Divided into three registers, the scenes read right to left. One section of the dome top depicts Noah's ark, Jonah and the whale, Adam and Eve, Daniel in the lion's den, and one of the earliest Christian representations of the prophet Isaiah. On another part of the dome below , the Egyptian pharaoh and his army follow Moses and the Israelites on their journey through Sinai.
Other biblical figures include Rebecca, Job, and Abraham. These scenes were often found in early Christian funerary contexts and represent a standard visual vocabulary in the Mediterranean. First and second rows: Sarcophagus with scenes from the lives of Saint Peter and Christ , early s, with modern restoration. Rome, Villa Felice formerly Carpegna. Third row: Charles Wilkinson. Facsimile of the dome painting of the Chapel of Exodus two details For example, a sarcophagus in the Museum's collection that was uncovered at the Villa Felice formerly Carpegna in Rome is best known for its scenes from the lives of Saint Peter and Christ top row.
But the sarcophagus also includes scenes depicting Three Hebrews in the Fiery Furnace and Adam and Eve after the Fall by the Tree of Knowledge second row , imagery that also appears on the ceiling of the Chapel of Exodus at Kharga third row. To early Christians, these scenes were prophecies of Christ's salvation. Both the ceiling painting at Kharga and the sarcophagus at Rome point to the common themes that early Christians wanted to accompany them into the afterlife.
The paintings in the Bagawat tombs were decorated with motifs and imagery that connects Kharga to Christian communities throughout the Mediterranean. But the people of Kharga also incorporated traditional Egyptian motifs that articulated their cross-cultural heritage, revealing the intersectional identities of the people who were buried in the tombs.
Portrait of man on half-painted panel , 2nd—4th century A. Roman or late Roman. This can be seen in a coffin panel from Tomb 66 above. Found in a tomb with Christian imagery, this portrait of a man on a half-painted panel has motifs in common with ancient Egyptian art—a hawk and a sistrum.
The panel was sawed in half before it was placed in the burial chamber, and only the right side was recovered. Some scholars therefore believe that the panel may have been a reused object taken from an Egyptian coffin, similar to the Fayyum Mummy portraits below.
Right: Portrait of a thin-faced man , 2nd century A. Egypt, Roman. Encaustic, limewood, gold leaf, H. Rossi and S. Rectangular pigeon towers often accompany the remains of ancient cultivations: the best example is the one to be found at Ain al-Dabashiya, that was recently restored and is now open to the public. In the central part of the Oasis, gridded settlements were built around central buildings at Qasr al-Nessim and Qasr al-Baramoudy, that have never been surveyed or studied.
The first is about to be swallowed by the encroaching cultivation of palm trees, and has recently suffered substantial damage. The second contains a spectacular flower-shaped pigeon tower, for which no parallel has been documented in the entire Western Desert.
In the south, the older fortified magazines of Dush focus of a long-running project by M. Wuttmann for IFAO were taken over by the army and transformed into a fortified outpost, that guarded the beginning of another route linking the oasis to the Nile Valley. Moving to the trans-regional scale, the advent of the Romans, especially from the end of the 3 rd century AD, certainly placed Kharga in a central position within the Western Desert network of routes.
In the north of the Oasis depression, the large legionary fortress of al-Deir currently studied by G. Tallet was built at the very end of the third century AD, at the beginning of one of the shortest tracks leading to the Valley. Twin sisters of this fortress were built in the Dakhla and Bahariya Oasis, and a similar one in the Faiyum: this large-scale operation of control of the Western Desert frontier is likely to have been triggered by the Emperor Diocletian, as the southern limes of the Roman Empire.
Immediately afterwards, an impressive chain of fortified settlements were built along the Kharga crossroad, consisting of elaborated settlements and sturdy buildings with a strong military flavour. Although all the Western Desert oases yielded evidence of having flourished at the very beginning of the fourth century, none sports the presence of a similar chain of fortified settlements, thus suggesting that the function of this oasis as major desert crossroad was taken very seriously.
Further archaeological investigation and research will be necessary before a detailed reconstruction of the Roman strategy of control of the Kharga Oasis can be offered, but it is clear that the Romans made a significant effort to occupy and exploit this area, with more than one aim in mind: controlling the caravan routes meant controlling regional trade and potential invaders, as well as marking the southern boundary of the empire and stating the influence of the Roman empire on the vast expanse of the Western Desert and territories further south.
Kharga represents a perfect example of the real nature and function of the limes: a major crossroad controlled by fortified installations. Desert routes, therefore, play a role that is as important as the one played by the sites built along them: differently from the latter, they may physically consist of elusive traces and small finds scattered along the desert surface, but there represent the reason why all the other sites exist.
