Abu Mena (also spelled ''Abu Mina;'' ; ) was a town,

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

complex and

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

centre in

Late Antique Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodization has since been wide ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, about southwest of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, near

New Borg El Arab New Borg El Arab ( ') is a new Egyptian city of the first generation, located in Alexandria Governorate, and administratively affiliated to the New Urban Communities Authority. It was established by decree of the President of the Arab Republic ...

city. Its remains were designated a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1979 for the site's importance in early Christianity. There are very few standing remains, but the foundations of most major buildings, such as the great

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, are easily discernible. Recent

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

efforts in the area have led to a significant rise in the

water table The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...

, which has caused a number of the site's buildings to collapse or become unstable. The site was added to the

List of World Heritage in Danger The List of World Heritage in Danger is compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the World Heritage Committee according to Article 11.4 of the World Heritage Convention,Full title: ''Conv ...

in 2001. Authorities were forced to place sand in the bases of buildings that are most endangered in the site.

History

Menas of Alexandria was

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

ed in the late 3rd or early 4th century (see

Early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

). Various 5th-century and later accounts give slightly differing versions of his burial and the subsequent founding of his church. The essential elements are that his body was taken from Alexandria on a

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

, which was led into the desert beyond

Lake Mareotis Lake Mariout ( ', , also spelled Maryut or Mariut), is a brackish lake in northern Egypt near the city of Alexandria. The lake area covered and had a navigable canal at the beginning of the 20th century, but at the beginning of the 21st century, ...

. At some point, the camel refused to continue walking, despite all efforts to goad it. This was taken as a sign of divine will, and the body's attendants buried it on that spot. Most versions of the story state that the location of the tomb was then forgotten until its miraculous rediscovery by a local shepherd. From the Ethiopian

Synaxarium Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; , from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of '' synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; ; Ge'ez: ሲናክሳሪየም(ስንክ� ...

( E.A.W. Budge, trans.):

And God wished to reveal the lace of thebody of Saint Mînâs. And there was in that desert a certain shepherd, and one day a sheep which was suffering from the disease of the scab went to that place, and dipped himself in the water of the little spring which was near the place, and he rolled about in it and was healed straightway. And when the shepherd saw this thing, and understood the miracle, he marvelled exceedingly and was astonished. And afterwards he used to take some of the dust from that shrine, and mix it with water, and rub it on the sheep, and if they were ill with the scab, they were straightway healed thereby. And this he used to do at all times, and he healed all the sick who came to him by this means.

Word of the shepherd's healing powers spread rapidly. The synaxarium describes

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

sending his sick

daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state, condition or quality of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show r ...

to the shepherd to be cured, and credits her with finding Menas' body, after which Constantine ordered the construction of a church at the site. (Some versions of the story replace Constantine with the late-5th century emperor

Zeno Zeno may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Zeno (surname) Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...

, but

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

have dated the original foundation to the late 4th century). By the late 4th century, it was a significant pilgrimage site named Martyroupolis, where Christians sought healing and other miracles. Menas flasks are a particular type of small

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

ampulla An ampulla (; : ampullae) was, in Ancient Rome, a small round vessel, usually made of glass and with two handles, used for sacred purposes. The word is used of these in archaeology, and of later flasks, often handle-less and much flatter, for ho ...

e sold to pilgrims as containers for

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

or holy vigillamp-oil which are found very widely around the Western Mediterranean, dating roughly from the century and a half before the Muslim conquest. They are cheaply made but impressed with images of the saint that are of significance in the study of

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

; it is presumed they were made around the city. During the reign of

Arcadius Arcadius ( ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to his death in 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the eastern half of ...

, the local archbishop observed that crowds were overwhelming the small

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

. He wrote to the eastern emperor, who ordered a major expansion of the facilities, the first of three major church expansions which would eventually take place. By the end of

Late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

, Abu Mena had become the leading pilgrimage site in Egypt. Around the mid-6th century, the port town of Philoxenite was established on the southern shore of Lake Mareotis to support pilgrimage to Abu Mena. Built on the ruins of a Roman settlement, it served as a transit hub fit equipped with rest houses where pilgrims could stay before continuing their journey. Its construction is believed to have been financed by Philoxenos, a prominent figure in Byzantine politics at the time. Abu Mena was destroyed during the

early Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests (), also known as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the founder of Islam. He established the first Islamic state in Medina, Arabian Peninsula, Arabia that ...

of the mid-7th century.

