Newsletter, Number 66 (July 1968)

Abstract

The tourists who wend their way through the narrow streets of Esna in order to visit the temple situated in the city's busiest section, never dream that out beyond the crowded town, the desert, seemingly so empty and barren, likewise contains numerous and interesting vestiges of antiquity, mainly of the early Christian period. It was with the idea of rounding out his picture of the ancient remains in the vicinity of Esna that Serge Sauneron, of the French Institute of Archaeology in Cairo, who has long been occupied with the publication of the temple itself, decided to investigate these Christian sites, one of which had been brought to his attention by the local schoolmaster. My husband and I in our respective capacities as architect and archaeologist accompanied him and the other members of the Institute staff during the two seasons' work.