A 2,000-year-old settlement was discovered in the Kharga Oasis in Egypt, a site first inhabited in the 3rd century BCE and reused during the early Coptic period between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE. The ministry said the settlement illustrated the transition from paganism to Christianity in Egypt’s Western Desert.
Archaeologists working in the Bagawat necropolis, which contains 263 standing structures behind the Hibis Temple, uncovered mud-brick houses, tombs, two churches, wall paintings, large pottery jars for grain, cooking ovens, pottery and glass fragments, stone pieces, and burial spaces—evidence of a self-sustaining desert community.
The larger church followed a basilica plan with a central nave, side aisles, square columns, and a hall that suggested the community’s status. The second, smaller and rectangular, bears Coptic texts on its interior walls. A mural shows Jesus healing a sick person, while other chapel domes display Torah scenes. Thousands of inscriptions in Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Arabic span several centuries.
“This discovery reflects the wealth and diversity of ancient Egyptian civilization during crucial historical periods,” said Sherif Fathy, Egypt’s minister of Tourism and Antiquities. “The western oases served as centers of religious and social life in various periods,” added mission director Mohamed Ismail Khaled.
Al-Kharga, now the capital of the New Valley Governorate, sat on major caravan routes such as Darb al-Arbaeen to Darfur and tracks linking the oasis to Abydos, Luxor, Esna, and Dakhla. Fortified sites like Qala’at al-Lanja, al-Munira, and Douche, and sandstone temples including Hibis, al-Ghawita, al-Nadura, Zayan, and Douche attest to continued occupation.
The Hibis Temple, covering 798 square meters, was built during the reign of the Persian king Darius I between 510 and 490 BCE, with decorations added until 69 CE; some scholars propose earlier Middle Kingdom foundations.
At Bagawat, streets and standing walls give the impression of a city paused in time, while nearby Ain Saaf houses mark the residential zone. Communal grain jars, domestic ovens, and organized burials provide insight into how early Christians adapted to life in the Western Desert.
Written with the help of a news-analysis system.