Archaeology

Fascinating vestiges of past civilizations remain in Siwa from throughout the millennia. Remnants of several monuments and other antiquities are found here and in the surrounding uninhabited oases.

The Siwa Oasis was famed in the ancient world as a trading hub for camel caravans crossing the desert eastwards to the Nile Valley and westwards to the Mediterranean harbors in Libya. Siwa also attracted traders from the southern oases and from central Africa. Evidence of the existence of a prehistoric culture (stone tools, petroglyphs and graffiti) are found in several areas such as Shyata, Arag, Bahrein, Tabaghbag and Wadi Lubbaq.

In Roman times, under the emperor Trajan, Siwa developed into an important agricultural region. Olive trees were introduced into local horticulture, which at that time consisted mainly of date-palm plantations. Numerous sites throughout the depression preserve the presses that catered to the empire’s need for oil.

Aghurmi Hill: During the reign of Pharaoh Amasis (26th Dynasty, 570 – 521 BC) a monumental stone-temple dedicated to the oracular cult of the paramount Egyptian deity, Amun of Thebes, was erected on Aghurmi Hill, citadel of the Egyptianised yet politically independent Libyan kinglets of Sa-ntar, as the oasis was called then. Soon to rival Delphi in fame, in the winter of 332/331 BC, the oracle was visited by Alexander the Great to gain Amun’s divine approval for usurping power as Pharaoh.

Umm Ubaydah: A road for celebrating public oracular processions (dromos) linked Aghurmi and the temple of Umm Ubaydah, another sanctuary of Amun built some 400 m further south, during the reign of Pharaoh Nectanebo II (360 – 343 BC). In the Greco-Roman period, the Ammoneion oracular complex comprised at least one other temple, Doricstyle remains of which have been excavated alongside the dromos. Until now, no vestiges dating before the 6th century BC have been discovered in Siwa, or Ammon/Hammon as the oasis was called by Greeks and Romans.

Gebel El Mawta: Another important archaeological site within Siwa is this limestone hill, one kilometer North of Siwa, which contains hundreds of rock cut tombs. The main necropolis in the center of the Siwa Oasis, El Mawta’s tombs date from the Late Egyptian through the Greco-Roman eras. Four of the tombs excavated contain brightly colored paintings and inscriptions.

Sites within Siwa Oasis: These are located both West and East of Siwa town. Sites located West of Siwa include a Doric Temple in the Maraki area, the necropolis of Bilad El Roum and Deheba sites, dating back from the late Ptolemaic to the Early Roman period, and remains of buildings and monuments in Khamisa, Timaseiran and Bahey El Din sites.

Siwa’s Eastern Oases: Several sites are found in this vicinity including the remains of a settlement and temple from the Greco-Roman era at Khoraishet; a small temple, an olive press and the remains of a foundation at Abu Sherouf; a small temple at El Zeitoun; remains of a Greco-Roman village at Sallam; and remains of a necropolis from the Ptolemaic and Roman eras at Abu Al Awaf.

Siwa Depression Outskirts: Thirty kilometers north of Abu Sharuf in the direction of Gara Oasis, the remains of a Greco-Roman village, some rock cut tombs and a small South facing temple are found in El Maaseir site, while a hill with a small temple and an olive press are located near Timeira spring.

West of Siwa Oasis: Rock cut tombs on a hill and the remains of a building foundation are found in Shyata Oasis, while rock cut tombs and the foundation of a building can be seen in Gerba. Foundations of a building are also remaining in Om Asha Oasis, ten kilometers West of Gerba.

East of Siwa: The southern hill of Arag Oasis boasts important archaeological remains; two of the rock cut tombs have stunning decorations: a frieze of a cobra and a sun disk in one, and in the other, a plant design on the walls and stars on the ceiling. The Baharein Oasis is bordered by hills dotted with rock cut tombs and one finds a lake and the remains of a small temple here. Sitra Oasis and Nuwemisa Oasis feature more rock cut tombs as well as the foundations of buildings. At the still inhabited oasis of Al Gara the rock cut tombs are close to the remains of a fortress village (or shali).