Excavations along a popular pilgrimage route on the southern shore of Lake Mareotis in northern Egypt revealed a well-preserved Christian church from late antiquity, according to a new study published in the journal Antiquity.
Archaeologists from the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Archaeology and the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology have been working at Philoxenite, a stop along a popular pilgrimage route to the shrine of St Menas at Abu Mena, from 2021 through 2024.
There, not far from the town square, was an L-shaped church, measuring 32 feet by 89 feet.
Ashlar limestone blocks were used to construct the foundation, while the walls are made of dressed limestone bonded with lime mortar and covered with ash plaster. On the floors, there are stone pavements with sections of inlaid opus sectile patterns. The corners were externally supported by semi-circular buttresses. Earlier phases of the building remain below.
The floor plan includes a number of annexes, among them, a baptistery. Additional rooms were added and changed in later building phases. While alterations suggest the need for adaptation over time, the quality of masonry and decorated flooring indicate the site’s importance along the pilgrimage route.
Smaller settlements such as this would have offered respite for weary travelers, with dedicated spaces for prayer, baptism, lodging, and gathering.
Though further study is needed to understand some of these finer details related to the building’s overall functionality, as well as how it compares to other nearby sites, the building provides a unique opportunity to understand Christian ritual life in provincial Egypt under the reign of Roman Emperor Justinian I (527–65 CE). It also sheds light on Late Antique building practices.
