"Early Christianity in Egypt's Oasis Magna: Archaeological Evidence from Dakhla"

About the Lecture:

This lecture will illustrate the results of archaeological work carried out, in the last twenty years, at two sites in Dakhla Oasis of Upper Egypt, i.e., the rural settlement of ʿAin el-Gedida and the city of Amheida (ancient Trimithis). Particular emphasis will be on the evidence for Christian places of cult (and therefore of active Christian communities) at both sites since the early fourth century CE. Remains of two churches were found that are among the earliest available evidence on Christian sacred space, not only in the region of the so-called ‘Great Oasis’ but throughout Egypt. Moreover, the excavation of the church at Amheida revealed a well-preserved underground funerary crypt, which is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, of any other known crypts from Christian Egypt. The evidence from ʿAin el-Gedida and Amheida sheds light on issues key to our understanding of early Egyptian Christianity, including the cultural and socio-economic context in which it flourished, the dissemination of distinctive features of Christian art and architecture, and early Christian burial customs.

About the Speaker:

Nicola Aravecchia is Associate Professor of Classics and of Art History and Archaeology at Washington University in St. Louis. He holds a BA in Classical Studies from the University of Bologna, an MA in Ancient and Medieval Art & Archaeology and a Ph.D. in Art History both from the University of Minnesota. Nicola is also a Research Affiliate of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. In the Spring of 2016, he was the invited Chair of Coptic Studies at The American University in Cairo and in 2020 he was elected to the Board of Governors of the American Research Center in Egypt. Nicola’s research interests encompass the art and archaeology of Graeco-Roman and late antique Egypt. In particular, they focus on the origins and development of early Christian architecture in Egypt. Since 2005, Nicola has been involved in archaeological projects in Dakhla Oasis, located in Egypt’s Western Desert. In 2022, he became the Archaeological Field Director at Amheida/Trimithis, a Graeco-Roman city in Dakhla. Nicola is the main author of ʿAin el-Gedida: 2006–2008 Excavations at a Late Roman Site in Dakhla Oasis, Egypt (New York: ISAW/NYU Press 2018) and a co-author of An Oasis City (New York: ISAW/NYU Press 2015). His latest book, entitled Early Christianity at Amheida (Egypt's Dakhla Oasis): A Fourth-Century Church, will appear in the Fall of 2024 (also published by NYU Press). Nicola has also written articles and essays on related subjects, most recently on the capacity and use of space in early Egyptian churches. Before joining Washington University, Nicola taught at New York University, The American University in Cairo (Egypt), and Monash University in Melbourne (Australia). At Washington University, he teaches courses on Egyptian art and archaeology, ancient urbanism, monastic archaeology, Egyptian Christianity, as well as Classical languages.

This event is cosponsored by CNRC and will be held in Room 135 in 216 Pillsbury Drive (Formerly Nicholson).