Kellis
archaeological site in the Egyptian depression of el-Dakhla
Ancient Kellis, now known as Ismant el-Kharab ('Ismant the ruined' in Arabic), was a village in Upper Egypt during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods. It was located about 2.5 kilometers (1.6 mi) east-southeast of present-day Ismant in the Dakhleh Oasis, and about 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) northeast of Mut (more fully Mut el-Kharab), which is the capital of the oasis. In ancient times, Mut was called Mothis, and thus Kellis was in the Mothite nome.
Structures
The village was 1,050 meters (3,440 ft) long and 650 meters (2,130 ft) wide, built almost entirely of mud brick on a low terrace with wadis to the southeast and northwest, and surrounded by fields. Small businesses included weaving, handcrafted pottery and blacksmithing. Attractions in Kellis included the Temple of Tutu and three churches; the Small East Church is the oldest known church building in Egypt. The site was occupied from the late Ptolemaic Period, was abandoned sometime after the year 392, and has remained unoccupied since then, except for a time in the 1940s, when some Bedouin camped there. Many buildings are buried beneath the sand. The tops of some are visible from the surface; others are hidden, waiting to collapse as an unwary tourist crosses.
Excavation
Archaeological exploration of Kellis began in 1986.
“Kellis” enters the record as archaeological site in the Egyptian depression of el-Dakhla. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Kellis, archaeological and site can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3814386. Authority coordinates are 25.517, 29.097. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1986.
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This entry incorporates text from “Kellis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.