'Ain el-Gedida: 2006-2008 Excavations of a Late Antique Site in Egypt's Western Desert (Amheida IV)

The fourth volume in the Amheida series, ‘Ain el-Gedida: 2006-2008 Excavations of a Late Antique Site in Egypt's Western Desert (Amheida IV) presents the systematic record and interpretation of the archaeological evidence from the excavations at ‘Ain el-Gedida, a fourth-century rural settlement in Egypt's Dakleh Oasis uniquely important for the study of early Egyptian Christianity and previously known only from written sources.Nicola Aravecchia (Washington University), the Deputy Field Director of NYU's Amheida Excavations, offers a history of the site and its excavations, followed by an integrated topographical and archaeological interpretation of the site and its significance for the history of Christianity in Egypt. In the second half of the volume a team of international experts presents catalogs and interpretations of the archaeological finds, including ceramics (Delphine Dixneuf, CRNS), coins (David M. Ratzan, NYU), ostraca and graffiti (Roger S. Bagnall, NYU and Dorota Dzierzbicka, University of Warsaw), small finds (Dorota Dzierzbicka, University of Warsaw), and zooarcheological remains (Pamela J. Crabtree, NYU and Douglas Campana).

About the Author

Nicola Aravecchia is Associate Professor of Classics and of Art History and Archaeology at Washington University in St. Louis and Archaeological Field Director of the NYU Amheida Excavations. In addition to numerous articles about archaeology and early Christian architecture, he is also the author of ʿAin el-Gedida: 2006–2008 Excavations of a Late Antique Site in Egypt's Western Desert (Amheida IV) and the co-author of An Oasis City , both published by ISAW and NYU Press. Roger S. Bagnall is Leon Levy Director and Professor of Ancient History Emeritus at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. He is author, co-author, and editor of many books including Egypt in Late Antiquity and Everyday Writing in the Graeco-Roman East . Pamela J. Crabtree is Professor of Anthropology at New York University. She is author and co-author of many zooarchaeological reports from sites in Europe and the Mediterranean. Delphine Dixneuf is a Research Scientist at Laboratoire D'archéologie Médiévale Et Moderne En Méditerranée (CNRS), Université d'Aix-Marseille. She specializes in the ceramics of Late Roman and Early Islamic Egypt and has published extensively on these topics. Dorota Dzierzbicka is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw. Her research focuses mainly on the economy and society of Graeco-Roman Egypt, drawing on the methodologies of papyrology, archaeology, and historical studies. Douglas V. Campana is a retired archaeologist from the US National Park Service whose background is in Near Eastern prehistory. In addition to many archaeological reports, he is editor of Before Farming: Hunter-Gatherer Society and Subsistence. David M. Ratzan is the Head of the Library of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at NYU. He holds a PhD from Columbia University in Classical Studies and has published on various aspects of the social and economic history of the ancient Mediterranean world.