The Persian presence at Qasr el-Ghuieta, Egypt

The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies

Another paper found whilst looking for something else entirely, in case it is of interest to visitors:

The Persian presence at Qasr el-Ghuieta, Egypt
By Eugene Cruz-Uribe
Northern Arizona University

In studying the spatial relationships amongst the different temples in Kharga Oasis, it becomes clear that there was a clear pattern in the placement of those structures that does not seem to have anything to do with religious motives. Hibis temple is by far the largest of the temple structures in the oasis and the area around the temple clearly was a prominent part of the oasis culture.

Morkot’s discussion (R. Morkot, "The Darb el-Arbain, the Kharga Oasis and its forts, and other desert routes," in D. Bailey, ed., Archaeological Research in Roman Egypt, Ann Arbor, 1996 [JRA Supplemental Series 19], pp. 82-94, esp. p. 84) reiterates the belief that the temple within the fortress at Qasr el-Ghuieta dates to the reign of Darius I and not to an earlier period. He compares it to the same dating often given for the temple at Hibis.

The purpose of this short page is to discuss possible dating issues and view the remains of Ghueita from a new view point. This discussion follows with a series of jpeg images. It is hoped that these images depict the environment of the site and perhaps explains a bit more on the dating of portions of the temple structure.