:Dakhla Oasis

The first contacts between the pharaonic power and the oases started around 2550 BCE.

The human history of this oasis started during the Pleistocene, when nomadic tribes settled sometimes there, in a time when the Sahara climate was wetter and where humans could have access to lakes and marshes. But about 6,000 years ago, the entire Sahara became drier, changing progressively into a hyper-arid desert (with less than 50 mm of rain per year). However, specialists think that nomadic hunter-gatherers began to settle almost permanently in the oasis of Dakhleh in the period of the Holocene (about 12,000 years ago), during new, but rare episodes of wetter times.

In fact, the drier climate didn't mean that there was more water than today in what is now known as the Western Desert. The south of the Libyan Desert has the most important supply of subterranean water in the world through the Nubian Aquifer, and the first inhabitants of the Dakhla Oasis had access to surface water sources. In the third millennium BC the probably nomadic people of the Sheikh Muftah culture lived here.

During the late 6th Dynasty, hieratic script was sometimes incised into clay tablets with a stylus, similar to cuneiform. About five hundred such tablets have been discovered in the governor's palace at Ayn Asil (Balat) in the Dakhla Oasis.[http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/calendar/articles/20120514 Scribes and craftsmen: the noble art of writing on clay.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529113814/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/calendar/articles/20120514/ |date=May 29, 2016 }} Feb 29, 2012; UCL Institute of ArchaeologyPosener-Kriéger 1992; Pantalacci 1998. At the time the tablets were made, Dakhla was located far from centers of papyrus production.Parkinson and Quirke 1995:20. These tablets record inventories, name-lists, accounts, and approximately fifty letters.

Deir el-Hagar (Egyptian Arabic: {{lang|arz|{{script|Arabic|دير الحجر}}}} 'Monastery of Stone', {{Langx|egy|S.t-wȝḥ}}, Sioua{{Cite web |title=TM Places |url=https://www.trismegistos.org/place/3559 |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=www.trismegistos.org}}) is a Roman sandstone temple on the western edge of Dakhla Oasis, about 10 km from Qasr ad-Dakhla. The Temple was erected during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero, and decorated during the time of Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. The temple was dedicated to the Theban triad, composed of Amun-Ra, Mut and Khonsu, as well as to Seth, the main deity of the region.{{Cite web |title=Deir el-Hagar |url=https://egyptsites.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/deir-el-hagar/ |access-date=2020-05-06 |website=egyptian monuments |date=March 13, 2009 }}

File:DeirHagarGateway2.jpg|Gateway of the temple

File:Deir el-Haggar, Entrance Relief (XI) (4566138968).jpg|Roman emperor as pharaoh making offerings to Isis and Osiris

File:DeirHagarSarapammon.jpg|Graffiti of Sarapammon with ram and baboon

The fortified Islamic town of Qasr ad-Dakhla or el-Qasr (Arabic: قصر الداخلة, the Fortress) was built in the 12th century on the remains of a Roman fort in the NW of the Dakhla Oasis by the Ayyubid kings. Many of the up to four-storey mud brick Ottoman and Mamluk buildings contain blocks of stone with hieroglyphics from the ancient Thoth temple of the nearby site of Amheida. The three-storey, 21-meter-high minaret is dated 924 CE.{{cite web |title=Qasr Dakhla, Egyptian Monuments|date=March 31, 2009 |author=Su |url=http://egyptsites.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/qasr-dakhla/ |access-date=2011-02-08}} (blog)

File:El-Qasr (XII).jpg|General view of Qasr el-Dakhla

File:Flickr - Argenberg - Al-Qasr city, Dakhla oasis (2007-05-219).jpg|Streets of Al-Qasr

File:Bahariyya Oasis, Egypt.jpg|Abuyyid minaret

File:DakhlaQasrLintel.jpg|Lintel in Qasr el-Dakhla

File:DakhlaQasrHieroglyphs.jpg|Hieroglyphic inscriptions

File:DakhlaQasrNasrMosqueInside.jpg|Inside the Nasr el-Din mosque

File:House in Al-Qasr, Egypt.jpg|Clay house

Sir Archibald Edmonstone visited Dakhla oasis in the year 1819. He was succeeded by several other early travellers, among whom Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs in 1873–1874. It was not until 1908 that the first Egyptologist, Herbert Winlock, visited Dakhla Oasis and noted its monuments in some systematic manner. In the 1950s, detailed studies began, first by Ahmed Fakhry, and in the late 1970s, expeditions of the Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale and the Dakhleh Oasis Project (see below) each began detailed studies in the oasis.

