Pilot Case 2 - Sardinia, Italy

Located in the Is Pirixeddus necropolis at Sulky, Sant’Antioco, the Tomb of the Egyptian is a 5th-century BC Punic burial monument notable for its strong Egyptian cultural influences. The tomb is reached by a corridor of thirteen steps leading down to a trapezoidal burial chamber with a flat roof and a free-standing central pillar.

The central pillar is the most distinctive feature of the tomb. It is decorated with a rare high-relief male figure facing the entrance, shown wearing a simple kilt and a traditional Egyptian klaft headdress. Traces of red and black paint add further detail, and the figure is generally interpreted as an allusive representation of the deceased, likely an eminent member of the Punic community of Sulky.

The chamber walls are richly decorated with broad red painted bands and squares, framing both real and virtual rock-cut niches. Among these is a painted “false door,” a motif closely connected with Egyptian funerary tradition. Inside the tomb, archaeologists found a wooden sarcophagus resting on a wooden litter supported by stone blocks, together with grave goods such as an amphora and a lamp. Ritual offerings, including bird eggs and partridge remains, were also discovered on the floor and inside wall niches.

The Tomb of the Egyptian is therefore an important example of cultural synthesis in the Punic Mediterranean, combining local funerary practices with Egyptian-inspired architecture, decoration, and ritual symbolism. Within EXCALIBUR, the site will be utilized as a real-world testing ground for the project’s holistic framework through advanced documentation, digital twinning, conservation and risk management, bioarcheological  study and cultural narratives.