Egyptologist Somers Clarke’s house included in monuments’ list

CAIRO – 12 August 2018: English architect and Egyptologist Somers Clarke’s house will be included in the list of prominent Islamic and Coptic monuments.

The Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled Anany decided to include in the list because of the historical value of that ancient house. Clarke’s house was built in 1906, and is considered a notable example of the architectural trends of the early 20th century.

The house was made with mud-bricks, Egyptian limestone, and Nile alluvium mixed with straw. It was built on a high hill made of rocks on the Nile’s eastern side. The eastern side of the house is surrounded by granges and some houses, and overlooks the Nile from its western side.

The house is ornamented with carved pottery, and has a ventilation system and cylinder shaped vaults to minimize the high temperature. This house is the only remaining monument in Egypt from Clarke’s work.

In 2015, an Antiquities Ministry report stated that Clarke lived between 1841 and 1926, and his tomb is located in al-Nusrab village in Aswan near the house.

Clarke was a veteran English Egyptologist, architect, and Coptologist who was born in Brighton. He designed numerous churches before settling in Egypt, where he was an effective member in archaeological missions since 1893.