{
    "type": "FeatureCollection",
    "name": "site",
    "crs": {
        "type": "name",
        "properties": {
            "name": "EPSG:4326"
        }
    },
    "features": [
        {
            "type": "Feature",
            "geometry": {
                "type": "Point",
                "coordinates": [
                    30.555384,
                    25.476681
                ]
            },
            "properties": {
                "id": 3,
                "site_uri": "https:\/\/4care-skos.mf.no\/site\/3",
                "modern_name": "Ma\u02bfbad H\u012bbis",
                "ancient_name": "Hibis",
                "typology": "city",
                "date_from": 330,
                "date_to": 380,
                "dating_criteria": "Essentially coinage (Winlock 1941: 48-49 and Appendix 1, 51-55). Winclock dates the construction of the church in the first half of the 4th century (Winlock 1941: 48), which is contested by Cipriano, who prefers a date under the reign of Theodosius I (379-395) or that of Theodosius II (402-450) (Cipriano 2008: 95). Based on the dating of the other churches in Kharga Oasis, we believe that a date between 330 and 380 is highly likely.",
                "place_names": [
                    {
                        "language": "Arabic",
                        "pl_name": "\u0645\u0639\u0628\u062f \u0647\u064a\u0628\u0633"
                    }
                ],
                "trismegistos_uri": "https:\/\/www.trismegistos.org\/place\/2786",
                "pleiades_uri": "https:\/\/pleiades.stoa.org\/places\/776181",
                "paths_uri": "https:\/\/atlas.paths-erc.eu\/places\/185",
                "description": "The Hibis temple is situated in what was the administrative center of Oasis Magna in antiquity. The construction is understood to have commenced in 510BC, during the reign of Darius I, and was dedicated to Am\u016bn (Winlock, 1941: 4). Winlock believes it was not the first temple dedicated to Am\u016bn, however, with numerous sandstone blocks appearing to derive from another temple, including sections of sculpted scenes. This is in addition to the fact that the temple itself was built atop of another structure, which appears to have been razed to allow for the current temple\u2019s construction. While the temple itself is a unique architectural example representing the transition from the architecture of the Theban Empire to that of the Ptolemaic period, our interest lies in the church which was erected against the portico of the temple sometime in the mid-fourth century, with the temple being decommissioned no later than the time of Constantine (Ghica, 2012: 195).\r\nThe church has a basilical plan, typical of fourth century ecclesiastical architecture of the oases. The entrance is on the north side, however, which is an exception among contemporary churches in Kharga, and appears to simply be the result of the installation of the church against the north side of the portico (Ghica, 2012: 197). A second door could have potentially been fitted in the south wall. A baptistery is situated in the northwest corner, and appears to have been a later addition (Winlock, 1941: 46). Steps lead up to the sanctuary, with the two top-most having sockets in them for the upright end posts of the wooden screen which veiled the altar within (Winlock, 1941: 46). The fourth century date is well-supported (Winlock 1941, 48-49 and Appendix 1, 51-55 for coinage), and relates to settlement areas surrounding the temple on the north, west and south sides, as well as occupation of \u02bfAyn al-\u1e6curba.Accompanying the architectural indicators of Christian presence, the temple is host to numerous Christian graffiti. See Evelyn-White and Oliver\u2019s 1938 publication for comprehensive documentation of the inscriptions identified in and around the temple, namely pages 58 (#9), 57 (#30), 58 (#32 and #34) and 62 (#41).",
