ʿAyn al-Sabīl, Dakhleh Oasis Project site no. 31/420-C7-1, is located approximately 10 km east of Mūt, and 1 km south-west of Ismant al-Ḫarāb. Excavations on the site were conducted by the Islamic and Coptic section of the Dakhleh Inspectorate on behalf of the Ministry of Antiquities for three successive seasons, from 2009 to 2011, and again in 2019 and 2020. Before this time, the Dakhleh Oasis Project had only conducted a short survey. As of yet, the documentation from these seasons remains unpublished. The following information regarding the House of Tithoes as well as the basilical church and surrounding structures was retrieved from the short reviews written by Bayoumy, Masoud 2019 and Masoud, Ast and Bagnall 2021. The additional information regarding the N-E section of the site, and the extensions of previous areas of focus was retrieved from the unpublished 2019 report.

House of Tithoes
Located south of the main E-W running street, this domestic building was constructed at an oblique angle comparatively with the orientation of the street and the church to the north. Likewise, the mud-plastered walls of the structure itself are not at right angles and are of varying thicknesses, indicating a number of different phases of construction and various modifications. The house has two points of access from the street. The westernmost entrance leads to the two largest rooms, numbered 1 and 2, the latter of which is only accessible by the former. Room 1 is connected in the south to room 5, an area which contains a staircase leading to an upper floor (“to the room level”). To the south, room 5 opens onto rooms 6 and 11, and in the east, opens into room 4, which connects to the remaining eastern area, consisting of 6 rooms (including room 4). This eastern block is accessible from the street by the second point of access, which leads from the street to room 3. Rooms 9 and 10 are located south of room 4, while rooms 7 and 8 are located to the north-east and east respectively. These two latter rooms include a hearth and an oven, indicating culinary activity. Unlike every other room in the complex, rooms 4 and 5 show no signs of being barrel-vaulted, leading the excavators to tentatively interpret them as open areas/courtyards.

The area is dated to the third quarter of the 4th century based on ceramic assemblages, which are identical to those of the 4th century houses from Ismant al-Ḫarāb, and, more importantly, the 33 Greek ostraca that comprise the “Archive of Tithoes son of Pantonymos“. A large number of these ostraca frequently mention a man named Tithoes, who, on two occasions, is referred to as a deacon (O.Sabil 5; O.Sabil 10), but is identified as a lessee (geōrgos) in two orders to pay (O.Sabil 26; O.Sabil 28). The content is predominantly utilitarian, relating often to the sale of chickens. The 4th century date is further supported by a coin hoard found in a niche, weighing 5 kg, which dates to the first half of the fourth century.

Church
The church is part of a larger interconnected structure, located to the north of the aforementioned E-W running road. It consists of a colonnaded mud-brick structure, with a nave flanked by north and south aisles, as well as a return aisle in the west. The sanctuary of the church comprises a rectangular apse accompanied by two narrow side cambers, the south of which is divided into two spaces, the E of which functioned as a cupboard. The N wall is cut by a niche as well as the doorway providing access to the N side chamber, while the S wall is cut by the cupboard as well as the doorway providing access to the S side chamber. The sanctuary was accessed from the central nave by a lateral platform via two sets of stairs in the N and S, and a three stepped bema built over the platform and to the west of it. The entrance to the sanctuary is flanked by two semi-engaged columns. The platform, bema and apse floor are gypsum coated.

The most notable architectural feature of the nave is the mud-brick structure built against the second column from the E in the N aisle. This feature comprises two steps, which provide access to a platform which projects into the nave. There are a number of parallels of this feature, the most notable being the one against the central column in the W colonnade in the Large East Church at Ismant al-Ḫarāb, which is understood to have functioned as a chancel (also seen at ʿAyn al-Ǧadīda).  Other elements in the nave include a niche in the S wall, a low cupboard in the “S wall of the N aisle” (a structure impossible to identify on the site) and a low mastaba set against the N, S and partly W walls.

There are three points of access to the church, two in the W wall, and the third located at the E end of the S aisle, which leads to a large space S-E of the church, which may be associated with it. The doorways in the W each led to separate rooms, which were two steps higher than the body of the church, a feature which is also seen in the three churches at Ismant al-Ḫarāb. The room in the S-W is understood to have been a vestibule. These two rooms are accompanied by a further set of rooms, running along the S side of the church, which are believed to have been associated with the church. These rooms are accessed from the vestibule, which opens in the S to a corridor which runs the full length of the body of the church, turning 90 degrees S at a point parallel with the sanctuary. While the function of these rooms is somewhat difficult to establish, a kitchen-complex has been found, including an oven. Access to these rooms is also possible form the same large space S-E of the church, mentioned above.

Test excavations conducted in select area beneath the floor of the church revealed an earlier structure over which it was built. A terminus post quem for the church’s foundation is established by the presence of a coin found in the mortar of the S wall of the apse: Fallen Horseman issue struck under Constantius II between 348 and 358. A further noteworthy feature which assists in the dating of the church is an inscription in the plaster of a column, the second from the E in the S row. Unfortunately, due to environmental factors, it is no longer existent. Documentation at the time of excavation, however, has enabled it to be studied and translated, The text reads: “(There is) one god who aids, Alexander, armatura, Slave of Jesus Christ.” (Connor, 2019: 362.)

The following information was taken from the unpublished 2019 excavation report as well as from Masoud, Ast and Bagnall 2021. The 2019 season focused on excavating an integrated structure, perhaps a domestic unit, N-E of the basilical church and ‘House of Tithoes’. The E section of the structure, comprising spaces 1, 2, 4 and 5, has been interpreted tentatively as a domus ecclesiae, while the whole building has been associated by the excavators with “the residence of a senior official“ (Masoud, Ast and Bagnall 2021: 91). A number of other functional rooms have also been identified, including an area perceived to have been dedicated to ritual dining (triclinium = areas 10 and 11) to the W of spaces 1, 2, 4 and 5, and a corridor giving access to the inner spaces, surrounding the entire building complex (e.g. spaces 18, 19), the E entrance of which was blocked at a later date. It is inside this building complex that was found the second known archive of Greek ostraca from ʿAyn al-Sabīl, that of Taa son of Pebos (O.Sabil 34-48).

Extensions of the excavations in the church and House of Tithoes were also undertaken. The excavation area of the church was extended to the E, uncovering two large spaces, the N of which contained installations understood for the production of oil. Satellite imagery and additional excavations also show a clear alignment of walls delimiting the main E-W running road.