Ina Eichner

During excavation campaigns in the years 2018 and 2019, again questions concerning the hierarchical structures within the monastery's community were pursued. For the clarification of these questions, the monks' cells and the graves in the monastery's cemetery are particularly relevant features. Excavations in the dormitory building U2 on the southern terrace focused on the archaeological investigation of a room that was preserved 4 meters high. On the upper floor there was a monk's cell with at least three beds. In the necropolis it could be proven that the skeletonized individuals in the northern area were originally also mummified. Only here the buried individuals are in a worse state of preservation than the mummies on the south side.

The work undertaken in autumn 2016 and spring 2017 in the Monastery of St. Paulos (Deir el-Bakhît) focused on the so-called main monastery (late 6th/early 7th century AD to the beginning of the 10th century AD), a compact coenobitic monastery complex which, however, constitutes one of three monastic complexes that were in use on the hill of Dra' Abu el-Naga. A newly granted project will explore questions on the social status and the hierarchy of the monks, the organisation and the hierarchical relationship between the three interconnected but functionally different complexes on the hill as well as the political influences on the development of this unique monastic landscape and sacral topography.

During excavation campaigns in 2017 and 2018, questions concerning the hierarchical structures within the monastery's community were pursued. For the clarification of these questions, the monks' cells and the graves in the monastery's cemetery are particularly relevant features. Excavations in the dormitory building U1 focused on the archaeological investigation of three rooms, the adjoining corridor and the exterior areas of the building. It was established that several rooms had been almost completely cleared out before they were re-used during a later stage, and that the layers were gene­rally extremely disturbed. Excavation in the necropolis was concentrated on an area that contained six graves. In one of the graves, the buried individual had subsequently been robbed of his textile wrappings. Both excavated areas were therefore disturbed to a high degree.