White and Red Monasteries
Environmental Change and Agricultural Development Raise Concerns
Built in what had once been arid desert, the two monastery churches are now at risk due to a rise in the water table in the wake of the construction of the Aswan High Dam, and a resulting pressure from those wishing to cultivate newly fertile land.
2002 World Monuments Watch
After the site’s inclusion on the 2002 World Monuments Watch, research and conservation activities developed at both churches, providing a greater understanding of the conditions and needs of these monasteries.
At the White Monastery (Deir Anba Shenoute), the Yale Egyptological Institute played an active role in the stewardship and documentation of the surviving elements of the monastic complex for many years, and recorded all visible stone inscriptions. Another project conducted at the same site concentrated on the remains surrounding the Church and, in addition to documentation, included the conservation of wall paintings and the completion of a site management plan.
At the Red Monastery, a project was initiated in 2005 by the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), with funding from the United States Agency for International Development and in collaboration with Roma Tre University. This project resulted in the cleaning and conservation of mural decoration in many parts of the surviving sanctuary. Both projects were operated in collaboration with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Conservation at White Monastery
In January 2022, after heavy and unprecedented rainfall in Sohag, the north wall of the fifth century church of the White Monastery suffered a partial collapse. To urgently avoid any further collapse of the wall, ARCE approached Orascom Construction Industries, a major Egyptian contracting company, to construct a steel support structure with safe working platforms to assist with the future conservation of the wall. With support from World Monuments Fund’s Crisis Response Program, the design and installation of the support structure was completed in June 2022, without any further collapse of masonry from the wall.
Crisis Response Program
In the aftermath of crises, World Monuments Fund works to safeguard cultural heritage, ensuring our treasured places are preserved for present and future generations.