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AL-ZUHŪR

Place names
Arabicالزهور | عين مطلة
Englishel-Zohor | 'Ain Motlla
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Site information
DEChriM ID39
Trismegistos GeoID61699
Pleiades ID-
PAThs ID-
Ancient name-
Modern nameal-Zuhūr
Latitude25.469640
Longitude30.555245
Date from-1560
Date to499
TypologyCemetery
Dating criteria

Funerary material.

Description

The site is located in the northern part of Madīnat al-Ḫāriǧa, 1.6km south of the necropolis of al-Baǧawāt. Al-Zuhūr was very likely the southern, and possibly the earliest, necropolis of ancient Hibis. Rock-cut tombs, pit-graves and remains of mud-brick chapels confirm the funerary function of the area. In the southern part of the site, 18 tombs were found, dating between the end of the Seventeenth and the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty (c. 1550 BCE). These seem to be currently the earliest burials documented in Kharga Oasis. In the northern part of the funerary area, were discovered Roman and Byzantine period graves, both excavated in the rock and semi-excavated with additional mud-brick walls. The material associated with these latter tombs includes ceramic ware, jewellery, pots of kuḥl, funerary scarabs and two pendant crosses.

Archaeological research

The local inspectorate of the Supreme Council of Antiquities carried out several field seasons at al-Zuhūr between 1997 and 2009. The first excavation season, in 1997, resulted in the clearing of 18 tombs located in the southern part of the site; these burials were dated between the end of the Seventeenth and the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty (c. 1550 BCE). In June 2009, 71 tombs, dating between the Late Period (one grave) and the Roman (two graves) and Byzantine periods, were identified and cleared.

Bibliography

Ibrahim, B. A. 2012. “Major Archaeological Sites in Kharga Oasis and Some Recent Discoveries by the Supreme Council of Antiquities.” In The Oasis Papers 6: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference of the Dakhleh Oasis Projectedited by R. S. Bagnall, P. Davoli and C.A. Hope, 1-7. Oxford: Oxbow.

Authors
Victor Ghica, 2020
Suggested citation
Victor Ghica, 2020, "al-Zuhūr", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/places/39
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