Islamic Dakhleh (c.800 CE-present). The coming of Islam followed the Muslim conquest of Egypt, but there is no visible change at any specific time in the oasis. The position of the Oasis on the trade routes between the Nile Valley and places west and south of Egypt brought prosperity to towns like el-Qasr with its large urban […]

Christian Dakhleh (c. 400 – c. 800 CE)  On the great Roman sites, there is a succeeding Christian Period which simply involves a switch from pagan worship to early Christian ritual.  The day-to-day language was Coptic, the latest form of the ancient Egyptian language, although Greek was used for administration and commerce. The oasis population […]

This is one of the great periods of Dakhleh history and the Dakhleh Oasis Project is excavating at three major settlement sites: Amheida, Mut el-Kharab and Ismant el-Kharab.  During this period the Oasis contributed cereals, oil and wine to the great Roman trading empire. Domestic, religious and funerary art incorporates both Egyptian and Roman motifs and a large number […]

DYNASTIC DAKHLEH (2300 – 30 BCE) The ancient Egyptians came into the Dakhleh Oasis during the Fifth Dynasty (about 2300 B.C.E.).  They established their capital at Ain Aseel, near Balat, and settled across the oasis. Old Kingdom ceramics are frequently discovered at sites which were occupied through later times. The newcomers introduced their own Nile […]

Prehistoric Dakhleh (400,000 – 5,000 years ago) The bulk of the field work of the prehistorians takes place outside the modern oasis area, in the region that was in past times still green. They deal with all the human activity prior to the coming of the Egyptians in the second millennium. As the wind erosion […]