                "archaeological_research": "Many European travelers visited the temple and left graffiti as personal testimonies. This includes Cailliaud in 1818, Drovetti and Rosingana, Hoghton, and Hyde in 1819, Letorzec and Abouchanape in 1829, Muller in 1824, Ayme and Catherwood in 1832, Carrera in 1833, Mathieu in 1835, P. W. Guy in 1843, R. H. Borrowes in 1851, Schweinfurth in 1874 and the Rohlsche Expedition in 1874. The site was also visited by Wilkinson in 1825, Hoskins in 1832 and Brugsh in 1875, none of whom left graffiti (Winlock, 1941: 59-60). Despite the notoriety of the site, the archaeological work conducted has been of a limited scope. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) only excavated briefly, commencing in 1909 and finishing in 1913. This was accompanied by numerous visits in the following years focusing on copying the reliefs, drawing up plans and photographing the site. The MMA completely ceased all forms of fieldwork in 1939. \u02bfA.\u02bfA.\u1e2a. \u02bfAbd al-\u02bfAz\u012bz, former director of the SCA Copto-Islamic Inspectorate in Kharga, states that the Kharga inspectorate conducted restoration work on the temple in the 90s, uncovering artefacts attesting to Christian occupation in the houses to the south of the temple, but no further information is available.",
                "bibliography": "\u2022 Bagnall, R. S. 2001. \u201cThe Camp of Hibis.\u201d In Essays and Texts in Honor of J. David Thomas, edited by T. Gagos and R. S. Bagnall, 3-9. Oakville: American Society of Papyrologists.\u2022 Bagnall, R. S. and G. Tallet. 2015. \u201cOstraka from Hibis in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Archaeology of the City of Hibis.\u201d Zeitschrift f\u00fcr Papyrologie und Epigraphik 196: 175-198.\u2022 Cipriano, G. 2008. El-Bagawat: Un cimitero paleocristiano nell\u2019alto Egitto. Todi: Tau editrice.\u2022 Davies, N. 1953. The Temple of Hibis in El Khargeh Oasis III: The Decoration. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.\u2022 Evelyn White, H. G. and James H. Oliver. 1938. The Temple of Hibis in El Khargeh Oasis II: Greek Inscriptions. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.\u2022 Ghica, V. 2012. \u201cPour une histoire du christianisme dans le d\u00e9sert Occidental d\u2019\u00c9gypte.\u201d Journal des savants 2: 189-280.\u2022 Lythgoe, A. M. 1908. \u201cThe Egyptian Expedition.\u201d The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 3\/5: 83-86.\u2022 M\u00fcller-Wiener, W. 1963. \u201cChristliche Monumente im Gebiet von Hibis (El-Kharga).\u201d Mitteilungen des Deutschen Arch\u00e4oligischen Instituts Kairo 19: 121-140.\u2022 Newel, E. T. 1941. \u201cAppendix 1: The Coins Found in the Excavation of the Temple.\u201d In The Temple of Hibis in el Khargeh Oasis I: The Excavations, edited by H. E. Winlock, 51-5. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.\u2022 Osing, J. 1986. \u201cZu den Osiris-R\u00e4umen im Tempel von Hibis.\u201d In Hommage \u00e0 Fran\u00e7ois Daumas, vol. 2, 511-16. Montpellier: Universit\u00e9 Paul Val\u00e9ry.\u2022 Parsons, P. J. 1971. \u201cThe Wells of Hibis.\u201d Journal of Egyptian Antiquities 57: 165-80.\u2022 Schweinfurth, G. 1875. \u201cNotizen zur Kenntniss der Oase El-Chargeh.\u201d Mittheilungen aus Justus Perthes\u2018 Geographischer Anstalt 21: 384-393 and pl. 19.\u2022 Wagner, G. 1987. Les oasis d\u2019\u00c9gypte \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9poque grecque, romaine et byzantine d\u2019apr\u00e8s les documents grecs: Recherches de papyrologie et d\u2019\u00e9pigraphie grecques. Cairo: Institut fran\u00e7ais d\u2019arch\u00e9ologie orientale.\u2022 Winlock, H. E. 1941. The Temple of Hibis in El Khargeh Oasis I: The Excavations. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.",
                "external_links": [
                    {
                        "text": "MMA excavations",
                        "url": "https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/libraries-and-research-centers\/watson-digital-collections\/manuscript-collections\/excavations-of-the-late-roman-and-early-byzantine-sites-in-the-kharga-oasis"
                    }
                ],
                "authors": [
                    {
                        "author": "Rhiannon Williams",
                        "year": "2020"
                    },
                    {
                        "author": "Victor Ghica",
                        "year": "2024"
                    }
                ]
            }
        }
    ]
}