The
capital of Graeco-Roman
Egypt, and almost certainly its largest city, was
Alexandria, and
nearby were two of that periods major Christian pilgrimage centers
during the Christian
era. They were Abu Mina and Menouthis, both of which were
originally established as shrines to martyr saints. These sites,
especially popular between the fifth and seventh centuries AD, were
considered centers of healing, and because of their close proximity
to the great port of Alexandria, they were extremely popular
destinations for
both
foreign and Egyptian pilgrims during their day. Though a modern
monastery of Abu Mina lies only a short distance from the old site,
the ancient site was more of a place of pilgrimage than a monastery,
though a small monastery did seem to exist.
Abu Mina, located about 60 kilometers southwest of Alexandria in the ancient Mareotis district, was discovered and first excavated between 1905 and 1907 by Carl Maria Kaufmann, a German archaeologist. Research and restoration of the site was carried out by the Graeco-Roman Museum of Alexandria in 1925 and 1929, and by J.B. Ward Perkins in 1942. Additional excavations were resumed in 1959 by the Coptic Museum of Cairo, and since 1961, by the DAI (Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut), Cairo. Today, Abu Minas is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to its vulnerability to groundwater erosion.
Plan of the area around the main churches at Abu
Mina
It consisted of a complex of churches with pilgrim center
dedicated to Menas, an Egyptian martyr who was killed in Asia Minor
(Phrygia) in the late third century (296 AD) during the persecutions
of Diocletian. At that time, he was a Roman legionary who converted
to the Christian faith. According to legend, when his comrades were
carrying his body home, the camels suddenly stopped on the edge of
the Libyan Desert and would go no further. Taking this as a sign
from heaven, the soldiers buried his body at the site of Abu Mina,
whereupon some 90 springs of water suddenly gushed out of the ground
giving rise to a variety of miracles. Afterwards, pilgrims from all
over the Near East flocked to the site seeking cures for their
ailments, while taking some of the water (or oil) home with them in
small pottery bottles made on the spot.
Over
time, Mina's cult has been primarily restricted to Egypt, and his
veneration continues to be a major component of modern Christian
worship in the country, with a feast day celebrated on November 11th
each year. Indeed, there remains a substantial monastery of Abu
Mina, a place of considerable pilgrimage today, very near the
ancient ruins.
The ruins of Abu Mina, the city of Saint Menas, are fairly
extensive, and clearly evolved over time. Notably, the churches, for
the most part, are not particularly Egyptian in design, perhaps
because at the time
they
were intended to appeal to foreign pilgrims.
At the site's core, there is certainly a grave that dates to the period in question beneath a church, which borders a settlement of some nature. Over time, this tomb was constantly enlarged at the expense of surrounding burials, and by the end of the fourth century, a small oratory was built above the tomb. Over time, this structure would undergo five phases of construction between the fourth through the eighth centuries to become one of the most extensive and elaborate church complexes in ancient Christian Egypt.
In the first half of the fifth century, this building was
replaced by a basilica, which in turn was replaced at the beginning
of the sixth century by the Basilica of the Crypt (also sometimes
referred to as the Church of the Martyr or the Church of the
Burial), the present burial church. It
was of tetraconch design (a
building composed of four conches - a conch is a semicircular niche
surmounted by a half-dome) oriented from west to east, with shallow
apses marked out by columns.
At about the same time, the Great Basilica, often erroneously
called the Basilica of Arcadius, was built at the eastern end of the
Basilica of the Crypt over that of an earlier structure. Eventually,
though successive expansions and renovations, the Church of the
Crypt and the Great Basilica
eventually came to be joined and shared
structural elements. This is a three aisled structure
measuring 220 feet (67 meters) long by 105 feet (32 meters) wide
with aisled transepts measuring 165 feet (50 meters) long by 65 feet
(20 meters) across. Its roof was supported by 56 marble columns.
Under the crossing the position of the altar is marked by four
columns which once supported a baldaquin (a stone or marble canopy,
especially over the alter of a church). The main entrance, with
three doorways, is on the south side of the nave. There were other
entrances at the northwest end of the nave and in the north
transept. Flanking the nave are a variety of rooms, underground
burial chambers, corridors and cellars.
At the west end of the Burial Church an octagonal Baptistery (fifth-sixth centuries) was constructed and enclosed within a square external structure, with a large stepped marble font in the middle. Like the Burial Church and the Great Basilica, it was several times rebuilt, but always in the original form.
After the destruction of the holy place by fire, Patriarch Joseph (830-849) built, in about 849, a new basilica which incorporated much of the older church. This is a five aisled basilica measuring 125 feet (38 meters) long and 75 feet (22.5 meters) wide, built over the spacious Crypt which contains the Saint's tomb. The tomb lies 25 feet (8 meters) below the level of the church. The church is approached by a staircase of 30 marble steps. To the north of the church is an extensive complex of cisterns and baths.
