
1.70 m high at the most), there were 5 bodies buried. The climate
largely helped in the preservation of the bodies, as well as the hair
and shrouds wrapped around the bodies including the heads. The
bodies were found in two layers, one directly on top of the other,
and were buried presumably at long intervals. There can be no
doubt that Georgios was one of the personsburied in the crypt,
because his stele had been set in the wall immediately above the
entrance to the tomb. The crypt may have possibly served as the
burial place of the archimandrites of the monastery.
The walls of the crypt were plastered with a yellowish-grey
mud mortar and carefully whitewashed. On this surface Greek and
Coptic inscriptions, preserved in excellent condition, had been
written in black ink (Fig. 3). The only larger loss of plaster is on

2
Anthropological examinations were not carried out this season. The
contents of the crypt were recorded, but otherwise left untouched.

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