Coptic Monastic Heritage Archive (CMHA): Photographic Dataset of Monastic Settlement in Wadi Naqqat, Egypt

This dataset was created as part of the Coptic Monastic Heritage Archive (CMHA) at the University of Ljubljana. It includes data and photographs of 14 monastic heritage sites in Wadi Naqqat (Eastern Desert, Egypt). Wadi Naqqat is located approximately 35 miles (55 km) west of the Red Sea town of Hurghada, in the broader region of ancient Mons Porphyrites, and dates to between the 4th and 6th centuries AD.

The data was gathered through ground assessments conducted between 2018 and 2019 as part of the project “Endangered Hermitages: Documenting Coptic Monastic Heritage in Middle Egypt and the Eastern Desert”, led by Dr. Jan Ciglenečki (University of Ljubljana) and funded by the Antiquities Endowment Fund (AEF) of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE). Photographic documentation of the site was carried out by photographer Matjaž Kačičnik, using a 36-megapixel Nikon D810 digital camera, and by Dr. Jan Ciglenečki, using a 21-megapixel Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital camera. In 2024, this documentation was systematically integrated into the CMHA at the University of Ljubljana.

The photographs include EXIF (GPS location, technical specs) and IPTC-IIM (e.g., Credits, Caption) and XMP metadata.