The ruins of a mudbrick Byzantine era city were discovered during ongoing excavations at the Ain Al-Sabil archaeological site in the Dakhla Oasis, the Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry announced on Friday.
Dakhla is one of the seven oases in Egypt's western desert, located in the New Valley Governorate, some 350 miles from the Nile River.
Roads are laid out in an organized urban layout, explained Dr. Diaa Zahran, Islamic, Coptic, and Jewish Antiquities head at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, with main streets running from north to south that intersect with transverse streets running from east to west.
Several open squares and plazas are scattered throughout the city, and overlooking one of the main streets stands a fourth century CE.
Two of the most notable homes discovered, however, belong to the deacon of the church, Tisus, dating to the second half of the fourth century CE, and the home of Tabipus, dating to the early fourth century CE.
Tabipus’s house is believed to have been used as an at-home church before the construction of the basilica.
The remains of two watchtowers, a thick-walled fortress, several other houses with vaulted ceilings lining the roads were also unearthed within and on the edges of the city.
These homes also featured bread ovens, kitchens, and tools used for grinding down grains, added Dr. Mahmoud Masoud, director-general of Dakha Antiquities and the head of the current mission.
Several every day artifacts were also found during excavations, including pottery vessels for domestic use, oil and perfume bottles, oil lamps, and the remnants of stone tools.
Collections of coins, correspondence found at site
Archaeologists also discovered many bronze coins in good condition, featuring the likenesses of Byzantine emperors, Latin inscriptions, and Christian symbols, as well as several gold coins dating to the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Constantius II (ruled from 337-361 CE).
Further, a large collection of trade documents and correspondence was recovered from the city, consisting of approximately 200 pottery shards inscribed in the Greek and Coptic languages.
Supreme Council of Antiquities Secretary-General Dr. Hisham El-Leithy noted that the significance of the discovery lies in the new and precise information [the city] provides about the nature of daily life in the Egyptian community of the Dakhla Oasis during the Byzantine period.
He added that the excavation results have contributed to documenting many of the architectural, social, and economic aspects that characterized the region at the time.
The discovery represents an important addition to the “record of Egyptian archaeological finds,” said Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy, noting that it helps “highlight the cultural diversity witnessed by the Egyptian oases throughout different historical periods.”
New sections of ancient Egyptian temple reveal inscriptions of Pharaoh Psamtik I
In the Bahariya Oasis, slightly north of Dakhla, previously unexplored parts of the ancient temple complex in the village of al-Qasr were uncovered during excavations completed a little over two weeks ago.
The temple dates back to Egypt’s 26th Dynasty, the last native dynasty of ancient Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BCE.
Excavations completed by an Egyptian archaeological mission on behalf of the Supreme Council of Antiquities unearthed the temple’s main hall, housing 16 sandstone columns and several connecting chambers and shrines.
Leithy noted that a number of stone blocks bearing the names and titles of King Psamtik I - the first Pharoah of the 26th Dynasty - were found within the chamber.
Additional hieroglyphics discovered within the temple names several ancient Egyptian deitieshttps://www.jpost.com/tags/ancient-egypt, including Amun-Ra (diety of the sun and creator deity), Amunet (a primordial goddess, the female counterpart of Amun-Ra), and Khonsu (diety of the moon).
