The 2022 and 2025 Field Seasons at Šams al-Dīn (Kharga Oasis)

This report presents the results of the 2022 excavation season and the 2025 photogrammetric campaign at Šams al-Dīn (ancient Mounēsis) in the Kharga Oasis, conducted within the framework of the Norwegian-Egyptian mission and the ERC-funded DEChriM project. Excavations in 2022 focused on the area immediately north of the church complex (squares F6-F7, G6-G8, H6-H8), with the primary aim of clarifying the spatial and chronological relationship between the church and the adjacent temple, and of testing the hypothesis that the construction of the church interrupted a pre-existing southward route associated with the temple. Stratigraphic excavation revealed a complex, multi-phase sequence of construction, reuse, and abandonment, characterised by successive floor horizons, repeated architectural reorganisation, and a final large-scale collapse event. The earliest phase is marked by substantial three-brick-thick walls constructed on an earlier floor, indicating a rather large building predating the church. Later phases document selective levelling, insertion of thin partitions and thresholds, storage-related installations including a silo, and pastoral or low-investment occupation on organic-rich floors. Building stratigraphy demonstrates that many walls subdividing the area north of the church were constructed against the church wall and therefore post-date its erection, confirming that the church did not simply block a pre-existing open route from the temple, but was inserted into an already structured domestic environment, where it modified and partially redirected earlier circulation patterns. A single Greek ostracon recovered in 2022, mentioning a cornicularis, corroborates independent evidence for a sustained military presence at the site. The 2025 season was devoted to photogrammetric documentation, resulting in corrected and expanded 3D models and a refined site plan that integrates the 2022 stratigraphic data. Together, these results provide a detailed, stratigraphically grounded account of architectural transformation, functional change, and continued occupation in the western sector of Šams al-Dīn during Late Antiquity.