Dayr Abū Mīnā, perhaps better known simply as ‘Abū Mīnā’ (the ancient name of which is not known), is an extensive Late Antique pilgrimage site, the very earliest phases of which dates from the late fourth century (Grossmann 1998b: 282). Parts of the site were destroyed during the Persian occupation, with certain features repaired after their departure during a brief period of resurgence, which was then disrupted by the Arab invasion (Grossmann 1998b: 297-298; Kościuk 2003). Occupation extended up until the 12^th century, at which point it was completely abandoned in response to the decline in pilgrimage-related activity (which was the reason for the townʼs existence in the first place) (Grossmann 1998b: 281; Kościuk 2003: 45). The site is situated c. 45km south-west of Alexandria, accessed via a pilgrimage route extending from the shore of lake Mareotis, which runs through the town and leads directly to the Great Basilica and associated ‘pilgrim court’ (Grossman et al. 1991: 465). The site includes at least five churches, in addition to features intended to accommodate pilgrims (i.e., baths, rest-houses etc.) as well as residential and industrial areas, the later, namely comprising wine and ceramic production (including the famous pilgrim flasks), was clearly intended for exportation given the production capacity which would have far exceeded the needs of the local community (Grossmann 1998b: 298-299). Around the middle of the 13^th century, the supposed relics of the saint were found by Bedouins, and then transferred to the church of St. Menas in Cairo in the mid-14^th century (Grossmann 1998: 298).

The Small Basilica
i. ‘Crypt Church 1’
This is the oldest church building identified in the area around the pilgrimage complex, understood to have been constructed in the first half of the fifth century (Grossmann 1998b: 283; id 2002: 212). The church developed out of a triple armed hypogeum in which the saint was interred, dating to the fourth century (Grossmann et al. 1982: 137, fig. 4; Grossmann 1998b: 282; id 2002: 401, fig. 16). The church underwent many modifications, and with each of these modifications, the crypt, and access to the crypt, were altered. First originally situated outside of the church, and thus only accessible from the outside via a vertical shaft, the ‘eastern extension’ was added, thus incorporating the entrance to the shaft into the church building (Grossmann 2002: 401-402). The increasing number of pilgrims led to further modifications of the church, including the addition of two further side aisles, transforming the structure into a five aisled basilica in the mid-fifth century (Grossman et al. 1982: 132, fig. 3; Grossmann 2002: 402). A baptistery was added to the western end of the church around the second half of the fifth century, which too saw many modifications to accommodate increasing numbers of visitors (Grossmann 1998b: 283). There are a few unique features of this church concentrated around the altar, though details concerning their archaeological dating and stratigraphic context are unclear. The first of these is a marble slab, discovered in spring 1979 under the floor of the presbytery, likely originally having functioned as a table-top, which was then used as the base for the masonry altar (Grossmann et al. 1982: 150). The piece bears a dedicatory Greek inscription which mentions Bishop Peter II, who held the bishopric of Alexandria in 373-378. Though the piece provides an internal fourth century date, it was incorporated into the church in the late fifth century (Grossmann et al. 1984: 126-127). Underneath this slab was c. 1m long pit, oriented east-west, extending 65cm to the west beyond the edge of the marble slab, which perhaps housed relics (Grossmann et al. 1984: 130). In the floor of this pit was situated an opus sectile (in-situ), containing a myrtle wreath fitted into a square field, in the middle of which is a staurogram (Grossmann et al. 1982: 150-151, pl. 18a; Grossmann et al. 1984: 127-128. See also Artefacts). The above-mentioned marble slab extended to the east of this pit and contained a hole, below which was a large alabaster vase into which oil could be poured. This was then retrieved, sanctified after having been in close proximity to the saint’s relics, and distributed to believers (Grossmann et al. 1984: 128-131; Grossmann 1998b: 283; id 2002: 402). Each of these features belong to the late fifth century (coinciding with the expansion of the church into the five-aisled basilica), while the in-situ alabaster vessel, which is not the original vessel, is understood to belong to the late 6^th (Grossmann et al. 1984: 129; Grossmann 2002: 402). The last extension of this earliest phase comprised the construction of the large basilica which will be discussed below (Grossmann 1998b: 283).

