Umm el-Dabadib, Roman Settlement in the Kharga Oasis: Description of the Visible Remains. With a Note on ‘Ayn Amur

This article contains a first extensive description of Umm el-Dabadib, a large settlement which lies at the northern border of the Kharga Oasis (Egypt). The visible remains consist of a small but impressive fort surrounded by a fortified settlement, a northern settlement, scattered ruins, an extensive necropolis of rock-cut tombs and a remarkable subterranean aqueduct. The site, which has never been studied or excavated, seems to provide mainly Roman and Coptic material, although an earlier occupation, at this stage, cannot be excluded. Umm el-Dabadib lay along the ancient caravan route which linked Dakhla and Kharga across the small Oasis called 'Ayn Amur, where a little temple was erected. This article also contains a short report on the visit paid to 'Ayn Amur exactly 90 years after Winlock, who reached the site by camel and recorded its archaeological remains.