Discovery of the remains of a Roman fort in Aswan

CAIRO – 18 January 2021: The Supreme Council of Antiquities’ Egyptian archaeological mission, operating at the Shiha Fort site in Aswan Governorate, managed to uncover the remains of a Roman fort that includes the remains of a church from the early Coptic era, and the remains of a temple from the Ptolemaic period.

Part of the discovery in Aswan - Press photo

The mission revealed inside the fort a group of architectural elements of the temple of Ptolemy, an incomplete sandstone panel, pictures with a model of the entrance to the temple and a man in the form of a Roman emperor standing next to an altar surmounted by part of a deity, in addition to four blocks of sandstone with palm fronds engraved on them, cartouches of Ptolemaic kings and late hieratic inscription and one of the emperors of Greece.

Moreover, a clay vase and part of a red brick vault dating back to the Coptic era were found.

Head of the Central Administration of Antiquities of Upper Egypt Mohamed Abdel Badie  said that the mission has completed the work of uncovering the remains of the monastery and the church that were built on the ruins of this fortress, which the German archaeologist Hermann Juncker was able to uncover a part of them previously in the period 1920-1922 AD.

Part of the discovery in Aswan - Press photo

He also noted that the mission revealed the extension of the remnants of a mud-brick wall surrounding the Shiha church on the western side, reaching a width of approximately 2.10 m.

On the north side of the church there are four rooms, a transverse hall, and an ascending staircase. As for the southern side, there are furnaces for burning pottery. Stone tiles were found on two levels located on the eastern side below the church.