Workshop - “The Archaeology of an Oasis City: Excavations at Trimithis/Amheida (Egypt’s Western Desert)”

***Attending in person? RSVP here for lunch.

About the Workshop:

Amheida is the site of ancient Trimithis, an extensive urban settlement located in Dakhla Oasis of Egypt’s Western Desert. Trimithis, whose currently visible remains are largely Late Roman in date, is a remarkable site, both for its setting and the wealth, as well as state of preservation, of its archaeological remains. Twenty years of excavations at Amheida/Trimithis have shed light on the complex and fascinating history of a community at the edge of the Roman Empire.

This workshop will present some of the most remarkable discoveries made at Trimithis/Amheida, including a Roman-style bath, a fourth-century school with rhetorical exercises painted on its walls, and a fourth-century house, which belonged to a wealthy member of the local boule (or city council) and was decorated with paintings inspired by Classical themes. Excavations at the site revealed a society that, although located in a geographically remote area, had not only largely adopted the Greek language, but showed great affinity with (and interest in) Greco-Roman culture and customs and had, by the fourth century CE, largely embraced Christianity.

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