Ikhmindi

On the west bank of the Nile, 122 km upriver from Philae. A heavily fortified settlement remarkable both for the quadrilateral regularity of its fortress wall and bastions, and for the regular layout of the densely clustered houses and streets within. Both these features contrast sharply with other medieval settlements. The excavator believed it had been built at the beginning of the Christian era, but an origin in late pre-Christian times is not wholly ruled out. Typology of the two churches suggests an occupation at least through Classic Christian times. The site was partially excavated by an expedition from the University of Milan in 1958 and 1959.

Sources: Stenico 1960; Deichmann and Grossmann 1988, 67-94.

(Contributed by William Y. Adams.)