STRATAbIbLICaL arCHaeOLOGy reVIeW 13
Restoration Unveils Coptic Monastery Frescoes
Restorers working in the Monastery of St.
Bishoy in Egypt (Deir el-‘Anba Bishoy, in
Arabic) have discovered previously unknown
wall paintings. Concealed under a layer of
modern mortar, these murals date from the
9th–13th centuries.
Located in Wadi el-Natrun (an oasis
between Cairo and Alexandria that is home
to a number
of prominent
Christian
monuments), the
monastery is among
the earliest still
operating in Egypt.
It started as a simple
hermitage of Bishoy,
one of the fourth-cen-
tury desert fathers
known for
their ascetic
way of life
and wisdom.
The original hermitage
has developed into a large monastery
complex consisting of a fort, refectory,
monastic cells, workshops, five churches,
pilgrims’ facilities, and now also the tomb of
Shenouda III, the late Pope of Alexandria and
Patriarch of all Africa.
Following the sweeping floods in 2015
that caused unprecedented damage across
the region, the monastery has been undergo-
ing extensive restoration under the auspices
of the Ministry of Antiquities.
The reported frescoes (i.e., wall paintingsdone on wet plaster) were discovered in
the main monastery church dedicated to
St. Bishoy. They contain figures of saints
and angels accompanied with inscriptions
in Coptic, the ecclesiastical language of
Egyptian Christians. Besides the murals, the
restorers uncovered architectural elements,
including an elevated platform for Scripturereading.
These and
other find-
ings in the St.
Bishoy Church
expand our
knowledge of
Medieval Cop-
tic iconography.
Depicted in the
niche in the center
of the above image is
the Virgin Mary, enthroned
and holding baby Jesus. On the sides we rec-
ognize the archangels Michael (left) and pos-
sibly Gabriel (right), with the apostles Peter
(far left) and Paul (far right). The chipping
had been done intentionally to enhance the
adhesion of a new layer of mortar that has
until now obscured the paintings.as the papyri from excava-
tions in Egypt occasionally
remind us.
We don’t know when or
how this library of dreams
vanished. Different accounts
suggest destruction by fire,
for which they blame differ-
ent wars, fanatic Christians
(in 391 C.E.), or conquering
Arabs (in 642). Many credit
the Roman politician Julius
Caesar and his operations in
the harbor of Alexandria in
48 B.C.E.
But would the books have
survived antiquity? From
what we understand about the
natural physical degradation
of writing materials, for scrolls
and codices to have survived
continuous use and the humid
climate of Alexandria, they
would have to have been con-
stantly replaced by new copies
and properly curated. This
would have required forces
and personalities that created
and sustained cultural institu-
tions. But precisely the lack
of will and means to maintain
a major center of learning is
most likely what sealed the
fate of the Great Library of
Alexandria.^1 In other words,
we don’t need to look for a
single destructive force if
we recognize that creative
achievements do not survive
without a cultural milieu that
values them—a caveat as rel-
evant today as it was two mil-
lennia ago.—M.D.
(^1) Roger Bagnall, “Alexandria:
Library of Dreams,” Proceedings
of the American Philosophical
Society 146.4 (2002), pp. 359–361.
to a number
of prominent
monuments), the
monastery is among
the earliest still
operating in Egypt.
It started as a simple
hermitage of Bishoy,
one of the fourth-cen-
tury desert fathers
and wisdom.
The original hermitage
has developed into a large monastery
complex consisting of a fort, refectory,
monastic cells, workshops, five churches,
pilgrims’ facilities, and now also the tomb of
Shenouda III, the late Pope of Alexandria and
including an elevated platform for Scripture
reading.
These and
other find-
ings in the St.
Bishoy Church
expand our
knowledge of
Medieval Cop-
tic iconography.
Depicted in the
niche in the center
of the above image is
PHOTO COURTESY OF EGYPT’S MINISTRY OF ANTIQUITIES
DO YOU REMEMBER?
Where were these anthropoid
sarcophagi found?
A Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip
B Lachish, Israel
C Tell el Yehudieh, Egypt
D Petra, Jordan
E Aniba, Nubia
ISRAEL MUSEUM, JERUSALEM BY NAHUM SLAPAK ANSWER ON P. 67