Fayoum. Dimeh-el-Siba.

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الفيوم

The ruins of the Graeco-Roma city, which name in Greek language means "The Crocodile Island" are located in 8 kilometers to the south of Qasr-el-saga. At the present time this place is known as Dimeh-el-Siba. It is believed that the city was built in Ptolemaic Period on the foundation of an ancient settlement. The remains of complex structures, towering above the desert plain were firstly described by the archeologists Giovanni Battista Belzoni and Karl Lepsius. The artifacts, found during the excavations are stored in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in Cairo.

The "Crocodile Island" complex stretches from north to south, covering the area of about 640 meters length and 320 meters width. The Temple, the main object of the complex, is located in the southern part of the "island" and covers an area of about 9000 square meters. The whole territory is fenced with white brick walls. The remains of the Temple walls, as well as the interior floors of the Temple are made of sandstone blocks. There is a road, paved with limestone blocks, taking its beginning at the southern entrance to the Temple complex and stretching towards the Moeris Lake. Its length makes 400 meters and its width is about 8 meters.

Below are the photos of the road, leading in the direction of Moeris Lake. Despite the fact that the road pavement is completely absent, its foundation block has survived quite well.

How looks the road surface, during the time of its functioning - is very hard to imagine. But high quality processed fragments of basalt blocks, found along roadsides (and also on the territory of the Temple complex) makes us assume, that in ancient times it could look quite perfect.

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