New Christian remains from the 5th century discovered in E …

The authorities of Egypt announced this Saturday that a Franco-Norwegian archaeological mission has discovered new remains of Christian buildings from late Antiquity in the Western Desert of Egypt. The find is an important indication of monastic life in the region in the 5th century.

“The Franco-Norwegian mission discovered during its third excavation campaign at the Tell Ganoub Kasr Al Aguz site, in the oasis of Al Bahariya, several basalt buildings, carved in stone and brick”, indicated the Ministry of Defense in a press release. Egyptian Antiquities.

These are properties that correspond to “six sectors which house the remains of three churches, monks’ cells” whose “walls bear graffiti and symbols with Coptic connotations,” said the head of Islamic, Coptic and Jewish antiquities, Osama Talaat.

Meanwhile, the head of the mission, Victor Ghica, added that in 2020 “19 buildings and a church hewn in stone” were discovered. This church had “religious” and biblical “Greek” inscriptions on its walls which indicated “the monastic character of life in the area” and the “presence of monks from the 5th century AD”.

The site that housed Christian ascetics, isolated in the desert of southwestern Egypt and far from known cities of Roman times, was occupied from the 4th to the 8th centuries, with a likely peak in activity around the 5th. and 8th centuries. VI, according to the French Institute of Oriental Archeology in charge of the mission.

Cairo, for its part, has announced in recent months important archaeological discoveries that could help boost tourism, a key sector whose activity has been seriously affected by the coronavirus pandemic.