The traditional cemeteries of Kellis

The cemeteries used by the inhabitants of Kellis before their conversion to Christianity identified to date are all located on the perimeter of the settlement (Figure 1.1). Closest are two rows of mud-brick mausolea termed the North and the South Tombs, each one extending over a distance of approximately 300 metres. The North Tombs (NT) comprise structures oriented towards the settlement; 25 have been identified, of which six have been examined, but there were probably more. They mostly form a single row with a few randomly placed, and it is possible that three tombs to their west, the West Tombs (WT), should be regarded as part of the same sequence, along with poorly preserved structures in between and more to the north. They include the North Stone Tomb, near which may have been others with similar architecture and in the same material, and a series of 13 mud-brick structures located within the Kellis 2 (K2) cemetery. This extensive cemetery, numbered 31/420-C5-2 in the DOP system, due north of the settlement, was used by Christians in the late third and fourth centuries (Chapter 14), and the built structures may predate this use or indicate the continued use of such architecture into that period. They are laid out in what seems to be a double row, thus similar to the arrangement of the North Tombs. Twenty-five structures have also been identified in the South Tombs (ST), and one has been examined; all but one are oriented towards the settlement. The third and largest burial site is the Kellis 1 (K1) cemetery, numbered 31/420-C5-1, comprising tombs cut into the chain of hills a short distance to the west of the settlement (Hope 2014). Twenty-seven tombs have been investigated, and those that had been used each contained multiple burials, as do the built mausolea; the total number of tombs is uncertain as is the actual extent of the cemetery, but there could be several hundred. The architectural variety and scale of the tombs at Kellis reflects the socio-economic diversity of the inhabitants and again indicates connections with neighbouring but also distant regions, and in conjunction with the burial practices informs us about their beliefs concerning the afterlife.