Donate
ARCE's 16-Year Effort to Conserve Egypt's Priceless Red Monastery
Since 2003, ARCE has been documenting, conserving and studying the late fifth-century Red Monastery church, in Sohag, Upper Egypt. As a result of this work, the monument has gone from almost total obscurity to international prominence and is now recognized as one of less than ten churches from the early Byzantine period to have survived with a major part of its original decoration intact. The church is a tri-conch basilica, meaning that in plan it is a rectangle, with a three-lobed sanctuary at the east, fronted by a colonnaded nave with galleries. While this trefoil-style design was popular in the Roman and early Christian periods, survivals are rare and no other example anywhere in the world is close to the state of preservation found at the Red Monastery.
The church is now recognized as one of less than ten churches worldwide from the early Byzantine period to have survived with a major part of its original decoration intact. Last year, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities also expressed their intention to nominate the monument for consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Join ARCE as We Cross the Finish Line
This year, you have the opportunity to become part of this incredible project by contributing towards the final season of conservation and documentation at the Red Monastery. ARCE will be concluding its 16-year project at the site by:
- Conducting a final season of conservation on paintings in the nave
- Documenting the site with HD photography and architectural sketches
- Carrying out 3D scanning of the whole site
- Preserving the Monastery's adjacent archaeological remains
Supporting this project is as easy as filling in the form below