The Story of Abu Mena

Abu Mena is located about 50 km south-west of Alexandria. The ruins of the fabled city of St. Menas were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 as one of the five most historically important sites in Egypt. Today they are threatened by water seepage. (Al-Ahram 9/16/2002) The site has suffered severe subsidence in recent years, as a result of an ill-conceived agricultural irrigation project nearby. (Africanworldheritage sites.org)One of the most well known saints in history is the St Menas due to the amount of miracles witnessed in the east and the west. The city was thought be only legendary until 1905. German archaeologist Carl Maria Kaufmann was travelling from Athens to North Arica. During his travelling, he came upon a scientific discovery. What was a discovered, early Christian monastery? St Menas in one of the few Egyptian martyrs with international reputation. The original church was too small therefore; the Emperor Arcadius built a new place of worship. The Roman emperors brought even more attention to the great place by people pilgrimaging from as far as England, France, Germany, Spain, and Turkey. The healing offered was thought to have occurred using the holy water or the water from the limestone rocks in the area. The site is known today as an historic island. The irrigated land around it has taken the land around it and shrunk the historical site. The ground has eroded and started falling in. There are parts either lost or slowly falling while humans continue to irrigate the land. Many people have concluded why the land is sacred and others have created their own stories but the point that needs to be made is that we should protect this land.

Many believe that the subsoil water is causing damage to the site. This cause is agricultural expansion. The area around this holy city is being used for farming and many other uses. Other sources would suggest that ancient water streams are sloping toward the site. The ruins are under stressful conditions and could be removed from the UNESCO list if the proper actions are not taken. Discovery of the actual tomb created the official stir of interest. The discovery revealed thirty marble stairs leading down to a crypt. The tomb of the saint laid 10 meters below the high altar of the ruins of a basilica constructed in the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine by Bishop Athanasius the Great.(Al-Ahram 9/16/2002) Scientist excavated the site in 1951. A team of experts from the Coptic Museum found souvenirs and shops with many artifacts. Ten years later, 1961 German Archaeological Institute began serious excavation. The man in charge was Peter Grossman; this action is still ongoing today. History will tell you that the ruins were destroyed three times.

The great place of pilgrimage is threatened today by other reasons but has been destroyed three times previously. The first was during the Persian invasion in 619. The second time was in 628 when the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius overthrew the Persians. The third was after the Arab conquest then the site was tossed up between the Coptic Orthodox Church and Greek Orthodox. The government decided that it belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church but was ravaged by Bedouins. The Bedouins attacked for 30 years. Earthquakes were part of the final devastation. The goal of archeology is to rebuild the site. Some buildings have been discovered being used as apartments. This is a single of human error. To step to protecting this great site would be to leave it alone and untouched. The only reason it should be touched is to rebuild and reconstruct it. Grossman described the seriousness of the site being in danger as "approaching a catastrophe." (Al-Ahram 9/16/2002)

Mohamed Abdel-Aziz of Alexandria University is in charge of a study to discover the water problem. He described the problem as a dry ground that went 26 meters deep. There was not water until around 1986, the sudden rise in water. The solution was to dig around the site. Digging around the site and creating a drain, thought to fix the problem but did not. Water returned and quickly took over the area. The irrigation, which was thought to be the problem, was clearing not it. Scientist discovered that the water was coming from below. Scientist are still searching and trying to discover the problem in an effort to save the city. The biggest scare