ii. Crypt Church 2 (Justinian Conch-Church)
The crypt church was then transformed under Justinian into a double shell tetraconch church, the eastern conch acting as the apse (Grossmann 1998b: 284-285; id 2002: 403, fig. 18). The remaining space between this modified church and the Great Basilica was filled with a sort of narthex, including two smaller lateral conches at the narrower northern and southern ends, which opened to the east into the Great Basilica, thus combining the two (Grossmann 1998b: 285-286). The modification of the crypt in this phase saw the construction of two large stairways, one intended for descending and one for ascending, accommodating for the large quantity of pilgrims wishing to visit the saint’s relics (Grossmann 1998b: 286). Belonging to this phase also was the transformation of the surrounding area into the large pilgrimage center (Grossmann 1998b: 286).

iii. Crypt Church 3 (Late Five-Aisled Basilica)
This final phase occurred after the destruction of the structure caused by the Persian occupation in the early seventh century (Grossmann 2002: 404, fig. 19). This latest phase is understood to date to the eighth century, and to have occurred under the auspices of the Coptic Patriarch Michael I (Grossmann 1998b: 297; id 2002: 404).

Great Basilica
This additional church developed as the last extension of the earliest phase of the small basilica (crypt church 1) (Grossmann 2002: fig. 17). The nave is more than 14m wide, thus making it the largest Late Antique church in Egypt, and these impressive dimensions have translated into this structure being the central focus of much of the archaeological work conducted at the site (Grossman and Kościuk 1992: 31). H. Schläger, who directed excavations of the structure from 1961 to 1963 (after initially excavated by Kaufmann at the beginning of the 20^th century), observed two chief phases of construction: Phase I, a single-nave transept dated to the last quarter of the fifth century, which, in Phase II, was transformed into a three-nave transept at the end of the fifth/beginning of the sixth century (Schläger 1965: 124; Grossmann et al. 1984: 134, 150; Grossmann and Kościuk 1992: 32; Grossmann 2002: 405-407, fig. 17). A burial chamber was identified beneath the apse of this church understood to have housed the interments of meritorious clerics who conducted service in the church (Kaufmann 1910: 87; Grossmann 1998b: 283; id 2002: 408). To the south of the Great Basilica is a partially walled district, the only access to which was via the Great Basilica. The area was thus seemingly reserved for use by managerial figures as perhaps the centre of the ecclesiastic administration. The area includes a three-aisled chapel constructed upon the remnants of an earlier single-aisle chapel (Grossmann et al. 1991: 479-480, fig. 20; Grossman and Kościuk 1992: 36-37; Grossmann 1998b: 290-291). This structure is understood to date from the second half of the sixth century, being abandoned at the end of the seventh (Grossmann et al. 1991: 483). The private nature of the structure is further exemplified by the presence of a crypt that included six burials, two of which were children, likely indicating a familial chapel (Grossmann et al. 1991: 482, fig. 24, 25). To the east of the Great Basilica, the remains of earlier structures (pre-dating the construction of the church) were identified, the earliest belonging to the fourth century, alongside numerous burials dating from the sixth and seventh centuries (Grossman and Kościuk 1991: 65).

‘Southern Hemicyclium’
Adjoining the southern side of the Crypt Church (and also the south-west corner of the Great Basilica) is the ‘southern hemicyclium’, a semi-circular, two-storied structure, believed to have accommodated pilgrims who were seeking healing, with each of the rooms situated an equal distance away from the tomb of St. Menas, thus allowing equal opportunities of healing through proximity to the saint’s relics (possibly a place for incubation) (Grossmann et al. 1984: 134-137, fig. 4). Included here are two rooms with latrines, one understood to have been reserved for men and the other for women (Grossmann et al. 1991: 473-475; Grossmann 1998b: 288).

