Skip to main content

Late Antique Egypt, Archaeology of

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology
  • 449 Accesses

Introduction

The archaeological study of late antique Egypt is a relatively recent field of study. Excavations at key settlements such as Alexandria, Antinoopolis, Abu Mina, Berenike, Kellia, Naqlun, Sketis, Tebtunis, Thebes, Sinai, and the oases illustrate the diverse settlements available for analysis. The archaeology of late antique Egypt is significantly impacted by the introduction of both ecclesiastical monumental architecture and monastic settlements. The earliest presence of new architectural forms is evident in the fourth century with churches built in older Roman urban centers and then alongside newly designed monastic settlements. Ostraca and the papyrological corpus in Greek, Coptic, and eventually Arabic provide a rich body of evidence for reading alongside the diverse archaeological record. Methodological choices from the fields of late antique studies, landscape archaeology, and the archaeology of religion contribute to a wide array of interpretations for explaining...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 5,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Further Reading

  • Alston, R. 2002. The city in Roman and Byzantine Egypt. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atiya, A. 1991. The Coptic encyclopedia. New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagnall, R.S. 1993. Egypt in late antiquity. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • - 2001. Archaeological work on Hellenistic and Roman Egypt, 1995-2000. American Journal of Archaeology 105: 227-43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagnall, R.S. & D. Rathbone. 2004. Egypt from Alexander to the early Christians: an archaeological and historical guide. Los Angeles: Getty Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blue, L. & D. Peacock. (ed.) 2006. Myos Hormos - Quseir al-Quadim: Roman and Islamic ports on the Red Sea. Oxford: Oxbow Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks Hedstrom, D.L. 2007. Divine architects: designing the monastic dwelling place, in R. Bagnall (ed.) Egypt in the Byzantine world, 300-700: 368-89. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cappozzo, M. 2007. Il Cristianesimo nel Medio Egitto. Todi: Tau Editrice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dijkstra, J.H.F. 2008. Philae and the end of Ancient Egyptian religion. A regional study of religious transformation (298-642 CE). Leuven: Peeters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghica, V., S. Marchand & A. Marangou. 2008. Les ermitages d’Abu Darag revisité. Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale 108: 115-63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossmann, P. 2002. Christliche Architektur in Ägypten. Leiden: Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haas, C. 1997. Alexandria in Late Antiquity: topography and social conflict. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavan, L. & W. Bowden. (ed.) 2003. Theory and practice in Late Antique archaeology. Leiden: Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie, J. 2007. The architecture of Alexandria and Egypt c. 300 BC to AD 700. New Haven: Yale.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheehan, P. 2010. Babylon of Egypt: the archaeology of Old Cairo and the origins of the city. Cairo: The American University of Cairo Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sidebotham, S. 2011. Berenike and the ancient maritime spice route. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sidebotham, S., et. al. 2008. The red land: the illustrated archaeology of Egypt’s eastern desert. Cairo: The American University of Cairo Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Török, L. 2005. Transfigurations of Hellenism: aspects of late antique art in Egypt AD 250-700. Leiden: Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wipszycka, E. 2009. Moines et communautés monastiques en Égypte (IVe-VIII siècles). Varsovie: Journal of Juristic Papyrology.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this entry

Cite this entry

Brooks Hedstrom, D.L. (2014). Late Antique Egypt, Archaeology of. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_1115

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_1115

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0426-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0465-2

  • eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law

Publish with us

Policies and ethics