Daily Photo - Al Qasr

The Medieval town of Al Qasr is described so well by Jenny Jobbins in an article on Al Ahram Weekly, that I am simply going to refer you to her article. Here's her introduction, but do go to the article for the full story.

The town of Al-Qasr, otherwise known as Qasr Dakhla, lies in Dakhla Oasis deep in the Western Desert 450kms due west of Luxor. Despite its remote setting it has had a colourful history: Romans exploited the oasis for agricultural produce; Libyans, including the Sanusi, made conquering raids; and it was not far from the infamous Darb Al-Arbain slave route. In the picturesque mediaeval section of the town narrow, partly covered streets wind past heavy ancient doors topped with elaborate lintels, and here and there through an open doorway can be glimpsed old grinding stones or a staircase leading to a crumbling roof. . . .

Archaeologists have long supposed that beneath the foundations of Al-Qasr are the remains of a Roman citadel. Fred Leemhuis, professor of Islamic Studies at Groningen University and field director of the Qasr Dakhla Project -- part of the Dakhla Oasis Project (DOP) -- told this author two years ago: "Undoubtedly there was a fortress there in Roman times, or even a Ptolemaic one. The Romans probably built a structure to surround the well, and I would be surprised if there was nothing Roman. But we have simply not found any evidence."

Leemhuis said then that a good quantity of datable potsherds or coins at a lower level would be enough to determine a Roman provenance. "Al-Qasr is the only tell in Dakhla. It has at least three levels of occupation," he said. "There might have been something before that, but we can only hazard a guess. Some time I'm going to excavate, but right now I'm too busy."

In the end, by a quirk of fate, he didn't need to. It happens to most of us: the mislaid glasses you find have been wearing all along, the lost car keys which were under your nose. Like those keys, the evidence was right before his eyes. "Archaeologists had been walking past it all the time," Leemhuis said this week. "They just didn't notice it."