Eastern Church
Situated 1.5km from the eastern margin of the town, the date of this church has not been securely determined, though it is considered older than the Justinian conch church given that the ground plan is a clear copy of the latter,  and possibly belongs to the end of the fifth/beginning of the sixth century (Grossman and Jaritz 1980: 222-224, fig. 8). Erected upon the site of an earlier, smaller basilica, the church includes a baptistery and latrines, and is believed to have been the spiritual center of a monastic community, the remnants of which surround the church (Grossmann 1998b: 296;  id 2002: 489-491; Grossmann and Kościuk 2001: 102, fig. 4). A forthcoming article authored by P. Grossmann dedicated to this monastic community, which is considered independent from the settlement of Dayr Abū Mīnā, is awaiting publication. The structure is bordered to the north and south by courts, the former paved with limestone slabs (Grossmann and Kościuk 2001: 100). This northern court also includes many mosaic tesserae leading to the assumption that another small building in the area was perhaps the mausoleum of the founder of the laura. Only very few burials were found in this area, however, seemingly belonging to the Islamic period (Grossmann and Kościuk 2001: 101). The anchoritic nature of the settlement, or at least the reality that the church did not belong to an urban community, is exemplified by the unusual placement of a granary immediately to the west of the church, a strange feature that can also be seen at the monastery of Apa Shenouda near Sohag (Grossmann and Kościuk 2001: 102, 105).

North Basilica
Like the Eastern Church, this structure is situated outside the perimeter of the pilgrimage center, nearby the northern road. Dated to the sixth century based on ceramic, the remarkably balanced proportions of the structure have led to the understanding that its construction was the responsibility of the Alexandrian patriarchate. Additionally, its location outside of the town perimeter, and thus its presumed exclusion, or detachment, from the official pilgrimage activities (led by the ruling Chalcedonian Church), have led to the understanding that it was a Monophysite church (Grossmann 1998b: 295; id 2002: 409-411). This structure was destroyed during the Persian occupation and was not re-built.

Misc.
Contemporaneous with the construction of the earliest phase of the crypt church was the construction of a small bathing facility, which was then later transformed into a large double bath, with an additional bath located to the north, outside of the ecclesiastical district (Grossmann 1998b: 292; id 2002: 213-214). The pilgrimage center developed in the mid-sixth century, with three areas dedicated to accommodation: the main xenodochia considered to have housed wealthy visitors, bordering the northern side of the ‘pilgrim court’ (opposite the churches), additional buildings to the north of this, including the ‘Peristyle House’ (Grossmann 2002: fig. 24) which was considered to have housed pilgrims of lower social standing, where individuals were simply protected from the elements though not housed in individual rooms, and the southern hemicyclium mentioned above (Grossmann et al. 1995: 400; Grossmann 1998b: 287; id 2002: 213-214). The entire ecclesiastical precinct, which also included shops, was enclosed by a narrow wall (peribolos) (Grossmann 1998b: 292, 287).

Prior to the development of the pilgrim industry, the region originally functioned as a cemetery (at least the area to the south of the pilgrimage complex), hence the saint’s burial here, with small statuettes of monkeys and miniature stelae of the god Horus-Harpocrates discovered by Kaufmann indicating the earlier, non-Christian nature of the region (Kauffmann 1910: 71; Grossmann 1998b: 282, 293). Additionally, numerous earlier hypogea have been found, further proving that at least the central area was originally a necropolis (Grossmann et al. 1998: 43). Once the area became a renowned pilgrimage location, it seems that wealthy Alexandrian families continued to use the area as a burial ground, due to proximity to the saint, with numerous residential buildings including chapels which incorporated undergound burial chambers; one of these chapels even included a baptistery (Grossmann 1998b: 293; id 2002: 214-215, 333-334, fig. 26).