Archaeologists working in the Bagawat necropolis, which contains 263 standing structures behind the Hibis Temple, uncovered mud-brick houses, tombs, two churches, wall paintings, large pottery jars for grain, cooking ovens, pottery and glass fragments, stone pieces, and burial spaces—evidence of a self-sustaining desert community.Another lost city in Egypt?The larger church followed a basilica plan with a central nave, side aisles, square columns, and a hall that suggested the community’s status. The second, smaller and rectangular, bears Coptic texts on its interior walls. A mural shows Jesus healing a sick person, while other chapel domes display Torah scenes. Thousands of inscriptions in Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Arabic span several centuries.
It sounds like this site at the Kharga Oasis is important for the study of the rise of late-antique Coptic Christianity.
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