Kom al-Ahmar / Sharuna Excavations (Egypt)

This was once the provincial capital of the 18th Upper Egyptian nome. Located in Middle Egypt, on the eastern bank of the Nile, Kom al-Ahmar is a cluster of sites from different periods. The Izba yielded layers of the Old Kingdom, including large storage facilities; in the nearby irrigated fields an Early Coptic church with surrounding cemetery was found; the Necropolis at the valley's edge houses tombs from the Old Kingdom through Ptolemaic times; and in the desert, Early Coptic hermit's communities were found.

One such monastic community was excavated in 2002-2003. It consists of several rooms attached to an easily defensible tower structure, which could be reached through an underground tunnel or via a small staircase. This community also had a small chapel, with remnants of frescoed wall plaster, and a small cemetery, where the remains of a partially mummified body in elaborate textile wrappings were found.

    Back