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It is the Egyptian Ministry of Ancient Monuments that reports on the discoveries on Saturday. At the same time, MF University College (formerly the Congregational College) in Norway also posted an announcement about the discovery on its website.
The school’s rector Vidar L. Haanes is delighted with what has been discovered.
– That we have now received a definitive date that it is the oldest Christian monastery in the world that our researchers have excavated in Egypt, is nothing less than a global event, a sensation, says Haanes.
– Clear as crystal
Professor Victor Ghica from the university led the archaeologists behind the excavation of the ancient ruins.
– The results are very clear. Not only do we have a great deal of evidence that the six parts of the monastery date from the 4th century. Based on carbon dating, we may even be in the Constantine dynasty, says Ghica.
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– Already around 350 AD there were well established monastic societies on the fringes of the Roman Empire, which is extremely early. This is something we hadn’t realized before, he continues.
The team has uncovered several buildings, some made of basalt, some carved out of bedrock, and some made of brick. New discoveries have been made during the third excavation at Tal Ganoub Qasr al-Agouz in the Bahariya oasis, Egyptian authorities say.
Great importance
The discovered complex consists of six sectors where the ruins of three churches and monks’ cells have been found. The walls have graffiti and symbols associated with Coptic culture, says Osama Talaat at the ministry.
Victor Ghica says 19 buildings and a church carved out of the bedrock were discovered last year.
– The importance of the monastic movement for the church cannot be overstated. And it all started here in the desert of Egypt in the 300s.says the school’s rector and church history teacher, Vidar L. Haanes.
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