In the Late Roman period, Kharga witnessed the spread of Christianity that left substantial traces, both archaeological and textual. The large 5 th century AD cemetery of Bagawat is one of the most famous monuments of the oasis; nearby, the slopes of Gebel al-Teir behind the monastery of Mustapha Kashef are covered by thoroughly documented Coptic graffiti.
Recent investigation brought to light the existence of a series of churches: one of the oldest must be the one of Umm al-Dabadib, annexed to the already existing Roman fortified settlement. A very interesting example is the church at Ain al-Tarakwa, discovered in , built right in the middle of an ancient sacred enclosure, along the central axis and in front of the ancient stone temple, whose entrance was bricked up.
Here we can see the physical transition from the Egyptian religion to Christianity. This site is covered by sand to a height of 3 m and awaits further investigation; its proximity with a fast-growing new village represents an issue to be addressed. The current state of the terrain, covered by an impenetrable scatter of sand and bushes, suggests that in Antiquity the landscape must have been different: most probably, the lowest portion of the depression was still covered by a lake, a reduced but still substantial version of the prehistoric water expanse see below criterion viii.
The apparent absence of archaeological remains dating to this very long period may be due to a combination of factors: the progressive accumulation of sand in the deepest part of the depression, and the fact that settlements occupied always the same areas.
In the Valley, this is due to the fact that only a few raised areas were spared by the annual inundation. It may be time to apply the same reasoning to the oases as well: here the superimposed growth of settlements may be due to the limited presence of water.
Until about one century ago, when electric and mechanical pumps were adopted, water could only be retrieved at relatively low depths, thus significantly limiting the position of the inhabited areas. Future archaeological excavations in Kharga are likely to uncover substantial remains of both the Pharaonic and the Islamic periods, currently virtually absent from the chronicles. Kharga Oasis site a occupies a depression in the southern part of the Western Desert of Egypt, extending for some x km in a north-south direction, at about km west of the Nile.
The mineralogy of Kharga arable soils is similar to that of Nile silt, indicating an old connection with Nile. The lowest point in the Oasis is more or less at sea level, while the highest is at m asl. The natural vegetation, as well as the naturalized species and the cultivated plants in Kharga and Dakhla Oases, seem to be more or less uniform, and to deal with each of them separately would involve an overlap which may approach a mere repetition.
However, the peculiarities of each Oasis will be dealt with apart. Seven vegetation types are recognized in Kharga and Dakhla, described here mainly after Zahran and Willis The scientific names of plants throughout this listing are updated after Boulos , , , and Like islands in the ocean, oases are islands of water in the ocean of dry sands. Specific environments host the following plants:. The Kharga Oasis, in particular the western area, currently not inhabited, represents one of the last outposts where Dorcas Gazelles live free in the oases area.
Another one may be located in the area of Kurkur and Dungul Oases site c, see below. Among the peculiarities of the local fauna to be highlighted, there is certainly the endemic oligochaete an earthworm Nannodrilus staudei , discovered in the Nile region and described by Michaelsen in , was re-discovered in by S. Ghabbour from Ain Khosh, in the south of the Kharga Oasis. Its presence indicates an ancient connection with the Nile.
Another interesting species is a vividly coloured grasshopper warning colouration , that feeds on Calotropis procera , whose leaves contain a poisonous latex. All these small oases are currently uninhabited, and this so far allowed the natural preservation of both the natural and the cultural features.
This area hosts substantial and untouched evidence of the climate changes that occurred in the Western Sahara. The geological features that have been identified and analysed allowed to reconstruct the alternation of dry and wet periods and the ensuing shaping of the landscape.
The climate changes are strictly connected with the evidence yielded by the archaeological remains see above Value and Function of the Small Southern Oases. These oases are located in the vicinity of spectacular escarpments from the Nubian Tableland to the Lower Nubian Plain in the southern part of the Western Desert. They lie at the edge of the Sinn El-Kaddab Plateau. The distance between the two relict Oases is about 60 km.
Dineigil is located at the very edge of the escarpment in a high position while Dungul is in a lower position in the Wadi Dungul. Both Oases receive their water as a result of the blockage of drainage lines of an artesian aquifer. The two Oases and the area inbetween comprise a great variety of landscape features and habitat diversity.
Of special importance is the fascinating white limestone erosion-bounded Dineigil and Dungul Oases. In spite of almost rainlessness, these two Oases are rich in biodiversity. Palm groves three species: two are the common Phoenix and Hyphaene and extensive growth of Acacia groves form the main framework of the perennial plant cover. The highlight of the floristic characteristics is the occurrence of the third palm, the long forgotten palm Medemia argun , which was abundant in Ancient Egyptian times but exists now in Dungul and in another spot in northern Sudan.
