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Dayr Al-Hadid

By René-Georges Coquin, Maurice Martin

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dayr al-hadid. The name of this monastery, no longer in existence, is today preserved by the locality ‘Izbat Dayr al-Hadid, situated on the right bank of the Nile opposite al-Fashn. The village sits on a mountainside in the upper reaches of which are large caves (Daressy, 1917, pp. 202, 227; 1918, p. 18). Daressy identified it with Ahrit, known from Coptic and Arabic texts as the site of a monastery, that of Saint onophrius, and also from the Futuh al-Bahnasa (Galtier, 1909, p. 131), which speaks of Ahrit and of Sharunah (about 12 miles, or 20 km, to the south of ‘Izbat Dayr al-Hadid). Ramzi (1953-1963, Vol. 1, pp. 133-34) thought that Ahrit was the present-day village of al-Shaykh Fadl, opposite Bani Mazar, 8 miles (12 km) south of Sharunah. Drew-Bear (1979, p. 101) placed Ahrit in the nome of Hermopolis.

Bibliography

Daressy, G. "Indicateur topographique du "Livre des perles enfouies et du mystère précieux'." Bulletin de l'Institut français d'Archéologie orientale 13 (1917):175-230; 14 (1918):1-32. Drew-Bear, M. Le Nome Hermopolite: Toponymes et sites. American Studies in Papyrology 21. Missoula, Mont., 1979. Galtier, E., ed. Foutouh al-Bahnasa. Memoires publiés par les membres de l'Institut français d'Archéologie orientale 22. Cairo, 1909. Ramzi, M. Al-Qamus al-Jughrafi lil-Bilad al Misriyyah, 3 vols. Cairo, 1953-1968. RENÉ-GEORGES COQUIN MAURICE MARTIN, S.J.