Archaeologists Uncover a Well-Preserved Byzantine-Era City in Egypt’s Western Desert

Archaeologists working in Egypt’s Western Desert have uncovered a well-preserved Byzantine-era city at the Dakhla Oasis, reports Heritage Daily. According to the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the discovery provides important insights into daily life when Egypt was part of the Byzantine Empire.  

Excavation of the fourth-century settlement, conducted at the Ain Al-Sabil archaeological site by a mission from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), revealed a street grid, residential and religious buildings, and fortifications. The find also included coins, pottery fragments, and tools.

According to Hisham el-Leithy, secretary general of the SCA, the city was built around wide north-south roads intersected by east-west streets, creating open public spaces. At its heart, a fourth-century Christian basilica overlooking one of the city’s main thoroughfares, while two watchtowers guarded its outskirts.

Among the residential buildings were the home of a deacon named Tisous and another that researchers think may have originally been a house church before the construction of the basilica. The excavators also unearthed bread ovens, kitchens, and grain-grinding installations.

The most notable finds were a group of gold coins dated to the reign of Roman emperor Constantius II, who ruled between 337 and 361, and a collection of about 200 ostraca—pottery fragments used as writing surfaces—inscribed in Coptic and Greek. According to Diaa Zahran, head of the SCA’s department of Islamic, Coptic and Jewish Antiquities, these ostraca contain commercial contracts, details of business transactions, and personal correspondence, providing rare evidence of the city’s social and economic life.  

The discovery represents one of the most significant Byzantine settlements found in Egypt’s Western Desert to date, said the SCA.