The excavations revealed an exceptionally well-preserved mudbrick settlement that offers a rare glimpse into daily life in the oasis during the fourth century AD.
The settlement features a carefully planned street network, residential quarters, religious and defensive structures, and a wealth of written and material evidence documenting the community that once flourished there.
The discovery sheds new light on the rich cultural diversity of the the oases across different historical periods.
It represents an important milestone in the archaeological exploration of the Western Desert, offering fresh insight into the social, religious and economic life of one of the Byzantine period’s oasis communities while further highlighting the archaeological significance of the Dakhla Oasis.
The excavations have produced valuable new evidence on the daily lives, urban development and economic activities of the inhabitants of the Dakhla Oasis during the Byzantine era.
Hisham El Leithy secretary general of the supreme council of antiquities explained that the newly discovered settlement was built according to an organized urban plan, with north-south thoroughfares intersected by east-west streets to form open squares and public spaces. At its center stands a basilica church overlooking one of the city’s main streets.
Mahmoud Massoud, Director General of Dakhla Antiquities and head of the excavation mission, said the settlement contained all the architectural components of a fully functioning community. Among the discoveries are a basilica church dating to the mid-fourth century AD, the remains of two watchtowers guarding the city’s outskirts, a heavily fortified structure with thick defensive walls, and numerous houses featuring spacious reception halls and vaulted roofs. Archaeologists also uncovered bread ovens, kitchens and stone grinding tools used in food production.
Among the most remarkable finds are the house of Tisous, identified as a church deacon and dating to the second half of the fourth century AD, and the residence of Tabibos, which dates to the early fourth century and is believed to have served as a house church before the construction of the city’s basilica.
Excavations also yielded a rich assemblage of artifacts reflecting everyday life and economic activity, including domestic pottery, bottles used to store oils and perfumes, oil lamps, and stone implements for grinding grain.
“One of the excavation’s most significant discoveries is a collection of nearly 200 inscribed ostraca (pottery fragments used as writing material) bearing texts in both Coptic and Greek,” asserted Diaa Zahran, head of the Islamic, Coptic and Jewish Antiquities Sector, the inscriptions record commercial transactions, correspondence and other details of daily life, offering an exceptional documentary record of the city’s inhabitants.
The mission also recovered a large number of well-preserved bronze coins bearing portraits of Byzantine emperors, Latin inscriptions and Christian symbols, alongside a group of gold coins dating to the reign of Constantius II, providing further evidence for the city’s prosperity and continued occupation during the fourth century AD.
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