Epiphanius Monastery

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The Epiphanius Monastery was a Coptic monastery complex in the western desert of Thebes ( Egypt ). It flourished mostly in the sixth and seventh centuries. This is where Pisentius of Koptus lived and died . The monastery was excavated at the beginning of the twentieth century and, above all, brought rich text finds.

The monastery complex was in the desert in the hills of Thebes-West. It consisted of several buildings that were loosely arranged within a wall. The center of the complex was a tower that was built under the bishops Epiphanius and Psan . It was about eight by eight meters tall and once had three floors. Its walls were 1 to 1.25 m thick, so that it can be assumed that it also served defensive purposes. Its interior was divided into four areas. There was a stairwell and three adjoining rooms on each floor.

Next to this tower was another, smaller one with only one room inside. In the east there was a building with a courtyard and various rooms. In the south, the ancient Egyptian tomb of the vizier Dagi has been partially built over and included in the complex. The rooms of the tomb's chapel, which is carved into the rock, were partly used as monk cells. In the north there was a small cemetery belonging to the monastery. Nine burials were found here. Interestingly, the corpses are wrapped in linen and thus give the impression of mummies. No church building could be identified. A church is also not mentioned in the texts found here, so that the monks probably went to another monastery or the next church in a locality for the service.

This facility was surrounded by a wall. In the wider area, however, there seem to have been other monk cells that have not all been examined.

In the remains of the monastery there were many Coptic and Greek documents, mostly of religious content, such as Bible texts or legends of saints, but also fragments of the Iliad and sayings of Menander . There were also numerous documents and letters that were important documents for the reconstruction of the life of monks.

literature

  • Herbert E. Winlock - Walter E. Crum : The Monastery of Epiphanus at Thebes. Part I: The Literary Material, New York 1926.
  • Walter Ewing Crum - Hugh G. Evelyn White: The Monastery of Epiphanus at Thebes. Part II: The Archaeological Material, New York 1926.
  • Scott Bucking: Scribes and Schoolmasters? On contextualizing Coptic and Greek Ostraca excavated at the Monastery of Epiphanius . In: Journal of Coptic Studies 9 (2007) 21-47.
  • Catherine Thirard: Le monastère d'Epiphane à Thèbes: nouvelle interprétation chronologique . In: Etudes coptes IX (= Cahiers de la Bibliothèque Copte 14). De Boccard, Paris, 2006, 367-374.

Web links

Coordinates: 25 ° 44 ′ 3.1 ″  N , 32 ° 36 ′ 29.8 ″  E