Work to stabilise and preserve the temple complex at Soknopaiou Nesos, in Egypt’s Fayyum region, has entered a decisive phase, with archaeologists reporting both structural gains and fresh insights into the site’s long history.
The project, directed by Paola Davoli of the University of Salento, has been underway since 2021 with the support of the Antiquities Endowment Fund.
The settlement itself spread across a broad strip of desert and was at its busiest from the 4th century BC to about the middle of the 3rd century AD. The temple enclosure still dominates the site. Built of mudbrick in the early Roman period, its walls rise high above the surrounding ground.
Within them are shrines, storage rooms, living quarters and halls used for gatherings. The complex was devoted to Soknopaios, a local form of Sobek, alongside Isis Nepherses. Earlier finds—papyri and fragments of sculpture—have already pointed to a community centred on priestly life.
A straight, paved route cuts through the settlement. This processional way once linked the temple to burial grounds beyond and was used during festivals that filled much of the calendar. It also acted as a meeting point, where people gathered during public rites.
Excavation inside the enclosure has identified three main structures. To the south stands a Ptolemaic sanctuary, still over 10 metres high. North of it are the remains of a Roman-period temple, later dismantled for building stone, and a further structure often linked with the worship of Isis. Around them sit mudbrick buildings that have been worn down over time by wind and shifting sands.
Recent restoration work has first focused on the enclosure walls. In places, they reach around 15 metres, but erosion has hollowed out sections, especially at the corners. When repairs began, differences in brick size, clay mix and foundation depth became clear. These variations suggest that parts of the wall were built at different times and that older material was reused.
The south-east corner proved especially fragile. Its outer face had thinned, and parts were close to collapse. By copying the original pattern—courses of bricks set at an angle—the team rebuilt the section so that it follows the earlier design rather than replacing it with a modern solution.
Attention then shifted to the Ptolemaic temple. Stone blocks had slipped, and sand driven by wind had filled the interior spaces. Clearing this material exposed stairways leading upwards, hinting at additional storeys, while the lowest levels remain buried. Signs of later alteration were also found: a central chamber appears to have been reshaped into a passage aligned with the main route through the site.
Materials for the work have been kept local. Clay for new bricks was taken from nearby sources and matched in colour and size to what was already there. Fallen stone has been put back into use where it could be safely reset.
At the edge of the site, a small area has been set aside for visitors, with a shelter and information panels in several languages. Digital guides can be accessed on site, offering plans and images to help make sense of what remains.
Much of Soknopaiou Nesos still lies under sand or in a fragile state. The work so far has reduced the risk of further loss and made key areas easier to follow, but more sections will need the same careful treatment before excavation can move ahead in full.
Sources : American Research Center in Egypt
