Coptic epitaphs

On our tombstone, we have an almost complete text. It may have started with a cross (now lost) and was decorated with another one at the end, as is customary in Coptic epitaphs from Nubia.

Life is fleeting and temporary. Therefore, Coptic Christians expressed various ideas about life and death. When they were ready to leave the mortal world, they looked forward to enjoying eternity with God. The Coptic epitaphs usually seek to ask God for mercy and rest for the soul of the deceased.

The epitaphs offer very interesting information about people’s ideas on death and about the dead themselves, The epitaphs from Qasr Ibrim, in particular, very often commemorate women.