An Egyptian excavation mission has uncovered the remains of a Roman fort, an early Coptic church, and a Ptolemaic temple during excavation work carried out at Shiha Fort in Upper Egypt's Aswan. Mohamed Abdel-Badie, director of the Upper Egypt Antiquities Department, explains that the excavation work revealed the plan of the fort, and showed that the church was built on top of it. He explained that sections of the wall that once enclosed the fort were used in the eastern side of the church. Badie added that early studies indicate that the wall could have been 210 metres long. Four chambers were found in the northern side of the church, and a collection of ovens was found at its southern side. A very well-preserved sandstone relief, which depicts a Roman emperor standing before an alter beside the entrance to the temple, has been found along with four sandstone blocks engraved with palms, Hieratic script, the names of Greek emperors and cartouches of Ptolemaic kings. The mission has also stumbled upon a collection of clay vessels, the remains from a monk's chamber.
