Bagawat Necropolis (Kharga Oasis)
Bagawat · El-Bagawat · Kharga Necropolis · Kharga Oasis
Late Period to Early Islamic (510 BCE–700 CE; peak Christian 4th–7th c)·Persian-Egyptian / Early Christian Coptic·🇪🇬 New Valley Governorate (Western Desert), Egypt
About
About Bagawat Necropolis (Kharga Oasis)
Greatest Christian cemetery of Egypt 4th–7th c in Kharga oasis 160 km east of Dakhleh, Bagawat 263 mudbrick chapel tombs square 7×7 m with true vaults and domes (earliest Christian domes), including Chapel of Exodus 32.2 surviving frescoes of Exodus narrative (Pharaoh's army drowning) and Peace chapel with dove. 80 tombs painted Coptic biblical. Necropolis 500×200 m on hillside above Hibis temple 6th c BCE Persian satrap Darius I temple 40×18 m with Darius cartouche and Nectanebo II additions. Roman Hibis? Kharga route fortchain. Fakhry 1940s. Well preserved aridity.
Why it mattersEarliest Christian dome architecture (263) and complete Exodus fresco program; Hibis only Persian-period temple with Darius inscription in Egypt.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether Bagawat domes derive from Nubian vault vs Roman inspiration
- 02Exodus chapel donor identity
Theories
- 01Christian oasis refuge model (Wipszycka)
- 02Domed mudbrick as Coptic invention
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Hibis temple 510 BCE (Darius I); Bagawat necropolis 300–700 CE
- Period
- Late Period to Early Islamic (510 BCE–700 CE; peak Christian 4th–7th c)
- Culture
- Persian-Egyptian / Early Christian Coptic
- Builders
- Darius I; Kharga Christian community
- Purpose
- Oasis funerary hill to hillside necropolis and Persian satrap temple
- Abandoned
- 700s Arab conquest
- Rediscovered
- 1820s Cailliaud; 1905 Winlock; Fakhry 1940
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
Hibis temple 510 BCE (Darius I); Bagawat necropolis 300–700 CE
Initial construction
c. 1392 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
25.4850° N · 30.5536° E · 60 m · 2 mapped features
Chapel of the Exodus (Tomb 80)
chapel7×7 m domed chapel with Exodus frescoes 4th c
25.4855° N · 30.5538° ETemple of Hibis (Kharga)
temple40×18 m Darius I sandstone temple
25.4769° N · 30.5553° E
Gallery