Qaṣr al-Maʿīsara, which Fakhry calls al-Mi’yṣrah, is situated in Baḥariya Oasis, 1.4km N/NE from the Roman village of Qaṣr al-ʿAǧūz. The site originally comprised a stone chapel, around which were numerous mud-brick buildings identified as domestic units which had been destroyed by fire in antiquity (Fakhry, 1950: 92). In these structures, Fakhry uncovered some 46 Greek and Coptic ostraca, amongst other artefacts, which document the presence of a Christian community (Ghica, 2012: 249). In a small ceramic vessel recovered from one of the burnt houses, which contained various gold and silver jewelry items, a gold coin of Emperor Valens was found, situating the occupation of the village no later than the fourth century (Fakhry, 1950: 92; Fakhry 1974: 105).

The lower three courses of the stone chapel were said to have been in situ in 1938, when Fakhry first visited the site. When he returned later in the year, however, he says that he found that “all the stones had been taken away by one of the government engineers to build an enclosure for a spring at Mandīshah” (Fakhry 1974: 102). This raises a number of questions, as the location identified as Qaṣr al-Maʿīsara (based on the maps and plan of Fakhry) still houses the remains of a stone temple. Perhaps he simply exaggerated by saying “all” and meant, instead, that a large number of the stones had been removed?

The ancient name of this small village is unknown, but a Greek ostracon (SB 20 14891 = O.Bahria 8) found on the site by Fakhry mentions a water reservoir (hydreuma) known as ὕ(δρευμα) Θαλμεν Πεχύσε[ως]. It could be assumed that this hydreuma was not too far away from Qaṣr al-Maʿīsara.