In August 2017, archaeologists from the Ministry of Antiquities announced the discovery of five mud-brick tombs at Bir esh-Shaghala, dating back nearly 2000 years. Researchers also revealed worn masks gilded with gold, several large jars and a piece of pottery with unsolved ancient Egyptian writing on it.{{Cite web|last=August 2017|first=Owen Jarus 24|title=Photos: 2,000-Year-Old Tombs Found in Egyptian Oasis|url=https://www.livescience.com/60221-2000-year-old-egyptian-tombs-photos.html|access-date=2021-02-24|website=livescience.com|date=August 24, 2017 |language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2017-08-27|title=2,000-year-old Roman tombs uncovered in Egypt|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/2000-year-old-roman-tombs-uncovered-in-egypt-606660.html|access-date=2021-02-24|website=Deccan Herald|language=en}}

Some of the tombs are completely large containing several burial chambers, while one tomb has a roof built in the shape of a pyramid and some of them with vaulted roofs.{{Cite web|date=2017-08-27|title=2,000-year-old Roman tombs, artifacts and inscribed pottery discovered in Egypt|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-2000-year-old-roman-tombs-artifacts-and-inscribed-pottery-discovered-in-egypt-2541057|access-date=2021-02-24|website=DNA India|language=en}}

Dakhla Oasis consists of several communities, along a string of sub-oases. The main settlements are Mut (more fully Mut el-Kharab and anciently called Mothis), El-Masara, Al-Qasr, together with several smaller villages.

Dakhla Oasis has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), typical of much of Egypt.

{{Weather box

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|location= Dakhla

|Jan record high C = 33.2

|Feb record high C = 40.1

|Mar record high C = 44.8

|Apr record high C = 46.1

|May record high C = 48.0

|Jun record high C = 49.5

|Jul record high C = 45.2

|Aug record high C = 45.5

|Sep record high C = 45.2

|Oct record high C = 44.2

|Nov record high C = 39.3

|Dec record high C = 32.9

|year record high C = 49.5

|Jan high C = 21.5

|Feb high C = 24.0

|Mar high C = 28.1

|Apr high C = 33.6

|May high C = 37.3

|Jun high C = 38.9

|Jul high C = 39.0

|Aug high C = 38.4

|Sep high C = 36.4

|Oct high C = 32.9

|Nov high C = 27.1

|Dec high C = 22.8

|year high C = 31.7

|Jan mean C = 12.0

|Feb mean C = 14.2

|Mar mean C = 18.3

|Apr mean C = 23.6

|May mean C = 28.4

|Jun mean C = 30.8

|Jul mean C = 30.9

|Aug mean C = 30.4

|Sep mean C = 28.4

|Oct mean C = 24.3

|Nov mean C = 18.1

|Dec mean C = 13.7

|year mean C = 22.8

|Jan low C = 3.5

|Feb low C = 5.1

|Mar low C = 8.7

|Apr low C = 13.4

|May low C = 18.3

|Jun low C = 21.6

|Jul low C = 22.3

|Aug low C = 21.6

|Sep low C = 20.2

|Oct low C = 16.2

|Nov low C = 9.9

|Dec low C = 5.3

|year low C = 13.8

|Jan record low C = -3.9

|Feb record low C = -3.8

|Mar record low C = -0.8

|Apr record low C = 2.1

|May record low C = 7.4

|Jun record low C = 12.4

|Jul record low C = 15.4

|Aug record low C = 15.2

|Sep record low C = 12.2

|Oct record low C = 7.7

|Nov record low C = 1.0

|Dec record low C = -2.1

|year record low C = -3.9

|precipitation colour =

|Jan precipitation mm = 0

|Feb precipitation mm = 0

|Mar precipitation mm = 0

|Apr precipitation mm = 0

|May precipitation mm = 0

|Jun precipitation mm = 0

|Jul precipitation mm = 0

|Aug precipitation mm = 0

|Sep precipitation mm = 0

|Oct precipitation mm = 0

|Nov precipitation mm = 0

|Dec precipitation mm = 0

|year precipitation mm = 0

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 0.1

|Feb precipitation days = 0

|Mar precipitation days = 0

|Apr precipitation days = 0

|May precipitation days = 0.1

|Jun precipitation days = 0

|Jul precipitation days = 0

|Aug precipitation days = 0

|Sep precipitation days = 0

|Oct precipitation days = 0

|Nov precipitation days = 0

|Dec precipitation days = 0

|year precipitation days = 0.2

|Jan humidity = 47

|Feb humidity = 41

|Mar humidity = 35

|Apr humidity = 29

|May humidity = 26

|Jun humidity = 24

|Jul humidity = 26

|Aug humidity = 28

|Sep humidity = 31

|Oct humidity = 36

|Nov humidity = 43

|Dec humidity = 47

|year humidity = 34.4

| Jan sun = 294.5

| Feb sun = 279.7

| Mar sun = 316.2

| Apr sun = 315.0

| May sun = 356.5

| Jun sun = 366.0

| Jul sun = 384.4

| Aug sun = 375.1

| Sep sun = 336.0

| Oct sun = 328.6

| Nov sun = 300.0

| Dec sun = 291.4

|year sun =

| Jand sun = 9.5

| Febd sun = 9.9

| Mard sun = 10.2

| Aprd sun = 10.5

| Mayd sun = 11.5

| Jund sun = 12.2

| Juld sun = 12.4

| Augd sun = 12.1

| Sepd sun = 11.2

| Octd sun = 10.6

| Novd sun = 10.0

| Decd sun = 9.4

|yeard sun = 10.8

|source 1 = NOAA{{Cite FTP | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/UB/62432.TXT

