The Monastery of Rifa Dair Rifa

The Monastery of Rifa Dair Rifa The Monastery of Rifa (Dair Rifa) The monastery is located about 5 km. south of Durunka Complex and elevated about 66 m above sea level . The ancient town was the 11th Nome of Upper Egypt which was called Shashotep in ancient Egyptian times and extended from Durunka monastery in the north to Abu-Tig in the south (Regulski and Golia 2018). The Monastery of Rifa (Dair Rifa) The site of Dair Rifa and Rifa village was excavated by W. Petrie in 1907. He mentions that the rockcut ancient tombs at Rifa became in possession of the Copts . The excavations of Petrie reveal burials from the 7th dynasty down to the mediaeval times . Greek, Coptic and Arabic manuscripts were found there (Clarke 1912). Rifa monastery complexes are mentioned by Abu Al-Makarem in the 12th century and Al-Maqrizi in the 15th century AD (Evetts and Butler 1895; Regulski and Golia 2018). The Monastery of Rifa (Dair Rifa) The Monastery of Rifa Dair Rifa