Project Director: Nicholas Warner

Historic Era: Byzantine

Project Location: Sohag Governorate

Project duration: January 2015 – December 2018

The Red Monastery Church conservation project is one of ARCE’s longest and most successful endeavors in preservation. Architectural conservation and site presentation work was carried out at the Red Monastery Church under the supervision of Michael Jones and Nicholas Warner. The work was executed by Nicholas Warner with his team of local, skilled craftsmen.

Among the tasks completed were: the installation of new limestone paving and a new electrical network with LED lighting throughout the church; installation of new wooden doors and cupboards; replacement of sections of timber damaged by termites; roofing work; re-erection of fallen columns in the nave; installation of displays of archaeological finds; installation of a new altar in the sanctuary; and repair and conservation of the interior and exterior of the tower adjacent to the church.

Statement of Responsibility:

The American Research in Egypt (ARCE) managed the implementation of the architectural conservation of the Red Monastery in Sohag, Egypt, led by Michael Jones and architect Nicholas Warner. Conservation work was supported by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (formerly the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities).

Funding:

Conservation of the monument was funded through the American Research Center in Egypt's Cultural Heritage Tourism Project in Egypt (Annual Program Statement) United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Agreement No. 263-A-15-00007.

    See Red Monastery on Google Maps here

Additional Resources:

• • American Research center in Egypt: Red Monastery Architectural Conservation
  • ARCE Publications: bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt, NUMBER 181 - (Fall/Winter - 2001/2002)
  • ARCE Publications: bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt, NUMBER 183 - (Fall/Winter - 2002/2003)
  • ARCE Publications: bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt, NUMBER 186- (Fall 2004).
  • ARCE Publications: bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt, NUMBER 194- (Winter 2009)
  • ARCE Publications: bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt, NUMBER 206 - SUMMER 2015
  • ARCE Publications: bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt, NUMBER 209 - WINTER 2017
  • Bolman, Elizabeth S. The Red Monastery Church: Beauty and Asceticism in Upper Egypt.
  • Eaton-Krauss, Marianne,, Cäcilia Fluck, Gawdat Gabra, Gertrud J. M. van Loon, and Elizabeth S. Bolman. Egypt 1350 BC-AD 1800: Art and Archaeological Studies for Gawdat Gabra.
  • Moorsel, Paul van, Philippe Akermann, Peter Grossmann, Karel C. Innemée, and Pierre-Henry Laferrière. Les Peintures Du Monastère De Saint-Antoine Près De La Mer Rouge.
  • Athanasius, Saint. Life of Saint Antony. Red Sea, Egypt: St. Antony Monastery, 1992.
  • JOHANN MICHAEL WANSLEBEN'S TRAVELS IN THE LEVANT, 1671-74. [S.l.]: BRILL, 2018.
  • Hourihane, Colum. Interactions: Artistic Interchange between the Eastern and Western Worlds in the Medieval Period
  • McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research., Bettina Bader, and Mary F. Ownby. Functional Aspects of Egyptian Ceramics in Their Archaeological Context: Proceedings of a Conference Held At the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge, July 24-25, 2009. Leuven: Peeters, 2013.
  • Barnard, H.,, and Kim Duistermaat. The History of the Peoples of the Eastern Desert. Los Angeles, CA: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 2012
  • Agaiby, Elizabeth,, and of Thmuis Serapion. The Arabic Life of Antony Attributed to Serapion of Thmuis: Cultural Memory Reinterpreted. Leiden ; Boston: Brill, 2018. 

Disclaimer: Various project outputs such as maps, plans, architectural drawings, illustrations, and other materials have been embedded within the project's reports. Users who wish to explore the full scope of the project's outputs and documentation are encouraged to use the "Series" field within the sidebar to find all of the collection's reports