It can thus be considered in modern times to be endemic for the Nubian Desert, and also threatened with extinction, although some young individuals are still growing there. The fauna of this area needs further studies. There is some evidence that these Oases as the Kharga Oasis, see above are the very last refuges of viable populations of the highly threatened dorcas gazelle Gazella dorcas , and maybe also the highly vulnerable and extremely rare Sand Cat Felis margarita , thought to be the ancestor of the domestic cat, in the Western Desert of Egypt.
The picture slowly emerging from the most recent studies highlights the importance of Kharga as a desert crossroad in all historical periods: a cultural landscape created by human activities based on its geographic position. At the dawn of history, the progressive desiccation of the area created the basis of the environment and landscape that we see now: population concentrated around the few available water sources, connected by trade and communication routes.
The entire Sahara is crisscrossed by tracks that meet at the sparse water sources, but Kharga represents a special case, for two main reasons. First of all, it contains evidence of the human and environmental evolution that took place the last 12, years, and then it contains the archaeological remains of one of the most impressive operations of strategic control of a desert area: the well-preserved chain of Late Roman forts and fortified settlements described above.
Strategically located at a relatively short distance from the Nile Valley, Kharga has always played an important role, mirrored by its outstanding archaeological remains dating to various periods: its role can be fully appreciated if compared with the historical evolution of the entire region. Outstanding value of the architectural and agricultural remains in the Kharga Oasis site a.
The chain of Late Roman forts and fortified settlements represents a unique ensamble of archaeological remains. They all consist of architectural remains accompanied by agricultural installations, and are important for two reasons: for their impressive level of preservation and for the possibility to study together the two sets of remains. This cemetery has one of the most important and most ancient Christian churches in the whole world. Bagawat dates back to the seventh century A. It contains tombs constructed as small domed chapels with a central church in the middle which is considered one of the most ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt.
The most important tomb in the cemetery is the tomb of Exodus which represents the Israelis going out of Egypt and the Pharoahs forcing them out of the country. Other tombs display many colorful Coptic inscriptions and writings that demonstrate Coptic life during this period. The Temple of Ghweita or Qaser Ghweita, "fortress of deep springs" is located 25 kilometers south of Kharga.
This temple together with the Temple of Hibis are the only temples built in Egypt during the Persian or Hyksos occupation. The construction work of this temple started in the reign of Darius I on the top of a hill that was originally the ruins of a Pharaonic settlement. The temple was built for the worship of the holy triad Amun- Mut- Khonsu , the same as the temple of Hibis. It was also enlarged during the Ptolemaic era between the 3rd and 1st century BC. The Temple now includes a hall with 8 huge columns, a hypostyle hall, and a sanctuary.
Thanks to the Egyptian government, there is an asphalt road that links the two temples together now. This temple was constructed during the Ptolemaic reign and enlarged during the period of the Roman emperor Pius in the 2nd century A. It contains a sanctuary made out of white limestone blocks and many mud brick side chambers all around it.
This area corresponds to the Ptolemaic and Roman settlement of Kysis and it is located near the oasis of Paris. It is kilometers south of Al Kharga. There are two Roman fortresses at it and two temples.
This site had significant importance in the old world as it granted the control of several caravan routes in the Roman and Ptolemaic times. The major monument in this site is a temple that was made out of limestone blocks during the rule of Domitian 81 — 96 AD and enlarged by many of his successors and it was dedicated to the worship of Isis.
Excavation on the Dush site has been going on since by a French institution of oriental archeology. They have unearthed a lot of interesting findings that include many golden items. There are also a lot of many interesting monuments in this ancient site. The museum of Al Kharga hosts a lot of the items that were found all over the archeological sites of the governorate.
As a result, objects and ideas from across Egypt, Nubia, and the eastern Mediterranean from the Pharaonic to early Byzantine periods made their way to Kharga. In late antiquity fourth to seventh century , the region also bore witness to an expansive and vibrant Christian community, evidenced by new sacred spaces and the reuse of forts and temples as churches and monasteries.
The Met's archaeologists uncovered two-story houses, painted tombs, and a church. A selection of objects from these sites are on view in this gallery, revealing the multiple cultural and religious identities of people who lived in the region between the third and seventh centuries, a time of transition between the Roman and Byzantine periods.
The finds represent a society that integrated Egyptian, Greek, and Roman culture and art. Presenting objects according to the archaeological context in which they were discovered, this exhibition explores these ancient identities and artifacts and demonstrates how archaeological documentation can aid in understanding an object's original function.
El Bagawat, an ancient Christian necropolis, contains more than well-preserved tombs. The tomb structures resemble small houses with multiple rooms, evoking the Greek term necropolis, or "city of the dead. This site thus came to be called the "Pompeii of Egypt. Seventy-nine pit graves, excavated in , held mostly pottery and personal items such as combs, writing utensils, and textiles.
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