Dayr al-ʿIẓām is a monastic complex situated on top of the north-western part of the Ǧabal Asyūṭ al-Ġarbī, c. 3km south-west of the mausoleum of Šayḫ Abū Tūk. The complex comprised a church and a tower, as well as a number of buildings, some of which were two-storeys high at the beginning of the 20^th century, bordered by an enclosure wall (Maspero 1900: 110; De Bock 1901: 88-90, fig. 100; Kahl 2014: 130). Outside of this enclosure wall, the complex was surrounded by a vast burial ground, understood as being the origin of the name, which translates to “The Monastery of Bones” (Maspero 1900: 115, Coquin and Martin 1991: 809). The church in the complex, which is today the only identifiable building on the ground, is understood to have been a three aisled basilica, with a khurus between the naos and sanctuary, a 7^th century innovation which then gives a 7^th century terminus post quem for the construction (Grossmann 1991: 810; id 2002: 208; Eichner 2020: 15).

The relevance of the site lies in its contentious association with the hermitage of St. John of Lykopolis, a renowned monastic figure of the fourth century (Kahl 2014: 134). C. Zuckerman conjectured in the mid-90s that a collection of letters, now known as the “Archive of Apa Iohannes” (see referenced artefacts), which make reference to an anchorite named Apa John, originally derived from Dayr al-ʿIẓām or the surrounding mountainous area of Asyūṭ (Zuckerman 1995; Eichner 2020: 15). While these texts could be seen to support the association of this site with the hermitage of St. John of Lykopolis, the fact remains that the provenance of these texts is not certain, nor is it certain that, even if they do originate from Dayr al-ʿIẓām, the figure referenced in the letters is John of Lykopolis or another figure named John (following van Minnen 1994: 80-84, Zuckerman 1995: 188-194 and Fournet 2020: 13, we consider that the Apa John of the archive is one and the same as John of Lykopolis). However, given the fact that the texts are paleographically dated to the fourth century, and the toponyms mentioned are within the immediate surroundings of Asyūṭ, it is a plausible connection (Zuckerman 1995: 191). Nonetheless, this does not concretely associate the monastic complex of Dayr al-ʿIẓām with St. John’s actual hermitage (Wipszyka 2009: 83-85).

These texts were presumed by Zuckerman to have been those uncovered during the 1897 excavation at Dayr al-ʿIẓām, led by Farag Ismail and Yassa Tadros. The associated publication references papyri found at the commencement of work, which Maspero states were transported to the Museum of Giza: “… des objects et des fragments de livres coptes recueillis au Déir el-Aizâm, qui sont conserves au Musée.” (Maspero 1900: 109). Considering the fact that there are no such items currently listed at the museum, Zuckerman put forward the idea that they were perhaps sold (to none other than Grenfell and Hunt) in order to help finance the excavation (Zuckerman 1995: 192). In addition to the papyri fragments mentioned, the dig also uncovered a jar with some 30 lines of Coptic writing, dated 1156, naming the site as the monastery of “Apa Iohannes of the Desert” (Maspero 1900: 109-110, 116-118; Crum 1902: 33-34 (no. 8104), pl. 1; Coquin and Martin 1991: 809; Kahl 2014: pl. 11). This has further strengthened the association between Dayr al-ʿIẓām and the hermitage of John of Lykopolis (Coquin and Martin 1991: 809; Zuckerman 1995).

Given the degree of disturbance of the monastic complex, only very limited information could be obtained during the 2009 survey of the Asyut Project. Isolated sherds of LRA1 were found, indicating occupation from the fifth century onwards, though the material from the dump on the slope of the hill below the original monastic area also revealed Aswan ceramic dating from the 8^th-10^th centuries, glazed Islamic sherds dating beyond the 12^th and 13^th centuries, and a limited amount of material from disturbed graves dating from the 4^th-7^th centuries (Eichner and Beckh 2010: 207; id 2020: 34-36, 115). Though limited, the material finds from the surrounding area indicate that it was settled in late antiquity, rather than exclusively used as a necropolis (Eichner and Beckh 2010: 208).

Perhaps a more likely location of the hermitage of St. John of Lycopolis is a complex of rock-cut tombs, some 200 meters away from the monastic complex. These tombs, belonging to local nomarchs of the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom, like many Pharaonic tombs, appear to have been inhabited by anchorites during the early Christian period (Kahl 2007a: 71-72; id 2014: 128). The inner hall of one of these tombs, tomb IV (Asyut Project no. N12.2), shows faint remnants of a figural painting above which an iota and omega are visible, understood to be remnants of the name Ιωάννης – ‘John’ (Eichner & Beckh 2010: 210; Kahl 2014: 132 pl. 9; Eichner 2020: 16 pl. 2a and 2b). Additionally, architectural modifications of the space seem to have been enacted in order to transform it into a place of worship, leading to the subsequent assumption that a saint named John was venerated here (El-Khadragy 2006: 89-90). As with the abovementioned letters, whether or not the figure depicted in the tomb complex is John of Lykopolis, however, or another local figure named John, remains cause for contention. The fact that this tomb, and tombs II and III, (Asyut Project nos. O13.1 and N12.1) form a joint complex that seems to coincide with the architectural descriptions of the hermitage of St. John, which comprised of three rooms, then leads to the understanding that the figure venerated here was indeed John of Lykopolis (Kahl 2007a: 139; id 2007b: 82-83; id 2014: 135; Eichner and Beckh 2020: 5-6). The disturbed context of these tombs as a result of looting as well as the presence of early excavators in the 19^th and 20^th centuries complicates attempts at interpreting much of the material. Nonetheless, a number of artefacts datable to the fourth century imply that the complex was indeed occupied in the 4^th century, which further supports the association of this space with the hermitage of John of Lykopolis (Kahl 2014: 136).  

Regarding the countless funerary contexts, it is said that the church contained numerous graves, while the burials surrounding the monastic complex included single and multiple interments, buried in either wooden boxes or mats made of woven palm leaves (Maspero 1900: 100, 113). Interestingly, there were supposedly numerous occurrences of individuals wrapped in funerary shrouds decorated with crosses, as well as shrouds embroidered with Islamic formulas in Arabic (Maspero 1900: 113-114).