On the eastern edge of Abu Mina are the remains of the Eastern
Church, on a centralized tetraconchal plan. The square, central area
probably had a timber roof. On each of the four sides is a double
conch, the inner one supported on a row of columns. On the west side
is an atrium. Outside the church, in the angles between the conches,
are annexes, which, curiously, are built on different plans and thus
disturb the strict symmetry of the plan as a whole. At the northeast
corner is a Baptistery, also containing stepped piscina (a water
basin). While no monastic quarters have been found in the main part
of Abu Mina, clustered around the East Church are a number of monks'
cells.
In the middle of a large cemetery on the north edge of the site is the three aisled Northern Basilica (seventh-ninth century), with an atrium at its west end. It is surrounded by extensive residential buildings and offices. Adjoining the right hand aisle is an elegant baptistery.
The facilities at Abu Mina expanded through the fifth and sixth centuries, with churches and buildings being added to house and serve the increasing number of pilgrims who visited. A magnificent city grew up around this venerated shrine which, according to contemporary accounts, was built entirely of marble and included all of the trappings of an important place of pilgrimage. There were, of course, pilgrims quarters near the remains of Saint Menas, as sleeping in close proximity to a martyr's relics was thought to bring cures and blessings. Indeed, there have been identified three different types of quarters, apparently serving guests with different social standing. There were also cisterns and bath houses nearby.
Among the secular buildings on the site are a number of potters'
workshops and kilns, in which clay flasks for the use of pilgrims
were produced in large quantities. Pilgrimage to Abu Mina was
especially associated with a particular class of artifact known as
the Menas flask or ampoule. This was a small pottery flask with two
handles, which on one side bears a representation of Menas, often
between two camels, sometimes with a pious inscription. These flasks
were clearly used by the pilgrims to carry home water and
sometimes drops of oil from lamps hung in the holist places of the
shrine, from the site. Menas flasks have been unearthed in many
foreign lands, including Heidelberg in Germany, Milan in Italy,
Dalmatia in Yugoslavia, Marseille in France, Dengela in the Sudan
and in Jerusalem. In addition to the cult of Abu Mina at the site, Thecla, a martyr
from Asia Minor was also venerated and became popular in Egypt. She
was sometimes
featured on the reverse of the Menas flasks, and her
cult at Abu Mina seems to have been specifically aimed at female
pilgrims.
This city flourished during the fifth and sixth centuries, but
the shrine of Abu Mina was largely destroyed in the Sassanian
Persian invasion of Egypt in 619 AD. The North Church contains
certain distinctive features, such as a tripartite sanctuary with a
western return aisle, a specific configuration of the baptistery and
related chapel, not found in other Abu Mina churches. These features
are characteristic of Egyptian churches identified with
Monophysitism,
a Christian doctrine widespread in Egypt but ad odds with the
official doctrines prevalent in the Byzantine world and indeed at
Abu Mina itself. One of the modern excavators at Abu Mina, Peter
Grossmann, has suggested that these features, along with the North
Basilica's location outside the main Abu Mina settlement, indicate
that the church may have
served the needs of a Monophysite
population that took over the site in 643 AD. Afterwards, a
completely new settlement appears to have grown up above the ruins
of the old town.
Though the complex was extensively rebuilt, after the Arab invasion of Egypt in the seventh century, it was the subject of repeated raids by local Bedouins. Lavishly decorated, the Church of the Crypt seems to have been especially vulnerable to raids and destruction. Then, in 900 AD, it was plundered and devastated by the Abbasids, though the city managed to survive until the 10th or 11th century, with apparently some reoccurring occupation until the 13th century. Afterwards, the remains of this once great city were buried under the sand of the advancing desert.
In essence, much of the research at Abu Mina indicates that the ancient site started out as a much more international pilgrimage site, though around the time of the Arab invasion, when Alexandria began to loose its importance to what would become Cairo, Abu Mina was converted to more of a local Christian site.
Today, the focus of the ruins, including streets and houses that can be clearly identified, is the ancient complex consisting of the Basilica of the Crypt built over the Saint's grave, the Great Basilica adjoining its east end and the Baptistery at its west end. The site is located nearby the modern Monastery of Saint. Menas, and those wishing to visit it are typically guided by monks from that facility. However, due to ground water in the area, the trip is made by foot and during the wet season, the visit is sometimes impossible.
Unfortunately, because of a rigorous expansion of the cultivated
areas, combined with intensive irrigation, this important early
Christian site is no longer situated in the desert but has become a
‘historic island’ in the middle of tomato fields. Due to permanent
irrigation the layers of clayish soil immediately underneath the
surface have become sodden and have eroded or washed out. The
cavities that this erosion has created are now falling in, and large
parts of the former town of Mina are either threatened by collapse
or have already collapsed. The crypt of Saint Menas, which was the
starting point of this pilgrimage cult, has only been provisionally
filled with sand; as a consequence it is just a matter of time
before large parts of the structure will fall in here, as well as in
the basilica. Hopefully, the site's status as a World Heritage Site
will invigorate an effort to stabilize this important place.
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Last Updated: 12/12/2006