The catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, meaning the “Mound of Shards” or “Potshards” is a subterranean necropolis beneath the streets of modern-day Alexandria in Egypt.
Alexandria is located in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Basin in Northern Egypt and was founded in the vicinity of an Egyptian settlement named Rhacotis (that became the Egyptian quarter of the city) by Alexander the Great in 331 BC after he captured the Egyptian Satrapy from the Persians.
The city was famous for the Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) and the Great Library. Alexandria was the intellectual and cultural centre of the ancient Mediterranean for much of the Hellenistic age and throughout the Roman period.
Kom El Shoqafa is likely named for the quantities of terracotta jars, plates and objects deposited in the vicinity by people visiting the tombs during antiquity. Visitors would often bring food and wine, purposely breaking the containers and discarding them outside the catacomb’s entrance.