| server = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| title = Dakhla Climate Normals 1961–1990

| access-date = January 17, 2016}}

|source 2 = Arab Meteorology Book (sun){{cite web

| url = http://extras.springer.com/2007/978-1-4020-4577-6/Book_Shahin_ISBN_9781402045776_Appendix.pdf

| title = Appendix I: Meteorological Data

| publisher = Springer

| access-date = January 17, 2016

| archive-date = March 4, 2016

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072830/http://extras.springer.com/2007/978-1-4020-4577-6/Book_Shahin_ISBN_9781402045776_Appendix.pdf

| url-status = dead

}}

}}

The Dakhleh Oasis Project (DOP) is a long-term study project of the Dakhleh Oasis and the surrounding palaeo-oasis, initiated in 1978 when the Royal Ontario Museum and the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities were awarded a joint concession for part of the Oasis.{{cite web|title=SSEA Dakleh Oasis Project|publisher=Society for the Study of Egyption Antiquities|year=2006|url=http://www.thessea.org/fieldwork_dop.php|access-date=2011-02-08|archive-date=April 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416135710/http://thessea.org/fieldwork_dop.php|url-status=dead}} In 1979, the Centre for Archaeology and Ancient History at Monash University began to cooperate in the project.{{cite web|title=Dakleh Oasis Projects, Arts, Monash University |publisher=Monash University |date=September 24, 2010 |url=http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/index.php |access-date=2011-02-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218024516/http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/index.php |archive-date=February 18, 2011 |df=mdy }}

The DOP studies the interaction between environmental changes and human activity in the Dakhleh Oasis.{{cite magazine |last= Chandler |first= Graham |year=2006|volume=57|number=5|title= Before the Mummies: The Desert Origins of the Pharaohs|page=7| url=http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/200605/before.the.mummies.the.desert.origins.of.the.pharaohs.htm |magazine= Saudi Aramco World |publisher=Aramco Services Company |access-date= 11 December 2018}} The excavations at Ismant el-Kharab (ancient Kellis),{{cite web|publisher=Monash University|access-date=2011-02-08|title=Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis|date=November 12, 2010|url=http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/ismant-el-kharab/index.php|archive-date=February 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218024219/http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/ismant-el-kharab/index.php|url-status=dead}} Mut el-Kharab (ancient Mothis),{{cite web|publisher=Monash University |access-date=2011-02-08 |title=Excavations at Mut el-Kharab, Dakhleh Oasis |date=December 9, 2010 |url=http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/mut-el-kharab/index.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218024431/http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/mut-el-kharab/index.php |archive-date=February 18, 2011 |df=mdy }} Deir Abu Metta and Muzawwaqa{{cite web|publisher=Monash University |access-date=2011-02-08 |title=Deir Abu Metta and Muzawwaqa, Dakhleh Oasis |date=November 5, 2010 |url=http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/metta-muzawwaqa/index.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218024120/http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/metta-muzawwaqa/index.php |archive-date=February 18, 2011 |df=mdy }} were undertaken with the cooperation of Monash University. The DOP has also excavated at 'Ain el-Gazzareen,{{cite web|title='Ain el-Gazzareen|publisher=Dakhleh Trust|year=2005|url=http://www.dakhleh.com/gazzareen.htm|access-date=2011-02-08|archive-date=July 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708222000/http://www.dakhleh.com/gazzareen.htm|url-status=dead}} El Qasr el-Dakhil,{{cite web|title=El Qasr el-Dakhil|publisher=Dakhleh Trust|year=2005|url=http://www.dakhleh.com/dakhil.htm|access-date=2011-02-08|archive-date=July 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708222052/http://www.dakhleh.com/dakhil.htm|url-status=dead}} Deir el Hagar{{cite web|title=Deir el Hagar|publisher=Dakhleh Trust|year=2005|url=http://www.dakhleh.com/hagar.htm|access-date=2011-02-08|archive-date=July 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708222231/http://www.dakhleh.com/hagar.htm|url-status=dead}} and Ain Birbiyeh.{{cite web|publisher=Monash University |access-date=2011-02-08 |title=Annual Report 2008, Ain Birbiyeh Temple Project |url=http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/assets/documents/birbiyeh-report-2008.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924213745/http://arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/assets/documents/birbiyeh-report-2008.pdf |archive-date=September 24, 2011 |df=mdy }}