Archaeological excavations

The site was first excavated from 1905 to 1907. These efforts uncovered a large basilica church, an adjacent church which had probably housed the saint's remains, and

Roman bath In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughou ...

s. A later, long-term series of excavations by the DAI ended in 1998. The most recent excavations uncovered a large

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

for poor pilgrims, with separate wings for men and for women and children. A complex to the south of the great basilica was likely the residence of the ''hegoumenos'', or

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

. Excavations suggest that the great

xenodocheion In the early Middle Ages, a xenodochium or (from Ancient Greek , or ''xenodocheion''; place for strangers, inn, guesthouse) was either a hostel or hospital, usually specifically for foreigners or pilgrims, although the term could refer to chari ...

, a reception area for pilgrims, may originally have been a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

. A

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

, adjacent to the site of the original church, appears to have gone through at least three phases of development. Also uncovered was a complex of

wine press A winepress is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during winemaking. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts control ...

es, including underground storage rooms, which dates to the 6th and 7th centuries.

Threats

The site of Abu Mena was added to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage in Danger The List of World Heritage in Danger is compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the World Heritage Committee according to Article 11.4 of the World Heritage Convention,Full title: ''Conv ...

list in 2001 due to the threat of rising local water tables. This rise in water is due to agricultural development programs aimed at reclaiming the land. The hard clay soil that surrounds the site can support buildings when dry. However, it becomes unstable when wet and has led to the collapse of cisterns and other structures about the ancient city. As the ground collapses, large cavities form enveloping the overlying structures. Immediate action was taken to fill the bases of particularly important sites with sand and close them off to the public. In attempts to counteract this phenomenon, the Supreme Council of Antiquities spent 45 million digging trenches and adding pumps in hopes of decreasing the pressure of irrigation. In addition, a fence was added to prevent encroachment and threat. These proved to be successful and the site was removed from UNESCO's World Heritage in Danger list in 2009. Since then, water has continued to rise and cause destruction of monuments. The site is once again on UNESCO's World Heritage in Danger list. Factors found to negatively impact the property most recently in 2018 include housing, management activities, managements systems/plan, and water.

Conservation

Recent conservation endeavors at the site of Abu Mena involve the implementation of advanced drainage systems and community engagement programs to mitigate the ongoing threats posed by rising water levels and other factors. The Egyptian government has implemented emergency plans and indeed solved the problem with the water table, but the government does not currently have a thorough management plan or anything related to it. Since UNESCO requires a management plan for all the cultural and natural sites, several proposals have been made. The most reliable option is the use of a smart, sustainable membrane. It has been designed to solve issues with ventilation, energy, and water on the site. This plan involves building a dome-shaped smart membrane, which would provide the site an appropriate amount of airflow (as is required for every world heritage site). The smart-membrane dome would also provide a self-sustainable energy supply through solar cells located on the outside layer of the dome. The membrane would also be designed to have a filtration system for dehumidifying the air by filtering the water out of it so that the site can be better preserved.

Gallery

File:Artifacts at Abu Mena (II).jpg, Artifacts at Abu Mena File:Artifacts at Abu Mena (IV).jpg, Artifacts at Abu Mena File:Artifacts at Abu Mena (VII).jpg, Artifacts at Abu Mena File:Basilica of The Crypt at Abu Mena (II).jpg, Basilica of The Crypt at Abu Mena File:Basilica of The Crypt at Abu Mena (III).jpg, Basilica of The Crypt at Abu Mena File:Basilica of The Crypt at Abu Mena (V).jpg, Basilica of The Crypt at Abu Mena File:Baths at Abu Mena (II).jpg, Baths at Abu Mena File:Baths at Abu Mena (V).jpg, Baths at Abu Mena File:Baths at Abu Mena (XXI).jpg, Baths at Abu Mena File:Landscape at Abu Mena (II).jpg, Landscape at Abu Mena File:Pilgrimage Center at Abu Mena (II).jpg, Pilgrimage Centre at Abu Mena File:Pilgrimage Center at Abu Mena (IV).jpg, Pilgrimage Centre at Abu Mena File:Religious Complex at Abu Mena (VI).jpg, Religious Complex at Abu Mena File:Ruins of the Great Basilica at Abu Mena (III).jpg, Ruins of the Great Basilica at Abu Mena File:Ruins at Abu Mena (VIII).jpg, Ruins at Abu Mena

Notes

External links

Abu Mena
at UNESCO World Heritage Centre; includes links to 360˚ panoramic photos of the site {{Authority control Alexandria Populated places established in the 4th century Archaeological sites in Egypt World Heritage Sites in Egypt Coptic settlements Former populated places in Egypt Christian monasteries established in the 4th century Coptic Orthodox monasteries World Heritage Sites in Danger 1905 archaeological discoveries 4th-century establishments in Egypt