In 1985, the Petroglyph Unit of the Dakhleh Oasis Project was created by Lech Krzyżaniak, then director of the Archaeological Museum in Poznań, under the auspices of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw.{{Cite web|title=Dakhleh Oasis|url=https://pcma.uw.edu.pl/en/2019/04/13/dakhleh-oasis/|access-date=2020-07-10|website=pcma.uw.edu.pl}} At first, the studies of the petroglyphs focused on the eastern part of the oasis, where rock carvings had been documented by archaeologists already before World War II (Herbert Winlock and Hans Alexander Winkler). The expedition created systematic documentation of both the depictions mentioned earlier in the literature and the newly discovered ones. Aerial photographs proved helpful in this work. Then, under the direction of Michał Kobusiewicz from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, attention was turned to the area of the Central Oasis where 270 new petroglyph sites were recorded. The current director of The Petroglyph Unit, Paweł Polkowski from the Archaeological Museum in Poznań, extended the area of prospection and created a map showing the distribution of more than 1,300 panels with rock art. The depictions date from the Prehistory to the Islamic period and include images of animals and people (often pregnant women), hieroglyphs, and Beduin markings.

In addition to the Dakhleh Oasis Project, long-term excavations have been conducted in Balat (IFAO),{{Cite web |last=l'IFAO |first=Cellule Web de |date=2024-02-23 |title=IFAO - Institut français d'archéologie orientale |url=https://www.ifao.egnet.net/ |access-date=2023-08-18 |website=www.ifao.egnet.net |language=fr-FR}} Amheida (New York University){{cite web|title=NYU Excavations at Amheida|url=http://www.amheida.org/|access-date=2011-02-08|author=NYU}} and Bir el-Shaghala (Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities).{{cite news |title=Two Ancient Tombs from the Roman Era Discovered in Egypt |url=https://www.livescience.com/64512-ancient-tombs-egypt-daklha.html |access-date=17 January 2019 |work=Live Science |date=16 January 2019}}

The Dakhleh Trust was formed in 1999 and is a registered charity in Britain. Its declared aim is to advance understanding of the history of the environment and cultural evolution throughout the Quaternary period in the eastern Sahara, and particularly in the Dakhla Oasis. To this end, the present trustees have committed themselves to supporting the DOP.[http://dakhlehoasisproject.com/the-dakhleh-trust/ The Dakhleh Trust] Retrieved May 1, 2020.

{{Reflist}}

• Boozer, A. "Archaeology on Egypt's Edge: Archaeological Research in the Dakhleh Oasis, 1819-1977" in Ancient West & East: 12: 117–156. 2013.
• Fakhry, A. The Oases of Egypt, I : Siwa Oasis, Le Caire, Amer. Univ. in Cairo Press.
• Fakhry, A. The Oases of Egypt, II: Bahriyah and Farafra Oases, Le Caire, Univ. in Cairo Press, c. 2003.
• Giddy, L. Egyptian Oases: Bahariya, Dakhla, Farafra and Kharga during Pharaonic Times, Warminster, Aris & Philips, 1987.
• Jackson, R. At Empire's Edge: Exploring Rome's Egyptian Frontier, New Haven et Londres, Yale University Press, 2002.
• Thurston, H. Island of the Blessed : the Secrets of Egypt's Everlasting Oasis, Toronto, Doubleday, 2003.
• Vivian, C. The Western Desert of Egypt: an explorer's handbook, AUC Press, le Caire, 2000.
• Wagner, G. Les oasis d'Égypte à l'époque grecque, romaine et byzantine, d'après les documents grecs, Le Caire, Recherches de papyrologie et d'épigraphie grecques, 1987.

{{Commons category|Dakhla Oasis}}

• [http://www.ifao.egnet.net/archeologie/balat/ IFAO Page for Balat Site Excavations]
• [http://www.egyptvoyager.com/oases_dakhla.htm Dakhla in the Old Kingdom]
• [http://looklex.com/egypt/dakhla.htm Travel guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201065623/http://looklex.com/egypt/dakhla.htm |date=February 1, 2011 }}
• {{in lang|de}} [http://www.wikivoyage.org/de/D%C4%81chla Dākhla on Wikivoyage]

{{Coord|25|30|00|N|28|58|45|E|display=title}}

{{Egyptian Cities}}

{{Sa'id / Upper Egypt Main Cities}}

{{Egypt oasis areas}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Populated places in New Valley Governorate

Category:Oases of Egypt

Category:Western Desert (Egypt)